30 Days of Thanks: Day 5

Day 5: I am thankful for friends. God has placed some pretty amazing people in my life and I cannot imagine walking through life without them. I am thankful for the early morning breakfast dates just to catch up and the late nights out on the town to unwind after a long day. I am thankful for laughing together until we cried and crying together because we're also sharing life's difficulties. I am thankful for friends that have become as close as sisters and sisters who I can be friends with. I am thankful for friends who are willing to speak truth and encouragement even when it's tough. I have been so blessed by friends, my hope is that I can in turn be a blessing to someone else.

Hello 2013

Alan and I rang in the New Year with sweet friends, dinner & drinks, and fun games. 

Toasting to 2013!

Sunday Funday

Yesterday was a super fun and super busy Sunday! Alan and I went to church bright and early and then went over to my parents' house for lunch to see my wonderful aunt Claire and uncle Peter who were in town for the weekend. Claire and Peter live in Connecticut and we have missed them like crazy!

That afternoon we went to the Knoxville Convention Center for me to help with Tinsel and Treasure, which is my committee this year for Junior League. We had some GREAT vendors and it definitely got the wheels in my head spinning with Christmas ideas! I told Alan that he was lucky we don't have a house yet, or our credit card might have gotten a little bit of a workout!

That night we went to...

to celebrate Will's 29th birthday! It was so much fun going out with them and several other couples from our small group. They are just the greatest friends and we are so blessed to know them. Happy Birthday Will!

A Very Merry Unbirthday

Lyndsay, Liz, me, Lindsey

Saturday night Alan and I joined in the celebrations and raised a glass to my good friend, Liz, who had a very merry unbirthday and turned the big 30! Her super creative sis, Mimi, planned a Mad Hatter b-day extravaganza which was oh so fun! Liz moved from Knoxville to Wilmington, NC last year so I do not get to see nearly enough of her now but we had a fabulous time catching up! Happy Birthday Liz!

STL Weekend

Last Saturday was the only weekend that the Vols were not scheduled to play so as soon as I saw their schedule the wheels in my head started turning as I began planning a weekend road-trip to Saint Louis to visit friends and watch the Cardinals once more this season. It was not hard to convince Alan that we really needed to take this trip...especially since the Cards were playing the Cubs! We left Friday morning and arrived in Saint Louis around 5:30pm. Our sweet friends, Laura and Mike, invited us to stay with them so we got to their house, unpacked, and then went to One 19 North for dinner. It is a delicious tapas bar in downtown Kirkwood and the perfect place to catch up with friends!

Saturday morning we woke up, had a yummy breakfast that Laura made for us, and then headed downtown to the Cardinals vs. Cubs game. It was a beautiful day!

view from our seats

I definitely see lots more of this in our future...

The Cards are only 2 games out from being the Wild Card this year, hears hoping to another World Championship!

It was kinda of (okay so it was really) cold in our seats since they were in the shade so at the end of the 6th inning Alan agreed to move around to the other side to watch the rest of the game in the sun!

Much better (AKA warmer!)

That night after an exciting WIN at Busch Stadium, we went to Anthonino's which is a delicious Italian spot on The Hill and one of our all-time favorite restaurants in Saint Louis!

Our very best friends all came out and met us there which was so great and meant so much to us!

left to right:

Lauren, me, Laura, Allison, and Lacy

Laura took such great care of us all weekend long, she is the best and I miss her already!

The Whole Crew

left to right:

Guys: Ben, Randy, Zach, Mike, and Alan

Gals: Allison, Lacy, Lauren, Laura, and me!

Such a fun and perfect weekend, I can't wait until we can do it again!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend went from bad to great! The Vols played the Gators (our long-time rival) Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, Florida. We lost and it was a very disappointing game :(

We decided not to dwell on the loss and went over to our friends Becca & Will's house that night for ice-cream and hanging up. It was great! They put Brayden, their sweet son, to bed right as we were getting there and we were able to enjoy a whole evening of eating ice-cream, watching more football, and chatting late into the night. I am so thankful for the sweet friends we are making and becoming closer to as the weeks go by!

