My New Home: The Hospital

Well at least it feels like hospitals have become my home since that is where I have spent the majority of the past three days!

Luckily this time I am not the patient. Monday night my sister-in-law Kaley had her beautiful baby boy after four days of labor!  Seriously y'all he is soooo beautiful!

Everyone meet Branson Todd Stephens all 9lb 15oz & 22in of him!! Boy is a hoss! 

I just love all those first day details the fuzzy hair & wrinkly hands get me everytime! 

He already has the best expressions!!!

I love you so much already (not so) little man!!  

Today on the other hand is not such a joyful visit. My little sister had to have a very extensive jaw surgery today so I have been camped out at Egleston since 6 a.m. needless to say I am exhausted!! Anyone who knows me knows that seeing my little in pain breaks every little piece of my heart but everything went great she is resting at the moment. It is definitely going to be a long night but hopefully she will get some sleep and I will too. 

So I am sorry for the poor quality of this post but it is coming from my iPhone and very very little sleep! I know I missed a link up in a series I was doing today but I'm just gonna have to do it when I can get back to normal! 

Later y'all!! 

Catch Up!

 

Well I know I said a while ago that I was going to do a post about Megan (my little sister) and Blake's (her boyfriend) graduation party that I threw but I got so busy doing link-ups I almost forgot! So I will keep it short and sweet today with a post about that.

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows that my Little (that's what I call her) is my world. We have always been close but after my Mom passed we really became fused together. She's like my own and her graduation was way harder on me than it was on her or anyone else but I wanted to make it special for her. Her birthday is December 26th meaning she never gets a birthday party so what better excuse for a big party than her graduation!  And despite some predictable Georgia showers we had a great time!

I tried to incorporate plenty of gender neutral colors and activities.

It was an afternoon party so I just planned for finger foods and light snacks. I am beyond obsessed with mason jars and these Paper Straws from Target! I also did the same shooters that we did for Kaley's baby shower except I went for old fashioned banana pudding and left out the chocolate & coconut. They were a big hit just like last time, so cute & delicious! I am kind of a sucker for coordinating the food & details with my theme, cheesy I know but hey what can I say it makes me happy.

 

The cake was absolutely precious! My Aunt made it, she is just so incredibly talented it looked and tasted better than anything I would've ordered from any bakery! I made Megan & Blake each a brag book from CVS with pictures from Graduation and had the party guests write them messages on the backs of the pages, something sweet for them to keep!

you've gotta have some fun photo props

 

 I wanted the balloon release to symbolize them letting go of them go of one chapter of their lives & opening a new one! {I know cheese factor is out the roof but whatever it looks cute}

I am so proud of you two and I cannot wait to see what amazing things you have in store for your futures!

 

Five On Friday

 

Boy oh boy do I love Fridays!!!!

Today I am linking up (again) with April at A. Liz Adventures for the 5 on Friday Link-Up!

 

{1} I am loving that for the first time in as long as I can remember we have no plans this weekend! We always have a family function, work or some other obligation happening but somehow the stars have aligned and we don't have anything scheduled for this weekend. That just makes me so happy but anxious at the same time because I feel like I am forgetting something! Of course all I can think about is what we are going to do haha I wish I could just relax and go with the flow.

 

{2} I seriously have the best job with the sweetest co-workers. Today one of the girls I work with brought me the cutest t-shirt with my monogram on it! Like Reese Witherspoon says

"..My rule is, if it's not moving, monogram it." 

I am just so in love with it & so flattered that she thought of me!

 the shirt is pink too it just looks red in the picture

 

{3} Lauren & I decided to go get pedicures yesterday (we ended up getting manicures too, hehe) and it was amazinnggg!!! I cannot even tell you the last time I had my nails done but I can tell you that I plan on doing way more.

we also tried out the new Instagram video, it is fun & as Lauren said I have no shame

TL: My fingers & Toes BL: fancy hand soak w/ hot stone R: Me & Laurens Toes

 

{4} I know earlier I said we didn't have any plans this weekend but actually we do {kinda}. We have a whole lot of waiting to do because we have a nephew that will be here any day now!! I am so excited for Mr. Branson Todd Stephens to make his debut and it is looking like that might be this weekend!

