dining room table

Okay, so I know that I mentioned a cake recipe in my last post, but to be honest, I haven't made it yet and don't want to put it up here without pictures to make your mouth water. So instead, we'll just talk about the table. 

Just to catch you up, I'm studying for my CPA exam. To put it mildly, it stinks and takes up about 90% of my free time at home. So poor Justin has been bored out of his mind when all I do is come home, get in PJs, and lock myself in a room with my Becker software. Sure, he played a few video games, but eventually even that became boring. 

So he decided to build us a dining room table. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was a random project. We had talked about it being done, because frankly, we cannot afford the rustic Pottery Barn table that I wanted, but we hadn't made any definite plans yet. Until one day, he said he was building it, went to Lowe's to get the lumber, and began. And seriously, he should have been a carpenter. He finished this thing in about a week. 

this was night one. seriously, he's a beast.

freshly painted, no distress yet.

with our steal of a deal stein mart chairs

finished product!

I would just like to go on the record and say that my husband is amazing. Seriously. The table looks so so good and can't wait to enjoy many dinners with family and friends on it. 

Also, we are contemplated making and selling these dining room tables as an alternative to those super expensive Pottery Barn farm tables. Comment if you're interested!

Until next time, xo.

six months later

Wow.

I can't believe its been six months since we got married. A lot has happened since then. And I mean like a ton. School, work, bonuses, funerals, a baby (boxer), a new house, a honeymoon and a new car. I'm not sure we could fit anything else into a six month span. 

Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest. Well if these six months have been any inclination as to what we're in store for, I think the rest of our lives might be smooth sailing (knock on wood). Life hasn't been easy with all of the above things going on, not to mention studying for the CPA, but we've come through those struggles and to be honest, I'm a little excited for new ones so that we can conquer them together. 

Next time, I'll show you what Justin has been building for me while I study at night as well as a recipe for a delicious and easy pound cake from his grandaddy.

Lovexo.

busy as a bee

Or lazy as a cat. 
Seriously. I've been both this past week. And for good reason. I'm getting married in six days. Well basically five days and about ten hours or so (but who's really counting?). I'm excited and nervous and so anxious, as I know Justin is. He just doesn't show it. 

But one of the things I was really sort of proud of was the fact that all four of my grandparents, the ones that spoiled me and taught me lessons that my parents couldn't or wouldn't, would all be there together to see me on this day. I'm so blessed to still have all four of them in my life, even though there has been some rough years in the past. 

Well, that's all changed. My Granny was admitted to ICU over a week ago, and by Tuesday, I was sure that there would be one less guest.  I don't go to church like I should, I'll admit that, but I've never prayed for something so bad in my life as for her to be okay. I've never felt so overwhelmed with a situation to where all of my excitement about marriage and my life with Justin just didn't seem right. 

I saw her Tuesday and was so overwhelmed I couldn't even speak to her. Seriously, I have this phobia with hospitals. When Zack  broke his arm and was in the hospital for like ten hours, I sat in the car. So seeing Granny in ICU was traumatizing. To be honest, I couldn't even speak to her. Hold her hand. It really was heartbreaking. 
She is doing a little better, and I mean little as in like an ant size little, but I have faith. God's hand has been on her, and though it seems like crap timing, He knows what he's doing and I've just come to accept that. The wedding will go on, and we'll show her the video when she goes home...

I'm not working for the next two weeks around the wedding, and before this weekend I was not really happy about that. I wanted to be able to help out around the office, get brownie points, go to a client, but now all that stuff is not really important. The people in my life are.  There's was like a quote / saying I found on Pinterest this morning stating 'Stop the glorification of busy'. And that's exactly what I need to focus on. Yes, there's so much going on, but I've come to realize that I need to stop planning it and start living it (wow, I feel cheesy for saying that). And Lord knows I'll never stop planning or making lists, but I'll try to not worry so much when things fall apart. Because they fall apart for a reason. God knows why, and that's good enough for me.

if you're the praying type, please send up an encouragement for her. 
love you, granny.

aquarium birthday

Another year older, another year wiser. Yeah, we'll go with that.

For Christmas this year, we decided to spend a few  six days in Chattanooga with Justin's family. His parents rented us a cozy little cabin on a hill overlooking a larger hill / mountain, and it's just right. Justin and I drove up on Friday in order to spend my birthday together before the rest of the family got there. It's so cold up here. Too cold to walk around downtown (and too broke to buy stuff) so we went to the aquarium instead. Justin and I decided to buy a really nice camera for each other for Christmas (hence we're broke), so the aquarium was a perfect place to use it. Here are just a few of the pictures taken.

Mini Seahorses :)

Sleepy Baby Crocodile

Testing testing.

