Ritz Carlton (where Carrie Underwood was Married}

I just got back in town from Georgia, I was with the Southern Bride team for a work trip. We did some business, had some fun and also relaxed!! I will post more on our trip later, but wanted to share an interesting fact about the hotel, The Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation. I learned our first evening there, that this AMAZING hotel was where Carrie Underwood was married!

Have you seen photos of her wedding?? Well if so, that's where I just was. Most of the photos you probably see of her wedding doesn't show a lot of the actual hotel, but let me tell you - it was AMAZING!! And the service was the BEST service I have ever had at a hotel!! WOW! The staff went over and beyond for us, which truly made the experience even better!!

I will post more photos of our fabulous trip later. We had a few meetings, enjoyed some fabulous food, went to the spa, and enjoyed some wonderful wine!! So will be back soon to share more about that and pics!!

Happy Weekend everyone!!

GIVEAWAY Info. {worn by Fergie & Giuliana Rancic}

Hi Ladies! Wanted to let all of you know about a FAB Giveaway that the magazine I work for, Southern Bride Magazine, is doing! It's from Count Me Healthy Jewelry and is a "Bride-to-Be" bracelet. If you haven't heard of these awesome bracelets, then you are in luck. They are basically a health journal for your wrist AND a stylish way to accessorize.

Celebs such as Fergie and Giuliana Rancic {from E! & Giuliana and Bill} have worn them to help them keep up with their healthy habits and goals. These bracelets have also been seen in top magazines, like ELLE, Women's Day, SHAPE and In Touch WEEKLY, to name a few.

Visit the Southern Bride Magazine Blog to find out more about these bracelets, how they work and enter to win!! Oh and although it is the "Bride-to-Be" bracelet, anyone can wear it!!

Good Luck!!

Coat/Jacket Faceoff

One of my favorite things to do is check out People.com and look at Fashsion Faceofff and decide who I think "wore it best." I just took at look at some recent fashion faceoff's and some gals wearing some jackets and coats. These are my picks . . .

Kelly (From Real Housewives NYC) & Brooke Shields - I think Brooke wore it best!! Love the scarf paired with the coat along with her black boots, a much better look than Kelly's, I think!

Miley vs. Julianne - I like Julianne's look much more than Miley's!!

Actress Thandie Newton vs. Jessica Simpson - this one is hard because I think they both look great!!! I really can't choose here, so they both get my vote!! I LOVE this jacket, so classy!!

Nicole Kidman vs. Mary Kate Olsen - hands down Nicole!! She thought outside the box on this one and didn't just wear this as a coat, but belted it and turned it into a "coatdress." I like her thought process here, but I also think this look is a bit old for her. She has such a great figure that I think she can get away with wearing something else, but since I had to choose between the 2, I still say Nicole.

What are your thoughts?

"Foot" for Thought

I thought that I would share some good quotes and pics of our feet . . . as weird as that may sound. I love foot photos. When we were engaged, one of my favorite shots was of our feet (the photo with the gold heels.) I still love it till this day! I thank the Lord for my feet, that I can get out of bed each day and that they lead me to the love of my life!

"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm"

Abraham Lincoln

"I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes"

Oprah Winfrey

"From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other"

Helen Hayes

"My shoes are special shoes for discerning feet"

Manolo Blahnik

"You can't put your feet on the ground until you've touched the sky"
Paul Auster

"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground"

Theodore Roosevelt

Christmas 2010

I never got around to posting about our Christmas so I thought . . . .better late than never. We had a wonderful Christmas! My parents were here, we enjoyed some wonderful food, were blessed with some amazing gifts and just enjoyed spending time together!!

I'll start with Christmas Eve {I posted more about Christmas Eve and some of our Christmas decorations a few weeks ago, you can view that post here.} We went to church, came home, ate some goodies, then we opened a few gifts. Every Christmas Eve we open gifts with my family and it's ALWAYS new Christmas pj's!!

{Present time!!!}

{My lil bro & I love The Christmas Story and watch it a ton when it comes on for 24hours on Christmas Eve. We've been doing it for years! This year, I found his Christmas pj's and knew they would be perfect, they said "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid . . ."

{Mike laughing . . . . so cute!!}

{Me and one of the 2 pairs of my cute, new pj's!}

{Mom opening her new Ralph Lauren pajamas that Dad got her}

{Look what my Dad got . . . . "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" boxers, ha ha ha! It was hilarious!!}

{Me & Mr. Big on Christmas morning}

{Our stockings!}

{M loves globes and I gave him a mini globe in his stocking - he was being silly here}

{Dad opening some gifts!]

