I may be getting married in June but I'm Certainly no June...

Im no June Cleaver, that is

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am a terrible cook. I'm okay with this this fact. really I am. I'm al a fast learner and have been ever so slowly trying my hand at this mystery wizardry called cooking.My first adventure as you all know from previous posts was Christmas Dinner. Except for a few tears and some burnt Crescent rolls I would say the dinner was successful. Mr. Coastie said he liked the burnt rolls (yeah right) but at least he was a good sport. The rest of the dinner aside being quite beige (not much color, Tom Colicchio would certainly have Padma telling me to pack my knives and leave for the lack of color and plating creativity) was delish if I d say so myself. and Mr. Coastie got totake a bucn of left overs on duty for the remainder of the week. And if he was just being nice and didnt actually like my dinner, ill never know and at least it looked pretty:

The remainder of Christmas was great, we went to the Movies to see Chronicles of Narnia and drove t check out some Christmas lights. Im loving this mini vacay from the life of a Med student! We're having Christmas number 2 with my parents in a few days when Mr. Coastie gets off duty and then we're both off to the Capital One Bowl for NYE and to see Michigan State vs Alabama (my parents Christmas gift to us) Its Mr. Coastie's first bowl game so it should be fun and we get to spend NYE in Orlando with one of my Bridesmaids and her boyfriend!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and Ill leave you with some pictures of our little Christmas morning

Its Beginning to look alot like Christmas!

One week until Christmas Eve! I love this time of year, its absolutely my favorite, I love the weather and the fun and the parties and the food  and new years and remembering what its all about (giving myself a spiritual check up, Christmas is a good time to make sure youre on the right path when it comes to God).

This Christmas is going to be a VERY different one.  Mr. Coastie is unfortunately on duty Chrismas eve and Christmas Day and can't leave town. Thus it will be our first Christmas just the two of us. Im (well WE're) going to attempt to cook a big Christmas dinner for ourselves and everything! For those of you who know me you know what a scary thought this is. I imagine there will be lots of phone calls made to Momma Doctor and Momma Coastie by the end of the night. whats on the menu you ask? Well I figured we just cook a chicken since there is only two of us no need for turkey, plus its SUPER easy to do a whole chicken (ive actually done it before!) so we'll do a whole chicken stuffed with some veggies like onions and carrots garlic, of course were going to do mashed potatoes, Im not attempting gravy, my mom is making me some that ill reheat. after all it IS our first time, you think i can handle gravy? I dont! were also doing stuffing and I want to make green bean casserole as well. So if anyone has any good easy recipes/ suggestions for me let me know!

Last week when we were home we decorated my families Christmas Tree and It was really nice to have Mr. Coastie be a part of it this year, it was a fun little moment! Momma Doctor even bought us our first ornament for our own tree

So yesterday when I got to Mr. Coastie's (after an agonizing 8 hour drive post 4 hour exam) I arrived to an adorable little tree decorated with gator ornaments (good choice Coastie, good choice)  so we put up our stockings and added our new ornament (above) and the ones we bought at Brunner's Christmas Wonderland (world's largest Christmas store, its in Frankenmeuth, It was on the travel channel and its AWESOME) last year. and voila we have our very own (Charlie brown-esque) Christmas Tree and our stockings (hand made by Mr. Coastie's mom) hung by the fireplace :)

Im officially 1/8th of a doctor!

First semester of medical school is officially done! It feels nice to know that Ive made it here. it seems like just yesterday my roommate and I were freaking out the first week of school wondering how we were going to get through. And here we are! on the other side of semester one!

the next thing on the list is White Coat Ceremony. Ive been looking forward to that since they day I got accepted to school. its not a fancy to do we really just walk across a stage and get a coat put on us, but its my very first REALY white coat, name embroidered and all (even though I'll have to get my name taken out and redone over the summer). Its happening at the end of January and since we only get 3 tickets Mr. Coastie won't be able to come (but thats okay because its the same day as one of his REALLY good friends from home's wedding, so it gives him an excuse to miss it and get to go to Michigan)


I must admit there is something fabulous about knowing that I have nothing to do (but wedding planning of course) for 2 and half weeks! we do ahve some assigned pharmacology reading but chances are ill not be doing that over break. It sounds lame but excited to watch TV again. I miss my terrible Bravo shows!

