may blog challenge {the finale}

Day 27:  A letter to y'all

To my readers,
Though you may be few and far between, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you continue to visit my little place in the web.  This blog, along with me, has evolved from a day-to-day recap of my beginning college years to some in-depth posts of stepping my toes into the real world as a new wife.  It is crazy to think how my life has changed since this ole blog started and I'm grateful to be able to look back on it all. 
You guys have give me support, encouragement, and just plain sweet lovin' on many occasions.  I am not sure where my blog future will go but I know it has been a fun ride so far :)

Day 28:  Only pictures
Some of my favorites...

with my 2 fur babies... there is no way Boone could sit in my lap now. 

my bachelorette party. 

our rehearsal dinner. 

a snapshot with my family just before my new husband and I left for our honeymoon :) 

graduation day!

Day 29:  Five of my most favorite songs
"Makin' Plans" by Miranda Lambert... the song that I walked down the aisle to.


"The Best Day" by Taylor Swift... I'm not a huge T.Swift fan but this song came out right before my high school graduation.  I love it so much because it always reminds me of my parents.


"Wide Open" by Jason Aldean... reminds me of my early college years and the potential for endless opportunities.


"Secret of Life" by Faith Hill... nothing like some classic country.  This song is a great reminder of all the sweet, simple things in life.


"House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert... because there's no place like home.  And you shouldn't be surprised that she appeared twice on this list ;)


Day 30:  Reacting to "Letting Go"
Letting go can mean many things to many people.  To me, it means turning over all our problems to prayer and to God.  The stresses of life can consume us so quickly but letting it go to God can bring a sense of peace like no other.  It can give us back our joy and allow us to live the life we've been blessed with.

Day 31:  A vivid memory
It should be obvious that some of my most vivid memories are from my wedding day and the day that Nathan proposed to me.  I feel like I have beat those horses into the ground so look back at past posts if you want to relieve those memories with me.

The May Blog Challenge is officially complete... and now I'm back to coming up with blogging material on my own.  Lord help us all ;)

one year ago

One year ago today, my dream came true.  My best friend, and boyfriend of nearly 6 years, asked me to become his wife.

{you can read our engagement story HERE.}

What a year it has been!  I'm so thankful that today I can call that man my husband.

e-session faves {part 4 of 4}

Here we are, friends, the final part!  Thank you all again for the sweet comments and thoughts on the previous posts.  Y'all are the best!

Part 1 {here}
Part 2 {here}
Part 3 {here}

All pictures via Julia Holman of Julia Christopher Photography
BLOG // FACEBOOK

e-session faves {part 3 of 4}

You've all made several comments on the location/scenery in our pictures.  It was very important to us to take these pictures on our 53 acre farm that Nathan purchased last Spring.  It is truly our home and I cannot wait to move there in just a couple short months.  In the coming years as we build a house and start a family, I know that we'll look back on these and cherish where it all began ;)

e-session faves part 1 {here}
e-session faves part 2 {here}
All pictures via Julia Holman of Julia Christopher Photography.
BLOG // FACEBOOK

e-session faves (part 2 of 4)

Part 2 of 4, y'all :)

All pictures via Julia Holman of Julia Christopher Photography
BLOG // FACEBOOK

e-session faves (part 1 of 4)

I got some love for your Friday ;)  Our photographer sent us the proofs a couple weeks ago that allowed us to look through them and pick our 20 favorites.  I had to narrow it down from over 200 to 20.  We receive all pictures on a disc but she does her "magic" on those 20.  It was extremely difficult to choose but a good problem to have.  I could not be any happier with the way they turned out... they are so us.  A good photographer was my splurge for the wedding and has been worth every penny.  I wanted to share them all in one post but the file sizes are too big to do that... so I'll be breaking them up into 4 parts.  I hope you enjoy them :)

All pictures via Julia Holman of Julia Christopher Photography. 
BLOG // FACEBOOK

Wedding Wednesday {e-session inspiration}

Happy Wednesday, y'all!  I'm writing to ya from home today.  This gal took an Advil on an empty stomach last night and it didn't settle well.  At all.  I'm thankful that I had no classes today and my boss is letting me work from home today and to make up some hours tomorrow.  Today's wedding topic is engagement pictures :)

The thought of engagement pictures make me ten kinds of happy.  Fiance and I have never had professional pictures together and we are beyond excited to finally have some that will capture this moment in our life.  Yes, even Nathan is showing some excitement too!  Our photographer is amazing and gave us a package that included our e-session and wedding day pictures.  We've been in contact recently to schedule our e-session and we're hoping to get them done towards the middle of May.  In the meantime, I've been scouring Pinterest for some inspiration for our photographer.

