So Long 2012…

Well, as you have probably already noticed, I haven’t been the best little blogger in the world these days.  I have told several people this, but I kept telling myself that after the wedding my life would slow wayyyyy down and I would have much more time for my hobbies.  Alas, this didn’t happen and here we are, on January 1, 2013 and this is my first blog post since mid-November.  However, I plan to remedy this in the new year (I know, I know…you’ve heard it all before).  I really mean it this time and plan on explaining more at a later date. 

For now, let’s take a look back at all things 2012, which will go down in history as my best year to date! 

January – What a great way to start 2012!  It was complete with a Staycation with my beau, hosting a baby shower for one of my BFFs, and posing for some of the MANY pics we had made this year when we had our engagement pictures made.

February – Not only did this month mark the beginning of tax season, we also celebrated Sweet Zoey’s first birthday, enjoyed a nice Valentine’s dinner prepared with love by MY Valentine, and attended the Nashville Junior Chamber’s Bayou Bash.

March – Well, because of the fact that I literally worked and slept through most of March, there aren’t many fun pictures to share.  However, not only did we celebrate another year of birth for Patrick, but he also treked out to Vegas with some of his best guy friends for the Bachelor Party to end all Bachelor Parties.

April – Ah, April…one of my favorite months…I’m sure you all have figured it out by now, that this is the month that my life is back to normal and I get to do fun things again…like take pictures.  I also spent most of April wrapping up my training for the Country Music Half, which was very hot, but just as much fun as I remembered from the year before.

May – Not only did we celebrate my 32nd (YIKES) Birthday during May, but we also met Baby Kennedy, saw my sister graduate with her master’s degree, attended my Knoxville Wedding Shower, and took Zoey to the Natchez Trace on Memorial Day.

June – Wow!  Things REALLY started gearing up for the wedding in June.  We had my Work Shower, my Nashville Shower, and my Bachelorette Party.  In addition to wedding festivities, we also met Baby Braden and attended Anna Lea and Wes’ beautiful wedding!

July – WEDDING month!  And let me say, it was absolutely consumed with all things wedding and honeymoon!  Not only did I marry my best friend on July 14, but we also went on an ah-mazing honeymoon to London, Paris, and Amsterdam.  It couldn’t have been more perfect!

August – After getting back from Europe, it was time for me to get busy with work and also for us to move in together.  I wish I could say I was all moved in to Patrick’s house in just a few weeks, but to just be perfectly honest, it’s January and I’m still not fully moved in…hopefully, I will be one day, but I’m also considering just putting everything that not her, yet, in storage…I mean, let’s face it…if I haven’t used it in the last 6 months, I don’t think I’ll need it until we have a bigger house, no?  Anyway, back on subject, in addition to our co-habitating experiences, we also spent much of August going to the Tomato Festival and having our “After Session” photos made with Sweet Zoey.  Oh, and we also received a congratulatory letter from The President and First Lady on our recent nuptials. 

September – This month was full of cheering on the Vols (to much avail), attending both the Dog Days Festival and a Titans game or 2, and also taking Zoey to her first “Puppy Shower.”

October – This month was full of Vandy games, Halloween costumes, and going to see one of our sweet flower girls in Sleeping Beauty.

November – In addition to the normal Thanksgiving visit with my family, this month was also full of a trip to FL with 2 of my besties to run in a half marathon, and we also managed to move my furniture out of my condo and into Patrick’s house.

December – This month was most definitely full of Christmas Joy.  We celebrated Christmas with my family, we traveled to Florida to celebrate with Patrick’s mom, and we rounded out the new year with a night’s stay at Opryland.  Oh, and I got the flu…yes, the flu.  =(  At least I got it before tax season and not right in the middle of it, right?  Always looking for the silver lining.  =) 

It was truly a wonderful year, and I can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store.  I have a feeling it’s going to start out well as my beau and I leave tomorrow to head to Mexico for a quick trip to relax and enjoy our last little bit of the holidays!  I’ll be back next week friends!  Happy New Year!

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!