Road Trip Essentials

I am so excited!!!! Tomorrow we make the 599 mile road trip down to Jacksonville, Florida with one of our fav couples. This is going to be wayyyyy too much fun!! I don’t know how I will fall asleep tonight. This is Michael and I’s first couples vacation. We are staying in an AirBNB rental that Soph & Toph picked out. They booked it back in March, in part as a birthday present!! They are the sweetest, most generous people I know. (Seriously. I am so lucky to get to do life with them!!!) We chose Jacksonville because the beaches are gorgeous, but there is half of the touristy crowed as other beaches. Plus it’s only like a thirty minute drive to St. Augustine. We are going to have such a blast together.

I was a little eager so I started packing the car this morning with the road trip essentials. Here is a list of things we always take with us on our road trips:
two-three empty grocery bags for trash

case of water

Peach rings (Michael)

Goldfish (For Me!)

assorted Snacks

sudoku and extra pencils

the IPad loaded with music

advil (I get terrible back aches)

box of tissues

gum

chargers

long sweater

The empty grocery bags are essential for me. We put all of our trash in one and when we stop to get gas I can easily throw out all of the trash! The other item I always take is my extra long sweater. I go from hot to cold so quickly it drives Michael crazy. It’s easier to take the sweater off or put it on, rather than mess with the air conditioner or heater constantly. For Michael, music and the peach rings are the most important road trip accessories. He loves eating them on the drive.
What do you always take with you on your trips? Anything you can’t leave without? Wish me luck getting to sleep tonight despite the excitement!!!

 

 

 // leather duffle: Fossil (see similar here) 

Amilia Photography

OH MY GOODNESS. We got our first set of pictures from one of the four AMAZING photographers who worked our style shoot!! I seriously can not believe how fast she got them to us! I am so blown away by her commitment and talent.

The photos are absolutely stunning. I seriously freaked the crap out and looked through all of them at least ten times!! There is a huge list of people who I have to thank for this dreamy style shoot (all mentioned here!!) however, this post is a shout out to the wonderful Amilia!! Thank you so much for everything. The photos are perfect and we will treasure them forever!!!

Enjoy these images done by Amilia Photography.  Make Up by Melinda, rentals from Two Monkey’s Vintage, bouquet by Rachel Ann Events, organized by Inspired Help.

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

weddings.amiliaphotography.com | Amilia Photography

To contact Amilia to capture your special moments, check out one of the following:

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Blog (for her post of our shoot, click here)

The Baby Craze Begins

Everyone teased Michael after we got engaged, saying “you better be careful, she’s going to be baby crazy the month after the wedding.” We both laughed and swore we wouldn’t be. Except now its  thirteen months after the wedding, and the baby cravings are definitely in full effect. I literally can’t stop thinking about it!

Michael is just as excited as me. He is almost five years older than me so his peers are beginning to start families. Also, his younger half sister had a baby last winter, and that really got him eager! Not to mention the fact that it seems like there are perfect, adorable babies everywhere we go. We have definitely been talking about it a lot recently. So we decided to make a list of what we want to have accomplished before we bring a sweet little baby into the world.

We sat down with a stack of note cards and silently wrote one item on a single notecard. After much thought we were ready to compare. We read each item out loud and discussed if we both agreed that it would be something we needed to accomplish. A few things were deemed unrealistic, but we generally had the same main points. In the end we decided on a list of five goals, as follows.

For me to graduate from my University (May 2017)

A committed pattern of daily prayer and bible study

For Michael to receive the promotion he is currently under review for

To be homeowners/have a down payment ready for the right house

Additional Emergency Savings that equal three months of total bills

It is a hefty list, maybe not in quantity, but definitely in quality. However, it feels great to have goals with such an exciting reward.

It seems like everyone has advice to either have kids young, saying that “if you wait for the perfect time to have kids, you will never have them.” Or to wait until your thirties, saying “you’ll regret not doing things while you are young.” What are your thoughts?

 

** Picture by Sophie, featuring Baby Ava (from “adopted” cousin Lizzie), the definition of a perfect little baby! Her dress is from Target, I couldn’t resist it!! **

Style Shoot Swoon

This past Tuesday was our style shoot organized by previously mentioned, Inspired Help! It was the sweetest experience ever! Brittany (owner & creator of Inspired Help) organized all of the shooters, the florist, the location, and everything else. She has an amazing eye, so everything was perfect and beautiful! I arrived at Brittany’s house around 2:30pm where my hair was done. Next, the makeup artist, Melinda did my makeup. From there I got dressed and we headed to the location.

The style shoot was held in this lush green field on the property of Two Monkeys Vintage. They are the rental company who provided all of the props we used (beside the cakes). TwoMonkeysVintage has a giant warehouse filled with anything and everything you could dream of wanting for your wedding. The owners were incredibly kind and gave us free range of everything. My favorite pieces were the vintage couches. We used a pink couch and navy couch for our shoot. Definitely check them out for any of your rental needs. When you check them out, make sure you read the most adorable story behind the name.

Also check out Rachel Ann Events, who was the mastermind behind the most beautiful bouquet I have ever seen! Literally, it was so amazing I couldn’t even believe it. The bouquet had Peonies and Juliet Roses, my absolute favorites!!! It was a total dream.

