Wednesday, June 5, 2013

NYC week 1

Post about Bridals, Honeymoon, Wedding day, etc. to come...

Our honeymoon flew by and soon we were back in Utah again, staying at the Zermatt Villas in Midway - we had so much to do before we moved (see family, open wedding gifts, pack, etc.) and soon enough it was Tuesday night and we were packing until 6:45 a.m. About an hour later we were off to the airport - 6 suitcases in hand, ready for our 3 month journey (don't worry only 2.5 were full of clothes for both of us - the rest was all bedding/towels/appliances/etc.)




Taylor's uncle picked us up from the airport and we staying at his house in Connecticut for a couple nights. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!! up there, winding beautiful roads of green trees all around. Yep, I am definitely an East Coast girl. I love it here. 

We found our little Sunnyside apartment the night before we flew into the city, it was furnished and available for the month of June and only 25 minutes from Midtown Manhattan. We moved in on Friday. We are conveniently close to the subway, grocery store, and laundry. 










Sunday
We went to the Union Square ward for church, I used to go to the singles ward in that building when I was at FIT and Taylor used to go there all the time on his mission.

Then we stopped by Taylor's office building where he'll be interning with CEA capital - an Investment Bank.




We snapped some aBree Fashion photos in the courtyard across from his building


And stopped to take a picture in front of this beautiful front 'yard' between Park and Madison Avenue that we passed on the way to my J.Crew job interview - loved seeing hydrangeas in the city!! And they matched my dress. Perfection.


We also saw George Stephanopoulos with his two dogs heading into J.Crew Men on Madison Avenue. Taylor spotting him out. Love seeing high profile people in the city. Oh, the Upper East Side. While I was stalking him online I found this article with pictures of his GORGEOUS home here in Manhattan. 

And for dinner I made Tilapia for the first time and it turned out perfect! I was impressed with  myself, thanks to my favorite easy recipe that my mom makes.


Monday
Taylor's first day of his internship! Looking so good! 


While he was at work I thought I would surprise him with fresh baked dessert when he got home! I searched pinterest for the perfect thing - Andes Mint Cookies (Andes mints are one of Taylor's favorite candy). Only a few ingredients so I thought it'd be easy (I don't have flour, sugar, baking powder/soda, etc. on hand since we are just in a tiny apartment for a short time). I thought that the CVS would have a wider selection of candy and usually they have boxed cake - at least in Orem they do. Nope. Nothing. So I went to the grocery store about 5 blocks the other direction. I searched and searched through all the aisles to find my 3 ingredients (oil, cake mix, mints) and found out there was no Andes Mints. Now what? Jr. Mints!! Nope..none of those either. Seriously?! So then I thought, maybe they have frozen pie - Taylor loves pumpkin and berry pie... no frozen pie. Apparently people here in Sunnyside don't eat dessert. I went to plan C - rolo cookies, same ingredients just with Rolos inside rather than Andes on top. No Rolos. So I put the cake mix back and grabbed a brownie mix. But that is so boring. I called my mom and she had a genius idea - put marshmallows on top (any food with marshmallows automatically becomes my favorite). So then I searched about 10 more minutes to find where they stock marshmallows - I finally found them under the candy hidden behind a display box. Since I was in the candy section I found a bar of chocolate filled with caramel and grabbed that as well. I realized while searching for the marshmallows - I don't have a mixing bowl or a baking dish at the apartment. We sublet it furnished but apparently those weren't included. I figured I could use the "pot" (which is more like a deep skillet) to stir my mix in and found the aluminum disposable dishes for 50 cents. One last problem the dishes were about a foot higher up than I could reach so I waited and waited by them until someone tall enough walked by. Finally two guys were decently close and I asked for help, they seemed rather confused that I was talking to them and hesitantly came over BUT to my rescue they graciously grabbed the pan for me. This happened while still searching for the marshmallows so I saw the guys at least 5 more times while wondering through aisles - awesome.

BUT in the end it was all worth it because they turned out INCREDIBLE! And Taylor loved them.


(fudge brownie mix (made "fudge like" rather than "cake like") topped with Cadbury Chocolate filled with Caramel and marshmallows) - served warm

Tuesday

June 4th, our ONE MONTH anniversary! It seems like we've been married FOREVER, so it seemed weird that it was only a month. I met up with Taylor after work and we went down to Chelsea. My FIT area. When I started planning what we were doing to celebrate I looked up Key Lime Pie (one of Taylor's favorites) and discovered Billy's Bakery had some. Which happens to be right across the street from my favorite restaurant in the city - Le Grainne Cafe (we call it The French Place). Emily, Katie, and I discovered it when we met up to go to Billy's Bakery and realized we were too hungry to start off with cupcakes and the little French restaurant across the street caught our eye. And thank heavens. I love it. And Taylor did too. I got my favorite Quiche Epinard and Taylor got the Chicken Ratatouille Crepe. At Billy's we obviously got the Key Lime Pie which was super strong and had a gingersnap crust - yummy! and a slice of Coconut Cream Pie - OH MY GOODNESS, it was amazing!! Then I showed Taylor around my neck of the woods - The Fashion Institute of Technology. A little has changed since 2009/2010 but mostly it's just the same.


and I finally hopped on the Instagram train.. We'll see how it goes. @breelena


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Engagement Pictures!

