From Day 1

On March 21, 2012, I was introduced to a shy, southern boy with a deep southern accent in Destin, Florida. It was the night before I left to head home from my spring break trip with my Phi Mu sisters. My Phi Mu sister had invited some friends over for dessert. One of these friends was a boy whom I had never met. This boy was invited to go crabbing on the beach by my Phi Mu sister. I was laid back with all of my girlfriends and, as usual, wiped out after a day in the sun. However, I had such an urge to go walking on the beach and to go crabbing with these new friends.

Needless to say, I asked him to be my facebook friend the day after.

Less then a month later, my friends decided to plan a trip to a Braves game in ATL. When deciding what group to go with, I had one specific boy that I wanted to be invited. That southern boy I met in Destin. Thanks to mutual friends of both myself and the shy boy I went crabbing with, we were both invited to tag along. The closer the trip got, the more excited I become. Riding in the car back from a trip home to Tennessee, I texted one of my girlfriends going on the ATL trip suggesting our group to hang out before ATL.... Although, no one else did, I knew what I was doing :)

I ran into this Destin boy one time on campus. We made eye contact and he looked away and walked right on by. Something very out of nature happened. I yelled out, "Hey!" He looked back at me and came to sit beside me on the Samford fountain. We shared a quick conversation about the Braves weekend, neither one knowing of our double date plans for the upcoming Friday. 

Later that week I was "set up" on a double date with part of the group for the upcoming ATL trip. My date just so happened to be the Destin boy. After taking pictures of outfits and sending them to my mom and sister, I was ready to see the Titanic in 3D. 

The night ended and I immediately called my mom saying that I had met the nicest boy and if nothing else happened between us, then I really just wanted to be his friend. 

The ATL weekend was full of flirting and laugher! However, when we returned home, that shy boy gave me a side hug and we went our separate ways. 

I texted my best friends and consulted my future brother-in-law, Elizabeth's prince, at the Samford Caf about how this boy did not even ask for my number.

Then something happened that I wouldn't normally do. I got on Facebook and gave this boy my number. How desperate can I get?

To my surprise, I got a text the next day from my mysterious Braves crush inviting me to attend an intramural game with the couple from our double date.

That is when I turned my switch to "hard to get". I said that I had so much homework, but I would try my best. Little did he know, I cancelled an Education meeting I was supposed to be a part of, and left my group work early to make it to the game.


Fast forward to October 25, 2013.

I had loved dating my not-so-shy anymore, best friend and was excited for our future together. However, he was off to law school and we were letting him really focus on his first semester.

The weekend of October 25th was a random weekend that we both had free, so we decided just a couple of weeks before to meet at my home. Elizabeth's husband was gone for the weekend so she decided to ride home with me at the last minute. As we are driving home, I get calls and texts that are right on schedule for class breaks and times to be hitting the road from my, still to this day, biggest crush.

Elizabeth brings up marriage and we decide that Thanksgiving could be the first date that I could really foresee a proposal. Boy, was I surprised.

We pull in the neighborhood and down Hawthorn Place. I see my crush, who should still be on the road for several hours, jump off the front porch. "Wah" is all I can get out to Elizabeth. I begin crying and she tells me to park and get out of the car. Still crying and now shaking, I get out of the car and freeze. My crush tells me to walk to him on the front porch, which has hay bells, pumpkins, and fall flowers strategically placed. I was asked the question that I dreamed about as a little girl. I was given a Bible with my future name and T-shirts that represent one of our first memories of a Braves and Red's game.

My parents came out of hiding at the neighbors house, with binoculars and all. One of my best girlfriends came from the bushes and we all celebrated with a Champagne toast. I was filled in on the chaos of carving pumpkins and finding hay in our hometown just hours before I arrived. I also discovered that my dad gave permission the weekend before when my now future husband Ben drove a total of 8 hours just to take my dad to lunch.

Since October 25th, we have been shown so much love and have truly been blessed with such supportive families. I am so thankful I decided to go on my random night adventure crabbing with Ben, the boy with whom I will grow old with.

 Ben said he was "not looking for a girlfriend" ...little did he know, he was walking away with a wife :)

All Hallows' Eve

Last night, I threw a costume party for Halloween.  The rule was you had to come dressed in a costume from your closet, no store bought costumes allowed.  It was also Amy's 26th birthday so it made the occasion extra special.  For dinner, we had burgers with fun toppings like pimento cheese and guacamole.  A huge dish of mac&cheese was served along with a healthy salad to balance the meal!  Dessert included vanilla cupcakes, apple crisp, and heath cookies.  Sally made a signature fall cocktail with apple cider and fireball whiskey.  I wanted to share some of the costumes from yesterday with all of you!

I dressed up as Ariel for work.  All of the Marketing girls were modern Disney princesses.  At the last minute, H showed up and surprised me as Eric, my prince :)

 

 Here was our group picture from work.  From the left, we have Mulan, Pocahontas, Snow White, Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine.

 

E.T. and Elliott.

Paul Bunyan (yes that's the birthday girl) and Rip Van Winkle.

Vulcan.

Danny and Sandy.

Rosie the Riveter.

 



Katie was dressed as her husband, Chris.  Chris was the Bounty paper towel man.

High cloud. 

 

I was very impressed what people got from their closets.  It was a fun and cheap way to throw a costume party, Happy Halloween!  LFT

An Indian Affair

What a beautiful Saturday morning here in Seaside, Florida! It is a great wedding day for our close friend, Courteney Davis!

