Bachelorette Party....Sonoma/Napa/San Fran Style!!!

As I mentioned last week, my bach party was coming up and low and behold it happened and we all survived to talk about it!!! What an experience it was....I had such a great time that I will obviously share with you all!!!

The first feat of the trip was having everyone arrive on time into SFO....now this may not seem like a huge task but we had people coming from Nebraska, Baltimore, Iowa, and Denver and in the midst of all the Furloughs going on, we had reason to be concerned. But somehow, someway we all landed on time and within an hour of each other and after Kendra let the Hertz woman know who was boss, we were on our way to wine country....

The drive up to wine country was a blast. No one knew where we were going (P.T.L for iphones/google maps), so that made things a little interesting. But K-Dogg (Kendra Schaa for the local readers) took the wheel and really only nearly crashed one or two times (who's counting), but other than that we were in good hands and arrived with minimal "F" bombs! Night 1 was such a blast....as Jen put it today, "it's been a while since I felt so happy for one evening that I never wanted to end!" This is so true. When we arrived at our resort in Sonoma we had 30 minutes to primp for dinner....clothes were flying, hair spray was fogging the room and multiple perfumes were being sprayed, however we managed to arrive on time at The Girl and the Fig. Once we arrived, we were not sorry....we had some of the best food and drank AH-MAZ-ING local wine and literally laughed until we all cried....like so much my abs hurt the next day (not kidding!). Dinner was on their quaint patio and was truly a magical experience. I loved every minute of it, but the night could not end there. We finished the night with a little visit to the hot tub under the Sonoma stars and continued our friendly banter with a few San Fran locals. Whether they liked it or not, we got to know them and they certainly got to know us!! #iowanice!! This took us into the wee hours of the morning and multiple bottles of bubbles and wine later so we headed to bed in prep for our day of wineries and fun in the Napa Valley!!!!

just getting seated!!!

a little later in the night.....

we are cracking up about my hair....there were moments it looked like i had a rat tail!!! not cute!!!

checking the evidence!!

complete hysteric!!! and notice i discontinued the side pony!?!?

fun fun!!!!

delicious food!!! yumm-OOOO!!!!

and i can't even talk about desert.....delectable.

fun one!!! so pretty!!!

Saturday was day 2 and definitely a day for the record books. I have not seen such beauty in God's landscape in quite some time....well since the last time I was skiing. I do live in the Rocky Mountains afterall!! :). But anywho, way prettier than I ever expected it to be and to say the weather was perfect is a complete understatement. All the locals were saying how lucky we were to experience such rare beautiful weather and to enjoy every minute...umm, yeah, not a problem, don't worry!! The day began with a run/walk for everyone (despite our wine-O headaches) along with delish brunch. Then we were off..... The first winery we went to was called Kuleto Estates and it seriously had some of the prettiest views and most delicious wine. The Estate itself sits on top of a cliff/bluff over looking the entire Napa Valley and you could see for miles. Ane the Estate itself was gorgeous....blooming flowers, sunshine, horses, kind people and yummy wine.....who would not be in heaven??!! We were treated like queens and got to end up trying SIX  different wines that were paired with real yummy cheeses and our host was a delight. She loved us and kept the wine flowing.....so much I bought TWO fancy bottles!!! ;). But I seriously can't say enough about this place.....it's beauty is hard to describe in words!!! None of us wanted to leave. The second winery we went to was a smaller winery and aimed more at the locals, but also fabulous. We lost track of time at Kuleto so we had to rush to make it before closing time and we arrived just in the knick of time.....or perhaps the fact that the host was from Des Moines made all the difference!!!!!!!!!! She treated us to three different wines (all fantastic) for FREE!!!!! I'm telling you, it pays to be #iowanice!! :)) After that my lovely girlfriends treated me to a beautiful picnic/lingerie shower in a park amongst all the beautiful vines!! ;). Such a special moment as each person said a little diddy on why I was special and gave some advice for the future. It was neat and definitely made me teary!! And I now have a whole stash of lingerie I would have never bought for myself. Girlfriends are the best!!! ;). We closed out the night at a restaurant called Cooks, which did not disappoint. However, we had drank and ate all day so our bellies were a bit full by the time we ended up there!! Our night cap came as quite a surprise from my momma all the way back in Iowa!!! She didn't make the bach trip herself, but she delivered what every girls loves....a couples bottles of champagne to the room!!! Perfect way to end the night. Thanks momma!!

beautiful pic....at the vineyard!!!

karen came!!!!! brand new baby and all!!!!!!! she's such a trooper!!!

jamebo and myself....one of many pics since early high school!!! #love!!

i love this picture as well. everything is so green and lush.

