1 Year Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Lewis!  

You keep me on my toes, surprise me often, make me take myself much less seriously and make life really fun! It feels like this year has flown by... and I look forward to many, many more together!

 I love you very much! 

p.s. I just watched our wedding slideshow again and got a little teary! 

last weekend...

Last weekend was one of those great winter ( although it feels like spring) weekends that feels like a weekend is supposed to! It was not hectic, but full with time spent with friends and family and a lot of fun!

I was able to sneak away from work a little early on Friday because my longtime friend Lauren came in town for a visit. We spent a sunny afternoon at the park with her kids and our friend Emelie and her son Knox. It was a sweet time of catching up!

That evening our crew grew by a few men and we cooked out steaks and they chased the little boys (poor Webb isn't in any of the pics I have) around while I stole baby Townes! I'm pretty sure I could have held him for the whole 24 hours they were here!

Although we were sad to see them leave on Saturday morning, I hit the pavement with my friends and co-workers Hayden and Mary Allyn for a 5k! It was a hilly course but we made it in great time ( ignore the clock on the photo- it was for the 1/2 marathoners that started before us!) and felt proud the rest of the day!

Post race Lewis and I soaked up some sun in the front yard with the puppers and then headed to the Square for a little post race lunch (complete with a mimosa for me) on a balcony in downtown Oxford.

     

All in all it was the makings a great weekend, if you ask me!

classroom charts...

I'm over at the Rambling Road blog today sharing about my new obsession... old school house maps and posters. I've snagged this one for my guest bedroom, but we've got some others in our booths! Go check it out...

p.s. sorry for the photo quality, snapped with the trusty iphone! 

Mavis Staples and Wilco Video

This video has me tapping my feet in my office today! Some of these videos of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Mavis circulated on facebook a few weeks ago, but I found it again when looking for some Mavis Staples videos.  I just love this one though!

Why was I looking for Mavis Staples videos? Well, we announced our Double Decker Festival music line up today (you know, for my real job!)  and I could not be more excited about our headliner, Mavis Staples (oh, and Iron and Wine, Deertick, Charlie Mars, The Funky Meters and lots of other great folks!)

Enjoy some tunes on your Friday.

feelin' valentiney

some flowers from my mister...

and some hearts in my kitchen...

and a few happies for my friends ( yep, those are candles from my sister-in-law amy) 

i'm feeling very valentiney today! 

happy heart day to you! 

domino magazine special edition

whoop! whoop! Yep, that's me hoopin' and hollerin'. Who else can't wait for April 17th? What an exciting surprise....

the big 3-0

Well friends, I officially hit the big 3-0 yesterday. It wasn't marked with any big celebration, as I was battling a cold and feeling a little under the weather!

B.T.C Grocery in Water Valley, Mississippi

Saturday, I did venture out for a fun cooking class with my friend Hayden at the B.T.C Grocery in Water Valley, Mississippi where we learned to make the most delicious artichoke soup ( among other things...) and I  enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Honey Bee Bakery with Lew on Sunday.  Have I ever mentioned that going out for breakfast is one of my most favorite things to do...

His gift of a Kindle was perfectly timed, as I spent a good portion of the weekend on the couch or in bed. And although I never want to see a brick and mortar books stores (and most specifically independent bookstores) close, I'm excited to read on my e-reader too!

To be honest, I can't really decide how I feel about thirty... but it's here so I'm taking the attitude that hopefully the next thirty years will be even better than the first thirty.

Rambling Road Update...

January has been a busy month! A few weeks ago my mom and I headed to Atlanta for a quick buying trip for Rambling Road. We loved getting to visit all the showrooms at market and see what is new, and even squeezed in a quick trip to Scott Antique Market where I picked up several new things for my house (pics to come soon).  Be sure to check out the Rambling Road site to see our new booth space in Sugar Magnolia, we've got about twice as much space and have filled it to the brim with great stuff!

Wishing...

the lovely mary straton smith

Do y'all read Mary Straton's "Wish List Wednesday" posts?! It is one of my favorite reads on Wednesdays as she has a great eye for unique finds and I love seeing what she posts each week.

She even featured my sister-in-law Amy's Etsy creations last week on her Etsy themed post!  If you don't already read them, so check her out!

Want to know my wish today? I wish I were headed to Alt Summit.... I just know it would be major. So inspiring to be around so many creative people (and I feel certain I would be slightly start struck by all my blogger crushes). Oh, maybe someday!

p.s. Did you know Mary Straton convinced me to start this blog? yep, she sure did.

a thank you, a few random thoughts and the civil wars....

First, THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for all the kind comments on the house! I was totally flattered by your responses and it was so fun to hear from people that don't normally comment! Makes this whole blog think feel more like a two way street when I hear back from y'all!

It was a hectic last week and from the looks of it, this one will be about the same. I'm not complaining. You see, last week was one of those work weeks that make me stop and think that  I should not ever complain about my job, because it is really fun! I spent two day in Jackson working and getting a chance to catch up with some "tourism" friends and then spent a few days here in Oxford touring around a film production crew scouting for a potential movie project.  We ate and toured and ate and toured and ate some more and it was really fun! Work projects like that make me get out and experience all the great things about Oxford and remember why we love living in this little town. Now I'm crossing my fingers it comes to here.

