Oh Christmas Tree

Just decided to put up a little peak of our decorations and all of the
packages wrapped up under the tree. I took this picture from my iPhone
tonight after I finished my wrapping. So far, everything that I've
purchased has been wrapped. By this weekend, I'll be completely
finished with shopping and will be anxiously awaiting December 20.
Friday was very productive. Look for a post about our experiences
tomorrow. So until tomorrow... Merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Taylor and I are headed to Lanette, AL this
morning to lunch with his mom's family at his grandmother's house.
Then back to Montgomery for an afternoon nap before dinner at my
grandmother's house! Here's to eating too much but walking it off as
mom and I start shopping at 4am tomorrow!

Atlanta

Last weekend, Taylor and I decided to make the quick trip to Atlanta to visit with our friends Nick and Sarah. The weekend was full of great conversations, many laughs, many stories of the boys and their high school memories, and amazing food!! 

On Friday afternoon, we actually made it into town before 5pm traffic got really bad. We went to this amazing wine store to stock up for the weekend then headed to dinner at Wild Wing Cafe. We drank and ate a lot and just enjoyed getting to catch up! We ended the night with watching a movie by the fire.

Saturday morning was an early one. The four of us had a day full of activities planned. First stop was breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast then on to downtown. We spent the morning at the Georgia Aquarium and really enjoyed ourselves. It truly is such a cool place to visit. Our next stop was the World of Coca Cola Museum. Amazing. We got to taste all the cokes that we wanted (all 62 if we were up for the challenge) and then we got to leave with a small glass bottle of Coke. We loved it.. and I love this picture! 

 

Our lunch stop was to the Varsity. Of all my trips to Atlanta, it was something that I had never experienced and we were all starving and ready to eat by the time that our morning was over. We decided we needed a trip to Atlantic Station to work off our lunch. A little shopping at the newly opened H&M was a treat! I left with a Christmas present for someone and a few things for myself.

Then on to IKEA.... unbelievable. I have always heard how amazing they were.. just never been able to experience it for myself. None of us had. So the four of us spend two full hours walking around and absorbing everything. Wanting to leave with more than we could. There will be another trip just for IKEA, soon, very soon. The night ended with football and tons of tailgating food.

Sunday morning we went to Marietta Diner for breakfast before leaving town. It was wonderful! We even left with some of their amazing cake to get to eat later on. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.. yummmmm. 

Miley spent the weekend with her grandparents in Monroeville so we did make a trip to Greenville on Sunday afternoon to pick her up. She enjoyed herself and only got into a little bit of trouble. :) We were glad to have her back with us though. Thursday night was our first night in our house without her since we got home from the honeymoon.. you just never realize how used to something you are until it's not there. We love our Miley Girl. But I loved our fun little weekend trip too! I look forward to many more weekends like this!!

Jana and Will's Wedding Festivities

The rehearsal dinner was at this really cool flower shop in downtown Birmingham on the second floor of the building. They had a Mexican meal catered in and it was amazing. 

Taylor and I

It was so great to see so many people that I haven't seen in years and catch up with the old roommates. 

Amy, me, Heather and Jessica

Jana was the calmest bride and just so excited to be able to share her last night as Jana Wentzell with everyone. I cannot tell you the amount of people that toasted her and Will after the dinner. You can tell just how much they have blessed every one around them, individually and as a couple, too. I am so overjoyed to call her my best friend. It was such an honor to be by her side all weekend. Jana, I adore you and I'm so happy for you.

me and the bride

As you can tell, all of us girls loved being there with her to share in her special day! :)

all the Auburn girls

After the Bridesmaid's Breakfast that was hosted at her parents' house, all of the girls were invited to get ready along with Jana. It was so much fun to be able to watch her get her hair and makeup done. 

Hanging out in her parents' bathroom while she got her hair and makeup done

Wasn't she the most beautiful bride?!?!

The wedding was perfect! The reception was at Jones' Farm. It was a little cold outside but the heaters everywhere and the bonfires helped keep us warm here and there. They had a great band from Atlanta called the Tams. We danced and caught up with old friends. The bride and groom left around 8pm headed for a night at Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham then a few days in Ashville, NC at an amazing resort. Like I said, the weekend couldn't have been more perfect. She is now, after over 3 years, Mrs. Flinkow!!

