Rehearsal Dinner–Part 1

Because our wonderful photogs showed up and snapped some pics at our Rehearsal Dinner, I decided to break this post into 2 parts.  I’ll save the best for the last, and only share my pics today.

Our rehearsal dinner was held at Events on 3rd downtown immediately after our rehearsal.  This event space is very new and in the center of Printers Alley.  We loved the fact that all of our out of town guests were able to see a neat piece of Nashville, in addition to celebrating a special day for Patrick and me. 

Because my beau’s family is all from Cambodia and even though they all live in the US now, we wanted to serve something that catered to them and that we knew they would enjoy.  We decided to enlist the help of Soy Teriyaki Bistro in Brentwood for our catering.  They did a great job and served some really yummy food. 

Here are some pics of the evening starting with me with my sister, aunt, and cousin…I think we all look so much alike in this pic!

Next up is me with my beau:

Me with my mom and sister:

Patrick with his little sis and my new sis-in-law:

All these people were so nice to add me to their family:

Two of my favorites:

And another one:

All the guys (that hadn’t already called it a night):

And now all the ladies:

Grad school besties:

It was a wonderful evening, and I was so happy to be surrounded by some of my favorite people!

Weekend Update!

This past weekend was so fun that I didn't even take a single, solitary picture!  That almost never, ever happens, but this weekend, it did!

Friday night, Patrick, Zoey and I packed up Holly the Honda and headed East on I-40 to Strawberry Plains.  We haven't been to visit my family since August, so I was really looking forward to some good ole fashioned family time.

Saturday morning, my mom cooked us a yummy breakfast, and then, my beau, mom, brother and I headed to see TN play Missouri.  Despite the ending, we had a great time and it was an excellent game!  I do feel so bad for the kids though...they deserve so much more than a losing team.  I hope UT gets things worked out soon as far as football goes!  Seeing as how I was a UT student during the days of National Championships and SEC Championships, it's really hard to see the stands only 2/3 full and to actually be able to HEAR the band playing Rocky Top over the screams of all the fans.

After the game, we spent the remainder of the evening cooking out and watching the Alabama/Texas A&M game.  Apparently, Saturday was a day of excellent football.

Sunday, we headed to church and then to lunch at Texas Roadhouse.  After packing up the car to head back to Nashville, we couldn't leave town without visiting the sweetest little 8 month old on the planet!  Yep, we visited Andi, Rob and Sweet Kennedy.  She's such a sweet girl and her and Zoey had a great time.  Actually, I'm not so sure Kennedy had a great time with Zoey, but Zoey definitely had a great time with Kennedy!  I don't think either of them knew what to think about the other one.  =)

It was a great weekend, but as always, it feels so good to be Home Sweet Home.

What did you do this weekend?

Weekend Update!

Happy Belated Halloween everyone! 

Two Friday nights ago, Patrick and I attended the Laughter for the Children event to benefit Monroe Harding, Inc.  This is a great organization that benefits children who are in state custody and children in foster care.  We had a fun time and were able to score a night’s stay at Opryland Hotel during the silent auction.

On Saturday, we attended our annual Halloween Party hosted by our friends, Dobber and Nicole.  It was a great time and this year, my beau and I decided to go as Popeye and Olive Oyl.  We really enjoyed the costume and the best part of it is that I wasn’t uncomfortable all night and I didn’t feel so '”exposed.”  Here is a pic:

This weekend was a major yard sale extravaganza!  As you have already heard many times, Patrick and I had so much stuff we needed to get rid of.  Thank goodness we had the mother of all yard sales because we had an amazing profit of over $1,100.  It was such a good feeling to be rid of a lot of our old stuff to make room for the new…it also feels good to have a little extra cash in our pockets!

Another exciting thing I’ve been focusing my time on is running.  I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure last weekend and this weekend, Anna Catherine and I ran in the Anything is Possible 5K at 1:50 in the morning…yes, that’s right…at 1:50 AM, we ran a race!  It was so fun and in the words of AC, there were some interesting people in attendance.  What’s also great about both of these races is that I ran them both without stopping!  I’m really proud of myself for how much my endurance has increased recently.  I’m currently training for the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete, FL in a couple of weeks and I’m really hoping to have a good time…we shall see how the remainder of my training goes…

That’s about all that’s going on with us…we are having a great time with the fall and looking very forward to the holidays coming up soon!  How was your weekend!

Welcome to my Home!

