Busy

ive read other blogs and articles about how much there is to get done before baby arrives and how much you need to prepare, but did i believe it.

NO.

i grew up with four brothers, all younger, so i experienced my mom pregnant each time. i never noticed how much she did, but what kid notices those types of things. my mom was truly superwoman though! she never once looked weak in front of us kids. i hope to one day be as strong as her, be the true rock for our family. God has blessed me with so many blessings! this year has been the greatest of my life thus far! i married my best friend, went on the most amazing honeymoon and now am expecting the most amazing little boy!

being pregnant is the most amazing time ever! feeling him move is so wonderful! i love his little kicks, true love taps!

we just went for his third ultrasound on tuesday and he is getting so big!
u.s are so amazing now, we could even see his little face. he has the cutest lips and nose!
we cant wait to meet him!
luckily we get to see him one last time before he is born. december 13th, EM and i have to go for S's second echo-cardiogram. thankfully he is perfectly healthy, but for precautionary purposes we have to get him checked out; this allows us to spend a whole hour watching him while they make sure hes A O.K. a truly wonderful hour!

i think my next project is going to be to crochet him a baby blanket. have any of you done that before? any suggestions for patterns or good materials? id love to hear your feedback!

also, check out my little ones page and fun times for a new posts!

XOMB

Hear Hear...A Special Announcement!

we returned from our honeymoon to hit real life quite quickly! our first order of business was visiting ikea to buy some furniture, we were moving from charlottesville to virginia beach! it was a move that would take quite a while for me to get used to.
i grew up in a beach town and just wasn't ready to move from my central va home back to the coast.

there was however one special weekend that my parents came to visit for the first time in july and we were able to share the most wonderful and unexpected news with them.

we were having a BABY!

we couldn't be more excited! it was not planned nor expected to have happened this early on but this is such a blessing and we are enjoying every minute of it! and in honor of our little peanut, i am starting a new page. look out for "little ones" coming soon!

XOMB

I'm Back!

hello my loves! i can't believe it has been what seems like forever since my last post. life has been crazy! in the most amazing way possible. let's recap shall we...

i married my best friend! in what ended up being the most amazing wedding i could have ever have dreamed of! and what makes it even more special is that we were surrounded by the best friends and family.

for more pictures from our fabulous day, check out my wedding page! lot's more goodies over there!

we were truly blessed!

not long after, and before we were able to recoup, we jetted off to italy for the most wonderful honeymoon! EM got to meet my family and also see all my favorite places. he was such a trooper! i never imagined how much family time there in reality ended up being, but he was wonderful. he knew how much seeing them and his meeting them meant to me, so he just wore a big smile! 

we spent the first few days in florence! 

not long after landing! 

a nice surprise at the apartment my aunt and uncle prepared for us!

in centro!

then we left the busy city and went to the beach! forte dei marmi, is a place i will always hold so dear to my heart! it was surreal being able to share it with the love of my life. 

the vendors on the beach, they walk up and down the beach all day selling everything from purses to coconuts

our beach club!

it was such a perfect week! i can't wait until we are able to go back again and revisit all those special places! life has been full of wonderful moments and stay tuned for a very special announcement!

XOMB

Perfect Weekend

this weekend was truly amazing! aside from the utter lack of sleep i couldn't have asked for a better time. this weekend was foxfield (the best non holiday day of the year!) and everyone was in town!

for those who dint know what foxfield is, it is a steeplechase held in central virginia. all uva students, charlottesvillians (now a word), and southerns alike come for this epic event. 

it's a day of cornhole, beer, amazing food and great friends! i posted some pictures from the days festivities on the fun times page! check it out!

love of my life = best friend

our awesome custom plot koozies!

can't wait for next year! already counting down the days!

XOMW

Wow

pretty sure i have the best fiance ever! i was texting him while working saying how hungry i was and he replies saying... "enjoy the feast!"

 a "diiiing...dooooong" later and boom!

wings over charlottesville is at my house!

so full!

a very blessed and full tummied (now a word) girl!