Sunday afternoon I talked Alan into letting us take the boat out. We are going to be out-of-town the next 2 weekends and I'm not quite sure how many more warm days we will have left... so we did and it was wonderful. Some of our best conversations are while we are on the lake... I think it's because Alan is so content he is willing to talk about anything! We were able to discuss quite a lot about life in Knoxville since our move (which we are loving!) and also our trip to Saint Louis this coming weekend (which I am so excited about I can hardly stand it!)

Lastly, I will say that I'm not a music buff by any stretch; however, I would like to highly recommend the album Magnolia EP by Ellie Holcomb. Ellie went to college with me and is SO TALENTED!!! Acoustic guitar... songs based on the Psalms... it doesn't get much better than that! Ellie has been touring with her husband, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, (also awesome!) and just recently came out with her own album...which I love! Please check it out! Plus, if you "like" her on Facebook or tweet about her...you get a free download!

Tanasi Lodge

Last night Alan and I went up to Tanasi Lodge with a big group of our friends. We had such a good time! The lodge belongs to a couple in our Sunday School class and since they didn't have anyone renting it out this weekend, we all got invited to go!

This was the view we woke up to this morning :)

the girls making breakfast

the guys chatting it up

We felt like we were on top of the world up there, it was beautiful!

Lindsey & Cody's Wedding

This past weekend Alan and I went to Lindsey & Cody's wedding in Cookeville. Lindsey is a sorority sister of mine from college and we were so excited to share in the celebrations!

The wedding was held at the beautiful Clark House

Lindsey was gorgeous!

I'm so happy for this great couple!

It was super fun catching up with Emily & Blair who sat at our table at the reception

My sweet friend Janie and her husband John who requested a shout-out in "The Blog" :)

Thankful I caught a few minutes with the bride

Cheers to a fantastic evening with dear friends!

Ally's Baby Shower

This afternoon we celebrated my good friend, Allyson Means and her precious baby boy on the way, with a shower in Franklin. This was my first time hosting a Baby Shower and I had a blast planning all the details with Janie and Katie. We had a great turnout and it was super fun seeing some dear friends that I don't get to see enough of :)

Janie, me, and Katie

Allyson, beautiful as ever!

cute little cupcakes

Cheers to mini-Means!

mini-Means is so loved already

I think we have a little Vol fan on the way!

Ashton, Grayson, Teresa, and Monica (Ally's sisters, mom, and mother-in-law)

We cannot wait til October 15th!!!

Cassie & Steve's Wedding

This past weekend Alan and I went to Nashville for my sorority sister, Cassie's, wedding. We had a blast staying in Franklin with Janie & John and reuniting with friends over wedding festivities. On Friday night, Janie & John took us to JJ's Wine Bar in downtown Franklin. It is the coolest place ever! When you walk in you get a card to start a tab which you can use to select a sip, half glass, or full glass of wine...it was super fun! Christie & Jared also joined us there so it was great catching up with them :)

On Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market. They seemed to have everything! We wandered through the booths while sipping on some delicious organic mint sweet tea that is one of Janie's favorites.

I told Janie that if I lived closer these flowers would most definitely be coming home with me!

Peaches: a classic Southern staple

Janie sometimes gets her veggies here too

This time, Janie talked John into letting her get a birdhouse she had been eyeing for a while, I can't wait to see it set up in their backyard!

After the Farmer's Market we went to brunch at Puckett's, which is a sweet little spot in downtown Franklin and that afternoon we headed a little further south to see our friends, Caitlin & Wyatt, who just bought a new house in Thompson's Station, it is precious!

That evening we went to the wedding which was in downtown Nashville. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was wonderful! Here is a picture of Cassie's "cake"...I absolutely love it!

It was so fun catching up with friends we see way too little of, love you Christy :)

of course we had to sing the Tri Delta Wedding Song

I love these girls!

Here's a picture of Alan and I with our fabulous hosts for the weekend who truly made this one of the best weekend roadtrips ever, love y'all!!!