M.I.A., Magic Tea, and Christmas Cards!!

So, as you might (or might not) have noticed, I have been pretty MIA from blogging from the past week or so! Well, things have been a little upside down around here! We got notice the weekend before last that my grandfather was really sick and instead of sending him to the hospital again, they would just allow Hospice nurses to come to his house. On Monday, the family stayed over there all day and we knew things were bad. I came to work on Tuesday and Wednesday and then Wednesday I  got a call from my brother (who lives in Nashville) that he was on his way down and I needed to go to my grandparents house ASAP because things didn't look good. So, I left work promptly and went over there. They called the whole family in. He wasn't doing well at all and it was just a matter of time. So, that afternoon at 5:30, my grandfather passed away surrounded by lots of family and friends. After that, the rest of the weekend was a whirlwind! We had visitation on Friday evening and the funeral on Saturday. It has been a rough week, to say the least.

Anyway, I am HOPEFULLY going to post some pictures of all of my decorations at home soon! I participated in an ornament swap and can't wait to show my ornament. But first, before I get into all of that, I wanted to post a huge shout-out to the folks over at Celestial Seasonings....(no, this isn't paid, I just felt like I needed  to share). So, as to be expected, I haven't slept well at all in over a week now. I take sleeping pills over the counter but they either don't work or make me want to never wake up because they make me so drowsy! But, I HAVE to sleep! I am one of those that goes to bed at 9 and wakes up at 7 or 8. I had trouble finding something that would help me sleep. My husband and I were shopping at a new grocery in town when I noticed a new Sleepytime tea from Celestial Seasonings....(I LOVE hot tea, especially in cold weather). It was vanilla flavored, and Emory suggested I try it. I thought, yeah right, there is no way a tea is going to help me sleep. Well, I have drank a cup before bed the last two nights, and I must say, I have slept better drinking that than I have with anything else, EVER! Emory is even trying it and sleeping well! It is awesome! So, kudos to you over at Celestial Seasonings! You MUST try this stuff! Let me know if it works just as well for you! It is caffeine and gluten free! Anyway, hopefully I will be back soon with a Christmas recap!

The amazing stuff!

****I have lots of extra Christmas cards, if you would like one, email me, rebecca[dot]m[dot]winters[at]gmail[dot]com and send me your address and I will send you one!! They are cute, you know you want one! ;)

12 Gays of Christmas Relient Remix

To Brighten up your day! These guys are too cute! I have had SO much going on, I will post an update soon!

Promises!

Well, I am making promises to catch up with you guys soon! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We hosted our first married Thanksgiving at our house this year! Emory and I LOVE to cook and spend time in the kitchen! Really, I think if we had the opportunity to quit our jobs and have our own cooking show, we truly would! **If there are any food show execs out there reading this, we would LOVE to chat...give me a shout!** We have so much fun in the kitchen! We usually cook dinner every night together, so Thanksgiving was so much fun! We cooked enough for an army though! We still have an uncooked pan of dressing and sweet potato casserole that we put in our freezer! Emory smoked his first Turkey and man, it turned out absolutely wonderfully! It was SO good! We had his parents, sister and her fiance and my mom and step dad and step brother! Our new dining room table held us all! It was so much fun! Friday, all of the girls got up bright (well, dark) and early and went shopping! There were a few things that we got that we wanted but it didn't seem to me that the deals were that good this year! On Saturday, Emory and I decorated for our FIRST Christmas! We put up two trees! One in our living room that is a 9 foot tree and is beautiful and one in our dining room that is all Alabama! It is too cute if I must say so myself! I will take pictures tonight when they are all lit up and post them tomorrow! We decorated the outside of the house as well with lit wreaths on the windows and a huge wreath on the door and lit trees on either side of the door! I am SO excited! Now to get all of our presents and get them wrapped and under the tree! Our kids here at work have their first holiday show tomorrow, so I am busy helping get ready for that! I also have a busy weekend ahead! I hope you all have a wonderful week! It is Wednesday, so only two more days!! I will be back with pictures tomorrow, I promise!

Just catching up!

Weird little tid bit before I begin....I have my Pandora station on and you know what is playing? "The Details are in the Fabric" by Jason Mraz (um, hello, that is where the title of my blog came from!) How ironic!

Anyway....I had a wonderful weekend! My husband and I got to FINALLY go to a game in Tuscaloosa together! Our story goes like this...we both spent four years in Tuscaloosa, 2003-2007, we didn't know each other one bit! We had mutual friends (kind of) but we never ran into each other! CRAZY I know! So, technically we have never been to Tuscaloosa "together"! And we certainly haven't been there for my favorite part, a football game! SO, this weekend, we went with some friends of ours to the game and had so much fun! Alabama beat Mississippi State so it was a great ending to a great day!

In front of the stadium!!

At the game!

As for this weekend, I am working a Henry Cho (a comedian) show on Friday night at work and then cleaning my house and addressing those awesome Christmas cards I got from Shutterfly (quickly, did I mention)!! Emory will be enjoying opening season! I can't believe Thanksgiving is upon us! Seriously ladies, if you haven't looked at a calendar lately, it is NEXT WEEK! Yikes! We are hosting it at our house for our first married Thanksgiving!

