On This Day . . .

On this day three years ago . . . 

I was waking up in a hotel room with some of my closest friends - my bridesmaids! 

I was getting ready for the biggest day of my life - equipped with my own one woman glam squad. 

I was preparing myself to walk down the aisle and give myself to one man, my best friend, for the rest of my life before God and our family and friends. 

I was welcoming and being welcomed into a new family. 

I was celebrating in my favorite dress, under the fireworks, with 300 of our closest friends and family (some which were starved because we ran out of food). 

I was becoming Mrs. Trotter. 

On this day two years ago . . . 

I was celebrating my first anniversary with my hottie husband by eating a replica top tier of our wedding cake and spending an extra long weekend in St. Louis watching the Cardinals. 

On this day one year ago . . . 

I was with miles high with my husband heading to NYC to check something off the pre-baby bucket list. Yankees game, Mets game, world trade center, china town, Brooklyn bridge, Jersey Shore, Time Square. 

Today . . . 

I will be spending a whole day with my baby daddy doing a few of our most favorite things. Lunch at one of our go-tos, massages and a movie. We will probably end the evening catching up on some DVR'd shows eating a brownie and/or bomb pops. 

Time has flown and I can't believe we have been married 3 years already. 

I love you CT and I can't wait to experience so many more years with you! 

Babymoon/Birthday Weekend Recap

Last week - I skipped out on the last few days of the work week to head down to Dallas with my baby daddy. We didn't have any plans other then to stop at a few casinos, do some shopping, and eat some good food. 

We woke up on Thursday and leisurely made our way down to Dallas. I drove the first half of the trip and CT drove the last part. With bathroom breaks, lunch breaks and casino breaks a normal 5 hour trip turned into 8. 

As planned, we stopped at the Kansas Star and WinStar casino. CT played roulette and I play the penny slots and the most we got up with $3. We lost our money so fast - but it was a nice break up to the trip. Let's just say it was an expensive $80 stretch/potty break. 

We then stopped at Pops for lunch in Arcadia, OK. 

Just a little restaurant/gas station off Route66 outside Edmond,OK. We had hamburgers and then went and picked out some soda's from their 600 different choices. 

Ranch soda, sweet corn soda, pimple pop soda (marshmallow), root beer, chocolate soda, orange cream soda, blue raspberry soda, and a fruit punch soda. Root beer and pimple pop soda were the best with chocolate coming in last. And let me tell you - that sweet corn soda tasted exactly like it - especially as it was coming up later in burps. 

It was an experience for sure - and another waste of $20. 

We sent the left overs home with my parents so they can have a taste testing party too. 

The rest of the weekend was filled with CT talking to google - trying to find us some great eats in Dallas. Even though I'm the one 8 months pregnant - I left the food decisions up to him. 

We hit up Picasso's Bar and Grill, Crossroads Diner, Chipolte and Waffle House. 

If you are ever in east Dallas - definitely check out Crossroads Diner - such a delicious spot for breakfast. 

This little man has definitely gotten his fair share of sugar these past few months. 

This cinnamon roll was the bomb.com. 

We also did lots of shopping or should I say CT did lots of shopping. It was my birthday weekend but he's the one that came home with a pair of sweats, a pair of shorts, 5 new t-shirts (a floral, snake print, cheetah pocket shirts -- I love preppy hubby) and some sun glasses. I did get to go to IKEA and get some goodies for the house! I just wasn't in the mood for looking for myself. I'm so over being huge and spending money on clothes that I'll only wear another month or so. I'll save my money for when I start working on the hott soccer mom/milf body and need all smaller sizes. A girl can dream right?

On our way home - CT and I wished we would have taken a trip somewhere tropical and sunny but we decided that we will save that for our 5 year anniversary. Only 2 years and 1 month away and we are thinking Hawaii or the Florida Keys. 

Who knows - all we know is we are doing it!  

Babymoon/Birthday Trip - DALLAS

Tomorrow CT and I head out on a road trip to Dallas for our last hooray before Kingston gets here. We really have no plans - just going with the flow. 