Now that we are safely in New York City for the summer it is catch up on blogging time!

My lovely friend Kiara took our engagement pictures up at City Creek! 

























Sunday, May 5, 2013

May

My amazing month of May 

May 1: 2 hour massage by Amber, eyelashes at Suggestions Salon by Elise

May 2: Nails at Suggestions Salon by Alexa, Bain's Orem Dance Company Concert

May 3: Wax at Wax Me Too by Jessica, arranging flowers for the wedding with my Aunts

May 4: Hair and makeup by Versa Artistry, SEALING to my sweetheart at 10:30 a.m. in the Manti Utah Temple, photographs by the lovely Rebekah Westover, luncheon with family and friends with Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Wilkins, wedding celebration - finally seeing all my designs and ideas come to life!!!

May 5-12: Plane ride to Florida! Treasure Island beach house for 1 week!

May 12-19: Drive to Orlando! Disneyworld for 1 week!

May 19-28 (ish): Fly back to Utah and stay at Zermatt Villa in Midway, pack for the summer

May 28 (ish): Fly to NYC where we will be living for the summer!!!! Happy internship!


So I will most definitely not be blogging much - but get excited for June when I will post about all of my adventures with my new husband!

And to keep you entertained until I get back - you can check out my bridal session on Rebekah Westover's blog!! Dress designed and made by me, Bree Wilkins, @ aBree Original.

xoxo - Mrs. Wilkins

(P.S. I promise I didn't post this on my honeymoon - I scheduled it to post after my wedding  last week)

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

News:

Taylor and I will be moving to NYC this summer! We are super excited. We will be there from June - August. Taylor got an internship with an Investment Bank close to Columbus Circle. If you know of any apartments that are available please leave a comment or email me! We would love something furnished and are willing to move around a bit month to month if needed. Thank you so much!!!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

(Taylor's) Best Friend's Wedding

Taylor's best friend got married on Saturday and we had the special opportunity to attend their sealing in the Salt Lake Temple. It was absolutely beautiful!! It made us all the more excited to have our special day come - 2 weeks away!! We are so happy for Colt and Abby! Yay for love and eternal marriage!


(This was the only picture I could find so far on FB. So happy!)


Me and the cute Best Man!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

life of a student.

I am so DONE with being a student.

I want to wear cute clothes all day and not dress with the freezing uncomfortable library and campus in mind.
I want to cook. To have time to go grocery shopping and try new recipes.
I want to be able to not feel guilty about working out because it takes too much time.
I want to be off at 5 and be done for the day.
I want to have time to blog and take pictures and scrapbook and sketch and create.
I want to be able to have the time and energy to do things outside of my necessities to-do list.
I want to be graduated from BYU.

But due to my degree from FIT (taking time off from BYU) and deferring to prepare for my wedding - I still have 3 semesters left. Only about 36 credits. After this semester I will have completed 136.5 credits combined with FIT and BYU. So many classes... I am incredibly grateful for my education and the opportunities I have been given. But I am ready to move on.

Now back to studying. Only 3 finals this semester. If only my brain could concentrate on business law rather than wedding plans....

Thursday, April 11, 2013

weekend bliss.

Conference Weekend.

Friday - Dinner at Happy Sumo with my family, granny/grandpa, my aunt/uncle/cousins from Indiana, and Taylor. With this lovely masterpiece for dessert!


My cousins make it all the time back home and it is AMAZING! Just don't eat too much or you'll get sick.. 
Pile on 24 mini ice cream sandwiches
In-between each layer top with cool whip, chocolate fudge, and caramel syrup. 
On the top add crushed up oreo's and heath bars. 

Saturday - Country Club fun at Riverside for 6 hours: Yoga with Bain, golfing 9 holes with Bain and daddy, lunch with mom, dad, and Bain.. Monte Cristo sandwich. Yum.


Conference. + Cinnamon rolls

J.Crew and Nike Factory stores - AMAZING sales. Practically steals.

The Host with Taylor - eh.. not very exciting

Sunday - Crepes. Conference with Taylor and his family. More cinnamon rolls. A walk with Taylor up the canyon. More conference. A walk with Taylor out by Utah Lake. Lovely day. Episode of The Bible then bedtime.

It was a very nice relaxing weekend. I honestly didn't even look at my computer the whole time. Nice to get away for a bit and not focus on planning and school.

In wedding news: I received my bridals/groomals back on Monday!!! 425 invitations were sent (thanks to my helpers - Talyn, Aunt Mary-Ellen, and my mom). Only 22 days!





Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Missionaries.

Saw this on I Wast So Much Time.. interesting - I like it! Proud to have two brothers who have served/are serving full time missions and to be marrying a returned missionary. Go Mormons! 



Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter

My mom's brother and family came into town this week for Spring Break - so did my Granny and Grandpa! Taylor and I split between our two families again this holiday like we did on Thanksgiving (good thing his family tends to eat earlier and my family likes to eat late). We went to church with his family then had dinner at his house. After we were finished we went to my house for an Easter egg hunt and more dinner! It was a really nice day!





Tuesday, April 2, 2013

wedding and fun.

Last week I received my engagement photos, my announcements, took bridals/groomals, and registered at Target. It was an extremely busy and fun week. 

My dress is complete. And I LOVE it!! My engagements were lovely! and announcements were sent out this week. We are down to one month! 

Photos and posts to come, I promise!