My home in the World Wide Web, anyway!  If you haven’t noticed, things have been a’changin’ here at Nashville’s Melrose!  I got a brand new blog design by the uber-talented q. a. design.  I love the way everything looks and am so happy I decided to go with a bit simpler look for the ole blog!  If you are looking for a great design, you should check her out!

In other news, just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who is in Hurricane Sandy’s path right now.  My prayers are with you all and I hope everyone stays safe over the next few days!

That’s all from me…this day has been some kinda Monday, so I am going to spend the remainder of the evening snuggling with my sweet cuddle bear, Zoey.  Have a great evening everyone!

Bridesmaids’ Luncheon

The morning of the wedding, Kathleen’s mom (Mrs. Condon) through me the sweetest and nicest Bridesmaids’ Luncheon ever!  The Condon’s have been like my Nashville family ever since I moved to Nashville 6 and a half years ago.  They invited me to dinner, they helped me when I had car trouble, they took me in on Easter when I couldn’t go home because of work, and they even check on Zoey occasionally.  Needless to say, I am very lucky to have them!

Anywho, it was so nice to have the bridesmaids’ luncheon on the morning of the rehearsal because it gave all of us ladies something fun to do and it kept my mind off all the stress!  And, the food was delicious!  Take a look at the food pic my now sister-in-law, Kristine took:

It was seriously so yummy!  After lunch, we couldn’t move on with the day without a mini-photo shoot!  Here is a pic of my mom, sister (and maid of honor) and me!

Then, of course, I had to have a pic with the hostess with the mostest!

Next up, Mrs. Johnson (my now mother-in-law) and my mama and me!

Finally, I just HAD to have a pic with all the bridesmaids (from left-right):  Alysia, Stephanie, Kathleen, Me, Laura, Anna Catherine, and Kristine!  And, we can’t forget about Andi…she couldn’t make it to the Bridesmaids’ Luncheon because she lives in Knoxville and couldn’t get off work!  She was there in spirit, though and rushed to Nashville just in time for the rehearsal!

It was a lovely morning, and I am so glad I was able to spend this calm before the storm with all of my favorite ladies!

What I’m Loving Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you all are having a fantastic week!  Here’s a few things I am loving on this unusually warm fall day:

1.  Time off work!  Let me tell you…I haven’t had a true day off since we got back from the honeymoon…AND, I’ve been putting in some LONG hours lately!  So, Monday and Tuesday of this week, I decided to take some much needed Mental Health Days and can I just say…it was ex-actly what the doctor ordered!  I can’t say I was able to get everything on my “To Do List” completed, but I was able to make a dent in it, and let’s face it…that’s about all us Type A personalities can really hope for…am I right?

2.  Completing Knitting Projects!  It’s no secret that I LOVE having projects going on (see Type A comment above); it’s also no secret that I have very little time to work on said projects.  However, I’ve slowly been chugging along on my knitting projects and I’m happy to report that during my time off over the last 2 days I finished my first seed stitch dishcloth!  Not sure if I’m going to keep it for myself or give it as a gift, so no pics, yet…meanwhile, here’s the pic from the pattern on ravelry.com:

3.  Pumpkin Spice Coffee for Keurig!  I have to say, I think people go a little overboard with all things pumpkin this time of year.  HOWEVER, when I found out I could get pumpkin flavored coffee AT HOME without spending a blessed fortune at some overpriced coffee shop, I was sold!  And, let me say, it is delicious!  I’ve been able to enjoy a cup every morning during my time off and I just love the way it makes the house smell!  Amazing!

4.  Daytime TV!  I know, I know, it’s all kinda silly and trashy and overly womany…however, this is one of the biggest things I have missed about being in college…the last 2 days I was able to watch all of the following shows and I LOVED it!

5.  And, finally, I’m always loving my beau and my Zo:

Have a great Wednesday ladies!  See ya back here on Friday!

Weekend Updates!

As you can probably tell, by my lack of blogging, things have been pretty busy around the Sun household!  My beau had minor knee surgery a few weeks ago, work has been crazy busy with the October 15 deadline, and the fall is always a busy time of year. 