 

These are my 2 sweet nephews. Clayton (left) & Haden (right) who was yawning b/c I had just got him out of bed so I could see him before I went to work! Come on Branson there is plenty of room on Aunt Asha's lap for one more!

 

{5} I almost forgot about this! Speaking of nephews the other day we got to keep our oldest nephew Clayton {Branson's older brother} and we took him to this place called Skyzone. If you have one of these near you you have to go right now. No seriously, step away from the computer, kids or no kids, go find a Skyzone! It was seriously the neatest place I have ever been to, it was so much fun for all of us. It is pretty much a whole building made of trampolines! There is a regular jumping room, one where you jump up and shoot a basketball, a dodge ball room and a section where you jump into a foam pit! I mean doesn't that just sound like awesomeness! It is, it really is.

 

 

 

Well that's it for today! Y'all have a good weekend and go link-up to tell us what's on your mind today!

5 on Friday

 {excuse all the colors I am a little over excited about the official start of Summer!}

 

 

 

 

L-O-V-E

I know all of my posts this week have been link-ups but I can't help it, I love them! They are perfect opportunities for new bloggers like me to meet new people. So today I am doing the Spill About Your L-O-V-E link up with Liz at A. Liz Adventures, I just love her blog! She has provided 6 questions that I will answer about my relationship. This makes two posts in a row gushing about my hubby, good gracious!

 

 

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband.

Ugh.. My dating life before Paul was definitely nothing to brag about. I was with a guy for 3 years in high school who treated me horribly. After we broke up I had another {semi} serious relationship the end of my senior year that kind of dragged on longer than it should have. Then there were a couple more duds that like the rest of my relationships failed because the guys could not respect my values. Then came my knight in shining muddy armor!

 

 

 

{2} Describe your husband in one word. How would he describe you in one word?

Hmm.. my husband in one word. I would say Caring. A lot of people think Paul is rude because he is quiet when you first meet him but he is truly one of the most caring people I have ever met. He loves me more than life itself and he shows it. He has respected me unconditionally from day one like no one ever has and I know he would walk through fire for me.

And I texted him to ask him one word he would use to describe me and he said perfect. Geezeeee. I think if he was really honest he would say odd. Because I am, he is always telling me "you ain't right". I make weird noises, dance while I brush my teeth and laugh like a minion off of Despicable Me. So yeah, I think he really means odd.

 

 

 

 

{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?

This describes most of our fights really. We have probably only had about 3 knock-down drag outs in the four years of our relationship the rest have been silly. Let me see a recent one was a couple weeks ago when I was getting ready for church he wouldn't get out of bed and I got mad because he wasn't ready in time for us to stop by Dunkin Donuts. So dumb.

 

4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years

First and foremost we hope to be parents!

Second, we want to be homeowners!

And the last one is more focused on me but it is a dream that Paul fully supports me in, I hope to have an established photography business.
 

 

{5} Tell us something about your husband we wouldn't know from reading your blog.

He would literally kill me for telling this. But one time he let me put full eye makeup on him. Anyone that knows Paul knows that he is ALL man he usually will not do anything remotely fluffy. (these pictures really misrepresent him too this was a themed photo shoot we did for a photographer friend and he had to wear that) Anyway he has gorgeous eyes with pretty, long eyelashes so after relentless begging he finally let me do it just to shut me up. But I only had 5 minutes to do it and take it all off and I had to promise I would not take any pictures or tell anyone. Oops. It was hilarious.

 

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband, but you did?

 

This is hard because I am not easily embarrassed at all. I know this is disgusting but I guess the one thing would be passing gas & owning it. Sorry I know that is sick.

