In less than 48 hours I will be a married lady.

holy smokes. :)

take me home, country roads.

today it hit me. i less than two months, i will be moving across the country with my new husband. i won't be living in the only place that has ever been home to me. minnesota. it broke my heart a little, to realize that we're leaving. i've known for over a year that this was coming, but for some reason today was the day that it really hit me. like a rock to the head. (which is never good.)

in the midst of all the wedding chaos that surrounds me, this was the topic that preoccupied my mind for most of the day. maybe it was because of the fact that luke and i are still apartment hunting, which for the record, is so difficult to do from over 1000 miles away. props to those who've done that before. yuck.

however, despite my initial sadness over this realization, i can now say that, while minnesota will always hold my heart, i am so excited to become a west virginian. i'm excited to find local restaurants, places to visit, and get to know our new home. it's going to be fine. i'm going to be fine. i'll be with my best friend, and it will be our life. a wild and wonderful one in west virginia.

avalon tea room.

on saturday, luke's mom, sister, and i drove down to white bear lake to meet luke's aunt and cousin for a traditional four-course tea at the avalon tea room. it was such an adorable place, and the food and tea were delicious. we tried several different teas including peach green, moon over madagascar (a rich vanilla tea), gingerbread cream, and mango green. they were all wonderful, but the green teas were my favorite. luke's family (on both sides) has been so welcoming to me. i feel like i'm saying this in every post recently, but it is just so true. we're both so lucky to get along with each other's families.

xo, eden

my love's birthday!

yesterday (may 15th) was the fiancé's 23rd birthday! we had a lovely, yet very busy, day. it was so great to spend the day celebrating with him.

for breakfast i made luke's mom's puff pancake recipe. it was to die for! so yummy!

since we were going to a twins game, i got luke a twins tee and an assortment of some of his favorite german/import beers, along with a twins beer glass.

view from the homerun porch.


note to self: lipstick at baseball games is a no-no. eating brats is far too difficult.

after the game, we spent the evening grilling with some of our closest friends.




homemade german chocolate cupcakes. they were so yummy!

my lovely bridesmaids/best friends.


happy birthday my love! you are my best friend, and i cannot believe that in less than 3 weeks we will be married. i am so lucky to be able to call you mine. i love you, luke! i hope you enjoyed all of your birthday surprises!

love always & forever,
your almost wife

my picnic-themed bridal shower!

i am so blessed to be joining such a generous family. luke's mother's side of the family threw me a picnic-themed shower this past saturday, and it was so much fun. i received the same gift as every woman who joins the family, a longaberger picnic basket! it was filled with goodies for luke and i, who as you all know from previous posts, love love love our picnics. i cannot wait to fill it with yummy deliciousness and take it on day trips with us once we've moved to west virginia. everyone at the shower was so generous! thank you so much, ladies. you have all been so welcoming, and i couldn't be any luckier!

me and my new picnic basket! so excited!!

no gathering is complete without margaritas. ;)

luke's cousin mallory, me, and one of my lovely bridesmaids, kirstin.

the two lovely ladies to my right are luke's grandpa's sister, edna, & his grandmother, eleanor!

they had a little activity where they had everyone who attended the shower write a cute little note for luke and i on jenga pieces. they also had some of the pieces numbered, and put cards with questions/quotes for luke and i to read as we play together. i can't wait to play it. such a cute and unique idea! <3

i wish i could have taken some pictures, but was too busy enjoying the company of my new family. thank you kirstin (my amazing almost sister-in-law) for capturing a few, and letting me steal them! love you!

xo, eden

ps. 18 days!!! OMG.

around these parts.

xo

take me out to the ball game!

while my dad was in town last night, he treated luke and me to a twins game at target field and quite a lot of beer. on our way down, we stopped in maple grove and ate dinner at claddagh's, which is an irish pub and bar that serves a mixture of traditional irish food and american food. i had the claddagh fish sandwich. it definitely strayed from my usually healthy lifestyle, but was a great treat.

luke went to a couple games last summer, which was the first season the new stadium was open, but it was the first time i had ever been there. it was a blast, and the twins actually managed to beat the angels. it was a pretty good game, and we had great seats right behind homebase! though i hate watching baseball on television (i find it incredibly draining and boring) going to the games is always fun. such a great summertime experience.









luke and i are lucky enough to be going to another game next tuesday on his birthday! hopefully they pull out another win for the birthday boy! <3

xo, eden