Our engagement story!

We're getting married!!!  Here is the slightly overdue (very detailed) account of the best weekend of my life:

Thursday

On Thursday night, December 8, Jayson and I went to his company's Christmas party.  We had a lovely, seemingly normal time with his friends, and headed home afterwards.  I commented in the car, "I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow," simply because it felt like the weekend after such a fun holiday party.  We pulled into my driveway, and Jayson walked me to my door.  Right as I was about to walk in, he said, "I have a present for you," and handed me an envelope.  I was so caught off guard, that I responded, "Is it bad?!"  (Don't ask me why...I have a strange tendency to respond oddly when surprised. :))  He affirmed that it was not bad, and told me to read the letter once I got inside and he had left.

As soon as he pulled out of the driveway, I opened the letter.  It was a letter with detailed instructions, a letter that said that I was not going to work tomorrow and the appropriate people knew; that I was to pack a bag immediately upon finish reading the letter; that I should pack for three days, that the weather was 40-70 degrees, that I needed two nice outfits, that we may be flying, so pack accordingly; that I was to be on my front porch at 6:10am; that I was to tell no one and to ask no questions.

I was ECSTATIC.  I ran around my room in circles.  I read the letter 10 more times.  I pulled out my suitcase immediately and started throwing things in my bag.  I talked to my roommate Mandy for a few minutes, and almost told her, but I wanted to follow all of his instructions to a T, so I awkwardly said nothing and then abruptly stated that I was going to bed. I didn't know what was in store or where we were going (I admit that I thought it was a likely possibility that we were getting engaged, but I wasn't certain), but I was thrilled for what was to come.  Somehow I fell asleep.

Friday morning

I woke up at 4:00am on Friday, December 9, and was wide awake.  I made myself stay in bed until 4:30am, but then bounced out of bed and got ready.  It was probably the first time ever that Jayson came to pick up me up right on time, and I was already ready. :)  He didn't tell me where we were going, but we made our way to the airport.  I would jokingly ask for hints, but he would just say, "No questions."  We managed to make it through baggage check and security without me seeing where we were going, but when we got to the gate I saw that we were flying to LAX.  I did a little jump in the air and said, "California!"

We boarded the plane, and Jayson was asleep within about three minutes.  I, on the other hand, was like a little kid on Christmas morning.  I attempted to read, I watched a movie, I ate a snack, and it was still the longest flight of my life. We finally made it to LAX, and headed toward baggage claim.  As we came down the escalator, I was so excited to see three of my best friends in the entire world, Jessica, Erin and Jen, along with Jess and Erin's husbands Matt and Sean.  The Hughes and the Hills live in California, but Jen lives in Atlanta, leading me to say, "Jen doesn't even live here!!!!" the second I saw them.  We had a fun reunion, and Jayson had even been so thoughtful to tell them in advance what my favorite Starbucks drink is so that they would have it waiting.

Jayson informed me that we were splitting up for the afternoon, but that he would see me later that night.  I then went with the girls, while Jayson went with Matt and Sean.  We got in the car, and Jessica said, "So what do you think is going on? Do you think you're getting engaged?"  So began an afternoon of LIES by my friends (primarily Jessica, who I later learned had been tapped as the best liar in the group and thus the conversational lead).  They told me that they didn't know what Jayson had planned, only that they were supposed to pick me up at the airport and entertain me for a few hours.  I totally believed them all the way!

They drove us to the incredible Pelican Hill Resort, and we enjoyed a relaxing lunch by the pool and manicures.  It was beautiful at the resort, and it was so special to spend the day with best friends!

The girls then told me it was time to get ready and to wear one of my nice outfits.  At this point, I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I started getting anxiously excited.  :)

Friday afternoon

The girls drove me toward Laguna Beach but didn't tell me where we were going.  Eventually, we pulled into the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel.  They pulled up to the front door, and I said, "What do I do now?"  They pointed at a lady with a clipboard standing by the door and said to meet her.  I hopped out of the car, and Jessica said, "We don't know what you're doing next, so please call us if you get engaged!"  Sneaky little friend.

