20 Things to do When You're Iced in for Days

I'm sure those of you who live in the south-ish have felt the woes of Icemageddon that hit early
 Monday morning.  I was already out for Presidents' Day, but was stuck home on Tuesday. Jackson was stuck home on Monday (without pay! Yay!) and Tuesday.  How in the world did we pass time in 631 square feet for days?!   Here, let me tell you. Watched Horns on Netflix (totally weird, but great movie) Pretended we're figure skaters on the ice outside Did all of our laundry Painted my fingernails and toenails. Twice. Scraped all the ice off of both of our cars.

Went through clothes and gave away what I didn't wear Did a lot of online shopping Painted with my Valentines watercolors Organized every drawer in our home Uploaded the rest of all of my pictures to Shutterfly Cleaned out the pantry Fed the birds bread from our balcony

Took pictures of all of the ice around our complex Caught up on all of our shows like How to get Away With Murder and Better Call Saul Cooked dinner together Searched for haircuts on Pinterest and decided on one Ordered the cutest ankle boots ... and a really cute dress Cleaned every appliance in the kitchen Made a list of things to put in a care box for my best friend.  All in all, I realized being stuck is what you make it.  How have you all fared this winter weather?! 

Rainy Days and Mondays

Our weekend was so busy. Like, it's Monday and my head is on my desk because I'm in a state of exhaustion I've never been in before. I think.   Friday, we worked and came home to a date night. Penn Station and a little Breaking Bad... great date night if I do say so myself.   Saturday, I spent my day at my Daddy's house playing with all of my pets that I left behind.

  Meanwhile, Jackson was sitting in a field with a gun doing what he loves to do.

  Saturday evening, we had a date with one of my best friends from high school at Rosepepper. 

 

  Sunday, we churched, we ate, we grocery shopped, we ate some more, we watched the Golden Globes, and we slept. Now it is Monday, it's raining, and I feel like everyone is ready to rip everyone's head off.  Welcome back, eh?  

Friday!

  1. This week, I ordered our 2014 book from Shutterfly. I love recapping our year in book form.  From here on out, I will probably do chunks of years in each book or else we'll have one book per year, plus baby books, plus wedding and honeymoon books and not enough shelves to hold them all.  It's an obsession.  I just love Shutterfly in general.  I had 30 free 4x6 prints - hello new recipe cards (they're easier to write on with the matte finish)!

  2. I finally buckled down and bought some new jeans from ThredUP.  I hate paying more than $15 for a pair of jeans, but I was in a pickle because my favorite jeans were starting to show signs of rippage to come!!   I bought a really cute Ann Taylor T-shirt to go with them! ;)

3.  I am loving my job more than ever. Since my promotion, I do work that matters, work that is intriguing, and more work in one day than I used to do in a month. I am so thankful that I'm gaining experience and that my new daily set of tasks doesn't leave me wanting to sleep out of boredom.   4. I got to finally break out my ear warmers!! It hasn't been cold enough to wear it until now! It just so happened that I had the perfect scarf to go with it!

  5.  I may or may not have taken the huge plunge and made a bigger commitment than I'm ready for. I ordered business cards for my embroidery side of life.  I also may or may not have set up a website for all of my work

 

 

Top Five Married People Dates

Being a busy married couple, it's so hard to carve out time to date each other.  Either we are really busy or really tired, or broke as a joke.  We have definitely learned the importance here lately, though, and have realized that it doesn't have to cost us the big bucks! Our most fun dates have cost us less than $20!   Here are some of our favorites:   Quarter Bowl Check your local bowling alleys for their cheap nights! Our bowling alley does a night where each game is a quarter, and shoe rental is half off.  We usually bring snacks so we don't have to buy them there! Bowling is seriously hilarious fun!

  3 "Box" Date Night On these nights, dinner comes from a box (hamburger helper, pizza, etc.), and we go to the Redbox for a movie! We put our phones in a box to keep distraction away! Simple and easy! One you could add, that we have added a time or two, is to pull out your "box" of sentiments.  We have a massive shoebox full of trinkets and love notes and significant items. We like to go through them and read or laugh!   Fort Night No, I know, that means two weeks.  It's not a two week date.  It's literally a night to build a fort (with an opening to watch TV) and eat ice cream for dinner.   50 Questions Find one of those "50 things you should ask your spouse" list and print off the questions.  Cut and fold them and put them in a bowl.  You'll be surprised how many hours of great conversation this brings about!!   Operation Drive Through This one occurred on accident, but has been one of my favorites that we may do more often.  Last weekend we did wedding pictures (ten months later) and were starving afterward.  We went to the McDonald's drive through and got squaks and screams from all of the drive through girls! This may be a fun Saturday date.

