Absence and Blessings

Does Absence make the heart grow fonder??

Absence from Dave
When it comes to love, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. It makes Dave and me grumpy! Being apart has made the last month of engagement probably the roughest because it put a lot of responsibilities on each of our shoulders -- to do things alone that should be done together. Picking out a place, final details on wedding, packing up, setting up shop in a new city, etc.  Add to that a lot of stress  and the fact that we are both sinners--- and you have a recipe for some grumpy conversations.

I have a newfound respect for military families.  Not only for being away for months at a time, but also for the fact that they have such patience and understanding about it.  I think you learn that even if you are irritated over something, you shouldn't waste what precious time you have to talk with fighting!! (I had a friend who was a military wife who would dress up for late night skype chats with her husband because she wanted to make them special!)

Even so, we both agree we can't wait to get married, even though our first few month of marriage are already filled with stress...moving our stuff up, finding a job, etc...I just prefer to live life's stressful moments with Dave :) So maybe, despite our grumpiness, I am growing fonder.  It's a blessing to know how much better my life is with Dave in it....I am sure I can take him for granted!

Absence from Friends and Family
The reality of leaving family and friends is hitting me.  Next Sunday, I have to decide whether or not to go to my home church or my church in Jackson because it will be my last sunday most likely!  At the wedding, I have to say goodbye to my baby sister until Christmas (maybe this fall, I hope!) (who am I kidding, I will probably swing by and hug her one last time as we leave town Saturday for honeymoon!!)  See Ansley leaves to work at a summer camp the week after my wedding.  When I get back, she will be gone.  When I fly home to move us to DC, she will still be gone.  She and I are very close so the thought of saying goodbye for possibly 6 months is so sad! I also will spend the week after our honeymoon saying final goodbye to friends.  Luckily my family lives in Jackson so when I come home for holidays, I will also see friends.  Even so, leaving the amazing group of friends of I have is hard.

The truth is, being away from those you love is hard :(  Which is probably why, despite my adventurous side, I could not manage to leave Jackson until Dave gave me reason to do so. So much good here!  The good news is that being away from Dave makes it a bit easier to do....because he is already in DC, I feel like I am going to someone I love instead of just leaving people I love. So his absence does have some good qualities, I guess :)

Also I am really glad that its sad to leave Jackson. I loved Auburn but was ready to leave---broken engagement, stuck in same town as EX, friends graduated...so after a few summer weeks spent finishing my thesis, I wanted out. I love Oxford, but I was ready to leave.  Very few GOOD friends and most of those had already left...It wasn't so sad to leave....but leaving Jackson is sad.  What a blessing!  How great to have a place I love so much that its actually difficult to leave.  How special to have godly fun encouraging friends that I hate to say goodbye to!

...and, as I said above, I am leaving to go be with someone, so what a blessing to have a happy reason to leave Jackson!

Leaving

This week I moved out of my house in Jackson, and despite the fact that I am so so so thrilled to marry Dave in 2 months, I would be lying if I didn't say I teared up a bit.  Jackson has been good to me, Belhaven has been good to me and those roomies and friends have been good to me.

Law School was a very hard time for me.  I had a few friends but nothing nearly as concrete as my friend groups here in Jackson.  I was still recovering from an ended relationship and well, I was in law school, which is a lot of work!! I really didn't enjoy life then.

But Jackson was the completely different! I ended up here by default. It wasn't my first choice but I found a home and community and was involved.

I did not want to be single in my mid 20s but if you are going to be single, you might as well do it right.  And boy did we...  themed parties, wine nights, fun dates, bad dates, late night chats, chick flicks, ole miss games, trips, walks, etc.  Some of us have gotten married, some are in serious relationships, some aresingle -- but we remain good friends, because we actually were like substitute family for eachother.

As we were leaving, my mom said, "these were happy years for you" -- and they really were.  While I think if all of us were honest, we would have to admit that we always still wanted to meet the right guy, we were happy.  I felt like I was living life to its fullest.  Sure, there was a lot I wanted to change, but my life was still full of blessings.

