VALENTINE'S DAY | 2018

Back tracking a little here, but we celebrated Valentine's Day the weekend before the 14th, and I am so glad we did. Fighting crowds and going downtown on a work night is not our ideal kind of date, ha!

Matthew planned Valentine's last year so it was my turn this year. I made reservations at The Old Spaghetti Factory downtown for dinner. Sadly, the service and food weren't as good as we were hoping for, but it was still a fun night out!

I saw a cotton candy limeade on the menu and was intrigued so I ordered it, and it literally came out with a puff of cotton candy on the straw! Definitely worth it.

It was a messy and rainy night, so instead of going to see a movie we went home and changed into comfy clothes and watched Parenthood. We're so predictable ;)

Valentine's Day landed on a Wednesday this year, so I decided to make one of The Pioneer Woman's 20 minute recipe, Bowtie Chicken Alfredo. It is one of our favorites for a quick meal!

aaaand then around 9:30 I woke up to Matthew standing over me taking a Snapchat lol. #noshame I was exhausted and could hardly keep my eyes open after 9:00pm.

Very low key Valentine's Day this year, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 I am so lucky to have my sweet husband and adorable puppy!

Valentine's Day | 2017

Valentine's Day | 2016

Valentine's Day | 2014

Valentine's Day | 2013

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VALENTINE'S DAY | 2018

DAVE BARNES CHRISTMAS CONCERT

For my birthday Matthew surprised me with tickets to Dave Barnes Christmas concert, that was this past Monday night. I have wanted to go to this concert FOR YEARS. So to say I was excited and counting down the days until the concert would be a complete understatement. 

Monday was my last day at the office until 2018 and I only worked half a day on Tuesday, so the concert was the perfect way to kick off our Christmas break!! I listed to Dave Barnes Christmas CD all day in preparation for his concert that night.

We went to one of our favorites, Maggiano's, for dinner, and as always, it was incredible. We were seated at a table in the corner, away from other tables, in front of double doors that lead to the balcony (the doors were closed, of course) and this was our view. So beautiful!

Matthew got us incredible seats for the concert and I was pretty much in a Christmas-Dave Barnes-music loving daze the whole night. It was absolutely perfect and such a fun night! Dave Barnes is so talented and hilarious! This was the first time I have ever been to his concert and I didn't realize how funny he was.

There were to special guest performers, Matthew West and Charles Esten (Deacon from the show Nashville)! They were really good, too! It was a really fun night and definitely something we want to go to again! 

Thank YOU, Matthew, for the best birthday gift, ever!! 

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DAVE BARNES CHRISTMAS CONCERT

VALENTINE'S DAY | 2017

Our second married Valentine's Day is in the books and it was so sweet and fun, and since this is my online scrapbook/diary I wanted to document it.

I loved seeing everyone's Valentine's Day posts yesterday, they were all so sappy and sweet and I LOVED them! I had planned on waking up early and making Matthew a special Valentine's Day breakfast, but our alarm didn't go off for some reason so we over slept a little bit, so sadly we didn't have time for a breakfast together. I told him I would make it up to him this weekend! 

After work Matthew picked me up at my office and our best friends, Ethan and Rachel, met us as well and we all headed to dinner. Matthew and Ethan got together back before Christmas and planned to take me and Rachel to see the play, The Sound Of Music, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) here in Nashville on Valentine's Day. So when I opened my stocking on Christmas I found the tickets and we have been counting down the days since then!

We ate at Amerigo, a delicious Italian restaurant, that we all love (and go to often lol) for dinner and then headed downtown for the play. Rachel's mom was able to get us a parking pass in the parking garage (for free!) right across from TPAC, which was absolutely great because it was pouring down rain after the show. We had plenty of time after dinner before the show started so we walked around the capitol hotel/building and grabbed a few pictures!

The play was absolutely incredible and now I want to watch the movie again! I could not get over how beautiful the backdrops were throughout the entire show. I love The Sound of Music movie with Julie Andrews, and now that I have seen the play I love it even more. I also want to watch the one that Carrie Underwood did a few years ago. 

It was a wonderful show and we had the best time! Matthew gave me a beautiful necklace for Valentine's Day and I gave him a new phone case and new toiletry bag. Matthew definitely went with a traditional Valentine's Day gift and I went for the more practical-non-romantic gift this year lol.

I love you always and all ways, Valentine!

Valentine's Day | 2016

Valentine's Day | 2014 

Valentine's Day | 2013

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VALENTINE'S DAY | 2017

WINTER DATE IDEAS

It's that time of the year again, the temps are starting to drop, people are docking their boats and putting up their bathing suits until next year, and pulling out their sweaters, leggings and boots.

 I am beyond ready for some cozy nights at home with my husband and our fire place.

Here are some fun winter date ideas that y'all can do this year!

ONE | Drive around and look at Christmas lights

TWO | Take pictures at a Christmas tree farm

THREE | Go shopping for an angle tree child or fill a shoebox.

FOUR | Have a progressive dinner in your town.