I was able to book a hotel - Doubletree by Hilton - near the Galleria for $45 bucks a night via Priceline. We always name our own price and have had successful experiences with them so far. We usually stay at a Marriott or Hilton chain and we have never paid more than $45 a night. 

What can I say - we are thrifty and can pass up a good deal! 

We plan to head out Thursday late morning - stopping at 2 different casino's on our way to Dallas. Hopefully we get lucky and can start our trip off with some extra money! 

 WinStart World Casino & Resort

Kansas Start Casino.

Hopefully Thursday evening we will be able to hit up a hamburger joint from Diners, Drive-In's and Dives. Friday our only plans are to shop till we drop - maybe find a food truck with a grilled cheese or corn dog. And we plan to come home Saturday but we shall see how we are feeling. 

No plans are good plans! 

I've been looking forward to this for a while and I  can't wait to get away with my main man. 

I hope you'd follow along while we are gone:

My Life in Lists: If I had one MILLION dollars

This week I'm linking up with Marci - If These Walls Could Speak and Kelli - Team Gilbert for their new weekly link up - My Life in Lists. 

I dream about this daily - what would I do with a million dollars? 

How amazing would it be to come into a million dollars one day?  

I guess it would only be amazing if I came into it anonymously. 

With my million dollars this is how I would spend it: 

1. Pay off our STUDENT LOANS. 

We literally could afford a nice house in what we pay monthly for our student loans. 

The worst part about it all - I'm not even using my degree. 

 2. Build our dream home.

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3. Be able to be a stay at home mom - Michelle Duggar style.

AKA have lots of babies and be able to afford them!

I would also want to be able to adopt 2 little mixed babies from the US too. 

  

4. Travel: 

Fiji

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Hawaii 

Castles

5. Invest it so I can make millions more!! 

It's Friday, Friday ... I'm gonna do 5 on Friday

A little Rebecca Black to start your Friday off right! 

1. We got to see our little babe yesterday and it was so surreal. I'm measuring ahead at 12 weeks instead of 11.4 and the heart beat was 175! It's crazy how just 4 weeks ago our little baby looked like a blob and yesterday you could see its arms, legs, hands, feet - it was moving all over the place. 

 Feet crossed, chillin' like a villain! 

Posing for us. I can't get over the details you can see already! 

The picture that had the hubby freaked out! Last appointment our babes HB was 178 and the Dr. said girls statistically have a higher heart rate. Then when the tech showed him this picture yesterday it confirmed it for him! Haha! I just think it's funny cause it's too early to tell and it has got him all flustered. 

2. Looking forward to our gender scan Feb. 10.
 I've decided I'm taking vacation the 11th so I can start shopping. =) 

3. I'm hoping KU pulls off another win tomorrow against K-State. It's sad that I even doubt them, but with the way they are playing this season ... you never know. 

4. Before I get too huge and can't travel, I want to plan a trip to Vegas for a long weekend. I'm thinking March. 
Any tips/tricks to make this trip super affordable? 

5. This weekend is jam packed - I don't know when I'm going to fit in my nap. #firstworldproblems 

NYC Tips & Tricks from a Kansas Girl

To catch up, check out my NYC recap here:

 Part 1

 Part 2

Quickly after landing in New York, I realized this girl was no longer in Kansas. I also found out extremely fast that the Mid-West is way way way different then the East coast in almost ALL aspects! 

Here is a list of Tips & Tricks I compiled to help anyone navigate NYC.

1. bring cash
   It costs to do everything. To cross a bridge into the city it can range from $7-$15. To get on a beach or into a lake it costs anywhere from $6-$10. Also, to be quick {since everyone is always in a rush here} cash makes things ten times easier.
   
   2. bring small billsEach ride on the metro is $2.50. When paying with cash, it will give you back change in all coins. For some reason that just bugs me. I don't want a bunch of dollar coins so just bring small bills, ones and fives and it shouldn't be a problem.
   
   Also, in NYC {mostly in Chinatown, SOHO, and Little Italy} you can barter any and everything. I don't feel as awkward paying for something I just got down to a way lower price when I don't have to get change back or when they don't see that I have larger bills and really could have paid full price.
   
