She Said Yes!

Hello dear friends.  I hope that you had a good week.  I put off all of my annual checkups until after the cruise, and I am paying for it now.  Yesterday, I was in the dentist's hot seat and today's my lucky day at the optometrist.  Monday's calendar holds the triple whammy with a fun morning for blood work, mammogram, and bone density.  I knew you'd be jealous.

But enough about me.

If you haven't heard, our #1 daughter became engaged to her longtime beau, Adorable Jonathon. We couldn't be more excited to have AJ as our son-in-law. 

So I thought that I would take a few minutes to fill you in on their love story as well as our weekend celebration. 

Our #1 and Adorable Jonathon met while attending TCU. They actually did not become friends until their sophomore year.  My girl kept mentioning AJ's name and every time I asked her about him, she said that he was only a friend.

They started to spend more time together and also were each other's date at all the dances. 

For #1's birthday, the Mister and I hosted a luncheon for her friends at the Mansion on Turtle Creek.  She invited 10 girls and Jonathon.  I asked her if he would feel awkward being the only male (Dad's don't count) and she said absolutely not.

My girl was right. AJ was completely at ease. And it was that day that I noticed something.  Everytime AJ glanced at our girl there was no mistaking it - there was love in his eyes.  On the way home from the lunch I told the Mister that I thought that AJ was in love with our girl.  He told me I watched too many Hallmark movies.

Four weeks later #1 and AJ were "officially" dating.

What can I say... Mama knows.

Which brings us to Seaside, Florida on August 30, 2018.  AJ and #1 were on a little getaway. A few minutes into their late afternoon stroll on the beach, AJ got down on one knee, my girl screamed yes, and a nervous photographer (hired by AJ) jumped out of nowhere and snapped this pic.

Fast forward to the following Saturday where the Mister and I picked the lovebirds up at the airport.  We checked into our hotel and freshened up for our big celebration in Beantown. 

We began the evening with a cocktail in the hotel lounge.  While I was oohing and aahing over my girl's ring, AJ was asking specific questions about the Mister's no return policy that he mentioned a few weeks earlier when AJ asked him for #1's hand in marriage. From the looks of this photo, it appears that there were some heavy-duty negotiations in the works.

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Mistral. 

The next day we spent on the Cape. 

It was a picture-perfect day!
We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the veranda of the Chatham Bars Inn.

That evening we gave the happy couple a gift bag filled with engagement must-haves.  They mentioned the possibility of having a destination wedding, so I found a book detailing the ins and outs of planning one.

The flight back to Dallas should whiz by with all these bridal magazines. 

My girl is very organized and was thrilled with this Wedding Planner.

And what prospective groom couldn't use a little advice from the groom guide?

I couldn't pass up these his and hers t-shirts.

The Mister and I even got into the act!

That evening we noshed on delicious bruschettas ala the Mister and toasted the bride and groom a few more times!

Before we knew it, the lovebirds were flying home to Dallas.

By the way... I totally forgot to mention it.

Adorable Jonathon comes with a bonus...

his twin, Adorable Michael!

Two for the price of one!

Until next time...

Possible ring bearer & flower girl contenders?
They're going to have to learn how to smile first!

Linking up with:

Good Morning Mondays!
Best of the Weekend

Amaze Me Mondays
My Glittery Heart
Mix It Up Monday
Inspiration Monday

The Final Hodgepodge

Hello, dear friends.  It seems like forever since I have written those words.  It is wonderful to be back.  I have many posts planned.  Now all I have to do is write them.

This is the final installment of Hodgepodge.  Joyce has come up with the questions for many years and has decided to wrap it up this week. Now I'll never remember what day it is because I could always figure it out by Hodgepodge.  

1. What has been the highlight of your summer so far? (It's still summer people!)

Lucky for me, I had more than one highlight.

Sherdog Forums

The first highlight was our cruise.
Feel free to compliment us on our stunning cruise wear.

Uhaul

I also enjoyed spending time with my #2 moving her from Atlanta to her new home, Dallas.

And last, but certainly not least, the cherry on the sundae is our #1's engagement to Adorable Jonathon.

