who wants to see my wedding dress?

I DO!

And I get to... I have my last fitting appointment this morning at 10 and then I get to take it home with me! After the nightmare of trying to find shoes, I finally found 2 pairs I'd be willing to wear - so I'm taking them to the shop with me and deciding right there with the dress.

Eeee! 4 days!

Nerves are annoying. Very.

if you're happy & you know it...

What a great day! I just finished my last final (yay!) and now I will finally get a little break from school. I have been going to classes without more than a few days break since last May - and back into February if you count the classes I took in Guatemala! That's more than a year straight - and it has been wonderful. I have learned so much and feel much more prepared to be a nurse... although still hardly prepared at all! I just have one more semester and then I am DONE! Real world watch out - here I come... Rachael.... PEARCE. Oh yes, that is the other happy thing of today - it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I am getting married a week from tomorrow. A WEEK FROM TOMORROW! :) I am officially moved out of single housing and turned in my key yesterday. Married housing is kind of lonely when you're by yourself though - I need my roommate! Hehe - soon enough!

Tonight will be great - I am going to go do a "practice run" on my hair so we can figure out what style looks best, how long it will take, etc - here are some pics of ideas I like:

Then Brian and I are going to go visit the Salt Lake Temple - because we're going to do something very important there next weekend! So much to do - but all worth it :)

ten

10 days!!

This talk was one of my favorites from conference in April :). I love Elder Scott!

did I mention I'm sort of freaking out?

Here I am, trying to study for finals, trying to figure out when I am going to move (I'm kicked out on Thursday), and all I can think about is I am getting married in 11 days. Freaky, right? I have had an anxious stomach for the past 3 days in a row that just won't go away. On the bright side it makes the "pre-wedding diet" much easier to follow, but on the not-so-bright side, I feel constantly nauseated! I can't concentrate on studying for my finals (luckily one of them is for my marriage and family class, so the subject matter at least seems applicable) and I keep remembering all of the little things that need to be done within the next 11 days.

GULP.

So, I am trying to remember to breathe and remember what is most important! It doesn't matter that much that I can't find shoes that are teal or raspberry pink, it doesn't matter that we don't have a freezer to put the ice-cream in for the reception, etc - what matters is that in 11 days I get to marry Brian! Yay! And then all of this craziness will melt away (soon to be replaced by newlywed craziness, no doubt)!

I am grateful for friends and family that are helping out along the way. Brian is also being understanding and just holds my hand and tells me that everything will be "just great." And you know what? I think he's right!

The invitation :) - the colors look a bit weird on this screen, but I think the invites turned out cute!

two weeks

Two weeks until...


I am never single again


I am kicked out of singles wards forever


I am known as "Mrs. Pearce" and "Sister Pearce"


I will be living with a boy


Brian has a ring on his finger finally!


I won't have to sleep alone in our new apartment anymore


I will be expected to eat more than cereal and toast for dinner... letting the cooking lessons begin!


I get to call Brian "hubby" hehe.


I get to go to the beautiful Salt Lake Temple and make some serious promises


I get to feel like a pretty princess for a day


I get to go on a week-long vacation with my best friend!




I get married!!!

Cinco de Mayo fiesta... Pretty funny if you ask me!

Just sayin'....

Moving into a new apartment is fun! 

I bought a decorative tree off of Craig's list. So, our current furniture collection includes 2 stools and a tree. What else do you really need?

Bridal Shower, New Apartment, etc!! Life is great!

Helllo! So, exciting things are HAPPENING! Want to hear about them? Well, then listen up...

• I am almost done with school for the semester! I am completely done with clinicals (except for a volunteer clinic on Thursday night) and now just have to bust out a few projects I should have been working on all semester... eeeks. Or as my mother would say, "EGADS!"
• I am getting married in less than 3 weeks! 17 or 18 days actually depending on how you look at it.... CRAZY.
• We got the key to our new apartment! Check it out at the bottom of the post - it will be the first home I share with an unrelated boy! I think we got a great deal on it too. Special thanks to Andrea for letting me use her air mattress for a bit!
• I had an incredible bridal shower this weekend! Andrea and Janet planned and decorated and it turned out so great! I am going to steal some photos from Andrea's blog and put them on here because they turned out cute! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated this happy time of life with me and for those who celebrated from a distance and sent me sweet gifts - my mom & sister and the girlies on Brian's side too! Interesting note: the only people I got anything scandalous from were my mom and sister! Go figure haha. I LOVE kitchen stuff, decorations, useful things for the house, and footballs too - so thanks for all of the thoughtful gifts!
• Night before the bridal shower we made CAKE POPS! If you have never had one repent and go eat one right now!! They are to die for and not to mention utterly adorable. Andre and I went and made them with Lynne at her house and had such a fun time - especially with baby Owen there to cheer us on!
• Brian started his internship! While I am sad he will be gone 40 hours a week, I am happy that he found a great internship that will pay him! He had his first day yesterday and loved it :)
• Ordered Brian's ring!
• Ordered Brian's suit!
• Getting so excited to see all of the family and my long lost friends who moved far away (that's you Meg and Dani!)

Ok, I am done with my bullet points.... and now for the photos! Enjoy!

It's a real shame we didn't think to take a group shot earlier on in the night! This is about half of of my wonderful friends that came to celebrate! *Note the decorations - so cute!

OK, NOW FOR THE NEW APARTMENT PHOTOS...

View from the other side. There is our front door! Notice the carpet... I love it!

Another view of the kitchen. Love that we have a dishwasher... and our own fridge! I don't know what we are going to put in there considering all I have in my fridge currently is soy milk, lettuce, dressing, and... that's it I think because I ate all my carrots. Oh, and Brian's cheese. 

Just imagine all of the tasty things we will make in this kitchen!

Bathroom!  I just knew you wanted a picture of our toilet :). I do appreciate the drawers and counter space because most apartments we looked at didn't have either.

Our room. OUR room. Gasp! What a crazy thought! 

Another favorite part - we both get our own closet! Oh yeah! Brian informed me yesterday that I could probably have half of his too... :)