Ah, the Weekend...

Ah, the weekends...they go so fast. But this one turned out to be really nice. We spent most of the afternoon on Saturday supporting our favorite wannabe politician, Dan, at a cookout. He works with Matt and is running for City Counsel in our city. It was nice to mingle with friends and munch on the yummy food! Don't worry, I loaded up on fruits and veggies and I also threw in some shrimp. I did perhaps eat 1/2 of Matt's chocolate chip cookie when he left the table, but I don't really think that counts. I mean, it wasn't even on my plate.

I will say it was freaking freezing outside. The wind was so crazy that kids' plates of food were flying all over the place. Cute, but messy. Since when did summer end in August?

We grilled out ourselves that night on the patio. Grilled chicken is just one billion times better on the grill than the George Foreman. Not even comparable....


Because of the cookout, we switched our grocery trip to Sunday...which was a nice change. The crowds didn't seem to be as swarming as they usually are on Saturdays. We relaxed, grilled burgers, caught up on Netflix (discovered movies you could instantly play on your computer!), and napped. It was glorious. I even took a crack at cutting Matt's hair! I wasn't too shabby...if I must say so :)


I'm just always so thankful for the time I get to spend with my husband during these few days of the week. He works so hard and I am just so glad he has this time to relax and do what he wants. I...on the other hand...do not work very hard. I blog. At work. And I get paid to do it. (Don't get the wrong idea...I work when I need to. We just happen to have a LOT of downtime!)


Hope everyone's weekend was lovely!!

A Phone Convo

When I got home Friday after work, I opened a letter from the hospital where I received all of my procedures for my "girlie parts" saying I was late on my payment. Um, no I was not. I'm in charge of the bills in our house for one reason. I pay them when I get them. I'm weirdly obsessed about it, pride myself on it even. Plus, I distinctly remembered paying this one...the amount was not low.

So I called up the insurance company. The convo went like this:

Automated Service: Please say the primary account holder's social security number. (Like I know Matt's Social Security Number?!?)

Me: Oh, shit!

Automated Service: You seem to be having trouble. I'll transfer you to a representative.


Tip: If you want to talk to a person right away, all you have to do is cuss at the automated system! Oops!

Confessions

I'm completely in love with the show Big Brother.

I only like one person, Jeff.

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The only reason I like him is because he is F.I.N.E.
I never call anyone fine in real life.
I had a dream the other night that Matt cheated on me with one of my friends from high school.
When I woke up I started crying in the middle of the night.
No, I did not think it was true.
When I told him about the dream yesterday and that I woke up crying...he laughed.
Last night I was not happy with my husband.
First he cheats on me, then he laughs at me when I cry?
Not. Cool.
Good thing he is F.I.N.E.
We have to go to a fundraiser this weekend for a friend who is running for office in our city.
I still vote in Indiana.
I also still have an Indiana driver's license and plates.
I've lived in Ohio for over 3 years.
Our anniversary is next month and I am completely gitty already.
The weekend makes me happier than all the week days combined.

Yeah for Friday! Have a great weekend!!

Welcome to the JLC!

My welcome party for the Junior League was a success! I met some great people whilst munching (but not over munching) on some yummy food and drinking white wine. But no evening is perfect...so for your entertainment...here are some not so enjoyable tidbits about my night out:

• I didn't join the Junior League to be in a sorority. I despise when people refer to it as a "sorority for adults." It makes me want to quit before I start.
  

• Why did you serve me wine with ice? Lady, that is weird.

• The house was so hot that I was a hot mess within 20 minutes of arriving. My curls had completely come undone, I had practically sweated off all my makeup, and my leather boots were sticking to my legs like nobody's business.
  

• If one more person asks me what I do for a living or where I live or why I moved to Cleveland I think I am going to scream. I do not heart small talk.
  

• I met approximately 30 people last night and I can only remember 2 names.

But on the plus side, I did meet a girl who just moved here from Indianapolis (where I am from originally) which is totally random and awesome all at the same time. Unfortunately, she is not one of the people whose name I remember. Hopefully name tags are required for all events...

So, cocktail party, check. Next meeting we get assigned our small groups and learn about our community projects. I am eager to get into this part of the league and move on from our glorified happy hours. Don't get me wrong, I love me some vino, but I can't wait to get out there and help our city! Believe me...it needs it.

