where does the .time. go?

ok so before i get into my favorite topic .FOOD. lets backtrack on the past couple days (will wanted me to mention that without him sitting here i would not remember what i have done the past two weeks... truth)- my next post will go back to the 10 days of you, where i will give you my 5 favorite recipes!

ellen has been helping me turn some old doors into my headboard. so far we have only gotten the first coat of paint on. once they are finished i will post all the steps but here is a sneak peak!

last monday (as in over a week ago, oops still bad at blogging) i met with wendy putt from fresh cut floral and catering - she pretty much has saved my life when it has come to this wedding. her stuff is absolutely amazing and she is good AMAZING at what she does. we finalized everything from food to flowers to seating to ceremony to reception, i mean that lady can put together an event. i always thought i would be really picky about my wedding and have so many ideas and what not, but truthfully, i trust her and i know she will do a good job- and in trusting her, i have been able to just enjoy being engaged and all the celebrations without being stressed out about every little detail. seriously, thank you Lord for wendy putt! 

tuesday, i FINALLY went and saw the help. it was so great. i laughed, cried, and i .loved. seeing all the great places in mississippi. props to fondren. you looked .great. and i cannot imagine jackson without your quirky awesomeness.

wednesday... will took me to see PETER PAN! so he is totally not into broadway shows and what not like i am, which is fine with me as long as he will take me every once in a while. and he did. and he loved it - i even caught him smiling a couple times. i saw it when i was like 11 at the orpheum in memphis and this time around it was even better. dear cathy rigby- i hope when i am in my mid fifties i still look as young as you...

and for those of you who do not know who she is (shame on you) she was an olympic gymnast in 1968 & 1972

thursday was pretty uneventful- friday we met up with our good friends will and lindsey at Pelican Cove at the reservoir. it was so great getting to catch up with them. good weather, good company, great time.

saturday we headed to see the bulldogs play! tailgating was .great. game... not so much.

and finally now we are sitting around the house, just made some homemade shrimp fried rice ( i am getting better at fried rice, but i can't wait 'til my mother will let me make use of the wok that mary tyler allison and erin gave me. she insists that wedding gifts cannot be used until after the wedding. i understand, but, boo. 

so here is a little phone dump for ya 

sweet oldest bestest friend amie

bachelorette party/tropical storm 

bravo dinner and wine night- yummm

its tailgating season!

day trip for work to natchez- yes that is a restaurant where you literally

eat inside the lady's (mammy's) skirt

i made some .amazing. bbq shrimp out of Cookin' Up a Storm - only the

best cookbook ever. it is a collection of new orleans recipes that were sent

into the newspaper after hurricane katrina. everyone lost their family recipes

so the times-picayune published them in the paper! so amazing. each recipe has a story

this is a house on north state street. hopefully it is going to be

renovated soon! i got to go snoop around it today- another reason why

i love my job!

pshew... that was a long one. for those of you counting- wedding weekend starts a month from tomorrow. yessssssssssssssssssssssss. 

-s

ps. the house still stinks, but i was up on the roof earlier and we think that we .finally. have found the issue. now if only i could get will to fix it!

.six. places

so the little brother is home this weekend and i am one .happy. sister! look how great he is...

today has been filled with his favorite thing to do... laying on the sofa watching football. i don't mind though (i did take a break to go to tj max and pick up some fun stuff)

back to the 10 day you challenge that has taken me a million days

six places. 

• i spent a summer in london, traveling all around europe. it was so amazing, here are some of my favorite pictures 

london

scotland

prague

bath, england

paris

monte carlo

ok. so that was too many for one bullet point, but it was one trip so same thing.

• starkville, ms. aka God's country. sorry for the bad pic...

• china. i went on a mission trip with dad to beijing, shanghai, and xi'an .amazing. experience to put it in words.

 

fathers day

back country china

i felt like this man should have been on the cover of national geographic

• montana. will and i .love. montana. spring summer winter fall. whatever it is always an amazing place to be 

summer in montana

spring break ski trip to montana. a disaster but still soooo fun.

• corona beach party. progresso. no words.

• the lake. it is the most relaxing place in the world. or at least the one that is the most convenient to where i live.

• BONUS. you get seven places. nola. my second home 

jackson square and the cathedral

mardi gras!

parade when the SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!

y'all all know jackson is my place so see my post here about how awesome it is.

so now that i posted these i have the travel bug. luckily i will be in antigua in 6 weeks and 1 day. can you believe it? because i .cannot.

ps just so y'all know. my dress is in and it FITS. and it is just as pretty as i remember. luckily no tears today though

i hope everyone has a relaxing weekend. i know i am! it is officially wine time with momma.