Well, I hope you all have a great rest of the week, it is all downhill from here! Oh, I am going to be hosting a 31 party, and I will be having a "catalogue order" portion, so be looking for more info on that because some of the proceeds go to a charity! In the meantime, go here to see their stuff!

A little survey for a Monday....

So, I stole this from Alyse and decided I would do it as well! It is Monday  , afterall! Although I do have to mention that those cards that I posted below, the free ones from Shutterfly, yeah I ordered them and they were here in less than a week! I am going to have them ready to go in a week! Yay! So excited! Anyway, here is the survey about my family...

1. What are your middle names? his - Emory mine- Marie
2. How long have you been together?  about 15 months (married for almost 5)
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? we pretty much started dating instantly!
4. Who asked who out? We didn't really ask each other out, it was just an instant thing!
5. How old are each of you? Him - 26 me - 25
6. Did you go to the same school? College, yes but we didn't know each other!!
7. Are you from the same home town? Nope! About 4 hours apart
8. Who is the smartest? He is!
9. Who majored in what? Emory - Electrical Engineering Me - Political Science
10. Who is the most sensitive? Neither really, but I guess me
11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? France
12. Who has the worst temper? Probably me

13. How many children do you want? No real definitive answer for this one yet....
14. Who does the cooking? We both LOVE to cook! We cook together most often!
15. Who is more social? Probably me.
16. Who is the neat freak? I am the neater of the two, but I am not really a neat freak.
17. Who is the most stubborn? Probably me.
18. Who wakes up earlier? Definitely me
19. Where was your first date? A double date with my parents (who introduced us) to dinner and drinks!
20. Who has the bigger family? Um, I guess they are about equal.
21. Do you get flowers often? No, but I am not really a flower girl. They just die!
22. How do you spend the holidays? At home this year!!
23. Who is more jealous?Neither really.
24. How long did it take to get serious? Instantly. When you know, you know.
25. Who eats more? Probably him, just because I am smaller!
26. What do you do for a living? He is an Engineer, I work for a non-profit.
27. Who does the laundry? I do mostly.
28. Who's better with the computer? Definitely him!
29. Who drives when you are together? Usually him, but I do on occasion.
30. What is your song? I dunno...our first dance was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Lady Antebellum
 
Ok, that is what I have for you today! I am going to catch you up on our weekend tomorrow! :) Happy Monday!

Christmas Card

Family Wall Red Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Here it is....

Well, we have finally finished the dining room and we have a new table (minus 4 more chairs we are still waiting on). I know I have promised pictures, but I really wanted until we got the table and got our curtains hung so you could see the total effect! So, without further ado....here is the new dining room!

Here is the whole dining room...the new paint color, the newly hung curtains, the table, and our two curio cabinets!

Our Alabama dishes in one cabinet!

Our china/fancy stuff cabinet....

An up-close of the table (with 4 of 8 chairs) and silver charger plates just trying to see what looks best.

I didn't want to leave you without a picture of yours truly...(with my brother on the left and my husband on the right, grandmother and little step-bro in the background.) This is when we went to Lynchburg to Miss Mary Bobo's for lunch!

Hope you all liked my dining room tour...let me know what you think and what you think I can do to decorate! I need ideas! Should I keep it set with my china or what? We have 12 foot ceilings. Do I need a centerpiece? If yes, what do I need? Hope you all are having a great day! It is almost Friday! Finally! Leave me ideas!!!

Christmas is only 53 days away today!! Oh my!

Did you know that as of today there are only 53 days until Christmas? Really? I can’t believe that today is the first day of November!! It is my first Christmas as a wife! I am SO excited! I would decorate tomorrow if we weren’t hosting Thanksgiving at our house! But you better believe that the weekend after, everything is going up! Since this has been a big year for us, I really would like to send out some special Christmas cards! Especially to people who were unable to come to the wedding or people who I don’t talk to that often! Since we have gotten married, been to France for our Honeymoon and added a furry addition to our family, I think it is safe to say that a photo card would be the best way to go! I usually just send out about 10 or 20 cards to people that I pick up from the generic card section, but I think 2010 was our year and we should share it in pictures! Shutterfly has some of the cutest cards! I don’t think one photo would be enough for us! I think we need about 4! One from our wedding, one from our honeymoon and one for each of our furry kids! They are after all, part of the Winters family too!


I like this one, because it has room to add what happened throughout the year! But I am not sure if it is too much. Although I think I like it!

I also LOVE this one because of the monogram (since it is our first Christmas as a family) and the room for pictures!

This one is cute too! It also has the monogram, but not as many pictures!

Which one is your favorite?? Please help me out! Also, if you too would like 50 free cards, check out Shutterfly’s blogger promotion and see how you can too!!

Thursday

It's Thursday, so I thought that the title was fitting....although it is really because I just don't have anything clever to say! I am ecstatic that it is Thursday and the weekend is almost here. Really, I can't wait. Why? Well, funny you should ask. Since I have little time I will list you the reasons...
1. I am looking forward to spending time with my husband and family, it never seems like we get enough time together!
2. I am looking forward to trying to sleeping in (as much as Max will allow).
3. Cleaning my house a little.
4. Going to Lynchburg, TN to eat at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House! If you don't know what it is, Google it! You will be so jealous of me!

Anyway...happy Thursday! Hope everyone has a lovely day! What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Four months ago today....