Mish Mosh

Meet Kristen. She has a goal: lose 40 lbs. by June for her sister's wedding. Now this is someone with a plan! I recruited her (begged her) to be my accountability partner. I'm in a dieting slump and my motivation wavers by the hour...but I recognize this as a problem and I.need.help!

We are going to stay in touch about what we are eating throughout the week, what we are doing to work out, send each other recipes, and just be there for support. Although we just started this week, I can already see a difference in my thinking. Just knowing I am going to have to e-mail her what I ate is keeping me on track. I think about eating something and then I say to myself, "Self, what is Kristen going to think when you tell her you ate a cookie after breakfast??"

It has also been easier for me to recognize my problem areas: times of the day when I tend to munch, days I don't feel like working out, instances when I need to be eating more fruits instead of processed goods. It all seems to become clearer when you type it out and send your information to a stranger. I think that is the key for me. I know if I sent it to my mom, I wouldn't care what she had to say about it. If she told me not to eat a cookie for breakfast, I would tell her, "I do what I want!" But with Kristen, I want to work hard and eat well and be supportive for her.

So...I'll keep you posted!

Tonight is our official Welcome Cocktail for the new members of the Junior League, i.e. me. Hopefully it should be a fun time! The majority of our league is East-siders...which doesn't bode well for this West-side girl seeing as I have to travel all over the city to events. But, I guess it's a small price to pay for free wine and appetizers. Note to self, bring your dieting willpower to this event.

On another note, my dear bloggy friend A NYC H.I.T. presented me with the Splash Award.


This award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. Wow! Thanks friend! I wonder if my husband thinks I'm alluring?? Annoying maybe. Ha!

Puppies Galore!

I feel like all I can think about lately is puppies and babies...puppies and babies! I'm obsessed with adding a new addition to our family.

Unfortunately, this isn't exactly the right for us for either option...but soon my friends...I will have both! I need a better yard for the pup (and a better bod before the kid!)...so until then, I will torture myself with all of the puppies I want right now and cannot have.

As you may remember...Matt is allergic so we are looking at hypoallergenic options. Here are a few of my faves!


West Highland Terrier:

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Goldendoodle:

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Labradoodle:

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At first I was into the little dogs...but now I think I want myself a big boy! Hence, I'm leaning toward the doodles :)


And I couldn't do a puppy post without giving a shout out to my gone but never forgotten puppy Sandy. Love you little girl and miss you every day...

Monday, Monday

Oh Monday. Why do you come so quickly?? And so early??

Our weekend was super relaxing and fun! Saturday we slept in and cooked a nice breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bacon...yum! It was so much better than our usual cold cereal. I tagged along to Lowes with Matt to pick up some odds and ends and we checked out our fantasy cabinets and granite counter tops while we were there. Do you ever do that?? It was too fun! Oh I can't wait to shop for things like that!

I did nothing else but lay around and read for the rest of the afternoon. Pure bliss! Then we had plans to go to a bowling party! Two of our guy friends...husbands of women Matt works with...were the birthday boys so we had a bowling party for them! It was SO much fun! And...look what Matt and I wore to the event:






Seriously girls, I have never seen this man look better! Those boots totally do it for me! AND...everyone loved them! We both got so many compliments it was ridiculous. One girl even said that Matt and I were the only people in our group who could pull them off. Who knew I was so fashion forward??

Here's an action shot of Matt. Don't let his good form fool you. On his first shot, he almost fell over and had to jump into two other neighboring lanes to keep from landing on his face. He blamed it on the shoes :)

My first game was rough...I believe 70's rings a bell. Yikes! But I rallied and kicked Matt's butt in the next game by 2 pins with a 128! And my third game was around 115. I think the 2 Bud Light Limes I had helped!


Matt played golf Sunday morning so I slept in, watched March of the Penguins on Netflix, and read. We rented Charlie Wilson's War on RedBox and it was super good. I would definitely recommend it. Who doesn't love a little Tom Hanks??

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Hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend!!

Chili, Chili!

This week I finally took a gander at my Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook. I'm not a huge fan of her meals for several reasons: ie. she uses too much oil for my taste, too many ingredients (most of which I do not like), and the meals are always a lot of WW points. But, the idea of a meal taking only 30 minutes to prepare intrigued me.

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I decided to try out her Cajun Chili. I usually keep my distance from chili seeing as I despise beans...but this one didn't call for any...score! It was delicious and my husband even liked it for leftovers...which rarely happens. It also wasn't too terribly spicy so it isn't overwhelming for a summertime meal. The whole recipe serves 6 and I made it all. We ate it for 2 nights for dinner and I had just a small amount left over for snacking the next day. We added freshly shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla chips on top and it was fantastic!



