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!!

Austin Bound.

**WARNING: Picture OVERLOAD!

2 weekends before my wedding, my bridesmaids and I drove down to Austin for my bachelorette party!  Everyone was there with the exception of my Matron of Honor, Erin, and bridesmaid Kristen.  They were very much missed :(

Jennifer luckily had recently gotten a new car and was able to fit us all in for the road trip!  Thanks for driving, Jenn :)  Jenn picked me up Friday morning and we headed to Dallas to pick up Kelly and Alison.  We were on the road by 11!  Lauren was driving from Shreveport to meet us and we timed it perfectly!  She arrived just 30 minutes after us.

On the way down, we had to stop in West, TX (yes, that's the name of the town) for some kolaches!  YUUUUM!!!!

Alison and I stuffing our faces!

Jenn apparently stuffing too much in her face, ha!

Once we got to our hotel, we had big plans to lay out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon, but when we got all checked in, we peaked outside and the pool was P A C K E D ! ! !   It wasn't a very big pool to begin with, but there wasn't even anywhere to sit on the side.  Not fun!  So Kelly and Alison took off down the street to find the nearest liquor store :) ...they returned with some yummy margaritas in a bottle (the skinny kind!).  We turned on the music, poured us a drink, and just hung out until it was time for my lingerie shower!  We had big plans of FaceTiming w/ Erin, but sadly the internet connection was poor so speakerphone was all we could do :(

My gifts :)

Cheers!

There were some delicious cupcakes in this box!  And how fitting is their logo!!  (Traylor-Parks wedding!!)

 :)

We went to dinner at Trudy's.  We had planned on taking a cab b/c it wasn't with/in walking distance.  When we got outside, no one would take us in ONE cab!  Austin law is 4 only!  Even in a van, UGH!  While I'm jumping in a cab realizing we were going to have to suck it up and just take 2, Kelly and Jenn were off working her magic.  Next thing I know, they are waving the rest of us out of our cab b/c they got the VIP shuttle service at the hotel to take us! 

Score!!!

Back to Trudy's...they are famous for the mexican martinis (aka, deadly margarita).  We were all so worried about getting too tipsy on Friday night, believe it or not, NONE of us ordered one! HA!  We  already had a few cocktails in the hotel room before dinner, so it was probably for the best :)   We ordered sangria swirls instead.

Lauren, Jenn, Alison, Kelly, Me

After dinner, we had to find a cab (I mean 2 cabs!!).  Something easy enough, so we thought!  There were NO CABS anywhere!!  

Eventually, we were successful.  We split up and away we went, back downtown.

Kelly, Jenn and I ended up in a cab together.  We took SO MANY pictures trying to get the 3 of us in one shot.  I never knew that could be so hard, ha!  It was hysterical though :)  We ended up at a bar next door to Brad's (bachelor Brad's) bar.  We stayed for one drink, then decided to call it a night.  We were pretty sleepy and we wanted to be rested for our busy day on Saturday.  We walked back to our hotel, which seemed like FOREVER!  We made it, safe and sound :)

Saturday AM we woke up, got some food and hit the pool!  We were determined to get a spot!  Well we did and it was so relaxing.  It was pretty shady until time to go in and get ready (of course).  We had mani/pedi appointments that afternoon.  Instead of getting ready to go for lunch, we ended up ordering poolside (including a bloody mary!).  We had lunch by the pool, then RAN upstairs to throw on our clothes to make it to the manicure place!  My sweet sister in law (& bridesmaid) flew all the way from DC to meet us for Saturday night!  She took a cab from the airport to the nail place.  It was so nice having her there :)  

Kelly, Me, Alison getting our nails done.

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping, eating and relaxing.  It was SO HOT in Austin, we really didn't want to be outside much.

Tourists?  Who?  US?

After some much needed R&R, we were dressed and ready for the big night!  

My "bride to be" sash was so cute!  I loved it!  Thanks Erin and Alison!

Kelly, Anastasia, Me, Lauren, Alison, Jenn

We went for sushi and saki!  

Some girls at a table over bought me a shot!  They own a bridal boutique in Austin :)  It was SOUR!

Cheers Ladies!
Lauren, Anastasia, Me, Alison, Jenn, Kelly

I was surprised, wait, SHOCKED at the end of dinner by a very fitting "bachelorette" dessert!  It was so gross, but so good!!   

After dinner we hit the town!  Found an awesome rooftop bar that we stayed at for the majority of the night.  They had a great DJ spinning records.  I was hooked!  Well, hooked until I heard the same song twice, that was a sure sign it was time to move on!!  But before we bailed, I had to take a picture with this dude!  His shirt was awesome!!

