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Hello there!!

I'm back!! Are you ready for this?! Because I am. Seriously, I feel guilty that I haven't made blogging a priority like I promised myself I would. However, I have been out and about.

There’s no way to go back and go into detail about everything but I'll do an overview. After that, I'm moving forward. I was slightly overwhelmed with the idea of having to go back and talk about everything AND blog about current events. Therefore I just didn't blog. Opps!

Thank you for all the summer reading suggestions yall have emailed me. I have read several books so far this summer and now I'm in the middle of 50 Shades of Grey. OMG! Don't tell me what happens but I can barely put that book down!

Life has finally calmed down. And I honestly mean that. Three work events (a two day bike event, a week of summer camp, and a black tie gala) in June was a bit much. We got them done and came through with flying colors. I've learned so much at this job already. My boss is amazing. He is fully confident in me and appreciates hard work. I'm very happy!

I have finally finished the last of the moving boxes and hung everything on the walls last weekend. It feels like home now. I can't thank my friend Shannon enough for coming over and helping. I'll take some pictures this weekend to give yall a tour.

Let’s see what has happened in the capital city lately....
Kt Pav got engaged!
Stacia got married
Shannon and Pat moved to the capital city
Pav asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. That’s wedding #11 ;)
I survived a wild work month!
I've had some dates. Maybe I won't be the eternal bridesmaid haha
I finally feel like I'm not living out of boxes, my car, my suitecase, etc. Oh happy day!

Upcoming funs...
A whole week at the beach! Yay vacation
Cake decorating class. Working on that bucket list...
Kelly's bridal shower. Kelly and I have been friends since 1st grade and she is getting married this fall. I can't believe after all these years, we still keep in touch.
Baby Fogleman is due this fall
A dinner party to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Fogleman

Okay, I think that sums up life around here. I'll post pictures, hopefully this evening.

XO,

Southern Gal

IOU

I know I keep promising lots of great pictures, posts, stories, etc but I haven't delivered. I'm sorry!

Here is my IOU list-

1. S + P wedding part II
2. S + C wedding- I discovered my talent for setting up a candy bar!
3. New house tour
4. New job update (Tour de Cure is a semi-update)
5. My trip to DC

For now, here are some pictures of life

Yay peonies!

I received this beauty the other day in a text. That's Sara and I when we were like 4 years old- baby dolls and dress up!

I learned a new drinking game! Have you played Four Corner?

And of course, a sleeping princess!

Happy Hump Day,

S.O.S.



S + P Nuptials in the Sunshine State (part 1)

Okay, I've said that life was a whirlwind for a few weeks. Lets put a little perspective on this...

Tuesday was my last day of old job. Wednesday morning (5am) I loaded up the car with Shannon and we drove the 9-10 hours to Florida for her wedding weekend. Saturday we walked down the aisle, Shannon said "I do," then we toasted the couple and celebrated all night! Sunday I flew back to the capital city and Monday morning I started a new job!! The move took place the following Saturday, aka Shannon's one week wedding anniversary!!

Yaya road trip and Florida! 

Funny side story- Shannon and I were about 30 minutes into our drive and I realized that neither of us had grabbed my dresses (including my bridesmaid dress)!! I just assumed Shannon had grabbed them since they were hanging over my suitcase. She assumed I grabbed them. We are some lucky girls because Shannon's sister had not left the capital city yet. Stacia zipped on over to my house and grabbed all my dresses and certainly saved the day!!

The road trip and the few days in Florida prior to the wedding were amazing. Like my soul need to recharge. The wedding took place at Grandma Lynn's house. Shannon and I stayed there for a few nights before moving to the hotel with the rest of the wedding party.

Once we arrived in the sunshine state, we noticed all the smoke from the forest fires that were apparently happening all over the state. We never saw a fire but we drove for hours with this weird smoke.

 

My morning view. Serene. I'm so glad the smoke didn't follow us.

I started each morning on the deck with a big cup of coffee and a book. It was my peace before each chaotic, wedding-packed day.

When we arrived, we hung out with the family and seriously relaxed. Grandma Lynn made some fabulous meals for us, we drank some great wine and enjoyed each other's company. Sorry I don't have more photos but I completely checked out. I was in the moment and cherishing the special time that Shannon and I had before she became a Mrs.

Friday was the bridal luncheon at Aunt Nan's home. She hosted us on the porch with a lovely lunch. Shannon gave us our bridesmaids gifts at the end of the lunch. We all got Vera Bradley totes- each were different to match each girl's personality. We also got earrings, again different for each girl. Seriously the gift kept coming! Finally we each got a Velcro towel wrap with our initial on it.

After the luncheon, I worked on Shannon's practice bouquet for the rehearsal.

The happy couple!

Shannon and Patrick got married in the front yard with the lake off in the distance. We entered the ceremony through the front doors. It was a loooooooong aisle!! Fortunately, Shannon let us wear flats with our dresses so the walk was totes manageable.

We got through with the rehearsal and headed out to Grandma Lynn's barn for the rehearsal dinner.

We had bbq and a crayfish boil. It was my first crayfish boil and those little suckers are good!

Bride in yellow, MOH to the left and friends.

The "adults" warming up with the karaoke!

The rest of the night was a blur of fun! We all headed to the hotel bar after we closed down the barn. I met lots of new friends then the MOH and I decided it was time to put the bride to bed. We all needed our beauty rest!

Florida was fabulous and I'm seriously glossing over half the stuff we did! We were all over the place to make everything happen.