And the best part about the recipe?? It called for 1/2 a bottle of beer. What did I do with the other 1/2 you ask??


Enough said.

Cajun Chili

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground pork
1 tbsp. Mexican chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
4 shakes cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, chopped (I omitted this just because I didn't have it)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bottle of beer
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro (omitted...Matt thinks it tastes like soap...)
Kosher salt, to taste

Heat a pot over high heat.

Dump ground pork into the pot. Season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne sauce, brown for 5 minutes. And the onions, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and cook, shaking pan now and then, for another 3-4 minutes.

Add beer and stir up the bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil and season with salt.

We topped with cheese and chips! Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

Dancing Queen

Have y'all seen this yet? I know it's been floating around for some time now...so please forgive my tardiness.

I'm pretty much obsessed with the idea of doing a dance number in a wedding. I knew, however, this would not be an option at my own. My bridesmaids...for sure...

I mean, come on! They're MY friends! And I'm a dancing machine! Well, at weddings at least. Or when I've had wine :)



The groomsmen...not so much.


I would've never been able to convince these men, especially my rhythm lacking groom to bust-a-move down the aisle. It just wasn't in the cards.


But for my brother's wedding....


I sent this video to him and here is how the conversation went:

Jenny: "Dude, we totally have to do this for your wedding!"

Mook: "We can do better than that!"

I love that guy :) Too bad he's not even dating anyone. But he did promise to show it to potential girlfriends on their first date...and if the girl is not into it...deal breaker.

National Cupcake Day!

While engaging in some delightful banter with my dear friends Shaina and Lucy yesterday via Twitter, I learned that yesterday was National Cupcake Day! So what did I have to do then? Well, go out and get cupcakes of course.

I hit up A Cookie and a Cupcake which I had just recently heard about through a friend in the Junior League. I came home with three little beauties! Yes, judge all you want. But I did get one of those for Matt.

Here's my peanut butter cupcake. You almost didn't get to see this as I remembered to take a picture just before I stuffed it into my mouth in the car right outside the shop. Hey, I do live like 20 minutes away. You expect me to wait that long before I eat one of these things? I think not. As an aside, please pay no attention to the fact that my mirror is missing off the side of my car. That's a story for another day.




You'd expect with a combination as wonderful as peanut butter and chocolate that this would be a home run. Well, it was a little disappointing. The peanut butter taste was very faint and the icing just wasn't sweet enough for me. They did squirt icing into the center of the cupcake though, so they earned serious bonus points for that little endeavor.

Here's a look at the other two I snagged....German Chocolate and their Signature Chocolate.


The German Chocolate was notably better than the peanut butter but they skimped on the icing. Matt enjoyed his cupcake very much but I'd say $2.50 is a little steep for just okay cupcakes. I'm on the hunt for a better pick!



And diet starts........













NOW!

Do I say this every damn day or what?


*FYI* Upon searching for a source that it was in fact National Cupcake Day yesterday...I found much confusion on the subject. I found several sources confirming yesterday's holiday...but according to this blog, the August holiday is celebrated in Australia while the actual National Cupcake Day isn't until December 15th. Who knows?? Guess I'll have to do this all over again in December. Too bad...

All Things Fried

My mention of elephant ears in yesterday's post sparked many a conversation about what the heck these things are.



Let me explain. They are the wonderfulness that is fried dough...lovingly coated with cinnamon and sugar! You can usually find them at amusement parks, state fairs, and carnivals.

Now, these are not to be confused with funnel cakes. Although these are also made with deep fried dough, the cake is constructed by pouring the dough through a funnel into the oil so the shape is a bit different. I, admittedly, have a funnel cake maker...so I am a reliable source. Don't judge. It was a gift. I usually top my funnel cakes with powdered sugar.

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There are also the delightful beignets. Matt and I had these little babies in Baton Rouge when we were down south visiting some friends. They are made with that lovely fried dough again and topped with powdered sugar. Yum!



Think I'm done? Think again. Next up, the churro. I first experienced the yumminess of the churro at Costco of all places. Here...the churros are actually baked and not fried (6 points if you're interested...and totally worth it!).

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But, I was able to try out some fried churros at Jack In The Box in Nashville and they were all kinds of delicious!



