Sweet Showers and Celebrations!

There is nothing I love better than a road trip.  I have taken quite a few since college, whether it be Columbus to the coast to recruit students to the W, Columbus to Greenwood to see that boy of mine, or Cleveland to Nashville to follow those Dawgs.  These past two weeks, I have gotten to take two road trips!  Not only do I get to sitesee and crank up Queen as loud as I want, but what makes these trips even sweeter is knowing there are celebrations once I get there.

Two weekends ago, I got to travel back to Mississippi to Columbus for a shower for Miss Amber McCrary, soon-to-be Mrs. Hicks!  It always does my heart so good to see my Lockheart girls, and I am loving the fact that many of them are planning weddings, which is always a good excuse to get together.  Amber had a bridal brunch with the cutest mini-pancakes and individual yogurts-definitely Pinterest heaven!  Her wedding is definitely going to be so special and sentimental.  Amber, I had so much fun and am looking forward to hanging out soon!

 

Have I mentioned I love showers?  I love showers.  So much so that Justin, the boys, and I road tripped to another part of Mississippi to help with literally the cutest shower I have ever seen for my best friend's sister in Biloxi.  Her theme was "Ahoy, it's a boy", and Sarah Marcy has OUTDONE herself y'all.  "Professional party planner" should be added to her resume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every year, Sarah, Forrest, and our friend Cindy (who was on the coast a week before) try to make it down to the beach to celebrate our birthdays, which coincidentally, are all in late July or early August.  This year, I got to spend the weekend not only celebrating baby Carson's almost-arrival, but celebrating another birthday with my best friend.  Fun times were definitely had, and fresh seafood and delicious cake were definitely enjoyed.  Happy birthday, Sarah!!

 

 

Definitely looking forward to this weekend, too!  We are going to be Cheesecake Factory-eatin', outlet shoppin', and board game playin'.  I am also in a crazy organizing mood and have made a list (of course) of all the things in the house that I need organized.  I am definitely one of those people who sleeps better at night knowing my closets aren't junky.  It's a hard life.  Anyway, my goals for this weekend are to employ the organizational skills of my mother and sister (for free, of course), and organize our downstairs storage closet and make a "craft closet" for me upstairs.  We are fortunate enough to have a TON of closet space in our home, and there is one closet virtually unused upstairs that I am definitely turning into an organized scrapbooking, giftwrapping, and ribbon heaven.  Ultimate birthday present!

 

Also, did y'all know that eating gluten-free is hard?  ESPECIALLY if you don't have an allergy and are depending on sheer willpower to not eat that baby shower cake or free pepperoni pizza?  I have never really understood the phrase "the struggle is real" until now.  It is really, really real.  And also, that baby shower cake and pizza were really, really good.  Woops!  Time to hop back on that gluten-free train and stay on it.  Speaking of which, I have a $5 off coupon for McAlister's (gluten-free bread!!), so I'ma need a lunch buddy soon.

 

Until next time!

 



We've walked down the aisle... now to beyond!

Wow!  It has been quite a while since I have updated this little blog, and hopefully I won’t neglect it for this long in the future. 

Well, we have officially made it down the aisle, and now we are in the “beyond” stage!  I’m going to work on updating this thing, too, since I am out of the “crazy wedding-planning lady” stage and into the “life is good and no stress from planning a wedding” stage!   It’s glorious.

The wedding turned out to be exactly what I had always wanted it to be- meaningful, casual, sweet, and full of significance for Justin and me.  I never wanted a typical wedding, and we really tried to put thought behind everything we did- from writing our own vows to crafting lots of little details by hand.  It was such a sweet day, and even though it rained and I didn’t have the big outdoor wedding I thought I wanted, I would not have had it any other way.   Also, there was no unity sand, so I was happy :) We’ve also been really lucky to have some amazing friends who really helped everything run smoothly and helped me to be a calm, happy bride and really enjoy the day, which is something I am truly grateful for.  We also had a rockin’ photographer (Matt Bush from Hattiesburg) who took some great photos!