The wedding festivities began on Thursday night with a Beach Party. Unfortunately, Elizabeth and I were driving, driving, driving from Birmingham and were not able to make this. We were able to begin our festivities with the bridesmaid luncheon Friday afternoon! However, we almost missed this party due to the boys leaving to go play golf with ALL of the keys to the cars! Elizabeth quickly found a solution and had the "beach express" waiting for us as we walked outside!

We made it! Let me just say, WOW! What a location. This was hosted at a beach house right in the midst of Seaside, and right on the water! The home was not only a 3 story breath-taking home, but it screamed "pinterest." Needless to say, I was obsessed. Here are just two of the pictures taken outside of the home. 

One of the most fun parts of this beautiful afternoon was the game that was played at the luncheon. Each bridesmaid and, of course, the bride pulled a string that was baked into a cake. Attached to the string was a charm. As each girl pulled her charm, there was a fortune that corresponded; like the next to get engaged, or the first to have a baby (which the bride pulled). It was such a cute and funny game to get to know the bridal party as they stood up and shared their charm and how they knew Courtney!

Later that afternoon, we dressed in our Indian Saris and headed to meet the shuttle to take us to Destin for the Sangeet! When we arrived, we were given bangles as a favor and headed to the patio to check out the venue! What a fun venue right on a golf course! Within the first 20 minutes, a golf ball came crashing onto the house and landed right in the pool! Thankfully, that was the first and last golf ball for the night!

 Needless to say, the Sangeet was full of curry and Indian food! There was also a henna artist there to give out hand tattoos! Such a cool tradition! It took maybe 5 minutes and each person was getting such beautiful, detailed designs. I was amazed! It has now sank into my hand and will stay for a couple of days! 

 Later came speeches, a slideshow of the couple, and, of course, dancing! The bride and her bridesmaids performed and then the floor was open to Indian songs like gangnam style! Overall, it was such a special day to be able to celebrate such a good family friend! We look forward to the wedding in the downtown chapel and dinner and dancing in the beautiful town of Seaside!

CCI

Tis the Season to Get Married

 

 

 

Leifsdottir dress / J.Crew pumps / Kate Spade wallet / Chanel necklace / Kate Spade bracelet

 

With all of the weddings coming up in the fall and winter, it is good to find a staple dress that you can wear to multiple events and just change the accessories so it alters the feel of the outfit.  I love this sweet lace dress from Anthropologie (missing the days I worked there and got the discount).  I've never been much of a red girl but pairing black with gold and red is so glamorous to me.  This Kate Spade clutch is too cute for the upcomping holiday season.  Another way to pair this dress would be with a beautiful strand of pearls and some great black pumps!  LFT

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

 

The cooler mornings and evenings are here.  The grocery stores are FINALLY carrying cans of pumpkin.  Time to whip up a batch of these guys:

 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 ground cloves

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

3/4 can of pumpkin puree

1/3 cupwarm water

 

Topping:

1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp unsalted butter

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

 

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and baking powder in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, water, and canola oil.  Combine wet and dry ingredients together. 

 

Fill the muffin tins till they are about 3/4 of the way full. 

 

For the topping: mix the ingredients together.  Top each muffin with the a handful of the mixture. 

 

Bake muffins for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

 Best when they are warm with a cold glass of milk.

 

Enjoy!  LFT





Horsing around

I never grew up around horses but have always dreamed of owning my own horse.  I love to ride any chance I get and just enjoy being around them.  It makes me so happy that horse prints are everywhere this fall!  I'm in love with this sweater from J Crew and the simplicity of the horseshoe ring would go with any outfit.

Last year, H took me to a ranch for my birthday and we had the whole place to ourselves.  There were probably 30 horses there and we could ride anytime we wanted.  They put me on the fast horse and it hated walking, it wanted to run the whole time!   We rode horses on our honeymoon and it is always such a fun treat for me!  LFT

Old Windowpanes

So, my favorite project this summer was definitely sprucing up some old windowpanes! Similar to mason jars, I love everything and anything with old windows. I ran across some very cheap windowpanes at an old factory warehouse. Ben graciously went to pick them up for me and he informed me the warehouse was like a DIY Heaven! Old windows, doors, shelves, tubs, and anything else you could ever want were for sale for cheap! I will definitely be making a visit there the next chance I have for a project! So, here are the panes in the warehouse!

Ben brought me home 3 windows. 2 were 6 paned and 1 was 12 pained. I was not anticipating how heavy they were and was concerned what I would actually do with them once I got them! However, I knew my color scheme for my apartment so I just decided to go ahead and clean and paint them all! 

I ended up duck taping a chevron patterned fabric to the back of them with pictures taped on! I was about to glue them when I rememebered that I would probably want to change the pictures out. So glad I didn't!

This is how all 3 turned out! I was pretty happy!

Here are the smaller 2 on my walls and part of my new home! Thanks to my dads several trips around town to find stuff to hold these heavy windows!

And finally, here is my big ole windowpane that I just propped on a desk I painted years ago (you're welcome dad)! I use it as a white board to write lists/memos/Bible verse/etc.

                                                  This project was...

 1. cheap

2. easy

                                     3. flexible (no directions, woo!)

 4. quick

 I would say it was a success! :)

-CCI