San Diego is for Lovers

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I was leaving Joe behind in North Carolina and heading out to SAN DIEGO! I was beside myself w/excitement. I went out to throw Faye a bridal shower with all of her San Diego friends and spend some quality time in a great city with my best friend. We toured the city, made a day trip to Temecula Wine Country, and ended up having an awesome shower. YAY!On my first day in San Diego, Faye picked me up from the airport and we immediately started celebrating our time together. We went out to dinner that evening and then over to Balboa Park for some after-dinner drinks. Balboa Park is an amazingly built park that houses some beautiful old-world style buildings, tons of gardens that are lit up at night, and even contains the San Diego Zoo. As Faye and I were wondering the grounds that night on our way to the car, we came upon a magnificent fountain that was definitely worth pondering over for a minute. As we were standing there admiring everything, I hear, "Hey Buns." (Sidenote: Joe's nickname for me is Buns.)

I turn around and THERE'S JOE! He starts telling me how he wanted to suprise me on my trip to California and how he missed me and just wanted to be with me. Meanwhile, I see Faye and Ryan tip-toeing off to the side. Before I know it, Joe is down on one knee professing his love and asking me to marry him!

You know my answer! And the rest is history. We celebrated that evening in Balboa Park with champagne and rasberries ... and two of our great friends, Faye & Ryan. It was so magical! I couldn't have asked for anything more. Now ... onto wedding planning!!

Our Baby is Having Babies

Lo and behold, Joe & I walk out on the back porch Saturday morning and our baby tomato plant is having baby tomatoes! We. Were. Ecstatic! I could almost already taste that red deliciousness in my mouth. I can't wait to finally slice one up for my first official tomato sandwich of the summer!
In other planting news ... Ashley & I were cruising around town last week and stumbled upon the most adorable bench that someone had designated for the trash truck. As if! So we whipped Ashley's car onto the sidewalk, popped that potentially beautiful bench in the back of her car, and drove off with the widest grins on our faces. With a little tender loving care ... and some shabby chic white paint, she was restored to health. Now this little bench of love sits on Joe & I's front porch with some petunias adorning her top. I love the look and I love even more the story behind it all.

Mother's Day 2009

This year, I met up with my Nana and Aunt Caroline to celebrate Mother's Day. Nana & Pop drove south to York, SC while Joe & I drove west and we all met up at the Wheless' house. The ladies ended up doing a garden tour and luncheon while the boys did ... what boys do. You know, BB guns and stuff like that. We also celebrated Nana's 70th birthday on Saturday Evening with a lovely dinner in downtown York. It was so great getting together with everyone and especially seeing my Nana. She is currently going through her third bout with cancer and her first round of chemo. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers!

4 Year Anniversary

May 7, 2009. Our 4 year anniversary. I can't even believe it! Sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday when we met and fell in love. And then other times, I can't even remember my life before Joe. But either way, I am so grateful to have spent the past four years with the most genuine, honest, humble, caring, dependable person that I've ever met. I'd rather be with no one else in this entire world. Volim te puno, Josip.

P.S. So this year, we decided to get a 'joint gift' that we could both enjoy and appreciate. And we both totally agreed that we were in desperate need of some new bedding! Shockingly enough, we ended up picking out the same linens on Pottery Barn and knew it was meant to be. Don't you just love the bright colors?! We will definintely be sleeping better from here on out.

Vlado Comes to Town

Yep! That's a-right. Joe's dad, Vlado, came to town last weekend! And what a treat ... to say the least. If you don't know Vlado, let me tell you about him first. He's the hippest, coolest, most laid-back guy you'll ever meet. He's so easy-going and really just loves to laugh and have a good time. On top of that, he's incredibly handsome and the most excellent cook. He was constantly stirring up old Croatian recipes like riba i blitva (fish and greens) every night. Vlado got along famously with all of our friends, too. And really, all in all, it was one of the best weekends we've ever had. We really couldn't have asked for anything more and Joe & I were just so thrilled that we could spend so many great times w/his dad. Vlado, ti si najbolje!

Great food. Great company. Great grappa.

And apparently when you feed a cat hot fish off the grill they tend to stay around for days ... and days. Hvala Vlado.

Anytime the Madzar boys get together, there's bound to be hours dedicated to soccer. In the yard. In the house. At the beach. And we even got in a pro soccer game w/the Hammerheads.

Lots of time spent together & with friends!And luck would have it that Vlado visited on a weekend where Joe was participating in a triathlon. It was a half-Ironman in White Lake, NC. Joe finished in 5 hours and placed 73rd out of 500 men. Not too shabby!

Wedding Planning

A few months back, I was ecstatic to find out that Faye wanted me to be her bestest in her wedding. Her MOH. Her Maid of Honor. And I of course take no challenge lightly. So I was immediately hunting down vendors and aligning everything. With Faye being out in San Diego, I really had to step up my MOH game and get down to business. Luckily w/in months of being engaged, Faye & I both had close to everything worked out. We're very like-minded in the way where we get things done and we get things done right ... and fast.

With the wedding all wrapped up, we now could sit back and relax and get to the fun stuff. Hair. Make-up. Food tasting. Engagement Pictures. Faye & Ryan flew to the east coast last week and Thursday was officially the day we had both been waiting for. It was time to pick out linens ... decide on banana cake w/chocolate frosting or lemon pound cake w/rasberry glaze... and SO MUCH MORE.

It was an absolute blast. And even Joe and Ryan had fun ... at the food tasting. I cannot WAIT for Faye & Ry's BIG day. I just wish them all the best. And I am determined to be the all-time hardest-working MOH anyone could ask for!

Picking out the linens w/help from Faye's mom.

Engagement Pictures.

The bride and her MOH.The happy couple.