XOMW

Scrumptious

i love date nights. it's funny i was never the type of girl that really enjoyed the whole concept of dating or going on dates, but i must say i love going on dates with EM.
he makes me smile with everything he says and does. like tonight, we went to Fry's Spring Station and two tables down from us there was a couple with their baby. at one point i just caught him staring and smiling. that made me fall more in love with him.

prosciutto and arugula pizza with a great glass of pinot grigio

now EM and i are working on our pre-cana online course. though we vary in our religious beliefs i truly hope that this will help us grow even closer together.

have any of you married someone of a different faith or someone who doesn't have a religious belief? how did it work out? 

i know by the grace of God and Mama Mary all will be well. i simply need to learn to trust God's plan for my life and now that if i place my hopes, fears and doubts in His hands, what is supposed to be will be.

XOMB

Diving Head First

exciting moment today. i (well EM) bought me my first one piece bathing suit since i was 12. mind blowing!

EM is an amazing swimmer, which is totally attractive, but he has been asking for me to start swimming with him. 

now i can swim. i grew up in florida. what child raised in florida doesn't know how to swim? though unlike him i cant swim like a fish. he is so great and i love watching him swim, it truly makes me happy to watch him do something he so greatly enjoys.

so partially because i  need a workout that doesn't involve severe impact on my knee, but mostly because i want to do something with EM that makes him happy, i have decided to take the plunge (no pun intended).

im excited to go for our first swim. we shall see how it goes!

on a wedding note! today i will finish addressing all of our invitations! through many many maaany font trials, i have picked one and have given it a little added flair. once they are all done i will show you :) 

less than 2 months! 

XOMB

Blessings

i say this often, yet only because it is very true, but i am so incredibly blessed to have a man by my side that loves me for who i am, and supports me in all that i do. i have never had someone who is so willing to make sacrifices for me, for us and for our future.

having this insight, which is one that you can really only truly obtain when in a similar situation, i have come to see how important it is to be treated like a princess.

not a princess in a spoiled, get everything you want way. rather in the way that every girl deserves her very own prince charming. now people have a very specific mental picture when they imagine, a princess and prince charming.

they think, that she is the aforementioned spoiled brat, and then prince charming is a giant wimp who is only useful for his good looks.

well they are all wrong! every girl is a princess. we are all the daughters of the Lord and King above, which makes us princesses. and in being the daughters of the Almighty, we are entitled to being treated as such. we deserve every ounce of respect, honour and dignity known to man.

in the same way that we are all princesses, all men are princes. a prince defends and stands up for what is just. he comes to the rescue of those who are unable to rescue themselves.

we as women often time forget how we are supposed to be treated. we tell ourselves that we cannot find any better, or that it is somehow our fault that people don't show us the respect we deserve.
too many times we put up with attitudes that do not reflect the sense of dignity deserved.

women have fought so hard to be considered equals, yet women will allow themselves to live by double standards.

we forget how precious of a gift each one of us are to the world and to each other. this is why i thank God everyday that i found my prince charming.

XOMB

so in love

i have the most amazing fiance!

that being said, i have been wanting this simple diamond band to stack with my wedding band and engagement ring; but as things have it with EM being in school and both of us saving for this wedding, it was a gift i was not expecting anytime soon.

the other night was our 11 month anniversary. and i'm sure you are all thinking, you've only been together for 11 months?! (we have been friends for 5 years...not thaaaat crazy)

but hey, what can i say, when you know you know.

so we are out for dinner at my favorite place, where else but Bang! (funny enough a bachelorette party was next to us) and we are having the most amazing time! the food is always phenomenal, but so was the conversation. just spending time with EM makes me so purely and blissfully happy.

he was saying how bad he felt that he couldn't get me anything for our anniversary, but i wouldn't have even expected anything, i was perfectly happy with the fact that we were able to have a date night.

we leave dinner and head to his apartment, where we start watching our new addiction, Nikita, when he tells me to close my eyes. soon after he tells me to open them. i look down and there it is. on my knee there is a little red box.