The woman - Linda - met me and said, "Jamie?  Please follow me." For what it's worth, when I think about our engagement story, those few minutes with Linda are one of my favorite memories.  I was filled with such anticipation at what was about to happen! She led me through the gorgeous hotel and made small talk (about what, I have NO idea).  We eventually made our way outside, and she walked me to the corner of the hotel.  She told me to walk around the corner by myself and to have a great evening.  So I walked around the corner and was immediately greeted with this view, only Jayson was looking right at me:

He immediately started crying.  I cried too.  (But he cried more.) He said he wanted to read me something - a prayer to the Lord from both of us.  Jayson had written the prayer and named it, "Father, We Dream."  He tearfully read the prayer - line after line of things we dream for our future together, from learning to make lemonade and lattes together to having a cute house in a fun neighborhood to our future kids and dog to, most importantly, a marriage that glorifies the Lord and is rooted in his nature.  As he finished the prayer, he got down on one knee and said the sweetest words I've ever heard:

"You are my soulmate, and you have become my best friend, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  Will you marry me?" I of course said yes. :)

What followed was a joyous celebration in THE most beautiful spot I have ever seen.  The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel has been named one of the most romantic hotels in the country, and Jayson chose the perfect spot.  It was right after 4pm, and the sun started to set as we celebrated.  Matt and Sean were strategically placed to capture everything on video and in pictures, which is so, so special.  And a guy from the Ritz popped out to bring us champagne within about 4 seconds of me saying yes.

 And the girls were, of course, in on it all the whole time.  ;)

Friday night, Saturday and Sunday

We spent the rest of the evening celebrating!  We had champagne with our friends at the Ritz.  We excitedly called our families and friends.  And Jayson and I shared a special dinner at Raya, a phenomenal restaurant in the Ritz.

On Saturday and Sunday, we walked on the beach.  We had lunch at the Ritz overlooking the ocean.  We wandered around the hotel.  We drank coffee on my balcony. We uploaded pictures on Facebook and updated our relationship status. :) We had a fun celebratory dinner with friends at Watermarc in Laguna Beach on Saturday night - one of Jayson's best friends was even able to come down from Pasadena, and my friends brought fun engagement gifts.  It was the most perfect weekend I could ever imagine.

I am so grateful to the Lord for the blessing that is Jayson, my sweet fiance and soon-to-be husband.  He has been so good to us, far more than we could ever deserve, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the point of tears for giving us such a precious love!  I am also so thankful for the best friends in the whole world who helped make the weekend so perfect.

Thanks for sticking with the story!  And Happy New Year! :)

Soul mates

Oh my, I have not done a very good job with this blogging!  Oh well.

I have so many fun things to tell you about - Lauren's WONDERFUL visit (but you can read about it here!), Halloween in our sweet neighborhood, concerts and football and friends.

But for today, I'll just return to the blog to tell you about Jayson and my one year anniversary weekend.

One year!  That's 365 days together!

We watched the UGA/Auburn game, which could not have been more perfect (for a Georgia fan, at least).  We spent time with friends.  We went to brunch at Sun in my Belly and drank pumpkin spice lattes.

On Sunday, we drove over three hours to Plains, GA to go to Maranatha Baptist Church, where President Jimmy Carter teaches a Sunday school class that's open to the public.  According to the bulletin, the church has 23 members, but there were people visiting from all across the country and world.  We laughed at ourselves for driving for almost seven hours back and forth through (literally) cotton fields to go to a one-hour Bible study, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  We love to do weird things for the sake of the experience.  :)

We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tantra, for our anniversary dinner.  We gave each other sweet gifts that made each other cry. Also, we gave each other the exact same card.  And we weren't surprised by that - in fact, we kind of expected it.  The card said, "Soul mates - when two hearts beat as one."

