Knoxville Shower

Do you ever have those posts that you want to be sooooo perfect that you keep putting them off because you want to make sure and take enough time so it's just the way you want?  Well, this is one of those posts!

I was so excited about my very first shower...like, way more excited than I should have been!  And it was everything I expected it to be!  It was hosted by one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Andi.  She took so much time to make sure everything was exactly right and there's no possible way it could have been more perfect!  Warning:  you are about to experience picture overload!!!!!

Here is all of the decorations and decor:

The drink and cake table

Cake pops!  These were chocolate flavored.

Red velvet cake and cupcakes and wedding cake cupcakes (these things were to DIE for)!

More cake pops!  Some of these were chocolate and some where yellow cake flavored

The food table!

Such a beautiful centerpiece!  Andi asked so many questions about my colors, etc, and I had no idea she was going to make everything coordinate so perfectly!

Yummy veggies and fruit!

Centerpieces at each of the guest tables...again, sooooo pretty!

Next up, a few pics of the guests and me:

Me with my mama!

With Laura...my sister and sweet MOH!

Me with the hostess, Andi!

Laura with my cousin, Kelley!

Sweet Kennedy made an appearance at the shower.

Aunt Carole and my cousin Kelley!

Just one more picture of the youngest guest at the shower!  She's so flippin' adorable!

Next up...gift opening!

Opening my first gift...and SOOOO excited!

Showing off my new towels!  

Laura fulfilling her MOH duties by recording all of my gifts in the notebook my mom bought me!

I'm cracking up in this pic because my cousin, Kelley, gave Zoey a gift and wrote the cutest poem to go along with it!

The only gift I didn't open at the shower!  It was too beautiful and I thought it needed to come back to Nashville in one piece!

It was truly a wonderful day!  I can't possibly imagine it being any more perfect!  The one thing that Andi did that made it so personal and sweet is that she took my picture with every guest at the shower.  Then she had each guest sign a photo album and write words of advice to Patrick and me.  She printed all of the pictures, put them in the photo album with the corresponding entry and sent the album to me the next week.  Here are a few pics of the album:

The front of the photo album!

A copy of the beautiful invitation is mounted on the first page! 

A sampling of the type of words some of my guests wrote to Patrick and me.

The first page!

So excited to get to do all of this over again this weekend as Kathleen, Alysia, and Anna Catherine throw me a shower for all of my Nashville friends!  Can't wait!!!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy, happy Wednesday!  This week, I'm changing things up a bit for What I Love Wednesday and making it all about weddings!

1.  I'm loving that all the hard work I have been putting in is FINALLY paying off and I'm seeing the number on the scales decreasing!  I have my first dress fitting this weekend, and I SOOOOO wanted to be at my goal weight for it!  Well, I'm happy to report that even though I didn't reach my exact goal weight, I am only 2.8 pounds away!  I have been hoovering at the 5 pounds away mark for SEVERAL weeks, and this week was definitely a break through!  Those last few pounds should definitely come off by the wedding! 

I am also loving that despite the fact that it has taken me wayyyyy longer than I intended to lose what I consider a small amount of weight (i.e. less than 10 pounds), I feel like I am making a true lifestyle change...one that can stick with me AFTER the wedding, too!

2.  I'm loving wedding parties!!!!!  And man do I get to spend this weekend celebrating!  I have my work shower on Friday at lunch (this one Patrick gets to come to, also) and then I have my shower with all my Nashville friends on Saturday afternoon.  I can't wait to spend several hours with some of my favorite people...both work peeps and non-work peeps! 

3.  I'm loving friends who throw said showers!  I'm realizing more and more everyday how fortunate I am to have so many friends both professionally and personally.  All of my girls are so important to me and I'm so fortunate for everything they are doing!

4. I'm loving Weddings! Yes, that's right...in keeping with the theme of this post I have to say that I'm loving all the weddings that Patrick and I have been invited to this year...and the first one kicks off this weekend! Our sweet friends Anna Lea and Wes are tying the knot on Saturday and Patrick and I intend to get our dance on and have a great time at their reception! Congrats guys!

5.  And finally, I'm loving my future groom!  He's so supportive and always willing to compromise!  With all the bad stuff I've heard lately about marriages ending and bad things happening in relationships, I can't help but sit back and realize just how lucky I am to have this guy in my life!

What are you loving today?  Head on over the This Kind of Love and tell us!  Oh, and while you're there, congratulate her on finding out she's having a sweet baby boy in a few months!

Wedding Invitations

Because I'm almost 100% certain that all of our guests have received our wedding invitations, I decided to do a little "reveal" on the ole blog.  We ordered them from Prim and Paper in Franklin, TN, and Melissa Sledge did an excellent job and was extremely reasonably priced!  I would definitely recommend her if you are looking for great looking invitations!

