Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Blue Like Jazz

I just have to say that I have started reading the book, "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller because it was recommended to me by a friend a while back. I am only on chapter 6, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it so far!! This book is so real and I think everyone (Christians & Non-Christians) should read it.I will have many more posts about this book because I have already underlined SO much in the book already! Can't wait to share!

One of my first quotes that I love is:

"The entire world is falling apart because nobody will

admit they are wrong. But by asking God to forgive

you, you are willing to own your own crap."

--Donald Miller


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Our First Home!

I finally got some good pictures of the cabin to share. I have to admit, that I wasn't too crazy about living in the country when I first met Ben, but I knew that had been his lifelong dream. That's the whole reason he bought his property in the first place...because he knew he wanted to live on it one day. God has really done a work on my heart about where we live throughout our relationship leading up to us getting married. I know it's a normal "girl" thing to dream about how you want your house to look, how you want to decorate, what style you will choose etc. Before meeting Ben, I had more of a traditional/transitional style. I've always liked to mix traditional decor and contemporary decor. Somehow, during the early stages of our relationship, I started to lean more towards a "rustic" style. Ben had duck mounts, deer mounts etc in his house before meeting me and one thing I told him at the beginning was that I did NOT want "animals" in my house..especially birds! Anyone that knows me well, knows that I do NOT like birds whether they are alive or dead. Once we got engaged and started talking about where we would live, I told Ben that I would compromise and let him put a deer mount in our house, but NO birds.....he agreed to that. See the thing is, when we get to build our house on his farm one day, he will have a "man cave" where he can hang ALL of his mounts. After a while, we decided that we would rent this cabin since it is the best option for our current situation. I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea at first. The cabin is 20 minutes from Opelika which meant that it would now take me over an hour to get to work (in Montgomery). I really had to warm up to the idea. After seeing the cabin, I liked it, but it seemed small, wasn't sure how I would decorate it etc. But again, after a while, I started to be more "okay" with the idea.

At the beginning of April, Ben finally started moving his stuff into the cabin. I went in and started placing decorations and putting things the way that I liked and it REALLY started to grow on me. I was actually really starting to like it! I figured that it would definitely have a more rustic look (obviously) with a little twist. Most people that know me, are shocked to find out that I actually LOVE the rustic style now. The "fine china" that I registered for has a nice rustic look that will look perfect in our new house one day (once I can get a china cabinet).
When we started decorating the cabin, Ben wanted to put THREE deer mounts on the big wall in the den and he also had FOUR bird mounts out! One of the bird mounts was right at eye level and looked like it was flying at me--I told him it had to go. So....after much discussion and thinking, we came to a great compromise. He took the flying bird mount out, the other small bird mounts are up HIGH on a shelf (as to not creep me out) and we decided to have 2 deer mounts on the main wall and then I could put something in the space under it. Then I told Ben that if he wanted to have the 3rd deer mount, he could hang it in the upstairs loft area. Needless to say, he was VERY happy about that and I'm a happy camper too.

It really has been fun placing things and decorating. I know it's still a work in progress, but has quickly become home. Here are some pictures...


The den area
side of the cabin
Front of the cabin
Main bathroom (notice my deer antlers) :)

Another view of the kitchen
Kitchen
Bar area since we don't have a table yet

another view from the loft area
side table in the den
upstairs bedroom
Upstairs bathroom
The loft area

I am SO excited to continue making this cabin more our home. I love it so far! Next thing I wanna do is get some cute curtains made for the den area :)





Monday, May 16, 2011

Bridal Portraits, Bridesmaids Luncheon & Rehearsal Dinner

I had bridal portraits taken by Marie Hughes of Sarah Marie Photos at the end of March at the Reserve at Oakbowery (reception location). I cannot say enough good things about Marie. I've known her and her family for a REALLY long time and was SO glad she was the one to photograph all of my wedding pictures. If you are ever in need of an awesome photographer for weddings, senior portraits, family portraits, she's your gal! Here are a few of my favorite pics from that day.









I've had several people ask me where I got the turquoise necklace that I'm wearing in some of the pictures. I ordered it from Ezza Exclusive on Etsy. You can also find her on Facebook as well. She makes SUPER cute stuff and it was perfect for the theme of my wedding. The veil I wore was my "Something borrowed" from Natalie's mom, Mrs. Debra Bennett. Shelley (Natatlie's sister) also wore it several years ago when she got married. It is a GORGEOUS veil and made my dress look even more awesome!

The bridesmaids luncheon was held the day before the wedding at the Moores Mill Country Club. The hostesses were:

Angie Stephens (my aunt)
Cindy Bridges (my aunt)
Juanita Bridges (my grandmother)

The food was amazing and we had such a fun time!!


Flower arrangements on the table
Me and Savannah, my flowergirl
All my sweet gals!

My wonderful hostesses

Me with my Mama and Mama-in-Law
The monogrammed jute tote bags I gave as gifts
The girls opening their bridemaids gifts
The charm cake--so FUN! The deal with the charm cake is that the charms are tied to ribbon inside the cake. There is a specific charm for the flowergirl and a specific charm for the bride. All the other charms are to be picked by each bridesmaid. Each charm then has a "fortune" to go along with it. I wish I could remember all the charms and who got what, but I just remember that I got the marriage license--obviously! :)

The rehearsal dinner was held in the party barn at The Reserve at Oakbowery. We had BBQ, corn on the cob, baked beans, brunswick stew and lots of yummy desserts. We even had a fun slideshow thrown in the mix too. Thanks to all that participated in my wedding. I love each and every one of you!! (More pictures to come later thanks to Marie!)


MY family!


Me & my dad :)

Catching Up on Showers & becoming an Aunt!

I wanted to write a couple of updates since I didn't get a chance to blog during all of the wedding stuff. On January 29th (also my birthday) we had a couples shower at Cock of the Walk restaurant. The shower was given by:

Natalie Bennett
Mike & Debra Bennett
Jason & Shelley Young
Daniel & Katie Mundie
Temple & Jenny Anderson
Robert & Dacy Lee
Jack & Terri Rubio

It was a fabulous shower! Such great food, great gifts & great company. Here are a few pictures from the shower.





I had my work girls give me a shower in Montgomery at the end of March. We got together at El Rio Mexican restaurant and it was delish as well!




I also had a Bridal Shower at the end of March as well. It was at the home of Kristen Horn and was absolutely beautiful! Got lots of good stuff! The hostesses of this shower were:

Kristen Horn
Casey Stewart
Jill Moore
Blair Pruitt
Mel Schnarr

In between all of that, I became an aunt for the first time! Ben's sister, Beth gave birth to her first child...a baby girl! Here are her stats:

Katelyn Elizabeth Middlebrooks born on February 28, 2011





The week of the wedding some of "the hens" took me out to the Irish Bred Pub for some girl time and to unwind. Always interesting when you get the "Cacklin' Hens" together :) In attendance was: Me, Casey, Mel, Heather, Martha, Brandi and Tracy. Thanks for such a good time gals!