Now, elephant ears are no question my favorite. They are the biggest (anything that allows me to stuff my face for longer earns a gold star in my book) and sweetest in my opinion. The powdered sugar just doesn't do it enough for me like good old granulated sugar. I would also advise eating anything and everything fried right away. It is always best right out of the fryer when it is still warm.



As I was scouring Facebook in an attempt to look for a picture of me chowing down on an elephant ear (which I was unable to find...I'm sure to your disappointment!)...I noticed that I have a TON of pictures of me stuffing my face with sweets and fried foods. Hm. Very attractive Jenny.

About to chow down at the Hershey Store in Chicago

Hitting up the chocolate fountain on our honeymoon cruise. Fried doughnuts and chocolate=good; my face=not.

Fried macaroni and cheese balls in Key West...what could be better? Oh...a margarita with it? Yes...that is better!

Another honeymoon adventure! Man I ate well that trip :)

This one doesn't count right? Well maybe it does because I made him feed me another bite because I wanted more :)

I guess living in the Mid-west has given me one thing I cannot live without....



exposure to all things fried!

My waist line thanks you!

A Book/Movie Extravaganza!

This weekend was jam packed with fun...but we did a lot of relaxing too! Aren't those just the best weekends!?!

Friday evening, I talked Matt into checking out a local church carnival in search of elephant ears. They are my weakness. I know, I know, I'm dieting. But I NEVER get to have these...and it's the only time I screwed up all week! And one can't hurt, right? And I split it...so it's really like I hardly even ate one, right? And they totally skimped on the cinnamon and sugar...so that's practically 0 points, right? Thought so!

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By the way...I was totally shocked to find out these delicious treats now cost $5! What!?! I was outraged! And it ALMOST stopped me from getting one. Almost.


Friday evening I busted my way through the last half of My Sister's Keeper. I don't know what got into me. I just couldn't seem to stop reading. I must admit, though, it was more about getting done than loving the book so much I couldn't put it down. Don't get me wrong, I think the book is worth reading...and the story was quite the thinker...but for some reason...I completely had the ending figured out before it happened so the shock factor was lost on me. I have heard the ending in the movie is different, so I think it will be a Netflix rental in my future.

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Saturday we hit up the grocery and then I dragged my dear, dear husband to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I was completely excited for weeks to see this...as I just finished the book not long ago. Truthfully, I was just disappointed. The movie was SO different than the book and there was a significant amount of material left out...integral story lines I thought were important and made the book so great. It was extremely hard for me to separate the movie from the book...and poor Matt had to listen to me throughout the entire movie saying, "That's not what happened in the book..." I was even annoying myself! And it's all I could talk about afterward. I owe that boy something really great after that.

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But what did I expect? Of course they were going to leave things out...I knew that. I also know that books are traditionally better than their movie counterparts...but I was still let down.

So now I'm torn. I can't even tell you if I would've liked the movie without reading the book first. Probably. But now what do I do? Do I read the books before the movies and risk ruining the movie...or see the movie first and know what's going to happen in the book before I read it?? What do you ladies recommend?

My Saturday was not all bad...as I spent the remainder of my evening scaring myself silly watching old episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark on YouTube. I can't remember what started this...but I ended up staying up to see midnight because I couldn't sleep. That freaking ghost that wrote HELP ME on the wall through the mirror was creepy!


Sunday was the laziest day of all time and it was lovely. We watched golf and I started reading Pretty in Plaid. I decided I needed a light-hearted read after my last book.

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We ended the evening with a little cookout for two. I love when Matt comes inside smelling like the grill. It's pretty much my favorite thing.


And now it's Monday again...and I'm back to thinking about work...working out...and dieting. Something needs to change!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

It's Friday! Luckily this week has flown by and I am loving that it is almost the weekend! I have plans to drag my husband to see The Time Traveler's Wife on Saturday and I am so excited! We just watched The Notebook this week...so I am on a Rachel McAdams high! Oh I just love her!

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Other than that...we have no plans! I just love relaxing weekends where we can simply enjoy the extended amount of time we can spend with just each other! I'm inching my way through My Sister's Keeper...so hopefully I can finish that this weekend. Oh what I would give to be a speed reader...


Now onto the winner of the garden stakes giveaway!! And I actually did make chicken for dinner last night...just saying.


And the winner is...

Annie from Chapters of Our Life!!