I know as I am typing this that there are some people reading it and saying, "see singleness isn't that bad"  And the truth is that its still very frustrating.  It's still dissapointment after bad dates and worrying about meeting someone and breakups and lonely nights and concern over who should be your plus one. and feeling left behind....  I don't want to downplay the really hard parts...because they are hard!

But, at the same time, there are some really happy parts.  I know that wherever we move, I will likely not have a group of friends like this ever again.  We were able to totally become involved in eachother's lives.  We were the ones you sipped wine with after a breakup and the ones you went to dinner with  to celebrate your promotion....And that was such a blessing.

And although having roomies can drive you crazy at times (and trust me there were plenty of times when I was mad!), I think its also good preparation for marriage as you learn to hold your toungue, speak kindly, be patient and solve conflict.  (note: you sometimes learn from failing at these things!)  And you also get to know some really great girls.

As excited as I am to get a more permenant roomate in just a couple months, I am slightly sad to be out of the phase of life where I lived with girls and spent so much time with girls.  Sure, it had its moments of drama, but it was also so much fun.

I think I lost a lot in being single in my 20s, but I also gained a lot too.  Fabulous friends and great roomies was one of those things!

Church Hill Shower

I never posted pics from my first shower.  It was fun because a lot of Dave's relatives had not met my mom and sister yet.  It was fun.  We don't have church wedding showers at my parent's church so it was fun to see how its done! Its a lot of fun because all the women in the church show up so you get to see a lot of people.

It was also a fun shower because these were people that have loved Dave his whole life, longer than I've loved him and longer than I've known him.  He is from a closeknit small community where people are family or "family" (when he calls someone aunt X, I say, "is that a real aunt ?") Lots of people love Dave (I can't blame them!) and lots of people showed up to celebrate with us!

Of course, really I just celebrated with them because Dave was fishing :)

Dave's Cousin's wife is quite talented and made this gorgeous cake!  Look at those handmade flowers!

My mom and sister and me!

Dave's sister (Beth), his niece Kate and his mom (oh, and baby Ryan in utero!)

Kate would help be open gifts -- she particularly liked the various mixing cups and spoons I received!

My mom, future mother in law and me!

2 of my favorite Church Hill ladies -- Melissa and Kittye

Mom, Me and Ansley-- I don't look like my family but I think the three of us look a lot alike in this pic!

This weekend I have a shower and engagement party - and I have a few friends from out of town in town to celebrate (we purposefully scheduled the party on the same day as the shower for that reason!)  I can't wait to celebrate and see sweet friends. I also get to celebrate my soon to arrive niece in Church Hill on Sunday...

all while trying to pack to move in 2 weeks...Oh well, sleep doesnt matter if you're having fun right ?? :)

Jungle Fever

Last weekend, I helped host a jungle themed lingerie shower for a sweet friend at our house.  She LOVES animal print, so we had a lot of fun coming up with the decorations! As you all know by now, I am a cheeseball who loves themed parties...so I love coming up with fun decorations....

I ordered these zebra lingerie cookies from Janie's Bakery...

We had a wine and champagne punch bar set up on the buffet....

I made an animal print rag garland for our mantle...

Sweet Sarah made a jungle vine to hang over the dining room and hung a monkey!

Lots of yummy treats....

Another tiny garland...

Dave was sweet and made this bunting for me! I was busy getting ready and he jumped in and helped.  Who knew he was so artsy??

Prior to the party we all went to dinner at Bravo's.  Here are some pictures of the bride to be and some of our friends! Several of us wore animal print in honor of our animal print loving bride!

**Our Story** (and proposal!)

WARNING: LONG POST

I promised it awhile ago, didn't I? The engagement story! And life got hectic with work, Chris's death, Christmas, New Years, wedding planning, etc.  So hear you go....  A not so perfect love story. (but a perfectly wonderful love story)  Our story is greatly romantic and oh so ordinary, all at once.

Our First Date....