2. What do you wish you'd done more of this summer? 

ugly houses

Every Summer, I say that I will do a major purge.
It looks like it may be next Summer.

Less of?

Packing and unpacking.

To put it mildly, I tend to overpack.
This is the receipt for my luggage for the cruise.
I thought the Mister was going to have a stroke.

3. Something you're looking forward to on your September calendar?

Wedding planning.

4. Best/favorite book you've read this summer?

I have a September Books post coming your way. 
The following were my top three.

Amazon

I never wanted this book to end.

Amazon

Entertaining as well as informative.

Amazon

I thought this book was a delight.
I recommended it to #1, and she enjoyed it as well.

5. Share something positive, encouraging, or uplifting here.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I found this pillow in a darling store on the Cape.

Don't tell the girls but they are each getting one for Christmas!

I can hardly wait to see how thrilled they're going to be!

Until next time...

vetbabble

Driving Miss Daisy/TTT/BIG News

Hi Everybody!  It's me - Miss Daisy reporting back after spending the past three months out in the world having fun.  If you are new here, I am Katie's MacKenzie-Childs tote and a proud member of the Tales of the Traveling Tote tribe. 

I am going to give you a tote's-eye view of our Summer.  Mom has a few posts planned that will go into more detail on some of the highlights of the past three months.

I admit it.  
I am not a good secret keeper.  
Thursday night, Mom and Dad got a call from #1.  
She had really BIG news.

She said YES!
#1 and Adorable Jonathon are engaged!
They are meeting Mom & Dad and hopefully me in Beantown today for a celebration!

I have a feeling that #1's going to ask me to be in the wedding.


*****
  

We started the Summer with a bang.  A beautiful afternoon was spent at the picturesque Wequassett Resort feasting on a scrumptious lunch and listening to some authors talk about their books.

Mom got to meet one of her favorite authors.  

She'll fill you in later. 

We spent another day on the Cape visiting Mom's old Texas tennis buddy.  Miss Jill moved there a couple of months ago, and Mom couldn't be happier. 

Mom had Miss Jill and their friend Butler over for lunch this week.

This trio likes to laugh a lot.

#1 and Adorable Jonathon came for a weekend in July.  We spent the day in Osterville, one of Mom's favorite towns.

We had lunch at Crisp, one of Mom's favorite places.

Are you getting the gist of who the boss is around our family? 

Hope you like the hat.

She never took it off all Summer. 

Btw... this was the weekend that AJ asked my Dad for #1's hand in marriage.

I wonder if it was happening here...

Maybe Dad is filling AJ in on our no return policy!

Mom also met one of her lovely readers, Sue.  

I hate to brag, but Sue recognized me before Mom. 

You can't see me because I am sitting in #2's car.  This was our view for two straight days.  In July, Mom and I flew to Atlanta and drove #2's car while she drove this Uhaul all the way to her new home in Dallas.  #2 got a new job and a groovy pad which she loves, by the way.

Sista & Co. had a huuuge shindig in Connecticut.

Be prepared for a huuuge blog post about this fun day.

I wasn't kidding about the hat.

At the beginning of August, we took a 12-day vacation.

Our first stop was Rome.

Last time Mom and Dad were in Roma, they had a delightful lunch at Harry's Bar.  You can read about it here.
They decided to make an encore appearance, and as always, they were not disappointed.

The next day we were off on our cruise.  

Final destination - Venice.

The suite was very pretty.

I told Mom and Dad that I would bunk on the couch.

Glad I took my Dramamine.

I hung around this guy a lot.
In case of emergency women and children go first.
There is no mention of totes.

Before we knew it, we were back with these two crazies.

*****


Thanks for stopping by. In the meantime, pop over to my fellow traveling tote buddies to find out what they have been up to these past three months.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths 

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

 Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Lea and Miss Scarlett @ Cici's Corner

And now for the really good news...

The Traveling Totes tribe is offering another giveaway. Linda P @ Life and Linda is our giveaway sponsor this time. One lucky reader who leaves a comment on Linda P's September 1 post will have their name thrown into the hat for an opportunity to win the following pair of MacKenzie-Childs Elizabethan guest towels!

See you on December 1st!