....I was walking around TJ Maxx with one of my best friends wasting time before I went to my hair appointment! This was no ordinary hair appointment...it was the one on my WEDDING DAY!! I can't believe that four months has passed since I married my absolutely wonderful husband! We have had so much fun being husband and wife and I can't wait for many more years of fun! We spent our first two weeks of married life in France! Then, we celebrated my 25th birthday, then we added an addition to our family, MAX, the new puppy! If forever is just as awesome and adventurous as the past four months, our lives are going to be PERFECT! I am completely happy and in love with my very best friend! I can't believe four months ago I became Mrs. Winters and am loving every.single.second! MFNO!



My favorite picture of us in Nice..isn't my husband a cutie?!



Us on our wedding day!! So happy!!

Well, I am going to go enjoy the rest of my day being a four month newlywed to the best husband a girl could ever ask for!! Enjoy your Tuesday!

I don't care for Mondays....

They really are no different than any other day, except  they are a brutal reminder that the weekend is over and all together too short! I wish we had a more equal distribution of the work week and a relaxing weekend! Two days is just not long enough after working 5! It really is no fun! Then you have to spend Monday catching up to the back log of emails that you have acquired over the weekend then after lunch is about when I get to actually start my day after emails! It is crazy! It seems like that is all I do is send emails and make to do lists. Rinse and repeat!

Anyway...I can't belive this is the last week of October and November is right around the corner! Does this surprise you too? I just can't belive it at all! I mean before you know it, Christmas will be here! This year has been a whirlwind and has FLOWN by! Who knows, it may just be me because I have had sucha crazy, life changing year!

Well, here is to a new week! I hope it is a great week for everyone! My goal is to blog everyday this week! Fingers crossed I can get that done!

As promised....

Well, I had such a busy weekend with the wedding and all, not to mention I was sick the entire time! I do have a few pictures that I will share! So, even though it isn't Wednesday, I have a feeling this post is going to be a little wordless... Here are some pics from the wedding and the weekend! When I get an updated picture, I will show you the dining room and the new color!

The Groom played baseball at Florida, so this is his groom's cake!

Me and Jenn taking pictures before the ceremony!

Jenn in the Bride's room showing off her cute shoes!

Me and my handsome husband at the rehearsal!

All of the bridesmaids at the luncheon!

It was such a beautiful wedding and so much fun! It was great to see my best friend get married and share in her special day! I will be back with pictures of the dining room! It really looks great! Have a great rest of the week and weekend if I am not back here before then!

It is now October....

MIDDLE October to be exact, and I haven't been here since September! Shame on me! Well, I have some good excuses! I have been busy busy busy! Last week, we had fall break at work and we were off all break. Of course I didn't really take a break, I do have a puppy at home who is a huge ball of energy, and some other things to take care of. Emory and I decided to tackle the task of painting our dining room! We painted it a deep red, which was a huge undertaking! But, it was WELL worth it and the room is now beautiful! I might mention that we have 12 foot ceilings, so it was no easy process! But, it is done and looks great!

This weekend, we are going to Georgia for by BFF Jennifer's wedding! I am so excited! I think I mentioned her engagement way back in August of 2009! They got engaged at Disney World and are now getting married! So, it has been a long time coming and I couldn't be more excited! There is a whole list of things to do leading up to the wedding, so it should be a packed weekend for sure!!

Today is my brother's birthday! He is now 31 years old! I can't believe we are getting so old!!

Lastly, my wonderful husband defended his thesis yesterday and PASSED! That was great news and I know he is glad it is over! Now to see what is next, we don't know! Maybe a PhD? We shall see!

Well, sorry I have no pictures this post, but I promise some will come after the weekend! They are long overdue! Have a wonderful weekend, and I will be back on Monday hopefully!!

Wednesday Randomness

Well, I am so glad that Wednesday is here. I must say that I am ready for the weekend to be here!! Next week is fall break at the schools, and since my work follows the school calendar (except the summers off thing) then that means I get a whole week off! I feel like I am going to be playing catch-up on a lot of things, like cleaning my house really well, and putting away things that are out of place! I might try to relax a little, if I get a chance!! Hopefully there will be a little bit of home-improvement later in the week that may or may not include paint!! :)

As far as finishing this week, I have lots of loose ends to tie up at work! Then a few things to do in the beginning of week for work! But I am SO glad it is Wednesday and the weekend is coming into view!! Have a great hump day!

Just one of those days...

Have you ever had one of those days when you woke up, you could only hope the day got better instead of having the morning be an omen for the outcome of your day? Well, today is one of those days.

Oh well, at least it is Thursday and tomorrow starts the weekend! That is a good thing right?!

Hope you all have a happy Thursday and a wonderful weekend if I don't pop in before then...for now I am going to go perk up my day by looking at People of Walmart!

Some favorites...

So, I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to stop in and tell you guys about a couple of great finds that have made their way into my life and won't be leaving anytime soon!!



Well, I had the day off on Monday so I used the time to run some errands and do some much needed house cleaning. Well, in Sunday's paper, there was a coupon for Soft Scrub's new "total" line. I was going to clean the bathroom so I decided I would use the coupon and get it to try. We have some mineral in our water that makes a line in the toilet, shower, sink or wherever water sits at anytime. And there is NOTHING that will clean it. That is until NOW....this stuff is absolutely amazing and wonderful! I LOVE it! I can't wait to get the kitchen kind and try it! I know, you all are laughing at me for getting all excited about a cleaning produce (my husband made fun of me too) but I have been trying forever to find something that will take away the "watermark" and I have finally found it and it is a great day!! My life will never be the same!!



