Five Reasons I've Been MIA

Sorry guys!  I know I’ve been completely bailing on the blog lately, which is ironic considering I’m not even working this week.  Funny how you save the 127,359 things that need to get done for the days you are off and find you are busier than ever!  Anyway, it’s not been ALL errands this week.  I’ve worked in some time for myself and to make the most of summer.  

One.  I finished up my beach week with the fiance’s softball tournament last weekend. I freaking love those guys.  So funny and they keep me laughing for hours on end.  He also hit 2 home runs.  I was so proud.








Two.  My friend Christina and I attended our first Paint Nite.  Have you been to one? They hold them all over the place around here at various bars and restaurants.  You drink; you paint; you have fun.  I will be honest, we were seriously the best painters in the class.  My fiance even told me  how impressed he was when he saw it and is convinced I bought it.  I swear I painted it myself!






Three.  I went to dinner with a bunch of high school friends.  We do this yearly and it’s always interesting to see how our lives have all taken such different paths.  Well, mine specifically.  Sometimes I feel left out for not having a family and stuff by now, but maybe one day.  Maybe.  




Four.  TIESTO!!!!  I went to the Thank You Festival last night and saw a bunch of DJ’s including my favorite girls, Krewella.  Amazing people watching.  Lots of dancing.  I’d go again for sure! 







Five.  I spent a lot of time this week pursuing things and worrying about things that are pretty well out of my control.  It’s led to sleepless nights and a lot of anxiety.  I’m saying right now that starting tomorrow I will let it be what it is and will not let it take away from the week before my wedding because it is starting to take over my brain at a time when I should be happy and excited.   I don’t want to wake up after my wedding is over and realize I never took a moment to enjoy it.  End rant.  Weekend, let’s go! 




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Five on Friday: Beach Edition

Just completed my first week of summer vacation and all of it was spent on the Maryland shore!  Here’s 5 things about my week.  How relaxing it was!

1.  I enjoyed lots of amazing views, the smell of saltwater, and some delicious meals by the sea.  


2.  I had to be a nerd and wear a baseball hat on the beach because the sun was just too much for my pale blonde self. 


3.  Despite my intentions of doing a lot of running on this trip, we experienced an extreme heat wave which never seemed to let up, so I opted for some on demand workouts instead!


4.  I was sort of sad because I missed my fiance.  He would have been here, but his school district extended their school year to make up the snow days from winter, so he will be joining me tonight!


5.  My teammate at school was here also, so we met up for a drink last night.  It’s so nice working with people you love! 



The Grits Blog


How to Enjoy Vacation Without Getting Fat


This was it.  The first of MANY crushes that will be consumed at the beach this summer, and you'd better believe I am not holding back!  How is it possible to enjoy the treats of vacation without totally losing your fitness progress??  I'm sharing my advice on Martini's & Bikinis today!  Be sure to check it out!  


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Be a Good Wife-to-be! His Bachelor Party Care Pack

When my fiance went away for his bachelor party, I knew I wanted to do something special for him to let him know how much I loved him and wanted him to have a true bachelor party experience!  I have a tight budget, so I couldn’t do anything too outrageous, but was able to get a few thoughtful things together and sneakily pass them off to his brother to bring to the party with them as a surprise.  So what goes into a bachelor party care package anyway??


Hangover Recover shots.  These ones were especially fitting because each bottle featured a character from The Hangover, and I know the boys used them up because he only came home with 2 left over.


Koozies.  “Zack’s Wolfpack” of course, in keeping with the Hangover theme.  I sent one for each guy, plus a few extra.  We still have a good handful leftover at the house for summer use too!


Fireball.  It’s a staple these days right?  I also put a stack of dixie cups in with it so they’d have makeshift shot glasses to pour it in. 


Cigars.  I know nothing about cigars, but I’ve seen him smoking these Romeo & Juliet ones before, so that’s what I got.   



I put it all in a box, wrapped it up in colored paper, and decorated with loving, inspiring messages.  Voila!  He absolutely loved the package and I’m pretty sure I got at least 10 points in my score book for it.  Feel free to steal my ideas and add some of your own! 





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It Ain't Over Yet

Happy Monday guys!  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Fortunately for me, my “weekend” won’t be over until next Monday, so I’ll have to check back in with you then! I just had my bachelorette party and am currently recovering bayside where I’ll be hanging out for the rest of the week.  I’ll be sure to fill in all the details when I return.  If you’d like to see a snippet of the shenanigans now, follow along on Instagram



In the meantime, go check out these link ups and be sure to join the party yourself!  

My Bachelorette Packing List

It’s almost here, the weekend I’ve been waiting for.  Ok, it’s not wedding weekend yet, but it’s definitely getting closer because this weekend my girlfriends and I take off to the beach for what I hope will be an epic bachelorette bash to remember!  It’s been a crazy week trying to get my stuff together in the midst of the last week of school and wedding prep appointments, but ready or not, we’ll be off in T-minus 2 days and I simply cannot wait.  Here’s a peek at the bachelorette ensembles I’ve prepared for the weekend!


We’ll be spending the first night at a popular Maryland beach bar, so I went for a short white bodycon dress and simple rhinestone studs.  I know my girls will have some hilarious bachelorette flair to add on, so I wanted to keep my base outfit as simple as possible.  I’m opting for flat sandals despite being barely 5 feet tall because there is nothing more annoying than your heels digging in sand, not to mention I’m obviously not on a man hunt anymore so I don’t really care if everyone knows how small I am. 