I will devote a whole post to the wedding day. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and my random stories ha

~Southern Gal~

Showering Bridal Wishes

Last month we were celebrating Shannon in Charlottesville, then at the end of March we showered Shannon's sister, Stacia, with bridal wishes! Yes, Shannon and Stacia are both engaged and are getting married 6 weeks apart!! Needless today it has been a busy spring for these sisters!

Stacia lives in town and Shannon lives about an hour away so I opened my house for the shower. It was bittersweet. It was my last party here so while my chapter here closes, it was wonderful to celebrate Stacia as she begins her next chapter as wife and Mrs. W.

Welcome guests! I don't know how well you can see the decorations, but we had tissue wedding bells hanging from railings as well as wedding bell garland looped around the railings too.

Oddly enough, I have truly enjoyed my mantle since Christmas complaints. I've not had any decorating dilemmas. I've kept it clean and simple. A moss 'W', white hydrangeas, magnolia leaves, and candles. Classic and timeless. Also, Stacia is a photographer with natural talent so we decked the house out with pictures of her and her future hubby starting with the mantle.

 

 Here we have the drink table. We served wine (red and white), water, and had an ice coffee bar. That was a hit! I will have to do that again for future parties.

Next to the drink table, I have this huge/random message board that takes up a whole wall in my kitchen. We carried the clothespins and pictures into the kitchen onto the memo board. Remember my glitter lanterns from ESM? I've kept them hanging since because I like the splash of color!

Food table- yum!! Shannon had food catered, including chicken salad, pimento cheese, corn dip, pasta salad, and broccoli salad. It was delicious and I'll use that caterer for future events!

The side table set up with plates, napkins, silverware, and dessert baskets. Shannon's fiance made Andes mint cookies and they are amazing! Shannon also had the caterer make strawberry cake pops. Mid-party I realized I wasn't taking enough pictures so I apologize for the random wine glass in the picture.

The night before the party, Shannon and I made mini key lime pies. I must love these sisters to juice thousands of key limes for those pies!!! About midway through squeezing key limes, I asked Shannon why we couldn't use store bought key lime juice. Apparently she didn't realize you can buy that at the grocery store.

We did play one shower game. When guests arrived, we asked each one to take a note card, write advice, wisdom, tidbits, etc for the bride. Once they were done writing, we had them fold their card and drop it into a vase. While the Bride-to-Be was opening presents, each guest read a card (not theirs) and Stacia had to guess who wrote the tip.

We had a full house and everyone showered Stacia with tons of gorgeous gifts. Lucky girl!

Yay for love!

Mother of the Bride(s), MOH, Bride

These sisters are beautiful, inside and out. I am so excited to watch Stacia walk down the aisle in May!! You'll see these ladies a few more times this month as we have a wedding next week!

xoxo,

Southern Bridesmaid (haha)

Goodbye 2011 Wedding Season

Welcome back folks! I hope you're making yourself at home here at the new blog. I know I'm working on making it comfortable and cozy. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

This past Saturday was my last wedding for the 2011 wedding season. Its bittersweet to bid farewell to 2011 weddings. This wedding season was filled with signature cocktail hunting, hot tamale pinatas, catching bouquets, scenic wine tours, adventures in Disney (FYI- the Magic Kingdom does not serve adult beverages, but Epcot does), Elvis, growing wine glass collection, Hollywood marquee, the cupid shuffle, and fairytale settings. Also, lots of mental notes of both dos and don'ts for whenever my prince finds me.

Whitney and Richie were the last to tie the knot this year. They exchanged vows and rings at the Sutherland in Wake Forest. We had a wonderful night dancing under the fall moon and starry night.

Photo Credits

The ceremony was held outside on the Terrance and the reception was in a heated (thank goodness!) tent. The Remedy provided tunes while we tore up the dance floor! The bride and I went to a small, southern college together and it was so much fun to see some many alums in one place. We brought out some college songs and cheers with true EVEN and ODD rivalry. It was a wonderful evening for everyone! Cheers to the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. C!! Have fun in Jamaica.

In case you were wondering, I did not find my prince charming across the dance floor on Saturday. I'll let you know when I do!

xoxo,

Southern Girl

(I'll be trying out different signatures over the next few posts. Gotta find "the one.")

Transitioning

Hello Blog World!

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry on this chilly, damp November evening. So this is a new blog for me. I'm transitioning from an old blog so I can start fresh. I feel that a fresh start, look, and title, will empower me to make a true commitment to blogging.

If you clicked back to my old blog, you'll see that I've got a BIG list of DIY and goals. I have been working on several projects but it's too soon to share pictures. The weather has not been cooperating and I'm on the verge of taping off my kitchen and doing some projects inside. I keep hoping we'll have an Indian summer so I can get a little bit more work done outside before the chill sets in for the winter.

In other news, I spent yesterday evening and this evening at Junior League's A Shopping SPREE!

Sir Walter Raleigh is dressed for the occasion!

personal photo

If you don't know anything about SPREE! then let me take a moment to share the wonders of this once a year shopping event. So the Junior League hosts this big holiday market at the convention center for 4 days. Its overwhelming, with all its glitter, music, fun product, and interesting finds. There must be 200 vendor selling their wares. You can find everything from shoes, food, furniture, art, holiday decorations, beauty products, clothes, everything, and I mean everything there.

SPREE! has become a tradition for me and my old roommate. We always go Thursday and Friday evenings after work. Last year my mom started showing interest in going so she comes to town for the day over the weekend to enjoy my company (obviously!) and the capital city. This year she'll be here on Sunday since I have a wedding on Saturday to attend.

Speaking of weddings, I should head to bed for some beauty rest. Maybe I'll meet my future husband tomorrow night across the reception dance floor, and bags under my eyes would be devastating! A girl can dream....

xoxo,

S.O.S.