 

And then it was on to Boston!  Even though I am a Disney fanatic (to put it mildly), I am so, so glad we chose Boston.  We both love to discover new places and to travel, and we aren’t really beach people (check out our Irish skin!).  We chose Boston almost on a whim, and by the end of the trip, I was in love.  We stayed at a small, historic hotel on the Back Bay called The Eliot, and were VERY surprised when we opened the door to our room to find that we had been upgraded to a corner room suite!  Score!  We were able to do so many things that were truly “Justin and Brittany”-ish, like take the Freedom Trail tour, walk around Boston Common and Fanueil Hall, go to two of the best art museums in the country, go to Cambridge and visit Harvard, and eat at some awesome, awesome restaurants, among other advcentures.  I had foie gras twice, and was horribly spoiled.  We took the T everywhere, and became almost experts by the end of the trip, so I was pretty proud of us!  On our last night, Justin surprised me with dinner reservations at a restaurant called Top of the Hub, which is at the very top of the Prudential Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Boston.  We were able to see all the places we had visited the past week while the sun set, and it was perfect and awesome and totally what a honeymoon should be.   Also, I think my next step is to write a book on how to have a fab wedding and honeymoon on a budget, because man, we had an awesome two weeks, and were surprisingly not broke by the end of it all.  Here are some Boston highlights-

And now, it’s back home!  Well, our new home that is!  I accepted a position at UAB, and a few months after our honeymoon, we moved to a small suburb of Birmingham.  Not only do we love being this close to the city and having some awesome new things to experience, but I am very grateful to have such a great job.  Coming from the grassy openness of Alabama to the urban, downtown area of UAB was a little overwhelming at first, but I have definitely embraced the area (but not the traffic.  I will never get used to the traffic.).  I work with a new program for transfer students called Joint Admission, which is a program where students at participating community colleges can earn an associate’s degree and seamlessly transfer to UAB.  While at their community colleges, they get UAB perks like free rec center membership, use of the libraries, and student life events.  I also have offices on some of the community college campuses, which means lots of travel for me, which I love.  It’s a brand new program, and I am really excited to help it get off the ground!

So now that the wedding planning, all-night crafting, and moving phases are over, and I am childless (for a while!), Justin and I are definitely embracing this ti me we have to make our new home our own and explore the town together.  It’s fun.  At this point, I am really working on some of my “goals before baby”, which should last for the next few years.  (I’m a planner, can you tell?).  The tentative goals are as follows-

1.       Be entirely gluten-free

 

Justin, as well as most everyone who is a Quinn, has some hardcore gluten allergies, along with allergies to dairy and eggs.  This is not so much of an inconvenience to me, considering I do not cook, and J-man really knows his stuff about what he can and can’t eat.  Usually we eat dinner together and are completely gluten free, but it is VERY easy for me to pick up a $2 pack of Lean Pockets, throw them in the freezer and have a convenient and deliciously processed lunch.  I have no gluten allergy (although my husband thinks I do), and my favorite foods include Bagel Bites, gas station chicken tenders, Paula Deen’s sausage balls, brownies, Bagel Bites, club sandwiches from McAlisters, and Bagel Bites.  I would live on all of these foods for the rest of my life if I could.  Did I mention Bagel Bites?  I love those things.  So after reading Wheat Belly and listening to various podcasts my husband makes, I mean, encourages, me to listen to, I have decided that it would be best not only for my health, but for meal-planning if we both were completely gluten free.  The plan was to be entirely gluten-free by the time we start thinking about having a family, because Lord knows that a little Quinn in my belly is probably going to have some pretty bad allergies, too.  Also, Justin makes some killer gluten-free chicken tenders, and I now know how to make gluten-free sausage balls (and they make gluten free bread, of course!), so I really have no excuse.  Except for those darn Bagel Bites.  Can someone work on that for me?

 

2.       Volunteer!

I have always known inherently that volunteering is important, and I was an avid volunteer through college in various ways.  So, no more excuses- I am 24 and have lots of free time, and there is no reason for me not to spend my time doing what I believe in.  I have been looking into Big Brothers Big Sisters for a while, and turns out their Birmingham office is within walking distance of my office at UAB, and after some research, I found out that they have an open interest meeting for potential Bigs every Thursday at noon, so I will be heading over there in two days to get more info.  I wrote it in my planner, so it is officially official J

3.       Become a member of a local church and be active in it.

This is a super super important one, obviously.  Justin grew up Catholic, and most of his family are heavily involved in the Catholic church.  I am an official member of my home church back in Mississippi, and was very involved in a Columbus church during my time there.  We are making some decisions now about where to get involved, and I have really loved the church we have visited with our Aunt Mary Anna.  I am not Catholic, and at first I had no CLUE what I was doing in a Catholic church and didn’t understand a lot.  Mary Anna has taken the time to explain a lot of things to me, and if I decide to become a member here, I will start RCIA classes in August, which will last through December.  The timing also works out perfectly, because I begin graduate class at UAB in January.  We are still trying to decide where to go, but at this rate, it looks like my evenings starting in August will be spent learning more about the Catholic faith.

