tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50480902130859622472024-02-02T04:06:32.867-06:00big spoon little spoonA southern girl and a mountain man plan a budget wedding and a lovely life together.Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-23409584998824137372012-12-08T00:17:00.002-06:002012-12-16T00:51:27.173-06:00We Have Some Catching Up to DoHello readers and other long-lost friends. It's been awhile since I last posted. We have some catching up to do. Between June and December, the following happened ...<br />
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<b>I turned 30.</b><br />
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<b>We moved to Las Vegas, Nevada via an 1800 mile cross-country trip.</b><br />
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<b>We bought a house.</b><br />
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<b>I became a remote employee and started working from home full-time.</b><br />
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<b>Big Spoon started his new job.</b><br />
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<b>We celebrated our 2nd anniversary.</b><br />
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<b>I spent half of October away from Vegas on trips to Nashville, Dallas and San Antonio.</b><br />
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<b>We sold our Nashville house. (Finally.)</b><br />
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And I've decide to put this blog on indefinite hiatus. There's a possibility I will be moving the content to Wordpress when I get ready to launch my business website, but that's still on the fence. It's been a wonderful journey, but with my inconsistencies in posting over the past year, our move to the other side of the country and the pace at which wedding trends change, I no longer feel like this blog is relevant in it's current state.<br />
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Thank you to all of our followers ... we appreciate your readership and hope that you will continue to follow us once my freelance design company is up and running.<br />
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Best wishes to you all,<br />
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Little Spoon<br />
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<i><br /></i>Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-69550578636216052722012-06-07T13:00:00.000-05:002012-06-10T18:26:03.969-05:00Country Girl, City GirlThe more mementos I rummage through and organize, the more real it becomes to me that the next 30 years of my life will be spent in another place. <br />
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I had a happy childhood, complete with a farm, animals, grandparents, siblings and cousins. I have wonderful parents. I grew where I was planted, I've thrived in the Southern soil ... a slightly different sort of bloom from those around me, although I certainly had a kindred spirit or two on that journey. I didn't really feel the difference until I was in Jr. High ... even then, I couldn't pin-point exactly what it was. I just knew that I didn't feel like I belonged there and dreamed of the day I would escape that small town.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I probably was weird by most standards of that small, rural Tennessee town, but not because I suffered from some behavioral or personality flaw. I was smart. I liked unusual things - music, art, reading, writing. I loved books and often read encyclopedias for fun. I was hungry for knowledge. I had terrible self-esteem. </div><br />
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In High School, I began a journey of realization centered around religion, moral perspectives and self-loathing that continued throughout college and beyond. Strangely enough, a series of bad break-ups, bouts of depression and major regret lead me down a path of self-discovery and finally, to a place of peace with who I am, where I came from, and where I wanted to be.<br />
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I learned to find happiness in myself and not outside myself. I stopped longing to escape the place that had always been my home. My confidence grew, I developed some standards and eventually, met my husband.<br />
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I am very fortunate to have met Big Spoon - our world views, values, priorities and humor are simpatico ... I don't believe in soul mates, but he's probably the closest thing to it I'll ever find. Every time I get mad at him (no matter if it be a big or small matter), I can always bring myself out of it by remembering how much it means to me that he chose me - in spite of my flaws, my background, our differences, my strangeness. He loves me. He knows everything about me. Cliché as it sounds, he's all I ever hoped for and more.<br />
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I've never lived anywhere but right here in Tennessee, so leaving is incredibly hard. Working through all these belongings and knowing that in just seven short weeks, I'll be saying goodbye to all I've ever known ... well, that's exciting and terribly sad at the same time.<br />
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I'm thankful to have had this time here - to have been born and raised here - and all things considered, I'm glad that I stayed. My birthday next week is more than a milestone now. It's the beginning of a whole new chapter in a brand-new place.<br />
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<br />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-80957777700666949712012-03-16T22:50:00.001-05:002012-03-16T22:50:33.107-05:00A Moment Changes Everything"Come on, come on, come on, come on" ...<br />
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David Gray's song "A Moment Changes Everything" opens with a plea. It's an urgent, impatient plea that both Big Spoon and I have thought to ourselves many times this year. This song got me thinking about how everything really can change in a moment. Sometimes, you have control over the choices you make and sometimes, other people make choices outside of your control that still affect you. <br />
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All these moments ... the moment Big Spoon decided to email me on that dating website; the moment I said "yes" when he asked to marry me ... the moment we said our vows and promised a lifetime. The moment we discovered that a short-sighted college dean shut a door for Big Spoon. The moment last week when another dean and another university's department opened a door for Big Spoon to walk into.<br />
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Tonight, as I tidy our house and look forward to a much-needed day-date with Big Spoon tomorrow, my mind keeps revisiting those "moments" that lead us to this one: we're moving to Nevada.<br />
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I've known for about a week. I posted it on Facebook and Twitter, but I haven't been able to bring myself to write about it. Joy and sorrow are two emotions that should not mix. Bittersweet has taken on a completely new meaning for me as my reality shifted from "we think we're moving, we just don't know where" to "we're moving to Las Vegas."<br />
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All the little moments from my past are keenly important to me right now. They remind me how I got here. This wasn't an accident ... I made the choices that kept me in Tennessee that in turn lead me to Big Spoon. I made the choice to become his wife knowing all the while that this outcome was a very real possibility.<br />
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Big Spoon has been super supportive and understanding this past week. I didn't act very excited when I got the news. You see, the vast majority of my family lives here. My grandparents, my parents, both of my sisters ... a great deal of friends ... my alma mater ... 30 years worth of personal roots. I'm sad. <br />
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And I'm terrified. <br />
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My emotions change from moment to moment. Yesterday, I was so excited to start packing, get the house here sold, look for a new house. Today, I'm grieving. I just want to be the best wife I can be right now for Big Spoon and it's really difficult to feel as though I'm capable of that when I'm experiencing so many conflicting emotions. I know I'll get more excited the closer the time comes. Everything is still really new. <br />
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So, there it is. Big Spoon and I get a bright, shiny new start near the West Coast. He starts his new job in August. I'm going to try to keep my job in Nashville and become a telecommuter.<br />
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Wish us luck :)Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-25986101974713621162012-03-03T21:07:00.000-06:002012-03-03T21:07:02.131-06:00The Exciting World of Pinterest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ittCFAa3P4U/T1LCMvrnsYI/AAAAAAAAANY/zB_eKIZEKdg/s1600/Pinterest_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ittCFAa3P4U/T1LCMvrnsYI/AAAAAAAAANY/zB_eKIZEKdg/s320/Pinterest_Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I discovered a quick way to find out if people have "pinned" your content to Pinterest via <a href="http://www.momcomm.com/2012/02/how-to-see-if-your-content-is-pinned-on-pinterest/">this excellent post. </a> All you have to do is add your website (or blog) name to the end of this url. Easy peasy, yes?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">http://www.pinterest.com/source/WEBSITENAME.COM</span><br />
