Our Last Weekend Getaway

This past weekend Rusty and I were all about getting away for one more childfree weekend before baby CJ arrives. We are fortunate to have a condo on the lake in Hot Springs so away we went.

I really didn't snap too many pictures while we were there but the nice part is these are all iPhone photos. This ultimately means I didn't whip out the big camera. While I love snapping great quality photos I also love times when I am in the moment and the camera just doesn't come out at all.

Rusty and I spent the entire weekend shopping (at the same time versus one wrestling Skipper), eating too much, laying by the pool, watching boats on the lake and resting. I miss it already. The first time I left Skip I sobbed, like hot mess sobbed. I missed him it physically hurt but I am learning that time away from him is good for all of us. The most important thing is our marriage needs it. I cannot say this enough. We got two days of undivided one on one attention. When is the last time I could say that happened? We reconnected, rested together and laughed so much. I love time with my husband. We cannot parent if we are not united. This weekend did just that.

Also when we went to get Skip from my mom and dad's on Sunday he acted like we went and ran an errand, not like we spent two nights away. He could have cared less. Rusty and I laughed so hard. He needed time away from mommy and daddy too!

Below are photos from this weekend plus the places we shopped and where we dined. Enjoy!

Places we ate:
Rocket Fizz (downtown): we didn't really eat here but more or less freaked out over candy! Rusty didn't get anything but I treated myself to a mini air head and a black cherry bottle soda. Their bottled soda collection was insane! I wish I would have been more brave and tried flavors like hot sauce chicken wings and red velvet cupcake. I stuck with my favorite flavor, black cherry. They also had tons and tons of fun candy plus the ultimate taffy selection. It was a treat to see a store like this downtown!

Java Primo (on Central): I may change Clara's name to Java Primo. This is R's and I favorite place for breakfast. Their dinner/lunch menu is bigger but we always dine in for breakfast. Rusty got a waffle plus biscuits and gravy for us to share while I got the Greek quiche with skillet potatoes. We barely made a dent. My quiche had chicken, spinach and feta. It was divine. Rusty always treats himself to their fresh squeezed orange juice. They make it on the spot and it is so refreshing. I got a coffee as big as my face (pictured below). Go here.

Fisherman's Wharf: This is my favorite spot in all the land i.e. Hot Springs. I could eat here every meal. Rusty got their bacon wrapped crab stuffed jumbo shrimp while I savored crab cakes. When I was a broke college student I would save my pennies to treat myself to a meal here once a week. I would savor it and of course eat every bite making the meal last a few days. Thank you lifeguard days at Magic Springs for this memory.

Chik-fil-a: Are you laughing that I listed this one? Well you shouldn't. We don't have one in our town so DUH?!?! this made the list. Chicken biscuit. Drops mic. Walks away.

Places we shopped:

Rocket Fizz: mentioned above. They had other goodies minus candy and soda.

State and Pride Provisions Company (downtown): The cutest y'all! I wanted every t-shirt in there. You know the kinds of shirts that are so soft you try to figure out a way to include them in your every day professional wardrobe. Yep, those kinds. They had vintage decor, hand towels, shirts, everything perfect.

Bathhouse Soapery and Caldarium (downtown): I love this place. It smells good. It looks cute. The staff is awesome and all their products are made their in store. I bought lots of goodies (mostly for mother's day) but my favorite scent is goddess. I am finding reasons to take extra showers. Also they have soap in the shape of a razorback that smells like bacon. I know, genius.

What are your favorite spots in Hot Springs? We can't wait to go back with baby CJ. Our world is about to change again...in the best way possible.

Vintage Truck + Grandma's Farm Arkansas Engagement Session

This blog has blessed me immensely with new and exciting experiences. Meeting new business goals, making fabulous friends, writing what is on my heart and today I get to add sharing one of my favorite sorority sisters engagement session and love story. Sometimes life is just a big bowl of goodness. Goodness and homemade ice cream (which my lovely mother made for the fourth.)

Meet Haley and Spencer. Haley, well, that gal has a heart of pure gold. Pure gold. She is beautiful, smart, talented, witty and downright charming. I got to see just how gorgeous this girl is on the inside when I went through a little bumpy patch in college. She gave such sound advice and is wise beyond her years. Then the best things happened. She got placed into my little AGD family. In other words, she couldn't get rid of me. ;)

You can imagine my joy for her to find the love of her life. No one deserves it more than her. She is glowing in the images below. Spencer connects the dots for her. He makes her smile. He challenges her faith. He makes her better. That is true love and Haley and Spencer have it. Now for the good part...

{From the bride}
Spencer and I met in December of 2011 in Jonesboro, AR through a mutual friend. He is originally from Dallas, TX, and after graduating from Texas A&M, he moved to Little Rock where he met a good friend of mine at church. Both of them came up to Jonesboro one weekend for an Arkansas State game, and the night before the game they came over to my apartment to hang out with my roommates. We were friends for a few months afterwards. A group of our friends went to a Drew Holcomb concert in Little Rock one night, and we ended up talking for hours throughout the whole concert. We went on our first date a few days later and have been together ever since.

