Dresses and Trashwhite

Last Saturday I was so excited to go try on wedding dresses with my mom. I got to my appointment at D****'s Bridal at little early, which is not usual for me. I like to be right on time. It was CHAOS inside. There were brides picking up dresses, prom shoppers and several others trying dresses on. I realized mom and I were not going to be in a private room, like "Say Yes to the Dress," but I'm not modest, so whatever.

But then as I was trying on the third dress, a pale red-headed girl comes out of the room beside me all tatted up wearing a red dress (which we later heard that she was trying on for her sister's wedding THAT day). I noticed her other sister from the corner of my eye wearing a shower cap with rollers under it. She couldn't have been more than 22 so age was not a factor and she had rotten teeth. Both of the trashwhite sisters then began critiquing my dresses. I looked at mom and we made a beeline for the tiny dressing room laughing hysterically and plotting our escape. I wish now that I had my camera.

After recovering over lunch at Panera, we tried Alfred Angelo bridal, which was much more private and slightly more classy. We found some we liked but nothing I couldn't live without. This weekend, I'm going to Daytona to see Amanda and we're going to bravely try D****'s Bridal in Port Orange. We'll see how it goes......

Wedding bells

It's an amazing feeling getting engaged to the man of your dreams. I still have to pinch myself sometimes. It is so fun and exciting to be able to plan a wedding and talk about getting married.

Scott has been really good about the new madness, but he did ask me on Saturday if I'd be this manic the whole year. I've been online and scouring bridal magazines nearly nonstop. We searched together for honeymoons for a few hours though. For years I've put the idea of a wedding out of my head and hadn't really thought about what I really want.

On vacation after the proposal we sat in the hot tub on the deck looking for shooting stars (we saw 4 between the two of us) and talking about what we wanted for the wedding. Yeah, it was pretty great....

We pretty much decided on a mountain wedding weekend for our parents, siblings and best friends. We hope not to offend all of the extended families, but we really want to relax and enjoy our wedding. Plus we don't want to go into debt or make dad shell out a lot of money. We'll be visiting Kentucky, South Carolina and Raleigh for parties as soon as we can and hopefully we can have some live video of the wedding for everyone to watch.

We hope we can rent some houses that are close to each other and DIY the wedding. Then have a pig pickin' for the reception.

I just wish we didn't have to wait a year, but I suppose I need the time to pull this together long-distance. We have also decided on a Caribbean/Central American beach honeymoon at a luxurious resort. Which one and where, I don't know.

We're Engaged!!!!

We just got home from our amazing vacation. As most of you know, we got engaged! I didn't want to broadcast it until we could tell Scott's parents in person and see the joy in their faces. We told them today, and they were thrilled. So I'm now the future Mrs. Scott Whittamore! How weird is that?

On Monday morning, April 5, Scott and I woke up at sunrise to enjoy the view of Nantahala Gorge on the deck of our yurt at Falling Waters Resort. We were staying in yurt #8, the most private. I was preoccupied with setting up the camera for a photo, and Scott said he was going to the car and asked if I wanted anything. "Just some hot chocolate," I said. He returned from the car and reached out to hug me. He looked in my eyes and said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me before getting down on one knee with the most beautiful ring I've seen. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," I squealed. I had no idea it was going to happen and was completely surprised by the 7:30 a.m. proposal. Those who know me well know I don't function well in the early morning hours. But it was more perfect than I imagined it would be.

My dad and Judy came to visit and stay the night, so we ran down to their yurt to tell them the good news. I was relieved that dad welcomed Scott and called him the son he never had instead of telling him again about his shotgun. Luckily dad has always loved Scott and so has my mom.

Now for the wedding planning. Anyone have a chateau they'd like to donate for the big day?

Elk and views

Today we woke up early to drive 2 hours to Cataloochee in Smoky Mountain National Park to see the elk in the valley. The trip was about 30-40 miles, but the last 10 or so were on a winding one-lane dirt road with no guardrails all the way up and over the mountain.

Yesterday we had some car trouble after climbing a big mountain and got stuck in Waynesville for an hour or so. By the grace of God or good karma we rented the last car, a Ford Explorer, at the Enterprise that was only open for another hour. The nice lady at the desk called Earl at his garage and he said to bring the car right over. Otherwise we were going to have to have it towed to the Volkswagon dealership in Asheville and maybe never make it to the cabin. But we did make it to check in to our cabin see the gorgeous sunset view.



Today was great. After finding a few elk at Cataloochee and waking up at 5:30 a.m., we drove back on the Blue Ridge Parkway to hike and see Waterrock Knob and a little bit of remaining snow. It is the second highest point on the Parkway, and it was beautiful. But hot! It was 74 degrees at the top of the mountain. And the car thermometer read 90 degrees in town.
We had dinner in Bryson City after hiking a few more waterfalls at Deep Creek. Then we drove up the Road to Nowhere into the park. I would write more but we're exhausted. More pics to come soon!

Bryson City, Yurts and Smoky Mountain National Park

We're now outside of Bryson City staying in our yurt and hanging out on the deck with Dad and Judy. We have a great view of the Nantahala Gorge from our deck. And the stars are spectacular.....


From Macon, Ga., we drove up to Athens and around the campus of UGA. Very beautiful. Then we made a beeline for the Dillard House and ate a huge family style meal of ribs, country ham, fried chicken, country fried steak, biscuits, cornbread, cabbage casserole, green beans, black-eyed peas, sweet potato souffle, greens, coleslaw, tomato-cucumber salad, potatoes, and blackberry cobbler with ice cream. And yes we tried it all! And it was good! so good.

After filling our bellies we drove up to Dillsboro and stayed at a hotel near the river.

Tomorrow we check in to our cabin.

Here's a photo of the Bryson City courthouse.

On the road again again

We're on Interstate 75 about an hour outside of Macon. I can't wait to get off the interstate tomorrow and start vacation. We're headed to Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a little hiking and relaxation in our hot tub with a view. Stay tuned for updates. On to Athens in the morning and then to a famous southern family-style restaurant called Dillard House. We've heard its realllllly good!