FIVE | Pull out the air mattress or sleeping bags and have a sleepover in front of the fireplace 

SIX | Go on a hike

SEVEN | Make dinner together at home - this cookbook is perfect

EIGHT | Go to a local Christmas play

NINE | Go get hot chocolate and walk around your town square

TEN | Decorate Christmas cookies

ELEVEN | Have another couple over and build gingerbread houses and have soup night - this soup is incredible!

TWELVE | Set up the self timer and take a couple of Christmas pictures in front of your Christmas tree

THIRTEEN | Go to a few football games and grab hot chocolate while you're there to warm up

FOURTEEN | Have a cheesy Christmas movie marathon and make these

FIFTEEN | DIY your tacky Christmas sweaters

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WINTER DATE IDEAS

DIY BACKYARD DRIVE IN DATE

Now that it's starting to warm up and summer is getting closer I wanted to share one of my older, but most viewed blog posts I have ever written. Back in May of 2013 Matthew and I celebrated our three year dating anniversary. I love celebrating and I love surprises so I decided to surprise Matthew with a homemade drive in at my parents house.

You can read the whole post here, but I'm going to share some of my favorite images from that post now!

The whole set up!

I made a concession stand for us by using an old desk we had growing up and stocked it with some drive in treats.

I also made some "tickets" for the movie and handed them to him when he got there. So cheesy, but it made it even more exciting ;)

I borrowed my dad's truck and stuff the back with a small twin mattress, pillows and blankets to make it extra comfy!

And here is our DIY screen!

Watching our movie

I shared all about how we made the screen in this post, and here are a few pictures from that post!

My dad working on the screen.

By far one of my many favorite memories with Matthew and I was actually able to pull of a surprise without him knowing anything! We had perfect weather and enjoyed the movie together celebrating our 3 year anniversary! I would love to do this again, but I don't think our backyard is fit for something like this right now lol. Maybe one day we'll be able to pull this off again!

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DIY BACKYARD DRIVE IN DATE

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!!

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Slow Weekends

New beginnings and Weekend Happenings

Another weekend has come and gone. It was a good one! Matthew starts work today!! I am so excited and proud of him. I can't wait to hear how his day went when he calls me this afternoon after he gets off. As much as I was hoping for clear weather it's MESSY. He left early to avoid any traffic delays.   This weekend we got a lot done and were still able to relax.   -Friday night Matthew and I grabbed Subway for dinner before we ran some errands. We went to David's Bridal so that I could get some color samples of the bridesmaid dresses. I knew the color I just wanted some samples to give my girls. Then we went to JoS. A. Banks and Men's Warehouse to see the prices on buying suites for the wedding. We know the color of the suites and the style we just needed to know the costs and compare the two. We also went to the store so that I could get some things for my bridesmaids. I am so excited to work on their small gift I am giving them when I ask them. I have had this picked out forever and now I finally get to actually put it all together!!   -Saturday morning my sisters had a basketball game and won! After that I went to my best friend's house for her niece's 2nd birthday. She is absolutely the cutest little girl and is so funny to watch. Her party was decorated so cute and well planned out.

  After the party I went home and my mom and I decided to make a trip to Hobby Lobby to get some paint that I needed for the bridesmaid gifts. After that I spent the whole afternoon working on them and watching a movie with my family. It was a very relaxing night in.   -Sunday after church I went back home and worked on the bridesmaid gifts a little more. Then I went to see my nanny and visit with her for a little bit. I picked Matthew up on my way home and we were able to spend a little more time together before church that night. After church we ate dinner with his family at Which Wich, yum! I headed back to Cookeville last night a little after 8. It was a little hard driving back last night. I'm used to riding back with Matthew. I so enjoyed our hour car rides to and from Cookeville and will really miss it.

    Happy Monday!!

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New beginnings and Weekend Happenings

Short week = fun week

Matthew has been working on a project that was a pretty big deal. He worked on it most of last week and all weekend also while working on two other big projects. All of them were due this past Monday. Poor thing has been hit hard with school work right here at the very end. He graduates in 17 days y'all, 17 days! I had asked Matthew a couple of weeks ago that if he was able to finish his project in time if he would like to help me decorate my apartment for Christmas. I may or may not have told him that I would make sausage balls, too. So he definitely agreed ;)   Sunday night he told me if he finishes his project in time then he wants to go see the new Hunger Game movie. Date night on a Monday night? I'LL TAKE IT! He finished early Monday afternoon and we were able to make the 4:30 showing of Mocking Jay part 1. We only go to the movies between 4:00-5:30 since the tickets are cheaper ;) We really just can't justify paying full price lol. We had planned on coming back to my apartment and making the sausage balls but we realized we wouldn't be able to eat until later because it's a pretty long movie + we still had to make them. So we went to Sam's after. Most people would probably think that we are crazy for going to Sam's on our date night but we honestly love their pizza and love that it's so cheap. AND it is right by the movie theater ;)   We got back to my apartment and I started decorating. I mentioned to Matthew that I wish I had a fireplace in my apartment (I have probably said that a thousand times since I moved out lol). One of the things I really miss about living at home is my fireplace and mantel!! I love having the fire going when it's cold outside and I love decorating the mantel, I just grew up with one so it's weird not having it. I love the look of it, the sound of it and obviously the heat it puts off. Well, I was digging decorations out of a box and started hearing the sound of a fire. I turned around and saw this on my TV. Matthew found some option on my TV that has a fake fire. It seriously sounds like a fire and every couple of minutes "someone" adds more logs to keep it going. I may have teared up a little bit lol. He is SO thoughtful!