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I was flattered to discover a 2012 Nashville bride pinned some of our images from Big Spoon Little Spoon to her wedding board. Thus, I started a board devoted specifically to Big Spoon Little Spoon and our 2010 wedding. You can follow it<a href="http://pinterest.com/natoshabenning/big-spoon-little-spoon-pins-from-our-wedding-blog/"> here</a> and feel free to <a href="http://pinterest.com/natoshabenning/">follow me</a> as well!<br />
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Pretty soon, Big Spoon Little Spoon will be transitioning to our next "level"of content, so to speak. There will be much less about weddings and more about our life in general with the potential of becoming a private blog. Pinterest will certainly play a roll in any upcoming efforts as I work on building up my personal brand (design website & blog, etc).<br />
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For tonight, I'll leave you with what has become a daily mantra for me :)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wIBiP_oFOCw/T1LbnyUNNoI/AAAAAAAAANs/m9he1KZhJdE/s1600/pin_pledge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wIBiP_oFOCw/T1LbnyUNNoI/AAAAAAAAANs/m9he1KZhJdE/s400/pin_pledge.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
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<br />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-3312143666716342432012-02-24T15:01:00.005-06:002012-02-24T15:02:23.545-06:00The Smart Bride: Nashville's Only Wedding Planning Bootcamp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/the-smart-bride-a-nashville-wedding-planning-bootcamp-2012/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uL2N3gv79qU/T0f5IhZ5m7I/AAAAAAAAANA/n-tO-cVkYCo/s1600/smart-bride-banner-300-250-complimentary.gif" /></a></div>
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<i>*** <a href="http://www.smartbridenashville.eventbrite.com/">Tickets</a> to this event are FREE through Saturday, February 25 - <a href="http://www.smartbridenashville.eventbrite.com/">SO HURRY! </a>***</i><br />
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<a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/the-smart-bride-a-nashville-wedding-planning-bootcamp-2012/"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HhFZxGFS4pg/T0f6j8dwZeI/AAAAAAAAANI/nrc1bZMwikM/s400/smart-nashville-bride-final-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Ladies and Gents, before you sign your first contract or buy those favors, I highly recommend grabbing a couple of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.smartbridenashville.eventbrite.com/">FREE tickets this week</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">and attending this fantastic event. I was honored to be a part of the panel last year as a newlywed. Ashley and her team have put together a very informative program that speaks to all budgets, all types of brides. </span></i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--ARKtiiGKCg/T0f6s7PvjjI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6OtX8_xAmXs/s1600/nashville-wedding-workshop-brides37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--ARKtiiGKCg/T0f6s7PvjjI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6OtX8_xAmXs/s320/nashville-wedding-workshop-brides37.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Want more info? Check out the recaps from last year's workshops!</i><br />
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<i><a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/what-are-your-wedding-values-vision-priorities/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Smart Bride - Know Your Wedding Values, Vision + Priorities</a></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/the-smart-bride-maximize-your-wedding-budget/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Smart Bride - Ways to Maximize Your Wedding Budget + DIY Tips</a></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/the-smart-bride-hiring-advice-hiring-your-nashville-wedding/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Smart Bride - How to Hire Your Nashville Wedding Team</a></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-64767330363175535432012-02-16T22:51:00.002-06:002012-02-16T22:51:50.636-06:00Falling Down Ladders and SuchAfter reading my last blog post, Big Spoon gave me a "do you seriously think you can do all of this in two weeks?" look and asked me to be a bit more realistic about ... well, what I could <i>realistically </i>accomplish in a week and half.<br />
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He was right.<br />
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I did manage to get the half-bathroom painted, but not before I tumbled down a ladder onto the vanity and <i>busted</i> my ass. Paint tray goes *bloop* - face down onto the plastic sheeting. I was pretty sore for a few days and even now, my back remembers what happened.<br />
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Did I mention that I sliced through the top of my thumbnail the same week with a paper cutter at work? No? Oh, it's<i> lovely</i>, I assure you.<br />
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The half-bath needs another coat of paint, the trim repainted and the cabinets repainted (don't even get me started on the bathroom cabinets ....) In the meantime, I did do quite a bit of organizing and discovered Space Bags. Oh-Em-Gee. I lurve them. I crammed two vintage raincoats, two vintage winter coats and some scarves into a bag, sucked the air out and BAM! It slides under the bed. Amazing.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o3WcRgab3hc/Tz3crcHOrTI/AAAAAAAAAMc/AspQ7DoFEL0/s1600/space-bag-storage-bag-vacuum-seal-jumbo-1-bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o3WcRgab3hc/Tz3crcHOrTI/AAAAAAAAAMc/AspQ7DoFEL0/s320/space-bag-storage-bag-vacuum-seal-jumbo-1-bag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not being paid to say this by Space Bag©, but if they'd like to, I'd be totally okay with that! I purchased a value pack at our neighborhood Big Lots (super big puffy heart that store) and they were worth every cent of the $15. I took a look at their infomercial website and for approximately $3.44 each (or $68.80), you can get a 20 bag set. I haven't bitten that bullet yet, but it's very tempting. <br />
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What do you use for storage and organization around the home?Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-66056642703312366222012-02-07T12:30:00.004-06:002012-02-14T23:38:29.397-06:00Spring Cleaning & Other Lofty Goals<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9j58IrgJsM/TzFphu2gGCI/AAAAAAAAAMM/N9V8iljP8kE/s1600/responsibility12%28alternate%29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9j58IrgJsM/TzFphu2gGCI/AAAAAAAAAMM/N9V8iljP8kE/s320/responsibility12%28alternate%29.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This and other awesome cartoons available on <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html">Hyperbole & A Half</a><br />
© Allie Broch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Hello again, blog world! As much as I hate to admit it, I can't do everything. I certainly try, but only succeed in having a ton of unfinished projects and a desire to sit on the sofa like a vegetable at the end of the workday. Blogging has certainly been on the bottom of my "to-do" list over the past year. In an effort to hold myself accountable for some of these unfinished and important "to-dos", I'm going to blog about it. Double whammy! Super exciting, I know.<br />
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I'm issuing a challenge (to myself) to get Big Spoon and myself organized, purged and cleaned for Spring. Or as I like to say "clean <u>all</u> the things!" Now, let's be honest ... I don't clean all the things. I work a 40+ hour job and Big Spoon works tons more than I do, so we have a once-a-month cleaning service. I keep things tidy the rest of the time and do all the laundry and cooking.<br />
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That service makes it a lot easier for me to actually enjoy doing the rest of the things - laundry, cooking, organizing, decorating, social life, etc. We may not be able to afford it forever, but for now, I love it.<br />
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Moving on ...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifRaE0ghS_Q/TzFrmvu_wkI/AAAAAAAAAMU/xO6hd8JjsgI/s1600/Easy-Buttermilk-Waffles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifRaE0ghS_Q/TzFrmvu_wkI/AAAAAAAAAMU/xO6hd8JjsgI/s320/Easy-Buttermilk-Waffles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dealseekingmom.com/files/2010/06/Easy-Buttermilk-Waffles.jpg">{via Deal Seeking Mom}</a></td></tr>
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I (attempt) to organize a monthly ladies' brunch and our February brunch will be held at the Spoon residence. Yay! Which also means I moved the cleaning service up a few days and must get my butt in gear to as far as this "challenge" goes. Here's my tentative outline for the week:<br />
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Week 1: February 6 - 12<br />
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<strike>• Paint the downstairs half-bathroom </strike>- <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Walls painting 02/14. Trim & cabinets later.</span></i><br />
• Pack up the dishes in the breakfront and move breakfront away from dining room wall<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> - priority</span></i><br />
• Clean out and organize the under stairs closet <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> - would be nice to complete</span></i><br />
• Clean out and organize the coat closet <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> - would be nice to complete</span></i><br />
• Prep the dining room to be painted<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> - would be nice to complete</span></i><br />
