Empire State of Mind.

Yes.  I am referring to the Jay-Z & Alicia Keys masterpiece.
My uncle has season tickets to LSU every year.  As a family, we pick one game a season we would all like to go to Baton Rouge for!

When we go, we do the whole tailgating thing....loud music, booz, cajun food, and lots of tiger chanting!  This past year, we were all gathered under my uncle's tailgating tent barely able to socialize b/c the music was bumping so loud and we are all just dancin' and singin' along!

That's me in the middle w/ the purple hat & the #1 sign!!

All of a sudden, Empire State of Mind comes on.  Then, my uncle begins to rap the ENTIRE song!  Just sitting in a chair, laid back, rapping Jay-Z.  Not even kidding.  We were all completely blown away with our jaws on the ground!  Let me explain something about my uncle.  I can sum it up in about 3 words.  Conservative, conservative, and conservative!!!!  So you can imagine how shocked we all were to see this!  Apparently, my 21 year old cousin bet his dad he could never learn the words to this song.  So, he did just that!  He learned each and EVERY word!   That was September 2010.

November 2010, Sean proposed to me!  Immediately, we all told my uncle he HAD to perform at our wedding! He agreed as long as I would chime in for the Alicia parts :)  This moment, hands down, was the highlight of our wedding reception.  EVERYONE got out of their seats to come on stage to cheer him on!  It was AWESOME!  See for yourself!!!  Thanks Uncle Jim for putting on a show!

Current Loves.

Lately, I have found some things that I have grown to love!  Here is my list!

1.  B&B Works True Blue Spa Collection.  It is AMAZING!  Here is what I've tried so far, and I can't get enough!!

 

The last is the best!  It is smells SOOOOOOOO good!!!!

2.  Evernote!  It's so geneous!  Just go check it out.  You can thank me later :)  I have become slightly obsessed with using it.  It is so cool b/c it syncs up to my computer, iPad, and iPhone w/o even having to plug it in.

3.  Ok so this one is sort of random, but it's worth adding to this list...Jose Curevo Light Margarita!  It is 1/2 the price as that other "light margarita" in a wine bottle and you get 2x as much!!  Let me tell you, it's delicious!  You just pour it over ice, and VOILA!

4.  Chase Bank has this awesome thing on their phone app!  You can take a picture (front and back) of a check and it will deposit it for you!  Not even kidding.  You don't even have to drive to the bank!  GENIUS!

5.  If you are looking for an easy, scrumptious way to make quick fajitas, use this!  I could eat it every week.  This is from Food&Wine.

6.  Apples to Apples...ever played it?  It is a blast to play with some friends and a glass or two of wine.  It really is so funny and makes for some good laughs.  SP and I had 2 other couple's over last weekend and after dinner we played this game.  We could of gone on all night!  Thanks Lori for bring it!   

7.  Road Trips!!  To Arkansas to be exact :)  SP and I are heading out tomorrow to go up to see my parent's for the first time since our wedding a month ago.  I am dying to get up there hang out and relax.  We already have an italian feast planned for Saturday night w/ a new recipe I found on Williams-Sonoma.  Dying to try it!!  I will try and remember to take pictures of our feast :)

8.  Last but not least... our fabulous wedding photographer at Wisner Photo posted a pic of what she's been working on.  I sure hope I get to see them all real soon!!

Sound of Music, much?!  I can't help but to start singing..."The hills are alive with the sound of music..."

That's all, folks :)  Have a fabulous weekend!  Any of you have any favorite things you'd like to share?!

Wedding I

Here I am a month later (almost) doing a post about the most amazing day of my life.  My wedding day.  As a little girl, I always knew I would be married one day, but I didn't fantasize about my wedding and how I wanted.  I just knew I wanted to be married and have a family like I grew up.

My wedding day was more than I could have ever asked for.  It was absolutely perfect!  From the time SP and I started getting serious in our relationship is when I started the random wedding searches on blogs, random magazines, and of course the obvious internet searches of the "perfect ring."  From that point on, I knew exactly what I wanted for my wedding.  And it just so happened to suit SP's liking as well :)  Friends, family, and an unforgettable good time is all we wanted.

We got just that!

We were married here....

Of course I think it is beautiful, but it truly was.  It was a perfectly sunny (and hot) afternoon and the sun was brightly shining through this all glass chapel set back in the woods in NW Arkansas.    The ceremony was at 2pm in the afternoon.  During the time leading up to the wedding (like weeks before) I was concerned about the ceremony time.  It wasn't what I was used to.  Let me just say now, I wouldn't have it any other way!  The morning of July 3 (our wedding day!) I woke up very relaxed, but anxious.  I was dying to see SP and have him see me!!  I can not imagine having to wait ALL DAY to see each other.  By 1pm I was so ready!  I am very glad we didn't have to wait until 7ish.  And, also, it was so neat that we really had the rest of the day together :)

These are not the photographers pictures.  Still waiting on those, and I can't wait to see them :)  We also had a videographer but that will be a few more months until we get that.  The anticipation is building!!!

The ceremony was filled with so much laughter and so many tears.  I cried (happy tears of course) practically the whole time!!  I never expected to cry so much.  But I was just filled with so much joy and happiness, I couldn't help myself.

The bridesmaids walked down the aisle to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I followed with "Marry Me" (Train version performed by acoustic guitarist and violinist who played all music).

Bill was my minister growing up for a lot of years.  I was honored he agreed to marry SP and I.  During one of our conference calls with him before the wedding, he instructed SP and I to sit for 5 mins and write down the things we are promising each other in our marriage.  Then, we went over them together, circled the things we had in common and sent them on to Bill so he could write our vows.  He asked us if we wanted to hear them before the ceremony, but we liked the element of surprise in not knowing exactly what they were going to be.  Here is our reaction to them....

It was all perfect and Bill couldn't have written a ceremony that fit the two of us any better.  

After the ceremony, SP and I went w/ the photographer and videographer around the area to shoot some more pictures.  Here is a sneak peek of one wedding picture my amazing photography shared with me :)

This picture courtesy of Wisner Photo.  Cristina is a WONDERFUL photographer.  If you're in the market :)  

Ok, more to come on the wedding fun!!