Our Visit to the Land of Oz... :)

Whit and I spent part of our Halloween weekend with two magical witches...Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the South). We got all dressed up on Friday night and got lost in the Land of Oz at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. If you have a chance to do the same, I would strongly encourage you to take it! :)

It was an incredibly entertaining show...

and without a doubt, my favorite musical of all time! 

This was the map of Oz that began the show...

You can see the beautiful lights of the Emerald City!

This is the original Elphaba (Indina Menzel)...

Elphaba and the original Glinda (Kristin Chenoweth)...

Spending the night with these wonderful witches 

really got me in the true Halloween spirit! 

Although...my favorite witch of all time will always be...
Samantha Stevens. :) 

Hope you all are having a Happy Halloween Eve! :) 

Goblins, Ghosts, and Ghouls at the Gorham House... :)

Tonight Whit, Lollie and I spent time preparing for one of our favorite holidays...Halloween!! :) We baked Halloween cookies, carved our pumpkins, and roasted fresh pumpkin seeds (my favorite part).

Whit is an expert pumpkin carver!

He was up for another Halloween adventure and carved both of our pumpkins this year...and did a wonderful job! :)

While Whit was busy carving the pumpkins, I worked on roasting the pumpkin seeds...

We were lucky this year and had two pumpkins 

that were full of seeds...

Seeds washed and ready to roast...

Warm and ready to enjoy!! 

It just doesn't feel like Halloween 

until we eat our first pumpkin seed...

While we were cooking and carving, we found Lollie enjoying her very own pumpkin...

After roasting the pumpkin seeds, I baked the sugar cookies that I mixed earlier in the week...

Cute little pumpkins and ghosts...

Fresh out of the oven...

It was a wonderful night full of lots of fun Halloween projects. 

October 31st kicks off the official 3 months of the holiday season...and we cannot wait!! 

Happy Halloween Weekend!! 

Lunchtime with Lollie... :)

Today, Lollie and I used our lunchtime to relax and spend some time together outside.

It was wonderful!!

This was our beautiful view of the sun and

the trees from our backyard...

It seems like we woke up this morning and the leaves

had really started changing...I love it!

And this was Lollie posing for the camera, as usual... :)

And Whit surprised us and came home to join us for lunch in between his meetings today which made it even more perfect... :)

It was another beautiful October afternoon...and I am trying to soak every minute of them up!

Needless to say, it was hard to go back to the office. :)

Hope everyone has gotten to enjoy the 

crisp autumn air today!!!

A Soup and Grilled Cheese Kind of Night... :)

Tonight Whit and I were in the mood for a warm comfort meal so we decided to make tomato soup and grilled cheese. My favorite thing about making this meal is that I have the excuse to use one of my favorite wedding gifts...my soup and sandwich set from one of my favorite stores in Nashville, Color. :)

These are the best little plates and bowls because you can make a simple soup, sandwich, or salad look fancy and cute...

 There is nothing like a warm bowl of tomato soup and a crispy grilled cheese to bring you back to life after a long, fun-filled weekend...

Hope you all had a wonderful Monday! :) 

Pure Barre NYC!! :)

Today is a very exciting day! It is the opening day of Pure Barre, NYC!! One of my oldest and dearest friends, Leslie, moved to New York to open her studio and we are all so happy and excited for her new adventure!

Leslie has been working on her studio tirelessly for over a year and I cannot believe that opening day is finally here!! :) If you or any of your friends/family live in NYC or visit there, please stop by the studio to enjoy the best workout of your life!!

We are all so proud of you, Leslie!!! Lift Tone Burn! :)

Lot of Love Sent from Music City to the Big Apple!!

xo

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch On a Sunday Afternoon... :)

After a wonder-fall weekend, Whit and I went with Whitney and Keith to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween! I had been looking forward to this event since the 1st of October, so I was very excited to be spending a beautiful Sunday afternoon in pumpkin land....

Look at all of the beautiful Pumpkins!!!  

Special Parking for Pumpkin Patchers only! :)

So many perfect pumpkins to choose from...

Whitney and Keith searching for the perfect pumpkin...

And they found Him!!! :)
Seriously, this is the pumpkin they bought..it was huge, but full of personality :) 

Whit found a perfect little pumpkin for our front porch :)  

And I picked out a baby pumpkin for Lollie :) 

Our pumpkin family we took home :) 

Whit saw this pumpkin on the way out and wanted to take it home with us... :)

And when we came home, we gave Lollie her first, very own Halloween pumpkin...

We cannot wait to carve our pumpkins and 

enjoy freshly roasted pumpkin seeds!! 

The Fall is truly finally here and I enjoy it 

more and more each day. 

It is a beautiful time and life just seems to slow down a little...

