Let them eat (wedding) cake!

I must confess that I have had a blast planning my wedding! Since finishing graduate school I have had more time on my hands than usual, and for the last few months, plotting and planning of the ins and outs of a wedding have been right up my alley (while I take breaks from the job hunt, naturally).

Of course when next week is over and all the checklists are done, I will no doubt be longing for something to keep my mind busy. Hopefully I will be closer to finding a job in my new state and can spend the remaining weeks of summer writing lesson plans and planning my classroom. Wishful thinking? Let's hope not.

Below are some blogs that I have enjoyed frequenting during my six months of engagement (some more than others). Attention to detail and taking in the overall aesthetic can be super fun, at least to me! Now sure, some of the wedding photos you'll see in these links are not at all realistic.. borderline cliche'.. and almost even annoying at times- but like I said before, it's been fun to look at pretty things and to plan a big party!

Snippet and Ink

Grey Likes Weddings

Style Me Pretty

Southern Weddings Magazine

Southeastern Debris

As you probably know, my home sweet home in the southeastern region has been bruised and battered by recent tornadoes and floods. I am lucky enough to say that none of this has effected me and my family personally (physically speaking) aside from loss of power and water.. unfortunately so many others cannot say the same.

Watching LIVE television of a class five tornado (one mile wide) ripping through neighborhoods and regions, places that I am familiar with and that are now no longer standing, is terrifying. Watching in fear of the thousands of lives in peril at that exact moment and knowing that your city and neighborhood is next in it's path.. and there's nothing to do except brace and pray.

Below are some photos of my old neighborhood, once rich with trees, where I lived in my sweet house with a red door. The roads are finally reopened, though only enough to allow small vehicles through..

Next are some photos taken in Memphis at the infamous and beautiful Tom Lee Park. The Mississippi River is at an almost all time record high and stretching an estimated 3 miles wide, as opposed to its usual 1 mile. For those of you who are not familiar with Tom Lee Park, these are some images from Riverside Drive showing just how much is underwater (as of Sunday). Typically all of this is grass and walkways with a stairwell and rocks going down to the river..

A wedding on the plains..

Congratulations to Julie and Scott! Over the weekend, the couple married down on the plains of Auburn. All day the clouds were dreary and rain was coming whether we were ready or not.. or so we thought. The weather held off for the couple as they married downtown and had their reception at a red barn!

A change is gonna come..

If you know the song, sing it in your head. Sam Cooke was a lyrical genius as far as I'm concerned. Now I don't compare my life to the tone of this song by any means.. I am at a much better place than the character portrayed and the symbolism represented in this song. I simply mean that in my life, oh yes, a change is coming.

I once purchased a sticker that said 'the only constant is change.' What truth this sticker holds- which is why I've kept it around for as long as I have. At one point you would have heard me say that I hated change, that it made me nervous and overwhelmed. The fact of the matter is now that I've experienced so much change in my 30 years, both seemingly good and bad, I have come to depend on it.

A marriage, a career, and a new life await me in the upcoming months. Three big changes all wrapped up into one bittersweet package! Bitter in that it takes much work to plan a wedding.. to network myself in a sea of strange faces.. to find a new job in a new state.. to find a new residence and to start a new life. But along with the bitter, this package of change contains something sweet that is big and new.. something that I can grab by the proverbial horns and check off my list of accomplishments.

So as you see, a change is coming no matter what. How prepared I am for said changes can drastically improve or congest the overall experience. With the thought now blogged, off I go to network again to the soothing sounds of Mr. Cooke.

Nice Day for a Fox Hunt

Last weekend in Courtland we got to welcome the group back from a hunt. They were on the trail of a wild coyote or two that have been seen around the area. After a five hour ride, the coyotes got lucky and the group called it a day. Everyone was exhausted and the hounds were covered in muck.

Georgia for the weekend..

Steven and I recently spent a weekend in Atlanta for his Christmas gift! We took the dogs along for the ride and stayed in the city for two nights.

Our first order of business was to explore the Salvador Dali exhibit at the High Museum of Art. We caught the show during its last weekend in Atlanta, so there was quite a crowd. It was a lovely (and huge) exhibit, I learned a great deal that I did not already know from my many art history courses.
For dinner we met with Steven's aunt and uncle at one of their favorite local restaurants that specializes in South African cuisine, 10 Degrees South. We had a nice time and stuck around for a few cocktails to hear the live music on the (heated and stylish) porch.

The next day we spend many hours at the Georgia Aquarium. The photos below were taken during our time there- we were exhausted by the end of the afternoon!

For dinner, we were again adventurous and decided to try out the one and only Holeman & Finch Public House. My sister and her husband joined us for dinner and drinks since they were in town to pick up my nephew from the airport.

Taking the time to enjoy what a city has to offer is priceless. Cheers to small and locally owned businesses! I cannot rave enough of our food explorations during our trip to Atlanta.. try them for yourselves, you will thank me later!

Happy Belated 2011!

A tad overdue, but I wish to the world wide web a Happy 2011!

I have so much on my mind these days. Between planning a wedding, looking for a teaching job (out of state), and looking for a house (also out of state).. I confess that I have hardly had time to write. Let me remedy this and break the silence.

A big WAR EAGLE is in order, since the Auburn Tigers won the BCS National Championship!

The bowl game itself was held in Glendale, Arizona. The forecast over there was very different than what the fans back home were experiencing. Almost the entire state of Alabama, as well as the rest of the southeast, was attacked with snow and ice during the first weeks of January.

Many roads were shut down due to the weather and I was unable to go to Auburn to watch the game "on the plains" as planned. My power managed to not get cut off though, so I watched the game as I was snowed/iced in. What a game! You may or may not know me well enough to know that I cried like a baby during the last 2 minutes of play and into the celebration afterward. I am a Tiger fan born and raised, this was the first National Championship for Auburn in my lifetime... and actually the first since 1957! Words cannot begin to express my pride in Auburn and in the SEC as well.