I can't wait!
Everyone knows I'm Team JACOB
So, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Saga Continues
Tonight at the wonderful hour of 4:30...I will be watching ECLIPSE!! I will be at Atlantic Station with my wonderful work friends and fellow Twilight Fanatics to join Edward, Bella and Jacob on their next quest! Side note: Maggie is probably the only one who cares, but please share with me in my joy!!
I can't wait!
Everyone knows I'm Team JACOB
So, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
I can't wait!
Everyone knows I'm Team JACOB
So, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Mastropasqua's get hitched!
This past weekend was an in-town weekend. I love Atlanta weekends! Friday night, Ryals and I hit up the Braves game with his brother John and his sweet girlfriend Kelsey. We had dinner at the Chop House and watched the first four innings from our patio seats there. We made it to our seats and drank beer for the remaining innings. The Braves won and after the game, they blacked out Turner field and had an incredible 25 minute or so firework display! It was so beautiful and a great date night!
Saturday I woke up, did some laundry and got in about 4 hours at the pool with Meredith. We got some sun and it's a good thing since Mer is getting married in less than two weeks!!!
I started getting ready around 3:30 for Kelly Noell's wedding. It started at 5 and was at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. It was great and I got to catch up with a lot of older ADPi's and my good friend from school, Jenny (Evans) Long and her husband Trey. The bridesmaid dresses were adorable - Vera Wang short charcoal grey dresses with a mustard yellow band at the waist. All the girls had their hair pulled up and they looked great.
Kelly's dress was gorgeous too! I didn't get many pictures (and only one with her in it), but it was lace up top with a sweetheart neckline and had a satin beige sash at the waist that tied in the back with a bow. The bottom of the dress was a satin material and was gathered and folded down the dress. So pretty!
After the ceremony we headed down to Piedmont Park to the Greystone and started the party! Her colors were yellow and grey and it was just fabulous! I loved the setting.
The Greystone - site of the reception
I loved the modern flower arrangements and dramatic yellow accent lighting!
I loved the design of her cake - might be copying that some day!
We danced the night away. At the end of the night, Kelly had surprised Mark with his favorite - a soft pretzel bar. It was her version of late night food. They were like the pretzels you get at the mall and had about 8 different dips/sauces to dip them in, such as artichoke dip, chocolate, cheese, marinara, etc. Great idea! The couple ran out while we showered them with rose petals and will be enjoying the next week in Turks and Caicos! So jealous!
Lauren and Jenny with the beautiful bride, Kelly
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Saturday I woke up, did some laundry and got in about 4 hours at the pool with Meredith. We got some sun and it's a good thing since Mer is getting married in less than two weeks!!!
I started getting ready around 3:30 for Kelly Noell's wedding. It started at 5 and was at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. It was great and I got to catch up with a lot of older ADPi's and my good friend from school, Jenny (Evans) Long and her husband Trey. The bridesmaid dresses were adorable - Vera Wang short charcoal grey dresses with a mustard yellow band at the waist. All the girls had their hair pulled up and they looked great.
Kelly's dress was gorgeous too! I didn't get many pictures (and only one with her in it), but it was lace up top with a sweetheart neckline and had a satin beige sash at the waist that tied in the back with a bow. The bottom of the dress was a satin material and was gathered and folded down the dress. So pretty!
After the ceremony we headed down to Piedmont Park to the Greystone and started the party! Her colors were yellow and grey and it was just fabulous! I loved the setting.
The Greystone - site of the reception
I loved the modern flower arrangements and dramatic yellow accent lighting!
I loved the design of her cake - might be copying that some day!
We danced the night away. At the end of the night, Kelly had surprised Mark with his favorite - a soft pretzel bar. It was her version of late night food. They were like the pretzels you get at the mall and had about 8 different dips/sauces to dip them in, such as artichoke dip, chocolate, cheese, marinara, etc. Great idea! The couple ran out while we showered them with rose petals and will be enjoying the next week in Turks and Caicos! So jealous!
Lauren and Jenny with the beautiful bride, Kelly
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Finally a Chicago posting!
