#94 -- DONE!!!!!

I've thought about this item on my 101 Things list for quite some time.  I haven't blogged about it, yet, because I feel like it's something that has happened over time, rather than all of a sudden one day.  This item is to find a mentor.  I definitely didn't want to just walk up to someone some time and ask them to be my mentor...instead, I feel like this is a relationship that grows over time...I feel that it must be someone you really click with and who you look up to in all areas of life...not just one particular area, such as a career.

My mentor is my friend at work, Sandy.  She has 2 adorable and sweet pre-teen girls, she loves to run (she's ran several half marathons, done of triathalons, and will probably one day run a full marathon), she has tons of friends (despite the fact that she's so busy all the time), and still manages to have a career in public accounting (no small feat with a family).  As I have a lot of life changes in the coming years, I hope that I can keep it all together half as much as she is able to!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, blog buddies!  I hope you all are having a wonderful short work week!  Here is everything I am loving on this spring day!

1.  Sitting on the patio!  For the last 2 evenings, the weather has been slightly cooler than normal, and the absolute perfect time to relax on the patio.  It's so relaxing to be outside, and it's also Zoey's favorite place to be...if you don't believe me, take a look at this pic:

Doesn't she just look like the happiest puppy ever?

2.  Checking the mail -- Since sending out our wedding invitations last week, checking my mail has a whole new meaning!  I love coming home every night and finding out what RSVPs we have in the mail today...so fun!

3.  House Hunters -- Thank goodness for HGTV in the summer months when the rest of the TV world takes a loooong vacation!  I could watch this show every single night and never get tired...not sure what the draw is, but man is it addictive!

4.  Pool Time -- Much to my beau's dismay, I love, love, love laying by the pool.  This weekend, I got tons of pool time and I can't wait until next weekend when I get to do it all over again!

5.  Last but not least, I'm loving these 2 crazy kids!

What are you loving today?  Head over to This Kind of Love and fill us in!

Weekend Update!

Happy Tuesday!  Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?  One of my favorite things is Monday's off, and I made sure to take full advantage yesterday!  However, before I get ahead of myself, let me share what the rest of the weekend entailed.

Friday night, my beau made me dinner and then we headed to Target to update our wedding registry.  It was a low key, but lovely evening.

Saturday morning, I was up and at 'em early so that I could make it to the pool in time to reserve a chair...too bad I forgot about all those measley chores that needed to get done that day.  I FINALLY made it to the pool by noon and it was glorious!  And, I have the sunburn to prove it!  That evening, Patrick and I grabbed a quick dinner and then spent the remainder of the evening relaxing on the patio.

Sunday, after sleeping in pretty late, it was time to head to the pool again for Day 2!  This time, I had company...not only did Patrick join me, but so did Adam, Alacia, and sweet little Hannah.  She is so cute and really stepping into her personality...I really hate it I didn't get any pictures, because she was pretty adorable...

That evening, Alysia and Ed came over for a yummy cookout prepared by my beau...yes, I know what you're thinking, "Melissa, do you EVER cook?"  Well, the answer to that is "yes," but my meals are never good enough to justify blogging about...Patrick's ARE!  We had a fun evening catching up and relished in the fact that despite the fact that it was Sunday, our weekend still wasn't over.

Is it me or does Zoey look guilty?

Yep, pretty guilty!

It must be because she was trying to drink some of Ed's beer...silly doggy!

 Now, we can finally talk about today!  All I wanted to do this weekend was for Patrick and I to take Zoey to the Natchez Trace, take a nice drive (if that's possible with a car sick pup), have a nice picnic, take a hike, and get lots of practice with my new camera.  We arrived at Garrison Creek (a stop along Natchez) and had a nice healthy picnic.  Since there weren't many people out, we were able to let Zoey run around off the leash...she's so well behaved...never even trys to run away.

Just enjoying the view...

Patrick loves (insert sarcasm here) my picture taking habits!

This picture screams "Mans best friend"

Zoey loves the water...

...a lot...

...I mean, a whole lot!

After lunch, we set out to find a place to go for a hike.  Unfortunately, the trail that we stopped at seems better suited for horses than it did for people on foot, so we just hung out at the trailhead for a little while.  Again, there weren't many people at all, so we were able to let Zoey have free reign of the entire area...

Man, that dog loves to run!!!!!

Me, enjoying the relaxation of the day!

Another pretty scenery pic!

Me, climbing the "tree bridge" that was probably 20 feet off the ground...

...trying to get the nerve to sit down!

...now afraid to move...

Meanwhile, Zoey's in the water...again!

Now it's Patrick's turn...

...he decided to keep both feet planted on the log and not try to sit down...

Before we headed back home, I wanted to go see the beautiful bridge that goes across Highway 96...it's such a pretty bridge and the views of it are breathtaking...

I learned that it's hard to get a good shot in the spring when all the leaves are on the trees...the last time I was there was in November.

So, that was my relaxing 3 day weekend!  Can't believe it's already over, but for once, I actually feel rested enough to return to work tomorrow in a good mood!  Yea!  Hope you all had wonderful weekends as well!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Ah, Hump Day...I didn't think you'd ever come and go this week!  Now that we're half way through the work week, I can finally concentrate on everything I am loving...including:

1.  Relaxing, 3-Day Weekends -- I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but not only do I not have to work on Monday, but I also don't have a single, solitary plan all weekend long!  Hopefully, this means I'll get lots of time at the pool, lots of time to catch up on errands that are never-ending, and lots of time with my wonderful beau and doggy!  I. CAN'T. WAIT.

