It's been awhile

It's been a month again since we posted, but things have been pretty crazy. I finished my internship in Gainesville on December 5 and am now officially done with my Master's Degree! On my last day, we had cupcakes and punch, the kids made me really cute cards, and my teacher gave me group photos of our different classes, and a super industrial classroom pencil sharpener. It was a relief to be done with this semester, but it was also kind of sad to leave the kids. They all kept asking me, "Why can't you stay here and teach us?!" and they wanted to know if they were invited to the wedding. Mylia wanted to be the flower girl.

I packed all of my stuff up and drove to Tallahassee that day with an EXTREMELY full car. I couldn't see out the back at all! We went out to dinner with Becky that night at Carrabba's to celebrate me being done, and on Saturday we went over to our friends Andrew and Marisa's apartment to watch the Gators chomp Alabama. Becky and I also made an amazing stadium cake. We were quite happy with the results.


Throughout the rest of the week, Zak had to write and edit several papers, and worked all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I unpacked and organized everything (we have no boxes left!), ran errands, decorated, Christmas shopped, did laundry, and made Christmas gifts. We also got health insurance, car insurance, renter's insurance, changed bank accounts, paid bills, and all of that other fun stuff. It was a busy busy week.

The most exciting part of the week is that I got a JOB! I had applied for a position in November with the Florida Center for Reading Research (which is run by FSU) and while I was in Tallahassee, they e-mailed me and asked if I was still interested. The job description indicated that you had to be available 3 mornings of the week and the pay started at $8/hour. I figured that it would be better than nothing so I went in Friday morning for an interview. The job is seasonal, but for the first 6 weeks while we're in Tallahassee I'll be able to get 30 hours a week and she offered me more money because of all of my education and experience! It's really the perfect job because I'm not locked into anything, I'll be in 7 different elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and a high school, and I get to put research experience through a university on my resume! Friday was a little crazy because I then had to go back to get my social security card, get fingerprinted at the school board, get an FSU ID card, etc. etc., but it was worth it.

Zak had his bachelor party this weekend, where they played military-style laser tag and lots and lots of video games. We can't believe that there's only TWELVE days to go! Lots of final meetings this week, but everything is under control. Can't wait for Christmas and family time next week and then the wedding on Saturday!

love,
z&j

Favorite New Recipe!

Zak and I made delicious Cheese Tortellini Soup with Shrimp and I wanted to share the recipe because it was amazing and extremely easy....enjoy!

love, z&j

Ingredients

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
15 oz. marinara sauce
1 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 (9 oz.) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/2 lb. small cooked shrimp
1 cup loose-pack, frozen petite peas, thawed

Directions

1. Combine broth, sauce, wine and pepper in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

2. Add shrimp and peas; cook for an additional 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Home sweet home!

Our apartment finally resembles a home! The walls are still pretty bare, but we now have furniture and kitchen things and all kinds of fun stuff. This past weekend, Zak's parents, my parents, my brother Tom and his girlfriend Chelsea, and Becky all helped us move everything into the apartment. After we managed to locate my extremely mature brother, Thomas, (who hid in the closet for 15 minutes while we started to unload), it didn't take too long to get all the furniture upstairs. (I can say that because I didn't have to carry the really heavy stuff....) We had a wonderful visit, and it was great that everyone got to see our new place. We celebrated that night with delicious burgers from Ted's Montana Grill, our new favorite Tallahassee restaurant.

After everyone left Sunday morning, Zak and I got to work unpacking and organizing everything. We made several Wal-Mart and Target runs, and by the time I left to go back to Gainesville it actually looked put together! Here are a couple of photos. You can see all of them by clicking here.

Welcome to our new home--Plantations at Killearn!

View from the front door.

Entertainment Center and Family Room

Our balcony overlooks pretty Tallahassee trees!

Kitchen and Dining Room

Kitchen with fun rugs and tea pot and dish towels.

Our bedroom with Zak's bedding.

Our bathroom.

