Where have you been?

My good friend Ryan over at Herodotuswithalaptop has created his own amazing travel company. His most recent post about the 50 most searched places to visit was intriguing to me. So I decided to find out how many of the top 50 I've visited thus far in my lifetime. I have highlighted the places I have been lucky enough to visit. For my blog friends, copy and paste this list into your next blog and highlight where you've been fortunate enough to go visit!

1. London, UK
2. New York City
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Paris, France
5. Dublin, Ireland
6. Los Angeles, CA
7. Orlando, FL
8. Rome, Italy
9. Madrid, Spain
10. Miami, FL
11. Cancun, Mexico
12. Frankfurt, Germany
13. Honolulu, HI
14. San Francisco, CA
15. Amsterdam, Netherlands
16. San Jose, CA
17. Barcelona, Spain
18. Manchester, UK
19. Sydney, Australia
20. Johannesburg, South Africa
21. Bangkok, Thailand
22. Fort Lauderdale, FL
23. Lima, Peru
24. Buenos Aires, Argentina
25. Chicago, IL
26. Tel Aviv, Israel
27. Athens, Greece
28. Munich, Germany
29. Milan, Italy
30. Nassau, Bahamas
31. Vancouver, BC
32. Berlin, Germany
33. San Juan, PR
34. Tokyo, Japan
35. Seattle, WA
36. Washington DC
37. Auckland, New Zealand
38. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
39. Toronto, ON
40. Edinburgh, UK
41. Krakow, Poland
42. Montego Bay, Jamaica
43. Denver, CO
44. Mexico City
45. Melbourne, Australia
46. Copenhagen, Denmark
47. Fort Myers, FL
48. Glasgow, UK
49. Havana, Cuba
50. Venice, Italy

Wedding Updates

Sorry I have neglected my blogging lately. With the end of the 2nd quarter at school, many birthdays to celebrate, and wedding planning, I have been jam-packed with busy agendas and to-do lists!

I have been getting a lot of questions about how the wedding planning is going lately, so I figured I'd give everyone an update on where we are in the process with exactly 6 months to go until the big day! And for those of you who have been begggggging me for a picture, here is the ring shot :) I finally gave in to being "that girl" who shows her ring off online. But it's so pretty, I don't even care! Here's where the future Saulitis' stand...

Done

• Sparkly engagement ring insured & properly sized :)
• Wedding party selected
• Ceremony & reception site booked: Lansdowne Resort 
• Save-the-dates & Invitations, including inserts, ordered & received
• Bought my wedding dress!
• Bought my bridemaids' dresses 
• Rehearsal Dinner location booked: Tarara Winery 
• Photographer booked!
• Officiant selected
• Contract done on block of rooms reserved at resort
• Scheduled food taste tasting for May 2010
• Date & place for my first bridal shower (courtesy of my MOH Rachel Astrow!)

In-progress

• Mail save-the-dates! (Like, tomorrow!)
• Finalizing contract with officiant
• Florist designs
• Finalize details for rehearsal dinner (courtesy of Andy's mom, Andrea for planning it!)

Need to do

• Find & book DJ
• Find & book string quartet for ceremony & cocktail hour
• Select flowergirl & Jr bridesmaid dresses
• Hire videographer
• Rehearsal dinner invitations
• Register for gifts
• Book honeymoon (Andy is 100% in charge of this one!)
• Get shoes, veil, jewelry
• Book engagement photo shoot for springtime 
• Groom & groomsman tuxedos (including ring bearers)
• Bridesmaid gifts
• Wedding favors 
• Table labels... we are putting our own special twist on table numbers

I realize there are in reality 98498494 more things to add to my "need to do" list, but I'm trying not to overwhelm myself in the next 5 months! So far, planning this wedding has been such a funnnnn experience! We have been lucky enough to only encounter one major obstacle... our 150 wedding invitations were first printed incorrectly. But we were so lucky to have them re-ordered and fixed within a week! The stationary store we used was AMAZING in fixing the error and it didn't cost us a penny to fix! Andy and I have really never been more in synch than we are as an engaged couple, and he has helped so much by offering his opinion and not offering his opinion when I've needed it :) I am so happily surprised with how involved he wants to be and how excited I see him getting about all the plans we are making. Engagement is so wonderful when both people are really happy and want the same things out of life! I am so lucky to be planning with him and with my awesome parents who are paying for our wedding.I promise to do better at keeping you all updated on our planning. Hopefully next time the "done" list will out-number the "to-do" list!

