Happy (Late) Birthday To Me!

Again, I apologize for the lack of posting this week. I'm hoping to get back on track soon!

I flew back to Memphis on Tuesday and my sweet husband was actually waiting inside the airport when I got there instead of picking me up curbside. Okay...he was only in there because I told him I like it when he is there waiting on me, but it was still sweet :) And the Delta App let him know when I was landing so he hung out in the cell phone lot before parking, so we still made it within the 30 minutes of free parking :)

Yesterday was my 27th Birthday! I celebrated with an all-day client meeting(JUST what I wanted. How did they know? ;))...okay, it ended early and they let me leave around 3:30 so it wasn't terrible. I tried to do some shopping but came up short. When I got home, a gift from my friend Kelly was waiting for me:

Image from Amazon.com

The commemorative 75th anniversary printing of Gone With The Wind. I actually have a copy, but it is my grandmother's hardcover from the 1950's. The binding is coming apart; I keep it with my other GWTW memorabilia on a shelf at my parents' house. Plus, Pat Conroy wrote the forward to this; I love his writing(despite the somewhat sick twists his stories have).

J gave me a big canvas print of Turner Field he found a Target for me to hang in my office. I can't find a picture online! But it will be great to fill in the white space I have going on there.

He also surprised me! I knew we'd go out to dinner and he was very insistent on Tuesday that I pick a place RIGHT NOW. He suggested Mellow Mushroom or (my fave) Sekisui. I couldn't figure out why I had to make a decision at that moment, but I picked pizza. Last night when we got there, two of my good friends and their husbands met us there! I was so surprised. It was nice to have friends there to celebrate with.

All in all, a good day. I loved the Facebook posts and texts and calls. I also love the gift card from my in-laws and new Nike shorts & InStyle subscription from my parents :) I love birthdays!

Ain't Nothin' Like That G-A Red Clay

I apologize for the lack of posting this week! I'll be back with the normal posts, plus an update on our new puppy :)

I am currently home in Georgia for the long weekend. I miss my husband(who couldn't come due to lack of vacation time), but I love my time at home. July 4th is a big holiday in my family and we celebrate with a cookout at my uncle's with tons of people, good food(he loves to cook), beer, (illegal) fireworks and the annual shuffleboard tournament among the men(why the women never play, I don't know...I think we drink too much sangria). My dad lost to his brother in the championship round by one point. His strategy every year? Be the sober one. Fell just a little short this year, which is surprising since some of the competitors were drinking moonshine(did I mention I'm from the N. Georgia mountains?)!

The rest of my time has been spent shopping at the Outlets with my best friend and hanging by our pool with the dog. My view looks like this:


Please be aware that there was an empty lounge chair on each side of me, but he had no interest in those. Spoiled dog.

Enjoy the holiday! And many thanks to our service men and women for all they do!

Wedding Wednesday: What Everyone Else Wore

I apologize, again, for the lack of posting! I've missed Wedding Wednesday for two weeks in a row! Last time I talked about finding The Dress. This week I'll talk about what everyone else wore!

The Bridesmaids + Flower Girls

Purple has been my favorite color for as long as I remember. In fact, my room at my parents' house is still painted purple! So it was clear what color my wedding party would be wearing!

I wanted to steer clear of any super-pale lilac or pansy color. I found European Lilac from Bill Levkoff to be the perfect shade. It was dark enough to not be pastel, but still light enough for an afternoon spring wedding.

I picked out the color, fabric (Euro Satin) and length(cocktail) and then my bridesmaids were free to choose any style dress that met that criteria. They had about a dozen to choose from and could pick whatever dress they liked. Out of six women, three chose the same dress and 3 chose different ones!
I asked that they just wear silver shoes, flats or heels--I didn't care. My matron of honor is more comfortable in flats, while my sister chose what can only be explained as "hooker heels"(she's the super tan one on the end)!

I originally picked out silver/gray chiffon dresses with satin lilac rosettes on the neckline and waist for my two flower girls(no picture available). We ordered them in February....they did not arrive at the store until the Tuesday before the wedding. When they did? They were both size 2. That size fit the three year-old, but the six year-old? no dice. Their cousin ended up going out to Belk's to buy ivory Easter dresses. I ended up loving them more than the originals.




The Guys

I originally wanted the guys to wear light gray suits. I love that look and something about a light gray suit screams Spring to me. However, due to logistics, we used Men's Wearhouse for the tuxes and I did not like their gray suits. We went with a classic black tux with ivory shirts--we avoided white since my dress was ivory. J wore an ivory vest + tie and the other guys wore a purple printed one. The ring bearer wore a mini version of J's tux. Our dad's wore black tuxes with black vests and ties.

His mom wore a lovely taupe skirt + jacket, while my mom wore an eggplant halter dress. Here's our whole family!



And here's the whole wedding party! The two girls in the teal and coral are my cousins who were program attendants.

All pictures done by William Massey Photography.

Next week: The Ceremony

Menu Monday

Last week was a total meal planning FAIL! We didn't stick to our plan at all. I had high hopes we'd get back on track this week, but J is working on a friend's jeep, so he had pizza and I had a smoothie. But I've adjusted our schedule and you can see it below! Not too many recipes to link to this time.

