2014 :: Part 1

Everyone is doing their 2014 year review so I am. too! I actually had completely forgotten about doing this fun post until I got on this morning and saw all of yours. It's so fun reading all of them!   So here is January-May!   JANUARY We announced Matthew had accepted a GA position with Tech (which paid almost all of his MBA) We found out late December that he got it but we wanted to wait until he got the official offer. We celebrated with Applebees!

 

Matthew gave me my Valentines Day present early

You can read all about that here :)

 

FEBRUARY

Celebrated my 1 year blogging anniversary!

 

Celebrated Valentines Day in the same area code!

  Took a Spontaneous roadtrip to Chattanooga for the day!

  MARCH Matthew baptized me in front of some of our closest friends at our church  in Cookeville on March 6th

 
Celebrated Matthew's 22nd birthday! I took the day off and we spent it together and then had dinner and cheesecake with his family.

  APRIL Intramurals were in full swing for the spring semester

  Played nerf assassins with the SOC Literally walked around with a small nerf gun in my purse for a couple of weeks. It was so much fun and I think we all grew a little closer because of this game.

  Spent Easter weekend at home with good weather and lots of egg hunts!

  -Decided I was going to get a 1 bedroom apartment! Looked at multiple ones but finally decided on the one I am in now and LOVE it!   Participated in Walk4Water with the SOC in Cookeville

  Attended the annual spring tea with Matthew's mom and grandmother! Jenny got to come this year too

  MAY  Matthew's older brother graduated with his Masters

 

Got the key to my new apartment and had a lunch date with Matthew

in my apartment floor that same day :)

 

Went on a mission trip with the SOC to Georgia

 

Got home from the mission trip and found that Matthew had moved me into my new apartment while I was gone!!

  In honor of our 4 year anniversary I did some recapping Year ONE Year TWO Year THREE Year FOUR   Celebrated our four year anniversary with good food and baseball!

 

Part 2 will come tomorrow!

Thank you all so much for your sweet comennts on yesterday's post. Reading all of them make me even more excited!! Y'all are the best! :) 

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2014 :: Part 1

We're ENGAGED!!

I still can't believe we are engaged! It all happened so fast and was completely unexpected. Of course we had talked about when we would get engaged and he completely had me convinced it would be sometime late spring or early summer. So I definitely wasn't expecting it anytime soon.

Last Sunday night I came back to Cookeville by myself because I had to work Monday and Tuesday. I had planned on going straight home Tuesday when I got off of work. My best friend was supposed to come up Sunday with me and spend the night but she backed out last minute. I was a little upset about it but didn't let it get me down too much. I slept in Monday as long as I could, waking up in time to put some concealer under my eyes and my hair in a low messy bun. I sit in a cubicle all day so I'm not too worried about my appearance at work. I had talked to Matthew throughout the day and he told me about how he had been cleaning out the garage at home getting stuff ready for a garage sale.   I got off around 3:30 and decided I was going to get Blue Coast for dinner and stop and get gas before I headed back to my apartment for the night. I got back to my apartment and opened the door and found Matthew sitting on my couch playing his PS3. I was in complete shock. He had hid his car behind a big work truck on the other end of my apartment parking lot. I was asking him all these questions of why he was there and why he was dressed up. He got up and said he felt bad Sarah couldn't come up and didn't want me to be by myself so he thought he would surprise me and take me to dinner. Most people have asked how I didn't see it coming then but that is not out of the ordinary. We always dress up to go on dates and he is just a thoughtful man! I even asked him if I should change and put a nicer dress on and fix up a little bit and his exact words "nahh, you look good and no one is going to see us anyways" We went to one restaurant that we both like but they were closed on Mondays and we didn't know so we decided on a local Mexican restaurant we both like.   Matthew was acting completely normal the whole time. I thought whenever he did propose I'd be able to see it coming from a mile away.   After dinner I mentioned I needed to stop at Kroger to pick up my cousin a gift card for Christmas but then said I could just get it later because it looked really crowded. Matthew insisted we go on and stop because we were already by it and he really had to use the bathroom. I thought it was really weird he couldn't hold it until we got back to my apartment, but didn't put too much thought into it.   We left Kroger and thought we were headed back to my apartment. We drove by campus and he asked if I wanted to walk around campus. It was mid 50's and had been raining all day but stopped and still felt pretty good outside for a couple of days before Christmas. I absolutely LOVE walking around campus at night and often ask if we can, so AGAIN didn't think anything about it when he suggested it. We parked and as we are getting out I notice Matthew putting on his big peacoat. I had forgotten my coat and thought it was very strange of him not to offer me his coat. I didn't say anything of course, I just thought he was cold and didn't realize I had forgotten my coat.   We walked all around the quad and then he point to the middle where we had played ball with the SOC and so we walked over there and sat down on some bricks. He started talking about how he can't imagine not being on campus anymore and how he can't imagine not going to intramural games, etc. I am getting a little emotional because I'm not ready for him to move back home just yet. Then out of no where he says "You know what else I can't imagine? You not being in my life" I snap back to reality and think to myself "OH MY GOSH" at this point he is going on and saying really sweet things and as he is talking I could tell he is getting REALLY nervous. At this point all I can think about is "OH MY GOSH IT"S HAPPENING" He then told me to stand up and so I did and he did too and then he got down on one knee and is still saying all this sweet stuff and for the life of me I can't remember all if it. I am tearing up and asking him a million times "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" like it wasn't obvious lol.