As I mentioned in a post from months back, I was selected amongst three other employees from my firm to go to NeoCon in Chicago this year. The trip was from June 12th-16th.
The trip started off in a not so great way. Ryals was taking me to the airport and we decided to stop by his office on the way and get his camera for me to use while I was there (I forgot mine - whoopsies). Also, I had the BRILLIANT idea to check in from his office computer before I got to the airport so I would not have to wait in line to check in. Well, when I got online it said FLIGHT CANCELLED in red letters. So I freaked out a little bit and called on of the other girls. She and I both agreed that we should move our reservations to the next available non-stop flight which left ATL at 5 PM. In the meantime, one of the other girls had arrived at the airport and called to tell me she was really confused because in fact our flight was NOT cancelled. So we were all very confused and I tried to change our flight back to the original 12:05 flight that we were on, but it was such a popular flight that all our seats had been snatched up in the short time we changed them. At this point I was very upset. To make a long story short, one of the girls got back on the noon flight by doing standby. I literally sprinted through security and the airport to try to make it and missed it by a hair. I was then put on the 3 PM flight and upgraded to FIRST CLASS! Woohoo. The other two girls did not get to leave Atlanta until 7 PM. What a nightmare.
When I got there, I took a cab by myself to the W Hotel, Lakeshore. I met up with Marybeth who was already drinking and eating appies at the bar. We sat at the bar and had mojitos, chatted about the terrible day of traveling and waited on the other girls. When the other girls finally got there, we had a very late dinner (10:45 Chicago time, almost midnight GA time) at the W. It was fantastic! The place specialized in Tapas so we shared a bunch of them and drank good wine.
Marybeth and I sharing drinks at the lobby bar.
A view of the lobby from our barstools
The next day we woke up to have brunch at a place called Yolk down on Michigan Avenue. It was very tasty. We then walked back to an area on the river to take an architectural boat tour. It was about an hour and a half long and was amazing! I took hundreds of photos, but I will only highlight a few of my favorite buildings.
This is a view of some buildings and you can see the building formerly known as Sears Tower in the background.
The only major skyscraper in Chicago designed by a woman. The balconies are all designed in an organic pattern as you can see.
Great view of the city.
Some interesting condos!
After that we did some shopping at H&M, a massive Forever 21, Gap, you name it. By the time we were done with that, we met up with one of the furniture vendors for some Chicago style pizza. She treated us to deep dish pizza, greek salad and fried ravioli. I was in heaven (hello no diet here).
Look at that pie!
Melissa and me after a long day of sightseeing and shopping!
We went back to our hotel, quickly got ready and went to a cocktail party at a restaurant called NAHA that was hosted by local Atlanta showrooms and furniure vendors. After a few hours there, we took off to a rooftop bar on top of the Wit Hotel. Let me tell you, it was amazing. It was much like the rooftop bar we went to at the Glenn Hotel but with spectacular Chicago views. We called it a night after that.
Melissa and me at the Wit
The next morning the convention began. We had lots of showrooms to see. The Chicago Mart is a massive building and we needed to visit floors 11, 10, 7, 8 and 3 on Monday and Tuesday to see all the showrooms.
Chicago Mart - such a massive building!
We toured all day on Monday and saw so many showrooms. From carpet, to wallcovering, to furniture, to glass - we saw it all! There are so many pictures I can't even begin to post them all. Starting around 3 PM all the showrooms started passing cocktails and hors d'oeuvres - oohh lala! I enjoyed it so much!
Yours truly testing out Knoll's Womb Chair.
The OFS Furniture showroom - so awesome with purple and black theme!
All four of us testing out some chairs at Gunlocke/Allsteel showroom.
Champagne at Shaw's showroom!
Neat wall at Antron's showroom
Exhausted and passing out on a chair at Teknion showroom!
That night, one of our carpet reps took us to the nicest meal I think I have had ever. It was at a very swanky restaurant called Tru. It was one of those restaurants were all the waiters simultaneously put your plate down on the table and the service is a BIG production. I would imagine our check was in the thousands. It was amazing!