I met Dave late December/early January of last year-- our first date was January 11th at mugshots and was one of those first dates you don't want to end, although it was just dinner and burgers and great conversation.  Something you should know about me: I am not the type of girl who constantly thinks I met "the one".  My friend Alexandria calls me the best casual dater she knows.  I was always hoping to meet my husband but didn't quickly jump to the assumption that I had met him. When I was younger, a date was a chance at something  and I was always hopeful for more, but the older I got, a date was just a date which meant *hopefully* a good time and a free meal.  I didn't ever come home assuming that we would seriously date or get married.  And I didn't think Dave was "the one" on the fist date, although I spotted the potential that he was. (and he felt the same way)

 But, when my mom asked how the date went I said: "Good, we're going to end up in a relationship."  I later asked my mom if she believed me that night when I said that and she said that she did, that a comment like that was very unlike me. But I know that I wanted to see him again... and again ....and again.

And it wasn't long before we were official, although we jokingly say that we were official from date one.  I even broke my rule that you should not cancel dates with other guys until you are someone's girlfriend...but after meeting Dave, I didn't want to see anyone else.

Small side note: Dave was 30 minutes late for our first date. I am pretty sure everyone in that restaurant thought, "Oh sweetheart he's not coming" In fact, these college guys kept snickering at me in their booth because every time the door opened, I looked up thinking it was Dave! But, he did show up (we were coming from two different directions and he didn't exactly know how long it would take, obviously) and he charmed me, despite his tardiness!

When I knew I would marry him....

I can still pinpoint the moment that I knew I would marry him.  It was February and we were sitting in his truck at a gas station in meadeville, ms riding out a huge storm.  We met halfway between Brookhaven (where I work) and Church Hill (where he lived) in a town that literally had one restaurant and a gas station.  (after that, we realized it was best for one person to drive the full hour to the other ha!)  We had our first fight (over a subject we had bickered over a little bit a few days earlier) and he was being stubborn and we kind of dropped the subject.  Five minutes later, out of nowhere, he hugged me and said, "I'm sorry. I was wrong.  I am bad at saying I'm sorry, but I want to learn to be better at it for you."  At that moment, I realized that he was changing (hopefully for the better !!) for me and I knew I was changing for the better for him.  If we could bring out the good in eachother (most of the time) and if we helped each other improve our weaknesses, the we would be good together.  By the way, a week or two later, he brought up that he thought he would marry me, although he still can't pinpoint the moment he knew. And from then on, we went through our relationship with the end goal of marriage. 

Not so perfect...but perfect

I think that knowing you've met the right guy 7 weeks in is great....it certainly made our dating intentional.  But, it is hard when you can't get married for awhile.  At first we talked about marriage like it would be a lot sooner, but then some known hindrances came our way (school, jobs, etc) and some unknown hindrances (tough times for my family) and things slowed down.  I won't lie, waiting to be married when I already knew was hard, and even now, I often wish we could skip over the wedding and be married.  I think that the waiting was particularly hard for me because I am out of school so I had always figured when I finally met the right guy, I would know quickly (check) as would he (check) and we would be planning marriage early on (check) and end up married within a year (ummm.....) But the same timeline does not apply when you are in school like Dave is.  We started out approaching marriage like it was a lot quicker (but Dave was out of school working for the semester) However, as school got closer and closer, we realized it would be longer. 

As I said about our love story, it's far from "perfect"  We fell quickly but could not have a whirlwind romance.  We had plenty of struggles and hardships to work through, some of them involving our family, some involving school or work and some were just normal couple struggles.  I also see how God used the past year to teach us how to love eachother better, trust God in our circumstances and prepare for a lifetime together.   We both have been hurt and we both have fears and I am glad we used our time of dating/engagement to address these fears. 

our story isn't perfect (whose is?), but its good and happy.  I think what made me certain Dave was the guy I wanted to spend my life with was that although things weren't perfect, they still just worked.  We weren't trying to make it work.  We also weren't brushing over conflict.  Things weren't perfect, but as a whole, we just really clicked together

The proposal...

