Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Johnny and June


  • We had a halloween party at our house.
  • There was Brazilian rum involved. 
  • I tried to decorate our house pretty and make some festive munchies. 
  • Tyson and I were Johnny and June Cash. 
  • Riley was the ring of fire. 
  • Don't be surprised if we use that picture for our Christmas card. 
  • I know you're sad you missed out on the party, so look at the pictures and imagine you were there. 




Monday, November 5, 2012

War Eagle anyway...

That seems to be our motto this year, doesn't it?


I really don't have the words to talk about this season at the moment. I am always proud to be an Auburn Tiger, but bless our hearts, this is TURRIBLE.

Tyson and I watched this a couple of months ago and I'm so glad I re-discovered it today. Win or lose, there's nothing like the atmosphere at Jordan Hare on game day.



Watch it. Even if you've seen it, watch it again. You won't regret it.



And it sho is a happy day...


Friday, August 3, 2012

London 2012




We have been LOVING the olympics at our house! I almost thought about exercising on the way home from work yesterday, but then I remembered that I had to watch swimming and the all-around gymnastics competition. It all starts with a dream, right? Maybe if I keep watching these super-fit athletes, it will motivate me get off my fanny every once in a while.


Just a few of my favorite olympic moments thus far...





Who is not loving this girl?!? 
"The glory goes up and all the blessings come down..." 
Amen, Gabby. You preach it. 


Fab 5! what? what?


We have some friends in Brazil and are seriously wanting to go to the 2016 olympics there! Who knows what will be going on in our lives in 4 years, but if you would like to make a monetary contribution to our trip, just holler at me! You could even say, "I helped somebody get to the olympics." Just sayin. 




and it SHO is a happy day




Thursday, August 2, 2012

Our family's stance on the Chik-Fil-A debacle

After a glorious week at home and at the beach, I returned to Arkansas with a lot on my plate. A wrecked car, a crippled husband, a vomiting baby that included vomit running down my leg and in between my toes (too much for ya? sorry), and a near arrest are just a few things that I encountered upon my return to the natural state. 




After all the craziness died down a little, Tyson and I finally got to talk about our lives and what's been going on. Naturally, we ended up on the chick-fil-a issue and I wanted to share where we stand on the situation. Here is how our conversation went...









Rachel: "what do you think about all this chick-fil-a mess?"
Tyson: "I don't really know. I've been drugged up and in bed for the past few days. What's going on?"
Rachel: "Truett Cathy said he didn't support gay marriage and now people are protesting and boycotting"
Tyson: "Well, good. That means shorter lines and more chicken for me!"


So, there you go. The issue here is clearly the chicken and all we know is that it doesn't get much better than a #1 with a sweet tea. 

You thought I was about to get serious and religious with you, didn't you? haha!! 

Monday, July 9, 2012

Bachelorette Party (over a YEAR later)

I realize that it's kind of pointless to post about an event that happened forever ago, but I want to have it to look back on when I'm old and senile and can't even remember my bachelorette days.


So here's what I remember...


One of the last get-togethers before the big day was my bachelorette party. And let me tell you, it was everything I could have ever wanted and then some! It was the perfect mixture of your expected bachelorette craziness and just plain old relaxing and good times with my very most favorite girls. 

I didn't know much about what was going to happen this weekend, but I knew I needed to watch my back. There were some things that occured at Jenny's bachelorette party that I knew she would be getting me back for! 

The weekend started with my Eliz coming to get me from my apartment in Prattville. From there, we went to the Renaissance hotel in Montgomery where I was greeted by a wonderfully decorated room and the best friends a girl could ask for! On Friday night, we went to eat at Sinclair's and from there, I was sent on a scavenger hunt throughout Montgomery. I wore a huge check list around my neck, accompanied by a sash, crown, and sparkly tattoo :) At each location on the scavenger hunt, I had to complete a task. Once I completed the task, I was given my next clue. Some of the tasks included hearing a "secret from victoria", kissing a biscuit, making a wish in the fountain, and my personal favorite, doing a hand stand on the state capitol lawn. Each of these clues lead to the final destination which was a huge surprise and QUITE entertaining. 







On Saturday morning, we woke up at our leisure and spent the morning and afternoon at the roof-top pool!! It was SO fun and perfect for recuperating after our night out on the town! 



After we spent some time at the pool, we went back to our room and got ready for the lingerie shower portion of the weekend. I didn't know where this little shin-dig was going to happen, but as soon as we turned onto meadow lane drive, I knew we were going to Jenny's NEW house! Everything was decorated so beautifully, the food was delish, and the games she had planned were perfect! One, in particular, involved a grapefruit and I seriously don't know why it has to be reserved for bachelorette parties, it was SO fun! 



I really couldn't have asked for a better way to end my days as a bachelorette. I know I'm probably over-using this word, but A) this is not an english paper and B) everything really was just perfect! The time and thought that was put into organizing every little detail means so much to me! I felt completely loved and celebrated!

VISITOR

We have a very special visitor coming to see us in 2 days and I could NOT be more excited!! 