2.  Wedding Shower Invitations -- This week I received a wedding shower invitation from my favorite Middle Tennessee ladies:  Alysia, Anna Catherine, and Kathleen.  They lovely girls are throwing me a shower and I can't wait for it to get here!  The invitations was so precious and I'm sure the main event will be as well!

Not the actual invitation...mine was way prettier than this!

3.  Catching up -- On the to do list, that is...I made it a priority this week to try my best to not let myself get overwhelmed with things to get done.  Instead, I am focusing on only a few things each day and it has been so nice.  I have managed to stay on top of things and still had a little time to relax and enjoy the evening.

4.  Summertime weather -- Some would disagree with this statement, but I LOVE warm weather...and I don't just mean low 80s kinda weather...nope, I mean high 90s kinda weather!  The hotter the better...and this weekend, that's exactly what we get...nice and toasty, high 90s temps and hopefully, not a cloud in the sky...I hope my pool friends at the condo are ready to spend the weekend with me...because they will probably get to!

5.  And finally, I'm always loving these 2...such a great addition to my life!

I hope you have too many things in your life that you love to even count.

#41 -- DONE!!!!!

As soon as we got our engagement pictures back, I knew I wanted to create a photo book including some of my favorites!  As a means of motivation, I decided to add it to my 101 Things!  Since we need a guest book for our wedding, this seemed like the perfect option!

Well, it arrived last week, and I love it even more than I expected!  Here are a few of my favorite pages of the book:

The cover pic is definitely my favorite engagement pic we have!

I alternated between color pics and black and white...here's a color page!

Close up of where our guests will sign in.

One of my favorite pics of my beau!

The back cover...

Have you ever made a Photo Book before?  They are sooooo easy and sooooo worth it!  I love having the pages to flip through at my leisure.  =)

Weekend Update!

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did!

My weekend was spent consumed with everything wedding, which made it even more fabulous!  Not often do I get to spend the weekend with both my mom AND my sister, and we definitely tried to make up for lost time this weekend.

After getting a haircut and color (man, did I need it) on Friday night, and packing and relaxing with Zoey, I was up and at 'em EARLY on Saturday morning to meet the girls in Knoxville for a little retail therapy!  And, of course all 3 of us are using all of the upcoming wedding festivities as the perfect excuse to update our wardrobe.  =)  I can't think of a better excuse, can you?

Anywho, after spending entirely too much money, we headed home to my parents house for a small cookout dinner provided by the kiddos in the family (i.e. my brother, sister and me) while my mom was supposed to relax.  It was really yummy (if I do say so myself) complete with grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, crunchy cole slaw, baked beans, potato chips, and homemade ice cream.  After dinner we relaxed outside and I, of course, caught a few pics of the evening.

Later that evening, I made a quick trip over to see my cousin for a run-through of my wedding day makeup. Having someone in the family who is talented in this sort of thing is fabulous because it means I can have impromptu makeup sessions.  =)

Sunday morning was spent at church and lunch and then it was time for my very first wedding shower!  It was amazing!  So amazing that it warrants its own post...stay tuned for all of the pics and details!

After driving back to Nashville, I had dinner with my beau and then we just relaxed the remainder of the evening.  The perfect end to the perfect weekend!

Thankful Thursday!

Since I missed "What I'm Loving Wednesdays" this week (bad, bad blogger), I decided to link up with Black Tag Diaries this week and share with you some of the things I'm very thankful for:

1.  Weekends -- Man, am I in desperate need of a weekend.  Even though I am working fewer hours now that tax season is over, I am STILL so stressed and busy when I am AT work.  I love the job security, don't get me wrong, but I would love, love, love the opportunity to just take a breather for a week or 2.

2.  DSLR Cameras -- I just got my fabulous new camera and I have been having such a great time testing it out.  I have to say...I love it!  It's so easy to use, and it takes wonderful pics!  Can't wait to use it this weekend!

3.  Wedding Showers -- My first wedding shower is this weekend, and I honestly can't put into words how excited I am.  I am also thankful for friends who throw wedding showers...this one is my Knoxville BFF (and someone who I feel grateful to call my friend), Andi!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thursday!

Weekend Update!

I love Birthdays...I especially love when Birthdays fall around weekends...

This Friday night, Patrick and I had dinner over at our friend's, Casey and Dennis.  They made a delicious meal of chicken, salmon, grilled veggies, and wrapped it all up with some brownies for dessert! Not only was the food delicious, it was great to catch up with them, too.

On Saturday, I relaxed around the house, ran a few errands, and did a little shopping, then it was time for my birthday dinner at Zumi Sushi with friends.  We didn't realize it at the time, but surprisingly, they were celebrating their 3rd anniversary.  Therefore, there were some GREAT drink specials...to the tune of $3 drinks...in Nashville! Crazy right?  Here are a few pics of a wonderful pre-birthday evening:

Me with my beau!

So glad Teona and Adriana were there!

All the guys!

And, now some of the girls!

On Sunday, the weather was TERRIBLE!!!!!  What we had planned to be a day spent outdoors, possibly at the park with a picnic turned out to be a nice day full of relaxation!

Since Monday was my actual birthday, I thought I'd extend the weekend one day further.  My beau made me the most delicious dinner, and since it was nice out, we sat on the patio and enjoyed the evening.  Here are a couple of my first pics on my new camera:

Yummy veggies on the grill!

Chef Patrick is so proud of his meal!

Nothing like a Woodchuck to enjoy with dinner!

The final product!  It was Fantabulous!

We wrapped up the evening with gifts (I got a pair of Tevas, New Balance casual shoes, and a memory card for my camera), the sweetest card I've ever gotten, and some yummy Sweet Cece's ice cream!  The perfect end to the perfect birthday!