Mrs. Flinkow

Photo by Amelia Strauss

She's married! And her students will now refer to her as "Mrs. Flamingo". The weekend was beyond perfect and she couldn't have wished for prettier weather. Everything was just as she wished and hoped that it would be. She was stunning and glowing all day. Will is truly a lucky man to have her as his wife... but I surely don't have to tell him that. Another post tonight after work to let you see pictures that we took.

Soon to be..

My best friend is getting married on Saturday!! Miss Wentzell will become Mrs. Flinkow. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be able to be a part of her special day. Since the end of our freshman year and the beginning of our sophomore year at Auburn, I cannot imagine my life without her in it. Many tears have been shed, laughs have been heard and love has been share. She is truly one of a kind. I am excited about a Friday off of work to be able to share memories with you, Jana!!

living room update

For months (almost a year actually since we've bought our house last December) I've been waiting to hang something over our sofa. I wanted to buy ledge shelves but I wanted to wait until I actually found them on sale. So $25.00 later, I left from World Market last week with two shelves that were 50% off and I couldn't wait to get hung over our sofa. While Taylor was home for a few days last week, we got them placed right on the wall and then I was able to take a couple of trips to Hobby Lobby to get frames. One trip was to frame our favorite engagement picture with us on the black fence that cost under $50.00. And another to purchase the other five frames for under $25.00 since the frames were all 50% off last week too! So I printed the pictures at Costco for the other five frames for less than $3.00 today and now the project is finished. I am so happy with the way that it turned out and just decided to add a few of my little pumpkins that I had laying around the house for some color. I'm obviously proud of the way that it turned out since it's the first picture of our house or my decorating that I've posted on this blog. Maybe sometime soon we are going to be getting new living room furniture and I'll actually let you see that too!! I just have to find something that I like first! 

Miley Girl

Look how sweet our little Miley is! She is now 7 months and growing to be such a precious dog. My mom and step dad have been in town just about every weekend since Auburn Football kicked off and so she enjoys spending time with them all weekend. And since Taylor has been home during the week and gone on the weekends, I've enjoyed the company, too!! (Taylor invested in a new camera and has enjoyed trying to capture Miley in her element!)









So other than that, not much news! I've been decorating for fall and trying to get some things organized a little more to my liking. I said that I was going to be a little more frequent with my

updates but there really hasn't been much to post. We did buy a dog house for Miley but I am trying to not talk about her all the time.

Taylor and I celebrated 6 months of marriage and one year since we got engaged on Monday night. It's really hard for me to believe that this much time has already gone by. So much is different in our lives than they were a year ago and we are truly better for the changes that the Lord has made (most of you know what I'm talking about).

I am off to enjoy one more night with Taylor before he leaves on tour again!

surprise

Taylor called me Sunday night as he was picking up a rental car in Nashville. He decided that he was going to surprise me and drive home for two days instead of hanging out in Nashville. He didn't want to totally surprise me since I have been going to sleep early and him coming through the front door at 11:30pm might scare me to death. Although I had to work Monday from 8am- 5pm, it was such a treat to come home and get to spend time with him. He left yesterday, Tuesday, while I was at work and headed back to Nashville to meet up with everyone else last night. It was a short, quick trip for him but I was so glad that we didn't have to go without seeing each other for over two weeks. Thankfully, he will be home again on Monday night!

Remember these?

I ran across something the other day on one of my few trips to Target that I take weekly. I couldn't help but get excited about it...

                     

Remember when you used to take them on trips to a friend's house or to summer camp because you thought that you needed all the makeup and accessories that you owned with you? I had the coolest one or like three that I remember had my name written on it in paint pen from the girls that worked at Sanrio Surprise. One was black on the bottom with a white and pink polka dot top with a pink handle. One was pink glittery with a clear handle. Isn't it crazy that I can remember that? I wish that I still had them because I promise that I would still be using it. Why would I have ever let myself get rid of them. Luckily for me, they do still make the classic ones but they also have these huge train case ones now that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. I think that I know someone that will be getting one of these for Christmas. I just have to find the one that I want. :)