Im lucky i get to spend a few days with Mr. Coastie and the  after break he's coming to soFla for 9 whole days!

Also Just last week we got a chance to go to one of my old friends weddings. I love weddings. im a sucker for them and I always cry. no really ALWAYS. you dont even want to know how badly ill be blubbering at our big day. In any case it was tons of fun and even though it was in the midst of finals im glad I got a chance to go! so just a quick congratuations to the new Mrs. Peters! you looked beautiful melissa :)

long breaks are always too short

Welp, here we are on the flip side of a "long break" funny how my entire week off seemed like just a day off. regardless of how short it may have seemed thanksgiving was still a much needed rest. I've got 3 weeks straight of finals and then I will have officially made it through my first semester of medical school. crazy. I remember back in august when I felt like this semester would never end, when I was scared and confused and overwhelmed at the idea of being in medical school. and now? I'm in a groove. Ive figured out how this all works and am settled into a routine and a way of life that is incredibly difficult and taxing but I love it none the less. Some days all I wonder if I'm crazy for doing this but most days I know this is where I belong. The next three weeks will definitely be crazy I've got 3 exams a practical and an OSCE so lets cross our fingers i come through unscathed! and then its Christmas break! I've got lots on the agenda for the break as far as wedding planning goes. Bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, registry, booking hotel, several craft trips to michaels and making/addressing save the dates. so I'll definitely be busy!

over thanksgiving I had a meeting with a florist to discuss flowers and centerpieces etc. for the wedding. I should be getting a mock up/ proposal and quote in a week or so and will be deciding if I'll be using her. Most likely I'll end up making my own centerpieces to save money but i figured if she is doing our bouquets and bouts i might as well see what she comes up with for the centerpieces as well! as far as bouquets are concerned Im still looking at things like this:

I spent the rest f the break studying, bummer, i know. we had our thanksgiving dinner on friday so that Mr. Coastie could be in attendance since he was on duty on thanksgiving day. So even though it was a day late it was just as yummy!

Saturday we tried to go to the FSU/UF game but couldn't get tickets so we just spent some time tailgating with  Seminole MOH and Brother Groomsman which was tons of fun, until of course my gator boys lost. terribly. oh well you can't win em all!

And last but not least, just before break my roommate and I got our appartment into the christmas spirit, we decided that since we don't have a fireplace, we improvised and made one (reason number 400 the chalk board wall is amazing!)

note the flames (drawn by me) and the stockings (real) pinned to the mantle (fake, drawn by the roomie) oh and of course our immaculately decorated Christmas tree!

commence holiday season :)

We're complete!

as you all (may or may not) know I have introduced to you all but one of my bridal party members. up until now I had been saving one spot. I started a new phase in my life not long after I got engaged and I knew that I would most likely meet someone in this new place that I wanted to share my day with so I decided to save one bridesmaid spot.  I am happy to announce that the bridal party is officially complete!

I decided a few weeks ago who I wanted to ask to be a part of the wedding. She has become a very close friend and certainly the best friend that I have here in South Florida. With alot of people around me in this new setting turning out to be not the person i thought they were she has remained true and there for me through it all. we've suffered through exams and nights out and gossip and even emergency room visits together. So while we havent known each other for that long I feel very blessed to have her in my life and am very excited for her to be a part of Mr. Coastie and I's big day. 

so over an oh so fancy dinner at friendy's I popped the question: will you be my bridesmaid. and after some ridiculously loud screams that warrented funny looks from our waiter (who later congratulated me on my wedding and her on her "new position as a bridesmaid" ) she said yes. and of course she immediately went home and look up yellow heels and emailed me a list of websites.clearly shes going to be a great bridesmaid.

so without further ado I introduce to you Dr. Bridesmaid:

Sneak peak!

our photographer just sent me the sneak peak of a few of our engagement pictures!! eek im VERY excited, we should get them all back in about 2 more weeks but check feel free to check these few out

Our photos were done by Linsey at Lindsey Lou photography . she is GREAT and I cant wait to see the rest of them :)

Coming soon!