A few things we have on our plate are...


pool time
The Drowsy Chaperone
shopping
food, food, food
time with my babies
lake time
decorating and rearranging like only we can do :)




Here are some pictures from her last visit...








We LOVE having guests! Especially those who make us feel a little closer to home! 



The Wall of Indecision

Lowe's was having a sale on gallon paint this weekend. 


Our living room had a purple hue and our kitchen had a fruit border. Needless to say, something had to be done. 


We bit the bullet and painted both rooms this weekend. I wouldn't necessarily call the experience a fun one, but we did it. 


Painting is hard, but choosing paint colors is straight up miserable...














God Bless the USA

I know this post is tardy (as most of my posts are), but I couldn't let my favorite holiday go by without recognizing it on here. 




I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! We are so fortunate to live in the Land of the Free! I think, all too often, we forget how blessed we really are to call the USA our home. I know a lot of us are worried and concerned for the future of our country, but when it comes down to it, I will still "gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land. God Bless the USA!" 




We spent the morning with these little fire-crackers!









We spent our 4th with friends (and FAMILY since my Eliz is back in town), good food, and watching fireworks in a cotton field...not really sure how much more "American" you can get :) 


 my basically annual flag cake...










Thursday, June 14, 2012

I'm a little past Little Rock...

Tyson and I took a weekend trip to Little Rock for our anniversary. He planned this trip without me knowing, but spilled the beans the night before because he knew I'd want to be working on our itinerary and getting everything organized.

We left early Saturday morning and made our first stop at Villa Marre aka the Designing Women house!!!!! If this needs further explanation or if you're not sure what I'm talking about, we should probably rethink our friendship. I grew up watching Designing Women and I can pretty safely say it's one of my most favorite shows of all time. Talk about some straight up hilarity...love it! Of course, this wasn't the house that the Sugarbaker ladies were really in, but it's the house you see during the opening and any other time they show the outside of the house. Seriously, if you've never watched an episode of Designing Women, go ahead and do yourself a favor and find it on hulu or netflix or something. Good stuff right there. I promise it. Here are some pictures of me in front of the house!




After that, we decided to drive by Little Rock Central High School. When we got there, we found a little museum across the street, so we stopped at that, re-educated ourselves, and thanked God for the courage of the Little Rock nine.



Next, we hitched a ride on a river boat queen (and yes, I just typed that to the rhythm of 'Proud Mary'. Don't hate.) No, but really...we hitched a ride on a river boat cruise called the Arkansas Queen. This probably sounds cheesy to most and Tyson was definitely thinking the same thing at first, but it's something that I've always wanted to do and we really had such good time. The weather was gorgeous! I'm pretty sure there was an AARP convention going on because most of our fellow passengers looked like this...


That's right. Tyson took a picture to document the cheesiness of this excursion. But NOTE that this was before the Arkansas Queen set sail. I promise his mind was changed by the end of it. 






After our river boat cruise, we grabbed delicious lunch at Boulevard Bread Company. I used Southern Living as a reference while planning our little get-away and I would highly recommend doing the same for your next southern excursion. Everything they recommended was great! After lunch, we checked in  at our hotel, rested a little, and got ready for dinner!


Our reservations weren't until 8, so we had a little time to walk along the river before it was time to stuff our faces. We ate at Brave New Restaurant and once again, Southern Living did not disappoint. Everything was so, very, very good! 

On Sunday morning, we slept in and ate a huge breakfast at the hotel. We wanted to go to the zoo (because I saw a pamphlet that said they had penguins!!), but it started raining as soon as we got in the car, so we moved on to plan B. We spent some time at the Arkansas Arts Center. And while it was no Crystal Bridges, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! 


After the art museum, we ventured off to the Clinton Presidential Center, which was interesting and well done. Although we were kind of exhausted from all of our educational experiences and walking around and looking at things on walls, I convinced Tyson to make one last stop at the Arkansas Game and Fish Museum. We were tired and looking at dead animals wasn't exactly at the top of my Little Rock to-do list, but anybody that knows Tyson knows that this is right up his alley and he had been talking about it all weekend. I thought he was going to pass out when he saw the "wall of lures." 




So, the one year anniversary trip was a success. Happy Anniversary to us!!






Wednesday, June 13, 2012

one year

So hard to believe that all of this went down over a year ago...
(go ahead and stop right here if you don't want to look at a TON of pictures)


































I realize I still haven't done an official blog on our nuptials, but I couldn't let our anniversary go by without reliving the glory. What a wonderful year it has been. We are blessed.


Friday, June 8, 2012

Happies

Things are kind of crazy at our house right now (that's right. I haven't even posted about our current house and we're moving to a new one. I'll get you caught up soon enough), but these little babies are bringing much joy to my scattered brain.






It's true when they say little things like fresh flowers can make a difference. They can brighten up your house even when everything is a mess and there are boxes everywhere.




I've decided that it is now a requirement for us to always have hydrangeas everywhere we live. Mark my words.





I am not lying when I tell you I have these things ALL around our house.




and it SHO is a happy day...