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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Slow Weekends

This past weekend was so, so good! I left work early Friday for some training downtown and took a later lunch than usual so that I could meet Matthew at the farmer's market for lunch. I LOVE THAT PLACE! I got out of training earlier than I expected but ended up getting stuck in traffic for the Taylor Swift concert. I finally made it though and got home still kinda early. We decided to go see a movie kinda last minute since we didn't have any set plans and it was a lot of fun. I forgot how fun it was to go see them lol. We had free tickets so it was a free date night! We cooked tacos at home for dinner before :) We saw the movie The Intern and it was such a good movie! If you are going to the movies soon I definitely recommend going to see that one. So sweet and funny. The perfect combination if you ask me!

Saturday we woke and had a slow morning and it was perfect. It's been a while since we've had one of those and it was really nice to just wake up and take our time. Matthew played some Xbox while I worked on a few things for my best friend's wedding. We went to Opry Mills later that afternoon so I could do a little clothes shopping! I had some birthday money and gift cards and there were some good sales. I ended up getting a few really cute shirts and a new dress. Yay for sales and birthday money! Saturday night we met my family for dinner at one of our favorite places, Cheddar's. We love that place!

Clearly I missed out on the stripes memo.

Sunday morning we went to early service at church and then came back home for lunch. It had been raining most of Saturday and Saturday night and was a bit cooler so I decided to break out my boots for the first time this fall. We walked out of our apartment to leaves everywhere. It's starting to look like fall!

I mentioned last week that we have been using our crockpot a lot and we really have! We used it for Sunday's lunch and for dinner last night. Sunday for lunch I made beef tips and noodles. Matthew's favorite is still the Ranch Chicken Tacos I made last week, he liked it so much we had it for dinner again last night lol.


I worked on our dining room chairs some Sunday night and we finally got the fabric on the seat cushions. Matthew picked out the fabric himself and I really love it too! It matches our pillows in the living room so it all ties in, which is what we were wanting! Here is a before and after of one of our chairs.


We are almost finished with the other ones and we are more than ready to have our chairs back so we can actually use our "new" table!!

Monday, September 28, 2015

#CoatsApartment Tour: Bathroom

I DEEP cleaned our apartment this weekend and it felt so good. It was also the perfect time to start out apartment tour. I have documented my two apartments I lived in, in Cookeville and really enjoy going back and being able to see them so I didn't want to miss out on our first place together.

I am going to go on and apologize about the awful lightening in our bathroom. Our shower curtain is actually navy and white but these pictures make it look black and white. We got it at Bed Bath & Beyond and really love it. Click here to see the actual color.








We found our bath towel holder at Bed Bath & Beyond and it works perfectly in our bathroom, and even has a bar to let rags dry on. 
Yes, that is a phone jack in our bathroom, and no we have no idea why it's in there lol.

We registered for navy and gray Kenneth Cole Reaction towels from Bed Bath & Beyond and absolutely love them.




We ordered this bathroom cabinet and we were really excited about it. It looked good and extra storage...perfect! Well when it came in we were both disappointed on the size. I guess we didn't read the dimensions on it closely, because it's a lot smaller than we thought it was going to be. So literally the only thing that will fit in there... rags and toilet paper. So toilet paper storage it is!

Follow along on Instagram for updates in our apartment with the hashtag: #CoatsApartment

Friday, September 25, 2015

5 on Friday

I promise I will finish our wedding recaps next week, but since this week has been crazy I'll be joining in with 5 on Friday today.


ONE // This is our last "free" weekend until the end of October. Between a bachelor party, a concert, and weddings we are going to be busy and surrounded by family and friends, and WE CAN"T WAIT! Next Thursday afternoon when I get off is when it alllll starts and I am so excited. So this weekend we are going to get a lot of things done around town and at our apartment. Fingers crossed we get that last dining room chair painted lol. 

TWO // In 15 days I will be going to the Ben Rector concert with my sister here in Nashville and we are counting down the days! We saw him back in 2013 when he came to Nashville, but missed his show last year. I completely missed when his tickets went on sale for the show on the 9th, but about flipped out when I found out they added another night because his first show sold out SO quickly. The day they went on sale I was at my computer, logged in, had our card information in, and had them in my cart ready to be bought. Matthew knew how important these were to me so he text me as soon as they went on sale and said he had been doing the same thing and had two in his cart to be purchased if I wasn't able to get them in time. SO, SO sweet of him!! Don't worry we didn't buy two sets of tickets lol. I told him I already had them and he cancelled out of his. I surprised my sister the following weekend with them because I just couldn't wait any longer. My sister and I love his music and listen to it ALL the time. Ben Rector was probably 85% of our wedding playlist, and I still listen to it every.single.day. He is just so good!
Fingers crossed we get to move seats like last time ;) 

THREE // As soon as my best friend's wedding is over I am getting a much needed haircut! I love when my hair gets long but goodness, it's so thick and so much to deal with. I've been rocking the low messy buns a lot these past few weeks! It NEEDS to be cut, so many dead ends, it's embarrassing.
Here is what I'm thinking, length wise.