Im so excited I can barely contain it! Our Engagement pictures are done!! We havent seen any of them yet and should be getting a preview by the end of this week and all of them in 3 weeks. Im so very excited to see them. We had ALOT of fun shooting them. the first half were taken at Railroad square art park which is a nifty little place in Tallahassee that has tons of colorful backdrops. the second half we went for something fun and headed out to a playground for a few fun shots. Im so excited to see how they turned out and can't wait to get our save the dates made and sent out. ill post a link as soon as the preview comes out!

decorating the aisle

as of now my decorations for the wedding consist of a folder on my computer of pictures and ideas, I havent quite materialized everything but I was taking a studied break and searching some of my favorite websites and started thinking about aisle decorations. Let's be honest the aisle is one of the focal points of the ceremony so its got to look perfect. I originally had this in mind:

Something like this is still up in the air but i came across this the other day and fell in love:

(imagine with yellow lanterns and black ribbons) what do you think? the paper lanterns would be easier to manage than the floral aisle liners and it would add more color Im thinking it might just be what im looking for.

freedom, maybe....

As you could have guessed I've  made it past anatomy!  we are a couple weeks post anatomy but there has been some major adjusting going on in my time management since I have some relative freedom these days. In anycase I came out of anatomy with an Amazing grade so it seems like all my hard work is paying off and i feel a little like this:

Moving on the rest of school is going good, the new schedule is pretty amazing and im definitely getting in the groove of this whole med school thing, which is good since ill be doing it for the next 3 years. My roommate and I tend to live off of things like this:(all the essentials a good student needs, wine candy, coffee and meatonin)

Last weekend I got a chance spur of the moment to go home which was a nice surprise. Mr Coastie brought me a few surprises :)

 and Mr. Coastie and I headed out to the FSU game (ewwww FSU, but he wanted to go so i was forced to make a sacrifice and watch the team I hate play football, but its football so I cant really turn it down)

Things on the wedding front are moving along Ive started a draft of the programs which ill be posting once i get the template done, we have our hotels narrowed down and are going to be booking our blocks soon so all of our guests can get their reservations made. Im currently on the search for some perfect engagement picture outfits i need a hirt for our casual pictures and a dress for the fancy ones, i haven't seemed to find anything that is perfect yet, but I've stil got a couple weeks so fingers crossed :)

Meetings and Delays

were officially one week away from the 8 month mark. wow. cant even believe it. good news wedding planning is slowly creeping back to the forefront of things on my to-do list.  I was fortunate enough to get a chance to go home this weekend and get some wedding things done. We had originally planned to have our engagement pictures taken on saturday but our photographer had to reschedule b/c her camera broke (well really one of the lenses) its sort f a long story but we decided it would be best to move it back. good news is this gives me an extra month to find something cute to wear since in the rush of my hell week of exams i didn't have time to go shopping. the bad news is we scheduled the day of a good friend's wedding Nov. 6th so that day will definitely be a little hectic with pictures in the morning and wedding in the afternoon. But part of being in different towns with crazy schedules means when we come home there isn't a lot of down time. anyways Lindsey Miller of lindsey lou photography is doing our photos and our wedding so check her out! I can't wait to have our engagement shoot done!

we also met with our wedding DJ this weekend. I'm very excited to work with him he seems like he knows pretty much everything there is to know and he runs all the timing and everything with no need for a coordinator, he doesn't advertise he is strictly word of mouth so I am very excited to work with him. during the meeting as he was discussing songs and timing of things my mom started crying, it was pretty hysterical that dots and lines on paper and a description of walking down the aisle made her cry, we're going to have a problem when the wedding ACTUALLY is here!

and we've finally got a list compiled of hotel options to block off rooms for the out of town guests and will hopefully be making the final decision soon, so that's one more thing to check off the list!

and lastly, remember back in the day when i said there is a single bridesmaid spot that I have yet to reveal? that will be coming in a post that is right around the corner :)

