Engagement Party

Hi all,

Happy FriYAY! My yoga teacher on Tuesdays always ends the class with a nice little "namas-tues-day" and it always makes me laugh! (my yoga teacher is a dude by the way). Anyways, back on track. I can't believe I haven't blogged about our engagement party back in September! When Aaron and I first got engaged (back in May- wow, time flies), several of our friends asked if we wanted an engagement party. We thought about it, and since we are getting married in California, we thought an engagement party would be the perfect way to celebrate our engagement and bring our friends and family together for a chance to meet before the wedding! It would also give those who might not be able to make it out to California, the chance to celebrate with us! So, remember my birthday cruise back in 2013? Well, we booked the same company to charter our engagement party.

The cruise sails around Kemah, provides adult beverages and food! So we invited many of our close friends and families and had a party! Also, I was a bit nervous about the food, but it ended up being delicious!!! 

Krob, Kim and Andy were so great at helping coordinate with the cake, invitations and decor! I cannot find a picture of the invitation (I switched to a new phone and lost some photos in the process, but will post when I get one).

I also wanted to take advantage of my mom being in town, so I gathered a group of the ladies, made some appointments and went dress shopping! I wasn't expecting to find one in all honesty- I can be rather picky. But, THE  dress actually happened to be one of the first I tried on. I'll do a re-cap on some tips I think might be helpful for finding the perfect dress and share my experience in another post.

Girls and their moms!

After dress shopping, it was lunch and time to head down to Kemah for our Engagement Party. One of mine and Aaron's goals for planning our wedding and going through this whole process, is that everyone enjoys it right along with us. We don't want anyone to stress or feel obligated!

Here are some fun photos of the evening. It was a highlight for mine and Aaron's families to meet. They hadn't met yet. And it was a highlight having so many of the people who have meant so much to both of us over the years all in one spot! I don't think I stopped talking the entire night!

The Families!!!

Aaron and I before our party

Some of my favorite ladies over the years. We were all Zeta's together at Baylor. So much love in this picture!

Some more of the ladies. They will all be bridesmaids in August and Krob is my MOH!

It's time to celebrate someone else this weekend. Krob turned 30 this week, so I'm throwing her a 30th birthday party- because we need to celebrate the people we love!!!!

Happy weekend-ing!

You can check some more of my photos out on Instagram here: @kmt678.

Happy 2016 and a Quick Wedding Update

Annnnd I haven't blogged since August! I always have the best intentions, but work schedules and personal schedules get in the way. Here is a quick recap of the rest of 2015. Since we are already knee-deep in 2016, I'll do a quick re-cap there as well. Which should basically get us all caught up- right?

September: 

Engagement Party - I owe you a separate post on that alone, but here is a sneak preview.

October:

Baylor Game (our only one we were able to make it to this past season). We were unable to make it to Baylor Homecoming this year, and I was so bummed out about that. I had a conference for work, so I just couldn't go. This would have been the first time since I graduated (in 2008) to miss a homecoming. So, a group of us decided to make the best out of the situation, and we bought tickets for the West Virginia game the weekend before. Lucky us, but Homecoming actually got rained out this year because of some bad weather, so many of the activities were cancelled. So we actually got to enjoy a beautiful Waco weekend minus the Homecoming crowds and got to visit some of our favorite places (i.e. George's, Common Grounds, Spice!!!). #hearthappy



November: 

California for Thanksgiving




December: 

California for Christmas and the Ho-Family Christmas party Krob and I threw at our house! The theme was tacky, and I'm not gonna lie- those elf socks kept my feet cozy! And by the time Krob and I went on the hunt for our tacky outfits... the entire city of Houston purchased every single tacky sweater in existence. So matching tacky pj's for the win!



 

Taniguchi Fam

We kissed 2015 goodbye and spent New Year's Eve at a party thrown by one of Aaron's friends- complete with some midnight wakeboarding.



Aaron and I have literally (and figuratively) hit the ground running in 2016. We are celebrating some milestone birthdays this year - (Hello 30!) and wedding planning is in full swing (actually, if I'm being honest with myself - it should be in more of a "swing" than it currently is)!

