because he's too cute

Chihuly Nights at Cheekwood.

if you live in nashville and haven't been...you have a week!  you really should go!

less than 5 months

I'm pretty sure I've been to the post office everyday for the past week.  whew!  hopefully next week I can show you what's kept me busy buying stamps and addressing envelopes instead of filling the internet with crafts and blogs.  Sorry.

Yesterday marked the 5 month mark until the wedding.  We're still moving along and crossing off things little by little on the 'ol checklist. (This past weekend my future father-in-law asked if I had methods of organizing stuff for the wedding.  If only he knew.  Apparently my OCD planning personality and control issues aren't as prevalent as I fear.) By checklist, I mean 1 of the 8 and I have at least 3 spreadsheets...there could be more.  My notebook continues to grow.  You would think it would get smaller the more decisions I make...alas, bigger.

Speaking of wedding...if you haven't seen any of our engagement pictures by the fabulous Mary Rosenbaum then I encourage to check out her blog or the slideshow.  She did a great job!

In other news...I'm going to mention something I rarely talk about...weight loss.  I never tried to lose weight. I've always been somewhat of a runner and it's seemed to keep me in a good place health-wise.  Until now.  For the first time I'm trying to get serious about eating healthy and shaping up...and it is not fun.  I'm not going to lie.  I don't recommend it.  BUT if you need to get healthy OR if you met this boy who has made you the happiest you've ever been and in the meantime you've put on a few pounds and have a wedding coming up...then it's a reasonable goal to have.  So...I got a food buddy and we hold each other accountable to what we eat.  We are using http://www.loseit.com/ and it's been pretty helpful.   We'll see how this goes...

I promise to be back tomorrow with much more exciting things!

sneak peak: whitehurst family

I like to take pictures.  I wish I took better pictures.  I'm grateful for friends who put up with my learning and actually let me "practice" on them.

Jonathan and Courtney were Josh's friends.  I was really nervous about meeting his friends when we first started dating but after bonding over billy joel and MANY back and forth emails about crafts...the whitehurst family is no longer just "josh's friends" but mine as well!  Courtney and Jonathan will be having their second son, Cason, around Christmas. This is a very exciting time for all of them.  I was thankful for the opportunity to learn some new camera tricks and photograph this BEAUTIFUL family!  Here are just a few of my favorites...

I LOVE fall pictures.  cody is just too cute. and seriously, can I please look as great as courtney does when I'm pregnant?!

more to come...

a winter coat

who doesn't love a pretty coat?!  A good one can not only bring warmth, but also sophistication and poise.  I love winter coats.  I have a black one (I got it to wear for my Mary Poppins Halloween costume 4 years ago and it's still kickin'), a brown one, and a cream one.  The cream one I've had for almost 6 years.  Needless to say it's seen better days. 

As I was browsing through all my wedding blogs that I read I saw Lara Casey, of Southern Weddings Magazine, looking fabulous in a yummy cream peacoat.  I stopped caring about the NYC bridal show and cared more about that coat.  It was so cute, not too heavy, practical, fashionable, and wonderful. See what I mean?

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swoon.

So...I asked her where she got it.  Dillards.  Go figure!  Way to go Jessica Simpson!

and now I know where I'll be headed on my lunch break :)

ps. Josh was upset because yesterday's post had nothing about him.  neither does this one.  So...to make him happy...I'll leave you with this...

wedding weekend

On Saturday...this super cute couple got married!!!!

I've known Jamie for a super long time!  and was more than excited for her and tony to get married.  They asked me to help organize some stuff for the wedding day.  It was an honor to help make this day special for the two of them!  (and any time I get to hang out with her family is a great day for me...seriously...the.nicest.family.  I feel like her cousins are my cousins!!)  I was a bit pre-occupied to take as many pictures I would like (being all "backstage" was a great way to get me in gear for my wedding!), but here are few shots I got of the wedding party and the happy couple!

kids in weddings...always entertaining!

the bride and groom!

I loved her candelabras!  So pretty!

Congrats Tony and Jamie!  Loved being a part of your special day!

more of the mantle

I finally remembered to bring the bird vase I told you about in this post over to josh's!

and it has a pretty home on the mantle!!!

and just for more fall fun...here is what I think will be the final version of my Fall Front Porch...for now :)

fire pit friday night

I think this would make for a fabulous fall tradition.  Friends...gathering 'round the fire pit every friday night...  we'll see how it goes.

last friday night I bought some of this to make smore's.

I got some dark chocolate just to just provide a different option.  I also saw in a magazine where they had used peanut butter cookies instead of graham crackers.  So i made some of those. (I wish I would have made the PB cookies a little crispier...they may have helped.  I didn't LOVE the PB with the smore, but some did).

we put up some of these...

josh made this...

and friends came!

it may happen again tonight!  who can know!

Christmas is coming!

I couldn't figure out how to start this blog.  I knew the minute I said "Bath and Body Works" everyone would cringe as the smells of country apple and sun-rippened raspberry filled the room and took you back to the middle school locker room as everyone got ready after gym class.  But...I need you to push through and hear me out...

