So Long Sweet Summer

 Today officially begins pre-planning, which means my summer has come to an end.  :(  But what a fun and fabulous summer it has been!  Of the eight weeks I had off, I went seven different places... phew.

Here is where I spent my summer:

And in case you missed it, here's how I spent my summer:

Hilton Head, SC - Lindsay's Bachelorette Party

Destin, FL - Steph Tuerk's Bachelorette Party

Athens, GA - Lindsay and Travis' Wedding

Warrenton, NC - Windsor and Chris' Wedding

Charleston, SC - Steph Greene's Bachelorette Party

Las Vegas, NV - Amy's Birthday

Atlanta, GA - Steph and Danny's Wedding

Plus a star for good 'old Waynesboro, GA. :)

Unfortunately, in all the craziness I didn't get a chance to go home to see my family, but thankfully we're all meeting at the river for Labor Day Weekend.  And the countdown has definitely begun... 29 days!

Olympics

We have been loving watching the Olympic coverage every night. It is so exciting to see our teams compete in various sports, and I wanted to share my top three favorite moments so far:

Watching Allison Schmitt, a fellow GEORGIA BULLDOG, win the gold in the 200-meter freestyle, which was the first individual swimming gold medal in school history. You go girl!

Watching the Fab Five kick butt on the beam, bars, vault, and floor to bring home the gold!  Did anyone else tear up when they got the official word they won? :)

Watching Michael Phelps and the USA relay team blow the competition out of the water (pun intended) in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle and winning the gold, making Phelps the all-time winningest Olympian.  Nineteen medals, fifteen of which are gold.  What a baller!

Go Team USA!!

Tuerky and Danny Tie the Knot

Another best friend, another wedding!  This past weekend was dedicated to celebrating my college roomie Stephanie and her now-husband Danny in Atlanta, where they are both from, where they met, and where they now live. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the Bridesmaid's Luncheon, but we had a great time at Cafe Intermezzo, where we sipped mimosas, ate salads and sandwhiches, and shared delicious desserts. 

Later that night we divoured pounds of pasta at Maggiano's, where we reminisced about college and told funny stories of the couple.  

We all headed back to the hotel bar where we watched the Opening Ceremonies and partied with Steph's awesome family (like her dad Jim!).

Saturday was very laid back, just like the bride. :)  We met for lunch in her ginormous penthouse room and even got treated to a little Dom Perignon by her sweet husband while getting ready.

We made our way over to the church in a party bus and kept reminding her, "You get married so soon!!"

I didn't get any pictures of the ceremony, but it was in a gorgeous Catholic Church in Buckhead.  After snapping some wedding party pictures, it was back to the party bus to celebrate the newlyweds. 

The reception was at the Intercontinental Hotel, and it was so much fun to watch Mr. and Mrs. Brown have their first dance, cut the cake, and throw the bouquet/garter alongside my best friends from college.  We had the best time and hardly left the dance floor!

And last but not least, we capped off the night back at the hotel bar and may or may not have ordered two big room service pizzas. Apparently not much has changed since our days at Georgia. :)

Much love to the Browns!!

Wonderful Wednesday

Last Wednesday was definitely one for the books!

Gaines and I were leaving out of Atlanta to head to Vegas a few hours after my grandparents were leaving out of Atlanta to head back home to New Hampshire, so we got to meet up with them for breakfast.  It was so good to see them and hear all about their time in Atlanta visiting with my Aunt Jane, Uncle David, cousins Lisa, Ben, and Bethany, and my new second cousin Ariya.  I love you Gram and Papa!!

Then, while we were waiting at the airport my cousin Ben and his precious daughter Bre were waiting only a few gates down to catch their flight to Texas.  He just got engaged, so it was great to see him briefly and catch up and to finally meet my precious second cousin. 

And last, but certainly not least, while we were in Atlanta we heard exciting news that my bff Demetria and her future hubby Matt had their adorable baby Charlie Elizabeth Borges, who weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz.  Even though I haven't met her yet, I'm completely and totally in love already. :)

Happy Thursday!

Vegas

Gaines and I just got back from an awesome little vacation in Las Vegas to celebrate our favorite soon-to-be-thirty-year-old Amy!!

The celebrations started on the plane, when we got free drinks thanks to the bday girl.  No one actually believed that she was turning thirty though. :)

We got in late Wednesday night and stayed up to explore our hotel (the Palazzo, which is attached to the Venetian) and then spent most of Thursday exploring the rest of the Vegas.  

 

And SURPRISE, guess who came along to celebrate?

The Venetian

The Palazzo, Encore, and Wynn

Las Vegas Boulevard

Paris

The Bellagio

That we decorated the room and drank Skinnygirl, had a great dinner at the Grand Lux, and then hit the popular nightclub Tao.

On Friday we headed to the pool in between gambling rounds (craps is such a fun game!).  We later met up with Gaines' parents to see "O," which I highly recommend, and then ended the night at Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan for delicious burgers.

On Saturday we enjoyed another great meal at the Grand Lux, snapped some pictures, and then said farewell to Sin City...

...until next time!