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

William Cullen Bryant

A Mother, Two Dogs...A Great Time... :)

Whit is having a poker night tonight so my Mom and Petie Lewis (her dog) came over to hang out! We cooked dinner and spent some good quality time together...always fun! We missed Whitney and Gladys (Whitney's dog) though... :)

Pretty Mom :) 

Mom and Petie Lewis :) 

Lollie and I really enjoyed the company tonight while Whit was having a "guys-night." Lollie especially loved having Petie to run around with...she will sleep well tonight!! :)

A Wonderful Saturday Night at the Ritts... :)

This Saturday, Whit and I got to spend some much needed quality with our great friends, The Ritts! :)
We had both been so busy for the past few weeks, so it was so much fun to finally get together! They are expecting a sweet little baby in January and we are so excited for them!!! :)

As you can see, Whit and Andrew had a little beer tasting fun during our visit...and also both happened to be sporting their college alma mater polos!
Very cute boys! :)

Thank you to the Ritts for hosting our little Saturday night football party! Can't wait for many great nights to come...with Baby Ritt joining us! xo

California Part Three...Ryan and Erin's Wedding Under the Stars... :)

Hope everyone is having a relaxing October Sunday night. Whit, Lollie, and I are all cuddled up on the couch...Whit is watching Sunday night football and intently keeping watch on his Fantasy Football Scoreboards, Lollie is curled up taking little evening nap...so I thought this would be the perfect time for me to catch up on my blogging and wrap up our trip to California...I know you all have been anxiously waiting for Part 3... ;)

We last left off in Sonoma at the rehearsal dinner and we couldn't wait for Ryan and Erin's wedding the following day...I have to warn you, I absolutely LOVED every single detail of this wedding, so there are a lot of pictures to follow...prepare yourself... :) 

Ryan and Erin's cute invitation describing all of the weekend events!

Delicious lemonade served before the ceremony...

These were on the church doors..."E" and "R" 

Sweet Erin and Ryan :)
(Photo Courtesy of my wonderfully talented cousin, Melissa Dunn)

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Patrick Donnelly!! Love them! :)
(Photo Courtesy of my wonderfully talented cousin, Melissa Dunn)  

After the ceremony, we went to Cornerstone Gardens for the reception...
This was the cocktail tent and it was gorgeous!! 

A cute little sitting area for the guests during cocktail hour...

The servers had these sweet "lemon baskets" on the serving trays...
I loved these!! 

The beautiful rolling hills of Sonoma...it was an unforgettable view
(Photo Courtesy of my wonderfully talented cousin, Melissa Dunn) 

This was their creative version of a "guest book"...
since Erin and Ryan love to ski, we all signed vintage, wooden skis!
Whit LOVED this, of course!!

Personalized Cocktails...the Lavender Mojito was delicious!! 

Yummy hors d'oeuvres!
Each one had a special meaning to Erin and Ryan...it was the cutest thing ever!!

The sun was setting in Sonoma...and it was time for dinner! 

Beautiful table for place cards! 

As we turned the corner to the dinner area, it was truly breathtaking...

With all of the beautiful colors adorning the tables,
the Italian string lights hung from the trees,
sounds from the bluegrass band playing in the garden, great wine,
gorgeous food served family style...we felt like we were in Tuscany!
It was incredible...

As we sat down, we noticed that each guest had a personalized napkin
and dinner menu... 

The menu was even personalized...
the dishes they chose were special to Ryan and Erin...
and each dish was paired with a special wine. :) 

I loved these beautiful tomatoes!  

Ryan debuted his new wine during the wedding weekend...
Thomas Patrick, Erin and Ryan's middle names :)  

We love our Bluebird! :) 

Delicious champagne brought out to toast the beautiful couple :)   

After dinner...we entered the space where the dance party would begin...
and the party never stopped! :)
It was an all 80's party lead by the energetic band, Tainted Love...
complete with slap bracelets, glow sticks, sunglasses and so much more...

They had dancing shoes for everyone!!  

Beautiful dessert table full of super cute and delicious sweets!!! 

This was a cake!!!  

Seriously...a cake, with all 3 of Ryan's wines displayed in cake form!! :)
Very cool! 

Cute coasters!

It was an all night dance party!
Can you see all of the glow sticks! :) 

Another cake...this was the design that they created
and used throughout their wedding...
Can you see the "R" and the "E"? 

Another beautiful cake...it was delicious!  

Cute sugar cookies! 

Beautiful display outside :)

They had cute signage throughout the wedding...
and you know how I love signage! :)  

Genie and Scott...we had a family dance party!
It was a blast! 

Melissa and Whit passionately singing a great 80s song together!
(and Kelli Holder Donnelly's fun parents in the background...
we had a great time with the Holder's in Sonoma!) 

After the dance party came to an end...
we arrived upon another incredible surprise...a Taco Truck! :)

Whit and I grabbed some glass bottled Coca-Cola's...
they were the perfect way to top off an amazing evening!!  

Ryan and Erin enjoying their CocaColas before they drove off
(notice Erin's cute slap bracelet!)

This wedding was one we will never forget! We could not be happier for Erin and Ryan, they are such a wonderful couple and we can't wait for all of the fun times ahead. We were so glad to be there to take part in this joyous and beautiful celebration! 

The trip to California was incredible and we felt so lucky to have the opportunity to escape our "everyday" life for a few days and enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation. But no matter where we fly off to or the beautiful places we get to see...we are always happy to come home to our sweet Lollie and our Little House on the Ridge...there truly is no place like home! 

Thanks for following us through our California Adventure! 

Here's to all the adventures to come!

Have a wonderful Sunday night! :)