Are you gonna have a frat bachelor party?!

So, I know it's past Valentine's day, but we didn't go on a Valentine's day date until yesterday. Hence the late post.

First off, even though we didn't go on our date til yesterday, Justin surprised me at the desk Monday night with 25 helium inflated balloons tied to a box of slippers. :)

On Saturday he gave me some lilies that he bought on Monday but kept leaving at work, so I didn't actually get them til Yesterday.

On our date we ate breakfast at Rick's and then went to Harp's to get picnic stuff. Then we drove to Eureka Springs for the day! It was so fun and ended up being such a good day for it! Let me tell y'all though, Eureka Springs has very different people/places.

Examples
1. Everyone asked where we were from, and I'm pretty sure they all thought we were staying in Eureka Springs together for the weekend. We weren't. That was annoying.
2. There are a few wedding chapels in Eureka Springs. That's just funny to me. Justin kept telling me we could elope all day. We didn't of course.
3. Stores have really weird names. Pardon my language, but there was a store called Big Boner. Really? That's unnecessary.
We also went to an Amish furniture store where we're pretty sure a guy planted a phone call, so we'd feel guilty. We walked in, said hello, and then his phone rang. All we could hear was his side of the phone convo which went something like, "Yea, there haven't been too many people in here today. Sales aren't doing so good. There's been 2 or 3 people in here." Ouch.
There was also a store called W.T. Focker's Discount Outlet. We ended up going there, and it was a lot like A-Z in Alma but way smaller. We bought a can that had a pull tab top and no label for a quarter. It had WTF? written on the side of it in permanent marker. As far as I know we still don't know what it is.

4. The people there are slightly outrageous sometimes. Or maybe they're just passionate about different stuff than I am. I overheard a conversation between a cashier at a bookstore and a customer about America having the opposite of an Oedipus complex (Electra complex I believe) with our president. We went into an outdoorsy store, and we were looking at a pair of men's jeans trying to guess how much they cost. Justin guessed $150, and before I could guess the sales lady came over and told us that they had replaced their Jack of Spades jeans (Justin and I both said, "Oh. Ok." even though neither of us knew what she was talking about.) with the ones we were looking at. She said they were supposed to be $165, but they were offering an introductory price of $135. She then proceeded to show us how they were double and triple stitched, and how they were stretchy kind of like girls jeans, so you could run from the cops. Yep. Then she started laughing, and so did we...sort of. We kept looking around the store, and she asked us if we were honeymooning. We said something along the lines of "not yet", and Justin made a joke about trying to get me to elope. She asked when I was gonna just do it, and I explained that we actually were getting married at the end of May. She said, "Oh! Really? Where ya gonna do the deed?" I told her where and that we were students at the UofA to which she responded, "Paarrrrrty!" Ha. THEN, she looked at Justin and said, "I bet you're gonna have a big frat bachelor party aren't ya?! Hahahahaha." Justin said he was going to have a bachelor party, but probably not a frat one. I was trying not to laugh my face off. Then she turned to me and said, "What about you? (whisper) Are you gonna have a stripper?" I said absolutely not and that I would kill my friends if I did. She then started her story with, "The first time I got married..." Sad. She proceeded to tell us that her friends hired a stripper, and it was someone she knew, and she was appalled. She said he stripped down to his tighty whities and there was a poop stain on them. She then used some explicitives to finish her story. Who tells strangers that!?!??!!? 

It was a fun day, but y'all Eureka Springs is a funny town. We watched Sherlock Holmes and then went to Geraldi's for dinner. It was a 12 hour date, and it was super fun. 

Happy Sunday y'all. 

Lovelovelove. 

Internets and Indian Doctors

So, Justin and I have been looking at apartments because, obviously, we need somewhere to live after we get married. We have looked all over Fayetteville I feel like. I would guess that we looked at10-12 and tons more on the internet. I know that 10-12 doesn't seem like a lot, but you look at that many apartments and tell me you're not exhausted.

We looked at them 3 separate times. The first time we were really excited because it was new and fun, and we were getting to plan more of our life together. We looked at one place where the lady's name was Spankie. I'm not kidding. She was SO nice, but I have no clue where that name came from. Justin told me not to ask her. I didn't really plan on it. Ha. That's even the name that was on her business card. She also said "What a blessing" to me as I was talking about being an RA, and Justin and I could hardly contain our laughter (to say I contained mine would be an exaggeration). This is funny because we have a friend who says, "What a blessing" about everything. As a joke. All the time. So, when you hear someone saying it, but they're serious, it is funny. Anyways, we finished that day SUPER exhausted, but had to test cakes after we were done. That was fun. I was cranky, but we both got some sugary goodness and were pretty good to go after that. And, we picked out a cake. Check.

The second time we looked at apartments was ok, but slightly unplanned therefore I don't think our attitudes were as good as they could have been. There was also still snow everywhere. One lady that showed us apartments had the flu. However, I think we found where we're living that day! I think we're 99% sure, so I won't tell you until we're 100%. I am way excited though.

Today was (hopefully) the last day for a while. We only looked at 1, but the man that showed it to us was PRECIOUS. He said the word internets and told us about Washington Regional and his Indian/Injun doctors that he went to in Oklahoma. He also told us that he couldn't run a credit card or look at a computer screen for more than 10 minutes. Way presh, however I don't think we'll be living there.

If you need info about apartments in Fayetteville, I'm your girl. :)

Lovelovelove y'all!

OH! Today is my mom's birthday! She is wonderful, and I am so so so so SO thankful she's my mom. She's been ultra great at helping me plan my wedding, being a mom, and teaching me so much. Love ya, mama!