Wanna a cracker?

Nemo :)

Black Jellyfish, about as small as my thumb. 

These are just a few of the 300 pictures that were taken. Maybe I got a little carried away.  (Don't ask me how blogger managed to stagger these pictures, but it did.)

After we left the aquarium, we went over to Justin's sister, Melissa's, to spend some time with the babies before it got chaotic. They are getting to be soo big and soo personable. It's amazing that these little guys could fit in Justin's palms back in April. It's so crazy to see how much they've grown into their personalities. And to be honest, I can't wait to babysit them, meaning playing dress up with Cameron while Conner and Justin run around outside.
It was a lovely ending to a nice day spent with Justin.
Happy Birthday to me.

bachelorette weekend

So normally, most women don't like to talk about their bachelorette for fear of people learning about all the naughty things they did and all of the nonsense they got themselves into. Normally.
Well, that's not really my style so I can share the weekend with y'all.  
Because of the fact that I didn't join a sorority in college and worked a lot, I don't really have many girl friends. In fact, the ones I do have, save a few, are older and work. A lot. Needless to say, the bachelorette weekend ended up being only five of us, two of the five including my mother and another mother. And it was absolutely perfect. So instead of writing a monologue of our adventures, I'll just post pictures. Its funnier that way.

Brittany's christmas decorations

Her gorgeous tree

Birthday girl? Bachelorette? Same thing

Let the games begin!

Haha.

Hearts maybe?

That expression. Seriously?

Roomies Reunited :)

Wedding cake shots :) Almost as good as the real thing.

Bridal cookies courtesy of Taylor 

Lovely Tucker women 

(those men were not twins, btw)

Maid of Honor Mom (before the night began)

Sorry Sharon! It was too tempting.

Maid of Honor :)

Mother of the Bride (duh)

Taylor just had to be different :)

The Hostesses! 

After the loong long night.

Mom drove, therefore no funny picture from her..

(I held my sign upside down on purpose, just to be funny)

Let's just say there was a lot of wine flowing, games were played, junk food eaten, and laughs galore. It was such a blast, and I'll never forget it. I love all the ladies in these pictures, and am so blessed to have them as friends and family. There were tons of dancing, Waffle House, flat tire, and even a lost ID. It was a good time.

Love y'all to the moon and back.

christmas time is here

Oh my goodness, hey.  

I completely forgot this was here. Sorry for the lack of posting. Life is hectic. School is hard, work is long, and this wedding thing. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm ready for it to be that day. And no, I don't care if we're ready. We'll take it in stride. 

Quick update on life. Things are going well. Justin is amazing as always, got good praises at my year end review (that I'm technically not supposed to have, but wanted anyway), and school is over. Final grades have been posted: two A's and a C. And yes, I'm still upset over that. But there's no use in worrying over it. Next semester will be better.

I swear promise an update soon of my bachelorette party. and pictures taken with our new, super nice camera. 

party at the skeet club

(Again, I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. And for the lack of updating.)

Happy Monday morning (said no one ever)! This Two weekend ago was our engagement party in Franklinton, LA. This is where Justin grew up and it's always nice to go back home and spend time with his family. We had had a long week at work (or at least I had) so it definitely was a nice escape. 

Thursday we decided at four o'clock to go ahead and go down there so we packed on up and left. We were able to spend time with just his parents and brother before the entire clan got in. Woke up at about seven Friday morning just in time to see the twins come in from Chattanooga. It warms my heart every time I see Justin hold a baby (it's adorable, and I can't wait for him to be a dad. In like three years). Friday we did some running around and had to get the skeet club ready for friends to come into town. Beaux just loves the skeet club, which in turn makes me love it as well. Within five minutes of getting out of the car, he's gone swimming and found a branch to nibble on. 

Saturday was the party. I have to say I was exhausted by the time it actually started, but I willed myself through it. Meeting a lot of new people is hard work to say the least. But with Justin not leaving my side, I managed to stay happy and excited for the entire night. 

It was stressful knowing that my parents were going to be meeting a lot of Justin's family and friends. Justin and I come from very different backgrounds (which is a blessing in disguise), so to be honest, I just wanted this weekend to go as smoothly as possible. Which it did. Everyone had a fabulous time. Justin's mom did an amazing job decorating and it was perfect. Except the party-crasher. Which I would put a picture of up here, but to be honest, it's a little embarrassing. That's all I'm going to say about it. 

Now we're down to less than three months before the "I do" day. We've (or really I've) decided on our first dance song, and we've gotten flowers for the bridesmaids all figured out. Other than that, I feel confident in our planning, and am so excited for these 89 days to fly by!

Hope everyone has a great week :)