How 'Bout 'Dem Cowboys?!

I promised an update upon our return from Dallas, Texas and I am delivering! I can't even begin to describe what a fun trip we had! We left from Dulles airport at 6:30am on Saturday morning, arriving in Dallas at 9:15am with an entire day to enjoy. Upon our arrival to DFW Airport, we picked up our rental car and headed towards our hotel... conveniently near Cowboys Stadium :) Driving into the entertainment district of Arlington, we spot...

Cowboys Stadium! What an incredible first look at the new stadium! Half of the reason Andy and I wanted to get out to Dallas this season was to check out the digs. Jerry Jones has built the Cowboys a palace! We were even more excited for the game and the visit upon seeing this magnificent site upon our arrival. We were so lucky to have found a hotel about 1 mile from the actual stadium. We went and checked in early and relaxed, napped, and showered before our tailgate festivities. Around 2pm, we headed to our parking spot to kick off the football fun!

 

After meeting some local Texans and enjoying a few drinks, we headed towards the stadium to check out what it had in store for us. On our walk up, we were lucky enough to see some of the players entering the stadium from the players lot.

 

Nose Tackle Jay Ratliff

Tight End Martellus Bennett

For our anniversary a year and a half ago, Andy ordered us a personalized brick to be placed around the sidewalks of the stadium. We were on a mission to find our brick. It took us awhile, but we finally found it!

After finding our brick, we headed into the stadium. We got to walk around inside, visit the proshop, and get some delicious foods before finding our seats. We sat down just in time for the entrance...

We had a great time cheering on the Cowboys in their dominating performance against the Eagles. Being surrounded by Cowboys fans and yelling together for the first playoff victory since 1996 was great. We truly couldn't have asked for a better game or trip!

Winning celebrations

Next Up: Minnesota.

LET'S GO COWBOYS!!! 

Hoping for Playoff Victory #2...

Here's to the Playoffs!

Andy and I decided to make an impulsive, spur-of-the-moment trip to Dallas, Texas tomorrow morning to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles. We have been wanting to take another trip down there for a couple years now but haven't made it. We were really hoping to make it to see the new stadium in it's inaugural year and we almost missed out, but we're going to make it! The Cowboys haven't won a play-off game since 1996, so we are really hoping they are able to end this terrible drought and get a big win at home tomorrow night.

I will post pictures from our quick weekend getaway upon our return, but until then...

LET'S GO COWBOYS!!!

 

Flower Girls & Ring Bearers

Andy and I have a lot of little ones in both of our families that we love dearly and could not think of having our wedding without! As a teacher, I of course think that the flower girls and ring bearers in weddings are one of the cutest parts! We knew we wanted to invite all of Andy's nieces and nephews as well as my cousins' children to be a part of our special day, but I really wanted to do it in a unique and memorable way. After searching online, I found a great website that makes wedding gifts. Kids love cookies, right?! So, I had cookies specially made with each of the kids' names on them, asking them to be in our wedding party. They turned out to be beautiful!

All the personalized cookies

The girls got dresses & flowers, and the boys received football & baseball cookies

Cookies wrapped!

We gave Andy's nieces and nephews their cookies during Noni's Cookies & Crafts where all the grand kids head to Andy's mom's house and bake holiday cookies & make cute crafts for the holidays. The kids loved their cookies & allegedly ate them right up! :) Of course, they said yes to being in our wedding party first!