Scurvy and Ramen

So, last night Justin and I went to Walmart to get necessities (contact solution, vitamins, peanut m&m's, and 2 church candles) for the snowpocalypse (PartDeux). We were waiting in line, and Justin asked if I needed any food or anything. I said, no that I still had Ramen from the last snow. He told me I was going to get scurvy. One of his friends apparently got scurvy from eating only Ramen and drinking Mountain Dew. He told me my teeth were going to fall out. As he was saying this, I was trying to figure out how to tell him that the lady in front of us was looking/listening, and she had only 2 teeth. She could see me though, so I couldn't do anything.

She then told us that she lost her teeth from a little grey pill that looked like cement that she took for kidney stones, not from scurvy. Well, she thought it was from the little grey pill at least. She turned back around, and Justin just looked at me. We tried to not look at each other to contain our laughter at the irony of the situation. I made a comment about all the crackers by the checkout.

She continued to talk to us a little bit. Justin just made funny faces as if he were trying not to laugh.

Moral to the story: Don't talk about scurvy in public. You might unknowingly be standing behind a toothless person.

The end. 

Thoughts of a girl avoiding a paper

• Welp, the save-the-dates have gone out (some of them :), and our wedding website is up. You'd think I'd get stuff like this done super fast, but it's as close to finished as it's gonna get for now. We're about to start reserving chairs and tables and all that sort of stuff, so if you do happen to check out our website please go ahead and RSVP even if we've talked about you coming or not. If you don't do it, then I'll have to do it later. It'd be super helpful if you could just do it for me. :)

Here it is: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JustinMorgan&CelesteElkins

• I recently realized that I'm the age of the girls that I looked up to. That is frightening. 
• I can't wait for warm. I'm terrible at cold. 
• Here is one great/dancey Pandora station. 
• https://www.theideacamp.com/- I really want to go, but I have prior engagements (AKA pre-marital conference thing). You should go. 

Now, I will be productive. 

Love, 

Celeste. 

My little Patalie

I promised some talk of my girls, so here's part 1 of ?.

I'll start with Natalie because her birthday was a couple of days ago.
I have been meeting with Natalie for a little over a year and a half now. She just turned 21 a couple days ago. She's. A. Stud.

We first became friend her freshman and my sophomore year. We don't actually remember how we met, but we did, and I'm so thankful for that. I had a Christmas party one night at my apartment and she (and Rachel, another lovely lady who you'll get to know later) both came.

This is us that night. She's the beauty to my right your left. 

We hung out for the rest of the school year and she, along with Rachel and Brittany, was in my D-group at Kaleo. That summer was amazing. I grew a ton, and I got to watch them grow a ton. It was such a blessing to be called their leader. 

This was the night the girls (from left to right Rachel, Natalie, Brittany) got there. I started the summer by loading them up in my car and stating that my car smelled funny. Ha. So sweet of me, I know. It helped break the awkward real quick though. 

 

Anyways, I got to watch Nat grow so so much that summer.After living in the International dorm on campus last year and trying her best to share Jesus there, she lives in the freshmen all-girls dorm on campus. She's leading a Bible study there and meeting with her own girls regularly. When I say her own girls, I mean the girls that were in her D-group last summer (as well as a few new ones!). She's also an RA. She's also in nursing school. She's also going to India this summer. Yep. She's incredible. 

 

Nat is a blessing that I somehow get to call my spiritual daughter, and man does that make me excited. I'm one proud mama. She loves her Lord so much, and it is evident in the way she lives and loves others. She is teachable and asks good questions and you better believe that this girl is a servant. Even more than that she is a quiet servant. She does things because she loves people, but more importantly because she loves Jesus. If you talk Natalie, you will find that she is kind and genuine and warm in a way that can't be taught. She is humble and not afraid to ask for help and that is challenging and refreshing.

I adore her. I'm proud of her. I pray that I can be more like her.

Guard your hearts, boys.

Adoration.

I love a lot of people...well I think I do. But, one person I love and adore and admire so so so much is my little brother. I think he is wonderful, and I have loved watching him grow in college. In the past year and a half he has turned into such a man. A godly man. I have a friend, Jason, and I've been told that I treat him like a brother. When I told him that, he said I treat him meaner than I do my own brother because I think my brother is a saint. I laughed, but he's right. I do.

Recently, a group of us was bowling for my friend Julie's birthday. In the lane next to us a lady that worked at the bowling alley was putting bowling balls from the holder thing back onto the shelves. We were all watching whoever was bowling, but I noticed my brother get up and help her put them up. Granted, that's not a huge deal, but that is her job, not his. None of us noticed or even thought to do that except him. He does stuff like that all the time. I. Love. Him. SO much. 

Extra random thoughts.....

• I didn't know that I get a wedding band. Seriously. I thought my engagement ring was all I needed. I've been informed that I'm wrong. 
• Choosing colors is probably the most stressful thing I've done, except it's not really that stressful. I still haven't chosen, and I've decided not to choose. I think it will be easier to do it as I go. If you think this is the dumbest decision ever, please tell me kindly. :)
• Justin's back from Arizona, and I'm SO excited. I'll be even more excited when I can spend a good chunk of time with him. 
• I love love love that all of the girls are back in the building. They are so fun and wonderful. I will tell you about them sometime...maybe next time. :)
• Our save-the-dates are going out soon. Get excited. 
• My sweet sister, Sarah, is about to go back on the road for work. I've loved having her around this break.