What do y'all think?!  We want them to be casual and to, of course, include our dogs... and maybe a touch of camo.  We shall see ;)  Don't worry a bit.  I'll be posting those bad boys on here as soon as I get them.

This sick day isn't turning out so bad after all.  Now that I'm getting over the nausea, tired, weak feeling... I'm being super productive and getting some R&R.  Just what I need.

Y'all have a great day!

cloud 9

Look at what I'm now sporting on a certain finger of my left hand.


That's right, y'all! I'M ENGAGED! And I feel like I'm on cloud 9. They always say that women who are pregnant have a certain glow -- but I'm pretty sure there's a certain glow for this as well. I wish they could bottle up these emotions... there's nothing like it! So you wanna hear the story? Let's begin.

I have to say that I was expecting to get engaged over the Holiday season but I never expected it to be before Christmas. So yes, he caught me off guard! He took a vacation day on Friday (12/16) and we had planned a nice date night of running random errands, getting some dinner, and watching a movie. It sounded perfect to me! I got over to his house about 1:00 and he was just about to start getting ready. He took a shower and then said he was gonna go feed the dogs before he put on any good clothes. To be honest, I noticed that he ran out the door pretty quickly. After a couple minutes, he ran in and told me I needed to hurry and come out to the garage to see what the dogs had done now. I thought, "Great, what are we gonna have to clean up now? It's cold outside. It's sleeting. Blah!" But I just put on my shoes and went out there. It wasn't very quickly though. I had done a Jillian Michaels video the day before and I felt the pain. As I got closer to the garage, I kept hearing these bells and I had no idea what it was. I opened the door and Boone greeted me wearing this.


It didn't really sink in yet. I kept asking what was going on and Nate said he just slipped into it. But it was tied on. I think he knew I was becoming confused. The next thing I know he's on one knee asking me to marry him. I asked him TWICE if he was serious because I was in shock and just couldn't believe it. After some reassurance, I screamed yes and told him to get off his knee so I could hug him. I think we spent about 10 minutes just hugging. It was such an amazing feeling! Then he says that we are going ring shopping tonight instead and I could pick out any ring that I wanted. Say what? Yea, girls! It was perfect! We then took a few pictures to document everything.

Here's me and the "engagement pup" as we now call him.


Here's our first picture as an engaged couple.


Here we are about to head out the door and go ring shopping.


I cannot put into words how perfect his proposal was. I never told him but I've always wanted to it to be private and somehow be "us." He did great! What's more us than our dogs and him wearing some camo?! I'm thrilled that he chose to have me pick out a ring after the proposal. It was less stress on both of us and it led me to be more surprised!

And the ring shopping? It only took me about 45 minutes. I hadn't even looked at anything before but I've always had a picture in my mind of what I wanted. I knew it when I saw it. It's just perfect for me! Nathan was great... he just kept telling me to take my time and get exactly what I wanted. I cannot stop looking at it and I'm going to be devastated when I have to send it off to be resized -- right now, I'm temporarily wearing a spacer to keep it on. I have loved being able to show it off to my famiy at Christmas gatherings.

So now begins the wedding planning. Honestly, we've discussed a few things already (nothing definite yet) and we're both on the same page. Huge relief! After the holidays, I'm sure wedding planning will become hardcore. And I'm sure y'all will hear about it! I will not make this a wedding-topic-only blog but I definitely want to remember everything about this time. Be prepared to hear all the good, bad, and ugly from me :)

I haven't been able to stop smiling and I'm so grateful for all the well wishes we have received! We are so blessed to have each other and even more blessed to be surrounded by such supportive and loving people. I cannot wait to begin this new chapter of life with my best friend right beside me!

--Future Mrs. M :)