Road Trippin'

On Tuesday morning (hopefully) Connor and I will hit the road to start our journey to Colorado! Our plan is to try and get there by a reasonable time on Thursday, since we will have to unload our U-Haul. It looks like we can take three different routes. Route C actually seems pretty similar to the route we would've taken to Oklahoma. We haven't completely made up our minds on which one to take yet, but are leaning towards A.  It's the one Connor took when we drove from Fort Gordon. Which one will we take? Guess you'll have to keep an eye on the blog to figure that out!

Oh, and my posts might be a little few and far between next week.  I'll try to do my best to post! You could always follow my Instagram (@thediaryofbrandt) for more frequent updates!

Until next time,
Brandt
(Soon I'll be signing off as a Shepard!)

Weekly Obsessions 2/17/16

This week, I'm obsessed with...

FASHION:
Kate Spade had their surprise sale last week, and the deals were so good!  But I'm trying to only spend what money I absolutely have to with the move coming up next week.  As I was perusing through the things on sale, some jewelry and wallets caught my eye.  Every time I'm in the Kate Spade store I am drooling over the wallets and purses, but never splurge on one.  I was talking to Connor while looking through the sale, and he asked which ones I really liked.  Well, a pair of earnings and a wallet that I mentioned to him turned up in the mail this weekend!  He is too cute!  My Valentine's Day present was this gorgeous wallet and pair of earrings.  I CANNOT wait to wear and style them.  Maybe I'll even do a separate post when I do style them :)

JAMS:


FOOD:
I try really hard not to eat fast food, and usually do not eat it.  On Saturday, I was craving Taco Bell.  Like I was seriously craving it; I needed it.  So, I treated myself (#treatyoself) to some, as I lovingly call it, T Bell.  During the Super Bowl, they announced their latest addition to the menu.  The Quesalupa is basically a Chalupa with a cheese stuffed shell.  Now I'll be honest, I didn't watch much of the Super Bowl after the game started.  I got bored and started working on other things.  But, the #6 at Taco Bell, aka the Chalupa combo, is my favorite. It's my go-to. So, when I pulled into T Bell and discovered this beauty I had to get it. Listen everyone, it's worth it. I want twelve of them to eat for myself. If you're into eating Taco Bell, go eat one of these...now.

GRAMMYS:
Everything about Carrie Underwood and everything she did at the GRAMMYs on Monday night.  She is beautiful and talented.  I don't think I've really ever heard anything bad about her.  Plus, she killed it in her performance with Sam Hunt. You can find a video clip at the end of this article.
Tori Kelly has a beautiful voice that only gets better when live. Her performances never disappoint. So, obviously, neither did this one.
Justin Bieber's acoustic version of "Love Yourself" was great. I loved it! I was like yes JB has really made his comeback.  As for the rest of the performance with Skrillex and Jack U, eh. It wasn't bad, but that acoustic opening really stole the show for me. 
I can't talk about the Grammys and not mention Lady Gaga's tribute to David Bowie, because it was awesome!!! As soon as I heard about this tribute, I was so excited for it! I stayed up way later than I wanted to so I could watch it.  I think she's the perfect artist to have done that tribute. Both her and David Bowie are just a *little* weird, in the greatest way possible. Anyway, it rocked. 


Those are my obsessions this week.  What are you obsessing over lately? 

Until next time, 
Brandt

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Wedding Bells and Wedding Hells

As my time as a bride-to-be comes to a close, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the wedding planning process. I was faced with the challenge of planning a wedding in 6 months, where most brides have about 9 months to a year. By the time I actually got the ball rolling, it was really more like 5 months. I've realized through this journey that I experienced 5 emotional states as a bride-to-be. While they might be different for every bride, here are my five.

1. Excitement!
   Yay! Congrats! You are engaged! Everyone will be so excited and want to see your ring and hear the story of how your boo proposed! You'll be excited too. The happiness and joy is all there. It's a time full of celebration and joy.
   
   I remember being so happy during the first week after my engagement.  I was finally Connor's fiance! Everyone was covering us with love and couldn't wait to hear more about the wedding.  It's so important to enjoy this part of the process, because I felt like it was quite some time before I was feeling excited again.  After this, everything gets real...
2. Anxiety and/or Stress
   Then the real fun begins. It hits you that you have to plan a wedding. All of it. The whole thing. Looking at venues, picking out a dress, and everything else. You look at a check list and feel overwhelmed.
   