 

Well that is it for today! Go link-up to spill about you L-O-V-E!!

http://alizadventures.blogspot.com/

The First Year {From One Year To Beyond Link Up}

Ok, so I know the "first anniversary" post is supposed to be on/around your anniversary but I wasn't blogging on my one year anniversary and I found an awesome link-up from Emily at Newlywed Moments all about the first year of marriage! So this post is coming to you one year, one month and 6 days after our big day.

 

So I thought I would talk about 5 things I have learned in my first year of marriage!

 

1. It is not near as hard as everyone makes it out to be. Granted, I have only been doing this a year but they say that the first year is the hardest and I completely disagree. Paul & I have always had great communication, trust and understanding; without those three qualities I don't think our first year would have been quite so easy! We also strive to keep Christ at the center of our marriage, without our faith and prayer there is no way we would be looking back at this first year with the same opinion.

 

2.Holidays are horrible stressful! I come from a huge family that is broken up by divorces so I was used to being pulled several different ways on holidays but add in Paul's family who is also split up seven ways to Sunday and it is just pure chaos!!!!  It is nearly impossible to get a schedule sorted out to see everyone but we are very blessed to have such big families to spend our holidays with. It has been nearly impossible for me to accept that I cannot be everywhere or please everyone.

 

3.It is fun! I saw something on Pinterest that said "Marriage is getting to have a sleepover with your best friend every night of the week." And that is so true! Paul & I are so weird together, we definitely have our fair share of disagreements but we spend most of our time laughing til we cry!

 

4.Alone time is a must. Just because you are married doesn't mean you have to drop everyone in your life other than your husband. Each of you have to have things that you do for you. Have girls nights, play golf with the guys, go away with your siblings for a weekend. If you don't do things for yourself you will end up losing sight of who you are and resenting the other person. Paul & I try our best to fully support and respect each other in every aspect of our lives and I am so thankful neither one of us is a psycho control freak that would be exhausting!

 

5. Your marriage will not be like the Cleavers! I had some ridiculous idea that when we got married I would magically be able to cook a 5 course meal in high heels, perfect hair and no mess in the kitchen. That my husband would clean up his facial hair off the sink after shaving and take out the trash without being asked and that we would come home from our honeymoon to our dream house. Not too much to ask right? Yeah that does not happen, you have to go with the flow!

 

There have been laughs, tears, good times and bad but this has by far been the best year of my life and I cannot wait to spend 100 more anniversaries with my sweet husband!

http://www.newlywedmoments.com/

Weekend Shenanigans

Happy Monday y'all! I know, I know what is happy about a Monday?! But hey, I am just trying to make the best of it! On this wonderful Monday morning I am linking up with Sami's Shenanigans for Weekend Shenanigans. I am having trouble figuring out how to attach the button with the link so if anyone has any tips please let me know!

 

My weekend was actually pretty amazing, so here we go!

 

 

Friday night we went to Cheddars with our favorites! Anytime we get together with Cody & Lauren we have a blast and it is always a plus when there is good food involved. But I had to get home and get in the bed because the next day I had a wedding to shoot and that means a very long day!

I love this picture Lauren snapped of me working, me & Lauren exhausted & headed home, the beautiful wedding location 

By some miracle I convinced Lauren to go with me Saturday to be my second shooter  lifesaver,

I seriously have no idea what I would have done without her!! You should check out her blog at Peach State Of Mind .We got to Clayton around 10:30 a.m. to start shooting at the hair salon and except for a few breaks here and there we pretty much didn't stop until we left the reception at 11:30 p.m.. Needless to say we were exhausted! We literally felt like our legs were going to fall off, we sounded like two whiny babies but we had a right! When I walked into my house at almost midnight I could not get into my bed fast enough. What matters is, the wedding was beautiful, the bride was sweet as pie and the weather was perfect. I can not wait to see how all the pictures turn out. I have a little sample for you though!

 

Sunday was of course Fathers Day so Paul & I headed back to Clayton for church & to see my Dad(s). I am lucky enough to have several father figures in my life and I got to see all of them Sunday. My stepdad came to church with us but I didn't get to take a picture with him. After church we went on a picnic at Terrora Park with my Dad, Step Mom, Granny & sister. It is such a beautiful park and reminds me exactly why I love where I am from. My Dad & I have had a rough relationship but we are working on it and I will always love him no matter what!

