Wedding Week! - Girls (& Guys) With Drinks: UK INVASION!

My sweet family came in waves the week of the wedding. It was the first time they had been to visit me and I was over the moon!! My cousin & aunt were so lovely as to throw me a shower affectionately called: Girls w/Drinks: UK Invasion. My cousin & aunt worked from across the country to pull the evening together figuring out dinner spots and bars. It ended up being one of the favorite evenings of that time.

The Thursday before the wedding, my cousin, aunt and I spent the day lunching and shopping before getting ready to go to dinner at a local pub. Before we left, though, I was informed that all the ladies who came to girls with drinks would be wearing a Union Jack flag! We had to represent, right?! But I got the sweetest gift...my younger cousin's personal Union Jack flag to wear as my own cape for the evening! He couldn't be here, but sent his very well worn flag just for me....

After a couple of happy tears and lots of hugs it was off to dinner! The food was yummy, the drinks were awesome and the company was far better than anything I could have hoped for. The best part? The night only got BETTER!

After dinner, we cabbed our way to the Highlands in Atlanta to one of my favorite pubs, Hand in Hand. We were met by my hubby to be, his brother, cousin, MY brother and a few other friends & family members who were just coming into town. It was a big happy reunion and we had such fun catching up over drinks!!

Girls with Drinks was the official start off of wedding weekend because after that it was parties and meeting relatives and rehearsals and more parties. I will forever have such fond memories of that evening...it was surreal to look around the bar at the end of the night at our friends and family who had all perfectly come together to celebrate us.

My cousin

Cheers with G&T's before the night began

Gotta have bangers and mash!

My bro!

My sweet Ashley!

So, so fun!

My sweet Emily

Fun in the English phone booth!

We just can't help ourselves!

Comments

Goodbye.

“I don’t know if I should congratulate you or console you.” - Craig “How about both?” - Me This was a conversation in our kitchen earlier this week. After a year and a half of weekly therapy, I had my last session with my therapist Tuesday. Not because I was over it or because it wasn’t working or because he retired. Nope. Because we got to a place where we could both say I’ve got the tools I need to move on. I have to say that there is no timeline for therapy and every situation is unique. I moved on from intensive therapy with my therapist because that it was worked for ME. I am certainly no expert and I have a feeling this isn’t the end of my therapy forever, but I do know that my experience with the right person allowed me to heal in ways I literally never thought possible. And it gave me the experience of a healthy “goodbye”. I was never prepared for that, so when we set an end date (not-so-coincidentally my Nanna’s birthday), it was hard to process. No one talks about

It's a Funny Feeling

Let's be honest, I've been riding my bike more this year than the last 3 years COMBINED. While that's sad for the last couple of summers, it's great for this one. And this girl. Thanks to some riding buddies who are calm and patient, I've been able to get out and ride more in the city whereas before even the thought of riding in Buckhead scared the living daylights out of me. I've encouraged myself when I really, REALLY don't want to ride and would prefer to go home after a long day and drink a glass of wine. I've pushed myself to go a little further than I felt I could. I faced some fears. Riding over I-285 during rush hour traffic giggling because I was having a way better time than those commuters! I was out this evening by myself on a local rail-to-trail and it was glorious. The trail was quiet with very few people on it, the weather was great and I just felt good! I trucked along at my best pace yet and kept thinking to myself how

Patsy.

A friend sent this video to me and when I watched it, I was struck more by the feelings it brought up around the content than the story itself. Christen Reighter's story is an interesting and frustrating insight into what it means to NOT want a child. I invite you to watch this. Her experience is not unique and needs to be talked about. Even if you have kids. Or want them. What struck me most was what she says during her TedTalk: "I have believed having children was an extension of womanhood, not the definition." Truth is, I've been struggling with this lately. Not the fact that I'm longing for children. I'd be fibbing if I said there is a very tiny part of me that wonders what this will feel like when I get to the end of life. HOWEVER. That feeling isn't strong enough for me to want to find out. I don't feel like having children should be thought of as a "keeping the fingers crossed" kind of situation. If you aren't sure you'l

A Lovely Life

Looking For Something?