Thursday, August 12, 2010

Thankful Thursday!



This Thursday I am thankful for...

MY BEAU!!!!!
As most of you probably know, Patrick headed out of the country on a 3 week trip to South Africa this week!!!!!  I know, jealous, right?  Well, it's times like this that I realize how thankful I am to have him in my life.  Because he gets embarrassed when I gush about him, I'll just make this post mainly pictures of all the fun times he and I have had since we started dating.  =)
Music City Brewer's Festival 2008
Adventure Science Center 2008
Tennessee Football Game 2008
Jayme's Wedding  2008
Opryland Hotel 2008
Biltmore Estate 2009
Sushi Date Night 2009
Nashville Zoo 2009
Nashville Junior Chamber Gala 2009
Music City Brewer's Festival 2009
Arrington Vineyards 2009
George Jones' House at Christmas 2009
Indian Cooking Class 2010
Zip-Lining on Valentine's Day 2010
Freeport, Bahamas 2010
Helping Nashville Flood Victims 2010
Steeplechase 2010
My 30th Birthday 2010
Nashville Junior Chamber Gala 2010
St. Louis Trip 2010
Music City Brewer's Festival 2010
Andi's Wedding 2010
Patrick, I hope you have a fabulous trip!  Please stay safe and I can't wait to hear about your trip when you get back to the US of A!!!!!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Top 2 Tuesday!

Top 2 Tips
(money saving tips, beauty tips, DIY tips, cooking tips, cleaning tips, blogging tips, shopping tips etc)

1.  Keeping an Ongoing Grocery List
If you are like me, you probably think of 1,000 items that you need to pick up at the grocery store throughout the week. However, when it comes time to actually make a grocery list and pick up the items, I can't remember any of them. That's why I have started keeping a note pad on the front of my refridgerator and then as I think of items I need to purchase, I just add them to the list. This keeps me from wracking my brain at the end of the week and inevitably forgetting something at the grocery store.

2.  Hire Painters
During the week following 4th of July, I decided to take the week off work because I had several household chores I wanted to get done.  My first and biggest project was to paint a wall of my living room/foyer a bright shade of red.  Well, let me just say that it literally took me a week to paint the wall.  It was a TON of work, and I kept making mistakes that I had to go back and fix.  I decided right then that from here on out, I will either hire someone to paint my house or I will just leave it the color that it currently is.  =)

Head on over to The Undomestic Momma and join in the fun!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Wonderful Wedding Weekend

As promised, here are the details of Andi's wedding this past weekend.  The wedding festivities began on Friday evening with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  Not having been in many weddings, it always amazes me what goes into planning a wedding.  However, Andi had everything figured out and somehow managed to organize 8 bridesmaids, 8 groomsman, 8 ushers, and a whole lot of family members.  She should go into wedding planning because it ran like a well oiled machine!  After running through the ceremony a couple of times, it was time to head downtown to this place for dinner!

For those that aren't from Knoxville, Calhoun's on the River is a staple in that town known for its delicious ribs.  They also have a banquet room upstairs with a beautiful view that is often used for parties.  The dinner was very nice and the food was delicious!  Andi had put together a slide show and SEVERAL friends and family offered toasts to the couple...heck, after a couple glasses of wine even I got brave enough to give a small speech!  It was a great evening of celebrating the soon-to-be-married couple.  Here are a few pics:

Patrick and I enjoying the view from the balcony.


Me with both the Bride and Groom
After the rehearsal dinner, Patrick and I headed to my parents' house where we got in some quality time with this special girl:

It never ceases to amaze me how crazy I am about my parents' dog!  She is the smartest, funniest, sweetest dog EVER...in my opinion, anyway.  =)

On Saturday morning, I woke up extra early because in the middle of the night I had a moment of panic when I remembered that my dress needed to be ironed.  After trying and trying to iron my dress, the massive wrinkles WERE NOT coming out!!!!!  Thank goodness for my mother because she agreed to take my dress to be steamed so that I would not be late to my hair appointment.  After a small mix-up at the hair salon (imagine me looking like Annie...yeah, the red headed, curly haired little girl in the movie...minus the red hair), everyone's hair and make-up looked wonderful and it was time to head to the church. 

Saturday afternoon was spent wrapping up last minute details and taking pictures before the wedding started at 6:00.  It was a beautiful wedding and Andi looked AMAZING!!!!!  Here are a few pics:


Andi and I before the ceremony
Ginger and I waiting for the wedding to begin
Patrick and me...doesn't he look handsome?  =)
Bride and Groom as they head to the reception
After taking a few pictures at the World's Fair Park, it was time for the reception to begin!!!!!  Soon after the DJ started playing, everyone was dancing and no one really stopped until the Convention Center kicked us out at the end of the evening!  =)  The cakes were beautiful and delicious and the drinks were flowing!  It was a VERY fun evening!  Plus, I was able to catch up with people I haven't seen in years!  Nothing is better than that!

