Making Progress

The past few weeks have been full of lots of excitement and fun! Last Friday, I was able to take a day off of work to pick up the keys for our new apartment!!  I spent the whole morning cleaning and brainstorming the layouts and decorations for our new space. Geoffrey was able to take the afternoon off, and we celebrated by grabbing a late lunch at a local spot right up the street, and made lists of improvements and ideas that we had for the place.  

Saturday was Geoff's birthday, and we started the day by joining his department at work to serve the homeless community downtown.  It was such a great opportunity to serve with his co-workers, get to meet and get to know the staff, and see what an impact the corporation has on the city.  We set up several tables of food including home-made chili and baked goods, with a big grill for hot dogs and other snacks for them to take with them.  We were able to serve over 150 people for lunch, and hopefully offer encouragement and kind words in their time of hardship. 

We left that afternoon to head towards Lexington where we went to meet our parents to celebrate our new home and Geoffrey! My parents were able to bring an old sofa and my futon down so that we at least have some seating space in the living area while we get everything set up and decide what furniture we will want in the future. We all went to dinner at one of our favorites in Lexington, Flight Deck, and the in-laws had good time to get to know each other.  After dinner we had Lynn's wonderful "earthquake cake" (delicious layers of chocolate, cream cheese, coconut and pecans...) and ice cream and had Geoffrey open gifts.  It was such a great time to laugh and enjoy each others' company, and Geoffrey and I are so thankful and feel so blessed that our families get along so well.

Sunday afternoon we hit up all the usual spots for pre- move-in needs: Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond,  and Wal-mart for a couple of things we wanted to accomplish.  It was a bit overwhelming at first to start from scratch, but we were happy to find that our tastes are similar and we were able to make pretty quick decisions on what we wanted.  We found a futon cover and slipcover for the couch, and a double curtain rod to add a little color and let light through the french doors in the dining area. We were able to get all of these hung and put together by this weekend, so the place is really starting to feel a little more homey. Although I'll live there for a few months alone, it really is starting to feel like our space as we are investing in it together and spending time on it.

Friday night I drove to Greenville to spend the night with my family and prep for a very busy Saturday! Mom and Mary Grace and I all went to the reception venue to talk details and confirm some plans that we had made on our first visit. I'm SO EXCITED to see it all coming together!! We were able to see them setting up for an event that night, so it really gave me a good idea of how great it will look on our wedding day! Following TWIGS, we went to taste a lot of delicious cake and decided on what I wanted.  It wasn't too hard to figure out -- the filling and icing I chose were gone first, as opposed to the others that were almost untouched!

After an eventful morning, I was so looking forward to seeing my old Clemson roomies and celebrate the future baby Zadie!! Such sweet time reminiscing and catching up on each others' lives and congratulating Maria and Sean on their daughter-to-be. So thankful to have that time with them and to be a part of something so special.