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Week 2: February 13 - 19<br />
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• Paint the dining room (before & after to come!) <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- priority</span></i><br />
• Work on the DIY dining room art (project recap to come!) <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> - would be nice to complete</span></i><br />
• Achievable tasks left over from Week 1 <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- would be nice to complet</span></i><br />
• Set up for ladies' brunch! <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- priority</span></i><br />
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We'll see if I can pack all of that in to the next two weeks.<br />
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<br />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-90163279417048973862012-01-17T21:03:00.001-06:002012-01-24T22:54:59.865-06:00Anniversary Photo BookBetter late than never ... we celebrated our first anniversary on 10.10.11 and had an anniversary shoot in November. I finally got around to making a photo book - I love Shutterfly!<br />
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<div style="margin-top: 0; text-align: center; width: 425px;">
<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbN2jRi4YuGTpo&eid=115">Click here to view this photo book larger</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 425px;">
Start your own Shutterfly <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books" style="color: #6666cc;">Photo Book</a> today.</div>
<img border="0" height="1" src="https://os.shutterfly.com/b/ss/sflyshareprod/1/H.15/111?pageName=sharekey&c1=photobook&c2=blogger" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" width="1" />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-1603747606547356452011-12-02T11:30:00.000-06:002012-01-26T12:39:57.764-06:00Anniversary & Rock the Dress Shoot with Amber Rena PhotographyWay back in the summer of 2011, my younger sister had some adorable family portraits made by <a href="http://amberrenaphotography.zenfolio.com/jayden3months">Amber Rena Photography</a>. I have to tell you, I really wish I had know about her when we were planning our wedding. Not only is <a href="http://amberrenaphotography.zenfolio.com/">Amber</a> insanely talented, she's great to work with!<br />
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Take a look at this gorgeousness!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_-vazuc6yU/TtkFqV4kAfI/AAAAAAAAAJg/tnJALuEnC-g/s1600/279106_236202186402011_123564864332411_837344_2958505_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_-vazuc6yU/TtkFqV4kAfI/AAAAAAAAAJg/tnJALuEnC-g/s320/279106_236202186402011_123564864332411_837344_2958505_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Big Spoon got really sick of listening to me whine for months about how much I hated our wedding photographer after how he made me feel and the shots that he "forgot" to take because the shot list was "in his head." We discussed that perhaps having a "Rock the Dress" shoot or some bridal portraits made would put the ghosts to rest. Ultimately, it did ... but I got over it loooong before the shoot with</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://amberrenaphotography.zenfolio.com/"> Amber Rena Photography</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, which was scheduled for November 12. Regardless, it was still a blast.</span></span></div>
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I decided to make the most of the photo shoot and trip to my grandparents' farm in Lafayette, TN by having some anniversary/couples shots done as well. </div>
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We had a blast! Here are five sneak peek shots from our photo shoot with <a href="http://amberrenaphotography.zenfolio.com/p795218994">Amber Rena Photography</a>. I highly recommend Amber if you are looking for a fun, talented and affordable photographer for your wedding, engagement photos, Senior portraits or family photos. </div>
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Visit her website <a href="http://amberrenaphotography.zenfolio.com/">Amber Rena Photography</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amberrenaphoto">like her on Facebook</a> for more information!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9GYyCmhrnaAaasJBrYjJzixu7Rn9S8T-J7saNc8EbEVZCOjpl3vBHyToqVVsb3XAXJ8GKw1TqvFW3taOBcJromA73WcX7xSAFCx5s63kGIQlmk6KfDenoaifbPQqPKJtnx8jQAwSCBDb/s1600/194767_294729730549256_123564864332411_1048401_378068040_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9GYyCmhrnaAaasJBrYjJzixu7Rn9S8T-J7saNc8EbEVZCOjpl3vBHyToqVVsb3XAXJ8GKw1TqvFW3taOBcJromA73WcX7xSAFCx5s63kGIQlmk6KfDenoaifbPQqPKJtnx8jQAwSCBDb/s400/194767_294729730549256_123564864332411_1048401_378068040_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQ_sj3O6Hj74dSdwtFyXXshzYzVjZtD89bkhmYBOuNilaOEXgHnyB05LlstTPR0ZhV3JYZqxy87BNaL_6xEbrW5XqJqL7n6-WtpRFVxnUAR9kTMW07MEA2pgaSRRqv-ncIC3TLbubW8be/s1600/331974_294729683882594_123564864332411_1048400_606551438_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQ_sj3O6Hj74dSdwtFyXXshzYzVjZtD89bkhmYBOuNilaOEXgHnyB05LlstTPR0ZhV3JYZqxy87BNaL_6xEbrW5XqJqL7n6-WtpRFVxnUAR9kTMW07MEA2pgaSRRqv-ncIC3TLbubW8be/s400/331974_294729683882594_123564864332411_1048400_606551438_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_K0aRUVhfxq04egUIqvht8eCg5BIxASDwcblFXfJtkiP3XRRJeuicua3Y1djgbxeDjiyCjxTbZwlNvHtlq9WL-TQKNT6xeaaKm7JwBUuqdmjS29WbuxydqOx08ERRh_Jx3lvuj-tWEIv/s1600/331178_294729633882599_123564864332411_1048399_1429867863_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_K0aRUVhfxq04egUIqvht8eCg5BIxASDwcblFXfJtkiP3XRRJeuicua3Y1djgbxeDjiyCjxTbZwlNvHtlq9WL-TQKNT6xeaaKm7JwBUuqdmjS29WbuxydqOx08ERRh_Jx3lvuj-tWEIv/s400/331178_294729633882599_123564864332411_1048399_1429867863_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaqMR059-tFSal-vbk88Us08FSu9KHuXmAJfzhm6OXZWD84GAwE0CIvqjv5JbHeqRZjh_d3StxFVGNWJzUIlUeSjOLaoCnZSxf5-MYvs2wCUNv1B79FYqTqexIWwkWYSGvd_qdr3o-g5G/s1600/322109_294729477215948_123564864332411_1048396_1986512061_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaqMR059-tFSal-vbk88Us08FSu9KHuXmAJfzhm6OXZWD84GAwE0CIvqjv5JbHeqRZjh_d3StxFVGNWJzUIlUeSjOLaoCnZSxf5-MYvs2wCUNv1B79FYqTqexIWwkWYSGvd_qdr3o-g5G/s400/322109_294729477215948_123564864332411_1048396_1986512061_o.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWltgjFqIy8/TtkFptlg3eI/AAAAAAAAAJY/TwPnY1j4fN0/s1600/290471_294729530549276_123564864332411_1048397_1442861847_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWltgjFqIy8/TtkFptlg3eI/AAAAAAAAAJY/TwPnY1j4fN0/s400/290471_294729530549276_123564864332411_1048397_1442861847_o.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Please do not reproduce without permission. © Amber Rena Photography</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1908475398"></span><span id="goog_1908475399"></span></div>Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-39989448554041587902011-10-13T22:07:00.002-05:002012-01-24T22:53:52.211-06:00Happy 1st Anniversary<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{One Love}</td></tr>
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This week, we celebrated our very first anniversary. It didn't even cross my mind to blog about it. I think it goes without saying that Big Spoon and I have gotten a bit too busy to keep up a blog with any sort of consistency.<br />
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Our first year of marriage has been interesting - ups, downs, patience, frustration, and lots of love. I think we learn more and more about one another every day. There are things going on in our lives that I just can't disclose on the blog, but suffice it to say that Big Spoon Little Spoon isn't going away. We're gonna need this blog for a long time.<br />
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But it <i>will</i> change. <br />
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Just as quickly as it came upon me, the lust for wedding porn, wedding conversations, wedding anything went away. *Poof* Gone. We're married. It's great. We have pictures hanging in the house. We're moving on ....<br />
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I'm doing a Rock the Dress photo shoot in a few weeks. I wasn't completely satisfied with our wedding photos and we thought it would be a fun way to reconcile that and get a few anniversary shots as well. I'll post photos and introduce you to our photographer. She's quite talented and I'm very excited to work with her.<br />
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We had a great anniversary ... the Saturday before our actual special day, we had a couple's massage, dinner at Watermark, and dessert at Jeni's in East Nashville. On Monday, I made a special dinner. We ate our cake top (it was good!) and opened a bottle of wine from our honeymoon.<br />
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I'm very excited for what the next year holds for us.<br />
<br />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-72642849820135451172011-09-01T23:15:00.000-05:002011-09-01T23:09:53.702-05:00Our Wedding: There's No Such Thing As Perfect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kj2bpcQATUA/TmBWD5b27cI/AAAAAAAAAHc/x3nf2PRn9oA/s1600/perfect.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kj2bpcQATUA/TmBWD5b27cI/AAAAAAAAAHc/x3nf2PRn9oA/s320/perfect.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647608557679865282" border="0" /></a>
From my perspective, almost every bride's wedding story has a hiccup or two, a few wedding-related regrets or things she might change if there were a magic time machine. I am no exception. If you aren't that bride - nothing you would change about your big day - consider yourself very lucky.
