It has been one of those weeks that has me SO relieved that the weekend is (just about) here. This week has included a lot of coffee (now in cute Christmas travel cups!) and a lot of cheeseballs. And a lot of unexpected stress on top of the normal stuff.

Our wedding invitations are out in the world, and that makes things feel very Real. It’s strange, somehow, that even though we’ve been planning this wedding for almost ten months, something small (like getting an rsvp in the mail) can still make it seem real, because that means it didn’t feel fully real before. (I have a feeling there are still quite a few Real-making things ahead.)

I really can’t understand how Thanksgiving is less than a week away. We went to a Thanksgiving buffet at the faculty dining hall this week, and that turned my disbelief into excitement, because let’s face it: stuffing is pretty much the best food ever other than burritos. I probably should start thinking of some creative and impressive dessert to bring to Dan’s parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m grumbling seeing how many houses in our neighborhood already have Christmas lights up already, and Christmas tv commercials already? UGH. (Does anyone ever really give someone else a CAR for Christmas? I mean, really.) HOWEVER. I was super jazzed to browse the decorations at Target this week, and I think I even got Dan to consent to me buying a cutesy Advent Calendar. I have a plan for decorating this year, or, perhaps the better way to say it is that I’m allowing myself to buy a few new decorations this year and I’m aiming to put them up next weekend to fully squeeze every Christmassy bit out of the holiday season. And you know I already bought my pine tree candle. It’s going to be interesting to see how the holidays fit in with Wedding Planning Crunch Time, and I’m hoping getting some cheer in before wedding things get really insane may help me feel like I’m not missing Christmas altogether.

This weekend should be pretty good: Our engagement photo session is tomorrow afternoon, and me and my bright purple coat are ready to go. (Except for the fact that I’m incredibly nervous. I may take a lot of pictures, but I’m really bad at pretending I don’t notice/acting natural when someone else is pointing their camera at ME. Also I hope my hair looks cute.) Sunday we’re going to watch football with my brother and that’s always a great time. Happy weekend, y’all!