Three weekends ago, we were supposed to go camping with the Chapman’s.  However, because Patrick was still recovering from his surgery, we decided it would probably be best to stay in Nashville and recuperate.  Instead, I worked a lot, we both relaxed a lot, and I drank my first Fall Woodchuck of the 2012 season…

Two weekends ago, I expected to be a weekend full of work, work, work.  However, thank goodness things got wrapped up late on Friday night…SO, that meant 2 days off of work (for the most part).  Instead of working, I decided to go on a mini-shopping spree and to head to the Vandy/Florida game.  Here are a couple of pics I took while at the game (yes, I am trying way too hard at making these cool, instagram-like pics)

After the game, we headed to a local bar, Neighbor’s to watch the TN/Mississippi State game…let me just say that it wasn’t a good week for football in the state of Tennessee.  =(

After the last few weeks of way too much work and not nearly enough fun, this past weekend was indeed a great one!  Friday night we headed to see Sleeping Beauty at TPAC because our sweet little flower girl, Adriana, was making her ballet debut!  She was absolutely adorable and we were so glad to be there to see her!  Here is a pic of the us with the little ballerina after she had changed clothes and come out to watch the remainder of the ballet with the rest of us!

On Saturday, I ran 7 miles, then worked in my condo all afternoon.  That evening we headed to Chris and Katie’s beautiful wedding!  It was on the lake at sunset and was absolutely beautiful!  On Sunday, we relaxed all day and then headed out to Chuy’s for a yummy end-of-the-weekend dinner! 

However, my weekend didn’t end last night!  I am taking some much needed vacation days today and tomorrow to get several things marked off my to do list!  Sooo excited!  Have a great week everyone!

Bachelorette Party

A few weekends before the wedding my sister (and also maid of honor) threw me the most fabulous Bachelorette Party ever!  I wanted the ultimate girly weekend; full of all of my favorite Nashville outings, and NOT quite so focused on the "going out" side of things.  I LOVE those types of bachelorette parties...don't get me wrong..however, I really wanted to just have a relaxing weekend with the girls.  Warning:  PICTURE OVERLOAD!

The weekend got started with happy hour/dinner at Zumi Sushi, which happens to be one of my favorite sushi restaurants in town.  Next up, we headed to Cabana, one of my favorite drink locations.  I have to admit, I MAY have drank a little more than I should that night and it MAY have hindered my drinking for the remainder of the weekend!  Still had a great time though!

All the ladies at dinner!

Laura and Andi enjoying the evening!

So glad Andi could make it into town in time to see me tipsy!  =)

Me posing with Kathleen!

This may have been the drink that started it all!

Or maybe it was this one...Alysia?  Do you remember?

Me with the next one to get married...the now Mrs. Ray!

After getting a much needed good night's sleep, Saturday started early with a mani/pedi at The Nail Bar.  It was so fun to relax with the ladies and have some pamper time!

Love the way this place is decorated!

Katie and I enjoying our pedicures!

I have claws!  Getting my shellac taken off!

Now on to the manicures!

Once again, the whole gang!

After the spa, it was time to head to the pool!  I can't think of anything better to do on a warm summer Saturday than laying by the pool with some of my favorite ladies!

Next up was time for the lingerie shower!  I have to admit, I was a little nervous about this part, but it was so much fun!  And I got some AMAZING stuff!  I think I got something to wear every single night of the honeymoon!

Pretty nighty! 

I love the black with the white lace!

My sister said she couldn't get me anything sexy, so instead she got me Hello Kitty PJ pants!  How comfy and cute!

My mom (who didn't attend the Bachelorette Party but sent a gift with my sister) thought it would be hilarious to give me a nightgown that had been given to her before her wedding! 

So funny!  I'm sure Patrick would have LOVED it!

After the shower, we loaded up the cars and headed down south to Arrington Vineyards for a night of drinking wine, relaxing, eating and enjoying each other's company.

The cake Laura made -- It was PINK velvet!

Me with the greatest Bachelorette Party Planner EVER!

Enjoying the beautiful sunset!

Some of the ladies hanging out!

One last group shot of the weekend!

Such a lovely place!

On Sunday morning, the weekend was wrapped up with brunch at MadDonna's!  I got the Captain Crunch French Toast and it was amazing!

Such a fun weekend and I couldn't ask for a better group of girlfriends!
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On a totally unrelated note, if everyone would do me a really quick favor and say a little prayer for my beau!  He is having arthroscopic knee surgery this morning and while it's very minor surgery, I'm sure he's not going to enjoy taking it easy for the next few days (he doesn't do that very well).  =)  Also, I could probably use a prayer or 2 also, since he's already started referring to me a Nurse Melrose.  =)

Thanks everyone!