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I did the interesting and frustrating dance of post-wedding blues, got over it and moved on to my married life. But, there was one thing about our wedding day that kept bothering me and I thought that I should write about it. After many long, deep discussions with Big Spoon and some encouragement from blogger friends, I drafted the post with every intention of spilling all the dirty details about why Nashville brides shouldn't hire my photographer.<br><br>
I was poised to post it this very weekend, to break the long silence our blog has experienced.<br><br>
And then I read <a href="http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/2011/09/01/avalon-irene-is-not-my-friend/">this post by Avalon on Budget Savvy Bride</a>.<br><br>
A freaking hurricane curtailed every plan she had made for her wedding day, except one - she got married to the man she loves despite everything else falling apart. There is no doubt in my mind that she (and he) were seriously disappointed by how the wedding turned out, but there is also no doubt in my mind that she is a pragmatic woman who knows the difference between a wedding and a marriage.<br><br>
I encourage you to go read this post. I don't recall anything as drastic as this during the Nashville floods, although I'm sure it happened to many a May bride, whether it was a reschedule, missing guest, missing vendors or maybe a cancellation. I don't know, but I read this post about this real couple and it broke my heart.<br><br>
Avalon's post made me feel thankful and ashamed at the same time. Looking at the big picture, my wedding day was perfect. Not a hitch and exceptionally good weather. Someone else's experience won't ever change the way our photographer made me feel on our wedding day, but it sure did put me in a different frame of mind.<br><br>
It's true that I didn't feel the way I expected to feel on our wedding day, but I feel like I've processed that fully at this point. I've grieved for my single self and take a great deal of joy in my life as a married woman. Other people caused me a great deal of stress on our wedding day and I allowed my expectations to get stomped on a little bit. That will never change, but my attitude can.<br><br>
It really is all about the marriage. Big Spoon and I are coming up on our one year anniversary in about 40 days. It's been a great year, albeit with a great deal of changes for us on the horizon, but it's been a wonderful start to what I hope is a lifetime of happiness for us.<br><br>
Thank you, Avalon, for sharing your story with the world and congratulations on your marriage. I feel a lot less inclined to self-indulgent bitching now after being reminded that much worse things happen to people who don't deserve them.<br><br>
*If there are any Nashville brides who would like to discuss any of our wedding vendors, please feel free to drop us a line.
Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-36540511419824081122011-07-22T20:03:00.006-05:002011-07-22T20:48:52.406-05:00The All Natural Face ReviewI have a secret.<br><br>
I stopped using department and drug store foundation this year. I still buy the occasional tube of mascara, but almost every make-up product I use on my face now comes from <a href="http://www.theallnaturalface.com/">The All Natural Face. </a><br><br>
Here's why: I have very sensitive, acne prone skin and terrible allergies. I used to loathe having to wear makeup at all to cover my acne scars because most makeups made everything so much worse; especially the black heads. Ewh.<br><br>
I was first intrigued by <a href="http://www.theallnaturalface.com/">The All Natural Face</a> because their products are Vegan - free from harmful toxins and additives that your skin doesn't need. I started by ordering eyeshadow samples. A girl can never have too many options, right? They are phenomenal and the pigments are really vibrant. Their samples are low cost with low shipping and oh-so-generous!<br><br>
After trying the eyeshadow, I decided to try the mineral makeup and a few other goodies. There are currently 59 shades of foundation, so you can easily find a perfect match. I used a different color every day for a week (the samples are that great!) and finally decided on <a href="https://www.theallnaturalface.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.details&ProductID=117870">Almond Goddess</a>, which I have been wearing for several months now and LOVE IT. Not only is it non-toxic, it's highly affordable.
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qFjXfmLXxQ0/Tiojttp8FoI/AAAAAAAAAGk/Az74yAiHPwY/s1600/th_almond%2Bgoddess.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 155px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qFjXfmLXxQ0/Tiojttp8FoI/AAAAAAAAAGk/Az74yAiHPwY/s320/th_almond%2Bgoddess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632353552236811906" border="0" /></a>{image © The All Natural Face}
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I also use the eyelid primer, salmon concealer (which is fantastic), stick concealer in my foundation shade, Angel Wings mineral veil along with my smattering of eyeshadow and blush samples. As soon as I've picked a few favorites, I fully intend to switch over to <a href="http://www.theallnaturalface.com/">The All Natural Face</a> blush and eyeshadow. Also, they run a great many promotions and email you with promo codes frequently. I love that! <br><br>
<a href="http://www.theallnaturalface.com/">The All Natural Face</a> has some of the most reasonable prices for the quality of the product that I've seen. I highly recommend <a href="http://www.theallnaturalface.com/">The All Natural Face </a>as an inexpensive and natural alternative to drugstore and department store beauty products.Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-48401363548923137412011-07-08T23:04:00.010-05:002011-07-08T23:23:51.730-05:00Nine Months Later ...No, not "that" kind of nine months. We're a long ways away from baby land. As of Sunday, we will be celebrating nine months of marriage!<br><br>
I think it's time to come clean about something: I've kinda just let our blog <span style="font-style: italic;">go</span>.<br><br>
I gave up.<br><br>
I gave up because I was sick and tired of weddings. And I was sick and tired of weddings because after 18 months of planning, it just that some things didn't turn out the way I had planned.<br><br>
Now, I've talked to several Nashville newlyweds since my wedding. Almost every single one of them had a horror story to share, which was shocking because I had seen very few of them talk about it in the blogosphere. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling anyone out by any means. Sometimes, it's better to just let it <span style="font-style: italic;">go.</span> Maybe that's what these ladies are thinking. I think that too. Then I see some new photographer's gallery or a new wedding pop up with amazing this and nifty that and I start seeing red. Then I remind myself to <span style="font-style: italic;">let it go.</span><br><br>
That's what I've been <span style="font-style: italic;">trying </span>to do.<span style="font-style: italic;"> Just let it go</span>. But by doing so, I've lost any and all interest in keeping up with a blog. I have a wonderful new job, a loving, thoughtful husband and fantastic friends. I simply don't need this blog the way I once did and I've made no effort to convert it into a newlywed thing. I'm too busy for that. And do you all really care about my home renovations? And if every time I visit my own blog, I think about the things I've left unsaid, how healthy is that for me?<br><br>
Probably not.<br><br>
More than that, a part of me thinks that by keeping my mouth shut about some things, I'm doing a disservice to future brides and I won't put this blog (the wedding parts) to rest until I DO say something. (haha, get it.)<br><br>
So here's the question? Do any of you want to read about the bad parts of my wedding day? Are you at all interested in what I have to say about the vendors I've quietly taken off my vendor list over there to the left? Because here's the thing, I sincerely doubt that I will have much more involvement in the Nashville wedding industry. Truly. I don't foresee myself launching that Etsy store anytime in the near future.<br><br>
Do tell me your opinion and we'll keep this party going.Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-78154231309456608002011-06-20T14:49:00.008-05:002011-06-20T15:00:43.845-05:00Do All the ThingsJune is almost over. Oh-Em-Gee. This year is flying by ...<br><br>