and you can't forget about fancy!!!!

meg was our true volunteer photographer!!! love that!!!

denver girls at the vineyard!!!!

the hills and vines did not end!!!

a little bit more!!

so gorgeous

vines!!!!

i love this group photo.....the colors are so bright!!!

notice the lake in the background....the host said she normally doesn't see it b/c it's usually never clear enough!!

so pretty....looking over the whole valley!!

love this as well....but a little windy!!!

group shot....pretty, but silly wind!!!!

the flowers were everywhere!!!

this is where we sat for our tasting!!! just perfect!!!

i couldn't get enough!!!

towards the end of the tasting!!!

right before dinner at cooks!!!

dinner time!!!

dinner time photos

ahhh.....hats off to a great party planner!!!

Sunday was bittersweet as we all packed up to make our way back to San Fran and disperse!!! But not without a little San Fran/Cali fun!!! After dropping a few people off and slimming the group down to four, we took to the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoyed ourselves a little scenery. This is something I have always wanted to do and let me tell you the sights were gorgeous and the day was clear....again, we lucked out!!! But the cliffs accompanied by the ocean and sunshine were astounding. We took tons of pics and made so many visual memories!! After driving up and down the coast a bit and filling the rest of the space on our camera cards, we headed back to San Fran for a little peak at the city. We only had a few hours, so there is more to cover the next I go, but for the initial visit, I think we did pretty good. We walked along the water/Fisherman's Warf and saw all the beautiful sites from there and took in the local company. Next up, after googling the "10 best things to do in San Fran," we went and checked out Telegraph Hill.....and this area of town is GORGEOUS!!! It was the epitome of San Fran or what you see in pictures/books/on TV....the homes were stacked (and crazy cool) and the flowers were some of the freshest and most delightful I have seen in quite some time. Everything was in full bloom and was so bright and colorful, I'm not sure the pictures do it justice. We also had incredible views from atop the hill and saw the initial part of the sun setting over the Golden Gate Bridge.....all in all, wonderful experience!!!! After that, WE. WERE. EXHAUSTED and Kendra was slated to fly out for her red eye flight back to B-More. I stayed over one more night with Fancy and we both flew out with the early birds Monday morning!!! And that's a wrap my friends!!!

the cost!!!! love this!!!!

scenic off the PCH

one more!!

the view was so breath taking!!!!

definite framer!!!

the bay in San Fran!!!

the board walk!!

such a clear and beautiful day!!!

the city along the water!! pretty cool!!!

one more!!!

telegraph hill....incredibly beautiful. my pics below do not do it justice!!!!

fresh flowers everywhere!!!

we were right next to these people's homes....so fun!!!

meg and i want to live here!!!

we had to hide and sit b/c a local resident came out of his door!!! we were so obvious though....we could not stop giggling!!!

our sonoma resort.....unbelievable!!!

pool time!!!

i loved this little sitting area!!!

more of the coast!!! love it!!!

coast line off PCH!!

 i wouldn't stop!!! ;)

for real, i would not stop....notice the next few pics!!! :)))

so windy, but i love this picture and thought is was perfect for closing off the post!!!!!

Phewww.....I'm just tired thinking about it again, but would go back this weekend if someone said I had to. It was such a great weekend and I can't thank my gal pals enough....especially Kendra and Jamie who planned so much and orchestrated 7 girls so perfectly. AMAZING!!!!! I felt refreshed when I returned and am officially ready to close out my 30 years of single-hood!!! Good thing, because we are saying "I DO" in 44 days!!!!!! :)))

Okay, as always stay tuned.....AK turns 30 on Friday. If you think of it (and have his digits), let him know how much he is loved!!! 30 is a big deal and I'm excited to celebrate with him!!!!!! :)

Cheers. A-Team

Dress Fitting + Wedding Shower #2.

And I'm back....has to be a record since the early blogging days. I love the looks of a finished post, but finding the time while working night shift is a bit of a challenge!!! Anyways.... this past weekend is definitely worth posting about....