FOUR // We used out crockpot yesterday for the first time and it was literally like a whole new experience lol. I have used my old crockpot plenty of times but this one is just wonderful. We got it for our wedding and love it! I'll be sharing the recipe next week, but if you are following me on Instagram, then you should have already been able to get the recipe.


FIVE // Thanks to Ashley over at Hanging with the Hirsts I was informed by some of her previous posts that Target had their shoes buy one get on 50% off. I have been looking for some nude shoes for Kathleen's wedding next weekend and found these
they are only $16.99 and since they were buy one get one 50% off I grabbed these, too!
My sister bought the tan pair last fall and I absolutely LOVED them and wore them when I came home, so I knew they would go with most of my outfits and how they feel. I love wearing flats and love this tan color. They are really comfy and don't leave my feet aching after wearing them all day. 


Hope you all have a great weekend! 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Weekend recap on a Thursday

Who says you can't have a weekend recap on a Thursday?! ;)

At the beginning of last week Matthew started feeling bad and ended up going to the doctor only to be told he had a viral infection and "medicine won't help, it just has to run it's course" don't you just love it when doctors say that. Well by Thursday afternoon I was feeling pretty bad but decided to go on to work Friday only to feel worse as the day went on. I ended up leaving early and going home and sleeping for a good 3+ hours. I woke up still not feeling well but took some Advil and had to pull it together for our big weekend! I had a bridal shower and bachelorette party I was helping host on Saturday and couldn't back out last minute for a "viral infection". I had last minute decorations to make and foods to prepare/bake (don't worry, I washed my hands about 50 times!) Matthew was at a bachelor party he planned Friday night so I had the apartment to myself and had Pandora turned up while I worked in the kitchen. I even painted a couple of our chairs while some stuff was in the oven!

Saturday morning I woke up still not feeling great but put on my big girl panties and pumped Advil every 6 hours throughout the day to get me through! I know it's not good to take a lot of Advil but it's the only thing that kept the headache and achiness away. I had to be in Cookeville by 8:30 to start decorating and help set everything up. My friend, Trisha, who I hosted the bridal shower with did A LOT of work Friday night so we ended up just preparing all the food and putting together all the last minute things before everyone got there. The bridal shower was for my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, Jenny! 

They are getting married on October 17th! Trisha and I decided that since they are getting married in the fall then we will have a fall themed bridal shower!





After Jenny's bridal shower I went home and got ready for my best friend, Kathleen's, bachelorette party! She is getting married on October 3rd (9 DAYS!!!!!!!!) and I am her matron of honor! Sarah, my other best friend is the maid of honor, and we asked Kathleen a while ago what she wanted to do for her bachelorette party and she said just keep it simple and in our hometown. So simple and laid back it was! Sarah and I picked her up and we headed off to the surprise!



Dinner on the square at one of our favorite places, Maple Street Grill.




After dinner we went down the road to our next activity...a painting class!


Sarah and I knew she had never been to a painting class before and thought she would really enjoy it. Thankfully she did! We all plan on going back with our mom's after all the weddings!!

The painting place we went to is called, Faithful Stokes. We absolutely LOVED it there! The owner, Lisa, was a joy to work with. She took her time while explaining how to do each step, talked and joked with us. It was overall just a great experience and we could not have been happier! Murfreesboro friends, if you are looking for a fun activity to do with friends, then I definitely recommend checking them out! We were able to bring drinks and food, so we decided on desserts! Sarah made Oreo balls and I made brownies and we picked up a couple of cokes at the store. Such a fun night!

Just a fun look at the steps of my painting:


We chose a fall painting since they are getting married in the fall!

Friday, September 18, 2015

The Marriage Diaries Vol. 2

Two months. Two months we have been married. It's funny because I remember just a little bit ago when we were two months away from our sweet day and time literally seemed to be dragging by, and now these past two months have flown by. I'm usually really excited and ready for fall. Ready for the cooler days and fun activities fall brings, but this year I'm just not ready to see summer go.