Spencer drove up to Jonesboro for our first date. We spent the day together at Craighead Forest Park and the Edge coffee shop (which was my favorite coffee shop in Jonesboro). We sat and talked about life for hours, and during that conversation I knew the Lord was telling me to let this guy pursue me. I knew that Spencer and I were headed somewhere (I had no idea where or how because we hadn’t known each other for very long) but all I knew was that it was good, and that I needed to go for it. About a year later, Spencer proposed to me in that very spot where we sat during our first date!

That is why we chose to take some of our engagement photos in “our room” at the Edge. I have played piano since I was a little girl, so of course we used that as a prop. We also went out to my grandma’s farm in Paragould and took photos with my grandpa & uncle’s amazing vintage truck that they restored in the early 90’s (and we had to include Spencer’s dog/best friend Milo). Finally we went out to the golf course that my parents live beside in Paragould. Spencer is an assistant superintendent at a golf course in Little Rock, and my dad is an avid golf player as well, so the golf course was sentimental too! I love how they turned out. They are sweet and honest, which is the perfect combination of Spencer and myself. Kelsey is such an incredible photographer! I am so thankful and excited for how they turned out.

And just so you can see how gorgeous the wedding turned out...

{Vendors} Engagement Photography: Kelsey Cherry Photography / Wedding Image: Stephanie Parsley Photography

Lindsey and Joseph's Wedding Day Highlight

I have been eager to share Lindsey and Joseph's highlight with you and today is that day. I did things a little different this time around but one thing that never changes is how much I love these couples. From the start Lindsey has been so kind hearted. Joseph and Lindsey are such a special couple. Their chemistry jumps out at you and you can tell they are best friends. Marrying your best friend is a big, big blessing. During the vows, Lindsey got choked up and Joseph just smiles and comforts her. It moves me every time y'all. Things I love about Lindsey:

1. She is 100% the most laid back bride ever. There are times that I feel like the bride expects me to be on my feet filming every. single. moment and while I do film a lot I do need a break here and there. Lindsey was so go with the flow. It was amazing.

2. She treated me like her best friend. She talked to me. She was happy. She laughed with me. She even turned around when leaving her reception to hug my neck and say thank you. That was a first for me. I am grateful.

3. Hands down she has the best dance moves. No explanation needed. This girl can groove.

I am happy to share this highlight with you. Without further ado, Joseph and Lindsey's wedding day:



For more on Joseph and Lindsey click here.

Reception: Josh and Hillary

This past weekend I laid down my video camera and opted to help with decorating. My brother and his sweet new wife (more on their wedding here) threw a fun reception. It was full of children, Cajun dishes, sweet desserts and lots of love. The budget was small so Hillary and I worked hard to come up with a simple yet cute theme.

First here is their invitation that I absolutely loved. Dixie Paperie and Gifts did such a good job!

Isn't it so cute? The invitation help set the theme as well. We knew we wanted to incorporate rustic charm like old bottles and burlap while mixing in fresh and bright colors. Weeks leading up to the reception we would take pictures, send emails and exchanged phone calls trying to get the details just right. Hillary is a no-fuss bride. She was easy to work with and the best part is she knew exactly what she wanted.

Now with all that being said I do want to point out that I am not a professional wedding planner or coordinator. Hillary just knew how much I wanted to help decorate and get my feet wet. That or I might have begged for her to let me be in charge of making her reception great! More the second option. I fully think that hiring a planner is the absolute best idea. Read more about why here. Also I would like to add that this party was for about 65 people. This is a huge group to me. Between my mom, sister, sister-in-law and niece, we rearranged tables, cleaned tables, cut burlap, made flower arrangements, lifted boxes, moved all the decor to various spots and had a blast! Well, at least I did.

Thank you to my family for letting me point, spout out orders and be bossy. It happens. We had a time crunch people. I worked my mom to the bone. She was such a great sport too! I also need to add that about 20 minutes before we started decorating my camera died. Totally my fault but that left my phone to do all the photo taking. I apologize if any photo looks fuzzy. That's life.

Now for some more details. This is the room in the before stages. The restaurant has a Cajun feel with a touch of Italian food thrown in. The Mardi Gras green walls were a nice touch.

Next we started working with all the tables cloths and burlap. Let me add that neither cost a thing! The burlap is from an old wedding shower I hosted here, here and here and the table cloths came from a friends recent wedding. We love free and inexpensive. Love it.

We started adding in rustic touches and pops of white and turquoise for centerpieces. Another bonus, we didn't buy anything new. We brought things from home and worked with what we had. Hillary did buy a bundle of babys breath for $15 which everyone knows is my favorite. I was so pleased with the end result! The best part was seeing how happy Hillary was with the finished product. It was a small(ish) room but we fit everyone and included a kids only table. The kids really liked that part! No adults at the table equaled perfection for 4, 5 and 6 year old sweet faces. More pictures await:

And just to throw in a few more pictures, check out my hot date:

Prom pose and go...

Rusty got a little tickled by this. I have one last picture. I love the women in our family. They are beautiful, talented, loving and sweet as pie!

What do you think of the decor? Did I mention Hillary only spent $15 on babys breath? Sigh, I love that number. I hope that you all are having a great Tuesday and I can't wait to see you back here tomorrow!