Obviously I had no idea what was coming that night or I would have painted those nails, but I am completely okay with it. If he would have told me to paint my nails I would have known, so it was perfect.

  He asked and I said YES and he puts the ring on my finger, stands up and hugs me and gives me a kiss while I am still asking a million questions. We walked back to the car and I'm asking who all knew and he told me my parents and his parents. I said something about send them a picture after I called my mom and he said we're going to see them tonight. Again, cue the million questions. I asked if they were in Cookeville and he said no we are going home to see them and I said "Oh I have to be at work at 7:00 in the morning" and he grinned really big and said "No you don't, you're off tomorrow, I called your boss and asked her if you could have tomorrow off" And that's when the ugly crying began. He joked that I was more excited about being off of work than being engaged but I assured him that wasn't the case at ALL. It was just starting to hit me that it was all REAL and finally happening.

We went straight back to my apartment so that I could change and put on some make up and look halfway decent to see family and friends when we got home while Matthew helped me pack to go home for Christmas!! We stopped at the SOC house before we headed home to see his brother and some friends and went back to campus with Nathan and Jenny so they could make a picture of us where we got engaged. We then headed home to his parents house. We got to visit with them and share the excitement and then headed to my house and my two best friends were there also. It was a crazy night and all happened SO fast. After I posted it on social media our phones were BLOWING up. It was all so exciting.   He had asked my dad that morning and of course my dad was happy for us. Like I said I still can't believe it happened. He played it off so well all day Monday. I had told him a long time I ago I wanted it to be just us, no cameras, no audience, not in public, just us and that is exactly how it was, a complete surprise! There wasn't a soul on the quad at that time (it's Christmas break so everyone is home), it had stopped raining and was decent out for late December, and we got to see our families and friends. Honestly the most perfect night.  We never went ring shopping together, he always had said he wanted to pick it out himself. and he did SO good!

  We are so excited and ready to begin this next chapter of our lives together. Now that the holidays are almost over we can start wedding planning!! Still can't believe I just typed those words. :) We haven't picked a date yet, but we do have an idea of when we want to we just have to wait and see with Matthew's new job fixing to start up when would be best. I will definitely share when we have an official date set though!  

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We're ENGAGED!!

Apartment tour...Christmas edition

I don't think I have given a full apartment tour yet but I did snap some pictures of all my Christmas decorations that I wanted to share. It's not much since  1. I don't like spending full price on decorations (the best time to buy them is after the holiday and I forgot last year...) 2. Even if I had remembered, I have a one bedroom so it's not like I have tons of space...but I like that, so it's okay! I really only decorated my living room and some of kitchen.   Living room

You'll just have to excuse that workout machine, I didn't want to knock my tree over trying to move it out of the picture lol.

 

I found those cute small Christmas pillows in Targets dollar section last year!

 

One year I made an ornament wreath with cheap plastic ornaments from dollar tree but it got all bent out of shape when I packed it up and some of the ornaments broke so I took them off and just put them in a cute Christmas box my mom had left over as a centerpiece for my coffee.