Day two will be spent day drinking at a beach club where your cutest skimpy bikini is all but required.  I ordered this one from my favorite bikini vendor, Doll Swimwear, and am embellishing the look with this veil, garter, shades, and some $2.50 flip flops, just in case they get lost at sea somewhere.  Of course, we can’t have a party without penis straws, so they’ll be seeing some action too! 


Can’t wait to share the actual details of the trip with you all later!  Anything I’m missing??  Feel free to share!



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Weekend Recap

What a gorgeous weekend in Maryland!  Friday was an outdoor happy hour kind of night. I went for an hour or so, but then had to leave to meet up with my friends that are making my cupcakes for the wedding.  We decided on 3 types:  chocolate with peanut butter frosting, chocolate with cookies & cream frosting, and lemon with vanilla frosting.  They’re going to be so delicious and you better believe I’m going to have one of each!  


Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning my disaster of a house and putting away the mountain of gifts from my bridal shower. Now there are just empty boxes everywhere, but at least I feel like I’ve made some progress.  Later, I met my fiance at a friend’s 30th birthday barbecue where we enjoyed a few cold Natty’s and the warmth of the fire pit.





Sunday was a softball kind of day.  He had a tournament all day long, so I put on my jersey and headed up for a few games.  Hopefully I got a little sun since my beach vacation is coming up in less than a week!  So much to do, so little time! 



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Five on Friday

Today is my last Friday of the school year.  Can I get a hallelujah? Despite all the snow this winter and our early mid-August start, I honestly can’t believe how quickly the year passed, but hey, I certainly can’t hate summer, so let’s call this the best time of the year. ;)

ONE. Me and my teammate at school are both getting married this July, so our co-workers threw us a shower.  It was so over the top thoughtful and I still cannot believe all the people that showed up to support us. Gosh I love my school!

We romantically cut the cake!

TWO.  My photographer sent us this cute care package and a note about how excited she is to shoot the wedding. I’m not fooled.  I know it’s just a day of work for her, but she is a master at making us feel happy and excited all over again about our upcoming day.  Good pick by me! 



THREE. I am still searching for great song ideas for a wedding playlist since I am literally lining it up and hooking the ipod up for 3 hours of play time.  And seriously, if anyone says “Don’t Stop Believing”, you are smoking some serious crack my friend.  Am I the only one who thinks this song is painfully overplayed and basically elicits reactions equivalent to the electric slide?  

FOUR.  A girlfriend invited me to meet her in our hometown for drinks after work today and it was seriously the best time.  Besides catching up with her, the weather was gorgeous and I was reminded all over again why home is such a glorious place.  I love Baltimore and don’t want to move back, but dang, Frederick, Maryland is totally legit.  I need to hang around here more often!  



FIVE.  Last “weekend” before summer.  So much to do and so little time.  This next week will be a whirlwind, so my apologies if I start to fall behind in posting. I’m probably deep in data and portfolios while mentally packing for my upcoming beach vacation and deciding on my Seacrets drink of choice.  Not much longer.  Not much at all. 







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Dapper Summer Style for Your Man

Today is a first for my blog.  If you’ve been around long, you know I’m super into all things girly, but today I’m dedicating my post to my recent love of men’s fashion for summer 2014.  I’m not sure if it’s a trend or the fact that he turned 30 this year, but lately the fiance has been coming home with these snazzy preppy little numbers that basically make me want to kiss him all over.  Behold the pinstripe jacket and bright blue tie he wore to the recent wedding we attended (complete with elbow patches btw).  I was so taken by him and am pretty sure he was the handsomest I have ever seen him.  Quite a switch from his typical “skater” look, although he would argue with me for saying it, but that’s how I’d normally describe him.  Anyway, I love him both ways, but I certainly don’t hate the recent prep in his step ;)


Enter Paul Fredrick.  When they contacted me to get behind their summer line, I instantly fell in love.  It’s bright, bold, and sure to grab attention wherever you go.  And as we are in the midst of horse race season and wedding season, I’m sure you have no shortage of places to impress!  Belmont Stakes anyone?  Check out my favorite pieces to up your man’s summer swag!  




Lil Mrs Tori


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All By Myself

Ok, so I’m certainly a little late to get going today, but this weekend was exhausting and left me wondering what day of the week it was on a Monday.  My fiance was at his bachelor party all weekend, so I stayed at my mom’s house which I never normally do on weekends, and honestly it’s really thrown me for a loop.  Yes, I know I’m a big girl and could stay home, but I utterly hate spending too much time alone, so I like to go where there is someone else to talk to.  

Anyway, the weather was so nice Friday that my mom and I wasted no time finding an outdoor patio for margs and sangria.  



Saturday I checked 2 things off the bridal to-do list.  I had my first dress fitting and although I had hoped that I would just need a hem, the dress wasn’t even close to staying up without me holding it, so looks like it’s gonna be a little more work than that.  It looked gorgeous though and I can’t wait to show my fiance on wedding day!  From there we went straight to the church to pick out music with our organist.  I hope I wasn’t coming across as super grumpy, but I had literally zero opinion on the matter.  I feel bad, but it’s not as though church music leaves me dying to shake a tail feather, so I was pretty much like “whatever you usually do is fine”.  

I also started attempting to compile a playlist for the wedding. It’s a lot tougher than I thought and I still need like an hour more of songs.  

What are your wedding must plays??  
(Comment below)


On Sunday, my BFF and MOH had a Sunday Funday in DC.  Emphasis on the fun, and the reason why I am so super tired today. 






Anyway, I remember now why I value sleep over all else and was so over the moon elated to see my favorite boy pull into the driveway today.  I think weekends apart really remind both of us that we love hanging out with each other all the time and we are so lucky to get to do just that for the rest of our lives!  We are so lucky!