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

Daughter.

When you're estranged from not one, but basically both parents, the heaviness of that can still be palpable. Most days, most weeks, and months even, it's fine. I've learned to navigate questions like, "Where do your parents live?" or the weird feeling in my gut when someone says, "Oh, my mom sent me this from this favorite place of mine." I've learned how to adjust to Mother's and Father's Days by staying off of social media and doing something that makes me happy like getting out into nature. Some of these times are better than others. Here's the thing: whether or not the choice to go no contact with the two people who were supposed to show you all the basis of love was good or not, is incredibly difficult. Because social media is what it is, yesterday was apparently "International Daughters Day". It didn't bother me so much yesterday, but this morning wasn't off to a great start and for some reason, I felt agitated. I ...

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 ab...

Bikes!

Twenty years ago this month, I moved to Georgia and got a job at a local bike shop. My long-term boyfriend from my early twenties was an avid cyclist and bike mechanic. He had gotten a job wrenching at a local shop, Bicycles Unlimited. I was 19 and looking for a retail job since, at that point, it was all I knew. The shop was owned by a family and they were welcoming to this young girl working there with ZERO experience. I started on the sales floor and moved on to inventory management. It was my first foray into the inner workings of small businesses. More importantly, this was my introduction to the bicycle industry which has been one of the most meaningful relationships I've ever had. I'd say 75% of the people I know in my life can be credited to a bicycle. Whether it be through rides, shops, or sponsors... I have met some of the most inspiring and influential people because of a BIKE. Some of the most fulfilling experiences I've had have been on a bike or because of bi...

A Lovely Life

Looking For Something?