Busy busy busy

I haven't been very good about updating lately, and we've been doing lots of exciting things! The weekend of October 11, I had a bridal shower in Gville, and October 18 I had a bridal shower at home. The one in Gville was thrown by Jemma and Becky, and was just a few of my closest friends. It was a very relaxed night...perfect after a crazy crazy week! The shower at home was thrown by two of my bridesmaids, Colleen and Christine, and was a luau-theme. There were pineapples, leis, all of my favorite foods, fun games, wonderful people and we got lots of things for our new home. Colleen and Christine put lots of planning into the shower... they even had Rachel record a video asking me questions about Zak and played it for one of the games!

This past weekend, Zak and I flew to New York City to visit Rachel and Fabian! It was amazing just seeing them, so being in the city was an added bonus. We walked ALL OVER the city and saw EVERYTHING. Here's a quick rundown of our trip:

Friday-->
-Breakfast at the Seinfeld diner
-Walk through Central Park to 'Museum Mile'
-The Met
-Fifth Ave - FAO Schwarz, Mac store, Tiffany & Co.

Rachel and I on the roof of the Met

Saturday --> Zak's Birthday!
-Empire State Building
-New York Public Library
-Grand Central Station
-Cart food for lunch (Rachel's favorite part of the whole trip...)
-Tour of Rachel's office and NBC in Rockefeller Plaza
-Delicious Irish Pub food on Broadway
-Gypsy at St. James Theatre

Zak and I in front of the ice-skating rink at Rockefeller.

It was EXTREMELY windy on top of the Empire State Building!

Zak's bday Tollhouse Cookie Pie

Sunday-->

-Tour of ABC from Fabian
-Wall Street and Financial District
-World Trade Center site
-Staten Island Ferry
-'Famous' New York Pizza
-Haunted Scavenger Hunt in Greenwich Village

On the Staten Island Ferry with pretty skyline in the background.

Our trip was fantastic and we really didn't want to leave on Monday! To see some more photos, click here for album 1, and here for album 2. There will be more coming! We miss you Rachel and Fabian and can't wait to see you again soon. :-)

Next weekend Jessica's parents and Zak's parents are coming to Tally to bring us all of our shower gifts and all of our furniture for the apartment. Invitations are out and we already started getting RSVPs for the wedding. Less than two months away and we can't wait!

Love to you all!
z&j

Woo-hoo!

We officially have a place to live in Tally! All week long we've been signing and faxing lots of forms back and forth, Friday afternoon we signed the lease, and Zak moved in Saturday morning! It happened really fast, and we're very happy with where we ended up. The complex is called Plantations at Killearn and is right on the edge of a very, very nice part of Tallahassee.

These are some of the things we're excited about:

1. Publix right across the street
2. FRESH MARKET right across the street
3. Maclay Gardens (state park with lots of running trails, kayaking, etc.) only 1.5 miles away
4. 10 elementary schools within 8 miles (all A schools)
5. Vaulted ceilings!
6. Living in the building next to the pool
7. Sweet island with cabinet space in the kitchen
8. Balcony and sliding glass doors
9. Cheaper rent than we were initially told
10. Living in and decorating our new home together!!

We have no pictures now, but as soon as we start getting furniture and decorations and such we will post them. Jess had a fun shower with her gville friends this Friday while Zak was packing and moving, and another shower coming up this weekend! New York in 2 weeks! And only 76 days til we're married! WOO HOO :-)

love, z&j

the countdown continues

Our wedding is exactly THREE MONTHS from today!!

hope for a job

So yesterday was a pretty good day for me. None of my kids were suspended or sent to the BRT (that's pretty unusual). Work got canceled and it was a beautiful day outside, so I got to take Coach running. The Office premiered. I finished Third Grade lesson plans for all of next week. I sent my resume and cover letter out to two more principals in Tallahassee. AND (drumroll please.....) the principal from Hawk's Rise Elementary in Tallahassee called me!!!!!!

