Engagement Party In Rockford

Before I moved to the great state of Iowa I lived in IL my entire life. I actually lived a large portion of it in Rockford, IL. When I moved to the Quad Cities and started telling people where I was from thy would say "that's a suburb of Chicago" Technically it isnt but I let people think whatever they want. It has become a big joke with the Haluska's as well! Two of my dearest friends from Rockford now live in California. They are also my Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid. They came back a few weeks ago to celebrate the engagement with me in our old hometown of ROCKFORD!

The day started with us meeting at Granite City and the girls opened their Bridesmaid shirts.

During the day we shopped and then headed back to Lindsay's to get ready to go to our favorite dinner place which is a Japanese Sushi Steakhouse JMK!

Lindsay found this PINK Saki and said we HAD to have it since that is color of my wedding! It actually was delicious!

Our good friend Marc came into town from Chicago. We went to High School together and the three of us girls adore Marc! He actually took all three of to dances when we were in high school! IT was great to see him and we always have a great time laughing and talking about the future and past memories.

During the night Sammi would show of my Bling we got this picture of her actually doing it! Cracks me up!

Finally, they asked me what it feels like to be in love and engaged and this is what I did:

Such good times thanks girls!!!!

Holiday Decorating and Entertaining!

Hello Again,

Have I mentioned I LOVE TO ENTERTAIN!!!! I love to create a menu, invite the fun and loving people in my life, decorate, and COOK! Besides Entertaing I like to decorate. Since I started blogging I started following DIY decorating blogs and have found a slew of ideas on them. If you look at Just one check out Thrifty Decor Chick!! She is awesome!

Ok now on to some decorating:

This is a wreath that I started our color scheme for the tree was a bright green and red and I wanted a wreath to coordinate the door. When I first started this wreath I got completly frustrated and Joey took over and what a great job he did! Who knew he was crafty!

This is the banister is one of my favorite parts about the house. It matches the woodwork around the house and for Christmas we put garland, lights and ornaments. It really spruced up the foyer.

Last week on Tuesday night Joey had in my family in for a dinner party to begin the Christmas season.

The menu:

Appetizer: Chicken Bruschetta and Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Main Course: Ribs, Cheesy potatoes, 7-layer salad, biscuts

Dessert: Oreo and Cake Balls

This day our brand new dining room table was delivered from Des Moines and we had to wait over two months but it was completely worth the wait.

Joey had this arrangement delievered the day of the dinner party it matched the tree with green and red colors- He thinks of everything! Thanks Joe!

The Kids Table

The gang eating dinner!!!!

My Mom, Uncle Ken, and Aunt Susan

The name cards I had in front of everyone's plate!!

Next Blog: Christmas with the famalies!

Christmas Tree and Entertaining!

Greetings,

It has been awhile since I blogged but I decided that the holidays should be spent with my family and not the computer. This is going to seem dated but I figured that I would show pictures of our first Christmas tree together.

This was Joey's first "real tree" He wasnt too excited about it at first but once he got going he was feeling GOOD!!! Straight the first try- WAY TO GO JOE (in my cheer voice)

Once Joey got the Tree up he celebrated with some VINO- it seems that the more VINO you drink the better the decorations go up!!!!!! What fun we had !!!!

Our Finished Project:

Many Laughs!!!!

Many Memories

And a Very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next Blog: Holiday Decorating and Entertaining!

The Meaning of Christmas To ME!

I have been thinking alot about Christmas and what it means to me. When I first think of Christmas I think of my memories as a child. I think about how special Christmas Eve has been to be because of my family and the traditions we have togethter. I think about the rush down the stairs to see what Santa had brough and asking my Poppy every year" how did he get away this year?" Now that I am older I have such a greater APPRECIATION for this time. I realize that we are celebrating one of my favoite people's birthday and if you dont know him on a first name basis his name is GOD!!! Secondly I realize that this time I have with my family is sacred.

The past couple of weeks have been so busy with family tasks, wedding planning and preparing for Christmas. I really hadnt felt excited yet about Christmas until a few days ago when I was at my grandparents (grammie and poppy) having dinner. I was feeling tired and stressed to say the least, when "Charlie Brown's Christmas" came on. I was doing dishes when my Grammie demanded that I come out and watch it with them. It only took a few minutes to relax and by the time it ended I felt completly filled with the CHRISTMAS SPIRIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the spirit of Charlie and his dear friends who helped him prepare for the season!!!

I wish all of my followers of this blog, family and friends a very Merry Christmas !!!!!!! Hark the Herald Angel sing Glory to the New Born King !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next Blog: GUESS WHAT . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SNOW DAY

Many people experienced the first snow storm of the season last week!!! We were hit hard in the Davenport area and I stayed home!!! I tried it make it a producitve day with decorating and wedding planning!!!!!!