The whole group, including Patcraft/Shaw Carpet president Bob Chandler.
Day two - more showrooms to tour. By this time, we were all SPENT! But we saw some neat stuff.
Herman Miller Showroom.
VeenendaalCave with Morgan McDowell @ the Mohawk Carpet showroom.
That night we rushed back to our hotel to get ready for appetizers at Blue Man Group, courtesy of Morgan and the Mohawk Group. We had apps at a cute restaurant and then walked next door to see the Blue Man Group. I had never seen the show before and it was so very entertaining! If it comes to Atlanta, we all need to go see it.
I'm blue dah dah dee dee dee dah dah dah deeee...
When the show was over, we hit Hangge Uppe for some Johnny's Hideaway style dancing! We stayed out with fellow designers and reps until 3 am. Man was I hurting the next day!
Carlos and his wife Alex
Ummmmm....
That's better!
Last day, we all woke up feeling somewhat rough. We did brunch at a small cafe near our hotel and then Marybeth and I walked down to Millenium park to do some sightseeing. I had to see the bean before leaving Chicago. After that we had Pellegrino at a sidewalk cafe and then headed to the airport to leave. Our day of traveling was much easier than the previous one!
Leaving Chicago - about to get on the airplane and who do I run into? The BLUES BROTHERS!
So now I am wondering...when can we go back? Girls Weekend 2011 anyone???
The trip started off in a not so great way. Ryals was taking me to the airport and we decided to stop by his office on the way and get his camera for me to use while I was there (I forgot mine - whoopsies). Also, I had the BRILLIANT idea to check in from his office computer before I got to the airport so I would not have to wait in line to check in. Well, when I got online it said FLIGHT CANCELLED in red letters. So I freaked out a little bit and called on of the other girls. She and I both agreed that we should move our reservations to the next available non-stop flight which left ATL at 5 PM. In the meantime, one of the other girls had arrived at the airport and called to tell me she was really confused because in fact our flight was NOT cancelled. So we were all very confused and I tried to change our flight back to the original 12:05 flight that we were on, but it was such a popular flight that all our seats had been snatched up in the short time we changed them. At this point I was very upset. To make a long story short, one of the girls got back on the noon flight by doing standby. I literally sprinted through security and the airport to try to make it and missed it by a hair. I was then put on the 3 PM flight and upgraded to FIRST CLASS! Woohoo. The other two girls did not get to leave Atlanta until 7 PM. What a nightmare.
When I got there, I took a cab by myself to the W Hotel, Lakeshore. I met up with Marybeth who was already drinking and eating appies at the bar. We sat at the bar and had mojitos, chatted about the terrible day of traveling and waited on the other girls. When the other girls finally got there, we had a very late dinner (10:45 Chicago time, almost midnight GA time) at the W. It was fantastic! The place specialized in Tapas so we shared a bunch of them and drank good wine.
Marybeth and I sharing drinks at the lobby bar.
A view of the lobby from our barstools
The next day we woke up to have brunch at a place called Yolk down on Michigan Avenue. It was very tasty. We then walked back to an area on the river to take an architectural boat tour. It was about an hour and a half long and was amazing! I took hundreds of photos, but I will only highlight a few of my favorite buildings.
This is a view of some buildings and you can see the building formerly known as Sears Tower in the background.
The only major skyscraper in Chicago designed by a woman. The balconies are all designed in an organic pattern as you can see.
Great view of the city.
Some interesting condos!
After that we did some shopping at H&M, a massive Forever 21, Gap, you name it. By the time we were done with that, we met up with one of the furniture vendors for some Chicago style pizza. She treated us to deep dish pizza, greek salad and fried ravioli. I was in heaven (hello no diet here).
Look at that pie!
Melissa and me after a long day of sightseeing and shopping!
We went back to our hotel, quickly got ready and went to a cocktail party at a restaurant called NAHA that was hosted by local Atlanta showrooms and furniure vendors. After a few hours there, we took off to a rooftop bar on top of the Wit Hotel. Let me tell you, it was amazing. It was much like the rooftop bar we went to at the Glenn Hotel but with spectacular Chicago views. We called it a night after that.
