Wedding Bells will be ringing!

Not mine, clearly.

But things are really falling into place for sweet Emily's wedding in February. She has picked out our dresses, the church, the minister, the organist, the florist, the reception site. Almost everything. I am so excited for her!

We will be having her bachelorette party here in town, but doing it in style! We have rooms at a swanky hotel (thank goodness we have a friend that works there! ;)), nice dinners and plenty of time built in for bachelorette type shenanigans. It will be a welcome break from everything football related, so I am really looking forward to it.

I realize I haven't posted in a while, so some updates for you will be required:

1. The season ended with a loss to the no. 11 team in the country and while it was a blow out, we did score a touchdown! RZ has decreed that we never talk about that game again... I can't argue.

2. Savannah was great... for the 24 hours we got to stay and enjoy ourselves. Unfortunately, RZ's grandmother passed away while we were down there. Incredibly sad. So we came back on Sunday morning so he could head to Ohio on Monday.

3. Thanksgiving was incredibly uneventful. Quality time with MAC and the family. Lots of sleeping in, enjoyed every minute of it. Though I did miss RZ while he was away.

4. Recruiting is the devil and might be the death of me. I have been working every day for the past 3 weeks straight. Not kidding, up at 6:30 or 7, everyday. No weekends, Sunday afternoons are my only relief. Party planning and decorating are delightful, but I prefer to do it on my terms. The men in my life have no clue that formal arrangements of red roses would be completely inappropriate for a barbecue lunch with checkered picnic table cloths. Lord, help me.

5. The Nutcracker has swiftly become one of my favorite holiday traditions. Fluffy, Tater and I attended the ballet on Saturday night (I got out of a recruiting meal for one night!) and it was amazing. Second row seats are so close it is almost disconcerting. I have decided that professional ballet dancers' legs frighten me. They could seriously injure/ kill someone. Seriously. Moving on, we added a new part to the tradition though, a pre-ballet Melting Pot extravaganza. The first and last courses were obviously my favorites, a course of entirely bread and cheese and then stuff dipped in chocolate?? Okay, twist my arm, I'm in!

6. More parties than even I know what to do with. I love a good Christmas party, but sweet Mary, this is A LOT. I had to write up a calendar for SOME PEOPLE to be able to keep up... not even kidding.

7. Giant possibility I will be going to Greece and Italy this summer with some girlfriends. Like 99% happening. So stoked.

That's all I've got for now. You have been sufficiently caught up now. I know you feel better now! ;)

Best wishes and blessings,

B

P.S. I still want these for Christmas... just sayin...

The Great Escape

I. Must. Get. Out. Of. Here.

I love my job, I really do. But the stress of the season is wearing on me. And RZ lost it a long time ago. (Since I only have 6 followers and all of them are my close friends, I feel no need to explain who RZ is.) We are both going crazy, and we need to get the heck out of Atlanta!

So, we are taking a trip together. I know. It's soon. But it's still three weeks (two games) away. It will be nice to spend an entire day together because the season just won't allow it right now. He's a coach, so the hours are not exactly conducive to spending time together. We get to see each other for dinners sometimes, during the day occasionally, and when he gets out of class at night, so this will be a big step for us.

We've decided, after much deliberating, to take a trip to Savannah! I've never been, (weird, I know) and so I am really excited. We will be there for three nights and then drive home a few days before Thanksgiving. November 19th, life will be wonderful. I just hope I can make it that long...

November 19, 2010: Real life begins again

November 19, 2010: The day after the last game of the season. For the past few months, it has been as though I've been living a strange little half life. I am completely consumed by a sport that 6 months ago I only marginally cared about. It seems so long ago that I though about days and dates as being individual units, instead of thinking of them in terms of being week long spurts between games.

I've learned a lot about football while I've been here. Like a lot. Probably more than I will ever need to know. But I guess I can drop my knowledge bombs to impress unsuspecting crowds... so that's a plus.

But the negative side is, all that football info is replacing my pop culture knowledge! I don't really have time to sit down and watch TV any more. I used to catch up on Saturdays during the day, but clearly that isn't an option right now. I have to much to do during that time!

I am hoping that after the big move on Friday, I'll be able to sit down and catch up on the things I used to enjoy, like reading and tv and lazing around on Fluffy and Tater's couch. My pop culture radio silence has been kind of refreshing, but I miss having time to sit down and relax!

Any books, tv shows or movies you've read or seen in the last 3 months that you recommend? I've been so out of the loop, I'm going to need your help on this one!

Best wishes and blessings,

Brooke

Big changes ahead!

Hello all!

Sorry it has been a while since I have written! The end of September and beginning of October have been ridiculous and I am still trying to wrap my head around all the randomness and shenanigans that have been going on in my life.

I know one thing though: excitement is everywhere! One of my wonderful best friends, EAB, got engaged last Sunday! She and her boyfriend, now fiancé, have been dating for almost 6 years. I am thrilled beyond words for the two of them. No date has been set yet, but I can't wait for whenever it will be!