I'm beginning to wonder how I had time to do everything I did for our wedding, work and keep "real life" things going simultaneously. Sometimes, having an end goal really propels you and gives you the momentum necessary to complete a task. I find myself hoarding DIY projects like a squirrel hoards nuts for winter. I stick them all in a spare bedroom and close the door and say "one day soon, I'll finish them." <br><br>
I was determined to wrap up all things wedding before the end of this month. That was a bit too ambitious on my part. <br><br>
I'm still trying to order prints for our moms, enlargements for us and custom framing of special things, like invitations and programs. But, 8 months later, we have one wedding picture hanging up and our faces aren't even in it. 8 months after our wedding, my dress still hasn't been cleaned (or sold or moved). I haven't even started on our photo book, which, by the way, has an expiration date of October 28th (it's a Groupon).<br><br>
Someone please tell me that it isn't just me, that I'm not as lazy as this sounds and that you were all still surrounded with post-wedding "chores"? <br><br>
Knowing that I will be starting a new job next week - almost completely unrelated to what I've been doing for the past 7 years - is exciting and scary. It's going to be time-consuming and I'm worried that all my "to-dos" will go from "one day soon" to "someday".Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-76372981510733987752011-06-11T12:31:00.004-05:002011-06-11T22:23:54.802-05:00Busy Little Spoon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILN6uwbnt68/TfQw3uogdEI/AAAAAAAAAFM/A_OfwOFqXj0/s1600/demotivational-poster-motivation-office-space.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILN6uwbnt68/TfQw3uogdEI/AAAAAAAAAFM/A_OfwOFqXj0/s320/demotivational-poster-motivation-office-space.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617168369206719554" border="0" /></a>
Well, hello there! It's been two months today since I've had time enough to even think about our blog. We've had a lot of things happen in 2011 already and I'm going to catch you up on life a Mr. & Mrs. Spoon.<br><br>
<span style="font-style: italic;">February</span> - I hosted a baby shower for my little sister to celebrate the upcoming birth of her first child and my new nephew. The very same weekend we got a new sister-in-law and step-niece, which was a complete surprise. My brother and his wife were married in Missouri in a private ceremony on Feb 18, 2011. Big Spoon and I were incredibly busy with our jobs. I picked up some freelance work and began a web design class.<br><br>
<span style="font-style: italic;">March</span> - I painted a mural in my soon-to-be nephew's nursery and on March 31, 2011, we welcomed baby Jayden into the world. I also sold a bunch of left over wedding stuff that month and made back around $200.<br><br>
<span style="font-style: italic;">April</span> - We purged the house of unwanted/unused items and took a car load full of stuff to Goodwill. My parents came down and helped me strip the kitchen of 16-year-old wallpaper. We painted, hung new curtains and began "refreshing" our home. I picked up another freelance job.<br><br>
<span style="font-style: italic;">May</span> - Big Spoon left for a five day conference in Canada and his parents came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I got my portfolio together and went on a job interview (no small task, I assure you).<br><br>
And here we are in June. Already?! I can't believe it. Big Spoon and I have been married for 8 months, I turn 29 tomorrow and best of all .... I HAVE A NEW JOB!<br><br>
So, all in all, two months of being busy and not blogging has paid off. I hope to get back in the blogging groove soon, so if you're interested in newlywed life and hopefully a few home decor DIYs, we'll be here!<br><br>Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-5255241329335307672011-04-11T22:22:00.006-05:002011-04-11T23:01:52.882-05:00Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gVP10Ln07VA/TaPK4YvffaI/AAAAAAAAAE4/_yFtVmCtSTY/s1600/04112981_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gVP10Ln07VA/TaPK4YvffaI/AAAAAAAAAE4/_yFtVmCtSTY/s320/04112981_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594538232187420066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />{Not for personal use. Do not duplicate. NO permissions granted to use this photo}</span></span><br /><br />
</div>Happy 30th (and 31st!) anniversary to my wonderful parents! They were married one year to the day they met in an intimate ceremony at my grandparent's house, surrounded by 30 of their nearest and dearest, including my eight-year-old half sister. It was a second marriage for them both and they beat the odds to a pulp. I'm so lucky to have their excellent example of a loving, supportive marriage. They really are each others' best friend.Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-81410083914425363822011-04-10T19:29:00.005-05:002011-04-10T20:25:08.553-05:00Nesting Spoons: Happy Six MonthsSix months ago today, we were doing this ...<!-- br--><!-- br-->
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMVYNLmDnUbrYYi_kCc6pBi1gcbwykI6WdMzeaIvqpn2yJYWB72_a7FsTUt-Rn_sLd1Z_u72Dy7tokGRxLvj1PsraO-6IIAuVWiQsurwrYGyFVtdqAIbSoGEcYyKIh8srwW7LuclRXLIR/s1600/IMG_0011_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMVYNLmDnUbrYYi_kCc6pBi1gcbwykI6WdMzeaIvqpn2yJYWB72_a7FsTUt-Rn_sLd1Z_u72Dy7tokGRxLvj1PsraO-6IIAuVWiQsurwrYGyFVtdqAIbSoGEcYyKIh8srwW7LuclRXLIR/s320/IMG_0011_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594124975711958130" border="0" /></a><!-- br-->And this ...<!-- br--><!-- br-->
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDMFQLquWe7mv2Wql_KnsqE9Lh0Hln4l9sepj9_16q_HVfqwSAFpwufPmjWeuHANCi3Mf6pz8NMnlVIeAjuRBFrd-oTOEWc1RATCQM5I1AmsjhipbYETj_mn5S7N3wkthKyA_jq4pyNXk/s1600/IMG_7516_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDMFQLquWe7mv2Wql_KnsqE9Lh0Hln4l9sepj9_16q_HVfqwSAFpwufPmjWeuHANCi3Mf6pz8NMnlVIeAjuRBFrd-oTOEWc1RATCQM5I1AmsjhipbYETj_mn5S7N3wkthKyA_jq4pyNXk/s320/IMG_7516_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594129039574765666" border="0" /></a>I love Big Spoon and I'm so happy to be his wife.<!-- br--><!-- br-->Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-13785623208880127402011-04-01T08:00:00.002-05:002011-04-09T07:37:53.140-05:0020 Things That I Would Never Change About Our Wedding Day1) Planning our wedding myself with Big Spoon. It was still ours, regardless of the flaws.<br /><br />
2) Seeing Big Spoon holding my bouquet in the rose garden, waiting for me and looking all sexy in his tux.<br /><br />
3) Taking the pictures before the ceremony. I still think it's better than waiting until after because people won't wait for you. They leave.<br /><br />
4) Having our closest family, friends & colleagues there to celebrate with us.<br /><br />
5) Our date. I love 10.10.10. Everyone who thinks it's cliché and silly can suck it.<br /><br />
6) My grandfather's words of wisdom in the receiving line.<br /><br />
7) Big Spoon putting my wedding band on backwards after digging it out of his tux pocket. So cute!<br /><br />
8) Crying while I read my vows to him. And kissing him afterward, even though I'm supposed to wait until the end.<br /><br />
9) Our officiant and celebrant. They were perfect and our choice was deeply meaningful to us.<br /><br />
10) My flowers! OMG ... my flowers were AMAZING. Auh-ma-ZING!!!<br /><br />
11) My cake was gorgeous! and tasty!<br /><br />
12) Our caterer rocked everyone's socks. I love Rita.<br /><br />
13) My DIY details. Everything looked wonderful. Especially the coffee filter pomanders. My friends RULE.<br /><br />
14) Writing our ceremony and vows. I'm totally biased, but ours was the prettiest sounding wedding I've ever been to ;)<br /><br />
15) My dress. I loved my dress and didn't want to take it off.<br /><br />
16) Choosing to not cover my tattoo.<br /><br />
17) Taking lots of little moments with Big Spoon (mostly to calm me down) and feeling very close to him that day.<br /><br />
18) Paying a recent film school graduate to shoot our wedding. We have our vows on DVD and that's truly special.<br /><br />
19) Waiting to go on our honeymoon.<br /><br />
20) Having a wedding. I wouldn't change it, no matter how many times I wonder if a courthouse wedding would have been easier.<br /><br />Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-38881686064307714702011-03-31T08:00:00.005-05:002011-04-09T07:40:12.010-05:00Our Wedding: Best MemoriesSometimes, when I reflect on our wedding, I have a tendency to dwell on those things that went wrong. Over the past five months, I've made an effort to do less of that and try to remember more things that I really liked or enjoyed about our day. After all, we put in a lot of hard work to make the day special and in many ways, it was exactly that.