-s

.seven. wants

how in the world am i supposed to narrow down what i want into seven things? this should be a much bigger number but i will give it a shot...

1. i want to travel more. in the process of "budgeting" i am begging will to add a little extra to the travel fund... or the "short term savings" as he calls it.
2. i want people to be happy with me. i get this from my momma. i like to know that everyone is happy with me all the time. that's a hard task to accomplish!
3. i want to start my own business- i wish i had the time to go for it.
4. i want a pretty yard! my future yard has so much potential- sadly i have a black thumb.... i need help bad. i'm much better with decorating inside...
5. i want will and i to get a hobby. right now our hobby is homemaking... which is an EXTREMELY time consuming hobby. from getting on the roof to crawling in the attic to scrubbing the teenie tiny white tile floors, being a homeowner is tough. maybe we can be intense bikers? or gardeners? that way i can wipe out this want and number 4... bingo!
6. i want to learn how to sew. and build furniture. and faux finish. this would all be helpful for number 3.
7. i want to want to work out. ha!

BIG NIGHT TONIGHT!

the wedding invites are addressed, stuffed, and sealed! thanks to ellie and mom that wasn't half as painful as i expected (the wine helped, too) i am not really sure how i feel right now because it honestly seems like everything is ready- just waiting on oct 29. how many days left? 

my wedding dress is in. cue sad music here because one of my fears listed yesterday should have been fear of not fitting in the dress! i am so excited though because my dress isn't online so i haven't seen it since i ordered it!

and last bit of rambling. mom and i met with the organist to do the music for the ceremony. we basically teared up the whole time and .loved. everything he played. at the end i just had to tell him that whatever he wanted was fine. mom and i are going to have to .pull it together. big time! the ceremony is just so special and so real- and i am an emotional wreck so bring on the waterworks. one of will's only suggestion this whole time is that "be thou my vision" is somewhere in the ceremony. he is such a great guy, what a wonderful way to glorify the Lord and remember that He is the reason for this grand ceremony. i am one .lucky. girl

-s

.eight. fears

sorry for the brief hiatus. life is crazy these days. between a trip to the beach with the most beautiful horrendous weather, a super busy week at work and an amazing "around the house" shower... let's just say i have been lacking on my blogging skillz. so... back to the 10 day you thing, then hopefully sometime soon i can do some home improvement updates

1. failure. i do .not. like to fail. whether it be in friendships, work, my upcoming marriage or something as simple as friendly competition. i fear failure. but doesn't everyone?
2. being shot. i have the weirdest dreams about being shot. it is an irrational fear, like most of mine are.
3. the DOCTOR. i am .seriously. afraid of the doctor. my blood pressure sky rockets. why? who knows- i am scared of regular doctors, lady doctors, dentists, eye doctors, orthopedic doctors, not shots or giving blood or anything. just doctors in general. you name em, i am scared of em. maybe it is because of webmd? i self diagnose like a champ 
4. so this is weird and hard to explain as a fear, but literally i tense up when i think my car is about to bottom out. ask will, i'm always saying "SLOW DOWN YOU MIGHT BOTTOM OUT HERE"
5. i fear for my children's future. all the cell phones, material things, television, radio. i fear that i will not be able to shield them from all of the nonsense in the world. people can access anything these days, that is scary.
6. my thesis. i am just now starting to write it. i fear writing a 100 page paper. prayers are welcomed, it is due in april 2012.
7. apparently i fear newts/lizards/slimy bugs/reptiles. i mean i am not really scared of them, but i will kill a roach or a humongo spider before i will try to catch one of those slippery little suckers. i made my boss come get it out of the ladies restroom at work yesterday. embarrassing! 
8. driving to work in the mornings and home in the afternoons... the "stack" or I55 heading from my house to downtown. i think people purposefully drive bad from 7:30 to 8:15 and 4:45 to 6. worst drivers .ever. i would rather be in atlanta traffic. nah nevermind that is worse.

so my fears are topical. i would never share my deep dark ones- they're scary to talk about. plus someone might think i am crazier than they already think i am.

on another note- so PUMPED that meg won HGTV's design star. cannot wait to see her new show 

my bff Candice Olsen described her as follows, “Meg is like the best girlfriend you can talk to about anything, said Olson.  “Whether it’s boyfriends, bedrooms, bathrooms or basements, she'll have a fresh opinion or idea you can trust.”  psh! what else can you ask for in a tv personality designer- 

dear meg,

will you be my friend?

thanks,

-s

love her style .so. excited.

today i was up on the roof, with a water hose, while will was in the attic checking for leaks. WE WILL FIND OUT WHAT THE SMELL IS. it just is taking us a while... 

