:: honeymoon highlights ::

oh, what a glorious trip! we spent two full weeks in europa for our honeymoon and just had the BEST time. honestly, i could live there... aside from being far from all our loved ones, the culture, fashion, landscape, wine, food, wine, sites, wine and history would keep us busy.

here's the run down... i'll keep it short because the details could go on and on.
#1 :: florence, italy {quaint, cobblestone streets, amazing views, lots of piazzas, adorable eateries, great wine, genuinely nice people, lots and lots of art as it was the home of the renaissance}
#2 :: rome, italy {holy stuff to see... coliseum, pantheon, vatican, st. peter's basilica, roman forum, trevi fountain, spanish steps. on top of this, there was amazing pizza, gelato, vino, pasta}
#3 :: pompeii, italy {we stopped through pompeii to visit the ancient ruins on our way to sorrento - it was dusty, but amazing. so crazy to see things and even people who have been preserved by lava and ash. of course, i had my fill after 3.5 hours... eric could have stayed all day}.
#4 :: sorrento, italy {what a lovely beach town nestled on cliffs high above the sea. we took this opportunity to just relax and enjoy ourselves - staying at a hotel outside of town, nestled within olive and lemon groves it was the perfect hideaway with a private beach. we headed into town each night for dinner and spent lazy days at the beach. amazing, amazing time. cannot wait to revisit the amalfi coast and spend time in the other seaside villages}
#5 :: dubrovnik, croatia {the perfect mix of beauty and culture - this was a great stop on our trip. we loved the beaches, the old town, city walls, the food, the stradun and everything else dubrovnik had to offer}
#6 :: paris, france {final stop and maybe our favorite - we loved the little side streets, cafes, beautiful architecture, amazing sites and the fashion, of course, was to die for. we will definitely be heading back to paris... next time for a much longer period of time}

a few pics from our getaway...


{lemons in sorrento - literally some as big as my head!}


{coliseum}


{florence - you can see the duomo in the backdrop}


{amazing caprese salad in florence}


{view from our terrace in sorrento}


{the most amazing felafel, paris}


{our ice cream cones with the stradun in the backdrop}


{trevi fountain, last day in rome}


{adorable dinner at the library, rome}


{eiffel tower, paris}

:: the main event ::

our wedding weekend was the most ah-mazing ever. who could ask for more than two full days with family and friends? not i. honestly, i wish we could have a blow out wedding each year. what a perfect time to eat, drink and dance.

the festivities began with the rehearsal at our church and the dinner at chances 'r'. everyone did VERY well at the rehearsal... it's as if the ladies had been through this before:) the guys did pretty well too. this was my time to get all the nerves out, so i definitely started crying when dad walked me down the aisle. i swear, i've never bitten the inside of my cheek so hard. i usually reserve that behavior for when i feel like laughing hysterically, but it's completely inappropriate {e.g. meetings, serious conversations, etc.}. it was a lovely day and turned into an even lovelier night. we gorged ourselves on chances 'r' fried chicken and prime rib, heard some of our favorite people say a few words and watch a slideshow featuring eric + i through the years:) after catching up with everyone we loved, many of us headed out to what we thought was "The Lounge"... only to find out that this bar was closing {forever}. Thank goodness the Applebee's in York stays open until at least 1 a.m. LUCKY US. thank goodness mama jess was watching over me and my curfew.

the wedding day was perfect. we had a lovely breakfast at applebee's, followed by a full day of pampering. i swear, if someone did my hair and makeup each day, i could be kim kardashian. no joke. we laughed, sipped bubbly, listened to music and just had an all-around good time. we got ready at the church, eric + i saw each other for the first time and before we knew it, it was showtime. the timing was absolutely gorgeous in the church - stained glass was so stunning. the ceremony went by too quickly and who knew the reception would fly by, too? it felt so crazy to be introduced as "mr and mrs. eric johnson"... odd/amazing. it was so overwhelming to see all our favorite people. before we knew it, we were finishing our first dance and cutting the cake. then, after dancing for hours, it was time to end for the festivities to end. i've never danced so hard {even at the clubs in ibiza}, so i would say it was the perfect evening. and now, i'm THE mrs. abbey johnson. ahhhhhh. thanks to everyone for making our wedding the best ever.

here are a few snapshots from the weekend!

:: chicago shower ::

promise i'm not completely obnoxious. but, my friends in chicago hosted a shower and ladies night out... seriously, it was a total blast.

first off, i was booted out of our apt the weekend of july 22 as it was eric's bachelor party. so, i was bunking up with my great friend kelly... so fun having sleepovers:) while the guys were off having their fun, my friend jennie hosted a lovely shower at her place. of course, the hostess with the mostess made sure all i's were dotted and t's crossed - great drinks, amazing food and lots of fun friends from chi made it over for quite the celebration. such thoughtful gifts and great laughs!

though, the shower was not all we had in store for the night... my friends and creative team at work, jenae and cassidy planned a bar crawl/bachelorette/ladies night out and it was literally my favorite night in chicago to-date. they mapped out dares at all the bars in my neighborhood and made me dress-up in quite the outfit, rewarding me with naughty prizes along the way. i definitely needed a little liquid courage - but here are the highlights on dares + select photos appropriate to share.