One of our family traditions is celebrating Christmas with my mom's side of the family, the Zapotoczny's, around New Years. On January 2nd, we had our annual New Years/Christmas and had the opportunity to ask my cousins' children to be in our wedding. I gave them all their cookies with their regular Christmas presents so it would be an extra surprise when they opened them. Everyone loved the cookies! They were a big hit! All of the kiddies said yes (and their parents too of course!)! We are so looking forward to celebrating with them in July!

Andy & I with our Jr. Bridesmaid Rachel, Flowergirl Julia, Ring Bearers Myles & Will... and their cookies :)

ICE Exhibition

A few weeks ago, Andy came home from work telling me all about this "amazing" new exhibit at the Gaylord National Harbor that was set-up through the holidays called ICE. I had never heard of it, so he briefly explained that it was an exhibit with sculptures and designs created purely out of ice. It sounded neat, so he bought us some tickets to go the night after Christmas. It was beautiful! The intricate details the sculptures included were amazing! It was -9 degrees in the exhibit so they require all visitors to wear a blue winter jacket they provide. Not the most attractive looking, but sooo necessary as it was literally FREEZING throughout the exhibit! Check out some of the incredible sculptures we saw.

The U.S. Capitol Building

Hangin' with Abe Lincoln

Kisses beneath the mistletoe

Andy almost looks like a penguin

Visiting Santa

Incredible Nativity made of ice

Merry Christmas to all!

Hope you all had an incredible holiday season!

New Years 2010

I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on my incredible 2009 year and set some goals for the upcoming 2010.

2009 was filled with some incredible moments and memories. I can't begin to explain how lucky I feel for my life, and the people that are in my life. I could not ask for a better family or better friends. They are the cornerstone of my life and without them, the day to day grind would never be the same. In fact, it would be downright impossible to get through without all of them.

2009 brought me to the ripe old age of 25. I was extremely nervous about turning 25, but so far it has started as one of the best years of my life. I am in a great place. I love my job. I love my home. I love planning my future with Andy. Not so bad for 25.

2009 also brought me a fabulous trip to Key West with my mom, dad and Andy. We had an INCREDIBLE time enjoying the warm sun, swimming in the oceans and pools, drinking frozen beverages by the water, experiencing a new place, and enjoying Duval St. One of my favorite trips I've ever taken.

2009 also brought me a beautiful new piece of jewelry. On October 2nd, Andy officially proposed to me and asked me to marry him. We have been very busy planning all the details and getting excited about our wedding and future together. We have never been more in-synch with each other. I am one lucky girl to have him as my best fried and future husband.

2009 brought me lots of fun with friends and family. Andy made his first trip to Altoona, PA for Christmas and got to spend time with my extended family. I was fortunate enough to travel with friends to several Virginia Tech games and even got to see the Cowboys play in Washington D.C. What a fantastic year!

2010...
Every year I try to set 2-3 goals for myself that are REALISTIC and attainable. I don't make ridiculous resolutions like "lose 30 lbs", "win the lottery" etc. Last year, my two goals were to work out more and tone up and to stop biting my nails........ SUCCESS!!! I've lost about 14 lbs. since I moved into my own home and I'm feeling more comfortable with myself. I also stopped biting my nails! No more acrylics, I have beautiful real nails to paint! So, here's to 2010...

1) I'd like to continue to workout on a regular basis and tone up before the wedding. Ideally, I would like to lose another 5-10 lbs throughout the year (particularly before July 31st!). I will also particularly focus on my abs and arms to tone them up and get some muscle!

2) Be nicer to everyone. Now that sounds strange, but lately I have noticed that I am wasting a lot of energy not particularly liking random people for no real good reason. Not that I have ever been outright rude to anyone, but I'd like to stop wasting my energy in a negative way, even if someone and I don't quite click for whatever reason, I would like to be positive, maybe compliment them on something and be friendly no matter what. I would love to put my pettiness aside sometimes and be a gracious, friendly person at all times!

3) Live in the moment. Enough said. I spend a lot of time planning, looking ahead, making plans for the future. For 2010, I'd like to slow down and just enjoy the time and place that I am in in the present moment.

Happy New Years!