Design for Shabby Apple

Shabby Apple Dresses

The fabric I used for this dress is a black charmeuse. For a more spring look I would use a light cotton fabric and a more spring time color such as a light yellow or a light blue. I also think it would be cute to have patterned design on the skirt and bow, while the top was a solid color. I was inspired by vintage dresses from the 1920s. I designed this dress to incorporate some fun elements from the 20s, but updating it enough to wear in the present era. I love this dress and hope you like it too!

The Best Year of My Life

About this time last year TJ was taking me out on our very first date together. We had an amazing evening together, one that I will never forget. We made crispy ranch chicken, mashed potatoes, TJ’s famous bread sticks, and a delicious salad with a homemade vinaigrette dressing!! We had our amazing dinner with another couple as well and after words decided that we needed more time together! So on to our next adventure…the bowling alley. After I bowled my highest score ever of a 62 a little girl came up to us and asked us if we were married!! We both just laughed and replied no to the little girl. TJ told me later that he wanted to say “Not Yet”, but he was afraid that would scare me off. After bowling, we still did not want the evening to be over yet, so we went for ice cream and talked for a long time just about random things about each other and what not. After ice cream the night unfortunately came to end. As I was saying goodbye to TJ I thanked him for the wonderful evening together and proceeded to give him a hug and tell him it had been the most fun date I had ever been on.

So this week to commemorate that first date, TJ and I made that exact same dinner together. Only this time things were a little different. Instead of being nervous about what to wear or how to act, we were able to fully embrace and love one another while we sat eating that wonderful dinner that brought us together just a year ago. A meal that brought me everything I ever needed, TJ. I will always love crispy ranch chicken, mashed potatoes, breadsticks, and salad for that reason. I will always love TJ Paulson for a million more reasons. I am so excited for the years to come that I can share with TJ.

The Best Year of My Life

I have had 22 years pass by in my life, and they have all been, for the most part, great. However, the past year of my life has been the best. The reason that it has been the best year of my life is because a year ago I met Meredith Dean, the love of my life. A year ago, I got home off of my mission and came right up to Rexburg to start school two days after I got home. On the first day of school, in my American Foundations class, in walks the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and I knew that I would never have a chance with her.
Thankfully, I was absolutely wrong about that and after a lot of dates and lots of time to build our friendship she finally she fell for me. Now I am happier than I ever thought possible, my life is perfect, even if there are difficulties, Meredith makes everything perfect. When I think back on the last year, all I see is her and let me tell you, that is the best thing in the world to see. This passed year has flown by and now two people are even more in love then ever and the new year looks even better then the last. I am so excited for what is to come in the next year and in all the years after that with my love Meredith Dean.

Back in Rexburg With My Angel

Meredith and I flew back to Utah on Saturday the 2nd and it was quite the crazy trip. It was full of delays, unexpected stops in San Antonio, sitting in front of Cheerleaders that "like" wouldn't stop "like" talking, etc. We got back to my family's house and we had a great time with my family while Meredith and I had our Christmas in my house. Meredith got her Panini maker, I got an awesome stereo, and we both got homemade pajamas made by my mom. It was great to be able to spend some time with my love Meredith and my family. Sunday we went to church with my family and then we went to Meredith's sister Michelle's house which is always one of our favorite things to do. Michelle and Tim are amazing and their kids are possibly the cutest kids in the whole world. We had a great time there talking, laughing, and playing with the kids. Meredith saw the movie "The 3 Ninjas" for the first time and some home videos of when I was a little kid having a temper tantrum. We hung out with my family for the rest of the night knowing that we would have to go back to Rexburg the next day.
Well, the next day came and we packed up the back of the awesome truck and headed out to the Burg. We got here and it was of course covered in snow and ice. Meredith and I took all of her stuff to her apartment and then I went to my apartment to unload my stuff. We both met our roommates and we are both very pleased with the great people we are going to be living with. After that we went shopping for the essentials.
Today Meredith got sick so after my classes we spent the whole day together and I did everything I could to make her feel better. She is such an amazing girl and although she is sick she is still so happy and so fun to be around and I Love her with all of my heart.
The real purpose of me writing this post is because I really do not like change, once I get used to something I do not like to change that. I was really used to living in Florida and coming back here has been pretty hard for me. It has been hard for me to not see my family as much as I would like to etc etc etc. Meredith has been my angel (as she ALWAYS is) since we have gotten to Rexburg, she has brought me so much comfort, joy, and hope that everything will be okay. I don't know how I could have gotten so lucky as to have found Meredith Dean, the love of my life. Without her I would be lost, I would be nothing. I am so grateful for Meredith and the great things that she brings out in me. I Love Her.