The most fabulous news of all is that I am one week until the end of anatomy, a mere 7 days until the final and I get my life back! well, sort of. Wish me luck!

the home stretch

GREAT NEWS! I've officially finished exam 3 of 4 of my ridiculous anatomy course you have all been hearing so many complaints about. im in the middle of what is affectionately known as "med school hell week" in which we've had 4 exams, a practical and 2 patient encounters" I've still got one exam Friday a pt encounter Wednesday and another exam next Tuesday, so I'm not done but I'm through the worst of the exam. while excited I pretty much feel like this

But its okay because the end is in sight!

In wedding news, We've officially got our photographer booked and are getting our real engagement pictures taken October 2. Im really excited, she is super sweet and I love her work!  Im looking forward to taking a break from school to enjoy being engaged and doing some wedding stuff for a weekend. We've also got a meeting with our DJ that same weekend, so it'll be busy but I'll have tons of updates to share.

and as a treat for your Monday and those of you who hate Mondays I've got a funny story for you that proves what nerves can make you do. During my patient encounter last week I was so nervous that when the girl next to me walked into her patient room and introduced herself i listened and then when i walked into my room i accidentally introduced myself as "student doctor her last name" that's right folks, i got my name wrong, however, I recovered gracefully by saying "oh Im sorry, im getting married and that's going to be my new last name" while this was a little but of white lie seeing as the last name i used is nothing close to Mr. Coastie's last name, the patient believed me and thought that it was endearing, which made me look a little less like an idiot...... ha ha Goal for this weeks encounter, remember my last name!

Ms Doctor's instruments

Okay so I know i mentioned it in the last post, but my picture was not nearly adequate . im hoping to get it engraved in a few weeks wen i go home to Tallahassee. the good news is my initials now are the same initials I'll have after i get married so what to engrave isnt a big decisions (for those of you that dont know im actually only changing 2 letters in my last to get to my new married name... which means in introducing myself post wedding im sue to have lots of slips to my maiden name) anyways without further ado here is a fabulous picture of the thing that will hang around my neck for the next 10 years or so (or longer if i dont lose it)

 its so pretty, i keep staring at it. i cant help it

Not Laboring on Labor day (aka: a much needed break)

So here we are officially on the other side of labor day weekend. I guess that means were not allowed to wear white anymore right? This summer definitely flew by and I can believe its September already! This year is zooming past. And this Saturday marks the 9th months to go mark in the wedding countdown! we're in single digits, that's big time!

I was lucky enough to have Mr. Coastie down with me for 6 whole days over the last week, it was such a nice break and I loved having him here. My roommate also loved it seeing as he took out the trash and cleaned our kitchen while we were at school, not to mention they watched 5 episodes of Star wars over the last 3 days (mean while i studied cause Star wars doesnt really float my boat). In anycase we had a blast, he got to meet all my friends down here and we went to the beach and went to Myakka state park and stalked some awesome alligators and had a really amazing date night at a restaurant right on the ocean. It was such a good get away from the stress and hectic life that I've had over the last few days. here a few shots from the weekend.

Mr. Coastie Left this morning and I was incredibly sad as usual, but its time to get back to life after a great break. And awaiting for me when I arrived home from school was this baby:

In my opinion, nothing can cheer a girl up quite like her very first brand new stethoscope arriving in the mail. :)

And now its time to get back to the grind, ive got this many notecards to learn tonight:

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

There never seems to be enough time in the day. Im starting to think the calendar and the clock are my enemies. Its amazing how hours can fly by when you've got your head in the books. But regardless there is so much to do my planner looks a little likea disaster with scribbles on every page but things are moving along.

I'm officially halfway through the crash course of anatomy, we're on week 5, which is actually week 6 because there was a week 0, long story. but we've had 2 of four exams and I'm happy to report I got an A on my second exam to go along with my first exam and I have an over all in anatomy right now, which is pretty awesome, I'm pretty proud of myself, I've definitely been working my butt off for that grade, I'm definitely ready for anatomy to be over so I can have my life back.