   Once I hit this stage, I suddenly felt so lost and unsure of what to do.  For the first month of our engagement, I had Connor help me with the planning and picking things out.  After that, he was off to Georgia and I was in Lakeland doing most of this without him. I was still working full time at my internship, and already didn't know much about weddings. Every bride feels this, so its totally normal. You just have to remember that its your day and it's important to do what feels right for you and your fiance.  At the end of the day, you're celebrating the love you two share.
3. Calm
   Finally, you can breathe a little bit. You've checked off some pretty significant tasks, and things are looking up. There's still plenty of time before the wedding to tie up any loose ends.  A pretty solid plan is in place and things are starting to come together.
   
   This usually happens around the halfway point of your planning timeline.  It's the best part of the wedding planning process because you can kind of start to have fun with it again.  You've kind of gotten a hang of things and you've found your groove.  You're excited for the wedding, and everything is going to be okay. Things are finally coming together.
4. Over it. So incredibly over it.
   The last thing you want to do is put one more stamp on an invite, paint one more centerpiece, or make another decision about the wedding.  At this point, you just want to wear your dress, say, "I do!", and eat some great food with your family and friends.
   
   I'm going to be 110% honest with everyone...this is where I am at right now.  I am so over painting centerpieces, looking at check lists, and overall just done with planning.  All I want is to wear my dress and marry Connor and have fun and then be married.  You get to the point where it's not really fun anymore and it's time to get this party started.  The saving grace with this stage is usually the bridal showers and your bachelorette party.  At least that's what kept me sane.  You're able to have fun and you get to feel excited about your wedding again.  However, in the back of your mind the actual date is lingering and coming up. The stress and anxiety comes back.  Basically, you just want it to get here and do the dang thing.
5. Excitement!
   Congrats! You made it and in one piece! You're finally getting married. All of the  hard work is coming to life, and everyone is so excited.  At least one thing will not go as you have planned, but chances are no one will even notice.  This will make for a good story later. Live it up and take it all in! You're married!
   
   Ugh, get me to this day already please.  Not only am I dying to see Connor, I am so ready to just have fun and be done stressing over the wedding.  All of the planning will finally be over, and it's your turn to enjoy all of the hard work. I know things will go wrong, but a year from now that's not what people will remember.  I am ready to celebrate our love with our family and friends.  I can't wait to get to the big day!

It's crazy for me to think that I'm only a week out from the wedding.  Even though we had a very short engagement, I feel like we've been talking about this for so long.  Now it's finally going to happen.  Being a bride-to-be can be a real pain in the butt, but it's a precious time that really should be cherished.  I might not have always done it right, but I did my best to stay true to myself and stay level headed. Getting married soon? Feeling any of these stresses? Any of this bring back memories from when you were planning your wedding? Be sure to share your stories!

Until next time, 

Brandt

(But not for much longer!!!)

Weekly Obsessions 2/10/16

This week, I am obsessing over...

VIDEO:
The moment I saw that Lady Gaga was performing the National Anthem, I got a little nervous.  I was scared she would do something controversial or too edgy.  Doing that kind of stuff usually wouldn't bother me too much, but I take the National Anthem pretty seriously.  Um, she totally knocked it out of the park though!! I was in love with it.  I haven't stopped thinking about it once since I heard it.  So. Awesome.

APPS:

I haven't been able to update my phone since mid 2015, because my phone never has enough room on it.  My photos and videos take up so much space, but I have major anxiety about deleting them off my phone.  What if I need one for a #tbt or something random?  So I never delete them and couldn't update my phone.  This week I discovered Dropbox and the fact that they have a mobile app.  It's awesome! You can upload your pictures to the Dropbox app, and then delete them off of your phone.  Through the app, you'll still have access to them on your phone.  It frees up so much space! I was able to finally update my phone, and keep my pictures.  They also have an amazing app called Carousel that will sync your photos and videos and send them to Dropbox.  Sad thing is that they are ending Carousel March 31st, so Dropbox will be the way to go. 

[Bonus: cleaning up/organizing my phone was on my February Bucket List!]

