Posts Tagged ‘Philip’

Great friends, great fun in Chicago! Part 1

Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Philip and I in on a bridge over the Chicago River in front of the Chicago Sun-Times building

Philip and I on a bridge over the Chicago River in front of the Chicago Sun-Times building.

Last weekend, Philip and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Chicago. After a short 1 hour and 15 minute flight (sure beats a 9 hour car ride), Philip and I boarded the train to be taken into the city and dropped off just a few blocks away from Stephanie and Kyle’s apartment.

Stephanie met us in the lobby and took us up to their lovely home on the 12th floor of a building in the heart of Chicago. The view from their place was amazing. An entire wall of their living room is nothing but windows. We could literally see everything the city had to offer – amazing shopping, impressive skyscrapers, the Chicago River, crazy cab drivers :) and more.

Immediately upon arriving, I could tell Philip and I would really hit it off with Kyle. The man can COOK! When Stephanie opened their door and led us inside, a waft of delicousness spread throughout the entire hallway. Kyle had whipped up chicken breasts with a red wine sauce and perfectly baked/smashed potatoes. Mmmm. I can taste it all over again. We topped the evening off with a glass of wine and delightful conversation. Thank you to Kyle and Stephanie for not only treating us to some scrumptious homemade goods, but also for taking us to the Greek Islands Restaurant (The skordalia and saganaki were fabulouso!) and directing us to several other tasty locations.

I’m pretty sure one of the biggest highlights for Philip was going to Wrigley Field. I’ve never been a sports fan, (Give me a gun or a fishing pole and I’m set.)  but thanks to Philip’s patient explanations and tutorials about strikes, balls, RBIs, etc. I really enjoyed the  baseball game. (Seriously Philip, that would have been miserable without you. Thanks for being the bestest.)


Another highlight of the weekend was catching up with Sunny, a long time gal pal of mine and Stephanie’s. I also got to catch up with Rebecca, a native Chicagoan and amazing lady friend of mine whom I met at Belmont.

I have more photos to post and more stories to tell, but I’m saving that for my next post this evening. Stay tuned! Happy travels!

1
Tags: , ,
Posted in travel |

My beautiful Verragio engagement ring from Genesis Diamonds

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

We returned from Chicago yesterday afternoon. Whew! What a trip. We had a wonderful weekend spending time with Stephanie and her fiance Kyle. They really helped us understand the ropes of getting around the city. More details (and pictures!) of the trip soon!

When Philip and I were looking at engagement rings, our first stop was Genesis Diamonds in Cool Springs – right between Nashville and Franklin. Genesis Diamonds also has another store in the Green Hills area of Nashville. On our very first trip to look at rings, I found THE one. Though we looked at several other local jewelry stores, everything was dim in comparison to the beautiful Verragio engagement setting we found at Genesis.

Now I get to enjoy this lovely setting (with a cushion cut diamond) every day as it sits on my finger. I’ll tell you the truth, putting that ring on my finger each morning is my absolute favorite part of every single day. :) Philip always gets a little chuckle because he catches me staring at it all the time. Here’s an up-close-and-personal look at my beautiful ring…

verragioclassico

Thank you, Philip, for making me the happiest girl in the world.

0
Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in proposal, wedding |

Philip and Krista fly to Chicago

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

chicago

I just finished packing up for our first trip as an engaged couple. (!)

This evening we’re flying up to Chicago to visit one of my best gal pals, Stephanie, who is also newly engaged. Her fiance proposed on July 4 on Chicago’s Navy Pier. Stephanie and I have known each other since we were competitors on rival speech teams in high school. (Speech competition is seriously intense. Not even kidding.) After we graduated, both of us were offered scholarships to be on our community college’s speech team – The SIC Forensic Falcons. (That’s me on the far left in the pink sweater.) Ever since those days back in high school, we’ve remained very close – though there are many  miles between us. I can’t wait to meet her fiance and see her gorgeous face and that beautiful ring in person.

I’m really excited about visiting bridal shops in Chicago. Philip told me that tomorrow is the “Running of the Brides” at the Filene’s Basement in Chicago. You ever heard of this? I’ve seen it before on The Today Show at the Filene’s in New York. I’m sure this event is a lot of fun and many brides probably find AMAZING deals on their wedding gowns, but I just don’t think I could do this. (I definitely won’t be participating tomorrow.)

I want my search for the perfect wedding gown to be calm, relaxing and with my mother and close lady friends – NOT with thousands of other women who are ravaging through clothing racks and swapping gowns back and forth. Seems like a neat event…but not for me.

We’re going to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game tomorrow and we’re also planning to see Blue Man Group at some point. Other than that, we plan to just do a little sightseeing and some major catching up with Stephanie and her fiance.

Stay tuned for more updates and details about our visit to Chicago! TTFN!

2
Tags: , , , ,
Posted in wedding |

I said YES!

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Philip asked...and I said yes!

The Proposal

On Saturday, July 18, 2009 at approximately 5:00 p.m., my best friend asked me to be his wife. (I said yes.)

Philip and I had been talking about marriage for quite some time – particularly after my Dad started dropping some hints to me about it earlier this year. After several trips with Philip to the jewelry store, we finally found “the” setting. I chose a Verragio design and mentioned that I would like a cushion cut diamond.

Fast forward to July 10, 2009. Philip tells me to not make any plans for July 18.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you tend to plan things a week in advance and I need you to keep that afternoon open,” he said.

The following Wednesday, he told me we were having some pictures taken on Saturday at The Factory in Franklin and that I had to be ready by 3 p.m. for him to retrieve me for our photography session. Needless to say, I was somewhat suspicious and suspecting this could be “the day”.

At 3 p.m. on said Saturday, Philip picked me up and drove us to The Factory. I asked him who was taking our pictures, but he wouldn’t tell.

Shortly after we arrived, a black Mini sped past us. Sure enough. I knew it. Our friend (and co-worker) Tony Matula was Philip’s partner in crime and the photographer responsible for our photo shoot.

After taking a bunch of funny, sweet, silly and romantic photos, Philip said there was one more photo he would like to take. (Here’s where Philip gets down on his knee and you see me making the face in the above photo.)

Down on one knee with my hand in his, the man of my dreams looked in my eyes (which were welling up with tears at this point), told me he loved me and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world by becoming his wife.

We lunged into each other’s arms and I remember telling myself to remember every little detail of this moment. Fortunately, with Tony there capturing each moment, that was taken care of.

After wiping away the tears of happiness, I touched up my makeup and we took photos with the ring. Philip was definitely thinking ahead when he planned this. These are now our engagement photos!

I’m very excited to be starting this journey “down the aisle” and look forward to sharing all of our experiences here leading up to and beyond the big day.

Thank you in advance for reading and for sharing your tips, ideas, suggestions and stories.

1
Tags: , , , ,
Posted in proposal |
Newer Entries »