we were chosen! please vote for us!

so here it is! the secret i've been keeping [and it's been killing me]! well i guess i should say that there are a few secrets i've been holding on to. in the midst of all of the wedding planning and joy, my parents have decided to get divorced. sighs. this was not something that i planned on sharing, but either way, it has made planning a wedding [on top of everything else] very very hard. due to the financial implications, it has made discussing a wedding budget very awkward and at some point, we had to decide exactly what was to be sacrificed since we don't want anyone we love to struggle anymore than necessary when making a huge, life-altering decision. we don't ever want a day that's supposed to be the best day in our lives to be a day that brings those we love any stress or sleepless nights. we just want to be married and spend our days together always. whether that's in a courthouse or a farmhouse, us being together and celebrating our love with those we love is all that matters.

so when i saw that the amazingly talented vendors throwing the notwedding here in atlanta were having a contest for a free wedding, i figured that it was worth a shot [especially after attending this event last year and being blown away]. with the amount of stress that jason and i have been under, we could really use the help of having some awesome professionals plan our wedding, but of course i never thought we'd get picked. well guess what - we are in the final 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i got a call today confirming that we were in the final round and that now it's up the public to vote!

i believe voting starts tomorrow at http://thenotwedding.blogspot.com so please vote for me and jason! we are so grateful for this opportunity and if chosen, we want to share this experience with all of you! if you want any information or have any questions about why you should vote for us, please email me or post a comment and i will respond immediately!

i hope you can forgive the secret-keeping, but hopefully you will vote for jason and me! i believe voting starts tomorrow so please go to the NotWedding blog and vote for jason and nicole! i promise that your vote will not be taken forgranted and that we will be eternally grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! please spread the word! i have appreciated all of the blog support that i have received in the past few months and i feel so lucky to be a part of this radical community that has inspired me every day. we love you all! xoxo

"the purpose of our lives is to be happy” - dalai lama

p.s. here's the first picture of jason and i right after he asked me to marry him. good times! story to come soon!

closer

i saw this questionnaire on teresa's blog and thought it'd be fun to share some fun facts about j.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? well considering we don't have cable right now this one is tough. when we did, j's faves were man vs wild, survivorman, and now we've just started watching lost season 1 - notice a trend? jason wants to live off the grid so bad it hurts.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? ranch. hands down.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? jason isn't picky at all which helps when one is vegetarian, but he isn't a fan of sweets at all. lucky.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? a beer. maybe heineken or a sweetwater.

5. Where did he go to high school? central gwinnett high school.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 11.5 - 12. sometimes it depends on the shoes.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? maybe bottle caps. or banksy prints.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? he loves wraps with "bacon" tempeh strips and avocado.

9. What would he eat every day if he could? burritos or pizza.

10. What is his favorite cereal? he's not a big cereal eater. he prefers making big breakfasts with hashbrowns, bagels, or scrambled tofu.

11. What would he never wear? baggy pants or shirts that are too big

12. What is his favorite sports team? braves circa the 1990's

13. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? probably put myself down or when i get road rage [no, i'm not proud of this]

14. What is his heritage? english - if you've seen the cate blanchett "elizabeth" movie - the man who gets his hand cut off for trying to advise the queen - yeah that man was truly one of j's ancestors! crazy!

15. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? he prefers cookie cake or pound cake which his family calls "pound puppy" cake since he called it that when he was little. so cute!

16. Did he play sports in high school? yes, only for a bit. he played baseball, but then he got a ball to the jaw which resulted in having to have his mouth wired shut for 6 months.

17. What could he spend hours doing? altering photos on photoshop or planning trips

18. What is one unique talent he has? jason can write and paint extremely well. one day i'll have to post one of my favorite writings he ever wrote for me.

what are some interesting things about your guy?

p.s. happy friday!!!

l'introduction

so i figured that today would be as good a day as any other to tell you how jason and i met. there are some things within this story that are somewhat embarrassing, but i could never leave them out. now that all cards are on the table, here goes...

it was the my 2nd semester of my junior year of college. being a psychology major, i was taking mr. achee's class "history of psychology." all semester i had noticed this cute boy who sat in the row next to me, but one seat up. when he actually showed up to class [which was somewhat rare], he would arrive in slippers and therefore, he intrigued me. one day i noticed that he had a button on his bag for a band that i loved and i knew we'd be able to at least have somethings in common. so everyday i would try to get up the nerve to talk to him or give him a flier to my roommate's 21st birthday party, but i failed every single day.

finally it was the last week of classes before the final exam and my opportunities were running short. he didn't show up for the tuesday class which meant i had one more chance. that night i was on FB [gasp] and i clicked on the link to show people in your classes and he was the first person that showed up on the screen! this was a bit shocking considering i'd embarrsingly enough tried looking for him before with no avail. so i figured i had nothing to lose and i emailed him.

he tried to play like he didn't quite know who i was which i knew was a front, but either way we joked about how many times mr. achee had gone over the dang müller-lyer illusion and the communication door had been opened. so on thursday, the last day of class, we got out early and we walked out together and that's when he asked me to get a beer [at 10:00 in the morning]! being that i was still 20, i instead suggested lunch and it was a blast. we were instantly connected and we would end up spending each day for over 2 weeks hanging out until 6:00 AM every night/ morning to end with awkward "buddy pat" hugs. eventually we ended up making the first move for the kiss and we have been inseparable since.

here's some random/ insane things surrounding the first meeting:
1. j grew up in lawrenceville, ga and i grew up in alpharetta, ga [it is about 20-25 minutes drive between the two cities]; however, both of jason's aunts and grandparents [both on his mom's side] live on my parents' street! his one aunt lives across the street and 2 houses down from the house i grew up in [where my parents still live]!!
2. in fact there were times that j stayed with his aunt while working in atlanta during the summer and my mom saw him and thought it was a shame that i was away at college. he also heard me and some friends setting off fireworks one night across the street and complained to his mom about it over the phone.
3. j and i had both been trying to talk to eachother all semester and had both told our moms about eachother. see - i told you he knew who i was when i messaged him!
4. since he had no interest in FB, j's cousin had actually created his FB account for him only a few days before i messaged him.

anyways, i feel so lucky that our paths crossed the way they did. regardless of whether or not one believes in fate, it seems like many things aligned to have us meet exactly when we did. and i am forever thankful for mr.achee and that müller-lyer illusion drawing:

also, just for fun. here is jason and i on one of our very first dates [put-put golf at pirate's cove]:

have a wonderful day!

l'essential est invisible

inspired by the the ones we love project, i have decided to post six pictures of my boy.

jason inspires me to never settle, to always dream, and to do what makes me happy. his compassion and his desire to learn and travel is truly irresistable. he is my best friend and i know that with him, i've always got someone on my team no matter what. jason is the man that my mother always promised that i'd find. i am a lucky girl.














"it is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. what is essential is invisible to the eye." - antoine de saint-exupéry [the little prince]