Luckily i have had a little bit more time to start talking about wedding stuff again, Mr. Coastie and I are hoping to get our engagement pictures done in October, which im VERY excited about, i cant wait for that and we'll be getting save the dates out around Christmas time so that will be my big project over the Christmas break is to get those ready,  Ive got the save the date designed so all i have to do is add in the picture, i may tweak it a little bit, not completely sure yet. We've got catering in the works (thanks mom and dad!) and Mr. Coastie has contacted a DJ were going to meet with in October, so ill be sure to report how that goes.  and when im bored in class I google Places in Dominican Republic and day dream about the tropical paradise were going to for our honeymoon.

This week Mr. Coastie is visiting for the first time since he moved me in, Im pretty excited, I keep reminding myself that I have to continue to study for a week and not get distracted, but we'll see how well that goes. We have big plans to go to Siesta Key and to go see snooty (who is apparently the oldest manatee in captivity) and not to mention watch some gator football which starts this weekend (YAY!). In any case Im beyond excited for Wednesday to roll around! maybe we'll get some wedding planning done while he is here!

Thats about it for now i suppose, back to the grind!

a little of this a little of that

first of all i just realized it was August 17th.  This means i just realized were are less than 10 months away from the big day, which also set me into a minor freak out mode. I feel behind on wedding planning, i have quite a bit of tunnel vision right now on School.

School is going awesome, im kicking some major butt in my anatomy class (which is the only thing we've had exams for and pretty much is running our lives). My best friends are cadavers and professors and books, which is sort of sad. we had our first test last monday and I did awesome, the class avg was an 84 and I came in well over that so im very happy that the hard work and lack of a life or anything besides anatomy in my brain has paid off. I had my first advisor meeting today ( we have to have them monthly) and it was really fun, He basically told me i was doing awesome and he wasnt worried about me at all and to keep on keepin on, so that was nice to hear one fof the professors say i was doing really too. We've got another exam this monday which has about the double the material and is worth double the percentage of our grades so ive definitely been focusing on that.

my blog may end up becoming "how to plan a wedding when you have no time to plan a wedding"  In any case, my parents have talked to a good friend of ours who will be doing the catering and we're going to get a great deal so thats really helpful budget wise. Ive set Mr. Coastie up to call our DJ this week and try to work out some deal with him and Im in talks with our photographer to get organized and get our Engagement pictures done in october. so things are moving along, i just feel like i havent focused on it wedding stuff and I'd love to but every moment of my time seems to be occupied, I guess this means i need to learn better time management!  anyways thats it for now, i promise i will have wedding updates in the near future!

"If you're overwhelmed now, just wait"

hello all! i must apologize for my lack of posts lately,especilly wedding related posts, wedding planning has gone on the back burner quite a bit for the last week or so. Luckily mom and dad doctor are working hard at getting some things done for me while im up to my ears in trying to survive the first few weeks of medical school.

its thursday of our first week and im already exhausted and have been working my butt off every night. as tiring as it is i must admit that i love it. this is what ive been waiting for. This week has been only orientation (ew) and anatomy. anatomy has already hit us like a brick wall, full force. Today Ill meet my first cadaver, im pretty stoked. Next week we start clinical exam, PBL and OPP. which basically means we'll be in full swing. Im adjusting well so far, i dont have time to not adjust. Ive met some awesome people and im really glad that Ive been able to find a niche and some good friends so quickly, I need them and they need me, i guess were all sort of in the same boat here.

in wedding related news Mr. Coastie and I are trying to solidfy some honeymoon plans, we definitely know we're going to the Dominican Republic but we're trying to pick a place and a resort, so thats definitely fun getting to look at all these tropical destinations dreaming of being there instead of n a lecture hall is a nice little day dream.  Its definitely been hard being away from each other again but on the bright side Mr. Coastie recieved an award at his station and was given 3 days off that dont count towards his leave! so In the beginning of September he gets t come spend a week with me, ill be study probably 7/8 of the time hes here but im VERY excited!