I had applied for a fifth grade opening at the school and she said that she saw all of my information on the online application system and was very impressed by all of my experience. She asked if it would be a problem that I was currently living in Gainesville, and when I told her I couldn't start until December, she said she had to fill the position by October. However, she said that she might have a couple maternity leave positions opening up, and that she would make a note of my start date. She finished the conversation by saying, "I look forward to meeting you!"

I was SO excited to finally hear something back, because so far I've applied but haven't even gotten a "No Thanks." Speaking with her definitely gave me hope that I will get a job for January!! It was a wonderful little encouragement along the way....fingers crossed for more job openings!!!

More life and wedding updates later.

love,
j

wedding updates!

Our wedding is only 115 days away! We went home this Labor Day weekend and got LOTS of wedding things done. We bought Zak's wedding band, went to Deer Creek and chose entrees, appetizers, decided room arrangement, timing, and other things, picked out our cake design and flavor, and ordered tuxes! We also started taking care of some of the smaller details like welcome baskets, song choices, and a card box.

Here's a few pictures of our cake tasting:

And handsome Zak in his tux!

We're getting closer and closer and can't wait!

love, z&j

the countdown continues

FOUR MONTHS!!!

we've both been really busy: internship, school, work, sleep, start over. more updates later when we have time to breathe!

love, z&j

good news

Today Zak got home from work and found the following e-mail:

From: Chris Pignatiello

Subject: College of Arts and Sciences Tuition Waiver

Congratulations! I am happy to report that you have been selected to receive a partial tuition waiver for the Fall/Spring 2008-09 semesters. In order to receive this waiver, you must register for at least 9 graduate credit hours of which 8 will be waived. If you are interested in obtaining this waiver, please contact Ms. Ginger Martin, Graduate Advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences, room 010 Longmire Building as soon as possible to complete the necessary paperwork.

Regards,

Michael Creswell

Director, Graduate Studies

Associate Chair, Department of History

This means that 2/3 of Zak's credit hours will be completely paid for! It was completely out of the blue and we are SO excited! Just wanted to share the good news...


love, z&j

Visit to Nole Country

This weekend was full of many exciting things...starting with our first wedding gift! Rachel (one of Jess's bridesmaids) and her boyfriend, Fabian, sent Jess a medium-sized, fairly light box, which she was instructed not to open without Zak. Thankfully, Jess was visiting Zak in Tallahassee a few days later, so the waiting wasn't too unbearable. The box contained two gifts and two cards, with explicit instructions as to the order in which they were to be opened. We opened the first card and present and found a porcelain parrot (apparently no home is complete without one) and Rachel and Fabian were kind enough to supply us with our very own. Next, we got two "I heart NY" t-shirts (Rachel and Fabian live in the city). Finally, we opened a musical card that said WE WERE GOING TO NEW YORK! Rachel, Fabian, and the Reynolds family are buying Zak and I tickets to visit them in the city sometime this Fall. We were completely in shock and are so SO grateful and excited to go!! We're hoping to go sometime in late October.

We love you Rach and Fabian and can't wait to see you!

The rest of the weekend was filled with looking at apartments, wandering around FSU campus, eating yummy BBQ, shopping for mattresses, sweet tea, moving Becky in, and watching the Olympics. It was great helping Becky move in and seeing her awesome new apartment...we know where we'll be spending a lot of our time!! We'll be glad to help Becky make use of her pool, hammocks, full-size indoor basketball court, pool tables, big screen TVs, etc. :-) We also bought a mattress (so Zak finally has a bed other than an air mattress!), and think we found the area of town that we would like to live in. After driving by, we also decided that we are NOT living in FSU married housing. Just think: chain link fence, barbed wire, police tape around one building, playgrounds overgrown by vines and missing roofs. Sketchy. No thanks.