As the night went on, it got more and more interesting.  So interesting, we ran into several naked people, full body paint running out of the next bar we were trying to go in!  When they came running out, I went running with them (laughing SO HARD I might add!) b/c I was pretty sure if they came running OUT of there, I didn't want any part of what might be IN there!  We all got a really good laugh out of that one!  Only in Austin, folks!  We found another bar w/ some good old school dance songs.  You know, the classics like Baby Got Back and Ice Ice Baby :)

My sweet Russian sister in law, Anastasia, was a trooper while we danced to our old school favorites :)  I think she has video somewhere :)

It was a very late night!  By say, oh I don't know 3am we were done!  Our feet couldn't dance anymore.  But we definitely danced our way into hunger.  We stopped at a Korean BBQ food truck!  Best tacos ever!!!

Our men would be so proud :)

It was such a fun night/weekend!  I love these girls with all my heart and I thank them all for taking a weekend to spend with me, on one of my last weekends as a single lady!  Sunday AM we all packed up and hit the road.  We dropped Anastasia and Alison off at the airport.  Poor Alison had to fly to China for a week directly from Austin, YUCK!

Love you girls!!!  Thanks for a GREAT weekend :))))

waaaaay behind.

I am so far behind on my blogging it's not even funny!
I have so many thank you notes to write currently I don't have a ton of time, but let me just say this.

My entire life I have been worried about getting a fever blister on my wedding day (or near it).  My friends have always said they were going to put me on anti anxiety medicine a month before my wedding to prevent it.  Well, I did not get on any medication and it was a complete miracle....NO FEVER BLISTER!!!!!  Can I get an amen!

Wedding night, SP gets a fever blister.  AHHH!  Our entire honeymoon he had a huge whoppin' blister right smack dab in the middle of his top lip.  Really?

We have been home since the 13th.  Last night, I was washing my face and felt the tingle on my bottom lip.  I NOW HAVE A FEVER BLISTER!  Really?

27 days to be exact.

This weekend, I have a shower in Shreveport.
Next weekend, I have my bachelorette party in Austin.
The next weekend, I have to get my head straight.
The following weekend, I get married.

That is all.

It is literally right around the corner.

Woke up feeling really overwhelmed this morning and I'm not sure why.  I spent a good hour (I think) on the phone with a dear friend who calmed my nerves and made me laugh with her silly little boy stories!

As I sit here, just a few weeks away from my wedding day, I wonder, "What am I forgetting?  What have I not thought of?"

So, off to figure those things out.  If you think of anything random, like, who will bring food to the bridesmaids while they are busy getting ready?....Send it my way b/c those are the dumb things that I am thinking about knowing if they are not figured out ahead of time, they will cause stress and anxiety over us all!  NO THANK YOU!

last trip up!

I am a bit behind on my blogging.

2 weekends ago was mine and Sean's last trip up to The Escarpment (the name my parent's have given their house) before the big weekend hits!  It was such a great trip, even though we didn't get to leave until late Thursday, having us arrive at midnight!  

The night before we left, we were busy filling honey jars for the favors that we needed to put together over the weekend (check!).  Here we are...my forearms were so tired from squeezing that jug of honey!

 We had to take turns back and forth!

We knew we weren't going to get in until late Thursday since we didn't leave Ft. Worth until 5pm, so we just took our time and enjoyed our time in the car together.  Sean is ALWAYS ready and willing to stop at any local dive, hole in the wall, sort of place for a good down home meal.  I enjoy the same, but normally I'm so ready to get to where I'm going, I have trouble wanting to stop to eat!  This time though, I caved.  Just outside of Kiowa, OK we stopped here...Wheeler's Fine Dining.

We had been watching the radar and knew a huge storm was about to blow through so it was perfect timing for some comfort food.  Before getting out of the car, Sean insisted we NOT bring our cell phones to dinner.  So as I begin to describe the a-mazing food we had, you will know why we have no pictures of it!  (ugh!)  

We walked in to find a cute old couple sitting at a corner table and...that was it!  Just us and the sweet couple.  They were enjoying a cup of hot coffee :)  Now, on to what WE enjoyed...Sean ordered some sort of steak sandwich, but I never really understood what it was b/c his plate was completely (completely!) covered in brown gravy!  I ordered steak fingers with mashed potatoes and white gravy!  Before we even got our entrees ordered, Sean was asking what kind of pie they had!  He made sure to reserve the last piece of homemade apple pie w/ ice cream on top!  We sat, we stuffed, we talked, we laughed.  We might just make this a tradition.  It was a nice break from the road :)

A few hours later we finally arrived to the house!  My poor parent's will never go to bed until they know we are there, so they are always up waiting for us, Mom with one eye opened, of course :)

The weekend was filled with nothing but hanging out and doing wedding crafts.  It was perfect (and COLD!).  Mom and I got the favors all finished!

I got a few signs that I needed painted done.

Sean took a break from wedding crafts to help my dad plant one of his many BBQ pit planters (don't ask!).

My parent's are doing such a great job getting the yard looking good and making sure the plants are in keeping with our color scheme!

This is the 'not quite there' dance floor that my dad is building...

And last but not least, my favorite potted arrangement!  

The weekend went quick, but we got soooo much done!  Thanks to my mom and dad, and Sean for all of your help!

(PS...No, the mail hasn't come yet today!)