Melissa and me at the Wit
The next morning the convention began. We had lots of showrooms to see. The Chicago Mart is a massive building and we needed to visit floors 11, 10, 7, 8 and 3 on Monday and Tuesday to see all the showrooms.
Chicago Mart - such a massive building!
We toured all day on Monday and saw so many showrooms. From carpet, to wallcovering, to furniture, to glass - we saw it all! There are so many pictures I can't even begin to post them all. Starting around 3 PM all the showrooms started passing cocktails and hors d'oeuvres - oohh lala! I enjoyed it so much!
Yours truly testing out Knoll's Womb Chair.
The OFS Furniture showroom - so awesome with purple and black theme!
All four of us testing out some chairs at Gunlocke/Allsteel showroom.
Champagne at Shaw's showroom!
Neat wall at Antron's showroom
Exhausted and passing out on a chair at Teknion showroom!
That night, one of our carpet reps took us to the nicest meal I think I have had ever. It was at a very swanky restaurant called Tru. It was one of those restaurants were all the waiters simultaneously put your plate down on the table and the service is a BIG production. I would imagine our check was in the thousands. It was amazing!
The whole group, including Patcraft/Shaw Carpet president Bob Chandler.
Day two - more showrooms to tour. By this time, we were all SPENT! But we saw some neat stuff.
Herman Miller Showroom.
VeenendaalCave with Morgan McDowell @ the Mohawk Carpet showroom.
That night we rushed back to our hotel to get ready for appetizers at Blue Man Group, courtesy of Morgan and the Mohawk Group. We had apps at a cute restaurant and then walked next door to see the Blue Man Group. I had never seen the show before and it was so very entertaining! If it comes to Atlanta, we all need to go see it.
I'm blue dah dah dee dee dee dah dah dah deeee...
When the show was over, we hit Hangge Uppe for some Johnny's Hideaway style dancing! We stayed out with fellow designers and reps until 3 am. Man was I hurting the next day!
Carlos and his wife Alex
Ummmmm....
That's better!
Last day, we all woke up feeling somewhat rough. We did brunch at a small cafe near our hotel and then Marybeth and I walked down to Millenium park to do some sightseeing. I had to see the bean before leaving Chicago. After that we had Pellegrino at a sidewalk cafe and then headed to the airport to leave. Our day of traveling was much easier than the previous one!
Leaving Chicago - about to get on the airplane and who do I run into? The BLUES BROTHERS!
So now I am wondering...when can we go back? Girls Weekend 2011 anyone???
Monday, June 7, 2010
Engagement Pics
Check out my friend Amy's adorable engagement pictures by Becca Price Photography here. Becca did Brian and Meghan's engagement photos. Amy and Jeff are such a cute couple and Becca has really developed her photography business over the last year! They took their pictures at Serenbe - could not have been cuter!
Can't wait to see some of you girls tonight at Monday Night Girls' Dinner!
Can't wait to see some of you girls tonight at Monday Night Girls' Dinner!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
...and WOW
I feel like I have been so behind on my blogs! I haven't put up a good one for a while! This week has been very busy for me. We have had some changes on our team and work and they have moved one of the designers from our team to a different team in the office. Since she left, not only are we one woman short but we also have gotten in a ton of work! Usually when I do blog postings, I do them during my lunch break, but I have been working through lunch this week!
Also, Renee and I are moving to a different apartment in the same complex. We have been packing every night this week and will make the big move Tuesday. We get the key tonight and I am so excited about our new apartment! My room will be a little bit bigger as well as my closet. Packing and moving is on my list of things that I do NOT want to have to do very often. I feel like such a nomad because I have lived in FOUR different places since I have moved to Atlanta. So that has kept me very busy this week as well.