I suppose the idea of soul mates can be somewhat controversial.  I'm not a crazy mystic person by any means, nor do I think that if I had been born in the 1700's in London that I would be searching the world, lost and lonely, for my other missing half who was unfortunately fated to be born in America in 1985.  But what I do know is this: that God divinely authored my story and Jayson's story, and He designed us to be together. He knit us both together in our mothers' wombs and uniquely crafted us - from our quirky, similar senses of humor to our complementary dreams and desires - to fit together.  He orchestrated our paths for decades to bring us to the same city, in the same circle of friends, both single at the same time. Then, in each other, He gave us our person, the person who just gets you, the person who makes you the best person on this side of eternity that you can be.

To me, that's a soul mate.  And I thank our good and gracious and loving God for mine.

One year down, many more to go!  I love you babe!

Quote of the Day

"When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, 'After all this time?' And I will say, 'Always.'"


- Alan Rickman

Silly

 "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly."

photo courtesy of Altmix photography

- Rose Franken

Thoughts on neighborhood

My friend Austin was telling me about his neighborhood in Atlanta.  Neighborhood as in his physical street.  He and his roommates are some of the younger people on the block, with many more established families in established homes surrounding them.  Austin and his roommates went to a dinner party with their neighbors last weekend.  Everyone brought a dish.  I asked him how he got to know his neighbors and be invited to this dinner party, and he told me a story about how he went to a neighborhood fundraiser to get new street lights on their street.  I asked him what his neighbors are like, and he described them as authentic.  Not afraid to share about their past and where they've been and what they've come from.

I'd like to live on Austin's street.

--

I'm at the Brookhaven Starbucks right now.  As I waited in line for my Grande coffee, I observed a man and a woman run into each other.  The woman asked about the man's new baby and how his wife was doing.  The man invited the woman over to their other neighbors' house to watch football this afternoon.  She said they would come by at halftime to visit and meet the baby.  

And I thought, when's the last time I ran into a friend at Starbucks? When's the last time someone invited me over for an impromptu, casual Sunday afternoon to watch football and it was actually an option because I could walk down to their house and just "pop over?"  I rarely pop these days.  I plan.

--

Francis Chan spoke at Catalyst this week.  He recently left his church and moved to San Francisco.  He's starting a ministry right now designed to connect with people in apartment buildings in San Fran.  The premise is simple: someone "adopts" a building.  They go door to door and just introduce themselves.  They don't invite to anything or sell anything or push anything. They do take food and gifts and stuff and meet needs, though.  And once there's a relationship that's built on giving, not taking, they ask how they can pray for the neighbor.  (Francis joked that if they say they don't believe in God, they'd say, "Great! Give me something big!")  And through this intentional neighboring, they'll get to know people in a building, and meet their needs, and love them.

I sat there and listened to Francis and got FIRED UP.  I couldn't stop talking about it.  I loved the idea.  "That's the definition of community!" I raved!  I'd love to be a part of that!

But then I thought, why don't you, Jamie? You have a street.  You have roommates and a house and a block.  You have a neighborhood and a coffee shop and a relationship with the living God of the universe.

And I realized: I'm spending all this time in my life talking about community, maybe even dreaming about a community someday "when"... when I own a house. When I'm married. When I have kids. When I move to a neighborhood where community already exists.  When I magically live down the street from my best friends. When I become a part of a ministry where someone else is creating a structured community. When it's easy.

And I thought, maybe God has put this on my heart for me to be that person.  Maybe he has burned a deep passion for community and neighborhood because he wants me to create it.  Not "when."  Now.

--

Atlanta has always frustrated me because it's so spread out, so sprawling, so disconnected. But now, swirling around in my head is the thought that if I'm going to spend so much time complaining about how spread out and sprawling and disconnected it is, maybe I should invest in making it smaller and more intimate and more connected.

Maybe the Lord wants to take this city and make it a neighborhood, and he's just looking for the neighbors.

"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Galatians 5:14

Souls

"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

- Emily Bronte

Ten Things

Hello!

Well, I talked to my dear friend Angie today.  Angie is a blogger who has been traveling the world for the last year.  She's home a quick stay in the States, so I was super excited for a much-needed phone chat!