JAMS:

Fire N Gold isn't new, but it's finally on Spotify. I love this song because it reminds me of something I would've loved in middle or high school.  I love the pop rock feel to it.  Bang My Head is a major yes because I love Sia and I love Fetty Wap and this song has both.  So I was sold the minute I heard it. The other two are songs I go to when I need a pick me up and am feeling really trendy.  While these are two artists that I don't listen to a lot, I am in love with these songs! 

Those are this week's obsessions! What are you obsessed with this week?

Until next time,
Brandt

The #shepshow

My bachelorette party was this past weekend, and it was one heck of a #shepshow.  All week, I couldn't help but be stressed out over the fact that there was so much to do but I would be gone all weekend.  In reality, I needed a weekend away more than anything else.  I was totally also really excited, because everything we were doing was a huge surprise.  I had no idea what was going on.
Basically, it was awesome. My friends had been listening to me talk about how much I love City Walk and how sad I was that I wouldn't get to go one last time before I left Florida.  I also really had wished I could go to Disney, since that was something else I'd be pretty far away from soon.  They planned a weekend I will never forget.  It was also really special for another reason.  It's hit me pretty hard lately that soon I won't be surrounded by my friends.  The people I constantly lean on will be incredibly far away from me.  I was able to make some phenomenal memories and have some laughs I'll never forget before the huge move.  I value each one of their friendships, and will cherish this trip for years to come. But enough with the sappy business, I decided I'd just share some pictures with you guys! Friday night we hit up City Walk in Universal Studios, and Saturday we spent the whole day at Epcot! Saturday night we laughed until we cried and ate chips and played Cards Against Humanity. Seriously, best weekend of 2016.

 

 

Here's some *gems* of me in the purest form. 

This is the weekend in a nutshell, and I might post the whole collection of pictures on my personal Facebook page.  I haven't decided if the world could handle them yet.  Anyway, we definitely had some fun!

Until next time,
Brandt

It's Going to be ColoRADo

Well now that we won't be moving to Oklahoma, I guess I've got to do a new post on what I'm looking forward to in Colorado! Long story short, the Army decided last minute (less than 24 hours before he was supposed to leave Fort Gordon) to change Connor's orders from Fort Sill, Oklahoma to Fort Carson, Colorado. We feel incredibly blessed to say the least. I'm so glad that I could be at Fort Gordon when he found this out, because I was able to share the excitement with him! I could also be there to take a deep breath with him and completely re-map the plans we had been working on for the last eight months.

Okay so Colorado is just a tad bit cooler (no pun intended...or maybe it was...) than Oklahoma. This being said I'll just choose five things to highlight.  My list is like 100 things long though, to be honest.

1. The Scenery
   Oh my gosh, Colorado looks gorgeous! Those mountains! 😍 I have never been to Colorado, or spent a lot of time in mountainous terrain. It's going to be so different than Florida, and I can't wait to take it all in! I'm a little uneasy about adjusting to the altitude change, can't lie there. I guess I'll just need to ease into that. There are a few parks I already have my eye on: Memorial Park, Bear Creek Park, Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods have all of these trails I cannot wait to explore! I also saw something about rock climbing?? Um, yes. Sign me up! Hopefully my Floridan lungs can adjust quickly, because I am so ready to check all of this out! 
2. Hockey!
   Back in high school, I fell in love with hockey.  The Tampa Bay Lightning have always been, and always will be, my favorite NHL team.  However, Colorado has plenty of hockey at all different levels.  I am so excited to be in a state where there's probably quite a few more hockey fans than we have in Florida. The Colorado College Tigers have a huge hockey rivalry with the University of Denver Pioneers, so you can guarantee I will need to check out some of these hockey games. Especially the Battle for Pikes Peak, which is a rivalry series between Colorado College and the Air Force Academy. From what I could find, there are 5 active hockey teams at the college, minor league, and major league levels.  This sounds like heaven, and I can't wait to watch some hockey games!  
3. Outdoor Activities
   As soon as we tell people we're moving to Colorado, everyone says we'll have to learn how to ski.  Thankfully, I've been skiing before.  Sadly, I'm awful at it. From what I remember, I do like to snowboard though. Tubing is always fun too. I'm kind of excited to try out skiing and snowboarding again. Maybe I'll get good at it? Who knows.  I'm also really excited for all of the new trails and parks to explore.  Like I mentioned above, there's rock climbing! I have never rock climbed (indoor or outdoor) so I definitely want to try this out! Connor and I love our hammock, so finding new spots to hammock in will probably be something we do a lot of once it gets warm enough to spend a few hours outside. We might even buy bikes! There are endless outdoor activities to take advantage of in Colorado!
4. Trying New Cuisine
   SO. MUCH. NEW. FOOD. Which is going to make sticking to Goal #1 pretty hard. Colorado Springs loves their fondue, and apparently it comes down to the Mona Lisa or the Melting Pot.  Guess this means I just have to try both?? Oh darn. When looking for a fancy dinner, elk and bison are on the menu.  Not sure how I feel about this, but I'll try it at least once. There is a Chinese restaurant that comes highly recommended called China Town. Apparently, locals love it! Colorado is really big on craft beer too! I don't have a list of breweries I want to see yet, but I think I know where I'll start. Bristol Brewing Company is in Colorado Springs and comes recommended.  The state has a ton of breweries, and even more festivals.  I definitely want to check out the Colorado Springs Beer Festival when I get the chance. This is only a start, but I know there will be a lot of food and fun to explore once we get settled in! 
5. STARTING A LIFE WITH CONNOR!!!
   No changes here, still excited for this.  I can't wait to head out to Colorado with him and see the place he's picked out for us to live in! The excitement is so real!