         

Election Day!

Happy Election Day!! (and Happy Birthday Mom!)

(via)

Today is one of my favorite days as an over-eighteen-year-old adult. I love Election Day because of what it stands for. I love knowing that I live in a country where it is still legal for me to voice my opinion. I love knowing that I am given the responsibility of educating myself and acting on my place.

 

 

What I don't love is the irresponsibility of some.

 

 

I was at the poll last Tuesday for early voting. I stood in line for no more than two minutes. In those two minutes, there was a group of five friends who could not have been much older than I. They were asking the woman in front of them how to vote. I don't mean how to use the machine.... I mean they were asking him what and who they should vote for. She told them "No one one, no on two, no on three (!??!), and yes on four". She was sharing her vote as if she were the kid who had a science test the period before you who was sharing the answers. 1 is A, 2 is B, 3 is D, etc...

 

 

I think smoke came out of my ears like Yosemite Sam! Not only for the fact that not all of her stances lined up with mine (hey! everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, even if it's not mine!) but that she was so willing to give these irresponsible kids an easy out. I was fuming because there are rules posted that said you may not speak to anyone about your choices or try to sway them prior to going into the booth.

 

 

My favorite resource is Ballotopedia. It breaks them all down into what the "yes" and "no" really mean.

 

 

I beg of you, my sweet readers, to educate yourselves before you vote today. There are hundreds of resources online, and most of them are credible! Read about each amendment... break it down into terms you can understand so you're not duped by legal speak!! It happens to the best of us (See above... idiot....)

 

Friday!!

I am so thankful today is Friday!! I hope you have all had a wonderful week, and an even better weekend ahead!!   1. My brother in law and his wife finally announced that they eloped this week! Remember the secret I had back in July?! Whoop! There it is! They eloped back in July and have been waiting on rings to take pictures to announce it. haha.  We are excited to welcome her to our family, and even more excited to have them home for Christmas!

  2. We have had a rainy week in Nashville, but that's okay because with rain comes rainbows! This one ended on the runway at the airport, and I saw a plane go right through it.  Craziest, weirdest, coolest thing I've ever seen!

  3. I get to spend time with my daddy tomorrow!! Jackson is going to the duck blind to do some work, so I'm taking the free time to go hang with my dad!    4. I made the cutest leaves for garland for Friendsgiving! I made them with a clear vinyl pocket so we can put our "What I'm Thankful For"s in the inside!!  

  5. Yesterday, I went out to start my car and it just would not start.  Come to find out, I had a dead battery.  Probably because I've had the same battery since I bought the car.... $200 and lots of crocodile tears later, I got to spend some quality time with my sweet husband.

 

Linking up with Karli and Amy and Lauren and 5 on Friday

Why I Stay

Nashville is my home; it is our home.  I lived in the same house from the day my parents brought me home from the hospital until the day I was married.  Jackson has always lived in Nashville, too. We can't imagine raising our kids anywhere but Music City, USA. That's why we stay.   I can drive 30 minutes from home and get you to some of the most perfect moments in my life.   My first kiss was on the stairs of my alma mater.  Our first slow dance was in the gym. My first soccer goal was scored on that soccer field, and that field is where Jackson first asked me to be his girlfriend.  I can take you to our lunch spot in those hallways where I made lifelong friendships. 

Our first date was to the Opryland Hotel at Christmas to see the lights. We took our prom pictures on the stairs as it flooded, and "our spot" is right where Jackson popped the question.  We spent our wedding night overlooking the cascades.   We want to be able to drive past our elementary schools, our middle, and high schools and tell our kids about the wonderful teachers we have.  We want to be able to drive to the lakes where we learned to fish, the fields where we shot our first guns, and the homes of friends from years gone by.    We love the culture on Nashville. There is always something to do, something to eat, somewhere to go. It's where we've always been, and it's where we will always be. Years from now when we are in our forever home, we want to be able to drive back to our first little apartment and show our kiddos where we started out. 