at first i simply picked up the box and didn't open it. i was so stunned and surprised that there was something to begin with. i open the box, and there it is. the ring i wanted. so perfectly thin (just how i wanted it) and shiny!

he wanted to wait until our 1 year anniversary next month, but even he couldn't wait to give it to me.

i still can't believe he did what he did! i am so truly blessed! and am so incredibly thankful to have this man in my life!

so that was saturday; sunday morning we went to mass at the church where we are getting married! it was beautiful and EM loved it! which i'm so happy about! it was such a nice day out! the first warm day in quite some time! 

on our way home EM suggested we go wine tasting. smart boy! so we spent the afternoon at one of my favorite vineyards, Blenheim. had a great wine tasting followed by an amazing glass of chardonnay with some yummy snacks.

this weekend was so relaxing and simply perfect! honestly wished it would never end!

Xo  Martina

southern bride blogger

so excited to be added to the southern wedding magazine bridal blogger page! it's a great site and great magazine! it's so lovely to see what other beautiful brides have done to make their special days unique and memorable!

75 days!!

Xo  Martina

love

this weekend was amazing! EM and i went to the Easter vigil on saturday night, and it was absolutely beautiful! 

though longer than most masses i loved every minute of it! i was able to witness those entering the church for the first time, and it was truly an amazing experience, and to make it even better i was blessed to share it with the most amazing man i know!

then sunday was just as wonderful! we had brunch at my house, with the family (got EM addicted to homemade bread and salami!). then spent the rest of the day simply relaxing and napping. 

later that evening, a perfect dinner!

it was a quiet and yet an amazing weekend in every way! it is only a shame that it's already over. 

however on a different note...mamma and i started the 30 day shred today...check out burnin' to see what happened!

Xo  Martina

failure

so the goal tonight was to work from home. except to do that i must bring my phone home. and turns out. i didn't. major humph!

this weekend is going to be great however! tomorrow is Good Friday! praise the Lord!

then saturday, i am going to my first dress fitting! super excited! then after my mamma and i are going to see the space, so we can get some good decorating ideas.

my theme is white decorations. and im blessed to have amazing coworkers! one has 12 bushes of white hydrangeas which she said i can have! so excited!! keeping it all simple and elegant, a good blend of southern and chic!

then saturday evening, EM and i are going to the Easter vigil mass! our first Easter together! so excited and blessed to be able to spend such an amazing day with the man of my dreams!
God is so good!
and sunday we are having brunch with my family and then ever loved Easter dinner. welcome to an italian Easter EM!

Xo  Martina

not so private

so my dear friend M told me about this website, maybe you have heard of it...spokeo.com...well i had never heard anything about it.
maybe i'm behind the times. but it turns out that you can search for anyone and find them pretty quickly. type in a name, state, city, and boom! you see their address (with areal view), all known family members, and you can pay to get phone numbers, email...the works.

now i am all about social media, but this is beyond invasive! i understand that (and spokeo even states) that they are not the original source of said information (maybe even more worrisome) but that you can easily delete your information.

now i realized they not only had my current information but all my previous addresses. so i am currently on a deleting mission.

simply scroll to the bottom of the page and hit privacy...scroll again and hit opt out. follow the super easy steps...and poof it's gone.


Xo  Martina

cheese(cake) and wine kind of day

i don't know what has been going on with me this week, but i have been so completely out of it. i feel like i haven't given my all at the office and i'm disappointed in myself. thought maybe i was just in a cold weather funk (we southerners get those), even tried going to the gym...but nothing really seemed to work.

worse part is while trying to stick to the whole healthy pre-wedding, bride-to-be diet...i cheated. but you know, sometimes a girl just needs some red wine! and maybe a slice of cheesecake!

i don't know if it's my inner Golden Girl or what, but no sweet is more comforting to me that a good piece of new york cheesecake! another thing to add is this; i normally am not a big red wine drinker, i seem to be very picky with my reds, but i have got to say that this merlot is quite good! not as dry as a lot of merlots tend to be.

current goal: expand my love and appreciation for red wines

(sort of) current goal: to realize that even wine is a reflective surface when taking pictures

solid goal don't you think? i don't really see any negatives to achieving this goal!

conserve water drink virginia wine

back on the healthy note however...i'm going to be starting a new workout plan (in addition to the gym) with my mamma. go check out my feel the burn page and take a gander! it's pretty great! 30 days of pre-wedding boot-camp!

