Good days.

Two days in a row of blogging is like a new record for me.

It must be because I have the opportunity to sit at home.  Eat bon-bons.  Or whatever else I want to do.  (I promise I will actually leave me house at some point today.)

Good days include:
- Working out
- Eating new recipes
- Seeing good friends
- Reading Harry Potter
- Loving on your fiance'
- Finding an iPod that has been lost for a week
- Talking to your mom
- Wearing workout clothes all day
...just to name a few

Therefore, today has been a good day.  Or will be a good day by the end.

Favorite Season is here!

I am very excited to say that Fall is here and the Holidays are just around the corner.  

Fall is my favorite season.  I love Halloween and decorating for it.  Last year, my roomie and I carved some pumpkins and roasted the seeds.  I plan on doing the same this year.

These are our cute pumpkins from last Fall.

Also, I love football.  My friend, S, and I always make it a tradition to go to a UT game every Fall.  This is from last year, since we didn't get a picture from the game this year.  And last year, we had both just cut all our hair off.

Hiking is another thing about Fall that I adore.  Last year, my parents took me & A to Grandfather Mountain, NC.  And then A took me to Max Patch a few weeks later.  In November, Max Patch already had snow on the ground.  This past weekend, we went back to the Grandfather Mountain area for my cousin's wedding.  It was gorgeous.  The leaves were peak for colors changing, which was nice since at home they seem to be going from green to brown without the pretty Fall colors this year.

Grandfather Mtn., North Carolina

Max Patch, North Carolina

And the last thing I love about this time of year is getting ready for the Holidays.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorites.  I'm not sure if that is just because of the extensive amount of time away from school or not.   Last year was the first holiday season without my brother and sister-in-law here with us.  It was hard, and I'm sure this season will be no different.  Especially since they will have a cute little baby boy with them.  But this will be the first Thanksgiving and Christmas that A and I will have to spread out the lovin' between both families.  Thanksgiving and Black Friday with my parents before my mom leaves to visit M & S.  And Christmas and the following days with his family in North Carolina.  I am excited for this journey that is before us!  

Me and my (brother's) cute dog, Christmas 2010

Tis' the Season!

Fall Break

Fall break and a breath of fresh air.

Literally and metaphorically.

For fall break, I do not have any plans. Not one. Okay, maybe one. But that is it. Only one. After a weekend of extreme busyness and fun, I am looking forward to it.

Last Thursday, A & I went to Kingsport for a Friday filled of wedding planning. We had engagement pictures taken by Jessica Rogers Friday morning. She is hilarious and a great family friend with some of the cutest kids I've ever seen. Luckily, the rain held off for a while and we got some great shots. Worrying about the sun was way better than worrying about rain and fog. We would be posed and say "Okay wait for it, the clouds are coming... wait for it.. 3.... 2... 1... Okay, GO!" It was humorous for sure.

Then after engagement pictures, we went to meet with the cake lady. She is the best in town and I am so excited to have her making my cakes! She forgot to write us down in her planner for the meeting so we interrupted her Friday afternoon of baking, but she was nice enough to work with us. We are on the books and get to taste cakes in a few months. (I'm sure will be the best part!) Then we headed from there to meet the flower lady, Connie Timmons. She was great and does beautiful work.

Honestly, we are pretty much done with wedding stuff for a while. We got our matches in the mail this weekend. So our favors are done. And I got an email saying that my wedding dress is in! (10 weeks before they said it would be!) I am so so so excited to go get MINE instead of trying on the store one! My mom and future mother-in-law are going to with me to get it Thursday afternoon!

This has turned into a wedding blog, and I'm totally okay with it.

Also, if you don't have Pinterest, you totally need to get one. On this wonderful day of vacation from school, I have made 2 recipes I found on there. They are both great! Can't wait to become a better cook, especially since I will soon be cooking for 2 regularly not just a few times a week.

This is the gourmet grill cheese I made this afternoon: pesto, roma tomatoes, and mozzarella.

I also made these lemon bars.

Delicious!

-K

Months later...

So the past few months have been the greatest, most exciting of my life. I have started teaching, which I love. And I got engaged, to the man I love. Life is good. No, life is great.

We went to a cabin in the mountains for my birthday with my parents. He let me have my birthday present early, which was a gorgeous jewelry box he had been working on forever. There was a hidden compartment in the drawer that had the ring hidden in it! This swing is where I opened my gift and he proposed!

Wedding planning has began, and we are on the ball. We set the set for next July. 294 days! I seriously cannot wait to marry my best friend. He is wonderful to me and wonderful to everyone he meets. I could not be luckier. He pushes me to be a better person. He pushes me to be like Christ. He is genuine. He is kind. He is loving. He is patient with me. He is great!

The church is reserved. The contract is signed with the reception place and caterer. We have the photographer picked and will sign the contract next time we visit my parents. The budget is done and now we just have to stick to it. The wedding favors were ordered today (old school favors of matches, which we both love!). I started my DIY kick and made wreaths to put on the french doors of the church. They have blueish/purple flowers, and tomorrow I will add a navy bow and a "W" in gold to both. Maybe I will post pictures! :)

This crafty kick that I am on will hopefully save me a bunch of money. Especially since we are trying to be $4,000 under our budget. Wish us luck!

Oh Starbucks...

So I am sitting in Starbucks... which is very typical for a weekday afternoon. And I overhear these old men talking about this

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Interesting? Maybe. Funny? Definitely.

I haven't looked into it very much, but I feel like if 3 old men can sit around and talk about it for 10 minutes, then yes, it was worthy of my blog.

Semester in a Few Words.

Imagine that. It has been months since I've updated. I need to get back in the swing of things. Again.

Last time I updated, I was a week in my first semester of graduate school. Now, I am a week out of my first semester of graduate school. The last few months of my life have been amazing, hard, and all around different than any other semester of my college career. I have made some amazing friends in my graduate program, all who I will be seeing in two weeks for summer session. I love the connections we have made and the friendships that will grow over the next year.

Since I last updated, I also found out I am going to be an auntie! This is the most exciting news I have ever received! I am so excited for my brother and sister-in-law! I can not wait to meet little Baby Fairweather. We all think it will be a girl, so being the great auntie I am, I have already bought super cute little outfits. Dresses with butterflies (if it's a girl her name will be Vanessa which means butterfly), little pants with ruffles on the butt, and a "Happy Thanksgiving" outfit since s/he is due November 21! That little one will be the most spoiled thing ever!

Okay, I know, lame update. But I need to get back to studying. I have a Geography Exam tomorrow morning!

Doer not a Hearer.

So I am reading James right now. I have fallen in love with the words of the Word put before me. They are so deep and so true. I really just can't get past it. I have read Chapter 1 over and over and find something beautiful every time. The last time I read it, this is what stood out like a sore thumb to me.

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

The words speak so much truth into my life right now. Not only do I need to hear to word set before me and read it, but live it out daily. This is as bad as looking in the mirror then not knowing what I look like a second later. How terrible. To me this is saying, you read the Word, and then as soon as it is closed you go on living my own life as pleased.

The reason this hits home is because I know that I do this regularly. I'll read and be in the Word, but as soon as a hard time comes along I forget His wonderful promises.

Praying to not only know his Word and promises, but also live it out and believe them.