I have been so lucky during the month of May to have fun things to do every weekend! First, Meredith's bachelorette party in Florida and then a fabulous wedding weekend at The Cloister for Ryals' good friend, John Carson and his now-wife Ashlea. The weekend started out with Ryals and I leaving at noon on Thursday to head to St. Simon's Island. We wanted to avoid the terrible rush hour traffic in Atlanta and have a fun dinner out on the island. We got there around 4:30 and met up with Johnathan and Ben Lyons (Lauren Giles' BF). Let me just tell you all, I am SO proud of Meredith for what she has done so far down at J-Rob's house! It looks so good. She got the cutest rug from Lowe's for their den that I just love!
Once we got settled at their house (we stayed there Thursday night), myself and the 3 boys went and met up with some people over at Coastal Kitchen , a really great restaurant right on the water. Let me just tell you, it was me and about 10 guys, so it was a fun testosterone time. After that, Ryals, Ben, Johnathan and I went to The Crab Trap for dinner. It was mainly fried, but I didn't care! After that, the 4 of us went to Brogen's and sat outside on the porch for drinks and met up with some other members of the wedding party. We called it a night around 1:30 or so.
The next day Meredith got down to SSI around lunch. After grabbing sandwiches at Larry's Giant Subs (my FAV), we went and checked in to our rooms at The Cloister. The title of my blog post comes from the Groom. He texted us earlier in the day and said "just checked into our Beach Club Suite at The Cloister...and WOW". So that was pretty much the theme of the whole weekend. Our rooms were so nice. I couldn't believe that they put all of us up there!
Of course, we hit the Beach Club as soon as we got ready. We spent the majority of the day out in the sun, which was so nice!
After that, it was time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner at The Lodge. We all got on a bus and they took us over there. The Lodge is the resort's golf club and it is such a beautiful setting. We started the night with cocktails on the porch, overlooking the ocean and golf course. A bagpiper played in the background and the sun was setting! Just gorgeous!
The dinner itself was incredible. It was like a mini wedding reception. The decor was beautiful and the food was a three course meal consisting of a wedge salad, a filet/crabcake/mashed potato plate and the Groom's chocolate UGA-themed cake. I was blown away! As the night went on, our table got a little rowdy (thanks the never-ending vino). Everyone had a REALLY good time...
Ryals ESPECIALLY had a good time! :)
The next day, Ryals and I hit the Beach Club early to get a full day in the sun, since all the groomsmen had to start getting ready at 4. We had lunch with the Groom, his family and the Rea's over at the Beach Club buffet. Then we headed down to the beach to get some more sun with the whole gang! The boys hit the road at 4 to go put on their tuxes, so Meredith and I stayed at the pool with the girls until after 5 which was so relaxing.
We got ready for the wedding and headed over to the main hotel for the ceremony and reception. The ceremony was in a garden and it was really classy. They hung chandeliers from the oak trees and the spanish moss made everything look so elegant!
After the ceremony, we walked around the marsh side of the hotel on our way to the reception and captured the sunset. All along the walkway, they had servers with trays of wine, mixed drinks, and appetizers waiting for us!
Once we had a cocktail hour in the courtyard, we went in to the ballroom and it was beautiful. Lots of creams/champagnes/whites as the color scheme. I was blown away. It was a small wedding, but very classy and elegant. We enjoyed a "southern" buffet complete with chicken fried steak, stewed okra and tomatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, etc. They also had a shrimp and grit station which was my favorite. They served little salads out of margarita glasses. The wedding cake was chocolate with white fondant and I definitely enjoyed some of that too!
We danced the night away to Papa Soul (Glenn had them at her wedding - I love them!) and watched the Bride and Groom dance, cut the cake, toss the garter and bouquet and leave in a shower of rose petals and fireworks. It was a fabulous weekend and I can't wait until the next one!
Next up...Johnathan and Meredith...07.10.10
XOXOXOXOXOXO
Also, Renee and I are moving to a different apartment in the same complex. We have been packing every night this week and will make the big move Tuesday. We get the key tonight and I am so excited about our new apartment! My room will be a little bit bigger as well as my closet. Packing and moving is on my list of things that I do NOT want to have to do very often. I feel like such a nomad because I have lived in FOUR different places since I have moved to Atlanta. So that has kept me very busy this week as well.
