married life, part 1.

i have a secret.  even though it's only been a few days more than a week of being married, i really like it. obviously, that's not that surprising, because why else would i have married him, right? but, there's all of these added perks: like someone else to clean the bathroom or take the dogs out.  and the food, my God, the food! when you're dating, there's always this voice in the back of your head that whispers, "don't eat the whole cupcake," or maybe "leave a little on your plate." well, maybe not for you, but it's mostly been there for me for the past, oh, 15 years.  except a few weeks before the wedding, sam and i were eating at Outback (i know, we live in Birmingham and need to get the desire to eat at chain restaurants out of our blood!), and i was hungry. like, hadn't eaten in 24 hours hungry.  so i finished every last bit of my salad, steak, and sweet potato, plus the appetizer and bread. and the waiter, he commented on it.  twice. his exact words? "that's beautiful man; she's a keeper," because i ate all of my food. so maybe, i don't really have food issues in front of sam. all that to say, i've certainly felt a little free-er about eating my full share!

we ate a lot in Savannah.  the city is definitely made for eating. all of the magazines and guidebooks encourage it, and who are we to go against the recs? we had pizza, fresh seafood, and y'all, we ate at Paula Deen's the lady & sons.

 *my plate: fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, black eye peas, creamed corn, and mashed potatoes

it turns out that we were lucky enough to be in Savannah on a rainy Sunday where the lunch buffet for the most Southern restaurant on the planet wasn't completely full.  we did have to wait until 2:30 to eat that Sunday lunch, but yes, it was worth the wait.

*Sam's plate: fried chicken, bar-b-q, mac-n-cheese, rice, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans (salad & bread off to the side)

Our cute waiter, a Southern transplant from Pennsylvania, told me that Paula's tea had converted him. now, he drinks Southern sweet tea or none at all.  isn't that the cutest?  I think my Southern accent outed his; either that or he heard sam and I ponder if his was real or not because about halfway through faking a "hey y'all, can i get ya some more?" he told us it was fake.  (as if i didn't already know!) but we forgave him when he told us how some of the cooks had been with Paula for at least 15 years. and how every recipe comes straight out of the cookbook. the gooey butter cake, for example, better make 145 squares...that's a lot of cake. i can't even show y'all pictures of my dessert because, sadly, i could not finish it.  or my own plate, but i can show you sam's: he was a trooper and didn't leave anything for the dogs out back. after much testing, though, i concluded that my mom cooks about the same.  so yes, it was delicious, but it wasn't exactly anything new.  i guess i never knew how easy i had it.  mom's Sunday lunch never had a 3 hour wait!

 *that's just bones and sauce, y'all.

we had a great mini vacation.  it was nice to rest, watch a bunch of movies in a great hotel, and spend all day walking around a gorgeous city. Savannah was beautiful: all southern and spanish moss-y. i have a feeling that if you want a great St. Paddy's day celebration, you should head that way. the city was still partying the weekend after. (plus, they have no open container rules! birmingham, why don't you take your cue from a sister city?) Highly recommend. (the marriage and Savannah)

the wedding.

*photo yanked from facebook.  thanks, steven! 

I know that it's only been a whole four days since I tied the knot, but since I'm already back at work, i thought the internet should know about my wedding. What that means for you is that I've stolen photos from family on facebook.  But as soon as I get the professional pics, I'll share! It was absolutely perfect. I mean, I'm sure there were minor issues (like this weirdo in a motorized seat / kite that kept flying over the beach), but I'm happy to say I didn't even notice.  I also didn't notice the dolphins.  As in, I don't know if they showed up. Probably because I was too concentrated on this: smiling and walking down the aisle. 

*photo taken by Sarah M. 

Just in case you're wondering, we didn't have any music.  But my grandpa (that's his head in the picture above) hummed the wedding march as I walked down the aisle.  Now, for the pretty pictures, because seriously, i have the hottest husband ever. 