Was I surprised??? Um,yes but not really.  Dave told me in August or September that we would be engaged by 2013 and well, it was the last 2 weeks of 2012 so I was expecting it every single time we hung out....as evidenced by how stylish and put together I looked almost every evening for 3 weeks.  However, I really assumed it would be Christmas Eve with my family.  Dave tried to throw me off a bit by a couple fun evenings including a night where he texted me to cancel my plans, put a pretty dress on and be ready at 7.  He took me to the theater....but I did briefly think, maybe this is it!  However, the next week, he made plans to take me to Walker's, my favorite restaurant which he had never gone to before.  We were waiting to go until the holidays or a special occasion because its pricy.

I suspected, but then again I also really thought it would be over Christmas.  We had a lovely meal and looking back, I can see how nervous he seemed.  We talked a bit about marriage and the future and I gave him a gift (I was doing the 12 days of Christmas and it was day 7).  He didn't let me order dessert because he was "full" but really we were late to an "engagement party" with family and friends.  On the way back to the car (we parked way far away!), we stopped in front of Duling Hall where there are lights and he said "I have a christmas gift for you too" and got down on his knees and asked me to marry him.  I said yes and kissed his forehead then we put the ring on.  We didn't spend long hugging, kissing and celebrating before he rushed me along.  I said "wait I want to look at my ring!"He said "we will look in the car"  At that point, I realized that we were going somewhere else, most likely to see my family, because he was hurrying us along so much.  We drove around the corner and he said, "Let's get some holiday coffee" (really, we just got engaged, we haven't called our parents and you want holiday coffee??? suuurrree....) We walked into a local coffee/beer place with my friends and family in the back room ready to celebrate with drinks and petit fores.

We hurried because bless his heart, even with reservations, it took them a long time to seat us.  Our engagement party group had been waiting 30+ minutes.  Also some of my friends were cold in the bushes to take pics of the proposal but they didn't really turn out due to the lack of light.  Poor Sarah (who helped plan my engagement) had to go to the hospital for an asthma attack in memphis and couldn't make it last minute) As I said, life is rarely perfect, even when planned out!! But we had a wonderful time.  So many people have loved me for years, good and bad, and I am glad I got to see a lot of them afterwards.  I always wanted a private proposal with famiy celebration afterwards. And my sweet Dave gave me that.  He also gave me the loveliest ring.  Marley said it was adorable how he had researched and knew exactly what I wanted and what he should get.  One of my favorite qualities about Dave is that he listens.  He wanted me to have what I want.

When I saw my sisters and family, I teared up.  It was the first time in all the hurry that I had a chance to get emotional.  But mainly I was just estatic, so glad to announce to the world what I already knew: I had met the one for whom my soul loves! (song of sol. 3:4)

Dave and I then went home and contacted a few friends and family and my sweet roomie (who had to miss the party) had a bottle of champagne and we all drank some.  Then Dave and I had private time celebrating and talking about the future, probably my favorite time of the evening, because I finally had time to stop and realize my blessings!

My thoughts...

I know, I know, you're thinking, aren't the rest your thoughts too? Well yes, but hold on, you will be getting a lot of my thoughts on singleness/marriage/God's faithfulness these days. In fact I want to do a whole post on it.

Dave and I don't have the perfect love story in that whole "Christian fairytale" sense.  He wasn't my first love, my first kiss, etc.  Bless his heart, he isn't always the most romantic.  And bless his heart even more, I certainly am not always the sweetest girl who doesn't nag or bicker.  But he is good to me. So good to me.  And I have dated the boys who say the right things but then don't stand by you (and your family) through good and bad. And I would rather have the one who sticks by you.  Sure I wasn't his first love, sure he has a little baggage and goodness knows I do, but I am his last love and his favorite love and he is mine, and if my past heartaches made me the girl he loves then I am grateful for the pain.

Also, I am just in awe of God's faithfulness.  I see why the moms who struggled to get pregnant seem so much more enamored with motherhood.  All moms love their kids (well, most atleast) but these seem to have a true appreciation that only longing, prayer, tears and trusting in God's faithfulness can provide. I feel the same about Dave. I am seriously so stinking excited to be Dave's wife.  And as opposed to my previous engagement where I was in love and happy, I am now in love and happy and GRATEFUL.  Seriously, I don't think I have ever been so grateful in my life. I probably praise God every day for bringing me through hard times and providing far more than I deserve.  Pain does make Joy even more sweeter and makes you even more grateful because you realize what blessings you have. 