Secondly, I splurged and bought the Nook from Barnes and Noble. I have been looking at them for some time now but I was really just questioning whether it was really practical or not. Then, Emory and I had to buy a new bookshelf to put in the spare room to hold all of my books that were all over the place, and I figured it would be practical in order to eliminate the stacking of book from floor to ceiling. And I must say it has been amazing so far in the two days that I have had it. It is great! And I am loving it!

Well, those are my new finds that I just had to share! If any of you try the Soft Scrub total stuff, let me know if it was just as amazing for you as it was for me! (By the way, I was not paid to endorse either of these two products, they are just that awesome that I needed to share!) Have a happy Wednesday!!

Place in this world...

I know it is Friday and I should be really excited that Alabama is playing tomorrow and talking about them beating Duke..BUT I am not going to. I have some other news...

This morning I was getting ready to leave and Emory opens the door and I hear him get kind of startled and mention that I need to "Come look at this!" So, I go and look and there on our driveway, maybe three feet from our front door is this HUGE alligator snapping turtle thing. It was not what you would expect to see in a quiet neighborhood in Alabama on an almost fall day. I mean it was the weirdest thing ever. It was a good thing that Scout and Max didn't come bounding out the door like they usually do! This thing was fierce!! It really scared me a little. I mean, not enough that I didn't go grab the cell phone to get close enough for a picture, but enough that it kinda gave me the chills. It was gross and big! See:



Anyway, so we chased it away to the yard and were keeping our fingers crossed that it didn't crawl under the fence and get in our back yard where the pups would be sure to find it! It crawled away back to the small trench that is next to our house. Hopefully he is gone to live in the sewer with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Maybe they can help him out. He certainly isn't welcome at my house! If he stayed around much longer, he would have become turtle soup!!

Well, happy Friday! I hope you don't have any crazy experiences this weekend! Keep your eyes and ears open you never know what you will discover in your own driveway!

Oh, and ROLL TIDE!

Wordless Wednesday (kinda)

So, as expected, the boys' collars came in yesterday and I must say that they are SO cute!! Max's is still just a tad big, but he can wear it and it will be no time until he grows intoo it nicely!!


Happy Wednesday! Half-way through the week!!

As usual...

Things have been pretty hectic around here! Although things are starting to settle into more of a routine! We are now into football season, which is going well for my Tide! Which means a happy Becky! Max is doing ok. He is a rambunctious little one! He is growing leaps and bounds!! We are still working on training everyday!! He is getting a lot better, but he is so headstrong, I feel like it may be a little more difficult than it was with Scout! But he is SO much fun! He and Scout are getting along so great! They play all the time! It is so cute!

So, since I have mentioned football season and the dogs, can I tell you how excited I am about my new purchase (which should be here today when I get there)...
I ordered 2 of these:



If you know anything about Alabama, you know that houndstooth is one of our things, so I thought this would be a great way for our little furry family memebers to participate in football season! It may be a little big for Max right now, but I am sure it won't take him long to grow into it!! They came from Crate and Barrel who now have pet accessories!! Hope you all have a fantastic week! Hopefully I won't be a stranger!

Looking back and fall and football and a funny

So, I had no clever post for today, hence the absolutely random title. Maybe it will grab someone's attention, probably not, but oh well. At least YOU are here!! So, I was reading on someone's blog about the new "stats" button that is at the top of the blogger dashboard page and I clicked on it. It was all very interesting. But, the most interesting part is the number one google search that brings people to my page is "Toomer's Corner". WTH?? I mean, this girl is a BAMA GIRL all the way. Orange and Blue, Auburn and anything that has to do with it are just awful to me! I mean, I won't even eat an orange and blue m&m at the same time! Because I HATE AUBURN. I graduated from The University of Alabama and it is burned into my brain! That is just how it is! Well, that is SO funny that is what brings people here and it is all because of THIS POST that I wrote in August of last year. Ya'll it is FUNNY!! You have GOT to go read it. You will laugh and laugh and laugh, and if you are having a week like me, a little laugh will go a LONG way. It honestly has just a little to do about Auburn and Toomer's corner but more about poop and toilet paper. GO READ IT!!!

On another note, I am SO glad that fall is here! That means the weather is changing, the time is changing and I am ecstatic! Also, with fall comes FOOTBALL!! I can't get enough of football when the season is here. It helps to root for the reigning NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! I am really looking forward to this season! Roll Tide!

Well, since this post is random and now over, you need to go make yourself laugh! You won't be disappointed I promise!

Back Again!!