Jess started her internship on Monday. This week is pre-planning and next Monday the kiddies arrive. She's placed in an ESE resource classroom and will have 1st and 3rd grade reading and math groups. It's going to be a challenging semester, but definitely a great experience. Zak will start his orientation next week and register classes, which begin the following week. The rest of the year will be busy and exciting--especially December!! Only four and a half months!

love, z&j

it's official

Zak has officially relocated from Orlando to Tallahassee as of Sunday afternoon. He started work as a valet at a hospital in Tally Monday morning and will be working full days there at least four days/week until school starts. Right now he's sleeping on an air mattress in a room with no furniture (!) but should be getting a mattress, bed frame, dresser and desk in the next two weeks or so. Starting around August 20, he'll be attending FSU and history department orientations, registering for class and starting school! Hopefully he's able to get the classes that he's interested in and still be able to work two days a week as a valet for a little extra saving money. Less than 5 months to go! (15o days to be exact....)

love, z&j

oh those summer niiiiiiiiights

For the past two weeks, my parents rented a home in Pass-A-Grille, a small beach town just south of St. Petersburg. I took time off work and got to spend the whole two weeks there with my Mom and Max (our dog), while other various people came and visited for a couple of days. Over the course of the stay, we saw my aunt, uncle and cousins, my grandparents, Zak, my brother and his girlfriend, Chelsea, my Dad, Becky and her Mom, and our old neighbors, the Stewarts. At one point there were TWELVE of us staying in the little 3 bedroom house. It was a bit crowded and sometimes hectic, but so much fun!

Some highlights from the trip:
-Seeing dolphins while we were swimming in the gulf.
-Learning that crabs can swim on top of the water and pinch you. (Who knew?!)
-Eating a restaurants on decks overlooking the gulf and getting lots of seafood.
-Playing Canasta. A lot.
-Walking to the beach .8 miles from our house.
-Wedding planning.
-Swimming in a pool filled with 4 inflatable gators, 2 normal size beach balls, 1 ginormous beach ball, 1 frisbee, 4 spalsh bombs, 1 football, 1 Hannah Montana Raft, and tons of diving sticks.
-Beautiful sunsets.
-Getting to be with family and friends!

Here's a few photos we took at sunset on the jetty one night while Zak was visiting:





Can't believe summer's almost over, but this was a perfect end to it! love, z&j

Disney Fun!

My reading endorsement classes ended last Thursday, so after work I headed to Orlando for a weekend of relaxation and celebration. Friday and Saturday we went swimming, laid by the pool, made hot dogs, played Canasta, watched Olympic Trials, made cookie cake and read. If you ever want an amazing dessert, spread Publix chocolate chip cookie dough on a cookie sheet, bake, and top with whipped vanilla icing. Seriously. It's incredible.

On Sunday we headed to Disney Coronado Springs Resort where we met up with Zak's parents, and his sister and her family. Kerri and Charlie brought Logan (who just turned 4) and Emma (who just turned 2) down from Georgia for their first Disney experience and we were lucky enough to tag along! Emma has started talking a LOT more and calls Zak 'Gwak' and me 'Jexca.' It's adorable.

We headed to Magic Kingdom on Monday and went on Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain right away. Logan enjoyed Splash Mountain (he warned us all beforehand that we would get 'wetted') but was NOT a fan of Thunder Mountain. Unfortunately, after Thunder Mountain he assumed that all rides entailed darkness, loud noises, and really fast roller coasters. This led to a kicking and screaming fit as we were loading the boats of 'It's A Small World.' As we were on the boat he was yelling "I want to get off! Go the other way!" It took him awhile to calm down because he expected a drop around every corner but by the sixth repetition of the song he stopped crying and was doing okay. Emma's mouth was dropped wide open for the entire duration of the ride and she was pointing at everything! Even though Logan scared half the kids getting on the ride (who probably thought they were headed to their doom) we figure that it will be a GREAT story to tell at his wedding. Remember when you were scared to death of It's a Small World?

