my new love.

it's kind of tall, a little bushy, and has a whole lot of green.  what? did you think i was talking about a new man?  already? i'm not that fickle! no, silly, it's gardening.  and specifically, my garden.

ok, so it's not a garden in the ground, but it's the best i could do with my shady back areas.  Lots of herbs: mint, parsley, 2 basils, lemon balm, cilantro and some tomatoes. i wanted to plant some lettuce, but we have a lot of bugs...so i was hesitant, and then it was too late.  i can't wait until we live somewhere i can have a true garden: raised beds and every vegetable out there.  i could go on and on in an ode to fresh produce, but for now, i'll just stick to the topic at hand.  what i have: specifically, tomatoes!

first up is a fine speciman; i can't remember the name, but it's a looker.  pretty leaves and yellow buds.  just a few short weeks ago, it was tiny--maybe 3 inches tall.  at the advice of a seasoned botanist (or the cashier at the botanical garden plant sale) i stripped off more than 3/4 of it's leaves and buried it about halfway in the dirt.  and to my amazement, it's huge! now it's even outgrown the stick, so i'm wondering what to do.  (any help from the internets?)

 

 

it's even too big for a cage, i think.  but we have tomatoes! see? 

 

 

and blooms for lots more.  i can't wait. i can think of about 50 things i can do with tomatoes, and the first is to eat one like an apple.  grow fast!

oh, but the real reason i came to the internet (besides to profess my love of gardening) is to decide if this cherry tomato is just really stunted or if it's going to grow into a round bush? 

although i bought this one about 2 weeks after my first plant, it has not grown at all.  it is definitely a cherry tomato (surrounded by marigolds because did i mention the bugs?).  anyways, if any of you have a green thumb, and you read my blog...any advice is appreciated! don't you just love spring?

f is for fielder.

i had to have a good photographer, right? priority number one--even above the dress. and you know--i searched high and low. but after all of the searching and the hair-wringing, i couldn't have been happier with my photographer.  she captured every single moment that i wanted plus a ton more.  thanks, reena! here are just a few of my favorite moments, starting with f. 

so, to be fair, i predict a few more wedding posts.  even on facebook, i've only been able to narrow it down to 82! didn't she do a great job? 

pink peonies.

i call them PEE-uh-knees. my grandma calls them pee-OHN-knees.  technically, i don't know which of us is correct.  how have i lived my entire life without declaring them my favorite flower before now? lately, i've been obsessed, like used them in every single arrangement i've made, and i've done a few over the past 5 days.  i've used them as the star in mother's day bouquets and as the jumping off point for kelly's baby shower flowers.  i just can't get enough; today i whined that i wanted one for my desk at work, but i had given them all away.

it's odd. i'm not very girly-girl. ok, so with the exception of wanting a sparkly ring, i don't make typical "girl" choices at all: i don't really have any pink clothes.  and i'll almost always choose blue  / green over any shade of red or pink.  but i melt for pink peonies.  

in other news, i'm thinking of changing the blog name.  i mean, i've already completed the process of changing my last name and until we actually get to adding more names, it doesn't really work.  i have a couple of titles in mind, so i might try them out.  you'll be the first to know... and i promise to start blogging more regularly.  i've really missed this corner of the internet. 

one quick thing.

Parker's famous! (again.) 

Before the wedding, Parker and I went to one of our local favorite photographer's studio so she could model our new favorite anchor collar.   Turns out she'll do anything for a treat, but get on the white paper and smile.  For a photo editor's dog, she really needs to be more comfortable on set, right?

And if you're not reading the magazine (shame!), you missed her debut as staff mascot in a Santa hat. 

You can find more of our favorite anchor products at coastalliving.com, but for cute pictures of Parker, come back here! 

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.