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!!!