blog

peace...er, popsicle sticks

Well, no peace around here this week! Just lots and lots (and lots...) of popsicle sticks. It's VBS week at Redeemer and I eagerly agreed to organize the crafts for all 150 kids. Gasp, I didn't know it was quite 150 when I signed on the dotted line. Although, today was the first day and it proved to be tons of fun. I'm really excited about Wednesday's craft...probably more excited than the kids will be, in fact. But these popsicle sticks might have something to do with it, if I make it to Wednesday.

little girls in the big city

I can't believe it's been a month since I had these little surprise visitors visit me in New York. We had a fun (short) day, and I hope that they weren't too worn out or scarred to come visit again soon. As I was reminiscing about them being here, I wanted to share some adorable pictures that were too cute to miss. Thanks for braving the city with these two, Mom! I loved having all 3 of you visit.

McKay's I [heart] NY shirt: so perfect.

We found Minnie & Mickey in Times Square!

cute sisters.


All the M&M's they could imagine...

Of course I took them to Shake Shack.
...and, the American Girl store.


Dinner at Carmines.

this is only the beginning.
































Yep, this is only the beginning of the fun we had at the wedding in Vermont this weekend. Brendan, John and I (almost missed it, but) hit up the Photo Booth at the reception which was sooooo.fun.

I never met the bride - only the groom as I was walking into the wedding - so hopefully this will be a warm introduction for the bride when she sees these photos in her guest book!

sidewalk art

These little reminders were written all over the sidewalk in my neighborhood last week. I know they made at least one person smile. Such an unexpected way of being encouraged!





best cake in the entire world.
































This is lemon poppyseed cake that my friend Kyo made for her birthday party this past weekend. I wish you could taste how good it was just from looking at this picture. Because, if this is possible, it was even better than it looked. You all know I'm a big cake person, and this one - literally - took the cake. (Gosh, why do I think such terrible, corny jokes are funny?) My compliments to the baker!

And, I put in a request for one of these for my birthday...in 5 months.  It was that good, folks.

pretty shower details.


I mentioned in this post that I went to a wedding shower this past weekend. The details and decorations were all so pretty and lovely. I especially loved the Mason jars with washi tape around them. Such a simple and easy addition that makes such a big difference. So very pretty!

big apple bbq festival
































As I mentioned, this past weekend was the Big Apple BBQ Festival. It happens every year around the second weekend in June, and I look forward to it all year long. That's mostly because my favorite BBQ from growing up and visiting my grandparents, Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama, comes to the event every year with loads of pulled pork and their famous white BBQ sauce. And every year, it's the only BBQ I'll eat at the festival. (One year, I got my picture taken with the owner!) This year - as is the case every year - Bob Gibson's had the longest line, and Brendan and I stood in the line for over 45 minutes for a couple of pulled pork sandwiches. There's nothing else quite like it! It was worth every minute we waited. Until 2013, Big Bob...

[I took the picture of me eating Big Bob's just for GG and Anna Curl!]

my rehearsal dinner speech



Rose Lynn and I have a pretty special friendship. We met on our sorority bid day at Auburn, yet we had no idea how much history we already had. As we were taking in all of the bid day festivities and looking around as nervous freshman at 54 other girls we barely knew, her dad spotted my mom in the crowd gathered in front of Mollie Hollifield Hall. Mr. Mike, Rose's dad, recognized my mom from 20+ years before. He recognized her because some 20 years earlier, my dad was Mr. Mike's high school football coach, long before the thought of either of us had entered anyone's mind. My parents had 3 small kids when my dad was a high school football coach, and Rose's dad never knew I came along because he was a senior in high school the year he played football for my dad. (Can you imagine his surprise when he realized his high school football coach had a daughter the same age as his?!) The rest of the story of our friendship is pretty much history. Rose and I spent spring breaks together, ate 85% of our meals together in college, and drove identical cars at Auburn. Once, she drove me home, 3 hours to Tuscaloosa, so that I wouldn't miss my niece's pajama birthday party. I had stayed up all night the night before finishing a final project, and could barely keep my eyes open to walk, much less drive. We really formed more of a sister bond than a friend bond. I feel like she's as much a part of my family as I am hers. She's visited at least once each year I've been in New York, gotten me through many emotional breakdowns - in New York and in college - and was the best darn Chemistry tutor I've ever had. Meanwhile, I was helplessly watching as she studied endless hours during her time in pharmacy school, and anxiously waiting for her next unbelievable story from the life of a real-life pharmacist. And now...she's married. With a husband.

Oh. My.

And oh my, what a fun weekend the wedding was! I finally have more pictures to share (that aren't from my iphone) that I'll post in the next few days. I thought it was only appropriate to give the full background of how special this girl is to me before I shared the details of her wedding. Plus, this is what I meant to say in my toast to her at her rehearsal dinner. But I was too busy holding back tears to say any of this. Or anything at all, for that matter.