January 2016

This will be the month known as the wedding for one of my sorority sisters in Dallas, Kim's 30th and the half marathon I did not run!! First off, Dallas is way colder than Houston! It was freezing, but the wedding was beautiful, and it makes my heart happy to run into friends from college and get all caught up! We took the obligatory Zeta pic, which is always a good time! And we may or may not have stopped at Emporium Pies on the way back to Houston. #delish





Look - we always try to do something new and out of the box for birthdays. 30 is big, so we had some pressure on us. Krob and I planned a high tea for Kim's 30th. Now, if you are asking why we would take someone to a high tea for their 30th....let me also add that it came with bottomless champagne #definitelynotboring, and now I am a big fan of high tea. We did a fun hibachi dinner as well so the guys had something to enjoy!



Now back to that half marathon I didn't run. This would have been my fifth year in a row to run the Houston half marathon. This was also the year I would have been the least trained to run. Aaron ended up having to take a trip to Florida for work, so we both deferred our race. We will be back (and better trained) for 2017!

February 

Engagement pictures, bridesmaid and moh asking and Krob's 30th! We are currently in week two of February (but who's keeping track), and it will be another eventful month. My allergies are literally killing me this month, and I've been through one round of hives and another round of antibiotics. Luckily, I think I'm finally at a place where the outdoors isn't slowly killing me!

Krob's 30th is this month. Krob is the type of friend who is always doing so much for everyone else - so this lady deserves to be celebrated! I'm planning a big party and have some fun tricks up my sleeve. More details on that to come.

I've (finally) asked (some) of my wedding party, and Aaron is almost done asking his, so I'm excited to share the full group once ya'll know who you are :) I was looking for the perfect way to do my asking, and Marrygrams had the cutest cards! They have so many cute ideas for some of the smaller wedding details, and I can't wait to pick out more for our special day!


Finally, one of my favorite memories of 2016 so far- we took our engagement pictures this past weekend and had an absolute blast. In true Kira and Aaron fashion, parts of it were definitely a hot mess (dogs- worth it, but DRUG THEM first), and the sneak peeks I've seen so far have so exceeded my expectations. More on that to come!!!

Happy Hump Day.....

(my dress is finally in, so I'm trying it on tonight, and I can't wait)

NOLA: Part II

I recapped part I of our New Orleans trip last week. I'm back today with part deux of the trip.

Since there were 15 of us, we needed accommodations that could fit and sleep all of us. The MOH found a home in Belle Chasse, LA, which was about 15 minutes outside of New Orleans. It was a rental, so we weren't sure what to expect. Krob and I Ubered to the home, which seemed fairly normal from the outside. However, you were in for quite the surprise when you actually made it inside. The entire house was painted in 33 different colors. The bedroom Krob and I shared had some purples, pinks and yellows on the walls. It was also still undergoing construction, but more on that later.

Mine and Krob's room for the weekend. This iPhone photo doesn't do it justice, but there were some serious colors happening in here.

As it turns out, the house belongs to Antonio Banderas' stunt double:  Dino dos Santos. Yep, you read that correctly. We got Dino to do some stunt tricks for us.... never a dull moment. We got to the house, Dino made dinner for the group and we spent the rest of the evening in the pool. We ended the night with Andy's lingerie shower at the house.

The following day, we were scheduled to go on a plantation tour, but a last minute change of plans had us headed to a rum distillery and brewery instead. We rented a party bus for the day, so we sat back and enjoyed some mimosas, while the driver took us to the Old New Orleans Rum Celebration Distillery. We partook in the tour and tasting- my fave was their Gingeroo, which is a spicy, ginger flavor, with rum (Krob and I each took a bottle home), hopped back on the bus and made our way to NOLA Brewing. No tour here, but they do serve lunch by McClure's BBQ, which was delish.

Sidenote: The staff did seem a bit annoyed that such a large group came in. The bartender at one point had some eye rolling going on. I understand there were 15 of us, but none of us were rude or obnoxious. We were there because had heard some great things about the company and wanted to check them out.So- note to anyone wanting to try NOLA Brewing- I wouldn't recommend coming in with a large group - or at least give them a heads up before said group arrives.

Aside from that little hiccup, we all got lunch (loved it) and most of us tried out their flights (delish). They had some unique flavors, which you don't find everywhere.

Next stop: back to the house to get ready for Andy's big night out. First on the agenda for me, though, was a quick power nap. After a quick nap and a quick shower- I threw on my black dress, did my hair and makeup and was ready to go! One of the girls brought along flash tats for everyone, which was a super fun way to "accessorize" as a group. I was put in charge of bringing along the umm... how shall we say... "adult items" for the evening. I had to class them up a bit though, so I pre-purchased some purple shot-glass necklaces for all, I bought Andy a super classy one that hung from a pearl necklace, some glow-in-the dark straws, some whistles, some bubbles... you know.... the usual ;) A good friend from college brought along a blow-up Willy.... Willy accompanied us everywhere that evening.