{My lil bro sportin some of his new clothes as he opened more.}

{M popped up behind me and surprised me with this amazing painting that I had seen a few months before and fell in love with! I was SO excited!!}

{The aftermath}

{M's parents gave us a new TV - SO not expecting it, but such a great surprise!! My dad, M and my bro were putting it up. Look at my dads legs sticking out behind the mantel, ha ha}

{Me & my lil bro enjoyin some champagne before Christmas brunch}

{He was ready to eat!}

{My painting went in our bedroom. Not on the wall yet, but going to be soon! I LOVE it!!}

{Later that night Mom and I were getting ready for Christmas dinner. She baked a red velvet cake and I put together shrimp cocktails for all of us to enjoy before dinner. It's a tradition at our house to have shrimp cocktails on Christmas night}

{I decorated my table with ornaments, bits of garland, my china, and candles}

{One of my clients is a winery called Crown Winery. I took my Mom there before Christmas and we stocked up on wine. We got this one, called Royal Red and saved it to have with our Christmas dinner. I thought the name was fitting for the occasion!}

{Salad with our traditional Christmas dressing, Green Goddess dressing. My Mom started the tradition of having this dressing over 25 years ago. We've had it ever since I can remember. It's basically like Ranch, and sooo good!}

{Dinner Time}

{Mom's famous Beef Wellington, which she has also been making for over 25 years. Love this tradition!! She used to always take the rest of the pastry and use a bell cookie cutter and put bells on top I LOVED getting a bell off of the Wellington when I was a little girl!! This year, we found a star cookie cutter and since my parents live in Texas now, we thought we would change the tradition up a bit, and start a new one and put stars on top. I loved how it turned out!.}

{Me and my little bro! We had a great Christmas and were ready for the New Year when his band came up from Nashville and played here in Memphis - that post with be coming soon!}

Always On Your Side

Today I decided to change my playlist song and changed it to "Always On Your Side" by Sheryl Crow. I've always liked this song, and today I really took time to listen to the song and read the lyrics! Music is so magical and tells a story. Songs can mean different things to different people, but they all mean something! Sometimes I get into a song, but don't really take the time to listen closely to the words and what they represent. Next time you hear a song you love, take the time to REALLY listen to it. You will discover that it means much more than you thought!

Always On Your Side - Sheryl Crow

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away

But every now and then you come to mind

Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game

But when your name was called, you found a place to hide

When you knew that I was always on your side

Well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent

But your demons and your angels reappeared

Leavin' all the traces of the man you thought you'd be

Leavin' me with no place left to go from here

Leavin' me so many questions all these years

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear

Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear

Or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally

This isn't how it's really meant to be

No it isn't how it's really meant to be

Well they say that love is in the air, but never is it clear,

How to pull it close and make it stay

Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away

And I'm left to carry on and wonder why

Even through it all, I'm always on your side

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear

Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear

Or are we left to wonder, all alone, eternally

But is this how it's really meant to be

No is it how it's really meant to be

Well if they say that love is in the air, never is it clear

How to pull it close and make it stay

If butterflies are free to fly, why do they fly away

Leavin' me to carry on and wonder why

Was it you that kept me wondering through this life

When you know that I was always on your side

Some Fun, Some Snow, Some Soup

How was every one's weekend??Mine was pretty good. I had to work Saturday till 9:30 then debated if I was going to make it out for a friends Birthday at a new place called Rehab Disco - funny name, huh? I was really too tired too go, and M couldn't go with me because he had to get up at 5:30a.m. Sunday for work, so I had to go all by my lonesome. But I had some friends there, so it's not like I was really going to be alone.

Here are a few pics from the party:

{Me & the girls}

{Me & my sweet co-worker, Tom!! He's so funny, love him!!}

{The girls gettin down!}

{Me & Samantha}

{The Birthday Girl!!}

I only stayed for a couple hours, which is SO not like me when it comes to going out. But the weather was supposed to start getting bad and I was ready to get home and snuggle with my hubby and pup! Sunday we got some snow and it was so pretty! I love snow and staying in, being all cozy!!

{Big snowflakes!!}

{Roads covered in our neighborhood}

{Mr. Big checkin out the snow}

{Our house, covered in a wintery, white blanket of snow}

{Trees in our backyard - such a pretty wintery, pic!}

{Drying off after playing in the snow}

{After playing outside, he was pooped!}

Tonight I decided to make some soup. I debated on what kind to make and didn't really want to have to get out and go to the grocery, so I looked around in the fridge and pantry and had stuff to make some homemade Broccoli Cheese soup. I added some carrots to it too, and it was good!

{Had to have a little white wine with my soup too . . . }

Last but certainly not least, I must say congrats to Auburn. Their Offensive Coordinator, Coach Gus Malzahn - was the coach at my highschool in AR and now has moved on up and is coaching for Auburn. Tonight he won the Championship!! It was a great game!! We enjoyed watching it . . although M was for Ohio. He said he wanted someone to win that never had won that title before. So it as a bit of a "house divided." ha ha!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Still got some pics to post from Christmas, hope to get to that this week! Night all!