I feel like I apologize for my absence way too much lately!! Things have just been a little more than hectic around here lately! We have officially had the puppy, now named Max for a whole week (plus some)!! He is sleeping through the night, he is bell trained to go outside and potty, he can sit, lay, come and heel! All in a week! I must say we have worked with him NON-STOP, but it has been so worth it! He has learned to get up on the furniture, which is ok with us. But it is so cute! When he gets much bigger, he won't be able to sit up there with me! HA! Last night was the first night that Emory and I got to sit down and watch tv and we didn't even sit next to each other like we normally do! Why? Well, because Scout and Max were fighting with sitting in the chair with Mommy and ended up with BOTH of them laying on top of me and each other! Needless to say, there was no room for Emory! One day, they will each be sitting on their own couch and then maybe E and I can sit together again!! Ha! He is doing really well, and is actually giving Scout lots of confidence! It has been really great! Well, that is my quick little update on me and the boys!! I will be back soon with a better one!!

Great birthday weekend!!!!!

Well, I had a wonderful birthday weekend! I started it off by leaving work a little early to get a haircut which was amazing!! I added some layers and bangs! Then we went and saw Gamechanger, the movie about Nick Saban. It definitely got me in the mood for football season starting this weekend!!! We had dinner at one of my favorite restraunts and then had some drinks and enjoyed the beginning of fall weather and some live music.

Saturday, we hung an Alabama flag (that Emory got me for my birthday) and put out our alabama rug by our front door, and put new alabama stickers on our cars. Can you tell we are ready for football season??

Sunday, we grilled steaks at my mom's with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend. We also added a new member to our family!!! He is an 8 week old Weimaraner and he is the cutest thing ever! We just have to name him! He is doing well so far, I hope he keeps it up!!

25 years....

I can't believe that I am celebrating the start of my 25th year. It seems like yesterday I was blogging about being 24!! I had no idea what my 24th year on earth would bring, but it was an awesome one!! Here is a little recap....
1. I met my wonderful husband.
2. I spent new years in New Orleans.
3. I quit my job.
4. I moved.
5. I got ENGAGED!
6. I got MARRIED!!
7. I went to Europe for the first time on my honeymoon.
8. I saw the Eiffel Tower!
9. I got a new job (that I love)!!

That is alot of stuff crammed into one year. And that is only just all of the highlights. There are so many other things that I didn't even mention. I couldn't be happier. I have the most wonderful husband, the best family, and the best friends a girl could ever dream of. So, needless to say, 24 has been hands-down the best year yet. But, I am welcoming my 25th year with open arms! Here's to another wonderful year, and with so many wonderful people in my life to celebrate, it can't be anything but great!!

And since I never post pictures anymore, here are some of my favorites from the year 24...




** If you haven't checked out my last post about everything awesome, you should. It will explain where this great new look came from!! (Thanks again Miranda!!) Oh, and you should grab my button, because I definitely have one of those now!! Go, you know you want to!!

SHOUT OUTS TO AWESOMENESS!!

Did you notice my awesome, no AWESOME new blog design?? Yeah? Well, the AWESOME MIRANDA over at Little Sailor Design completely transformed my boring little corner of the world wide web into something really cool. She is a great girl from West Virginia (she went to the famous school, Marshall) but is an Alabama fan living with her sweet family in Hawaii!! (jealous much?!) She did THE BEST job! You all should check out her design shop! Because if I haven't mentioned it yet, she is AWESOME!!!!! Like whoa!!

Next, Casey Donahew. I think you have heard him a few times, because I have mentioned him here before. E and I have traveled to see him a couple of times (only because he is usually only in TEXAS) and he is absolutely great (not as great as Miranda) and you should check him out ASAP!!!!! Go, NOW!

French Red Wine....it is amazing. If you don't have any handy..go buy some. You will love it. We liked ours well, you know, In FRANCE. Specifically, Villafranche sur Mer, overlooking the Mediterranean. But, you know, a bottle of French wine in Alabama can be just as good. Well, almost.

My awesome Husband...2 months ago today, I married my best friend. We have so much fun! He is THE BEST EVER!

My AWESOME BFF C, she sent me the BEST flowers at work today! She is awesome and I miss seeing her everyday at work. Soon...we will live in the same town, right? We have to.

So, out of this blog, you should have learned that you need to contact MIRANDA ASAP to make your blog (almost) as cool as mine. Next, you should play Casey Donahew, drink some French red wine and kiss your husband (or wife..or partner..or whatever fits in the blank). Oh, and be jealous of my best friend, because she is awesome.

The signs are all there...

Pointing toward FALL!!! Yep, that is right! Just this week we started waking up and it was darker outside, it is getting darker earlier in the evenings. It is actually pleasant in the mornings and evenings, and you can just feel the changes in the air! I cannot tell you how excited I am!! This summer has been brutal! In facet, it has been one of the hottest on record here in Alabama. But, fall is just around the corner! That brings great weather, holidays, pretty leaves, my favorite clothes, and most importantly, ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!! That is the most exciting part! It starts in little over a week and I couldn't be more excited! What are your favorite things about fall?

Rewards

We had a busy few days at work this weekend, so yesterday I had the morning off and didn't go in until around 2. I got a lot of things done around the house that I wanted to get done and then went to work. We raise money to provide dance classes, among other activities, to children with disabilities, whether it be physical, emotional, cognitive, or anything else, there are no limits. Well, my job is to be in charge of these programs. Yesterday, our classes started, which is why I had to come in to work. I must say that I had seen all of the pictures, heard stories, and even met some of the kids who are in the classes, but seeing them in action was something that no one can prepare themselves for.