The group right before dinner!

The driver dropped us all off at Brennan's , which was very accommodating of our group. They gave us a private room upstairs and a fixed menu, which worked out well. The only downside- were the adult beverages, which were also fixed (so you were stuck with the house wine, margarita or a martini). Not the end of the world, but some options would have been nice. Dinner was yummy and once the bill situation was figured out, (Thank you, Venmo, by the way- which is a lifesaver for paying someone you owe very quickly) we were on to our first stop.

Bridesmaids+Bride

Now, I highly recommend a good game for a bachelorette. This time, we had group challenges, where you have to have photo documentation of the bride partaking in the challenge. Super fun and the Pat O' Brien's crowd was also up for it! We stayed there for a bit, and head to the Cat's Meow for some karaoke fun. We ended the night at the Beach- which was an experience in and of itself :) At the end of the evening, some of us Ubered back to the house- and some of the girls took a cab back. All was well, and all had fun!

I'll be back tomorrow with our last day in NOLA!

NOLA

I forwent a vacation this summer in lieu of an out-of-town bachelorette party in New Orleans (I don't have the extra time at work at the moment and I did not want to miss Andy's bachelorette). So, Krob and I turned it into a 5-day weekend, and headed to the bachelorette a bit early to do some exploring.

Now, I've been to New Orleans only one other time, and it was to watch our friend run a marathon. If you have done any race spectating, you know it's a great, but different way to see a city. So Krob and I wanted to do some touristy things while we were there.

We headed out Thursday night. And over my dead body heck no were we making the drive all the way from Houston to NOLA. Ain't nobody got time for that.... We flew out Thursday evening, so we could both work a full day (the things we do to be functional adults). Stopped for the obligatory adult beverage at Pappadeaux in Hobby where our bartender told us about the elusive Abita Strawgator that we had to try while in NOLA (if you are an Abita fan- that would be a mixture of their Andygator and their Strawberry beer). Hopped on our flight, and made it to NOLA within an hour- we were there by 10:30 p.m. If you were on the fence about saving some extra cash by not flying, please trust me on this one- do yourself a favor, buy the flight and thank me later!

That wonderful fiance of mine didn't want Krob and I wondering the streets of New Orleans, so he got us a hotel on Bourbon Street. Now, we stayed at the Royal Sonesta the last time we were there- and once again- it didn't disappoint. We Ubered to the hotel, stashed our stuff in the room and made it to Bourbon Street for a late dinner. If you have not previously thought yourself to be an Uber person, please also consider changing your mind. Krob and I Ubered all over NOLA - super easy, no exchange of cash necessary and we never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for a driver. Bonus: you can split the fare with your friends very easily.

I was obsessed with the beds!

We wanted to try some oysters (when in Rome...). We stopped into the first busy restaurant we came across (we were hungry) and ordered some chargrilled oysters. And.... we weren't fans. I don't know if it was the size of the oysters (they were quite large) or the fact that they were warm... or maybe it was a texture thing. We just weren't feeling them. Then, we walked around Bourbon Street in search of the Andygator (no luck) and headed back to the room about 1 in the morning. We had an early start the following day...

A stop later in the trip!

Day 2

We had big plans Friday before we headed to bachelorette festivities, which began Friday evening. We signed ourselves up for a 3 and a half hour bike tour of the French Quarter and the Garden District. Before the bike tour, we ate at the Ruby Slipper Cafe on Magazine Street. We split the Florentine omelet and some fruit. Delish and perfect right before our ride!

The bikes were super cute and came with a basket to store your personal items!

The bike tour was a such a neat way to see the city. There were about eight people in the group, and Buzz Nola did a fantastic job at navigating us through key points around the city. Biking will always be one of my favorite ways to discover a new place.

Before we stopped for a snack!

Cute little home on the tour!

One of the houses in the Garden District.

The famous "Commander's Palace" across the street from the cemetery we stopped at.

The bike tour took us through one of their above ground cemeteries.

Obligatory bike pic- and hey there- you can see my trusty Barrington bag in my bike basket!

The only downside to the bike tour, was that Krob and I had to check out of our hotel prior to the bike ride, so we stored our luggage with the concierge. We were hot and sweaty after the bike ride and needed a place to change/freshen up. We had to resort to the bathroom in the hotel lobby.