The session itself was broken into two segments. There were two separate photographers per session, so four total. It was a blast being directed and bouncing between so many creative minds. It was also great for the ego, each photographer laughing and praising your every pose hahah! I can’t wait to brag on the talented Amilia, Carrie Ann, Liraz, and K. Schultz!! They were all so encouraging and exciting to be around.

By the end of the day I was so tired I could barely stand. However, I was so happy I hardly noticed. We all laughed at how much more fun it is to do wedding photos when there is no one else at the wedding! Finally, Michael and I finished the night with huge burritos at Chuys. Stay tuned for some serious bragging about the most talented photographers and creatives ever. Until then, enjoy the few pictures I clicked on our drive to the location!

Jack’s & Five Daughter’s

Monday we had a blast showing my cousin, Stephanie, around our gorgeous city! I love getting to show off Nashville any chance I get, and it’s even more fun when it’s with the fam! We started by walking down 2nd, then Broadway. We stopped at the cute candy store, the boot shop, and a couple other fun places. We decided to have lunch at Jack’s BBQ, per tradition. Jack’s is our family’s go to BBQ choice!! Any family reunion for my dad’s side of the family includes it. They have the best sauces and amazing pork shoulders. Michael did a large pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese, green beans, and an extra side of baked beans. Me and Steph split a plate of pork shoulder with a side of green beans and mac and cheese for me. Steph got a side of baked cinnamon apples. It was all amazing! We ate on the upper level by the huge glass windows.

Next we hopped in the car and headed over to Five Daughters Bakery on 12th Ave South. I have heard so many great things about it… And they were all so true!!! Steph and I had the strawberry lemonade donut. It was so fantastic! I made a mess eating it, but it was so worth it. The donut itself had almost a mix between a donut and a croissant. They are aptly named a cronut or the 100 layer donut. Michael had a maple sugar donut. I snuck a few bites and I can attest to it’s deliciousness. Also, check out their website. They have an amazing story and a live donutcam!! You can literally look and see what donuts are stocked. It’s the coolest little idea.

I hope you guys have had a great week!(: enjoy a few touristy shots we took while exploring Nashville!

Hillsboro with the Hubby

Micheal and I absolutely love going down to Hillsboro Village. It is a little block of precious boutiques and delicious food/drinks. The village is located basically between Belmont and Vandy, on 21st. We don’t go very often, but when we do it is always the highlight of my week. We love looking at all of the cute boutique clothing and the random house items. There is also an amazing new& used bookstore, BookManBookWoman. It is everything you could ever want from a bookstore! The bookshelves are stacked from floor to ceiling. And there are literally bookshelves everywhere. It is a bookworm’s dream come true.

When we go we always stop by Province Breads & Cafe. They make Macarons that will change your world! Michael always gets Pistachio, meanwhile my favorite is always either vanilla or cinnamon. However,unfortunately they didn’t have either one. So I tried the lemon and the peach. The lemon was fabulous, however I don’t think I will be partaking in peach again soon. It just wasn’t my favorite.

Overall, it was good to get out and enjoy a little time downtown!

// Shirt: Lucky // Shorts: Loft // Purse: Michael Kors (Jet Set Travel Medium Saffiano Leather) // Sandals: Steve Maden // Earrings: Tiffany & Co // Michael’s Shirt: J.Crew // Jeans: Lucky // Boots: Levi

 

Chatbooks? Check!

A couple of days after I discovered Parabo, (click here for post) another ad showed up on my IG feed. This time for a company called Chatbooks. I was driving through Kansas on my way to Utah (click here for post) and decided to give it a try. I downloaded the app and got started! You can “hold on to what matters” by uploading directly from you IG or Facebook to the app. You can choose individual pictures or entire albums!

It was crazy simple to use. You can manage what captions and dates are transcribed, edit photos, and organize them easily. The standard book is $8.00. This includes 60 pages with one 6×6 photo per page. There is a $1.00 charge per each additional 10 pages. You can also upgrade to a grey hardback cover for $5.

Shipping is surprisingly cheap! The first option is Turtle Shipping which is free  (10-14 business days, no tracking, & paper envelope). The next option is the Bunny Shipping for $1 (5-10 business days, no tracking, & waterproof envelope). Finally, the fastest option is the Pony Shipping for $2 (2-4 business days, door to door tracking, & waterproof envelope).

I decided to try it out with some Facebook photos we had of the wedding. It took me maybe ten minutes to make and I really like it! It has a simple feel to it that I really enjoy. Plus the photos look great against the white background. I choose the free shipping just to see how long it would take. It came within 13 business days, 18 days total. Overall,  I would recommend it to someone who wants an organized, hard copy of their photos. It’s super affordable, takes no time, and is user friendly. However, I will say that for more detailed scrapbook needs I will stick with Shutterfly just because of the customizable options (multiple photos per page, stickers, backgrounds, emblems).

If you want to try it, use the following code for a completely free book. Seriously, no catch! If you choose turtle shipping it will cost you absolutely nothing!! Just download the app “Chatbooks” and at checkout use the code “4GJ6GGKQ”.

Check out these pictures of my first Chatbook! Comment below if you choose to make one. I would love to hear about your experience!