My mom and three of her good friends (including Fancy who frequents the blog as a main character!) plus Fancy's daughter Anna, and my sister in law Marcy met me in Chicago for a girls weekend that included my initial wedding dress fitting and my/our second wedding shower!! Why do I say "my" wedding shower you ask?? Well that's easy, because AK did not join me for this shower, nor did he receive any of the gifts OR write any of the thank yous....really he has it easy. He will benefit from all the gifts, but doesn't have to endure any of the work. Is this a sign of my future!?!? :)

But first things first.....DRESS FITTING!!! I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for my dress fitting. I mean it's kind of a funny situation, right? You pick out your dress months in advance, you take one picture for memory and then don't see the dress again until the day of the fitting, in which case you've seen a zillion pintrest pictures, not to mention all the pictures of all my friends that are brides right now. I was scared to death I would get there and hate it, or get there and it wouldn't fit, or even worse, get there and realize my friend bought the same one as we both randomly shopped at the same boutique and our weddings are three months apart!! But low and behold none of those things happened. And the dress was just as beautiful as I remembered and I was still in love with it as much as I was when I initially tried it on....just like AK!! (#barf) But then came the fun stuff.....the final touches!! These ladies at Mira Couture had me tucked, pinned and tightened faster than you could say "I DO!" :) I was so nervous though, because I had to decide things on the fly....like more a-line or more mermaid fit, or french bustle vs traditional bustle, or just touching the ground or dragging on the ground a 1/2 inch, etc!!! I mean, I don't know. And I do take care of incredibly sick kids for a living, so I realize these decisions are really minimal compared to some in life, but the bottom line is you want to look your best, because I plan to really only wear this dress once!!!! In the end, however the choices I made turned out PERFECT and when I say PERFECT, I mean PERFECT. I've never in my life had a dress or anything for that matter fit like this gown does. When these people mean custom, they mean it and I would recommend them to absolutely anyone. When I put the dress on for the last time on Monday, I just stood there and cried. It is so beautiful and lovely and fits so well, I wanted to run down the isle, right then and there!!! In those moments, I'm very glad we are doing a traditional church wedding as opposed to a destination of some sort!!! But for now you will have to use your imagination......and stay tuned for pictures June 15th and not a minute sooner. AK prefers to be surprised!!!!

okay this is all you get.....mira the designer/owner herself!!! otherwise stayed tuned...54 days until "I DO"

Next up, wedding shower #2. Since AK's parents live an hour outside of Chicago (give or take traffic or whether there is a Bears and/or White Sox game), we decided to make the most ofmy visit and plan a shower with his family while we were close by. AK's mom (Peggy) and his sister (Melissa) hosted a beautiful shower with the theme of all things "love!" Really they went above and beyond and planned a delicious meal, organized way too many games, and opened their home up to lots of guests, including a rowdy bunch from Iowa!! ;). Oh and the sangria was tasty as well!! But in all seriousness I was overwhelmed with how gracious AK's aunts, cousins and family were in all the gifts they showered us with. It's so exciting to open all the fun stuff and have it be exactly what you wished for! It's like an extra Christmas or birthday!!! Ha!!! Unfortunately for me though, we live too far away and the TSA frowns upon extra bags on the plane, so all the gifts had to stay put for the time being. Hopefully we can convince one of our loved ones to drive out after the wedding with all the gifts or we will have to rent a U Haul trailer to get everything back to CO. The joys of living at distance!!! Thanks again Peggy and Melissa.....we all had a great time and you really out did yourself!!!!

one of our shower gifts from AK's Mom and Dad....EXCELLENT gift. we play all the time and are pretty competitive...shocking, i'm sure!!!

the host + the bride to be!!!

just the hosts....the spread was beautiful!

no surprise to anyone....going straight for dessert!!! ;)

And a few added bonuses to the weekend....my mom found her Mother of the Bride dress at Nordstrom. It was a dress I had seen online, but her friends convinced her to try it on.....looks beautiful and I can't wait to see her rock it on the day of the wedding. So elegant and so pretty and will match me perfectly!!! Can't wait. I also had opportunities to sneak in a few visits with girlfriends while we were there. A visit with Kristyn over dinner.....she makes pregnancy look good.....
And Sunday  night I met up with my good friend Lindsey for a little sushi date. So fun getting caught up with some good Chicago gals!!
And "when in Rome".....a girl must shop!!! :)) I found a little dress for a few upcoming events, the main one being my bachelorette party in Sonoma/Napa in ONE WEEK!!!!!!

Bonus pics:

all us girls...enjoying the embassy suites!!!

skyline. i squeezed in a long run the last day i was in CHI....still is pretty!! and still is grey....just sayin!! ;)

kristyn at 21.5 weeks....she's a rockstar and makes pregnancy look easy and beautiful!!!

quick stop at wrigley!!! you can't resist a picture!!!

As always stay tuned.....this weekend AK and I go on our bach parties and the week after that AK turns 30!!!!!!!! Big happs!!!!

Cheers!!!A-Team!

Wedding Shower #1 + Easter!!!!