My mom and me...don't we look alike!  =)
Patrick with my mom and dad
Patrick got to meet Heather, Elizabeth, and Greg!!!!!  It was great for me to catch up with them, too!
The Groom's cake...notice the Alabama Groom and the Tennessee Bride...LOVE it!
After the lights were turned on at the wedding venue (signaling that it was time for us to get out), several of us decided to head out and have a few drinks!  After realizing that I left my ID in my mom's car, Patrick and I worked some magic to get me into the bar only to stay just an hour and then decide we were wayyyyyy too tired to be out drinking!  Instead we decided that some late night pizza was a much better idea!
All-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend, with a beautiful wedding, an even prettier bride, a fun reception, some much needed family time, and a nice weekend with my beau.  =)  Couldn't have been better! 

Andi and Rob, have a great time on your honeymoon and I can't wait to see you when you get back!  Congrats again!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Thankful Thursday


This Thursday I am thankful for...

MY FRIEND ANDI!!!!!

Andi and I have been friends since I started my first job out of school, and this weekend, I get to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!  She and I have lived through a lot together in the last 6 years...from new boyfriends, to break-ups with old boyfriends, to new boyfriends again, to me moving away 4 years ago.  Even though we don't get to see each other and spend as much time together as we used to, I always know that if I need ANYTHING from her, that she will be here in a heartbeat...and I hope she knows I would do the same for her!  

Andi is marrying a great guy named Rob, and I am so glad that she has met someone who is just as nice as she is!  I can't wait to celebrate with you, Andi, as you take this next step...always know that Nashville is not that far away and you and Rob always have a place to stay with me!  =)
Rob, Andi, Me, and Patrick at my 30th Birthday Party!
P.S.  Stay tuned early next week for a wrap-up of the whole wedding weekend!

Monday, August 2, 2010

New Blog Design


So, I've been thinking for awhile about the design of my blog (I was just using one of the templates that Blogger offers).  I REALLY wanted a "pretty" blog, but I didn't want to spend a small fortune on a new design.  Late last night I came across Sue Bell Blog Design and decided that since the prices were so reasonable that I would see what it was all about.  Let me just tell you, Brittney was excellent to work with.  I had an e-mail from her first thing this morning and she immediately got to work on my blog.  By 10:30 PM tonight, I had a new blog design and I LOVE it!  If anyone is looking for a new look to their blog, head on over to visit her!  You will NOT be disappointed!

Top 2 Tuesday!


Top 2 Simple Pleasures

1.  Taking a bath at the end of a long day


Anyone who knows me knows this is one of my all time favorite moments of the day...especially when I've had a particularly busy day at work.  To me there is no better "simple pleasure" than relaxing in the bathtub with a good book and sometimes even a good glass of wine.  Pure bliss!

2.  Picking someone up at the airport

I'm not sure what it is, but there is something so fabulous about greeting someone at the airport...whether it's a friend, a family member, or my beau.  It also doesn't matter if they have been gone a few days or a few weeks, I get so much pleasure out of being the first person they see when they get off that plane.  =)  

P.S.  If you would like to play along, head on over to The Undomestic Momma, and link up!

MAS

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Week in Review



No, I don't always do a "Week in Review" post, but this was one fun week, so I thought I'd share the highlights.  The first exciting event of the week was the trip Patrick and I made with my work friend, Leslie and her husband Shawn to this place:


They had a 21 and up event and we decided to check it out.  We had a blast!  Here are a few pics from the evening:

Leslie and I before riding the space machine
Me hanging out with the dinosaurs.

Watch out...it looks like Patrick is drinking and driving.  =)
Another fun happening of the week (that I mentioned in this blog), is seeing the movie Ramona and Beezus with my mom!  Again, we both loved the movie, and had a FANTASTIC time!  It was so fun to hang out with her one last time before she heads back to work in a couple of weeks.

Friday night, I got in some girl time with this chica:


Alysia and I first became friends when we worked together a few years ago, but even though we don't see each other on a daily basis anymore, we still have a FANTABULOUS good time when we do hang out!  On this particular evening, we decided we both needed pedicures, and we grabbed dinner while we were at it.

Saturday afternoon/evening was one of the biggest events of the year for my group of friends...the annual Music City Brewer's Festival!!!  Now I know you are probably scratching your heads right now because in this post I explained that I'm not much of a beer drinker.  However, this event is SO MUCH FUN!  SO many of my friends attend, and even though I don't like beer, I still have a BLAST!  Plus, they MAY have a Woodchuck Cider tent, and I MAY have been such a regular at that tent that they recognized me by the end of the night.  =)  Although the night ended with a rainstorm, it was still a great time!  Here are a few pics:

Me with some Junior Chamber friends at a Brewer's Festival Pre-Party (Happy Birthday Jessica!)
Drinking my first taste of Cider
So fun to have all my girls together!
Patrick and I at the beginning of the evening...
...and Patrick and I after the rain.  =)
This wonderful week was wrapped up with a kickball game on Sunday afternoon that went into 2 extra innings because of a tie, and Kick This managed to come away with a win!!!!!  WOOHOO!  What a fantastic week!

MAS