Welp, it's Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas. I still can't believe how fast this year has gone by. In January I got engaged to the love of my life. In September, we jumped the broom. And now, here we are, preparing to celebrate our first Christmas together as a married couple. However, a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I noticed that neither one of us were in the … [Read more...]
4 Ways “Hard Times” Can Strengthen Your Marriage
Last week I celebrated my 3 month wedding anniversary. I don't know about anyone else's marriage, but it seems like as soon as we said "I do", hard times surfaced. Neither one of us had car issues while engaged, but didn't those suckers want to start breaking down one month into our marriage. On top of that, my job situation became unreliable, causing me to go into extreme … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Incorporate His & Her Family During the Holidays
Let me start off by saying I am the poster child for blended families. Both of my parents remarried when I was young, causing my family to quadruple. But now that I’m newly married, it’s officially out of control. I’ve been stressing out about how we’re going to see all 5 sides of the family during our first holiday season as a married couple. I think I’ve got it figured it … [Read more...]
Why I Chose to be on TLC’s Reality Show “Virgin Coaches”
Before I got married I wrote a post entitled "30 Year Old Virgin: Why I'm Waiting for Marriage to Have Sex". It. Went. Viral. I still can't believe I was actually scared to hit publish and even contemplated deleting the entire post. Boy am I glad I pressed pass my fears and realized God wanted me to share my story. The next morning I woke up to a variety of tweets and comments … [Read more...]
Old Hollywood Wedding in Chicago
There's is something about the glamour and elegance of "yesteryear" that has always captured me. Before I got engaged, I always knew the theme of my wedding would be "Old Hollywood in Chicago". Let's go back down memory lane to the best day of my life: September 6, 2014. Our ceremony was held at the Parkway Ballroom, here in Chicago. I am blessed to have a super creative mom, … [Read more...]
What REALLY Happens After You Say “I Do”!
The dress. The makeup. The bridal party. The music. The dancing. The tears. The love. Who doesn't love a good wedding? I've been married for over a month now, and I'm sure this is the best decision I've ever made in my life. Period. It's extremely refreshing to know I have a permanent partner that will help me triumph and overcome the craziness of life. My husband's love … [Read more...]
Why It’s Important to Celebrate the “Bride to Be”, Even If It Hurts
So, my wedding is 10 days away. Excuse me for a moment: Yep, you read that right. 10. DAYS. AWAY. This journey started in January (2014), and here we are. Time literally flew by. I've learned so much during this process. First, let me say that wedding planning is for the birds. And, this better be my first and only wedding, because ain't nobody got time to go through … [Read more...]
How Guarding My Heart Got Me a Ring
I can't believe I'll be someone's wife in 3 weeks. At times, I find myself still in shock about what's happening in my life. I stare at my ring in amazement. Sometimes, I seriously and jokingly ask my fiancé "Where did you come from?" LAST YEAR I WAS SINGLE. Let that sink in. Those close to me know my story and witnessed how fast God moved when it was time. Key words: WHEN IT … [Read more...]
10 Things Planning a Wedding Will Teach You
I am officially less than 6 weeks away from jumping the broom. I'll never be able to understand how folks have engagements that last over a year, because these last 8 months have been TRY-ING, to say the least. They say planning a wedding can be an extremely draining process. They ain't never lied. Here are 10 things planning a wedding will teach you: 1. Your date is too far … [Read more...]
Trip to the Altar: My Future Husband Was Already Married
Man makes plans. God laughs. I can't tell you how many times I THOUGHT I knew who my future husband would be. I heard this saying when I was single and found it to be true; "It's the person you least expect it to be." It sure was, because my future husband was already married. After experiencing my first heartbreak, I was sure I'd meet my husband at college. It just made … [Read more...]
My Trip to the Altar: I’ve Got the Bridal Blues
The other day I had a "bridal breakdown". Mind if I vent a bit... Thanks. Being engaged is supposed to be one of the best seasons of my life, but it's not. I can not stress enough that planning a wedding is hard and expensive. Especially when you quit your job last September. Yep, I took a huge leap of faith by quitting my 9-5, and entered the world of independent work. … [Read more...]
Trip to the Altar: Checkout My Vintage Engagement Photo Shoot
If you read my blog, you know I believe I was born in the wrong era. I feel some kind of way about life cheating me out of experiencing the Dorothy Dandridges, Audrey Hepburns, and Shug Avery's of our time. However, I'm always down for a little dress up and knew exactly what I wanted the theme of our wedding to be: Vintage! Shot by Adela Red, here in Chicago, our engagement … [Read more...]
Trip to the Altar: 7 Signs that He’s the One
The other day I was thinking about some of the relationships I was in, that DIDN'T work out. One would think I wouldn't have been so blinded by "love" to recognize these guys clearly weren't "the one" for me. I guess in my case, it took meeting "the one" for me to recognize the difference from God writing my love story versus a bootleg script crafted by Yours Truly. Stevie is … [Read more...]
Trip to the Altar: A Lesson From My Broken Family
This past Christmas was spent with my soon to be in-laws. It was the first time I celebrated a major holiday without my family, and it was bittersweet. Don't get it twisted, I LOVE my future in-laws. The way they've accepted me and love me, is nothing but a blessing from above. However, I couldn't ignore the feeling I felt deep in the pit of my stomach or the tears that I … [Read more...]
Trip to the Altar: I Want a Marriage More Beautiful than My Wedding
I have a confession: before I got engaged I pretty much had my entire wedding planned on Pinterest. Another confession: before I even MET my fiancé, I had an idea of what my wedding would look like. I Dreamed of My Prince I know I'm not the only one. Girls dream about being a beautiful bride all the time. Once we become women, we realize we're one step closer to having our … [Read more...]