I wish I had gotten married younger. I wish I met Dave earlier.  But I do love approaching marriage from this viewpoint: God has been with me, good and bad. God will be with US in our MARRIAGE both good and bad.  Pain will come our way again, but I have seen God's faithfulness in sustaining and providing.  I will hopefully look back at my 20s and know that God is trustworthy and present. 

***2013***

I hope your NYE and 2013 is filled with.......

A LOT OF TIME WITH FAMILY...

SOME TIME WITH FRIENDS...

LOTS OF PRAYER...

FUN TRAVELS...

LOTS OF DESSERTS...

A FEW GLASSES OF WINE...

MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE OF THIS.....



CHRIS

The other day, I shared with y'all that my friend Chris passed away on Christmas day.  It's a very sad day for all of us as he is buried in Alabama, BUT I have no doubt that Chris is happy and healthy and celebrating with his Savior.  That makes me smile, but makes me sad for those he left behind.  I went to the visitation but had to come home and miss the funeral.  I will be attending his MS memorial service in January. I wanted to take a day and dedicate a blog post to telling you about Chris!


last picture we ever took together at OM v. AU 2012


I knew Chris at Auburn through a mutual friend, but we weren't close.  Friends, but not hang out one on one buddies, partly because we were only at Auburn for one year together, partly because I was in a relationship and engaged.  But Chris moved to Tupelo while I lived in Oxford (45 minutes a part) and we became friends again, partly out of conveniance (as many friendships start).  We both wanted a college friend to hang out with for ballgames and movie nights - and you know what? we quickly hit it off and became great friends.
We had both recently gone through breakups and I think we needed an opposite sex friend for encouragement, support, advice and to stand in as a "date" at certain events like law school prom, ballgames, banquets.  We remained close when I moved to Jackson for work.

Chris was a joker, loved to laugh, and always made me laugh.  He was the type of person who kept a joke going (but not in a bad "won't let it die" type of way!)  We both shared a love for the show "How I met Your mother" (in fact, he named Dave "Ted" since he was an architect) so many of our jokes revolved around that.  I love that he enjoyed life so much because it made me enjoy it more too!

Chris was a wealth of sports trivia and a walking SEC encyclopedia.  I've spent many days calling and texting him with sports questions.  In fact, I think his death will really hit me on days like signing day when I am used to talking with him all day.  For a girl, I really like football, but not like Chris did.  I also loved Auburn, but not like he did either.  Chris loved Auburn.  He loved Auburn football, but mainly, he loved Auburn - the school, the traditions, the friendliness, the people.  I always thought he would end up there.  Chris also was a part time sports writer and hoped to do that full time one day.  I loved reading his work.  He had a gift.  Also, he did such a good job at being unbiased in predictions (he didn't always predict Auburn).

Chris was so giving.  He would do anything for you.  His parents would do anything for you too.  They host huge tailgates....and they don't serve finger foods.  You eat steak at their tailgates....or tacos or other good meals!  That was their way of hospitality and for someone whose family doesn't go to Auburn games, I always enjoyed being a Rushing on the weekends.

Chris loved children.  He adored his friend Robert's little girls, talked about them all the time.  He coached little league.  In fact I was his date to the banquet where he was honored for his coaching.  He was so proud. To him, it was such an accomplishment (and it was!) to know he was making a difference in middle school boys' lives.  Coaching was perfect for him - he loved kids, he loved helping, he loved sports!  It breaks my heart that Chris will never be a dad because he would have been a good one!!

Chris was the type of friend that wanted the best for you.  He was one of the first people I let know I was engaged because he was truly happy that I was happy!  In fact, every member of his family plus some of his friends have taken time during their grieving to tell me how happy Chris was for me.  Of course, he would be talking about his happiness for me, because he tended to be happy and want the best for all of his friends!