Each child in the class is paired with a teenaged volunteer for the year, they have dance classes once a week. They have a holiday performance and a spring recital just like any other dance studio. The smiles on these kids faces is amazing. All of the programs are provided at no cost to the parents and is fully funded by donations and sales of tickets to other shows that go on in the theater. I am so excited to see these kids get the opportunity that everyone else does, to fullfill their dreams. Their parents are so proud too. This is something that their parents can only dream that their child could one day do, and our programs give them an opportunity that they don't get anywhere else. I am so excited to be part of such a wonderful organization. I am not sure who gets the biggest smile on their faces, the kids in the classes, or the people helping out who don't have disabilities, realizing just what a difference it makes. It is truly inspiring, and if you ever got the opportunity to see it, you wouldn't have a dry eye when you did.

I love my job.

So sorry ya'll....

So I have no excuse for being MIA except well, life. As you all know, I started a new job and I dove head first into that. It is SO much fun, but like anything that you want to be successful in, it is time consuming. I do want to catch you all up, and I PROMISE I will carve some time out this week to do just that. I have a BIG week! Lots going on at work and I cross the quarter of a century mark on Friday. So, needless to say, lots going on and I will catch you all up as things go by....

Have a great week!! It's a big one over here.

What a weekend!!!

I guess since I haven't blogged all weekend, I will have to start with Wednesday...so, since I don't have a TON of time, and I am so excited that I can't sit still for too long to write too much! Here is a quick recap....

Wednesday, had an interview with a local non-profit. (If you wanna know more, comment and I will reply back, I don't wanna post too much info on here).
Thursday, got the call that I got the job!
Friday, Emory had the day off and we ran errands all around town.
Saturday, I worked a bridal fair for my wedding photographer, Alicia. I had SO MUCH FUN!! Alicia had a wedding to photograph, so it was me, Alicia's husband Jay, and the other sweet girl that photographed my wedding, Brooke. We had so much fun talking to people! It was a blast and I can't wait to hang out with them more!
Sunday, we had a lazy day and I got everything ready to start my new job!

I am SO looking forward to what is in store with this job. It is a new position and so I get to sort of make it my own and make it work for me. I think it is going to be pretty awesome and very rewarding! I can't wait to get started!

Well, that is the VERY quick update, I am off to spend some quality time with my husband! It has been such a great weekend, we almost don't want it to end. Hope you all have a great Monday and a GREAT week!!

Around Here

So, things have been pretty mundane around here. I mean it is August in Alabama so anything that doesn't involve sitting inside in the air conditioning is pretty much off-limits right now. I mean seriously if I go outside, I can feel my appendages starting to drip and it isn't from the sweat, it is because I am melting. Seriously, being made of sugar is not good in the South.

No for real, I know it is hot but it is also a widely known fact that we live in the South where it is cool for approximately 2 months of the year. It is known, so I am choosing the suffering by staying here, so I can't complain. Even though I do, but I am done because I do realize that I have control of the climate I choose. For me, I can stand the heat in order to have sweet tea, casseroles, seer sucker, boots, camo and a cute Southern drawl. Not to mention Mint Juleps on the wrap around porch every afternoon to beat the heat while walking around everywhere without shoes. (Ok, not really, but I thought I would throw that in there for those of you who have never visited these parts.)

Needless to say, things have been pretty low-key and we haven't really gotten out of the house much. I stay in as much as I can and am still trying to get things put away while still keeping up with the daily demands of a house. It is working out pretty well so far. Today is Emory's Friday, so we are looking forward to a long weekend together! It should be fun, and a lot of time spent indoors!

Happy Thursday! Have a great one and stay cool!

200 Posts!

I can't believe this marks my 200th post! That is crazy! That is almost like writiing a 200 page book in little over a year! SO much has gone into those 200 posts! But nothing is more exciting then the past few months and the months to come! :)

I completely forgot that I was going to do 200 posts and was just going to let you know a few random things, so since that is what I was thinking, I am going to continue with that train of thought since that is all I can do. So, here it is in list form, sorry so boring, you will just have to be ok with it! LOL

1. Vistaprint is officially awesome!! Last week, it was advertised that they were offering some free items and all you had to do was pay shipping and handeling. SO, last Thursday I ordered some personalized notecards with envelopes, a return address label stamp, return address stamps and personlized sticky notes. All items were free and all I paid was shipping! I ordered them on Thursday and everything was here yesterday!! WOW! That was crazy and they are awesome!!

2. Speaking of return adress labels...all of those thank-you cards for the wedding gifts? They are DONE! Sent and done! That is a HUGE thing marked off of my to-do list. I have to get a few more stamps and then they will all be sent! It is such a great feeling because writing that many thank-you notes had become a daunting task!!

Now, since this is my 200th post, I think I should do something to celebrate. I will have to think on it and get back to you! In the mean time, go over to one of my IRL friend's pages and check out her giveaway and her cute little family too!! Have a great Tuesday!

FRIDAY!!!

I am on my way to Destin to celebrate my best friend getting married!
This weekend is her bachelorette party! So many people were supposed to come, but unfortunately only two of us stuck with it to the end! But, it should still make for a wonderful (and drama-free) weekend with just the three of us! I hope she has a BLAST and we make it all she wants it to be!

As for home, the husband is home alone this weekend! I will definitely miss him! But maybe the weekend will go by quickly! I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you all next week!!

