once every other month

seems to be my blog posting pattern. and its the same old excuse. time is not on my side. love, however, seems to be. i got engaged to my boyfriend of eight years on december 27. the proposal was very romantic and everything i have always dreamed of. its amazing how you feel when your partner makes that promise to you. i always knew richard and i would spend our lives together, but having proof on my left ring finger really puts things in perspective. i feel a little stronger knowing that its a reality to have this person to lean on, to grow with, and to love for the rest of both our lives. i can't wait to make the ultimate promise to each other before God.

with a little help from mom, i am also planning my entire wedding by myself. it is my dream to become a highly sought-after event planner, plus being the crazy control-freak that i am, i'm ecstatic to be able to do what i want. on a very small, practically non-existent, recession budget of course! i would love to share my economical yet fabulous wedding ideas and inspirations with the world. maybe i can turn this blog into mandy's candy & fabulous weddings. ha!

i am not the only bride-to-be around either! a very dear friend of mine will tie her own knot this may! all of the girls are super excited to be planning and throwing parties for her. its such a fun time and i can't wait to share in j & c's beautiful spring wedding very soon!

on a side note, another justified excuse for my blogging slackness is my start of another blog, one for the restaurant i work at, Catherine's. after moving home this summer i was super lucky and got my old job back! its a great place to work and i missed it when i was in greenville. so glad to be back. the blog is under construction, but please check it out by following this link.

http://catherines1770.blogspot.com/

on a crafting note, i got lots of scrapbooking/card making stuff for christmas. i have done a little scrapbooking in the past but never really got into making cards or anything like that. its so much fun! and super-special to give someone something that comes straight from your heart. i have made victoria an adorable shower card with adyson's name on it, and also a collection of recipes & memories for my bestest friend ever, aislinn, after her great-grandmother passed away recently. do i run the risk of sounding selfish when i say that those kind of gifts are the best in the world to give? sometimes a small labor of love speaks volumes to the ones dear in our hearts.

on a baking note (something i will always find time for), some goodies i have been experimenting with are more flavors of marshmallows (which have been hit-&-miss... lemon wasn't great) and these cake pops from bakerella.

the recipe is a variation of a cake ball recipe, found here.

i had made cake balls before and they were great, but i made them too big. they sort of looked like snowballs. this time i got lollipops sticks from michaels and made devils food cake balls dipped in chocolate for valentine's day. they were fabulous.

although my track record states that i won't be back with a post until april, i hope that isn't the case. until then...