This week I am headed to Memphis to see  The Civil Wars in concert with Mary Straton and I am so excited! Stay tuned for a recap...

p.s. you might remember I posted about The Civil Wars here before.

how about that house tour?

Ok, here it is! It's been promised and promised since we moved in in August, but I finally got it together to take some photos and gather the before shots. They don't all match up in exactly, but it will give you a good idea of the before. Also, the before photos must have been reduced at some point because that is as big as I can get them.  So, here we go... come on in.

Kitchen:

We owe Courtney Jones all the credit for helping us design the kitchen layout. 

Kitchen before...

kitchen after... they installed a tile backsplash today! i'll post updated photos soon.

Mudroom/ Butler's Pantry:

Before, this was the end of the house. The laundry and pantry were located in this hallway. We moved the laundry into a storage room, incorporating it into the house.

before...

This picture shows where the washer/dryer would have been. The cabinets in the before picture were on this wall.

after...

Across from the old washer/ dryer location there were these cabinets. We left them, painting them to match our trim and use them as a pantry.

Storage Room/ Laundry Room :

This room was a storage room off the carport that backed up the back hallway. We switched the laundry hook ups and cut a doorway from the hall to incorporate this into our house. 

before...

after...

The washing machine is across from this desk which runs the length of the room, providing a seat for each of us and some storage above. 

Entry :

before...

after...

Den:

The wall that is on the right side of the image below is now gone and the den/ kitchen are basically one large open space.

before...

after...

Dining Area:

before...

after.

I talked about our decision to use a garage door in place of the sliding doors in this post, if you are curious.

Hallway:

before.

The after image is taken from the opposite direction ( looking down the hall from the main living space). For some perspective, the first door on the left is the hall bath.  Across from the hall bath is the front bedroom. The next door on the left is the linen closet, and the last door in the left is the master bedroom. The last door on the right is the back bedroom.

after...

Hall Bath:

before...

after... ( fyi that shower curtain is about to be replaced) 

You may remember that I blogged about our bathroom tile, and the tin in the shower in this post. You can also see the sinks and floor tile in that same post.

Front Bedroom:

before...

after...

 Back Bedroom:

before...

after...

Our Bedroom:

before...

after...

Master Bath:

before...

after....

So there it is! We are working on some plans for the exterior improvement and the screen porch addition and hope to start on those sometime soon! It was a lot of work, and somethings turned out better than we expected ( garage door, hall bath) and some might not be our dream, but are working for now ( laundry room).

 At the end of the day, it is our home and we love it not only for all the hard work we've poured into it, but also because we share it with each other ( and of course minnie lou) because after all "home is where your heart is"... but we'd be lying if we didn't say we love how it turned out!

year end review...

As 2012 starts today I had to pay tribute to 2011. It was a good year. One of the best yet, I'd say. Why you ask?

Well let's see 2010 ended with my best pal asking me to be his wife, which meant the first 2 months of 2011 were spent celebrating, planning and feeling quite blissful.

our engagement night, December 23, 2010

a fun evening with my Oxford girlfriends celebrating my engagement.

Lauren, me and Lewis at an incredibly fun engagement party ( that happened to fall on my 29th birthday!)

my wonderful "tourism" friends ( including fellow blogger Mary Straton Smith) threw a dinner for me that made me realize how truly blessed I am to have a job that has given me such incredible friends all over the State)

my mom and I at luncheon during the wedding weekend

March brought our wedding weekend... it rained and rained and rained, and we were certainly glad we'd decided on an indoor location!

our very non-traditional rehearsal dinner.

one of our favorite wedding pictures... 

it was everything we wanted it to be! You can view the wedding slide show in this post if you want to see more.

I love to travel, and this year brought travel to Florida for a low key yet lovely honeymoon, a trip to Europe ( for work... another reason to love my job!), several trips to New Orleans and a vacation in Anguilla.

although very unflattering, this is the only photo from our honeymoon!

Nothing says New Orleans like Cafe Du Monde

Anguilla

We spent countless weekends and evening working on our new house, which we moved into in August.  The house tour post is scheduled and will be on here tomorrow!!

the dumpster that spent the majority of last year in the front yard!

We headed to Meridian one weekend to see one of my favorite singers in concert... Patty Griffin.  If I had a bucket list, seeing her in concert would have been on it.

I have had a lot of fun and a great creative outlet in my mom and my side business, Rambling Road Interiors...

And we've shared more than a few fun times with family and friends that all contributed to making this year go down in history as one of the best yet....

Celebrating my friend Emily's engagement with a weekend in Oxford

lewis' big catch ( on one of several trips to the River House!)

always my pal....Hayden

football season

the thanksgiving holidays with our growing family.

Lewis and Minnie Lou have taken up hunting...

and most recently we celebrated a wonderful Christmas. Here's hoping that 2012 and the start of my 30's ( eek!) can keep up!