The actual invitation!!!!!  So exciting!

RSVP cards

The total package!

All boxed up and ready to deliver to the post office!

And now, for my favorite part...I found a link to Carolina Charm's blog a while back on Pinterest and I was instantly interested in this idea...she and her husband sent a wedding invitation to the president!!!!!  We decided to give it a try!  Apparently, he and Mrs. Obama will send Patrick and me a congratulatory letter.  We haven't received our letter, yet, but you better believe it will be framed and hung in our house as soon as we do!  So exciting!

So, that's our wedding invitations...very simple, yet, also very classic!  So exciting!  Even though this whole process has been very fun and real, sealing those envelopes made it even more real and official!  I can't wait for July 14!

Weekend Update!

What a fun weekend!  In fact, it's probably one of the last "relaxing" weekends Patrick and I have planned until the middle of August!  That's okay though...this was just the calm before all the fun starts!  Woohoo!

Friday night, we headed down to Cool Springs to meet Baby Braden...and he is such a doll!  I told his Mama, Lindy, that I don't think I've ever seen a baby that young (less than 24 hours old) since my sister was born...and I was 6 when that happened, so I was a little bit in awe of this bundle of joy...here are a few pics of the precious baby!

Such a sweet little boy!

He couldn't get enough of Patrick!

After making a quick stop by Home Depot, we were headed home and found out that Alysia and Ed were hanging out at a restaurant/bar right down the street, so we stopped by for a little bit and had a drink with them.  Fun times!

The next morning, I wanted to sleep in sooooo badly, but instead, I got up and decided to get started on the large task that stood before me...cleaning up my flower beds...Here are a few "before" pictures:

Holy Weeds!!!!!  I can't believe I let it get this out of control over the last 2 and a half years..although, I must say that I really don't think it was this bad just a few months ago...I think it got worse overnight.  Here are the "after" pics of one flower garden...it took me so long to do it that I didn't have time to finish the rest yesterday.

That afternoon, Katie, a friend from work, and I headed out to Opry Mills to check it out.  I got a few cute things, and so did she...we both agreed that the mall seems way better now than it did before the flood.  Wish I had unlimited funds to buy whatever I want in all the outlet stores!

That evening, my beau and I headed to the Shabu Shabu House.  It was amazing and so yummy!  For those that don't know what Shabu Shabu is, it's very similar to the Melting Pot...except for Asian food.  Great idea, right?  For anyone looking for a different dining experience, you should definitely check it out!  It's the only restaurant of its kind in Nashville!  I loved making our own food, even though it kinda stressed me out at times.

The spread of food we are about to cook!

This pic makes me laugh every time I look at it!  I was obviously super nervous!  It was amazing though!

Patrick is ready to dig in!

After finally getting to sleep in this morning, my sweet, sweet beau helped me get another flower garden complete.  I failed to take any pictures today, but it looks so good!  I can't wait to finish the 3rd one!  After that, Patrick and I had lunch at Oscar's Taco Shop.  Then it was pool time and kickball!  We won yet another game and that puts us 5-1.  WOOHOO!

What did you do this weekend?  Anything fun?

Weekend of Trying New Things

My beau and I have always been the type to eagerly attempt something we've never done before, and this weekend is no different...while none of these feats are anything spectacular, here are a few of the fun/new things I will be trying this weekend:

1. Shopping at Opry Mills -- The NEW Opry Mills, that is...I've been waiting ever since it reopened to walk through the walls of this fabulous mall and buy lots of goodies! I'm really hoping I can find a super cute dress to wear for my work shower. =)

2. Landscaping -- Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, this girl is working in her flower garden this weekend...the flower garden that she hasn't even weeded in the almost 3 years that she has lived at this residence. I know, it's very embarassing, but it's one of those things that I've never known how to do and it never really looked that bad...well, now it looks bad, and I have a lot of people coming to my house for a portion of my Bachelorette Party in a few weeks and this weekend seems to be a good time to get some work done.

3. Shabu Shabu Style Food -- So, I get an e-mail from my beau today, and this is the restuarant he wants to try this weekend...apparently, you cook the food at your table using a "hot seaweed broth." I'm always up for an adventure, so I said SURE! Can't wait to see how the food tastes!

4. Meeting Baby Braden -- My friend, Lindy, had a precious baby boy early this morning, and Patrick and I are heading to the hospital at some point this weekend to check him out! I'm sure mom and dad are super excited about their new addition, and so happy to have him in the world. I can't wait to meet him!

I'll report back on Monday on how my weekend adventures panned out. What are you doing this weekend? Trying anything new?