Xo  Martina

what a weekend

this weekend has been full of great memories! one of my little brothers just turned 21!

it's crazy to think that he is already that old, as i feel i was just there myself! EM and i hosted him and three of his friends at EM's apartment for some birthday festivities prior to hitting the bars. it was a lot of fun!

now the weekend is over and the work week is staring at me in the face. it snowed quite a lot today, which is disappointing for the sole fact that i am ready for spring!
i must admit though that this town truly is beautiful when it snows.

in fact word is the city schools already closed for tomorrow. how i miss being in high school (for that reason...and that reason only). a snow day would be real nice.

i on the other hand am taking a break from working while EM naps next to me. how i love working while he just sleeps (in a non creepy twilight way).

as fun as this weekend has been, i have been horrible at sticking to my diet! i really have to hit the gym hard this week. i've done so well and have lost 6 lbs already, i don't want to allow a weekend like this to just make me gain them all back.

that would be disappointing.

just have to keep calm and work out!

Xo  Martina

hopping into spring

so yesterday was the first day of spring, and i don't know about you all but it has been very cold! i personally am ready for some jack rogers and sun hats!

in homage to the coming warmth and all the many amazing events that are soon to take place, i wanted to pay a little tribute to spring! 

orange nail polish. 

ok, it isn't a sonnet or some great shakespearean masterpiece, however in its own little right, a girl changing her nail polish sets quite a mood. 

i'm saying...spring i am ready for you! come find me!

this spring is going to be the best spring yet! and foxfield will mark the beginning of a great season! soon to be followed by my bridal shower and bachelorette party in may! (yay!) then the morning after my bachelorette party, my love...EM...graduates from UVA! it is amazing how proud i am of him, for all the hard work he does to achieve his goals! i am truly blessed to be called his fiancee!

orange, it's obvious essie! (ring needs a little cleaning...oops)

banana republic carina pointed-toe flat

the only thing lacking for this graduation, is an appropriate dress. i think i have the right shoes though!
what do you think?
navy striped carina flats, and hey, maybe even some orange nail polish!

white dress?...i'm thinking yes! seems to be a white dress kind of year!

Xo  Martina

blessed

today has been quite the day!

my dear friend was in a car accident. fortunately she is fine! like she said 'her guardian angels were working on overhaul!'

it's situations like this that really make you realize how many blessings we have and take for granted. the ability to simply smile at a good friend each day is something that i am sure most of us don't even think about...but what if we couldn't do that anymore?

not trying to preach or make anyone feel bad about themselves, quite the contrary. i know when we are super busy with our own lives we often forget how blessed we are; we simply focus on the negative things. not to mention how easy it is to get so caught up in our daily routine and daily worries that we allow ourselves to forget to notice the small things. i for one, know i am incredibly guilty of that! but what if all those blessings were gone?

if you are grateful for someone in your life, let them know! sometimes we assume that they know how much they mean to us by our actions but i've come to  realize that sometimes that isn't enough. i know i am very thankful for my friend and will make sure she knows how grateful i am to have her in my life. God truly does put people into our lives for a reason, whether we know what that reason may be or not.

at the third day concert!

and on a lighter note: OUR WEDDING STATIONARY AND INVITATIONS HAVE BEEN ORDERED!!! Thank you Rock Paper Scissors! 

Xo  Martina

new beginnings

who doesn't love new beginnings? i am so excited to start this new blog!
life is CRAZY right now! working all the time, and trying to keep it together all while planning a wedding!

not to mention...only 90 more days until i marry my best friend!

life has changed so much this past year that i can't wait to see what else life brings.
so incredibly blessed!


 Xo  Martina