On top of wanting what was best for you, Chris was a good friend.  He would be there if you needed. He was loyal.  He saw good in people that others didn't see good in.  He and my dad became buddies.  They liked to call or text and chat about sports.   Also, right before Chris died, he had texted many of us personalized Christmas greetings and telling us he hoped to see us soon.  I was used to Chris just checking in on me.

Chris loved Jesus.  If you read nothing else I wrote about him, please read this.  Chris is not in the casket. His body is, but Chris is with his Savior in heaven.  Chris always loved the Lord, but his faith had recently grown leaps and bounds.  He always wanted to talk about it and he wanted to share it with those who don't know.  This provides his friends and family with some comfort - knowing where he is.

Finally, Chris lived his last couple years as if he was ready to go.  We should all live this way -- without regrets, sold out for the Lord, loving others well. Chris made peace with people he had conflict with.  He had goals he was striving to accomplish, a to do list of things he wanted to do.  He grew in his faith.  Chris went to Jesus without very much to regret.  I am challenged to live my life that way  - to make peace where I need to, to love others well, to grow in my faith and to have no regrets.

Two last things.  First, it must be said....I am so happy that Chris saw a National Championship before he died.  One of the biggest bucket list goals was met! :)  Also, one of the happiest things for me is that he met Dave and he told Dave that he had never seen me happier.  Chris knew me at my worst, post-engagement.  He had seen me heartbroken and he actually had met my ex, so Chris's approval of Dave meant a lot to me.

I will miss Chris, but as wonderful as our friendship was, he has a family that misses him and several guy friends he was friends with since college.  Keep them in your prayers.  I know as things slow down after the service today, the emptiness of a lost friend, son, brother will hit.  He is with Jesus, but sadly many people here have to mourn him.  And please, try to live your life the way he has the past few years: FULLY.

A New and Glorious Morn

I know I promised more details on my engagement/wedding plans and I promise, I will share....

BUT, first I want to spend the next few days telling you about a really great guy who we lost on Christmas day.  So the next few days are dedicated to that.  This is Chris, a really great guy and a loyal friend and probably the best auburn fan I knew.  We took this picture the night before the National Championship game at a basketball game in Arizona.

I have a lot more to tell you about Chris, but the first thing I want to say is "Chris is not in the box" (a phrase stolen from my father)  Chris's earthly body may be buried soon, but he is in heaven with our Lord today.  His last words on facebook were:

"Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices;
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

Chris spent Christmas with Jesus, so as sad as I am for his family and friends, I am happy for him.  My friend Paige pointed out the difference between mourning among Christians and those that are not.  I know I will see Chris again and I find comfort in the fact that I have no doubt that He loved and served our Lord.
Tomorrow I will tell you all about Chris, but today I just wanted to tell you, don't be too sad for him, he had a wonderful Christmas day!

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

who thee by faith before the world confessed,

thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;

thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;

thou in the darkness drear, their one true light.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,

fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,

and win with them the victor's crown of gold.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,

steals on the ear the distant triumph song,

and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,

through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Going to the Chapel.....

.......and I'm gonna get married!!!

Last Night Dave proposed! We had a wonderful evening celebrating with family and friends and a few moments to celebrate alone too :) I will share all the details later, but wanted to do a small update sharing the news.  I am so so blessed and I can't wait to spend my life with this man!

ENGAGED.....

THE BLING.....

SWEET FRIENDS....

REJOICING WITH MY SWEET SISTERS....

(who by the way, helped pick out the ring!)

Red Carpet Pics

Here are the Red Carpet Pics from Mistletoe Preview Party.....Can you tell that the last one (of all 4 of us) is at the end of the night when we were leaving ?? My hair is a mess after dancing!

Fun pictures of Sweet friends and a sweet boy!   The four of us made it til the very end.  Actually, I am pretty sure that Claire and I have closed Mistletoe Preview Party down 3 years in a row! Now I am off to have a fun afternoon of laundry, folding and my online hunting course!

