Intellectual snob

I'll be the first to admit, I can sometimes be somewhat of an intellectual snob. Not that I mean I am smarter than anyone else, actually I think the opposite. In fact, I follow a somewhat fake-it to make-it theory in life and I heavily rely on Google to supplement my knowledge. Yet, recently I meet more and more people who are lacking in classical literature knowledge. I'm not saying you should be well versed to the point of arguing the Truman Capote vs. Harper Lee authorship of To Kill a Mockingbird (if you are clueless, Google it), but when the individual I was conversing with had NO IDEA who the author stated on the cover of To Kill a Mockingbird is and who wrote The Great Gatsby, I almost had a cow. Literally. We're from the SOUTH-Alabama to be more specific. These are AL writers. If you can name the past five UA or Auburn coaches, but can't name one AL writer, I would recommend following the fake-it 'til you make-it theory. Or just head over to Amazon to stock up on a few classic novels.

Or better yet, if you used Cliff Notes or Spark Notes to survive high school, exercise your brain and check out the 100 Best Novels List. I'll be wagging my copy of The Age of Innocence on all my summer road trips.

Wedding mania

To say that the next few months are filled with wedding madness is the understatement of 2011. People, Drew and I will attend/be in EIGHT weddings, one of which is ours, in the next FIVE months. I'm so excited that so many good friends are getting married, but I'm already tired just thinking about the hours I will spend in dresses and high heels.

My good friend/sorority sister over at Sweet Georgia Belle posted about the new Anthropologie wedding line. She loves it...I was let down. I expected something so much more from my dear Anthro. I seriously had a countdown on my Google calendar for the website release. I was really worried I would regret my bridesmaid dress decision for our June wedding once I saw the adorable Anthro frocks. At least I can say that I still love my Lula Kate bridesmaid dresses as much as ever.

If you want to check out the Anthro wedding line, head over HERE.

Happy Valentines!

This is my LAST Valentine's as an unmarried lady! I think I'm just a little excited.

The accounting nerd in me got really excited that I will no longer check the "single" box when doing my taxes. It's the little things in life, right?

Slacker

So, I'm a HUGE blog slacker. Somehow, one of my favorite things seems to always be pushed to the end of my never-ending "to-do" list.

This past weekend, the hubby-to-be and I ventured to downtown Nashville to a Dave Ramsey conference. We learned SO much! My brain is still buzzing. You should check him out. I'm not saying his methods of madness are perfect, but he has a message that works. He'll even say he stole all his wisdom from God and your grandmother (both great sources!).

Provision

After an exciting weekend in my future city with my future hubby, I am settling back into the mundane life of an overworked graduate student. As you may or may not know, I am currently in the midst of what I consider to be the coolest accounting job possible, well as cool as accounting can be. As much as I love where I work, I must admit that the work itself sometimes causes my mind to wander just a bit. Today as I plugged away at yet another spreadsheet, I reflected on my whirlwind three day weekend. The hubby-to-be and I had what I would term a revolutionary weekend - we found our potential future apartment AND church home. The move from sweet home Alabama is becoming more and more REAL. As excited as I am to begin this new chapter in life, I am also leary of the change. I'm a creature of habit. I like planning, organizing and categorizing (hence, why I am an accountant). I like to minimize risk. Yet, as much as I would love to create a spreadsheet for the next five months, I know it's impossible. Sometimes I forget that I am not in charge of the plan for my life. In my moments of panic when I realize that in five months I an unemployed, ex-student, ex-Cullmanite, ex-Brown, ex-sorority girl who is potentially homeless due to lack of employment, I remind myself to breathe and recite "God provides." He didn't provide five years of education (and boy, did He PROVIDE for those five years), five internships, and an eight year relationship to suddenly drop me when it is time to USE said education/internship experience and marry said boy.

Why is it that we tend to worry about what God WILL provide without realizing what He HAS provided?

The Lord promises to provide what we NEED. He always proves faithful.

I felt I wrote this with the risk of sounding like a church-camp kid (you know, the ones who ALWAYS have the answer and spout the "RIGHT" verbage...), but honestly, it is humbling to realize that my entire identity is changing, but not really changing at the same time. I may not wear the same hats I have for the past five years, but I am still me. I am still a child of God. He still provides for my daily bread (figuratively speaking).

So, my buzz word for the next five months - PROVISION.

MIA

I just realized I have been MIA for almost an entire MONTH. The past 3 weeks have been filled to the brim. What has consumed my time?

1. Christmas
2. Ski/DC trip
3. Work

A list of 3 seems trivial, but seriously, these 3 events have zapped every moment of my "break." This year was the FIRST year that Drew and I have attempted the family holiday thing. In the past we have each gone our merry ways, then found another time to do a couple/parent gift swap. Since we're getting hitched, we took the plunge and coordinated the Christmas holiday. Woah Nelly, was I tired when the 2 days of holiday fun came to a close. Don't get me wrong-I loved the family time, but I felt drained. I really wanted to "play" with my Christmas goodies. Santa was uber generous and gifted me with a KitchenAid mixer (wowza!!!), a monogramming sewing machine (look out for monogram OVERLOAD) AND a plain-jane sewing machine (to practice on so I don't destroy the monogramming one my 1st time out). I had to unwrap all these amazing "toys," then set each aside without sufficient play-time. Ba-humbug.

Then my family hit the road for the wilds of West Virginia. Cue scene from Coal Miner's Daughter...and don't forget, "I hear banjos..." I hate when people judge AL, but let's be honest, as much as I love Sweet Home AL, a lot of judgement is justified. So, I judged WV just a little. I affectionately call my family's lake place our Redneck Yatch Club. Now I can say I have skied the Redneck Alps. We left the glamour of WV for the streets of DC. My family must be closely related to the Clampetts. So, listen to a story about Jed (um, I mean Andy) the millionaire (um, I mean camo wearer) who waltzed into an unnamed national site with a pocket knife in his pocket. In his defense, the kid has literally been conditioned that wearing pants = carrying pocket knife. Let's just say, I WILL NOT be the least bit surprised if he is added to the National No-Fly list...

Finally, after a full week with 5 people, 1 minivan and 63313461651 hours of driving, we cruised back in to AL. And I lept right back to work. Whew, I am tired just writing about the adventure.

Friday Favorites

Every time my family plans a vacation, I check online for the nearest outlet shopping center. I love when we pack-up the car and head to Destin, FL. I always know that I will spend ALL of my "trip money" in the J. Crew Outlet store.

I LOVE IT.

A few months ago, J. Crew opened a new part to its already fabulous website - J. Crew Factory. Oh la la, the J. Crew Outlet is now at my fingertips every Friday-Sunday. Here are a few favorites from the today's wonderful sale.

The best part about every item I liked was the PRICE TAG. Everything I found was below $50, which is a STEAL for J. Crew.

If you caught the shopping bug, you can find J. Crew Factory here. But remember, it's only open Friday -Sunday.