Little Doodles

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See these little nuts:

Olivia Claire

(she's wearing her shirt Uncle "Charleston" bought her...she might need a new one after this ice cream cone!)

 Jackson Scott

 I have not seen these little doodles in several weeks and my heart is breaking. 

I miss them more then the grass misses the rain. 

Every time sister sends me a picture of them, it almost brings me to tears.  Why the heck do kids have to grow up so darn fast?

L.O.V.E.

No better job in the world then to be an AUNT!

3 YEARS

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I got a phone call this morning....

"Charleston":    "Babe, we forgot!"

Immediately I started thinking...did I forget to put the lid on the crock-pot that I started this morning before leaving for work?; did I forget to lock the back door?.......

"Charleston" :  "Babe, we forgot our anniversary!" 

I'll be darn; sure enough...yesterday was our 3 year meet-a-versary! (I am a terrible girl in our relationship; shouldn't this be my job to remember?!)

From the first day we met, we were inseparable.  It didn't take the words, "will you be my girlfriend?" or "will you be my boyfriend?" to establish US.  From the moment we met, were were already US. 

Therefore, we always use the day we met as our anniversary....and that day was yesterday, September 19th, 3 years ago!

"Charleston", I love you with all my being and I CAN NOT WAIT to be your wife.  The past three years have been indescribable! 

You have my heart.

Blain

SCORE

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Don't you just love it when you score a good deal?

I bought a maxi dress the other day on sale from Belk and thought while I was there I would find a cute belt to pair it with.  (I know it's becoming a little late in the year for maxi dresses but....HONEYMOON is on my mind! )

I was in the belt "department" of Belk and nothing was really standing out to me.  It all looked "old woman-ish" UNTIL I found this little tan number on a manikin.

I asked the lady if I could remove it to try it on and sure enough, perfect fit!  SWEET.

The tag was attached with a price of $55.00.  GULP...(Jesus, that's crazy.)

The sales associate informed me that it was on sale so I was hoping it would bring it down to maybe $30ish...its Michael Kors, I could swing that. 

She rang it up.....

...

...

...

...

$6.92!

Whoooooo hooooooo.

$6.92 for a Michael Kors belt originally priced at $55! 

Of course I asked if that was correct and she reassured me yes; it had gone on sale several weeks ago and they "sold out."  This one was forgotten on the manikin so it got marked down to one of their bottom line sale prices.

$ Pure heaven in my pocket $

(and around my waist!)

Part Of The Package

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It's true.  When you marry him...you get them....

and I am not talking about his family (although true statement as well)

I am talking about his friends.

When "Charleston" and I finally got to the serious point in our relationship that I knew, even without a ring, that this was forever, I asked if we could stop using the phrases "your friends" or "my friends"; they are "our friends." 

Sure, these special people originated in one of our backgrounds but, from this point forward, they will be as important in both of our lives and I love them like they are my own.

"Charleston" has a solid group of guys that he grew up with and some he met in college.  Each guy is married and never in a million years could I have asked for a better group of "wives" to join. 

Each lady is unique in her own way and they are all absolute sweethearts.  They accepted me as who I am and welcomed me with open arms.  Some of the most memorable nights that "Charleston" and I have had were with these girlies and their husbands.  Best part is, majority of the time, we don't even hang out with the boys; girls rule boys drool.

 I couldn't ask for a better friend group to be marrying into!

L to R:  Mandy, Me, Melissa, Heather, Alicia

please don't make fun of my tan.  i over did it at the beach the day before!

Melissa, Heather and I out to dinner at Savor in Charlotte. The storm going on outside didn't put a damper on this night!

Marla, Melissa, Mandy, Heather and I

A little Halloween action in Raleigh at Carter's house.

Marla, Me, Mandy, Alicia, Heather, Melissa

Wine and Design

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I am a little late on the post but a couple weeks ago Laura, Ashely and I had a girls night after work at Wine and Design. Our friend Marion was teaching one of her first classes solo so we had to go and support her! It was a 'freehand' night so we started with blank canvasas instead of a stenciled design so it wasn't my prettiest effort but it was a fun class and a FABULOUS way to drink a little wine and let my creative juices flow! Check out their schedule and try out one of Marion's other classes this month; she's awesome and a sweetheart!

Furniture Purchase

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When we bought our house, I knew from the beginning we had a serious issue.....lack of furniture.  We only own one bed, one desk, one couch, and one coffee table.  Our new house has four bedrooms and two living rooms.  Therefore, our house is really empty but I promised myself I was not going to go out and purchase just any furniture to fill it up.  I was going to take my time and buy quality pieces that I really love.

Several months ago I saw a chair at Rooms To Go and since then I have not stopped thinking about it. Therefore, I decided yesterday that I had slept on it enough and I was ready to buy it.....So buy it I did!

I am so excited for it to come in and see what it looks like in the upstairs living room!

Meet my new chair! 

Wedding Details

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The next thing on my Wedding-To-Do list was our CAKE.  I selected our baker mainly by referrals from friends in the Charlotte area but, also because I have seen her work over and over again on Charlotte wedding blogs and fell in LOVE with her modern style and design. 
Cake Lady Jill is awesome!  Not only is she amazing at what she does, she is the sweetest spunkiest little thing!  So much fun to work with!

"Charleston" and I had our tasting last Thursday night at her bakery in downtown Pineville.  It was super easy to narrow down what flavors we wanted the cake; both of our favorites matched up perfect!  With that part complete, we moved onto the more important (at least to me) detail.....the LOOK.
I did NOT want a traditional wedding cake.  I knew I needed to come prepared so I took with me a quick selection of examples of cakes I am attracted to.  This is what I showed Ms. Jill:

Loved the faded color palette and the ruffles on this one:

 Loved the gold accents:

 Loved EVERYTHING about this one except the flower details.  Loved the faded color and detail to every layer.

 Loved, Loved, Loved a gold cake; especially when it looks like a confetti finish!

 Loved the shape and different take on the lace effect.

 A bow...yes please!

 Quickly Jill started sketching and came up with a design that is right up our alley.  She said she would draw it up on the computer and send us over a picture.  I can't wait to see it!
Forward wedding progress....yay!



Kitchen Mantles

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"Charleston" and I spent the long weekend at Lake Hartwell.  We stayed with some of our friends at their family vacation home on the lake and spent the entire weekend sipping cocktails and boating around...simply fabulous! 
Mason's mom subscribes to Veranda magazine so in between playing cards and cooking meals, I caught up on some interior design ideas.  That's when I realized my newest obsession....

Kitchen Mantles

I am in love! 
My kitchen right now is not laid out to handle a gorgeous mantle but....if we ever decide one day to do a kitchen overhaul, a mantle will be TOP on my list!