Hello, hello....again (assuming of course, the same people read my blog!!) Well I would like to give myself a pat on the back, because this post will hopefully go viral less than 2 weeks from the last post....good job busy bride, night shift nurse worker, and part time puppy trainer!!! :)) (Sometimes you gotta toot your own horn, so, "toot toot!!") ;)

So last weekend or two weekends ago, however you think of past time, we were home for Easter. I was lucky enough to be home for a full week and Andy joined me and my family (soon to be his in-laws!) for the weekend. I would love to say this trip was relaxing and provided lots of quality time with the people I love most, but that was definitely not the case. Let me just touch on a few of the highlights!!!

Wedding plans: The plans are coming along nicely and I have really only been told once by my loving mother that I completely overreacted and freaked out!!! Depends on how you look at the situation I guess, but there was one freak out, which surrounded a big miscommunication regarding the tent we rented for our reception. Apparently I assumed the tent company knew where the tent is going to be placed for the reception and guaranteed all would be well, but not. so. much. This lead to a huge scare that it may not fit in the space we had planned on, that the tent company would not be able to get it's equipment close enough to put the tent up, that the country club may go back on it's word due to precious grass being damaged,  etc. Without going into extensive I detail, I will summarize that I pretty much flipped out!!! This included sobbing, yelling, maybe a few choice words, etc. But AK came to my rescue and provided the calmness/problem solving solutions (per ushh) and my brother met us at the country club, hooked us up with the grounds keeper who said the reception+tent was still a go!!! Phewww, because in our area of small town/cornfield country/Midwest Iowa, there are not a lot of places to host 300+ guests for an event you prefer to be fancier than casual!!! Other than that our flowers are placed (and gorgeous), our ceremony is planned (which made me cry...obvs!), our menu is complete (yummo!), our ceremony music is finalized (beautiful), our invitations are about to be sent out (lovely), and low and behold the freaking tent will fit (P.T.L. praise the Lord!!!! :) The week was a success I must say!!! Yay for a pretty wedding to come!!!

the official spot of the tent/reception location as of April 1st and I'm not foolin!!! ;)

 Wedding Shower: Saturday night before Easter some good friends of my parents hosted what I think is the best wedding shower I have witnessed to date!!! They (Jaspers, Buttons, Webbs, Barnards, and Haskins) hosted a couples shower that has to go down in history. It was so fun, AK challenged me afterward saying: "I thought you said *wedding/baby showers are kind of boring, and I beg to differ, because that was a blast!!" My response: "When something is done right, it's always enjoyable!!" ;). To set the scene.....there was amazing food, THREE signature cocktails, enough champagne for the entire county, and such fun company I didn't stop laughing or chatting all night (neither did AK)!!! And the night ended with some fantastic gifts.....WHO on earth wouldn't want to be at that party?? Just sayin!!! ;)). A big, big thank you to all of them. We had a blast and in my opinion was just a brief look at what our wedding/reception will be like!!!!
*to note: this was JUST a wedding shower even though I lump wedding and baby showers into the same genre!! :). hopefully our baby shower is a ways off....also just sayin!!!* ;) 

jame+lace+me.....only missing one and that would be k-dogg!!! ;) thanks for coming you two!!!!!

full house with lots of love!!!!

Easter: Easter is always kind of a big deal at my house!! We are definitely church goin folk, so we celebrate our risen Savior with fine food and lots of people!!! I think our crowd on Easter topped out at roughly 30!! Lots a lot!!! Our church service was fabulous as always and Sunday was a day to relax and enjoy the people I don't get to see very often. Unfortunately AK and I had some miscommunication many weeks back so he actually had to leave directly after we ate.....basically dined and dashed if you will!! ;). But it all worked out, he made his flight back to D-town (meaning Denver for my silly Detroit readers!!) and was off to DC the next day for work. One thing we don't do is a live a slow or lazy life!! :) My favorite Easter moments included: church, easter egg hunts/baskets, my mom's carrot cake (that stuff could be famous, no joke....perfect mix of carrot cake + incredible frosting!!), my visit with my Uncle Randy/Aunt Nancy annnnd it ended with a view of "Father of the Bride" with my mom and the Gehrk. George Stanley Banks and the Gehrk have striking similarities!! ;) Just kidding, but I did tease Gehrk on a few occasions, but all things being fair.....he has been more than amazing when it comes to the wedding. We are a blessed engaged couple!!

the little boys were over serious pics....the silly upside down picture was my recco....you're welcome!! so cute!!!

who doesn't love boys in sear sucker bow ties+pants!!!! adorbs!!!!!

looking for the Easter bunny!! too cute!!!!

a quick shot of me and AK....happy easter ya'lll!!!!

A few upcoming events this week: a juice cleanse for myself (multiple reasons surround this decision, but either way, WISH. ME. LUCK as I love food/eating/drinking wine!) and Friday I'm off to Chicago for my dress fitting and our second wedding shower!! Stay tuned.....