The evening before, we got smart and made reservations at NOLA, one of Emeril's restaurants. It was a short walk from the hotel. (Please note: the Royal Sonesta was nice enough to let Krob and I store our luggage there the full day before we met up with the rest of girls). We were seated right away. It was super cute inside - it had an almost warehouse/industrial feel. We started off with some cocktails- I forget the exact name of mine, but it was citrusy and delicious. We decided to split the shrimp and grits and the pizza of the day. The food came out quickly, the waiters were fantastic and the food was tasty. The shrimp and grits were topped off with bacon and their special red chili sauce. Our pizza was a combination of mushrooms, and several meats. It was also very tasty. We decided to skip out on dessert, but only because we were way too full.

Outside of Nola. Yes we were matching- we have no shame!

Shrimp and Grits

After that, we had some time to kill while the rest of the ladies made their way into New Orleans. One of the places we stopped on our bike tour, was one of the oldest bars in New Orleans - Jean Lafitte's. You can read more about the history here, but it was built in the 1700's and was believed to have been used by the Lafitte brothers. We stopped by for an adult beverage- it is very dimly lit inside- and I would love to go back in the evening on a return trip. Krob and I did some shopping in the French Quarter for a bit and headed back to the hotel to grab our luggage to meet up with the rest of the group.

Seen while shopping

Jean Lafitte's Bar.

Bourbon Street pic on our way back to the hotel to grab our luggage.

NOLA Part II tomorrow.

Friday Favorites

Crazy Busy is the best way to define the season of life I am currently experiencing. My workdays tend to be overcommitted, and I find myself leaving the office with a bigger "to-do" list than when I arrive. Make it to the end of September.... Make it to the end of September.... has been my mantra of late. Personally, things haven't been much slower- in between trips, personal commitments, my running and all of the in-betweens. (Not to mention a wedding to plan) But you know what- if I am being absolutely honest with myself- I really wouldn't have it any other way. Sure- having a solid hour to veg on the couch or catch up on my reading list might be nice. But amidst all the "busy," there is so much to be thankful for.


So here are five things I am loving this Friday!

1. The ladies in my life

This was a pic taken from Andy's bachelorette party in New Orleans a few weeks ago (I'll have to do a separate post on that). I'm thankful to have friendships that have lasted through the years (I was actually pledge trainer for all of these girls pictured here). For these particular ladies in the photo- some live closer than others - I'm happy to be able to pick up where we might have left off last time. I'm also lucky to be surrounded by smart, goal-oriented women. Which leads me to my next Friday Fave....

2. My bestie

I can do life with Krob! We can sweat 3.5 hours around NOLA on bikes together. There was also that time she got way busted for sneaking alcohol onto a cruise ship, but that is a different story for a different time. We have run several half marathons together, been stuck in a thunder storm on a river together (shoutout to Kim- my other bestie), I even poisoned her once with my first attempt at barbecuing. We.Have.Some.Stories!!!!! And that leads me to number 3...

3. This Guy

He just makes me laugh- and makes sure I'm fed so I don't get hangry. Annnnd he just put a ring on- so extra points for that too.... Bling pic in case you missed it the first time.... And because I really just can't stop staring at it...

4. This Guy

This is the other man in my life- and I just love him. He is an 85 pound, furry, bowtie wearing, slobbering, humping, farting beast. But I love him. He can do no wrong. Except when he eats birthday cakes and cupcakes- and I don't particularly enjoy when he humps children. He's lucky he's so cute.

5. Happy one month until Andy's wedding

In a little less than a month- Andy gets married. SO excited for her and her new chapter! After all of the planning that has been done..... it's time to finally enjoy some of it! Proud of you, Be-all!!!!

Happy Friday- wherever it might take you. When I head out of the office this afternoon, the fiance and I are headed down to dinner in Galveston to meet with one of his lifelong besties!

Happy weekending!

Life Lately: Engagement Edition

Life lately has been equal parts crazy and equal parts fun. And by fun, I mean that Aaron and I got engaged over Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!!

Cue sappy post here....

Many of you have known me for years and know that this happened in God's perfect timing. I believe that everyone has to walk their own journey and go through their own experiences to truly appreciate where the road might lead them in the future. Aaron and I found each other (at the dog park) exactly when we were supposed to.