Congratulations Annie!! Please e-mail me at mavester34(@)hotmail(dot)com with your name, e-mail address, shipping address, and phone number as soon as you can and I'll get you your new garden stakes!

Thanks for entering!! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! XOXO

A New Plan!

Just a quick reminder...don't forget to enter my giveaway!! It ends tonight at midnight!


Remember a few weeks ago when I decided that because I always slacked off doing the 30 Day Shred in the afternoons...I would start getting up earlier and do it in the mornings before work??



Yeah...that didn't work out.



Apparently rolling out of bed and working out with Jillian 5 minutes after waking up does not agree with me. After finishing my workouts, I literally felt like I was going to throw up...all.day.long. I really wasn't having trouble getting up earlier...but the sleepiness hit me like a ton of bricks at night. I would fall asleep on the couch in the 8 o'clock hour. I hated this because Matt usually gets home in the 7's and this didn't give us very much time together. What fun is it to spend your evenings sitting next to a sleeping spouse on the couch?? Not so much. So, after 3 days...I quit!


But...in place of my morning workouts, I am now determined to not be a slacker in the afternoons. There is absolutely no reason I should get off work at 3 p.m. and not have enough time to get in a good workout before Matt comes home. So far I have made it 3 days (hey...it's a start!) and I can feel my motivation starting to return. I've also been running every other day and I've attended Pilates and Yoga at the gym...with Spinning on the schedule for today.


I even went to my WW meeting last night...which I tend to skip when I feel like I have gained. But I wanted to just go and make it a new starting point...weigh in and get it over with. Face it! So I got in the Taurus...drove to the Rec Center...and no one was there! Yeah...in the whole Rec Center...which is usually packed! Um, apparently I missed the memo that our meeting was canceled?? So I walked myself back to the car, ate my WW cookie I brought as a snack...and headed home...thankful I had one more week to work out before I weighed in :) I think God was shining on me yesterday!


So girls...motivate me! I need a week's worth of blogs about running, shredding, and working out so when I read them I will feel guilty skipping the gym! So no blogs about sweets okay? Or ice cream...or cake...and anything else you know I love. Or pizza!

Oh my...

Here I Am!

My week started out a little crazy...when I came into work on Monday and learned of a power outage over the weekend. Doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Well, it wasn't to anyone else but me. Said power outage killed my computer :( I came in to "The Blue Screen of Death" which led to a dead hard drive. It wouldn't even boot up!

So, I was without a computer at work for 2 days...the computer I spend about 75% of my day on for work...and most importantly the computer from which I blog! Well...it's fixed!! I got a new hard drive installed yesterday (unable to recover ANYTHING from the old one...lovely) so I'm back! It might take me a little bit to get caught up with your blogs...but I will!


So my weekend update...just a few days late:

Friday: I went bowling after work with three other girls. Let me just tell you...bowling is not my strong suit. My highest score was 98. Yeah...pathetic, I know. But I did look really good in the shoes :)

Saturday: I had my 1st official Junior League volunteer event...feeding the homeless in downtown Cleveland. We met in a parking lot, set up all of the food, and fed a TON of people for about an hour...did I mention it was raining and we were not covered at all?? Oh well...hard to complain when I went home to my clean, dry house with food and those I fed had no such luxury. I was really happy to have the opportunity to help with this...but I will admit...it was really sad. The homeless just kept getting back in line over and over to get more food until we ran out. It was literally all they had. Apparently the woman who put it on does it monthly...so hopefully I will get a chance to help again soon.

Matt and I also went to go see the movie Funny People with Adam Sandler on Saturday. Although we are not huge Adam Sandler fans, it didn't seem to be his typical kind of movie...and we LOVE Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill...so we thought we'd give it a try. It was...okay. Some of it was pretty funny...but I wouldn't run out and pay to see this movie if I were you. It's more of a Red Box $1 flick in my opinion.

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Nothing too crazy on Sunday after church. We did hit up Penn Station for dinner which I love and could not even remember the last time I had. Oh...it was delicious!!

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Well, I'd better get caught up on some of the work I missed for two days while I was computerless! Hope everyone's doing well!!

XOXO


Don't forget to check out my giveaway!!

Eek! Giveaway Time!!

I have a very exciting announcement to make...















I am hosting my very 1st giveaway! Are you excited?? You should be!!


Check out what I'm giving away!