After that fiasco, we decided to skip the indoor dark rides like Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion. Logan loved driving the race cars, Philharmagic Orchestra and, most of all, meeting the characters. Emma was not such a fan and never let go of Kerri. She had her nose wrinkled the entire time she was anywhere near the characters, but she did tap Pluto's nose and exclaimed, "I touched it!" Emma's favorite thing of all was the light parade that night. She was waving at every single float and, again, had her mouth wide open. So, so cute!

It was so much fun getting to be there for Logan and Emma's first Disney experience and we're lucky to have such great family. Here's a few pictures for you to enjoy!

love, z&j

just stopped by to say

SIX MONTHS TO GO!!!

that is all.

love, z&j

officially a triathlete!

Yesterday was the Jacksonville Sprint Triathlon and I survived! Zak and I rode up to Jax with my friend Jenn, who also did the triathlon, and her husband, Adam, and were able to stay with friends of theirs. They live about 45 minutes away from Little Talbot Island State Park, so we got up at 5 Saturday morning, loaded the bikes, and drove out for the race. The sun was beginning to rise as we got to the race site, and we picked up our registration packets and checked in for the race. In our packets we had our race numbers to pin on our shirt, a sticker for the front of our helmets, and a sticker for the bike. We also got a swim cap, coded by color for each age group. Mine was lucky yellow!

Afterwards, you went to the body-marking area where they wrote our numbers on both arms, both legs, and put your age group on the back of one leg. I had an 'N' for novice.

Before the race, we had to rack our bikes in the transition area. You hang the bike by the seat on a horizontal rack, and then set up your towel, socks, sneakers, and helmet to be ready for after the swim. Around 7:30 we all went down the boardwalk for the first wave of racers to begin. Each wave started about 3 minutes apart and were sorted by men and women over 39 and under 39. My wave included novice (people who have never done a triathlon before), clydesdale (larger men) and athena (larger women).

When the siren went off to begin the race we ran into the ocean until it was deep enough to swim. The course was 100 meters out to a buoy, 200 meters parallel to the shore, and 100 meters back into shore. I was ready for the distance because I've been training in the pool, but swimming around and on top of a bunch of people was interesting. Also keep in mind that my group included clydesdale, men over 200 pounds, so I was trying to maneuver myself past them, and avoid being kicked. It was really hard to swim with the waves rocking you, no visibility through your goggles, trying to stay on course, and getting salt water in your mouth. I finished the swim fine, but when I got out of the ocean my mouth was tasting very dried out and salty! Not a nice feeling to begin running with, but it was time to begin the transition.

We ran up the beach, across a boardwalk, through the parking lot, and into the transition area, all in bare feet. Once we got there we had to take off our swim cap and goggles, put on shirt, socks and sneakers, clip our helmet before you unracked the bike, and run the bike through to the next transition line. I was afraid I would forget something, but it all went by too quick for me to think. From the transition, we began the 10 mile bike.

The bike was the most boring part for me because by this time most of the racers were pretty spread out. I felt like I was by myself for the majority of the ride, so I couldn't pace myself very well. I thought I was in last place, but I realized when I reached the turn around point that there were plenty of people behind me, I just didn't see them. After the 10 miles, we rode back into the same transition area, reracked the bike, and took off for a 3 mile run.

I knew that this transition would be difficult, but I had NO idea! My legs felt like jelly. By this point, the sun was up, and it was really, really hot. There was absolutely no shade on the run, and 1 water station 1/2 mile into the run, and the same one, 1/2 mile from the finish line. That means we had no water for 2 miles. I ended up alternating running with speed walking just because I couldn't make my legs do anymore. I was SO happy to see the finish line and get a bottle of cold water. My goal was to finish in under an hour and a half and I finished in 1 hour, 19 minutes, so I was very excited!!!


