New Blog

I have changed blogs --- It is now at

http://brandictoole.wordpress.com/

The weekend in Collage

The weekend in Collage by brandimarie88 on Polyvore.com

Sugar bears

We all went to Savannah yesterday so that Tory and I could buy some grown up things for our apartment. This is what we found instead...

Sugar bears. I can't wait for Christmas :)

Summer Swap Shop

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have a huge obsession with the show One Tree Hill. Well today, while I was stumbling through some of the characters blogs, I found this Summer Swap Shop off of one of the actresses, Bethany Joy Galeotti's, blog.

I would love to have a summer swap shop. I think it is a really fun and exciting idea? Anyone interested? Lets make plans :)

Back from paradise

I just got back from the best week of my life. First of all, I got to marry my best friend with everyone we love by our sides. Then, I got to have a huge party to celebrate. We all danced the night away until it was time for Tory and me to leave. We left in a black limousine, which I was really excited about because I had never been in a limo. We then made the trek out of the country to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

I couldn't have imagined a more perfect place for us to have our honeymoon. The weather was absolutely amazing, there were flowers blooming at every corner of the island, and someone always made my bed for me! The people working at the resort were always happy, either smiling or dancing, and very eager to help you out. Our days consisted of eating 6 or 7 meals, which were all incredible. We also relaxed by one of the huge pools at the resort. It had a swim-up bar where friendly local bartenders made tasty concoctions all day for you. If you were too lazy to swim over to the bar, no problem. They also had a Drinks on Wheels cart. Each night, a different kind of event was put on by the resort. They had cultural dancing, BBQ's, and even a newlywed game.

This was the view from our room :)

Some of the days we got a little adventurous and went snorkeling in the amazingly clear Caribbean Sea, went to the spa for 80 minute massages, and went on a speed boat tour of the island. Snorkeling was really fun, and I hate to admit it, but I was terrified to try it for the first time. I was scared I would drown or get eaten alive, but it was great, and we ended up going again on another day.

The trip was full of a lot of exciting experiences. Another new thing I got to try out was a professional massage, which was incredible and definitely won't be my last. The final day at the resort we went on a speed boat tour. During the tour we got to see the Piton Mountains, take a mud bath in 120 degree volcano water, take pictures under a waterfall in the mineral springs, go snorkeling again, eat local cuisine, try cocoa beans straight from the tree, see a real (and very populous) bat cave, and many other things.

Piton Mountains

Mud Bath

Volcano

Cocoa beans

Mineral Springs

Bat Cave

The trip was amazing. It was my first time out of the country, and I couldn't have asked to go to a better place with a better husband. I can't wait for all of the pictures from the wedding photographers to come in so I share all the great memories with everyone. I also want to thank all my friends and family for making all of these incredible experiences unforgettable. 

weddings, baths, & sparklers

Yesterday was full of errands to run - florists, reception location, rehearsal dinner decorations, antique stores. Yesterday was also full of clean dogs. I gave all three of my dogs baths. I probably should have been doing some wedding planning, considering I am getting married in 4 days!!! I can hardly believe that in just a few days all of our friends and family will be coming together to watch Tory and me finally get married! 

                                

 First meet Nyla : The biggest, yet youngest of all of them. She wouldn't take a bath without her ball. She held it in her mouth the entire time. She also has to get a bath in the big bath tub since she's roughly 80lbs; a big dog for only 11 months old.

Next meet Sammy: He is a pro at getting baths. He is allergic to grass so he's pretty used to getting them by now. He still hates them, though, and gives me this face every time.

Finally, there is Ratdog (yes, that's her real name). She hates getting baths, and shakes violently the entire time while clinging to your arm for dear life. 

I may have pushed wedding planning to the side, but at least I have a few clean dogs :) 

Also while I was procrastinating from planning, I played with sparklers. 

In case you were wondering, it takes two dogs and three people to light a sparkler.

                              

That is all for now. I will have more later as I find new ways to procrastinate.

dancing time away

I have really been lacking in my picture taking lately, so this blog, sadly, will be pictureless.

My room looks alike a tornado has hit it and left wedding decorations and gifts everywhere, but that doesn't seem like something to complain about. The days are winding down, and I will be getting married in just under a week. I can hardly wait. It was over a year and half ago when the plans started rolling and now the last details are finally coming together. I can't wait to see all of the adventures life has in store for me, and I am so excited that I can experience them with my best friend by my side.

For some reason, the past couple of days have been extremely unproductive. Tory and I have a list a mile long of things that should be getting done, but instead we have just tinkered around town doing nothing. For example, yesterday, we went to Big Lots to look for candles for the wedding. We came out with cheese puffs and trail mix after an hour of sitting in recliners in the furniture section.

Tory's family bought a Wii a few days ago. They also purchased Just Dance 2. It is crazy how fast your time can dwindle down while you are dancing. We got the game assuming that no one would ever actually dance, and it would just collect dust. We were wrong. The Tooles can dance...or they can at least attempt to dance... for four hours.