 

our picnic spot

yes I wore the same outfit after church as I did Friday night, don't judge

 

After that we went to my Mamaw's house to visit with one of my absolute favorite people and the most influential man in my life, my Papa. I cannot put into words how much that man means to me

I wouldn't be who I was today without him! He is the man I look up to, the one who walked me down the aisle and my hero! I love him so!  

don't let the lack of smile fool you he was crying {this was right before we walked in}

 

Sunday afternoon/night we headed back to Flowery Branch to spend some time with Paul's Dad! We took him out to eat at Crossroads Grill and had the most delicious steak I have ever tasted. Mark is another one of the amazing father figures in my life. He may not be my own but I love him like he is, I am so lucky to have him as my father-in-law! We didn't get any pictures with him either unfortunately.

 

here's a picture of me & my baby Hank just b/c he is adorable

 

Well that is it for my weekend shenanigans!

What did y'all do this weekend?

 

 

Sami's Shenanigans

 

 

Five On Friday!

It's Friday y'all!!!!

As you know this is one of my favorite days and today is especially fun because I am doing my very first link up! I am linking up with Darci at The Good Life for her Five On Friday feature. I have never done anything like this but my friend Lauren over at Peach State Of Mind has done a couple so I figured I would give it a try!

 

Now to think of five things that are on my mind today...

 

 

One

 

I would be flat out lying if I said the thing that is weighing heaviest on my mind is the fact that I am shooting a wedding solo tomorrow! I am excited but incredibly nervous about this for many reasons. This opportunity came about very last minute when the bride's photographer cancelled last week. Yes I said last week, how crappy is that?!? So I have had very little time to prepare and the biggest thing is I haven't even met the couple. And it is not a huge deal but I just always like to meet the couple

so we are all familiar with each other on the big day. Also, I have only done one solo wedding so it is a lot of pressure! Y'all keep me in your prayers tonight!

 

Two

 

While we are on the subject of weddings & photography I might as well go ahead and mention this one! I have been working my tail off editing the pictures from the wedding I shot with Valerie Shelton Photography. These are mainly just for my portfolio but still, I am an extreme perfectionist when it comes to my photos. I don't even like to call myself a professional photographer at this point because I feel like I haven't quite earned that yet, I am a rookie in my eyes. But I must say for a rookie these pictures turned out pretty good!! This is just a sneak peek and it is really horrible quality because it is a picture of the pictures on my computer screen so please do not judge me! I know I should just wait and share the finished product because the quality of these are so bad with the blurred computer lines

but whatever I just can't wait! I will post them again when I finish editing this is just halfway through

the process!

 

 

Three

 

I am loving Summer! When it is not storming (ugh crazy GA weather) it is beautiful! Hot, but beautiful. I love the flowers, the bright colors, the sunshine and I love bringing all of those elements into my house to brighten things up!

This is my over the top colorful summer table! One of my coworkers brought me hydrangeas (which are one of my favorite flowers) from his yard and I was just so excited! Of course when I got home I put them straight into a mason jar because I am a southern girl and boy do we love our mason jars!

 

Four

 

I hate how we look in that middle picture but he just looks like a little toy!!

 

I am loving my baby Hank who may or may not have turned one year old this week! I know I sound like a horrible puppy Mommy but in my defense we got him from a classmate of a friend of mine that we never even met. So we pretty much had to estimate when his birthday was so we are pretty sure it is somewhere between June 12th & June 21st. What that means for him is he gets to celebrate for almost two weeks, one lucky dog if you ask me! He has got to eat real food for his birthday 3 nights this week! So happy (whenever) birthday my baby Hank!

 

Five

Last thing I am looking forward to is a night with friends & food! We are meeting up with our besties Cody & Lauren tonight at Cheddars. It is a yummy bar & grill with great food and a relaxing environment. Plus it is always fun with those two!

 

Have a good weekend y'all!!!