Zak was my personal cheerleader, and official photographer. He got some great shots of Jenn and I before the race, and stayed at each transition point to get some sweet action shots. You can see all the pictures here. Afterwards, we hit Cracker Barrel for an amazing after-the-race feast. We noticed that people were looking at us funny and couldn't figure out why until we realized that Jenn and I still had our numbers written all over us. We think that they suspected us as prison inmates, or mental patients on release for the weekend. After stuffing ourselves we headed back to gville to relax. All in all, a great, although somewhat exhausting, weekend!

decisions decisions decisions

We started registering for stuff a few weekends ago in Orlando, and it was so much fun! It was a lot harder than we thought it would be because there are so many options. A few of our many dilemmas: Do we want an ultra power blender? A blender that is also a food processor? A blender that coordinates with our hand-mixer and toaster oven? What exactly is the difference between 'mega-power' and 'super-power' blenders? We were also in the store wondering exactly how much fruit you would have to eat to make it worth while to buy a cherry pitter, mango slicer, pineapple corer, apple-corer/peeler/slicer, juicer, etc. etc.
We got a free super sweet red swiss army knife bag at Macy's, and were continuously offered free drinks and/or pretzels at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Zak stayed strong and didn't accept any bribery, but I went for the soda. Despite a few complications due to sales people not speaking English, we enjoyed ourselves, and were excited to pick out things for wherever we may be living! We bought our bedspread at the beginning of the summer because it was on sale, and I'm in love with it. Definitely my favorite thing so far.

So we are now officially registered at Crate and Barrel, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Macy's! We added the links to our wedding website, also. Our invitations have been ordered, florist and musicians are FINALLY booked, and we are moving right along!
This weekend we head to Jacksonville because I'm doing a triathlon with my friend Jenn. Zak and her husband, Adam, are going to be our cheerleaders. The race starts with a 400 meter swim in the Atlantic Ocean, then a 10 mile bike ride, followed by a 5K run. Pictures to come! (As long as I survive....) love, z&j

it's about time

So it's been awhile...about two and a half months to be exact. Here's a little update on what's been going on:

--> Graduation: Zak graduated at the beginning of May with his Bachelor's degree in history. Zak's parents and my parents came up to Orlando, and Kerri and Charlie came down with Logan and Emma from Georgia. Graduation was early Saturday morning (Zak had to be there at 7:30!) and the processional started at 9. After a bagpipe-led processional, some speeches, and lots of names, Zak received his empty diploma holder! Yay!
The most entertaining part of the ceremony was courtesy of Logan. After standing up to sing the National Anthem with the entire arena, Logan yelled, "Play Ball!" It was cute and hilarious. Afterwards, we all hung out at the hotel pool and went to Stonewood for graduation celebration.

Zak looked very handsome in his cap and gown...


And Emma and Logan were adorable as always...


--> Moving Out: After 3 years of living together, Colleen and Becky graduated and the condo sold. Before they left, we had Jemma take roomie photos of us. As usual, they turned out awesome. Here are two of my favorites.



We had to pack up everything and move lots of furniture...it's amazing how much stuff can be accumulated in 3 years! Zak came up to help the weekend that Becky and I were moving everything out. I kept saying, "I don't have THAT much," but after two entire days of packing, boxing, loading the car down 3 flights of stairs, moving everything across town in several trips, carrying futons, entertainment centers, desks, lamps, and everything in between, I don't think he believed me anymore. It's all done now, and I am settled in my new home, living with David, Jemma and their 3 dogs, Coach, Vera, and Killian for the next 6 months.

--> Wedding Planning: We've actually gotten a lot done! On our week-long break at home, we looked at wedding bands, tuxes, florists, DJs, ceremony musicians, and invitations. It feels great to have all those little boxes checked off! Most of the big stuff is done, or at least reserved, so now it's on to all the little details. Planning is so much fun!

So that's about it...we'll keep up with this more as the next SEVEN months progress. Can't wait!

Love you all, z&j

back to school, back to school...