And the great news continues! MAC and I are moving in t-minus two weeks! Getting out of the parents house once again and I am super stoked. We found a great two bedroom condo in Buckhead, well within our price range. It's location is perfect, I can be pretty much anywhere I need to go in less than 15 minutes, which is a nice change of pace from my half an hour morning commute. Mom, Dad and I spent the day yesterday working on the furniture I will be taking to the apartment. None of the tables were stained the same color, so we did a complete overhaul and painted them all black! I'll post pictures as soon as we get them done.

As soon as November 19th rolls around, I feel like my life will be back to (semi) normal and I will have delightful things to talk about without thinking about football all the time!

Best wishes and blessings,

Brooke

Heartbreak Warfare, of sorts.

Every once in a while, I will talk about my job. Not often cause thus far, all of my four readers are women and I work for a football team. And typically, those two aren't exactly in perfect harmony. But don't worry, I won't talk about offensive formations that were ineffective or interceptions from a member of our impressive D-Line. No, just the girly side. Feelings and stuff.

Saturday's game was the perfect example of athletics bringing out the best in young men. Their performance against a far inferior team one week earlier was questionable at best. Riding the high from the opening week's win, they faltered and lost to a team they should have easily beaten.

But this game was different. You could tell the spark was back. The idea that they could go out on the field and do their best and achieve something greater than themselves. And they played stunningly. It was like a completely different team had taken the field. They were confident in what they knew, executing their plays well.

As a fan in the stands, it was a GREAT game. The kind of performances you wouldn't expect from a first year team. I couldn't be prouder of the players, coaches and staff. For our team to rise to the occasion like that and be able to compete on that level of play, was truly an amazing sight to see.

The game was a nail biter, honestly. We were neck and neck with a highly ranked team in the FCS (formerly known as Division I AA) the entire time, forcing the game into the first overtime in our football team's short history. It was nerve wracking the entire time.

Sadly though, we lost 34-27 in overtime. And it was a heartbreaker. Watching their faces broken my heart for the second time that day. These guys are now like my sons... though I am pretty sure they don't think of me as a mother figure. So seeing them hurt and be disappointed was incredibly difficult for me.

But Monday is here again. And the excitement for how well they played on Saturday is carrying us toward our first away game this weekend. Wish us luck!

Best wishes and blessings,

Brooke

Dear Darling Big Brother...

An Open Letter (but it's mainly to my big brother):

Dear Darling Big Brother,

I know you have a lot going on in your life, what with the two little ones you are trying to raise to be gentlemen. (Good work so far, by the way.) But the time for gift giving, a.k.a. Christmas, is rapidly approaching.

The past few years, you have gone above and beyond my expectations with gift cards from Swoozies (a gift boutique) and a little something from the store to stave off my craving for something pink and girly until I could get in there myself to buy something! Unfortunately, as you know, Swoozies had to close all Atlanta area stores but two as a part of a financial restructuring after filing for bankruptcy. But as a wonderful, benevolent and kind little sister, I'm not going to expect you or your darling wife to drive 40 minutes south to go get a gift card.

And thus, I propose the alternative. Coralie Bickford-Smith has been designing hip and adorable cloth book covers for classic books for a few years now, but I just saw them in Anthropologie a year or two ago. And I love them. They are the perfect thing for the bookshelf at my new apartment, but I would probably not buy them myself. They are even available on Amazon for your convenience!

So Darling Big Brother and Darling Sister in Law, please take note. No need to rack your brain for a gift this year or worry that I won't like what you got me! And for the sake of making it as easy as possible, I would like the Jane Austen books first. :)

Much love and many blessings,

Brooke

The Joy and Pain of Online Shopping

I don't really care for online shopping. I just don't. Actually, I don't like shopping all that much in general. Blasphemy, you say? I think not! As a tall lady who is a touch larger than the standard sample sizes of 0, 2, or 4, shopping generally isn't the joyous experience you see in movies or on TV. It's not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, it's just not something I would do without a reason.

But I have found that I have a shopping obsession. And it's not necessarily a good thing... I. Love. Gilt Groupe.

For those of you that don't know, Gilt Groupe, is a website that has massive sales on designer everything. And not obscure designers you've never heard of. Tory Burch, Kate Spade, 7 jeans. You get the picture. I'm not a stickler for designer brands by any stretch of the imagination. I don't typically follow stylish trends in fashion, but if I see something I like, that's affordable, and high quality, I'll totally get it.

Some of the items they have are just a little, tiny bit out of my price range. But every once in a while, they will have something I absolutely NEED... Like these shoes.

As a friend of mine said, "I need a second job that requires no work...just getting paid...to support my shopping needs." In this case, too true, EFS, too true.

Best wishes and blessings,

Brooke

The Wonderful World of Blogging

I used to think that blogging was such a self-serving form of communication. The early blogs were so focused on the emotional well-being of the author, that it served little purpose beyond the writer's personal catharsis.

Now, it's a different world. Blogs have turned into a great way to share ideas, get to know people in a different way and at the same time keep up with the adventures of old and new friends.

So I start this blog with the grand intention of being able to let people know about my creative endeavors for my new apartment with my longtime friend, as well as what styles I love at that second, and those great stories from my life that I can't help but share.

Best wishes and blessings,

Brooke