Our Home: 1 year later

At the beginning of last October, Jackson and I moved into our home sweet home.  We picked out a tiny 631 square foot apartment because we liked the listing on Trulia.  We signed our lease in July and got our keys on the first of October. 

The first day we moved in, Jackson and I layed in the floor watching Despicable Me on his laptop as we waited for Comcast to come hook up our cable to our 13" TV.  There has really not been a more overwhelmingly simple time in my life other than that. 

Four days later, we enlisted boys from church to help us move in our furniture.  We inherited almost every item of furniture we own.  That same weekend, we painted our chalkboard wall, and my sweet daddy bought us a kitchen table and chairs. I took so much pride in knowing that that piece of furniture was 100% ours, and I still love it more than Dad will ever know. 

  The week we moved in, the garbage disposal died, the dishwasher leaked, and somewhere down the road, the washing maching tried to kill itself.  Thank goodness for maintenance and not being responsible for the appliances!!   One of our favorite things about out home is the chalkboard wall. It has had something on it since the day after we painted it! Even if it was a result of a boys' night...  

  

  

  

   We have pictures on our walls, things that mean the world to us stacked on our tables and shelves, plates that we have painted are hung around the top of our kitchen, it is our home.    Believe me, sometimes I have fits because our tiny little home is a wreck. Right now, there are towels folded on our coffee table, there are clothes piled up in our laundry room, and I can't even see our dining room table.... but it is our home.  It is where we live, and it is the place we share life together.   Happy one year, 227.  Thank you for being the starting place for our lives, and the first Little Hiney Home.  Thank you for treating us kindly and being so safe.  I know that we will look back someday and miss the simplicity (and the very little cleaning required) of our little home.     

Fires, Family, and Football, oh my!

Our weekend seemed like a five day weekend! We spent so much time resting, so much time with friends and family, and so much time watching football.   Friday, Jackson and I came home, ate dinner, grocery shopped, and came home to spend some balcony time because it is really starting to feel like fall here in Nashville. 

 

Saturday, I got up early thinking I would need to go help Dad wrangle cats to take to the Humane Society, but he decided against it, so we spent some time just laying in bed, resting and relaxing.  When we finally got up, I was all over the laundry, cleaning out things we didn't need/use anymore, and dishes. Oh, and watching the Vanderbilt game. It was good to finally just have some time to do things like that.  MTSU played WKU, and thankfully kicked butt.  Their spray paint on our horseshoe was enough to make me livid. Jackson's parents wanted to cook him a birthday dinner, so they made ribs, potatoes and beans, and we ate dinner with them.  We then had our first bonfire of the fall. We had a whole bunch in the spring, and a couple this summer, but it's finally fire weather.

 

Sunday, we got up and went to church, we had lifegroups, and I went to Jackson's Cousin's Babyshower.  It was so much fun! I love spending time with family!! We had a fire Sunday night, too, so my hair reeks of fire smell this morning.  It was so worth it, though.  We are living up this weather!

 

Weekend Recap

Our weekend was a go-go-go weekend! Having yesterday off, too, didn't do me any good in the rest department.    Friday was our Half-iversary. Holy cow - how have we already been married six months? We tried a new place near us called Mirko's. Three words. Butternut. Squash. Ravioli. I could only eat half of it, that's how filling it was. so good. All of their pasta and sauces are made in house. You could definitely tell.

  Saturday, Jackson got up at the crack of dawn to go to the duck blind drawing in Cheatham County. We got a crap blind, but hey, it was a great experience for him. I went tax-free shopping and scored. I went to Kohls to get Jackson more polo shirts and ended up with this adorable swim top. I went to JCPenney and had four $10 off your $25 order coupons. The guy was nice enough to let me divide my orders and use all of them!! I walked out with two new pairs of dress pants for me, two cute blouses, new swim trunks for Jackson, and some Happy Socks. All for less than $60 when it was said and done. All over win, in my book!    Saturday night, we went with some friends of ours on a double date to dinner and the bowling alley. I had forgotten how much fun bowling is.  Everytime I bowled, Jackson would yell, "That's my wife!!" which was both embarassing and hilarious and so incredibly sweet all at the same time.

  Sunday was like every other Sunday. Church, lunch, chit chatting, grocery shopping, changing clothes, church, sleep.   Monday was super relaxing, thank goodness.  I went to my parents' house and pretty much didn't leave the couch with my Boomer bear all day. It was a wonderful day.   I can't wait to catch up on all of your weekend happenings!