Weekend

Hey Y'all!! I promise I am finish my 31 things series next week (really, raise your hand if you are suprised that it took me more than a month to finish that?? No hands? I thought so. Life gets busy !!)  Until then, here's a few weekend notes:

Tonight we are having a girls night and I am excited. I feel like this fall has been crazy for everyone -- people are busy with work, with familiy obligations, with personal struggles, with boyfriends, husbands, etc etc...oh, and football...I see a lot of my friends less during football season due to the fact that we "go our separate ways" on Saturdays :)  So yay for sushi, wine and chatting!

Tomorrow I have training for my HOLIDAY job I mentioned....I am working at The Everyday Gourmet, a cooking/china store here in Jackson that also does bridal registries.  I am excited to do something fun, work hard and make a little extra Christmas cash.

Afterwards, Dave and I are cooking Chili and flipping between 3 games (Ole Miss v. Vandy, Auburn v. Georgia, and MSU v. LSU)  Why did our 3 schools have to play at around the same time?  This fall has been super busy and I have attended far less games than I normally do, but curling up in sweats on a cold night (well maybe cold night since its Mississippi!) with Chilli sounds wonderful.  And, strangely enough, I haven't missed my usual obsession with football that much.  I've had good and bad distractions which has reminded me its just football....although don't get me wrong, I can't wait to be obsessed (to a lesser degree) next year again !!

Also, who gets excited about having a little free time to tidy up and do laundry? THIS GIRL. That, plus Dave and I have free coupons for Zaxbys (love their salads!!) so clearly, as you can all see I have BIG plans for the wkd!! Work, laundry, tv, zaxbys!!

We are starting to pull out our Christmas decorations this weekend at the Peachtree House.  My roomies and I throw a big Christmas party the first weekend of December.  I realized that if we don't start pulling out a little each wkd, we will be stressing out the week before.  So, yes, we are those people-- with decorations out early - but its for a good reason!!

That being said, where do you find cheap christmas decorations? Where is the best place to get a cheap articifial prelit tree? (our roomie took ours to DC) and what are some good Christmas crafts? (deep in me is a desire to be crafty, I'm not but I try!)


And finally, here's a little something to make you smile this friday :)

Preview Party

Mistletoe Marketplace is a Christmas Shopping event with 100's of vendors from all over the nation.  The 4 day shopping event is a tradition here in Mississippi. It is put on by the Jr. League of Jackson and is used to raise money for their many charity projects. Along with the shopping, there are several fun events like cocktail hours and parties that you can purchase tickets too....the biggest party being the Preview Party on Wednesday night...with a band, dancing, silent auction, shopping, food, drinks, etc.  This is my 4th year to attend and as always, we had a blast.

I love Mistletoe for many reasons...my mom was one of the steering committe members one year so we all lived and breathed Mistletoe in our household.  That was the first year I got to go to the preview party. I was a Junior in high school and too young to go, but mom let Marley and Me go to the big party because she had worked so hard on Mistletoe.  I felt like such a big deal, ha!  I also love Mistletoe because it officially kicks off the Holiday Season....soon there will be Thanksgiving, Singing Christmas Tree, Tacky Christmas, Mistletoga, Dirty Santa Swap, etc etc.  I love the holidays so I love when it finally begins. Particularly this year....its been a long fall with lots of hard times to friends and family close to me, and it ended with the election Tuesday night (ughh)...I feel like a happy holiday season is much needed...enjoying family and celebrations, remembering our Savior's birth, focusing on blessings.  So WELCOME HOLIDAY SEASON...you are very needed!

Here are some pics from last night!

Me, Lane, Claire, Marianna and the Peachtree House while getting ready

My sweet Dave

Brittany and I at the party

Spence and I were carpool buddies...this is Spence, Dorothy (his better half) and me in the shopping area

Me with Claire and Martha Grace

Marianna, Lane, and Me

My favorite guy and me on the dance floor.

I love love love the Holidays.  And I am so glad to have family and friends nearby this year -- Marley Bech and Jack are back south and nearby and I now have sweet Dave in my life.  Not to mention all my sweet friends to celebrate with.  Many good times to come as we celebrate our Savior and enjoy the holiday spirit!