NEW PUPPY!!

Mom and Dad got NEW PUPPY!! She's the cutest, sweetest thing in this world!! Oh my! She's part lab and part bulldog mix, so basically she looks just like a golden lab with white spots, with a pushed in nose, which is PRECIOUS! We're so excited! She's staying inside at the back door mostly, but when we let her out in the house she just gets so happy she can't contain herself. I was running with her back and forth in the kitchen and I'd stop and she'd just keep sliding across the floor and either flip over or hit the wall, it was THE funniest thing!! She's so great!! They named her Daisy, not my choice, but it seems to fit her.

Couples Shower

Thanks to everyone who came to our couples shower and those of you who already gave us gifts and could not attend. We had so much fun just relaxing and enjoying our wonderful friends! It was a busy Easter weekend and we really appreciate eveyone coming out! Maegan and Alex hosted, which was way sweet!! They're in the solo pic above :) Maegan decorated with super fun, bright colors and had everything cordinated to the plates with the food! And she got all of Tyson and my favorite foods from Buffalo Phil's, oh how we miss college! The best things were the picture frame she had everyone sign and the personalized M&M's! I LOVE IT!! Tyson got a lot of manly gifts, that were much needed around the house & I got great stuff for around the house! I love getting things I want and need and KNOW I'll use!! We're really lucky to have such awesome friends.

SPRING!!

Today's the first day of spring! The entrance to our community is BEAUTIFUL right now! I wanted to take a picture but the road's a little busy and it's on a big curve, so I decided to not get killed and try that. I did take a new picture of the house with our Pear Tree! This spring and summer we really plan to work on the yard and the outside, so hopefully we'll have some home improvement updates soon!

Bands... We're ready now!

Well we finally got all our bands in and they FIT!!! YeAh! We're super excited, ok maybe me a little bit more than ty-ty. And look we're married for the first time, kind of unofficially :) Can't wait to see everyone 30 days!!!

Bands!!

Well, it's been a bumpy road, but my bands are here! They really look good all together. Tyson bought be two bands, since many of the ladies in his family have or did have two bands. Just thought I'd share a sneak peek.

Reception Time!!

Everyone rushed off the War Memorial after the wedding to eat, dance, and celebrate! We sincerely had a wonderful time! Even my parents stayed well into the night! After the wedding party was announced Lauren and Nick had their first dance (which they worked really hard on). After that it was time for the dad to take over for the first time with his little girl, now Mrs. Marasa. The dance floor had a beautiful monogram light on the floor. After that we all got together and danced, Lauren and I even got to add a little Roll Tide during Sweet Home Alabama. The entire place was decorated beautifully and all the food and cakes were amazing! Finally it was time for the garter, as you can see it was a team effort with the groomsman and Tyson. The bouquet toss was not as friendly. I think I caught it, but it went through my hands and girls went nuts for it on the floor. I think it changed hands several times and ended up in several pieces.... It was a beautiful night and great celebration for the new couple!

Going to the chapel...

We had so much fun getting ready together. I got to help Stacey with her hair, Stacey helped Lindsey with her makeup and so on and so on. We all had a really good time. We got to be with Lauren as she got her final preparations done: hair, dress, garters... Nick sent beautiful flowers to Lauren in the room. Then we loaded up in the limo to take pictures in the blustry weather. Lauren was radiating!!! BEAUTIFUL!!! At the church things calmed down when Lauren got to read a note from Nick and open the gift he had sent for her. It was a gorgeous picture frame. Lauren got some final touches and we were ready to go out the door!! Look at how pretty La's flowers were!! (Our bridesmaids dresses were a charcoal, platinium color with silver sashes. They had a small train, so the back was really lovely! That's me... :)

Lauren's Bridesmaids Luncheon

Lauren was glowing on the morning of the wedding. Thanks to Tyson, the grandmothers and I all got chauffeured to the luncheon. The snow was beautiful to wake up to and luckily didn't cause any problems for the Big Day! Lauren gave us each a bag filled with girly items and had necklaces and earrings made for each of us to wear with our dress in the wedding. The beads matched the dress color perfectly! Lauren sported her "BRIDE" tank! The food was wonderful and the old town house resteraunt was lovely. Thanks to Lauren for a great morning treat!