I told Angie that I'm trying to get the blog up and running again but don't quite know what to do with it.  She recommended that today I write a short and sweet post entitled, "Ten Things On My Radar," or something to that effect.  When Angie tells me to do something, I do it, so here we go!

Ten Things:

1.  Pinterest.  I'm sure you are all on Pinterest, but just in case someone out there isn't, hop to it and pin away. And swoon for hours.  (Follow me here, if you would like!)
2. The Sing-Off on NBC. Love love love me some a cappella groups!
3. This hooded khaki trench coat.  I decided it was time to grow up from the old red Columbia rain jacket with zip-in fleece, but I had a hard time finding a cute jacket with a hood. nordstrom.com to the rescue!
4. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Me and everyone else in America, but still. Fall in a cup.
5. Silence. Less Bert Show, more quiet on my 45-minute morning commute. This is a good thing.
6. Evernote. I love my sweet boyfriend for many reasons, but add the fact that he introduced me to Evernote to the list. A digital, categorized to-do list on steroids. Download it on your computer(s) and phone. Perfect for an organized geek like myself.
7. The Pistol Annies, country music trio featuring Miranda Lambert. Listen to their new single, Hell on Heels.
8. Atlanta and Real Simple magazines. In New York, I subscribed to Entertainment Weekly, New York and Glamour. I think my new subscriptions are indicative of a new phase of life.
9. Palmetto Cheese with Jalapenos. This pimiento cheese will change your life. Thanks Amy and Meg for contributing to at least 2 new pounds that I've gained this month.
10. Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! on NPR. In Atlanta, this "Oddly Informative News Quiz" is on 90.5 FM every Saturday morning at 11am. I, however, usually listen to the Podcast on Saturday evenings while I get ready to go out with aforementioned sweet boyfriend.

That's it!  I hope you enjoy these ten things as much as I do. :)

jm

Restart

I used to have a blog.

(I guess if I'm typing this, and you're reading it, I still have a blog?)

Correction:  I have a blog.

My blog has been dormant for almost five months.  I didn't mean for that to happen, necessarily.  It just kind of did, and the time kept ticking on.

Lately I've been thinking about why I used to blog here and why I started blogging here and why I stopped blogging.  A few thoughts:

1. My blog in New York started as a way to connect with family and friends, and it morphed into a fun little hobby for me as I wrote about life and faith in the city. Generally speaking, I think that people are more interested in reading about a regular person's life in a place like New York than a regular person's life in a place like Atlanta. I may or may not be correct on that.
2. As much as I want to continue to develop as a blogger, I've never quite been able to identify my voice and my inspiration in Atlanta compared to New York.  Note: As far as I  am aware, that is not true in real life, but only as it relates to my blog. 
3. I have been busy.  Some of the free time that I previously allocated to blogging now goes to other areas.  Particularly to this one.  And I could not be happier about that, because isn't he the sweetest?  :)
4. I needed a break. I love to write (although let's be honest, I'm not writing a post-doctorate thesis here on old Lovely Days), but sometimes I would sit down to an empty Blogger template and just feel overwhelmed at the process of typing words. 
5. Twitter has become a sort of micro-blog for me and seems to be the place I connect most with friends and find little nuggets of daily inspiration.

All that to say, though: I'm going to start blogging again! I don't know how many people are out there - you may have, justifiably, deleted me from your Bookmarks or Google Reader feed - but it's time for a new chapter.  I'm ready to have a creative outlet again. With fall on its way, I think I'm settling into a calmer, more routined schedule. And I'm in a really joyful season of life that I'd like to share.

So here we go! Pressing restart on The Lovely Days and looking forward to a new chapter. 

Fact.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Wednesday was my mom's birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom, Jayson and I went to dinner at Local Three, a new Atlanta restaurant from the folks at Muss & Turner's.  We enjoyed Truffled Parmesan Popcorn, Trout and Lobster and Risotto, and really adorable tiny desserts.

I am so grateful for my sweet mom!  Happy happy birthday!

Local Three
3290 Northside Parkway NW 

Atlanta, Georgia 30327