*sam's cousin, heather's fiance, steven shot these.  i love them! 

This is purely to show my hair, which looked awesome.  My hair stylist, Ashley Sparkman, totally rocked it.  And how great were the pockets in my dress? I stuck my lipstick in there and was good to go!

*my mom and i: taken by keri!

Speaking of great, I can't wait to see and show you the photos my photographer ended up with.  After all the searching, I wound up with the best photographer ever.  She totally got what I wanted and was so nice to everyone.  

You can ignore my face here; I just thought it was a good shot of my dress.  Plus, you get the lovely "poop free zone" sign.  

The best part about the day, besides getting married, duh, was hanging out with family.  Our wedding was so small that we were able to spend time with the people we love most.  Of course, there were a few people missing that we would have loved to see, but I loved not having 200 people there.  Instead we had about 40...give or take a few.  So that left more cupcakes for me! 

Be back with more when I get them.  And don't worry, just because I'm not planning a wedding means I'm shutting down the blog.  I'll be around for your reading pleasure! 

sharing a bed.

It's not what you think.  No, honestly, it really isn't.  You see, for the past seven years, I've shared a bed, well, a whole house, really with this monster.

sadly, that baby is no longer with us.  i think it died a horrible death of getting its squeaker ripped out.  RIP, monkey. 

Just in case you're not familiar with her, this is Parker.  She hasn't really gotten a lot of play on the blog, but she's definitely a huge part of my life.  And my bed.  Since I'm soon to be sharing a bed--and a house--with 6 more legs (Sam + Luther), I think Parker's getting kicked out. But I'm fighting it the whole way.  I hear you though, you're wondering how I can push this sweet (often noisy, very hairy, and constantly chasing rabbits) friend out of my bed?

*

*people, this is not a joke or even a set up picture.  it's a nightly occurrence.  what starts as a  horizontal dog at the bottom winds up as a vertical dog under the covers.  Not joking. 

I know; I'm wondering it too.  So I'm not making any promises, but tonight, I decided to try.  And guess who's snoring on her own bed just like a big girl? 

 

this picture made possible by my mom and brother-in-law.  i think they're the dog whisperers.  

Yep, it looks like my baby's all grown up.  And if I wasn't just so excited to have a whole bed to myself for the next few days, I might shed a few tears.  Instead, I think I'll knock on some wood.  And stretch out.  

t-5 days

What have I been up to? I've been practicing walking so I don't trip down the aisle.  I'm playing music in my head (even though we're not having any).  And I'm drawing countless diagrams.* I'm really just ready to get on the road. The wedding is in 5 days.  Five. Cinco. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!  And I am ready for it to be here.  Sam and I leave tomorrow--I'm really hoping that the week is relaxing, and I can't wait to see our families.  I've nixed all the extra ideas and am just concentrating on the most important one: walking down the aisle.  But wouldn't it be cool if we had these at the wedding? And people actually used them?

*found here; if you have time, check out her awesome wedding photography! 

dear family, would you actually use these? internet, any clue how to make them? 

*I helped with flowers at a sweet friend's wedding this weekend, and it made me get really excited!  But her organized-ness made me realize that I need to get on the ball.  So, just in case I'm not available for the whole time to help decorate the reception site, I'm drawing it all out and labeling everything.  OCD much?

the perks.

Turns out, I'm a little busy.  Wedding planning is pretty much done, but throw in work--plus travel--and I am one tired girl.  Friday morning, I had a 6 am flight from Portland, Oregon. I was about 2 hours outside of Portland, so I woke up really early to return the car and make it through security (fyi: I shouldn't have worried; I barely had to take off my shoes).  So with no Starbucks open until right before takeoff and smelly people who kept sitting close and talking loud, the only perk I had that morning was the (free) upgrade to first class.  Until we took off.  

from my iphone: clouds and mt. hood in the distance

from my iphone; i think, mt. hood

And that sunrise changed my entire morning. 

Be back soon with wedding stuff.