If I had to describe our second month it would be: Adjustment and compromise.
Month one was really busy with all the moving and we hadn't really fallen into a routine but this month we've been able to settle in and get a routine going. And that's where the adjusting comes in. Matthew and I both lived alone in our own places before we got married. We had our own way of doing things and our own habits. I lived in my apartment by myself for over a year. I never once questioned anything about throwing up a new piece of decor if I liked it. It was my place so if I liked it I used it. He was the same way, not really on decor, but if he wanted something in a certain place he left it there and that was the objects place. You combine two different people with two different opinions on some things and then you have COMPROMISES!

I talked briefly about this in a post I wrote a little bit ago, What I love about marriage, and how it's all just a learning process. I'm not in anyway complaining about these topics, because I really do see how lucky I am to have someone like Matthew to learn all this with AND together, and what a blessing that is! I remember hearing people say how marriage is hard and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what they meant, but now I can see how it's not always easy. And if this is the "hard" part in our marriage then I am one grateful wife.
Is our marriage perfect? Absolutely not. Arguments still happen and sometimes we still annoy each other. Our marriage will never be perfect and we will always be learning, and I am so thankful for that. Lord willing, we will have a life full of compromises and adjustments. I know there will be new seasons of life to adjust to, but I wouldn't want to adjust to them with anyone else other than my Matthew.

Two months ago we made vows to one another in front of God, our family and friends. We promised to follow each other through all of life's experiences with each other all while following God. I pray that this is always our hearts desire, even when we've been married for 60 years.
There are many choices to make in life, but choosing to marry and love Matthew is the easiest choice I've ever made.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Friendsgiving


Lord willing, we will be making #11 off of our Fall bucket list on November 14th! I know it's only the middle of September and November and Thanksgiving are still a little far off, but the other day Matthew and I decided to host Friendsgiving! We have been talking about it here and there but finally nailed down a date and time and we are so excited. We absolutely love hosting events and having people over. I had a couple of things at my apartment when I lived with my two college roommates and we had a couple of cookouts at Matthew's apartment, but now we get to host things at OUR place and we love it. We've only hosted one event so far at our apartment since we've been married, our game night, and it was a lot of fun! So we decided to go with Friendsgiving as our next event to host.

My love for PicMonkey had me creating these invitations the other day after we nailed down all the details. We created an event on Facebook and invited everyone to "save the date" but will mail these out closer to time. I can't wait to send these out to our friends!! Have any of y'all ever used PicMonkey? I'm sure you have, but if you haven't go try it out! I love creating things on there. So fun and easy! 


We decided to make it potluck style this year. We are going to handle the turkey, gravy, mac and cheese (My MIL has an amazing recipe we are going to borrow) and drinks. Sides and desserts are up to everyone else! I've been searching Pinterest these past few days for some ideas and have found some really cute ones! It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait!

Have you ever hosted a Friendsgiving or been to one? Anything you would do different or didn't care for if you went to one? We'll take any advice or tips that you have! 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Fall Bucket List | 2015

I thought I would give you all a break from wedding recaps today and share with you the fall bucket list we made the other day!





We can already mark #1 off as I decorated our place last night! This might just be me but I feel that the very first "seasonal decor" that goes up in a newlyweds home is something that will never be forgotten, at least by the wife. ;) And fall is our first reason to decorate! I'll take some pictures soon to share with y'all. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Sweetest Day: First Looks

Matthew and I decided not to do a first look and I am so glad. I was on the fence about it most of our engagement but we both decided that we wanted to see each other for the first time when those beautiful double doors opened up and walked down the aisle to him. We both love our decision and are so thankful for it.

I decided to do a first look with my girls and my dad. My sister and best friend, Sarah, are the only bridesmaids that saw me in my dress before our wedding day, but my hair wasn't fixed or anything. After my girls got their dresses on we sent them all out in the hallway while I slipped into mine and my mom started the long process of buttoning up my dress. There were so many buttons, but I loved them.



And then we told the girls to come in, and that's when it hit me. I was in MY wedding dress on OUR wedding day with all my favorite girls. And all the tears started rolling, and rolling, and rolling....



And then we all started laughing because we were crying and touched up our makeup, ha!



and then it came time to do the first look with my dad. I didn't let him see my dress or any pictures of it the whole time we were engaged and that was almost as hard as keeping it from Matthew!! Daddy had no idea what it even looked like. It was so, so sweet.

 and cue the tears, again!




Daddy loved my dress and said he couldn't imagine me in any other dress. BLESS HIS HEART. I can't even look at these pictures without crying. I am a daddy's girl through and through, so this was such a special moment and I will forever be thankful we had a first look. 

Bride's, even if you are doing a first look with your soon-to-be husband, do one with your dad. You will NOT regret it!