I have been so lucky during the month of May to have fun things to do every weekend! First, Meredith's bachelorette party in Florida and then a fabulous wedding weekend at The Cloister for Ryals' good friend, John Carson and his now-wife Ashlea. The weekend started out with Ryals and I leaving at noon on Thursday to head to St. Simon's Island. We wanted to avoid the terrible rush hour traffic in Atlanta and have a fun dinner out on the island. We got there around 4:30 and met up with Johnathan and Ben Lyons (Lauren Giles' BF). Let me just tell you all, I am SO proud of Meredith for what she has done so far down at J-Rob's house! It looks so good. She got the cutest rug from Lowe's for their den that I just love!
Once we got settled at their house (we stayed there Thursday night), myself and the 3 boys went and met up with some people over at Coastal Kitchen , a really great restaurant right on the water. Let me just tell you, it was me and about 10 guys, so it was a fun testosterone time. After that, Ryals, Ben, Johnathan and I went to The Crab Trap for dinner. It was mainly fried, but I didn't care! After that, the 4 of us went to Brogen's and sat outside on the porch for drinks and met up with some other members of the wedding party. We called it a night around 1:30 or so.
The next day Meredith got down to SSI around lunch. After grabbing sandwiches at Larry's Giant Subs (my FAV), we went and checked in to our rooms at The Cloister. The title of my blog post comes from the Groom. He texted us earlier in the day and said "just checked into our Beach Club Suite at The Cloister...and WOW". So that was pretty much the theme of the whole weekend. Our rooms were so nice. I couldn't believe that they put all of us up there!
Of course, we hit the Beach Club as soon as we got ready. We spent the majority of the day out in the sun, which was so nice!
After that, it was time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner at The Lodge. We all got on a bus and they took us over there. The Lodge is the resort's golf club and it is such a beautiful setting. We started the night with cocktails on the porch, overlooking the ocean and golf course. A bagpiper played in the background and the sun was setting! Just gorgeous!
The dinner itself was incredible. It was like a mini wedding reception. The decor was beautiful and the food was a three course meal consisting of a wedge salad, a filet/crabcake/mashed potato plate and the Groom's chocolate UGA-themed cake. I was blown away! As the night went on, our table got a little rowdy (thanks the never-ending vino). Everyone had a REALLY good time...
Ryals ESPECIALLY had a good time! :)
The next day, Ryals and I hit the Beach Club early to get a full day in the sun, since all the groomsmen had to start getting ready at 4. We had lunch with the Groom, his family and the Rea's over at the Beach Club buffet. Then we headed down to the beach to get some more sun with the whole gang! The boys hit the road at 4 to go put on their tuxes, so Meredith and I stayed at the pool with the girls until after 5 which was so relaxing.
We got ready for the wedding and headed over to the main hotel for the ceremony and reception. The ceremony was in a garden and it was really classy. They hung chandeliers from the oak trees and the spanish moss made everything look so elegant!
After the ceremony, we walked around the marsh side of the hotel on our way to the reception and captured the sunset. All along the walkway, they had servers with trays of wine, mixed drinks, and appetizers waiting for us!
Once we had a cocktail hour in the courtyard, we went in to the ballroom and it was beautiful. Lots of creams/champagnes/whites as the color scheme. I was blown away. It was a small wedding, but very classy and elegant. We enjoyed a "southern" buffet complete with chicken fried steak, stewed okra and tomatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, etc. They also had a shrimp and grit station which was my favorite. They served little salads out of margarita glasses. The wedding cake was chocolate with white fondant and I definitely enjoyed some of that too!
We danced the night away to Papa Soul (Glenn had them at her wedding - I love them!) and watched the Bride and Groom dance, cut the cake, toss the garter and bouquet and leave in a shower of rose petals and fireworks. It was a fabulous weekend and I can't wait until the next one!
Next up...Johnathan and Meredith...07.10.10
XOXOXOXOXOXO
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