Here are some of my favorites from our wedding day ...
<ul><li><font style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Advice from my grandfather.</font> Between the two of us, all but one set of grandparents have passed away. I was terrified during our 18 months of planning that my 80-year-old maternal grandparents would be unable to attend the wedding. As luck would have it, both my Papa and Granny were there for the entire wedding. As they came through the receiving line, my Papa took one of my hands and one of Big Spoon's. With many tears, he told us simply to "just love one another. Love one another every day. That's what we've done and we've been happily married for 62 years." That was the most special thing anyone said that day, aside from my husband's vows. I'll never forget it and I tear up every time I think about it.
</li></ul><ul><li><font style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Big Spoon cried</font> when I read my vows to him. I really didn't expect that.
</li></ul><ul><li><font style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">My handsome husband. </font>Speaking of Big Spoon, as memorable as our "first look" was before picture taking, my clearest memory is of his face during the ceremony and our first dance. That's one of the first things I think about when I reflect. Just his handsome face.
</li></ul><ul><li><font style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">My flowers</font> blew me away. My friend Jasmin of <a href="http://www.artisanflowers.blogspot.com/">Artisan Flowers</a> is so amazingly talented. We became friends at our first design job and she gave me one of the most incredible wedding gifts. I trusted that she would do an excellent job, but I swear to you, my flowers look like I paid thousands for them. <font style="font-style: italic;">Thousands.</font> I consider her one of my dearest, best friends and I'll never forget how fortunate I am to have that friendship, above and beyond the wedding flowers. I'm not sure how I'll ever repay her. They were hands down my favorite detail of our wedding.
</li></ul><ul><li><i><b>The drive off.</b></i> Transportation was not a priority for us and we didn't do a big send off because I knew our guests well enough to know that they would start leaving before we did. We stuck around and tried to make sure things got put away and sent with the proper responsible people. There were lots of hugs and kisses, then Big Spoon and I hopped in my car and took off toward our hotel. We laughed and talked about our wedding all the way there.</li></ul>Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-64034170338552479662011-03-21T08:00:00.005-05:002011-03-21T11:08:52.857-05:00Our Wedding: Reception<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE9ctzPLCoe5VCc3FWTj09pPI6Xl7_jFBqE4moIEKaO4KR5z-XZcNpo4uz1xMzg2xeXzq-DtyU70RiiePx1zr_zsL5Tj7ZkHvVc6w6aD6s60ktqTWWc6-zHKNv8vn0Q71vzv-KrNsVPeo/s1600/IMG_7582_LR+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE9ctzPLCoe5VCc3FWTj09pPI6Xl7_jFBqE4moIEKaO4KR5z-XZcNpo4uz1xMzg2xeXzq-DtyU70RiiePx1zr_zsL5Tj7ZkHvVc6w6aD6s60ktqTWWc6-zHKNv8vn0Q71vzv-KrNsVPeo/s320/IMG_7582_LR+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586376458642404674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span>
</div><div style="text-align: center;">
One of the best things that Big Spoon and I did as part of our reception was have a receiving line. We took all of our photos before the ceremony so that our guests didn't have to wait to eat and we had a receiving line so that we saw each and every guest who attended our wedding.<br /><br />
<u><i>I am so very happy we did this and I highly recommend it.</i></u><br /><br />
After the receiving line, Big Spoon and I took a few minutes to just hang out by ourselves before going in to the reception. And from that point on, everything felt like it was in fast forward ...<br /><br />
The few bites of food I got before we got to the hotel room. I was too excited to eat much.<br /><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2izQJ7sAVDtl_prRrsoG2lQyBMj7IpAsHZ6kXm4tCZfqEwiPzviIBgzwNYDbVn35Nf0xk6BrnDGEIZHt0zaV9_yCZpeZsUgHKe9lNLAW4zKiRtwYkG0vVDBR6IfUNhbyN5lRnjd9GCgI/s1600/IMG_7587_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2izQJ7sAVDtl_prRrsoG2lQyBMj7IpAsHZ6kXm4tCZfqEwiPzviIBgzwNYDbVn35Nf0xk6BrnDGEIZHt0zaV9_yCZpeZsUgHKe9lNLAW4zKiRtwYkG0vVDBR6IfUNhbyN5lRnjd9GCgI/s320/IMG_7587_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586376041568285730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">The cake cutting.<br /><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qk-SAQjvUYTvm0fc1JB1yCmzyyo5bS9qSAxXQ-tIcoTJp_HWpqGyjdFzKvz9ukAC4YH97dlb3Ufz667PL-xqufV514VUyCzCipRmxc5rt-_EU0m1MAYVxkyfNFy262KLfk7DpjQLP5qz/s1600/reception_cake_details_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qk-SAQjvUYTvm0fc1JB1yCmzyyo5bS9qSAxXQ-tIcoTJp_HWpqGyjdFzKvz9ukAC4YH97dlb3Ufz667PL-xqufV514VUyCzCipRmxc5rt-_EU0m1MAYVxkyfNFy262KLfk7DpjQLP5qz/s320/reception_cake_details_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586379690764393778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span><br /><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">
The speeches (which everyone knows make me very uncomfortable.)<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv40ZtoT1Q0RhOzyn-zuc9vsfddGkm20471uYXhMN_J65CD9nPxC4UFUHVRwyiUw9YL_kzdgwacKKiQWrH-5E4RR0PjOmi1DV4gDpkXX8mOtwHXj8dh8YhuCasS4-CKwDVCjiyVyhKiyi/s1600/speeches_montage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv40ZtoT1Q0RhOzyn-zuc9vsfddGkm20471uYXhMN_J65CD9nPxC4UFUHVRwyiUw9YL_kzdgwacKKiQWrH-5E4RR0PjOmi1DV4gDpkXX8mOtwHXj8dh8YhuCasS4-CKwDVCjiyVyhKiyi/s320/speeches_montage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586388029423320610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}<br /><br />
</span>The first dance.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1t3fhyutG2gh-qMDKcKGF3AGdLtcin0jP1e2lVKRQlu7yrusXObkfRz41lUkUqrYSTEAsoH9axpIBcIcaNfp9cH4SrpzkwPBhVLaup4YV7VpymQCBfspEZRfie_H_Gec5kW77nkGuyNsD/s1600/first_dance_collage_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1t3fhyutG2gh-qMDKcKGF3AGdLtcin0jP1e2lVKRQlu7yrusXObkfRz41lUkUqrYSTEAsoH9axpIBcIcaNfp9cH4SrpzkwPBhVLaup4YV7VpymQCBfspEZRfie_H_Gec5kW77nkGuyNsD/s320/first_dance_collage_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586385776571326066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span><br /><br />
I dance with my Daddy and Big Spoon danced with his momma.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw65_-aHyXedTfKtDtj0FFlxTqzPlcEbP3No1HOzKlViiKqy9_KSQNhJ2P63-UThhJqxH9ea1PCEZA4LluDEjFe8tG2MduYarxg-A3wJoWzfxQyvh0wcyhIP9TmrqM1Lo9DI_MHWe6pckI/s1600/parents_dance_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw65_-aHyXedTfKtDtj0FFlxTqzPlcEbP3No1HOzKlViiKqy9_KSQNhJ2P63-UThhJqxH9ea1PCEZA4LluDEjFe8tG2MduYarxg-A3wJoWzfxQyvh0wcyhIP9TmrqM1Lo9DI_MHWe6pckI/s320/parents_dance_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586385992962470530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span><br /><br />