It's going to take a lot of adjusting, but overall I think Colorado will be really fun! Have you ever been to Colorado? Any advice for us on our cross country move? Drop them in the comments below!

Until next time,

Brandt

Weekly Obsessions 2/3/16

This is another new thing that I'm trying: weekly obsessions.  Here you will find what I can't get enough of this week.  Some weeks it might be some music, a Netflix show or two, or anything else that I'm in love with at the time. So, without further ado here are my obsessions this week:

JAMS:
There are two songs I have had on repeat lately. "XO" by Beyonce and "Roses" by The Chainsmokers.  "XO" isn't even that new, but I heard an American Idol audition where a girl killed it, and then I just kept listening to it over and over...and still am. With the wedding coming up I'm just really feeling it.  Then there's "Roses."  I wouldn't say that I'm someone who listens to a lot of EDM or the electronic music that's really big these days.  Every once in awhile, one will come along that I love and this is one of those.


SHOWS:
A few months ago, probably in December, I remember watching a video for this new Netflix documentary series with Chelsea Handler.  It was awesome! I couldn't wait for the show to come out.  Then I forgot that the release date was in January.  Chelsea Does...is now streaming on Netflix and it is SO funny! I have to limit myself to only one episode at a time (mostly because they're around an hour each) so I don't blow through them all too soon.  I want them to last forever. Warning: it contains extremely adult content! Some of it makes me really uncomfortable, but the funny moments make up for it.  Each episode, Chelsea explores a new topic.  Marriage, Silicon Valley, and racism are just a few of the topics she touches on.  I love documentaries and to broaden my horizons, so when they are funny and in episode form-I am sold.


MAKEUP:
For months, my plan has been to do my own makeup for the wedding. Mostly to save money, but also because I don't mind doing my makeup.  For big events like this, I find it really fun!  So, for Christmas I asked for Urban Decay's Naked3 pallet.  I was drawn to all of the pinks and browns and couldn't wait to play with them! I've been trying to use it sparingly, because it is for the wedding. Lately, I've been treating myself and using it in everyday wear though. I'm so in love with it.  The shadows go on so easily and all play well together.  They pop and were definitely worth every penny! Even though I've never owned or really tried Naked or Naked2, I'd say this is the only one I'd need.

So, there ya have it! My weekly obsessions.  Anything you're obsessed with this week? Let me hear all about it! Maybe I'll become obsessed with it too.

Until next time,
Brandt

February Bucket List

One of the blogs I follow, The College Prepster, does a monthly bucket list.  I love this idea! It seems like such a fun way to outline each month. So, I decided I'll give it a try myself.  Here is my bucket list for February 2016:

Let's see how this goes! I might even do this every month if it works out.  A few of these might even turn into individual blog posts, so keep an eye out for that. Does anyone else do this? What do you include on your bucket lists? 

Until next time,

Brandt