-s

.nine. loves

okay so we all know i love my family, God, will, my friends, etc. but these are more materialistic loves (in no particular order)

1. THE MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS... okay so i am just a .little. excited- today is the start of football season. Go Dawgs! Beat Memphis!
2. diet coke. cannot live without it.
3. entertaining my friends! the key to a good party is a pretty presentation :) - well that and good friends
4. the beach- any beach- speaking of... heading to Sandestin tomorrow for my bachelorette party, prayers are accepted! i will definitely miss my little preggers mama Kaitlin - but i know Ellen is going to somehow embarrass the mess out of me all the while making it a total blast!
5. mississippi, like in general. i love the delta, jackson, the coast, starkville, i even think oxford is a pretty incredible place. mississippi is unlike anywhere else in the world.
6. fall- which is slowly but surely arriving here in mississippi. fall means tailgating, football, parties, semi-cooler weather, boots, sweaters, and most importantly..... my upcoming wedding!
7. nail polish. i like to change it up a lot. i hardly ever get manicures because i like to change colors so often. speaking of, have you seen the new opi collection ? shout out to Clarksdale and New Orleans!
8. my phone. it is a bad addiction. i check blogs, twitter, facebook and text friends too often- i am getting better about leaving it in my purse though...
9. a good date night. this normally just includes dinner at a restaurant. will and i love to go eat and drink wine somewhere. my favorite being Bravo - where they serve an .amazing. frozen brandy alexander

the list could go on and on! by the way this was for yesterday- i will post 8 fears later and give you a preview of the weekend to come

.ten. days of you

saw this on another blog and figured i would give it a shot- i am currently in the process of designing a new blog layout, but due to illness and a crazy schedule it has been hard for me to find time!

ok so day one, ten secrets... i am not sure they are secrets as much as confessions...

1. i have a really bad habit of doodling- i .doodle. all the time, when i am on the phone, church, work, meetings, etc. the worst part about it- the doodles aren't any good haha
2. my closet and my car are complete messes, but i know where everything is- on the counter side i am completely OCD about making my bed (thanks mom! see number 4)
3. i am not sure i think that any girl is good enough for either of my two brothers. they are simply amazing, and some girl is going to .really. have to knock it out of the park to get my approval (okay okay i have some friends that i think would work but that is beyond the point)
4. i want to be like my mother- ahhhh so many people think oh my i cannot believe i am turning out to be just like my mother. well, i am, and i am .totally. perfect with that
5. i still sleep with my stuffed lamb- her name is ivy- and i dread having to give her up once i marry will.
6. i am a nerd. i would sit and read a good book over going out (most of the time)
7. i really do think i am a good singer, i just think no one else hears my voice like i do (ellen back me up here)
8. i definitely was the one to approach will. i sent him a message with my number telling him to call me. pushy much? worked out for me :)
9. i want to move to montana, but just for a little bit
10. i helped people cheat on homework in my intro chem class. (psheww that was a big one)

finally .friday.

so will and i are in the process of making his house "home". right now we are conquering the guest room. the walls are tan colored and i bought these two FABULOUS bedside tables that are a light blue distressed color- at the time i had no idea what i wanted the room to look like but the deal was too good to pass up. $80 for two tables. now that is something in my budget. they came from an antique mall on highway 51, not quite the antique prices i am used to- lets just say i am officially .obsessed.

my amazing parents have been so generous in letting us take some old furniture, bedding, and what not off of their hands- so i have a fun white matelasse that is now on the bed in the room. the bed actually butts up to a window... something i originally was SO against. but lately i have decided that the window kind of makes a pretty headboard- the window is just in desperate need of draperies! but i did come across some bedrooms that i love with beds in front of windows, so for now i am ok with it... (both images courtesy of desiretoinspire.net)

i love this second one, makes me want to jump in bed right now!

so once i got over the bed in front of the window dilemma, i came across some rooms with white bedding that i LOVE. which one is your favorite?? (images courtesy of elle decor and house beautiful)

i am particularly excited about the third picture. my current DIY project (that is sitting in will's garage untouched...oops) is turning some doors into a headboard. now i know, later on in 25 years when i have lil' ones, i can undo the queen headboard and make matching twins! its like a two for one and i didn't even know it .lucky. me

the fourth picture has some b.e.a.utiful blue and tan fabrics that i think would look really nice in the room. after seeing all these i may have to add a touch of green to the room as well.

on a final note- i am .super. excited for the weekend. i am so blessed to be marrying into a family that i love like i do. we are having our "delta engagement party weekend" including family lunch tomorrow, friend party tomorrow night, and brunch sunday afternoon. i am so excited i can hardly stand it. will update everyone on the festivities...

ps- day five of insanity- i really am .insane. to be doing this.

have a lovely weekend!

-s