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Have you used this? It's THE.MOST. amazing holiday scent there ever was. I was introduced to it 8 years ago when I worked for Bath and Body Works and I'm pretty sure I've bought it every year since.  Vanilla Bean Noel...oh my goodness yall!  Give me a bottle of that and a grande Peppermint Mocha and everyday is Christmas morning and all is right with the world.

I'm not the world's biggest vanilla scent fan either.  It's a little too sugar-y a lot of times for me.  But this, Vanilla Bean Noel, makes the sugar so christmas-y and wonderful that when you light the candle, or wash your hands, or use the lotion all you think about is gathering with friends by the fireplace and eating yummy Christmas treats.  Seriously.  I love this scent...but only at Christmas.  It's in stores now!  so go buy it!

your welcome!

ps. 73 days until Christmas

the game of LIFE

I've actually never played it.  It always seemed boring to me.  Ironic, eh?  Well life is about to be nothing but boring for me.  In the next 9 months the following will happen:

a friend will have a baby
a friend (and roommate) will get married
I will get married
another friend will have a baby
a friend will move away
and another friend will have a baby

needless to say there will be plenty of shower pictures, baby pictures, wedding updates, and more than likely a few emotional blog posts about friendship and change and LIFE!  It's a good thing I love roller coasters and celebrating all the fun things in life with my friends!

so strap in...because you're coming with me!

a closet

Josh's house is old.  I love it's character...but not so much it's lack of closet space.  They just didn't build houses with lots of big closets back then.  I think it's because people had less stuff back then...which maybe I should take a few cues from.  Nonetheless, Josh's house has 2 closets.  1 closet in the dining room which will be storage/coat closet/whatever else can fit in there.  The other closet is in the bedroom. And here it is:

(please pardon the horrible quality of pictures...his house also has a lack of light)

Naturally all his clothes fit nicely in there.  So...what about my clothes? ...and let's just say I have a few more than he does?  Our resolution was to buy a standing closet for the spare "bedroom" for Josh's clothes and I will get the closet in his room (which will be my our room after I move in).

So...off to IKEA we went.  Their PAX closet system is fabulous.  We ending up getting this one:

Josh worked hard to put it together.

And wah-lah!  We have a really tall closet in the extra room. 

And we are now taking suggestions on blending 2 homes worth of stuff in to one home!

TREND: cupcakes

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Now what isn't more adorable than a little miniature cake?!

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Am I right? Who doesn't love a good cupcake?  apparently no one because they are certainly all.the.rage.

You can find them at weddings, birthdays and showers.  And now, they have their very own stores.  From Magnolia to Gigis to my personal local favorite (and the favorite of the former ms. underwood) Iveycakes in downtown Franklin, you can find cupcakes everywhere you turn. I also pretty sure there is some sort of cupcake competition show on TV at all times. So why are they are so popular?

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Well let's take a look at various cupcakes across the web and I'll let you know some things I've learned about making, baking, decorating, and serving the adorable cupcake.

1. cupcakes give you the chance to be a bit more creative with each cake.  Instead of having one cake...you have all these extra moments (cakes) to express uniqueness in flavor, design, and presentation.  I think people are more daring with cupcake recipes b/c if it's bad...it's just one little cupcake, not a whole cake.

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2. Unless you have a moment where you officially cut the cake and begin to serve...people are more likely to eat your cupcakes then to cut their own slice of cake at a party.  It's just easier.

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3. cupcakes taste delicious no matter how professional they look.  (In the picture below, I iced the the smooth mint green cupcakes.  I spent time to make it just right and look pretty.  Josh iced the white ones in the back...not really caring, just getting the job done.  People ate more of Josh's than mine.)

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4. I've never timed it out, but I think cupcakes can take a bit more time.  pouring each into the cup, icing each of them individually...

personal photo - cupcakes by elizabeth

5. the wrapper - there are so many cute cupcake wrappers out there these days.  I've noticed a lot of times after you back it you can hardly see the design.  So I've started backing them in white and using the "pretty" wrapper for when they are done just for display purposes.

personal photo - see, I baked it in this really fun wrapper and you can't ever see it.

both sets can be found here

6. the topper - folks seem to be really using cupcake toppers lately.  I think it's a good way to incorporate the theme of the event into what you are serving...and for those of us that aren't professional cupcake makers, it gives you and easy out for what to put on top!

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7. icing - I highly recommend Hello, Cupcake!  I got it for Christmas one year and spent some nights just playing around with all the different techniques they have.  I like it b/c everything can be done using a ziploc bag, tape, and scissors!  anyone can do it!

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cupcakes by elizabeth

My friend Elizabeth lives in NYC and knows a little bit about the cupcake world, she was interviewed by Cupcakes Take the Cake over here.  I really didn't need to write this blog and could have just linked you to that website, but oh well.  you got my 2 cents for what it's worth.

8. The Stand!  - here is how to make your own stand.  I like to stack different sizes of cake stands together...maybe I'm just lazy.

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 Even dogs like cupcakes...

Do you prefer serving a cake or cupcakes? Do you have any helpful tricks up your sleeve when it comes to making a great cupcake?!