What do I say?

For months now I have been consumed with planning a wedding, a honeymoon, moving, and settling into a new life and routine. Now, the wedding is over. The honeymoon has come and gone. I have moved, although I am not quite settled. We have wedding remnants all over the house. Most of which includes gifts that need to be put away or returned, mints that were our favors, stacks of thank-you notes that are to be sent, address lists and a few other wedding things. Not that much left. As a matter of fact, hopefully after today, there won't be much at all.

Last night Emory and I were talking about the blog and he said, what are you going to blog about now? You have been talking about the wedding and honeymoon for a long time now, and now that it is all over, what are you going to talk about? I said, well, I guess just life. I mean it still goes on right? Even though I don't have any big plans or things coming up, life still goes on.

So, with that being said. I hope you all stick with me while I journey through life. I guess it is going to be fun to watch me navigate through life now as a wife. My first biggest hurdle: getting out of bed. If I can get used to that, I will be doing good. I mentioned it yesterday, but it is still getting to me. I used to get up every morning easily. I am big about getting up quickly and easily. I cook Emory breakfast and have some coffee then get on with my day. Now, I am having the hardest time getting out of bed. I need some motivation!

Well, I can't believe it is Thursday already! I am trying to finish my to do list today. I am going to be going to the beach this weekend for my BFF's bachelorette weekend. It should be really fun! But, I will miss my husband! This is our first time to be apart since we got married! But, it is just for the weekend! While I am at the beach, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! Thanks again for sticking with me! Can't wait to see where life takes us!

Honeymoon - Part Three (Final)

Well, today, I have decided to turn over a new leaf. (Or really just get back into the old way of doing things) I am getting up when Emory gets up, I cook breakfast while he is getting ready and then he leaves for work by 7 and I am still up. I either get busy on my day or relax and read books or blogs and watch a little tv. But, I am at least up and doing something that I planned to do that day!

So, I am up and posting about the last leg of our honeymoon before 8 am! You should be very proud! And if you missed any of the other parts, you should go look at them!

Here it goes....we left Paris and took the train back down to the coast to Nice. Because Paris was so hustle and bustle, we decided to REALLY relax for our last few days and not worry about a thing. There were a couple of things we wanted to see/do but it literally took about an hour of the four days we were there. We got to Nice and stayed in the Sheraton. It was super nice! And since my husband is so awesome (or maybe because he travels so much for work, who knows) we were upgraded to a suite and spent our last few days in France in luxury. I don't know if you have ever been to Europe, but most of their hotels (unless it is pretty Westernized) have small, closet-sized rooms, air conditioning is sparse, and there is really no room to spread out. SO, being upgraded to a really awesome suite was the icing on the cake for our honeymoon! We had great views of the sea from a wall of windows! Needless to say, we didn't do much but enjoy the relaxation, sleeping til noon, enjoying a bottle of wine for lunch and dinner and sometimes in between! It was the PERFECT ending to the PERFECT honeymoon. We absolutely HATED coming home, but it had to be done. We did adopt a few things in France that we brought back. In no particular order:
1. Our love of coffee because theirs is so awful.
2. Melon and prosciutto sandwiches (OMG)
3. Taking time to enjoy our meals
4. Slowing down
5. The love of linen
6. Saying "Oui" instead of "Yes" and other French phrases
7. The lack of watching tv
8. Being more relaxed

We honestly had the perfect honeymoon that couldn't have been any better unless it had lasted longer! We really got to enjoy each other, enjoy being married, and learning a lot of things that we liked about really taking the time to relax and enjoy life. I think that our honeymoon is going to be something we will talk about forever. I can't wait to frame some of the awesome pictures we took as a daily reminder of just how awesome it was! So, here are a couple of pictures from Nice. I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit about our honeymoon!

Honeymoon..Part Deux...

I am SO sorry I have been the worst blogger in history. Well, maybe not in history, but as far as I am concerned! I figured things would slow down and give me some time after we got back from the honeymoon and they haven't! Things have been non-stop ever since we landed! I need to clean house, finish thank-you notes, go to my bff's bachelorette party in Destin, put up gifts, return gifts, laundry and did I mention clean my house?! I have a million things to do and not enough time to do it! Did I mention that jet-lag is still kicking my butt? Because it is! I used to be such a morning person and now, I can't even crack my eyes open in the morning! It is awful!!! Anyway...you didn't click on this blog to read about my ever growing to-do list, you came here to see/hear about my honeymoon!

The second part of our honeymoon, we rode the train a few hours north to a little place you may have heard of..PARIS!!! We got there and took a taxi to our hotel and since we were staying literally a block away from the Eiffel Tower, we decided to go see that first thing. Now, I must say, I expected the thing to be big, but no picture, description, or book can do it justice. I was absolutely stunned when I saw it. It was magnificent! And beautiful! And did I mention it was GINORMOUS?? Because it was. I think this was one of our favorite parts of Paris. We ate lunch on the lawn in front of the tower, drank bottles of wine in front of it at night when it twinkled, and of course, we went to the top!! I could honestly just post about the Eiffel Tower. But, there was so much more....
We saw:
-Napoleon's tomb
-The Rodin Museum (with the Thinker)
-The Arc de Triomphe
-The Louvre (for free!!)
- The Mona Lisa and Aphrodite
-The National Assemblee
-Tullieres Garden
-A lavender garden
-The Obolisque (not sure how that is spelled)
-Notre Dame
-Where Marie Antionette was beheaded
-So many other things that I know I am forgetting!

