Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Cullen Wedding!

Last weekend one of my best friends from college married her best friend, and I couldn't be happier for them!  The wedding was absolutely perfect!  The girls started primping at 7:30 am, with a hair and makeup team on-site.  We also enjoyed a few mimosas and a homemade breakfast to boot!  At noon the photgrapher arrived to start taking pictures of the little things ( jewelry, shoes, etc) and then the big kahuna- Katie getting into her princess attire!
MOH Tara and K Collins getting all dolled up!
Toby, Tara's pooch, enjoying the royal treatment!
All our dresses!
  
My Hair- back view
My Hair- Side view
Katie!!!!
Mimosa?  Why not!
Peace signs and sunglasses- Katie's trademark moves!
Our flowers!  A beautiful mix of hydrangeas, and mini roses
Katie's Hair pre-vail
Katie and Knels
Laughing about how much we're sweating I presume!
After we were all dolled up we headed outside for more photos, and then off to the church.  Slight mishap- the limo to the church was not air conditioned making the mile ride seem longer.  We survived, and the ceremony was gorgeous!  Following the ceremony we headed to Souther's Marsh Golf Course for a night of fun, friends, dinner, drinks and celebrating this lovely couple.  Katie and Andrew also made a slide show of pictures from college that was so fun.  I found myself sitting there and watching the years pass by.  It was a welcomed addition, and I think it made people feel a bit more connected ;)
  While at the wedding Katie and Andrew offered an open bar for beer and wne, as well as two signature drinks: John Daley's and Cape Codder's.  Luckily for me, Katie and I adore Cape Codders, so I tried the John Daley which was simply delish, and I definitely had my fair share! 


Katie and MOH Dany


Stunning




The Girls!


Me and one of my oldest friends, Katie



Jenn and Jaffe!























Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Cullen!  I can't wait for them to return for their Mexican fiesta Honeymoon!
xoxo,
Jeanie

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Book Review: Distant Shores, By Kristen Hannah

Good Morning!
  It's the absent minded blogger here... As of tomorrow I have officially been out of school for two weeks.  In some ways it feels like I could head back to room 501 tomorrow and in other ways it seems like I have been off for quite some time.  Anyways, throughout the last two weeks I have had a Bachelorette party, and about 14 people either staying, eating or showering with us at the cape to ring in the 4th of July... Lets just say I should have pre-scheduled blog posts!
  Anyways, I did finish a novel I had lying around titled Distant Shores.  My review is below with spoilers ( if you are interested in reading it stop here !)
image source
  Distant Shores, by Kristen Hannah starts off very similar to most of Hannah's novels:  The main character, a woman, who is unhappy in her marriage and yearning for some "else" in her life.  Elizabeth, or Birdie as they call her for sort, resides in a coastal suburban town in Washington state with her husband, a retired professional football player turned sports caster.  Birdie and Jack, her husband, attended the University of Washington and fell in love after a brief stint of "tutoring".  Birdie was a top student, and Jack not so much.  The two of them hit it off big when they were young and married immediately after college.  Jack was moved around a lot per order of his professional football career, leaving Elizabeth's dreams of obtaining a Masters in art a distant memory. Instead, the couple had two children, Stephanie and Jamie, and Birdie busied herself in their lives.  Once in NY Jack was quarterback for the New York Jets and his knee gave out.  This was a career ender for "Jumping Jack", sending him to a rehabilitation center, where he became addicted to prescribed pain medicine.  Jack was at rock bottom, or so he thought and Elizabeth stood by him.  She continued to stand by her man for the next 15 to 20 years as they bounced around to various small news stations because many of the bigger names refused to hire a man previously addicted to narcotics. After a brief visit to her father's southern home for Christmas, a big opportunity for Jack and a sudden tragedy  Elizabeth is forced to reevaluate her life.  She needed a change and with the help of her ailing father, picture perfect stepmother and best friend Meghan she found her niche for sure!
  The novel was not an all time favorite, but it was funny and heart warming at times.  I would recommend this book to someone married with grown children, seeing as though it may touch the "empty nester" a bit more than it did my 27-year-old-self.  All in all, a decent and quick read.  I love  how Hannah portrays and develops her characters; another reason why she's a favorite of mine.
Happy Reading!
xoxo,
Jeanie
Questions of the day:
Read any good books lately?