SNOW in Nashville!!

Tyson and I really enjoyed the snow, something we rarely see in Alabama!! It was so much fun to see and play in for... well about 5 mins. Don't we look cute all bundled up!! :)

Lauren and Nick's Rehearsal Dinner

One of my dearest friends in the WORLD!! got married this past weekend!!! Congrats La & Nick!! Lauren Hoffman and I met during college at The University of Alabama and have been friends going on about 5 years, I guess. This past year we've had the pain, joy, tears, and excitement of planning our wedding close together. We started out the weekend Friday having lunch and getting pampered. That night we had the rehearsal at the beautiful church and rehearsal dinner at the brillant City Club of Nashville. The place over looks Nashville from atop one of the buildings top floor. It was such a special night to celebrate the day to come and life to come for Nick and Lauren. Nick and Lauren had a GREAT slide show that was sweet and very funny, like them! All the speeches were heart felt and meant so much to everyone, especially the Bride & Groom! The best part was the bells! Everytime someone rang the bells that were placed on each table, the couple had to kiss! It was wonderful! As the dinner progressed so did the weather. During dinner it began to snow and ice. When we left, there was at least 3 inches of snow on the ground and more falling. By morning we had about 6 inches. At the hotel each guest had an awesome gift bag with snacks, water, and directions. Thanks to Lauren and planner and family and friends who all help put on a fabulous weekend!!

Wedding Preparations!!

BIG THANKS TO MOM!! My mom has been really great through all the wedding prep! First, she's given an enormous amount of time to buying and driving and searching for things. Second, she's basically given up two or more rooms in her house. Third, she's just been truly helpful! Last week she drove and called a dozen post offices to find our special wedding stamps. My dad's been helping too. He's spent endless time in Hobby Lobby helping mom find flowers, and stayed up late into the night helping us stuff, stamp, and seal invitations! We really had a system going until the am hours this weekend! Mom also got out some of her old wedding things, like the cake toppers, and decorations and added some pictures of Tyson and I around the mantel. It was a really sweet gesture. Also, a big thanks to Chasity, our coordinator! She's been super helpful and excited helping us look at the details and last minute things! I'm posting some pictures so everyone can get a small idea of my old room at home, and how the wedding has taken over!!

Wedding Sneak Peak!

It's hard to know what to do and set up for each table and what the design should be on this cake, and how the fruit should be set up, and should the candle auras have ivy or no ivy? On the Bride's Cake table I saw this idea and knew that was just the thing for us! We got a copy made of the photograph of Tyson's parents and my parents cutting their cake at their weddings. We thought that was so sweet and appropriate to display on our cake table! We even found frames that will match the stand our cake will be displayed on. (Candle pictures thanks to Celebrations of Boaz, I think we've cleaned them out of all black rod iron pieces and silver serving platters and bowls for the weekend of April 19th, and even more things from Mullin's of Huntsville)

More Gifts!!

Tyson and I can not thank the people of Clanton and The First Baptist Church and Wright's Gifts enough!! We have received numerous gifts every week!! I thought our dining room table would be enough to display everything, but I'm stacked up double on the table and now have two more tables pulled out! We've been so blessed! Thank you all!!

No surprise this is Tyson favorite gift table! He's ready to grill and tail gate this fall!

These are some pictures of our everday dishes we selected. We've gotten almost every piece, mostly Gift Certificates thanks to Wright's!! The design in Lenox, Butler's Pantry Gourmet. Mrs. McKinnon even gave us the large oval platter, which is beautiful! Thanks to everyone who has given us a plate or bowl, we will use them daily and think of all the wonderful people who showered us!! (In the corner is the Arthur's Court Egg platter the sweet hostesses gave me from the Clanton Shower, the ladies who braved the weather :)

Two of my favorite gifts!! I love the "L" monogram coasters! It was one of the first things I went to register for and one of the first things I got!! I love them and I am so excited to be adding an "L" to my monogram!! I also love the Arthur's Court Elephant Cheese Dome!! It's one of my favorite pieces, along with the trivet, spoon rest, and napkin rings.