A Letter to 227's New Family

Dear new family living in 227,   227 was our first home as a family of two.  It was a bachelor pad for 4 months before that, though. I tried my best to keep it livable, promise!  It has a relatively new washer, oven, garbage disposal, and kitchen faucet; all of them died when we lived there. You're welcome. :) Under the paint on the wall next to the kitchen is a chalkboard. It was home to many chalk creations and sayings to bring the seasons and events of the seasons inside. It's where I practiced being artsy and loved every minute of it... except the minutes it took to paint it back.  

  I'll go ahead and apologize on behalf of 227 for the spiders. They're everywhere and constant. Get some brown recluse traps and you'll be golden. Sorry for the black paint on the balcony siding.  It's from Jackson's first ever duck hunting season. There were once almost 100 spray painted bottles that were used as decoys sitting out there. You have the best view off of the balcony; you can also leave your windows open and not worry about anyone seeing you walking around pantless  or couch sitting all day.  Oh, sorry about the chew marks in the bedroom blinds. We got a kitten, didn't tell the office, and he took a liking to that window sill. He really just wanted to see outside and the blinds were in his way. We raised them to prevent further damage. :)  

  I don't know if the smoke alarm works. There were many nights where bacon smoke would fill 227 and it never went off. You may want to have them check it.  Also, you can hear all of the machinery in the utility closet running at all times. You will learn to tune it out and it becomes the white noise that will help you sleep.  You can also hear the traffic from the interstate; another white noise source.   We never had a problem with our neighbors. In fact, they were always nice and pleasant. There is one yappy dog, one crying baby, and you can occasionally hear the coyote babies howling in response to interstate sirens in the woods. There was once a big ole snake right outside our door, but the maintenance men came post haste to remove him to the woods. If you ever need anything, go to Sherri.  She will always work with you to help with anything you need.   We hope you love living there as much as we did. We hope your family can flourish and grow together... it will have to... you only have 631 square feet. You'll learn to work through whatever life throws because the only place to run is the laundry closet.  

Friday!

Dear Packing, you and I are not and have never been friends. I honestly am a little irritated knowing we'll be here again in a few more years. 

 

Dear Feeny, it's not good to take mommy's earrings and scare everyone into thinking you've eaten them. Also, thank you for snuggling all day Monday.  It was my favorite thing.    Dear Monday, thanks for being so productive. I made a doctor's appointment, went to the bank to replace my lost debit card (shhh....), packed and cleaned and even found time for a nap. :)    Dear Hiney Home 2.0, please treat us as kindly as Hiney Home 1.0.  We loved our first home, and I'm a little uneasy about moving away from it.    Dear Bestie, Thanks for accidentally matching me to work on Thursday. ;) It was a great laugh that we all needed after the week we had.

   

Birthday Wishlist!

Now that we're past Jackson's birthday, I feel better about making my Birthday Wishlist! 
I would love a new comforter set. 

(grey // navy)

A Deathly Hallows decal for Remus (the Rav4)

(via)

An MTSU Homecoming T-shirt; we're playing Vandy and I won't be able to pick a side!! 

(via)

A Volunteer Traditions Decal for Remus... in black and gold of course

(via)

Letters to the Bride

One of my favorite pins that I found after getting married was this one:

(via)

I had a free Shutterfly book so I made this one for Hamlin's wedding. 
The cover:

A cheese-tastic poem on the inside cover

Everyone has their own spread that looks like this.  The blank page is for pictures, letters, and memories we all have with Ham, and the lined page is for a sweet note.  There's a page for her mama, daddy, brothers, each of the MOHs and Bridesmaids, and the very last is for the groom. I can't wait for her to read what everyone has written. 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Wedding Festivity Weekend

My weekend was full of finishing up the details for my oldest best friend's engagement party (see inspiration post here)! If you live in Nashville, you know it was cold Saturday night. When we planned this shindig, we didn't expect that at all! It's usually still hot this time of year.  Regardless, it was so much fun,and so worth all of the hard work!

Table cloth: Oriental Trading  Sun Flower Balls: DIY Paper lanterns: Oriental Trading Centerpieces: DIY Cake: Publix Bakery  Monogram Guestbook: Etsy

Fall Checklist

Our summer was b-u-s-y.  We only had a couple of weekends to ourselves to veg out on the sofa and do nothing.  Thus, the summer checklist went to the wayside.    Swim swim swim Find a place to move in October

 Declutter 

Date more

Be Healthier

 

Hey, more than half is good, right? Anyway, we're finally (unofficially) to the season that, in my book, is the best.  It's when snuggles are frequent, boots are a necessity, and life is just slower.

 

Here's our fall checklist:

 

Go to Gatlinburg

We do a camping trip every few years to Gatlinburg, and this is the year!! I'm so so pumped!!

Pick our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch

Take fall pictures

Spend time outside

Have our second Friendsgiving

Plant Mums

Burn lots of fires

Decorate the inside and outside

Go to a football game

Make Chili

 

 

Bucket List

I'm a little late to the Blog-tember train, but hey, I'm here.    10 Items off of My Bucket List   See The Aurora Borealis in person Visit every country from which I have ancestors Be My Own Boss Have Titans Season Tickets Get a Tattoo Go Sky Diving Own a Beach House Enjoy Running Own a Boat  
 

Friday!

Dear washing machines and dryers, seriously, what is so complicated?! You wash my clothes, you dry my clothes, and you get wrinkles out of things I left laying in the floor. Why are there thousands of brands and special features? And why are you so expensive? Dear FeenyBean, Thanks for being the sweetest, cutest cat there is. We are so in awe of how fast you've grown, and are so glad you're ours.   Dear Vandy football, we'll get there...    Dear job I didn't get, That's okay... I'm sure there will be something bigger and better to come.   Dear best friend, HamBam, I am so honored to be your matron of honor and can't wait to throw your party next weekend! I loved wedding dress shopping and can't believe that 13 years of friendship has brought us here. Love you so much!

Dear Husband, I hope your birthday this weekend is everything you're hoping for. Big ole 2-4! It's crazy to think that we have celebrated every birthday together since we were 13.  Time flies when you're having fun.  

 

Hiney Home 1.0

As we get closer and closer to our move to another apartment, I'm getting all kinds of mushy and sappy and sentimental about our first home.    Fall of last year, when we celebrated our first year in our home, I had really taken time to get to know every nook and cranny of our dwelling.  It's been the perfect size and space to learn to share, to learn each other's quirks, and to make home. Since it's a glorified studio apartment, there aren't many places to go to avoid each other... which has taught us to work it out.    It's where we retreated to gather a bag after our wedding on the way to Opryland and Jackson carried me and seven layers of fluff over the threshold. It's where we shared our first dance as a married couple. It's where we celebrated our first round of married holidays. It's where I learned grace less than a month after being married. It's where we brought our Feeny Beanie home.  It's where we hung our gallery wall full of memories and family.  It's where I learned about contentment and learning to live in the moment.    I'm going to miss our chalkboard wall, but until we are in a house we own, will not have another one. I'm dreading painting that sucker back.