Thats my update for now, i should probably get back to paying attention to orientation to clinical exam....

change of scenery

Welp the big move is officially over. Over the lat week Mr. Coastie and I have had a grand tour of Florida from Tampa to Daytona to Tallahassee to Pensacola and Im finally settled in to my home for the next few years. I spent 3 hours hanging curtains this morning, yes three hours, this is what happens when your fiance lives 7 hours away. im forced to do these thing alone and I have no idea what im doing!

My official first day of medical school is one week from tomorrow (eek!) Im  excited, and scared to say the least. This week and next Im spending learning the area and meeting people, its been fun so far. Im happy to be here and excited for everything but very sad to be away from Mr. Coastie. our countdown to when we see each other again is 4 weeks. it seems forever away right now.

most wedding planning has sort of been put on a hold for a couple weeks due to the move and the school starting thing, I need to get back into it soon. BUT remember my post about Lauren Brown photography she has sent me 2 cds with about 200 pictures from that day on it ( shes also posted a couple on her blog so go check em out!) anyways this was fun to get in my mailbox

a quick update

Hello, Hello. Just wanted to pop in and give a quick update on things. The big move to SoFla to start medical school is one week from today (eek!) all my furniture and everything I own with exception to my matress which is sweetly sitting on the floor in my bedroom at my parent's house and a few suitcases are packed and in the garage. Monday its up to me and Mr. Coastie to load it all into a U-Haul and and head down south. Wedding planning is going to be put on a bit of a hold for about a month ago while i get settled in and get my head on straight.

In other news, mommy bridesmaid and wolverine groomsman welcomed their baby girl into the world this past week. So Congrats to them, she is certainly very precious in all her photos! 

In wedding news this week I'm having a meeting with my ring bearer/jr bridesmaid's mom/faux wedding planner to write out an entire calendar for the next year with precise dates and timelines for everything. you know I love my organization! ha ha its nice to have people around who want to help out especially since at the moment none of my bridesmaids are in tallahassee! she doesnt know it yet but MOH seminole is going to become really good friends with my calendar and my planner ( ha ha I love you!). One of my mothers friends has decided to throw me a "bridal tea" not exactly sure what that is but apparently its a very upper class affair and its going to be on daddy's farm (aka a plantation in GA, apparently this is a southern tradition i know nothing about) and this is already in the works even though it wont be till April. The wedding still seems far away but I know this next year is going to fly by!

This weekend Mr. Coastie and I volunteered to be guinea pigs for a friend of ours Lauren Brown photography . She is getting into photography and does an awesome job at it we offered to let her do a little photoshoot with us.Aside from being a million degrees outside it was super fun and im excited to see all the results! Im a girl who LOVES pictures so I jumped at the chance and the sneak peaks look great! check out her blog and see some of her work (shameless plug for my friend ha ha)!

Be our Guest (and sign our guest book!)

When I think about guestbooks at weddings I think about some cousin of the bride standing there watching the line of people sign their names with a pen that took the bride and groom 2 weeks to pick out. I guess I never really "got" guest books, I mean I already know who is here do I really need your names written down all in one place? apparently so.

Lately there is a trend of doing "alternative guest books" as opposed to the traditional just sign your name ordeal. I must admit these things have really brought me around to this whole guest book thing. As I was doing my perusing on weddingbee I came across Miss Eggplant's alternative guestbook post with these:

These are actually from the guestbookstore.com you can buy them online to save some time. Naturally I saw these and fell in love, I had this image of Mr. Coastie and I sitting down after the wedding and reading everyone's cards seeing what funny, sweet and inspiring things they wrote to us. It seems way more personal and not to mention more fun than the traditional sign your name book dont ya think?

Obviously I decided not to buy these, its sort of an expense that I can cut by making them myself, after all I know my way around Microsoft word pretty well. So after much fighting with autoformatting and fonts and lines I made a mock up of our cards and here they are:

Front

 

back ( for some reason this kept uploading sideways and i didnt feel like messing with it so just turn your head)

anywho, I think they turned out pretty well, I'm printing them on cardstock, they will be place on a table with crayons for people to use to fill them out and after the wedding we'll have them bound into a book!