Tuesday(originally tonight's meal): seared scallops, spicy sauteed green beans and this new quinoa blend I first heard about on elefantitas alegres and finally found at Whole Foods!

Wednesday: Mama Pea's Yukon Golf White Bean Basil Burgers and sweet potato fries.

Thursday: Either omelets or sausage pasta( chicken sausage with pasta and sauteed bell peppers and onions, a favorite from college)

That's all I planned for this week! I fly out Friday afternoon for 4 days in Georgia so J is on his own. I foresee lots of Totino's party pizzas and Tyson chicken wings.

What are you eating this week?

Friday Favorites

It is finally Friday! Has this week felt long to anyone else?

Today I thought I'd share a few of my favorites...favorite what? Oh, anything that comes to mind...

1) Recent Target Purchases(both pictures from Target.com)

I dropped $50 at Target yesterday. Because that's what Target does to me.

I bought this running tank after seeing it on Meals and Miles:
I really like the look of the tank, but not so sure about running in it(support-wise). I'll for sure wear it for walking and weights.

I also bought this dress:

I bought one similar to it last summer and wear it ALL the time. I wear it in the fall with cropped leggings & flats! It isn't as short on me as it is on the model. In fact, I'm wearing it today at work with my $13.99 Jack Rogers knock-offs I found on the Target clearance rack last spring! It is a great dress for casual Fridays, grabbing drinks, throwing on over a bathing suit, etc. And it only costs $20! I'm already thinking of buying one in purple or blue!

2) Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert's Wedding Video

I just think they are so down-to-earth and adorable. And I just love "Honey Bee."

3) Secrets Resorts Jamaican Smile Recipe

The resort we went to for our honeymoon posted the recipe for their Jamaican Smile drink on their blog.

No joke, I probably drank 4 of those a day. It was like strawberry-banana smoothie...with rum.

4) We're getting a dog!

At least, we're pretty sure we are. We're hanging out with the potential pup tomorrow. I'll keep you updated :)

5) Beer & Wine Cart at Work

The interns are bringing around the beer & wine cart in an hour or so. Happy Friday!

So there's your random post for Friday. What are your favorites today?

Wedding Thursday: The Dress + The Look

Sorry for the lack of posting this week! No worries, I'll have a full recap of NKOTBSB soon :)


Immediately after J proposed, we went out to Bonefish to celebrate. We killed time at Barnes & Noble where I bought my first wedding magazine!

I didn't shop for a dress until July, but I had a general idea of what I wanted...lace, antique-looking, not poofy. I did not want to go to David's Bridal because of some bad experience there, but I also set a budget for myself(that included alterations). I researched brands that fell within my budget and found a local store that carried these brands.

My sister came to visit Memphis in late July and went with me on my first shopping trip. I went to the store that I ended up ordering bridesmaids dresses from(and had the most horrible customer service experience ever) and told them it was my first time shopping. They let me pull as many as I wanted. One thing I loved is that the price was right on the front of the bag, so I could automatically skip any that were over my budget, thus preventing me from falling in love with one I couldn't afford. I didn't find THE ONE that day, but I tried on quite a few.

After that trip, I could tell I had a favorite--strapless, sweetheart neckline with lace and just slightly full. I found a small shop in Nashville, TN who's entire inventory was within my budget and made an appointment there. My mom and maid of honor met me in Nashville for a weekend of shopping.

I found the dress there. I knew it was the one, because the longer I kept it on, the more I loved it. It was comfortable but pretty. I felt I could move in it.

I didn't have an overly dramatic "Say Yes to The Dress" moment. In fact, I could have kept shopping for dresses because I loved trying them on. But I made up my mind that I wanted to buy a dress that weekend. I knew that if I kept shopping, I'd probably find one that looked similar to what I chose, because that is what I liked. It is important to keep in mind what you want and how you want to feel on your wedding day.



I found my veil only a few months before the wedding. I knew I didn't want a blusher and I didn't want anything extremely ornate or long. My friend Ashley helped me pick my veil out at the shop where I had my alterations done.

I knew I wanted purple shoes. I found some simple, comfortable dye able shoes on ShoeBuy.com and had them dyed to match the bridesmaids dresses. They came pretty close!


I kept the accessories simple. Because I wore my half-up and half-down, I skipped the necklace. I purchased my earrings and bracelet from this etsy seller and I love them.


I felt beautiful on my wedding day, but still like myself which I think is the most important thing!

Next week: What everyone else wore!

All photos in this post were taken by William Massey Photography

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy!

Some facts about my dad:

• He introduced me to some of my favorite movies--Gone With The Wind, Lonesome Dove and The Right Stuff
• He appreciates a good bargain and his favorite weekend ritual is the Saturday morning flea market with a stop for waffles after. He even asked if he had time to go before my wedding!
• One of my favorite childhood memories is going to McDonalds for hotcakes on Saturday morning together

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy! Sorry Linley and I aren't home. Hopefully you and Nip have a good day rambling around.