 

My Christmas tree! It's kinda plain but it'll do! I wanted to make a bow to put at the top but just didn't ever get around to it.

 

 

I found these cute metal presents at Hobby Lobby on major sale and just couldn't pass them up!! I think they would look so darn cute in front of a fire place but for now under the tree works, too!

 

These blankets from Old Navy are the BEST. I got one last year when they went on sale for $5 and I found this one this year and loved it!! They are so soft and have the cutest Christmas designs. So I draped them over my couches to add a little more color in there. Those pillows don't match it at all lol

 

My mom had an extra frame laying around so I found a cute print and hung it up over one of my end-tables.

 

Kitchen

 My new placemats! I think I shared these pictures a couple of weeks ago but
I just love them!

 

I made this plate a couple of years ago and put it in place of my little chalkboard for Christmas time.

 

 My mom got me this adorable apron last year for Christmas, I think it makes a cute decoration when it's not being used...which is always. I'll take it home to use while we are cooking for Christmas dinner ;)

I hung up a few canvases I made a couple of years ago just to add a little more to my kitchen!

 

Outside my apartment

My dad made this ADORABLE sign to stick out there and I absolutely LOVE it! He did such a good job. I bought some cute poinsettias to set out there with it! That is my Christmas wreath I made last year. I was never a big fan of it but it was cheap to make so it worked. Some of the mesh was still smashed from being packed up. My mom made me a new one and it's MUCH better! I just forgot to take a new picture.

 

And that's it!! I love it!!!!

I feel like I haven't had my decorations up long at all and I don't want to take them down anytime soon, but I will probably take them down before I go home for Christmas so I don't have to worry about that when I get back.

I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I LOVE CHRISTMAS! 

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Apartment tour...Christmas edition

Christmas Cards

My goal this year was to have my Christmas cards mailed off by December 1st....I missed that by about 15 days lol but they are out! I did purchase them before December 1st this year so that's somewhat better than last year, right?   I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them and TJ Maxx came to the rescue! I found some that were plain so I could do my calligraphy on the front and write my own message on the inside. Fun!     The front

 

 The envelopes

Better late than never, right?! ;)

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Christmas Cards

An exciting announcement!!

I'm excited to say that I'm opening up an Etsy shop! I have spent the past several months learning calligraphy and I'm excited to see where this little hobby of mine will go. I have done multiple prints for friends and I would love to make something for you! If you have anything in mind that I could help you with just let me know! Mark your calendars for a month from today as that's when my shop will open. You can follow along on Instagram, @hellogorgeouscalligraphy and the hashtag  #hellogorgeouscalligraphy   This is very exciting and a little scary all at the same time!

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An exciting announcement!!

Graduation round two

Whew! What a weekend it was. I took Friday off to spend the day with Matthew before graduation. It was so nice and I really enjoyed our day together. We had a small party for him last year but we decided this year to celebrate just the two of us. We went to one of our favorite local spots here in Cookeville, Char. We also had a fancy little giftcard. You spend $50 and get $25 off. It was so good to just sit down and eat together. We are always on the go and I feel like we never get to just slow down. Unfortunately it was too cold to eat outside but is this not the cutest little setup outside?? We have one more of those giftcards so I'm hoping to go back when it's warm enough to sit out here!

 

Matthew's older brother came in and we all played laser tag later

We got a sweet student discount, 3 games for $12. It was my first time to ever play laser tag so it took the first two games for me to get the hang of it lol

 

Saturday morning came very quickly. Graduation was at 10. My family was able to make it up here for this graduation!   Matthew was in the back right.

Matthew's twin brother also graduated!! He as an interview in Memphis in February for PT school!!

Johnson Hall is where all of his classes were and where he worked for awhile. 

Cookeville is small so we knew every restaurant would be very crowded and we had three families there. We decided to have a party back at the SOC house. We had pizza and cake!



The three grads!

It was a good day with lots of celebrating going on. Thank goodness it wasn't raining!! It was very cold though.     I am so so proud of Matthew. He has worked SO incredibly hard these past four and a half years and has done it all with unwavering persistence and a good attitude. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I am truly honored and humbled to stand by his side as he accomplishes all his goals. He starts work in early January! Y'all, I am dating the best lookin' masters grad that there ever was ;)

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Graduation round two