Spring break went by WAY too fast, and now we're back in classes again. It's okay though, because the semester is more than half way over. Zak graduates on May 3, only 7ish weeks away! I'll be in school all summer long (yuck), and then do my full time internship in the fall. I'm excited to be in the classroom full time, and doubly excited because I just got a scholarship that covers almost my entire tuition for the fall semester!! Three cheers for free money!
We had a lovely engagement party on the first Sunday of spring break. It was wonderful getting to see lots of friends and family, and we really appreciate everyone who came. The highlight of the week was Christine and Ryan's wedding on Saturday. The ceremony was beautiful, and we had lots of fun at the reception.


I've known Christine since 4th grade, so it's pretty crazy knowing she's actually married. (Mom and Dad's response to this statement: Multiply that by 1000 and you know how WE feel!) We're jealous of Christine and Ryan being married and we're ready for our wedding!! We're not wishing away time, but still, 9 months and 9 days to go...

love, z&j

they're up!

Jemma posted all of our engagement photos after many many hours editing them and they look AMAZING! (Thanks Jemma!!) You can check out the gallery here. They turned out wonderfully, but now we have to choose ONE for save-the-dates.... leave us a comment of your favorites and help us pick!!

love, z&j

FYI

...we have a wedding website! Right now it just has general information, but when the wedding gets closer it will have hotel info, links to our registries, and other specific info for your convenience. You can visit it here.
There's not really any new wedding updates. I've checked off all the boxes in the 9-12 months categories in the dozens of wedding planning checklists I have, so I've actually been focusing on school-- in between planning Christine's bachelorette party, working at Huntington Learning Center, starting to train for a triathlon, and learning photography, of course. Can't wait for spring break in THREE weeks and our engagement party and bridesmaiding in Christine and Ryan's wedding!

love, j

To keep you wanting more

The pictures won't be completely ready until this weekend, but Jemma has posted a few up on her photography blog as she has been editing. She's extremely talented and has lots of good photos you can check out. Click here to visit the blog.

love, z&j

A little snippet

So, today Jessica's friend Jemma took engagement pictures of us all around the Main Street area of Gainesville. It was VERY exciting. A couple of homeless people asked for money, we made goofy pictures, Jessica had problems striking a "serious" pose. It was great. We will not get the pictures for a few days but already got a little taste of what is to come. So far, so good. Here is a sneak peek! love, z&j

drumroll please....

I have my wedding dress!!! After three hours at David's Bridal, much patience from my Mom, Colleen and Christine, and two full racks of dresses later, I found the perfect one. We bought it Friday afternoon, and it is currently hanging in my mom's closet awaiting the big day! I haven't gotten any other accessories yet, but the dress was a very exciting purchase. This weekend we also booked a photographer, so it was a very productive weekend, wedding-wise. I've gotten to check off lots of little boxes on my 'wedding-planning time line.'

We are having engagement photos taken by my friend Jemma this upcoming weekend in Gainesville, which will be fun. I'll post some up when they're done, and hopefully we'll send out some save-the-dates soon. I think that's it for now... Life is good!

love, j

Mi na meala

Because you've always wanted to know...

"The original Irish translation for the word 'honeymoon' is mi na meala, which literally means the 'month of honey.' Irish custom held that the newlyweds would drink Mead at their wedding feast and for a full month after the wedding. In other words, for 'one moon,' hence the term honey moon." -Irish Wedding Traditions

We learned this at Bunratty Castle in Ireland this summer, and although we will NOT be drinking mead for a month (it was nasty!), we do have a honeymoon reservation! We're going to Vilano Beach for five nights and staying in this cute beach-front cottage.

Vilano is only a few miles from St. Augustine, Anastasia State Park and Guana River State Park. We'll have lots of beach time, kayaking, exploring, and relaxing. Also, from November through January, St. Augustine puts on the "Nights of Lights" and lights up the bridges, trees, fort, streets, and everything. It looks beautiful!


Just wanted to keep you updated! love, z&j

Photo Safari at Leu Gardens

Who knew this existed in the middle of Orlando?!
These are just a few of the photos. To see the rest, click here.