Prepare 2017

Well hello, 2017. Ten days later, and finally getting around to a "new year" blog post. Oops. No excuses other than an amazingly busy start to the year which is clearly going to be setting the tone for the months to come.

I spent a lot of time the week before January 1 thinking about this next year. It'll see us celebrating our first year of marriage, Christopher's first full year as a pharmacist, and many more milestones. In some ways I was worried that after the wedding, things would just become kind of blah. That's definitely not going to be the case!

Instead of setting resolutions for the new year, I know a lot of people focus on an all-encompassing word the focus their minds and actions, which seemed right up my ally. I'm very futuristic, and focus a lot of my time on planning...everything. From what I'm going to wear each day of the week, to when I'm taking my next trip, or going to work on the blog, it's a never ending calendar and checklist of things going through my head.

Sometimes that can seem negative, but I'm trying to focus that energy into something positive. That introduces my word for 2017: prepare. I love being prepared. I hate being caught off guard. As much as I enjoy surprises, I don't like to be surprised by a problem or a situation that I don't feel comfortable tackling immediately. This part of myself, this resistance or fear or whatever it is, can be refined through preparation.

I also want to prepare my heart and my family. Christopher and I don't see each other every day, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to prepare to be the best wife, housekeeper, cook, laundry person, etc. I want to prepare my home to be ready for guests, and to be enjoyable for us to spend time together. I want to prepare my heart to love my husband and my family in the most Christ-like way I can. I need to prepare time for friends and investing in relationships around me. I pray for a warmth and acceptance to flow from me to all those around me.

Yes, yes, this is probably the most "safe for a Type A person" word of the year. But it's practical and attainable. And is something that my heart craves. I'm so thankful for those of you coming on this ride of a lifetime with me in 2017!

"Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave and strong." -- 1 Corinthians 16:13

Ornament Review Round One

Keeping with tradition, I wanted to share with you a few of the new ornaments I've collected over the past year. Since I have two trees, and lots of ornaments, I'm going to break it up into two posts. Also, be on the lookout for an upcoming Christmas cocktail post with Infinity Jars, and check their site for any last minute gift needs!

 On our honeymoon, we picked up this beautiful pink and blue handpainted ornament from St. Thomas while we were shopping. I think that will have to be our "thing," purchasing ornaments from all of the different trips we take as a couple! Pink and blue {and glitter!} are two of my favorite colors, and this ornament represents the best week ever, so it's a new favorite for sure.

 I found this heart ornament at TJ Maxx last year and had to grab it because it's my family's china pattern. My Nana began collecting Old Country Roses years ago, and when I saw this ornament I had to grab one for her too!

My mom brought back this pharmacist ornament for Christopher for his birthday last month. It's so cute, and is the perfect reminder of the exciting year he's had!

My blogging and PR friend LeAnn who lives in Germany brought me this handcarved ornament from a German Christmas market, along with a good luck charm: a pink, gold polka dotted porcelain pig for my desk which is another German tradition!

 My mom brought this "Just Married" ornament back for us from a Christmas show in Charlotte, NC, just a few weeks ago. It's so cute! It reminds me of the ones we had growing up with my name and my brothers' names on it.

 This intricate Georgia Southern ornament is the one I gifted Christopher last year. Growing up, my brothers and I exchanged ornaments instead of gifts, which is how I have developed such an eclectic collection. I wanted to carry that tradition on to my family, and have been giving Christopher ornaments in his stocking ever since!

 The local Phi Mu alumni chapter does an ornament exchange every year, and I am always so lucky to bring home a beauty. I love this red and green plaid one!

I am transitioning our main tree this year--usually it's a lot more pink--but am waiting to do a major overhaul until next year. We really want to get a flocked tree, but since we might move houses in the next year, we wanted to wait to buy a tree not knowing what size we would need. As a happy medium, I rounded up a bunch of gold picks from Hobby Lobby to start my topper, and stuck a gold tiara from a bachelorette party last year up at the top! I love including little trinkets from the years in my trees; I've even included my bachelorette sombrero in this tree's branches!

Marrying McAfee | The Littles

For our wedding day, we included two very important "littles" in our lives as our ring bearer and flower girl. The little ones in weddings are always my favorite part: I love the tiny versions of the outfits they wear! Both of our young attendants took their jobs very seriously throughout the day, with our ring bearer Jax cutting loose at the reception by dancing with all of the girls!

He is what I like to refer to as my "little boyfriend," and was very sad to let me get married. One of my favorite surprises of the wedding weekend was the set of rules he wrote for Christopher to follow, which Jax's mom Kim read during the rehearsal dinner. I keep the framed list on top of my jewelry chest in our bedroom for easy reference should Christopher need a little reminder now and then!