My First Christmas With Meredith

Yesterday was my first Christmas with Meredith and boy was it everything that I have dreamed of and much more. We all woke up at 7 a.m. (Me, Meredith, Melanie, and Madeleine, and Aaron) and we woke up mom and dad (I am now calling them that on request by LaRae Dean because she is tired of me saying Bishop and Sister Dean :) ). We all then opened presents one by one. The best present that I have ever received was given to me last of all by Meredith, it is a present that she has been working on for a long time. She put together a photo album/scrapbook for me with over 300 pictures of Meredith and me from our second date on. It is also filled with quotes about love and sweet notes from Meredith throughout. It is the greatest gift that I have received and it is a gift that will never get old, never become boring, and it will always be wonderful to look at with each other. Meredith never ceases to amaze me with her love for me and with the sweet things she is always doing to show me that she loves me. She is so amazing and she makes me feel so special. I am very thankful for her and all that she does for me. What a great way to spend Christmas, with the girl that I absolutely adore, cherish, and love and with her fabulous family. I also was able to kind of "meet" Spencer when he called home from Argentina which was great and I was also able to talk to my brother in Iowa! It was definitely one of the best Christmases ever!!

The Proposal: TJ's Tale

For months I had been planning how I would propose to the love of my life, Meredith Dean. You should have seen my computer, I had pages of ideas but nothing seemed good enough. I was getting nervous because I wanted to propose to her so bad and I had set a goal for myself to do it on November 14th, a day that I knew we would be together. After a lot more pondering I thought I had a perfect idea, I would do it while at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, which is where we were going to be spending the day. I figured there would not be a more perfect location then in magical Walt Disney World by Cinderella's Castle. I planned a lot of things for this day but things turned out a little different then I had planned.

Throughout the whole day at the park we had a fabulous time. We played, we enjoyed the rides and the shows, we ate great food, and we loved being together more than anything, this was exactly how I had planned it to be. The only problem was the way that I had planned to propose to Meredith didn't seem quite perfect anymore. I was planning to propose to her in the rose garden by the castle but when we got there things didn't work out the way that I wanted and there were more people visiting the gardens then normal and everything seemed to fall apart, all except for one plan, the plan that I had made for an after-engagement celebration which actually turned out to be the perfect proposal moment.

While Meredith and I were at the Magic Kingdom some of my lifeguard friends (Natasha, Jon, Dan, Emily, and Zac) were in my apartment with flowers, balloons, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider, chocolate covered strawberries, candles, rose petals on the floor leading to a dance floor in the living room, and "You and I" playing on the computer making things ready for when Meredith and I returned. My idea for this was just to add one more romantic surprise for Meredith to add on top of the proposal, to finish a perfect day off with a perfect night. Little did I know that the proposal plan had not happened the way I had planned and this little surprise would actually be exactly what Meredith wanted.

Meredith and I watched the fireworks at the end of our day at Magic Kingdom and then we were on our way back to my apartment when I got a text from my friends telling me to stall a little bit so that they could finish the decorating and get out of the apartment. I did the best that I could and when we pulled up to my apartment I saw them running down the other stairs to get away. We went up to the apartment and we walked in and even I was blown away by how perfect it looked, the lifeguards had done an amazing job. Meredith loved the room and we walked over the the table with the chocolates, cider, roses, and candles and that is where I proposed to her. I pulled out the ring and I told Meredith how much I absolutely love her with all that I am. I told her that I want her to be my princess forever and that I will make all of her dreams come true forever. I told her that I want to make her happy for all eternity and then I asked if she would marry me and she said "Yes!" Then I pulled out the last surprise for her, a glass slipper that I bought at Disney World with our names and the date engraved on it and I gave it to her...which I might add, she LOVED. We ate the chocolates, drank the cider, and we had a nice slow dance in the middle of the room and Meredith told me that she had always dreamed of being proposed to with no one else around, just me and her. We danced, we laughed, we held each other; a newly engaged couple.

I Love Meredith Dean with all of my heart. She is my angel, my one true love, my darling, my source of joy and happiness, and my princess forever and ever.

The Purpose For This Blog

There was once a boy who fell madly and deeply in love with a girl. This boy loved this girl so much he wanted to be with her forever and ever and always so he asked her to marry him and she said yes. This is the blog with the breathtaking stories, the romance, and the love between the boy and the girl.