Parking Nazis and New Furniture

Wow! What a weekend this has been! Matt & I have done so many things in such a short amount of time. Well, Friday night was somewhat calm, because he and I were recovering from the fantastic impromptu bonfire/dance party we hosted here at the Casa del Hollomans. To sum up Thursday evening in two sentences or less: We burned things and danced. Much fun was had by all in attendance.

Saturday morning, we lazed around for a bit, but then jumped into gear to get to Sarasota to meet Jason and Christy, who was hot off the plane from Baltimore to visit her adoring fans in sunny Florida. We met them downtown at The Two Senoritas for lunch, then parted ways briefly. Matt & I had some shopping to do. Next Saturday required a new dress, and Macy's delivered! We found the perfect dress for me. I won't even describe it, I shall post pictures as soon as they are taken next weekend at our Florida reception being given by my super parents-in-law. After we purchased the dress of my dreams, we found a matching tie at Saks. OMG, they were having a fantastic sale, and it was a STEAL! Our shopping mission accomplished, we made our way to the temporary beach abode of Christy and Shannon.

They were staying at Captiva Beach Resort, which is adjacent to the Tropical Shores, where Matt & I said our "I do's" over three months ago. Unlike Tropical Shores, the management of Captiva were not gracious hosts. At Tropical Shores, the staff says "Oh, you're getting married?! Let me upgrade your room." At Captiva, the staff says, "We're gonna tow your car." Mind you, we had parked my car off the premises, because parking WAS limited. This girl kept coming up to us, saying "My manager says you're in that Jeep over there, and we're gonna have to tow it." Our reply that we don't own a Jeep and that our vehicle wasn't even THERE fell on deaf ears, apparently. Our vehicle was NEVER at risk of being towed (because it was SOMEWHERE ELSE!), but it really chapped me that they kept threatening to tow us. I shall refer to them as "Parking Nazis" for the rest of my days. Anyway, after the Parking Nazi walked away, we (Christy, Jason, Matt & myself) headed down to the pristine white sand of Siesta Key Beach. We situated ourselves on a spot not far from where Matt & I married on March 5. We frolicked in the water and just generally enjoyed some time on the beach until Shannon finally arrived from work. He cut quite the imposing picture on the beach, dressed up to greet his lady friend. We all remarked on how dashing he looked, and then Christy & I tried on his hat. I felt like an extra in "Smooth Criminal."

At some point, Shannon & Christy opted to go back to their room. Matt, Jason, & I elected to stay on the beach for a bit. We wanted to give them a little time alone together. Jason was napping on the blanket. I was simply enjoying the ocean wind in my hair and the smell of the salt water. Matt wanted to swim some more. I quite enjoyed watching him play in the small Gulf waves. I delight in every move he makes. After he'd had his fill of swimming, I headed back to the room to shower and change. Matt and Jason followed shortly after. Christy and Shannon had plans for the rest of the evening to hang around there and be lazy (or whatever), while Jason, Matt, & I were going to go have some maki rolls at Pacific Rim. Unfortunately, Jason was having some issues with his car and elected to go on home. Matt & I were still going ahead with our maki roll plans, but it looked super-crowded when we were searching for a parking spot, and elected to eat a quick bite on the way home, instead.

This morning, we arose and went to church, thinking that we'd take Matt's parents to lunch somewhere here in Arcadia, since it was his dad's birthday. However, Matt's dad wanted to go eat at one of his favorite restaurants in Sarasota and browse through Barnes & Noble, so we were off to Sarasota again today. We had lunch and spent some time at the bookstore. Matt & I spent all of our time looking through travel books on Paris, the site of a future vacation. We found many places that we are planning to go, and I can barely contain my excitement! After we left Barnes & Noble, we made a brief stop at the mall, because I had forgotten to pick up a jar of my favorite moisturizer the day before. Then, we were off to the furniture store!

We HAD planned to go to the furniture store on Saturday, but time ran a bit short. Luckily, Matt's parent were agreeable to spend a little time while we finalized our decision to purchase a new bedroom suite. To my great joy, we also found the most PERFECT living room furniture! We all loved it, and it will be delivered, along with our new bedroom, on Friday. No more lumpy couch! Matt & I are both really excited about our new furniture. It is even more fun than I imagined it would be to select things for our home. I am stunned to realize that six months ago yesterday, Matt & I had our first online conversation. Now, we are making a home together! I am overwhelmed by gratefulness that God has brought me to where I am today.