 I don't have many decorations nor do I want to buy any so I usually just work with what I have for now. It's plenty for my little one bedroom apartment :)

I bought this 6ft tree last year on sale at Target and love it.

A lot of my decorations are from my parents and my mema. They buy new decorations and I get the old decorations. Really, it's a win-win situation in my book ;)

 

 Here's my living room! Please ignore the ugly stepper by the couch. It's the only place it will fit in my apt lol. I am wanting to make something to add to that closet door and I need to find my tree skirt at home and bring it back up with me.

My end tables are decorated with all things from the Target dollar section from last year.

It was cheap, small and perfect for my apartment :)

and yes, I know that picture is sideways, I have to print out a new one to put in there. That one is working for now though lol.

Last night Matthew had a guys night with his dad and brother. They went to a hockey game in Nashville. From what I heard it was a pretty good game! I stayed in Cookeville because I have to work today. So I did what any girl would do. I had some ME time. It was great.

After I got off work yesterday I went to TJ Maxx and found my Christmas cards and a cute sweater to wear for Thanksgiving. After that I headed to my apt for the night. I got into the most comfiest clothes and cleaned a little, made dinner and caught up on my show. I absolutely LOVE the show Revenge but haven't been able to watch any of this season. One of my friends let me borrow her Hulu account so I could catch up on it. So from about 5:00 yesterday afternoon to about 11:30 last night I watched Revenge. I caught up and finally know what's going on!

While I watched Revenge I worked on my Christmas cards!! I always wait until the last minute to send them out and then they get there late so I am determined to get them sent out on December 1st this year!

At 3:30 today I am homeward bound! So so excited to be home until Sunday. We get Thursday and Friday off and I am so grateful for that.

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Short week = fun week

Monday night date night

I wanted to celebrate Matthew passing the first part of this CPA exam but I didn't want to go overboard since it was just the first test and he has 3 more to go. So I decided we would have a date night in last night and go out when he passes his last test at the end of the summer. He grilled the burgers and then later we celebrated with ice cream sundaes! It had rained most of the day yesterday but when the burgers were done it had finally stopped and it was an overcast afternoon. It felt great outside and we had a lot of fun!

The rain held off the rest of the night, even though we were under a severe thunderstorm warning most of the night, ha!

My patio table came with an umbrella but in the afternoon the sun sets on the front side of my apartment so I haven't had to use it yet. The hole in the middle of the table bothers me though lol.   Monday's aren't all that bad when it's date night ;)

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Monday night date night

February 14th

(Self timer at it's finest y'all. Let's just pretend the lighting is good in my apartment)   This year for Valentine's Day we wanted to keep it kinda low key. We usually do dinner and a movie and whatever else we find to do but this year we just went to dinner. Matthew had made reservations a few weeks in advance so we didn't have to worry about waiting for hours like other people.     Matthew showed up at my door to pick me up with an umbrella in one hand and a dozen red roses in the other hand. I had told him multiple times not to buy me roses since they shoot the price up to an unreasonable price the week of the 14th but he obviously didn't listen lol. I very much appreciated my roses because I know how stinkin expensive they were...they are sat on my desk for a couple of weeks because I hated to throw them out as soon as they died.  

  We ate at a local place here in Cookeville called Nicks and it was delicious! We had gone there once before for an accounting banquet back in December for all the graduating accountants and knew we needed a good excuse to go back and we both agreed that night that we wanted to go there for Valentines.   After dinner we stopped at Redbox and grabbed a movie and headed back to my apartment. I made Matthew a small no bake Oreo cheesecake so we had that for dessert and watched the movie. I am so glad we decided to skip going to a movie and fighting the crowds this year, the older we get I think the more we just enjoy sitting on the couch with comfy clothes on watching a movie. Don't get me wrong we love going to the movies but not when everyone else in town is there. Plus we like going early in the afternoon so we can get a cheaper ticket price ;)   We exchanged our Valentine's Day presents early this year so here's the picture of him with his present back in late January (I wasn't joking when I said early!!)   

 

and here is what I had waiting on the counter for him at my apartment! That little toolbox actually had nothing in it. I gave him a real toolbox a couple of years ago for his birthday and then I gave him this Bar-B-Q "toolbox" for Valentine's Day so when I saw that small one at the store like the day before and it was on sale for .50 I had to get it!! I was going to put candy in it but I decided to get his favorite candy...Buncha Crunch. We both cracked up at the empty little toolbox.

      Four Valentine's Day celebrations later and he is still my favorite. I love being his girlfriend! 

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February 14th