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It's a set of 6 small garden stakes! Aren't they the cutest!?! And you get all of them...the tulip, daisy, leaf, ant, butterfly, and birdy! Eek!

They are 15" tall and made from steel...so super durable for all of you with those outdoor gardens. But...they are also a fabulous addition to indoor pots and window boxes as well.

These garden stakes are being provided by Living Rooms Direct, which as you may've guessed, offers a great selection of living room furniture as well as fun home accessories! Check them out!


So what do you have to do to get these little babies you ask?? Well...here are the rules:

**1 entry if you leave a comment on THIS post**

**2 entries if you leave a comment & become a follower (let me know in your comment if you already follow!)**

**3 entries if you leave a comment, become a follower, and post about this on your blog (let me know in your comment if you do this!)**

So you have up to 3 chances to win these cutie pa-tootie garden stakes! I am just in love with these colors! Aren't you!?!

The giveaway will close at midnight (Eastern) on Thursday evening and I will announce the winner on Friday morning! Good luck!!

P.S. All of my dear Canada friends...please enter! They can ship to you as well!!

Bookies!

Over my trip to Nashville, I finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. As I've mentioned before, the beginning was really confusing to me. I mean, how can a guy be two ages at the same time?? I was stumped!

But once the book got going it started to come together and make more sense. I would recommend sticking it out if anyone is having trouble getting started. I did, however, find myself having to go back from time to time to check Henry or Clare's ages and thinking...hm...now when did this happen again?

But overall, I think the book was great! It was unlike any book I have ever read. I simply couldn't read fast enough. I just wanted to find out what happened. But I will say, when I did find out what happened at the end...I was kind of disappointed. It just seemed like a really depressing ending. But I do believe it is worth the read if anyone is contemplating giving it a try.

I'm very interested to see how this movie transfers to film. I have convinced my husband to accompany me when it comes out (in return for seeing Funny People with Adam Sandler this weekend) so we shall see.

Next up:

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I've read about 100 pages so far and it is not really about what I expected. Should be interesting!


We don't have a ton planned for the weekend...but I am meeting a group of girls after work for bowling! Yep...me...meeting girls! I know...weird! Actual friends! AND I have a Junior League event downtown on Saturday afternoon so I will be full of fun girl events for two whole days.

Hope your weekends are filled with tons of fun!!

Weddings!

So the whole point of making the trip to Nashville was to go to my cousin Zoe's wedding. Now I have...let's see...almost 20 cousins on my mom's side of the family...but Zoe is special. She's a person who makes you feel loved and important and truly cares about her friends and her family. I'll always remember her taking the time to really get to know Matt when he first started coming around...and that meant so much to me. She is loud and outgoing and funny...and I'm so lucky to have her in my life. Her parents are my godparents so making it to this wedding was essential in my book!

And...she was marrying another Matt! What could be better, right? Oh, I don't know...how about a boy who wants to be a pastor and is taking her to Korea for a year to teach English?? Yeah. That's right.

The wedding took place outside in the garden of a mansion. The rain stopped just in time and gave them the perfect window for the ceremony. It was perfect...simply gorgeous.







Isn't her dress just exquisite? When she started walking down the aisle I got tears in my eyes just looking at how beautiful and happy she looked. It was amazing.


The reception was held in a large tented off area of the mansion. We snagged a seat by a fan and it was the perfect setting for an evening wedding.

1st dance

Father/Daughter dance

Zoe and her mama watching the Mother/Son dance

3 of my cousins

It was such a beautiful wedding and I am ecstatic we were able to share in their special day!



The next day, Matt and I hit up an essential on a family vacation...Shoney's! Breakfast buffet...it's calling my name! Yum!



Then we headed over to Zoe's house for a BBQ. It was great to spend some extra time with family before everyone had to leave. Too bad Matt and Zoe were already in Antigua on their honeymoon...not.jealous.at.all. This is the view from one of their balconies. Isn't it gorgeous?? They should be expecting me to move in around next week :)




Matt and I were able to spend some valuable one on one with with my godparents after everyone left. In a family as big as mine, this time does not come very often and it was so special and one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. My Matty is not one to open up to people very quickly so seeing him so engaged in a conversation with one of my family members melted my heart. No one has really taken the time to get to know my husband like that and it meant the world to me that they cared enough to spend that extra time with us. Love them!


So our trip to Nashville drew to a close...and it was one of the most memorable trips I have taken with my husband. Can't wait for the next one, right honey!?! *kiss*