Some details.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NF_PRejlj19HDuQnMiWGVIQxi8YSVhDs3-VfqokREiuXOw7BGRT8h7oGQR49qmOSJTy8XNWNtMlDh67a40I27xtfAxdBLUP44tHg2LD1-tnAmVpzWDc__zCvQpbWJb9HUmQBWZzXTfbs/s1600/reception_details_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NF_PRejlj19HDuQnMiWGVIQxi8YSVhDs3-VfqokREiuXOw7BGRT8h7oGQR49qmOSJTy8XNWNtMlDh67a40I27xtfAxdBLUP44tHg2LD1-tnAmVpzWDc__zCvQpbWJb9HUmQBWZzXTfbs/s320/reception_details_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586391227959412322" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{all © Epic Image Photography except center right vertical. Courtesy of Down South Delights}
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Some good friends and family.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TYmB8AUbo6EvttdIK3kWqFs6I5oykNlgtlw-xxXKe54RQI33T_J8y8EIC4Py4m57eQWnEltuEpIp1ASEsbLKiUAlOs6_uni2ZoM7EuAGsO4xmLvLkU9T7gnh2YPGQ9Ns-8rVNLLMCZ4F/s1600/reception_friends_couples_collage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TYmB8AUbo6EvttdIK3kWqFs6I5oykNlgtlw-xxXKe54RQI33T_J8y8EIC4Py4m57eQWnEltuEpIp1ASEsbLKiUAlOs6_uni2ZoM7EuAGsO4xmLvLkU9T7gnh2YPGQ9Ns-8rVNLLMCZ4F/s320/reception_friends_couples_collage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586393835378327378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span><br /><br />
Some laughs in the photo booth.<br /><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0w7-H3nzQhQ/TYbeUux_PcI/AAAAAAAAAD0/oHPIO7p1cJc/s1600/gigglebooth_collage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0w7-H3nzQhQ/TYbeUux_PcI/AAAAAAAAAD0/oHPIO7p1cJc/s320/gigglebooth_collage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586396835536125378" border="0" /></a>
And then ... it was over. The hardest part of the day was taking my dress off. I just didn't want to! But, I did and I drove us to our hotel in Mt. Juliet, laughing all the way as we reflected on our wedding day.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbJpRxpfOzQtTn7-N_9dycGXWXRlXBuxW_GJnkJ7gmNiVKaeWqHbd4R5_ul-P0XKlk8v-MJOn86XKq7UNDS-uTAlvy9la82pX5IgXwWiHvM946ocdYlVC56UOQyCAzSidttZEewWMLt6h/s1600/IMG_0011_LR.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbJpRxpfOzQtTn7-N_9dycGXWXRlXBuxW_GJnkJ7gmNiVKaeWqHbd4R5_ul-P0XKlk8v-MJOn86XKq7UNDS-uTAlvy9la82pX5IgXwWiHvM946ocdYlVC56UOQyCAzSidttZEewWMLt6h/s320/IMG_0011_LR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586397225083483170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">{© Epic Image Photography}</span></div>Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-42966695700485059452011-03-19T20:09:00.014-05:002011-03-19T20:48:34.312-05:00Nesting Spoons: Parting Ways With Wedding Stuff<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t6rBZOmVCJE/TYVZjZTYhHI/AAAAAAAAACU/k8mYDkZQJ-A/s1600/26734f7s1enil76.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 230px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t6rBZOmVCJE/TYVZjZTYhHI/AAAAAAAAACU/k8mYDkZQJ-A/s320/26734f7s1enil76.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585969377445446770" border="0" /></a>
<span style="font-size:85%;">{© renjith krishnan}</span></div>
On Friday night, I posted a <a href="http://nashville.craigslist.org/for/2273608571.html">Craigslist ad in order to sell some of our wedding</a> "stuff." Selling things that might help others have a more budget friendly wedding and getting rid of some clutter makes me feel fabulous and lighter. There's just so much<span style="font-style: italic;"> stuff</span> left over. What are you supposed to <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> with it?<br /> <br />
Today, we sold almost all the white table linens. I say almost because Big Spoon and I nearly killed one another trying to get them counted, sorted, folded and in the car. When we got to Antioch, the person informed me that they, in fact, only wanted the white linens, not the satin runners. This was definitely not part of the email correspondence, but we managed to strike a deal that made everyone happy.<br /> <br />
It is a goal of mine to have all things wedding wrapped up by our first anniversary. I want to have pictures hanging, prints in albums, scrapbook underway and keepsakes tucked away. I don't want to find myself trying to sort and sell this stuff 5 years from now when no one will want. I'm making space <span style="font-style: italic;">now, </span><span>so I am making the wedding stuff sell-off, a total house purge and an upcoming yard sale priority numero uno.</span><br /> <br />
The big thing is deciding whether or not to sell my dress.<br /> <br />
It's a touchy subject. On one hand, why not? I'll never wear it again when someone else could and get a great price, too. Then again, I don't want to give it away and a big part of me doesn't want to let it go. I'm still deciding.<br /> <br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What did you do with your dress?</span>Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-11112347329513296202011-03-13T23:27:00.004-05:002011-03-13T23:38:22.972-05:00A Short & Sweet UpdateHi y'all! I'm still here ... as life tends to get, we've both been extremely busy and I haven't made much time for blog content. I have several posts drafted and I'm working on wrapping those up. They include our reception and thoughts on our wedding day as well as a couple of DIY wedding tutorials I never got around to before the big day.<br ><br >
We've been married 5 months now, believe it or not. I'm still in the process of re-editing photos and getting some enlarged to hang around the house. I have a Canvas On Demand Groupon and a Picaboo photo book Groupon I'm anxious to use on our wedding photos. Oh, and that whole starting a small business thing while simultaneously living life, working full time and doing minor home renovations.<br ><br >
My goal is to have all the "wedding" related stuff sold, put away, ordered and organized by our 1st anniversary. It seems like a long time for such a small goal, but believe me, it is sneaking up on me!Natoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07271450014983059459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-52240223780002803292011-03-06T08:00:00.001-06:002011-03-06T22:46:44.166-06:00Problems With Deodorant Smudges? Take Away White!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcVaBAissk9zxcquoKETmp-pFFjqjBMqCj-_O6RNLiFhVszA20T6LSQ1OjjmeDRzZ_GJyscdBFcKzyvSbCaNPOjQj7dHg8tD3dHiZpPyPZE8yPsroniz61cXB-q8NF1CYoLLJND3s5P4/s1600/taw_oval_3w14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcVaBAissk9zxcquoKETmp-pFFjqjBMqCj-_O6RNLiFhVszA20T6LSQ1OjjmeDRzZ_GJyscdBFcKzyvSbCaNPOjQj7dHg8tD3dHiZpPyPZE8yPsroniz61cXB-q8NF1CYoLLJND3s5P4/s1600/taw_oval_3w14.png" /></a></div>So here's something cool and quite handy! I was asked to review a new product on the blog for Takeawaywhite. They sent me a few samples of this little gray foam that take the guess work out of getting that pesky white deodorant out of your clothes!<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.takeawaywhite.com/Product_Info.html">takeawaywhite</a> is an eco-friendly dry reusable oval foam pad for men, women and teens designed to remove deodorant smudge marks from almost all fabric clothing. An unsightly deodorant mark is annoying and almost always happens when you are in a hurry.<br />