I had to post this below picture of Joey working away. He is always shoveling away!!!!!!!





WAY TO GO JOE!!!!!!!!

Dont you just love the white spots that is the snow falling!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the snow everybody!

Will You Be My Flowergirl???

If you are not famaliar with my She She's let me introduce them to you:

Grace, Caroline, and Madeline our my Uncle Don's three girls! They are my cousins but with such a large age differnece it feels more like they are my nieces and I am their aunt! This past Sunday I headed up to Wheaton to spend the night and have lots of fun and ask two little girls a very imprtant question.

Caroline and Madeline giving each other sister love before the play

Grace and Sue after the play-Grace did a great job and looked like a pro on the stage!

I gave Madeline and Caroline a book called " The Little Flower Girl" and a flowergirl paperdoll book to get them in the mood for the big day!!!!

I had to include this picture because after the two little flowergirls went to bed Grace, Sue and I sat up and looked through my bride magazines and did all wedding talk. I had Grace put my ring on and took a picture. She is a natural. Now when I look at this picutre I know one day that she will be engaged and we will look back at this picutre with such fond memories.

Needless to say Sue and I couldnt wait and the next morning we took the girls to try on dresses!!! What fun we had the girls we such good sports and loved trying on all the different kinds and standing on "the stage" twirling!!

Like Every Flowergirl Should!!!

Next post: SNOW DAY

DRESS SHOPPING!

This past weekend some of my family and I went DRESS SHOPPING!!!!





And what fun we had!!!!!!!!!





This is something that I have dreamt about since a little girl so the antcipation was killing me to get started! I preped that week by working out hard and a little bit of tanning!!!!!


My mom, aunt Karen, and grammie went.

We had a great time!

It was very interesting because I went into the day thinking I knew exactly what I wanted but to my surpise I ended up loving something different.

We didnt find the one that day but I know the one for me is right around the corner! Sorry to say though once I do find "the one" I wont be able to post pictures because my Groom is a frequent visitor of this blog!!!

Next post: Will you be my flowergirl???

Wedding Update #1

I have been busy blogging this week, and I hope I can keep it up. I have decided that once a week I will do a wedding entry. I am thinking it could be anything from what I am working on that week, to my feelings of preparing for the event. ANohter great thing is that Joe has decided to guest write and give the groom's perspective. I am beyond EXCITED to see what he writes. Joe is extremly talented at writing so get ready for some great blogs. We have picked the date:

AUGUST 21st 2010

What the Bride has to say: Well. .. . First I must say that I have dreamed about my wedding since I was a little girl. I would beg my mom to buy me wedding magazines when I was 12 years old and she fed my obession well. One thing I have come to realize is that I want to cherish every minute of this process. I know that I must remember that when I become stressed about something to do with the wedding I must remember "why am I doing this all?" because I want to spend the rest of my life with Joe forever and ever. I promise my next wedding entry wont be so sappy but for all you gushy people out there enjoy!

What the Groom has to say: I may not have dreamed about my wedding since I was 12 but I have always wondered who I would spend the rest of my life with. I found everything I could want in a woman when I met Erin. The wedding process is an interesting one, you would think everything would fall in line for your perfect day but it takes some work. The only thing that really matters is that Erin and I are next to each other on August 21st, then everything will be ok. I look forward to the whole process, no matter how it goes and it looks like I may be updating everyone on things as well as my wife to be on this blog.

Thanksgiving

This year was my first year in Iowa!!! It was great to be with both the Zanoni and Haluska side. Joe and I started our Thanksgiving drive bright and early and made our first stop with the Zanoni's side. We got to meet Tammy's niece Baby Dylin who is cuter than a bug's ear!!!! After that we headed down the road to Pella, Iowa!!!!!

Once we arrived at the Howard House Joey and I were greeted with many hugs from the following:

Ellie and her blue eyes!!!!!

Here is a picture of the whole gang!!!!!

Thank you Haluska's and Zanoni's for a great THANKSGIVING!

The Birthday Boy

Joey turned the Big 26 on November 22nd and I wanted to make sure it wasnt a birthday he would forget!!!!!!!

We spendt the weekend in Des Moines and let me be the first to tell you. . . I ADORED DES MOINES. It has great shopping, resturants, night life and did I mention SHOPPING!!!

We started off his birthday weekend with a visit to Indianola to visit with his dad, step-mom and sister. We headed into the Jordan Creek area with everyone for a fabulous dinner at FISHBONE. If you like seafood this is the place for you. Saturday we headed to Jordan Creek Mall. WE started at a sports bar with a few drinks and the Iowa game. After the game Joey was gracious enough to be my Shopping partner. I tried to make it less painful for him with a trip to Shiel's and some birthday gifts.

After our shopping trip we headed got cleaned up and had another great meal at Johnny's Steakhouse!!!! After that it was to a Martini Bar.