We had some awesome food, really enjoyed each other! It was SO fast paced and we walked our butts off! Seriously, like 10 or more miles a day! We had a lot of fun, but were ready to go when we did. We could have seen a few more things, maybe, but we tried to cram everything in while we were there. But, again, like I said, we were grateful when we got back to the laziness of the Riviera! So, without further ado, here are some pictures from PARIS!!

Honeymoon (Trying Again) - Part 1

Ok, since we know have internet, I am hoping blogger will cooperate with me and allow me to upload some pictures for you!!

On the first leg of our trip (there were three), we flew into Nice, France and took a limo (yes a limo, prearranged by my sweet husband) from the airport to the hotel about 15 minutes up the mountain outside of Nice. We went to a sleepy little town called Villafranche Sur Mer, France. Google it, you will love the pictures, and you can see the location. Anyway, we decided before we went that we wanted to really experience things in France. So instead of choosing all Westernized hotels that we were used to, we chose local hotels that had great ratings. We made the BEST choice in our first hotel, La Fiancee du Pirate. It was a cute little hotel that was run by the sweetest couple ever! They let us check in to our bungalow (yes, we had a private bungalow, again thanks to the sweet husband) at 8 am because our flight landed so early! But I am SO glad that we were able to do that! Since this was my first trip to Europe, it was also my first experience with a 9 hour flight! It actually wasn't too bad, but I was super tired. We decided that it wouldn't be worth our while to try to stay up and we had absolutely nothing to do, so we went straight to sleep for about 4 hours when we got there, and we didn't have a problem with jetlag the whole rest of the trip!!

So, like I said, we were on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean. The views each morning were absolutely breathtaking. We took it so easy during the first leg and just relaxed, forgot about everything, and really just enjoyed each other! I mean how could you not when every night walking to dinner (down a really steep hill and through the residential parts) we saw this:

Or even this:

And then, when we got to a seaside cafe every night for at least one bottle of wine and dinner, everything looked like this:

Then, we would stroll over to the Mediterranean Sea, stand in it for a photo-op and get pictures like this:

Here is one of the old town:

Needless to say, we didn't have a care in the world. The views were beautiful. The food was great. The people were so nice. We were totally and completely in love (I mean we still are, but it was SO new). We had the BEST time here. We were sad to leave when we did, but hopefully we will be going back very very soon! ;) (Ok, soon enough!)

Finally up and running!

I am FINALLY back for real this time! Our internet has been fixed after what seemed like an eternity of it being out! But, anyway....I am working on a Honeymoon post that will be up shortly.

Until then, PLEASE go to my photographer's blog and look at the cute post she did about mine and Emory's wedding! Let her know how cute the pictures are! She sure took some great ones and we were so lucky to have had her as part of our special day!! So...what are you waiting on?? GO HERE NOW!!

And I will have some honeymoon pics up soon!

Honeymoon!!!!

Well, our Internet at home is not working! For some genius reason, the line isn't buried, and the cable to cut some time while we were gone, so I am at Starbucks right now using the wifi until they come out and fix it!

So, anyway, this post may be a little short, but I PROMISE to give a better, fuller update as soon as my connection to the outside world (from home) is restored!!


As you may know, we went to FRANCE for 2 weeks on our honeymoon! We started off in Villafranche Sur Mer on the Riviera just outside of Nice and then went to Paris, then back to Nice.

Well, I can't get blogger to upload any pictures! Grr! I promise I will upload them as soon as I can! Have a great weekend if I am not back before then!

Wedding Blog - Part 3 - Reception

So, after the what seemed like oh-so-quick ceremony. Emory and I, as Mr. and Mrs. took pictures with our guests and the grandparents and our families. Then, it was time to send people on their way to the reception so he and I could get some pictures just the two of us! After some awesome pictures (did I mention we had the BEST photographers EVER?!) we headed over to the reception to be introduced as man and wife and have our first dance. It was to Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Lady Antebellum. We had some technical difficulties getting the song to play, so while my brother downloaded the song on his iPhone and saved the day, my step dad gave the "father's toast." This was so much fun! We tried to include everyone since my dad and step dad are both special to me. I am SO glad we chose to do it this way, because it worked out so well! And it was just perfect!
After the dance and his toast, we cut the cake so we could then mingle and speak to all of our guests. The place was decorated amazingly. I don’t think any words are going to do it justice and I can’t wait to get the pictures back!! Again, that will be a whole new post! We had THE BEST time and again, we couldn't’t stop smiling! Our photographers had some props for some fun pictures of us and our guests, this was a lot of fun! We threw the garter, and my brother caught it! I threw the bouquet and my BFF Carlie caught it. That was GREAT!
Then it was pretty much time for us to go. Our car, a vintage Rolls Royce came at 9 and we left to Say Hey I Love You by Michael Franti. Everyone had sparklers and it looked so awesome, Again, I can’t wait to see the pictures! The car took us to our house where we changed clothes and then it was in the car to Nashville where we spent our first night of our honeymoon! Which will bring some more posts. Here are reception pictures for now though….