   3. your choice: wear or don't wear designerI made the mistake of carrying around my Michael Kohrs purse the first day we were in the city. Everyone and their dog tried to sell me something. "Coach, Prada, Gucci, Michael Kohrs"
   If you don't want to get bombarded, don't wear designer. If you want to attract that type of attention, go for it.
   
   4. bring an umbrellaIt rained on 2 different occasions while we were in the city, and it rained A LOT! We had 1 umbrella, but it was too small for both CT and me to both use it. We had to purchase one from a sidewalk shop and I swear they sold it to us with a hole. It lasted one day and we paid $5 for it.
   
   5. bring a book or ipod on the metroYou can tell all the people who ride the metro every day. They get on, whip out their book or ipod, and keep their heads down. Nobody makes eye contact, smiles, or talks to anyone.
   {My friends dad told some random guy on the metro that his bag was unzipped, and for thanking him for letting him know, he said 'don't talk to me, or I'll gut you like a fish}
   
   6. don't ask a cop for directionsI was surprised at how many cops were everywhere. They were on bikes, on horses, just walking the streets at all the major sites and in cars. They were everywhere! Just don't ask them for directions. They always give false ones, probably because they get asked soo much. My initial thought was that they would be the perfect person to ask: honest and good people. Wrong! Don't do it.
   
   7. remember: uptown or downtownThe metro can be a really daunting task to navigate. Make sure you double check if you are going uptown or downtown. And as long as you don't go through the exit turns, you can go up the stairs to the other side and you can find the right train to get on. If you mess up, get out on the next stop and hop on another train.
   It's simple, just don't freak!
   
   
   Hopefully these Tips & Tricks will help you out if you are going on a trip to the city anytime soon.
   
   
   Do you have any Tips & Tricks that helped you?
   

Linking up with Serenity Now

Insta-Recap {Weekend in Dallas}

My weekend according to Instagram.

Everyone, meet my bsf's Amanda Rhea. 

She gets married in a little over a month, so we met in Dallas for a semi bachelorette weekend and so she could take her bridal portraits.

 Hanging in the hotel before a full day of shopping! 

If I wasn't married, I assume my home decor would look extremely similar to what this hotel was doing. Super girly but super modern.

The walls remind me of a Victoria's Secret bag - love them!

Night one out at Sfuzzi's. 

Great pizza. 

{Dress // Forever 21}

{Necklace // Groupdealz} 

Night two out at Gloria's. 

Super good mexican food.  

{Dress // Forever 21}

{Necklace // borrowed shorter one, Body Central long one} 

What a score I found at the Nordstrom Rack. 

Navy Sperry's for only $33! 

I couldn't pass them up. My collection was needing a little more glitter.

 

I also found these beauts at DSW. 

I have been on the look out for the perfect pair of nude Jessica Simpson heels, and these were exactly what I was imagining and for only $44.

I mostly needed them for Amanda's wedding, but I know these bad boys will get a lot of play.

Such a fun I weekend! 

Tuesday CT and I leave for NYC bright and early at 6am. 

 Feel free to join along on our adventure by following my:

 

Linking up with Sami.

10 Happies

I wanted to jump on the bandwagon again for today's blog everyday in May post. 

What are 10 things that make you happy?

1. worship music

2. Bentley being happy SO happy to see me when I get home

3. my mom's meatloaf

4. watching funny home videos when people run into glass doors/windows

5. planners

6. playing volleyball

7. going to or watching movies with CT 

8. blowing up firecrackers

9. my tv shows: Grey's, Scandal, Arrow, Beauty & The Beast, Single Ladies, The Client List 

10. naps

11. margaritas 

12. giving gifts 

13. color coding 

14. chapsticked lips

15. traveling 

Sorry, I couldn't stop myself at 10! 

Exciting News

Guess what??

I got news today that my PTO for the week of July 1-5 got approved.  That only means CT and I will be spending our two year anniversary and the 4th of July in NYC! 

I am sooo excited! We definitely need a make up honeymoon after what happened in Cancun! (more to come on that later)

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So, come July, I will have vacationed in Hawaii, Florida, and NYC! 

What an awesome 2013!

I am so blessed!