Sunday morning we met Joey's Nana, Mom and Brother Mikey for wings at BW3 (Buffalo Wild Wings. It was great weekend and made us both look forward to more weekend trips to the Des Moines area.

Below are some picutes of the weekend! Enjoy!

JOEY ENJOYING A GLASS OF HIS BIRTHDAY WINE!

JOEY AND I AT JOHNNY'S

JOEY AND MIKEY READY FOR SOME WINGS!

THE WHOLE GANG AFTER SOME WINGS

NEXT POST: THANKSGIVING!

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well most of my readers have already heard the news but . . . . . . . . . .

I'm ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And even better to the best man in the world, my best friend, somebody that makes me laugh, a man that pushes me to strive for the best, and a man that I admire.

I am BLESSED

I thought to change it up I would answer some questions about Joey and our relationship and he is going to do the same.

Erin's Take:

How did you meet the groom? I meet Joe at his company Christams party. My mom works for the same company and ironically enough they knew each other. The first time I meet Joe I thought he seemed extremly personable, and had a great hand-shake. In all honestly though NO ONE could of told me this was the "ONE"

What was your first date like? Joe asked me to go to Church and dinner with him. I knew right from the beginning that his faith was important to him and it would be important any the relationship as well. Afterwards at dinner the conversation took right off and it came to an end way to fast.

What is your first funny memory with the groom? Adter a couple of dates I was getting out of his car one night and feel down. In my defense, his was parked on a hill and I had heels on but I swore after he said good-bye that he would not want date Ms. Clumsy

When did you know they were the one? I think there were so many things that all came togehter for me to know he was the one. When I saw Joe's love and passion for his family, when he showed me unconditional love, when I watched him with my family and friends, and how he let me trust him and never regret it.

What are you looking forward most to about the BIG DAY? This is going to be really hard to sum up but I really think the moment after we kiss on the alter and we turn to see all our family and friends rejoice on such a special moment between Joe and I.

Joe's Take:

How did you meet the bride? Her Mom introduced us at my company's Christmas party.

What was your first date like? I picked her up for Sunday evening mass and then we watched a bought candy from Casey's and watched a movie together

What is your first funny memory with the bride? After a date, I dropped her off at her apartment and getting out of my car, she tripped and caught herself on my car. My first thought was, i hope her jewelry didn't scratch my car.

When did you know the bride was the "one" for you? Once she met my family, she joined in like she had been there for years. Once i saw that, i knew i didn't need to look any longer.

What are you looking forward most to about the BIG DAY? I am looking forward to getting all of our friends and family together and celebrating with everyone. Our friends and family are important to us both, so it will be great joining both families and having one hell of a party. Hope to see everyone there.

I SWEAR WE DID NOT TALK OR LOOK AT OUR ANSWERS WHEN WRITING THIS

Hope everyone enjoyed getting to know us a little better

Next Blog topic: JOE"S BIRTHDAY

My Idea Book

For some time now I have been aspiring to become more of a DIYer and crafter!!!! Although I haven't been up to this long I started a book to chronicle different projects that I want to tackle, yummy recipes, centerpieces, "how-to's," pictures that inspire etc. I call it "MY IDEA BOOK" I keep it in a three ring binder and typically every couple of weeks when I have time to go through my stack of magazines I sit down with a diet coke, scissors and start clipping!!!!! Once I pull the articles I start organizing into different categories such as: decor, recipes, how-to's,. Once I have them organized i file them into plastic liners and separate into the appropriate category.Since I have started this I have really gotten into it. It has also helped when I stumble upon the felling of "what next????" I thought I would include some basic pictures of mine and the magazines that contain a wealth of info!!! ENJOY!!!!!

My IDEA BOOK!!!!!!!

These are some of the magazines that I get alot of the articles I use from!!!!!

These were some of the articles I pulled today a great fall pic, a black and white themed halloween, white wine sampler, and yummy Fall recipes!

All filed away until next time!!!!

Rain Rain Rain

The past couple of days in Davenport have been filled with clouds, drizzling, and rain. It is interesting to me how rain can make people feel differently some people feel sad, other people like to have lazy days in bed watching bad television. My dream day of rainy weather be sitting on a porch swing with a book and a diet coke! It has become very apparent to me that summer is over and that fall is approaching fast. Although I cherish hot summer days and I am actually looking forward to fall. Already the weekends are filling up with different activities like football games, going to the apple orchard, fall parades, raking leaves, and planting bulbs for next spring. Another reason I love fall is because it closer to CHRISTMAS which is one of my favorite holidays because of FAMILY!!!! I will save the Christmas talk for another blog though! I wanted to attach some pictures that have been inspiring the Fall spirit within me!!! I would love to hear what other people are looking forward to or have planned for this fall season!!!