</i><br />
<i>You’ve seen it – you take a last look in the mirror and there is the deodorant smudge – a deodorant powder residue mark across your body! So annoying, and such a hassle, until now...</i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.takeawaywhite.com/Product_Info.html"><br />
takeawaywhite</a> lifts the white deodorant residue powder from almost all fabrics. However, it is not a stain remover and will not remove grease.</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*Disclosure: I received one full-sized and two mini samples of this product to review. I received no monetary compensation. </i></span>Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-39200923478224761252011-03-02T22:00:00.006-06:002011-03-02T22:01:08.403-06:00Your Questions Answered: Ashley's Bride Guide & Big Spoon Little Spoon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnfsFAhecKBHqAXiHaP8rJcTe4bCTF3fa_c_-M3DNid_pzSVzpwXSVrHHocpaWbKTRSa10w5VN0L-KJeF5VAQ3F56IStCrY8wkzZRvI6hxMcqSlp-RYJAm93oEacjTG_j_dkemtNcFok/s1600/Nashville-bridal-blogger-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnfsFAhecKBHqAXiHaP8rJcTe4bCTF3fa_c_-M3DNid_pzSVzpwXSVrHHocpaWbKTRSa10w5VN0L-KJeF5VAQ3F56IStCrY8wkzZRvI6hxMcqSlp-RYJAm93oEacjTG_j_dkemtNcFok/s320/Nashville-bridal-blogger-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{© Epic Image Photography}</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our wedding was featured today on Ashley's Bride Guide - the premiere resource for your Nashville wedding! We are so excited and honored that ABG asked to feature our budget wedding both on the blog and on the Facebook fan page.<br />
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Also, there is a public discussion forum on the Ashley's Bride Guide Facebook page where you can ask me anything and everything about our wedding, vendors and budget tips. I haven't seen anything like it online and I think it's a really great idea. Feel free to drop by and ask your burning questions. I'll be answering them tomorrow night and Friday.<br />
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Check out our ABG blog feature <a href="http://ashleysbrideguide.com/the_wedding_scoop/article/budget-wedding-advice-nashville/">"How They Did It: Natosha + Stephen Share the Details of Their Budget Nashville Wedding."</a><br />
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And, our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=51292873672&topic=19652#%21/notes/ashleys-bride-guide/the-heart-of-the-benning-wedding/10150107508651097">ABG Facebook feature</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=51292873672&topic=19652">discussion page. </a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuBYHIYm_7P6PRXqgXiMCpGoQ5u32MpwZ9V6kTwFpzBG1B8Zn-JZg1f0ip1VhZqzsK_ZIUjeYIHtvf3ks4c790fesuZjE-IP8kKEbYMPDRFG-UpeTzaw6dXE0A_16iEZp0_68uJbztyI/s1600/Nashville-bridal-blogger-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuBYHIYm_7P6PRXqgXiMCpGoQ5u32MpwZ9V6kTwFpzBG1B8Zn-JZg1f0ip1VhZqzsK_ZIUjeYIHtvf3ks4c790fesuZjE-IP8kKEbYMPDRFG-UpeTzaw6dXE0A_16iEZp0_68uJbztyI/s320/Nashville-bridal-blogger-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{© Epic Image Photography}</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048090213085962247.post-80632834106832050522011-03-01T08:00:00.002-06:002011-03-01T08:00:11.418-06:00Still Deciding On Favors? Consider Thistle Farms For Your Wedding!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kZG8zIkjRh86x7mO-UO_9XYZNYNFZuaV1l6d3iwQShUlJqNb2Hs3pGarHuBDixkjVgslhKwFGYNOgOLHndDcRtajFYmkAbAWbWoviWJI5usdsfYf6sUdIvCX9QdY2eAZoDa-BsSkLFw/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kZG8zIkjRh86x7mO-UO_9XYZNYNFZuaV1l6d3iwQShUlJqNb2Hs3pGarHuBDixkjVgslhKwFGYNOgOLHndDcRtajFYmkAbAWbWoviWJI5usdsfYf6sUdIvCX9QdY2eAZoDa-BsSkLFw/s1600/logo.png" /></a></div> At the ABG Sex and the City II party last summer, I first learned about Thistle Farms and their amazing work. At that point, I had already picked some edible favors for our guests but was totally intrigued by the idea of favors that support charity.<br />
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I was contacted by Carolyn at Thistle Farms to introduce me to their mission and ask that I do a blog feature here on Big Spoon Little Spoon. However, if you follow other Nashville bridal bloggers and newlyweds, you probably already know all about them through Louise at <a href="http://www.thethirtysomethingbride.com/imported-20100102151706/2010/8/24/how-love-can-heal.html">The Thirty Something Bride</a>. Her <a href="http://www.thethirtysomethingbride.com/imported-20100102151706/2010/8/24/how-love-can-heal.html">feature</a> from last year puts anything I can write here to shame.<br />
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Thistle Farms is a Nashville-based non-profit organization which has great wedding options that are earth-friendly, budget-conscious and support a great cause! <br />
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The hand made items are created by women who have survived lives of violence, prostitution and addiction. Purchases of Thistle Farms products directly benefit the women who make them. They have recently come up with some bridal-specific ideas including gift baskets full of our handmade bath and body products, perfect for brides to give to their bridesmaids or coordinators to give to their brides. For more information about our custom bridal product, <a href="http://www.thistlefarms.org/index.php/have-a-thistle-farms-wedding">visit their website.</a><br />
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When you incorporate Thistle Farms into your wedding, you are showing others your belief in the power of love by personally helping women who are on the road to healing.<br />
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Now that you know all about them and their wonderful work and products, go check them out at a variety of places around Nashville, such as the Frist Center gift store, Fire Finch, Ten Thousand Villages and Wedding 101.Little Spoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05746988330351402370noreply@blogger.com1