10 Rules for Marrying My Piper

written on April 7, 2015 by Jax

1. Smooch

2. Be kind

3. No food fights

4. Wear deodorant or else you'll be stinky on your armpits

5. Take care of my Piper

6. Protect my Piper from danger

7. If the power goes out, make my Piper a fire and get flashlights out and lanterns and sleep with her

8. Lots of hugs

9. Give her flowers

10. Wash her hair and body when she needs help

And most importantly, love my Piper as much as I do, forever.

Jax :)

Marrying McAfee | The Ceremony

Some of my absolute favorite pictures of our wedding day came from the ceremony. I'm thankful, because that is truly the most important moments of the day. I had been getting teary eyed at every wedding we'd attending leading up to our big day, thinking about the importance and meaning of each word spoken of the vows. 

I'm thankful that I didn't sob down the aisle like I thought I would, but the tears were still there. It's funny to think back about which faces I remembered seeing in the crowd while walking towards my groom...I honestly couldn't look at Christopher that much, because I knew between him and my crying bridesmaids, I'd be a total mess! 

One of my favorite memories of this part of the day are the delay of the start of the ceremony due to a train which decided to stop across the tracks in the middle of town, delaying a good majority of our wedding guests. People were so worried about me freaking out, that by the time I was told all I could think was, "Thank goodness for a few more minutes in this air conditioning!" We started ten or so minutes late, once everyone arrived. 

On the walk down the aisle, I stopped and gave my mom an impromptu hug right before my dad gave me away. It's some of my favorite pictures of the day. Christopher walked down the stairs of the platform to greet my dad, and escort me up after my walk down the aisle. That was a really special thing for me, and was a great visual of what was happening as I became his wife. 

Two "embarrassing" moments: I got a coughing fit once under the microphone. The kind of coughing fit where every breathe of air feels like a knife sharp and deep in the back of my throat. Never saw that one coming. Luckily, it subsided quickly. The other was the lipstick left on Christopher's face after our planned first kiss...I did not want our arms blocking our faces so I made him practice with me weeks before, to keep our arms low. On the day of, I had to wipe the pink of his lips before we came back down the aisle, but again...loved those pictures and the video of it especially! 

Photography by Ari Merritt Photography; Videography by Zac McLendon. 

Sneaking a peek during the prayer!

Month-In Musings

It's official: our first month of marriage is in the books. Even if he claims "it's the same!" I totally think being married is way better than not. The month has flown, and we've laughed a lot and learned a lot as well!

What's Different
We see each other every day. For years, we've only seen each other on the weekends, and the occasional mid-week meet up for dinner {usually at Cheddar's...buff chick wrap, yum.}. We've also never been very good phone talkers, so actually catching up each evening is refreshing. Some days, we even have lunch together at home, which is lovely. Some of this will change as Christopher starts his real job in a few weeks and is commuting more, but it's been a great way to start off the married life.

There is honestly a lot more cleaning than I expected. Another person means more dirty clothes and dishes, and as "the clean one," it can sometimes feel overwhelming. But we've done pretty good about working together to get organized and stay on top of the house chores.

What's the same
We still cook together. This is something I have always loved: that Christopher is an excellent cook, and that it is something we both enjoy doing together. We also still grocery shop together; these are two things I hate doing by myself, so it's wonderful to have the regular company.

Our habits. Of course those don't change overnight, and I didn't expect them to! But it is funny to see them a little more up-close and personal than before.

What I did expect
A fight. Maybe that's really negative of me, but I just assumed that moving in together and figuring out life together would instigate some kind of fuss. Of course there has been a few times where we've gotten annoyed at each other, but I've seen both of us take a step back, breathe, and reevaluate how to handle the situation. It's refreshing to see how far our communication and problem solving skills as a couple has come.

What I did not expect
Having to figure out how to incorporate my phone time with friends/family. I hate coming into the house on the phone when he's already there waiting on me. It just feels rude in a way. And my commute is literally three minutes long, so there isn't much phone time in the car. Before getting married, I would spend hours a day talking to friends and family at night when I got home. I'm definitely working on learning how to balance all that.

The Bachelorette. Well, not really The Bachelorette per say. But I guess how easy it has been to spend time together every day. Again, going from doing 100% my own thing everyday to incorporating another person, 100% into my daily life...I just wasn't sure how it was all going to work out!

The first week back from the honeymoon, there was one evening where I said, "Is this what we're supposed to be doing?" as we're sitting on the couch looking at our phones. And there are nights where Christopher {my little social butterfly} says, "So what do you want to do?" and I'm thinking, "Go to bed at 8 p.m., what do you want to do?!" But we've really gotten into a great rhythm, and have enjoyed just watching TV together {like The Bachelorette...I've finally convinced him to watch it with me! And Fresh Off The Boat...go. Watch it NOW. Hilarious, and I am the mom.} and weekly dinners with friends, and working on projects around the house together.

I know we have a long way to go, and a lot to learn. I know there will be hard days and trials, and days that are just days. But I love that we both are on the same page, working towards the same goals, putting 100% into our relationship each day. We are incredibly blessed, and love being married. It truly has been great for us individually and as a couple, and I am thankful for this relationship everyday!