THE ENGAGEMENT

I honestly had no idea this was coming. Sure we had conversations about the future and we both just knew. I knew in my heart it would happen when it was supposed to, so I wasn't stressed out about the when. I knew Aaron would do it when he was ready. We had long-standing plans to visit my family in California over Memorial Day weekend. We had the Clif Mountains to the Beach Half Marathon to run (more on that to come). This had been on our schedules for awhile, so I honestly didn't think much of it. We flew into LA Thursday evening.

Friday was a free day for us. We got up, chatted with my dad for a few and decided to explore. It was a million degrees cooler in California, so we decided to spend some time near the water. We went to the Ventura Harbor and walked around the shops for a bit. Ate lunch at Andria's Seafood (best clam chowder bowls) and made our way to the beach for a bit. By that time, it was time to go meet my mom to pick our race packets up. We headed that way, picked our packets up and drove the race course and were done for the day.

Saturday, Aaron and I made the drive up to Santa Barbara. He had never been- and everyone needs to experience Santa Barbara at least once in their lifetime. We walked around State Street and did some shopping for a large majority of the day, and grabbed a bite to eat at Paxty's Pizza before we left- so yummy!  Then, we made the drive home to carb load with my family (grandma and uncle and cousin included) to prepare for the race the next day.

THE RACE

I'll go into more detail about this race in a different post. But long story short, it was a point to point half marathon and I got a PR. The weather and the views were gorgeous. You literally start the race (very very verrrrry early in the morning - but more on that later) in the mountains of Ojai and you run down to the beach. Gorgeous view and great run.

Needless to say, after a 4 a.m. wakeup call and 6:30 a.m. start time- I was exhausted. We got back to the house to nap!

THE PROPOSAL

My parents were grilling out for the last dinner before we flew back to Texas. It was delish, after dinner, I was still exhausted, but Aaron insisted on seeing the beach one last time before we headed back. I really didn't want to go (hello- I was tired), but I pulled it together and we headed out.

We went back to Ventura Beach and walked along the water for about an hour. We saw some dead seals, pelicans, dogs and boats. Gorgeous night. Around that time, the sun started to go down, and Aaron suggested we sit and enjoy the sunset. I was still not expecting anything at that point- the man must have nerves of steel, because he wasn't acting nervous. He asked me to close my eyes...... and I was like ::pause:: {I mean.... he's been known to streak .... so I was a bit concerned} he finally convinced me to close my eyes and started saying some really sweet things.... and when I opened them- he was on both of his knees- with the bling. It was such a sweet moment for both of us- and we could not be more excited!

THE BLING

I mean, let's be honest, this girl loves her some bling. But this isn't just any old bling, this is THE bling, and Aaron did good. He was so sneaky. He took a few rings from my bedroom to take to the jeweler for sizing and had them in his possession for several days before returning them. I did not notice a single one was missing. for SEVERAL days. But that is neither here nor there, and I pay much better attention to my bling.

His friend referred him to his family jeweler several months ago, which is when the process started. Over the course of several months, Aaron showed him pictures of some of my go-to pieces so the jeweler would have an idea of my taste. Aaron also sketched a photo of what he had in mind, and they went from there.

They had several diamonds flown in from Antwerp, so Aaron could hand-pick which stone he wanted in the ring. The end result is perfect. It's special to me because he went through so much effort to make it perfect.

So, in case you haven't seen it already- here is picture of the goods:

THE BACK STORY

My parents had known he was going to propose since March- they just didn't know when. Aaron flew to California on a business trip and mentioned he might see my family if he had a chance. He said he talked to my dad before he flew out and he would try to make it up to see them if his flight got in early enough. That night, I called my mom and she said that Aaron was going over for dinner. I didn't think much of it, but that turned out to be the night he asked. So my parents were holding onto a pretty big secret for awhile.

Apparently there were other secret-keepers. He told Kim's brother David that he had the ring. Risky- since Kim is one of my besties. And he showed the ring to several other people. Turns out- since it was Memorial Day Weekend, Kim and David were both at their parent's house- and David mentioned Aaron had the ring...... quite a shocker for Kim I'm sure :) So when I called Kim at the airport Monday morning to spill the news- she wasn't surprised at all!

He didn't tell anyone he was going to do it- not any of our friends - or our parents- he didn't want to risk the word getting out.  

WHAT'S NEXT?

We are both so excited and have enjoyed these past couple of months. We don't have a date picked out and are narrowing down a location - or two! The most important thing for the two of us is that we enjoy the process and that everyone around us enjoys the process. We don't want to get so caught up in the details - that we lose sight of the marriage (but the details will be fun as well). I'll check back in and more things are decided. Let the planning begin!