- i had to reenact our "save the date" photo in the photobooth at our favorite bar, schubas. i grabbed a random guy from the bar to pose with me... he was a trooper.
- stood on the bar at the bar schoolyard and made everyone say the pledge of allegiance with me. i am totally obnoxious.
- went to southport lanes and bowled a ball in someone else's game. they were not happy to hand the ball over, but i was dared to bowl a strike and I DID. seriously, you would have thought i just won the world cup the way the bar erupted when i knocked all pins down on the first try.
- of course, sang baby got back while standing on the bar at newport.

:: yorktown shower ::

and the fun just doesn't stop:) eric + i got to head back to york for my 10-year high school reunion... it was a really fun time to catch up with friends and also worked out nicely for my parents' friends to host a brunch-time shower for eric + i.

after a long weekend of reunion events, we gathered at the wietings for a sunday brunch. it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with all of our family friends and a chance for eric to meet everyone before the wedding. everyone approves... so we're still a-go for 8.13:) the vincents, wietings and houghs put on quite a show - adorable decor, amazing food {egg casserole and creme brulee french toast were INSANE!} and lots of fun. eric + i had a chance to share how we met and the story of our engagement... of course, eric told his side and then i told everyone what actually happened.

afterwards, we were filled to the brim and headed off to the airport to fly home. thank you, thank you for being such fabulous hosts! eric + i truly appreciate it.

:: bridesmaids shower, kc ::

hi, hi, hi.

i have officially been the WORST bride-to-be on the planet. for some reason, i've been too consumed with work/life/wedding planning to keep up on my blog. LAME.

here's my attempt to fill everyone in before our BIG day. lots has happened... hold on to your hats:)

my fabulous bridesmaids threw me a ladies shower in kansas city at the end of june. i was able to squeeze-in a dress fitting {and some shopping}, so it was quite the weekend! mom came down and my future mom-in-law came up, plus so many friends gathered to celebrate. it was amazing/overwhelming:)

sally, leah, lindsey, conn, meghan and lizzy were the hostesses with the mostesses - these girls know me all too well + had the nielsen's house stocked with all the faves :: Saigon 39 spring rolls, cupcakes, raspberry black bean dip, crab rangoon dip, mimosas and much more. LOVED it. All part of my wedding diet, which is a little unconventional/non-existent:) plus, the decor was all yellow and lovely.

i had a great time opening gifts, telling stories, laughing and listening to my mom and lu give advice on married life:) so fun to catch up with my lovelies. it makes me realize just how much i miss everyone - and, of course, just how lucky i am to have such great friends and fam.

:: viva las vegas ::

there are few words that truly express what fun i had on my bachelorette party. pictures do a pretty decent job of telling the story, so i'll let them do most of the talking. overall, i have amazing friends and family - it was a much needed weekend away from the chaos that is life {work, wedding plans, reunion and more...} and there wasn't a moment that passed without a smile {or a drink in my hand}. from the oldest to the newest, they were all there for me + i couldn't have asked for anything more. we ate, we drank, we danced, we laughed. wish it was normal to get married each year - not only as a way to renew your vows to your manpanion, but also as a way to continue to renew your friendships through all the fabulous festivities. nuff said. loves.

:: engagement photos, part two ::

eric loves nothing more than smiling and staring at me for hours on end. LUCKY DAY! we had an engagement session with one of our wedding photogs while we were back in nebraska and had such a fun time. my makeup artist did a trial run {hair styling... or lack thereof was compliments of me!} and we got to use an awesome space with lots of grey. here are just a few of the photos we really liked. a lot of just natural looks and laughs, which we'll be able to keep forever to remind us of just how happy we are together. cannot wait for these guys to capture all of the real, sweet and hilarious moments on our big day. enjoy:)

Our First Shower :)

We had our very first wedding shower in Springfield on May Day and it was a blast! Although it was a rainy, rainy day; Lu and Larry's good friends gathered to help Eric + I celebrate our upcoming nuptials. We got some very nice gifts and had a lovely time chatting with everyone. Plus, the cake was ah-mazing!!

Here are a few pics from the day: good practice cutting the cake, the festive yellow decor, Eric + I opening gifts, Lu and Whitney striking a pose, and us with the shower hosts with the most {Tom + Marla}.

So fun! Only a few months left to the big day:)