So those are the major goals.  I feel like if I write them down, I will definitely feel more accountable to them.  The rest of the month is filled with bridal showers, baby showers, and birthday celebrations (namely, a celebration of me getting old), and I couldn’t be more excited!  What is even more exciting is that the Cheesecake Factory has gluten free cheesecake.  It’s like all my birthday dreams have come true J

Until next time!

BQ

 

9 Days

This past week, we've been marriage license-ing...

Birthday partying...

And picture taking!

We have NINE DAYS til the big day, and two more days until my spring break!  Next week, we'll be finishing up some last-minute crafts (yes, Justin will be making some pretty pastel decorations!), buying Wal-Mart's entire supply of mason jars, doing a hair run-through with the lovely Mallory McVey, assembling the homemade favors, and loading up my car to the brim with all things wedding. 

Since the date was set last spring, Mom has been worried about March's unpredictable weather.  In my overly-optimistic mind, I never once thought my wedding day would be anything but sunny, cloudless, and the most perfect spring weather.  Now, James Spann is saying we're in for a cold snap next week.   Here's hoping the cold only lasts next week, and by Saturday it will be an absolutely beautiful day!  I'm hanging on to that hope, but even if it's 40 degrees and a downpour and we are all crowded in a room at Puckett, I will be marrying my bff and love of my life, and March 30th will be a day I will never forget.

See you soon :)

Showers, surprises, and snow (in March)!

So. There are MANY different words that can describe this past week.  From sick and scary to surprised and shocked to showers and SNOW, it’s safe to say that March has definitely come in like a lion!

On the health front, I am doing 100 percent better!  I still have a purply bruise on my arm from the faulty IV, but other than that, I am healthy and happy and ready to get in a wedding dress!  Hallelu!

Friday was VERY eventful to say the least.  I have been busy at work lately perfecting the summer and fall 2013 schedules and tallying up scholarship scores.  In the midst of my busy-bee-ness, I never once noticed the flurry of activity all around.  My co-workers took long breaks, and sometimes were nowhere to be found (Gemini, if you’re reading this, I am talking about you ;) 

Around 2:00, our program chair, Cathy, asked me to come upstairs to her office for a second.  At that time, I was the only one in the office due to my missing co-workers, and our student worker was off work at 2:00.  The following is my conversation from the bottom floor balcony with Cathy on the second floor:

Me (running outside): “I can’t come- I’m the only one in the office!”

Cathy: “It’ll only take a minute!  Bring a notepad and pen.”

Me: “Our student worker leaves at 2:00 though!”

Cathy: “Just run up here!”

Me: “But who will answer the phones when I’m gone?”

Cathy: “It won’t take a minute! Just come upstairs and lock the door behind you”

Me: “But no one else has a key!”

Cathy: “Brittany.”

So I take my notepad, pen, and keys and head upstairs as instructed.  I open the door, and I find almost every instructor, staff, plus students from the Art Department saying “Surprise!”.  They threw the most PERFECT surprise shower!! This was my “surprised” face.

 It is VERY hard to get anything past me, and if someone tells me they have a surprise for me, I demand to know what it is.  I’m not fun like that.  But this time, I suspected NOTHING and was so touched.  And, not to gloat, but I got an ICE BLUE KITCHEN AID-STAND MIXER!!  To which, upon opening it, I exclaimed “oh my gosh, I don’t even have a hand mixer!!” (opening gifts in front of people makes me say strange things.  Blog post on this later).  And then, wouldn’t you know my next gift was a Kitchen Aid hand mixer.  Perfection.  They even had my two favorite snacks- sausage balls and MACARONS!  This was a big deal!  I really work with the most thoughtful, sweet people.  I hope everyone is so lucky at some point in their careers.

On Saturday, my bff Holly and I made the trek to Tupelo for my second bridal shower.  Even though the snow flurries started early, we did not forget how to drive as most Southerners do, and made it to the shower on time without being too late.  My Aunt Deb had the cutest idea to throw a shower at Tupelo’s pottery-painting store, Wet Paint!  I was so excited to see so many of my old friends from Tupelo.  You know those people you don’t see often, but when you do, it seems as if no time has passed?  I am lucky enough to have lots of those friends in my life!  It was one of the most fun showers I have ever been to (complete with homemade strawberry cake mmmm!!)  and I hope everyone who came had lots of fun! 

After dinners with our respective mommas, Holly and I headed back to T-town and jammed to some En Vogue, Boyz II Men, and Celine Dion, because that is some underrated music, people.  The pure emotion of the songs wore us out, and we were BEAT by the time we got back to town.

On Sunday, I woke up bright and early, watched some Fashion Police because I think Joan Rivers is one of the funniest people on the planet and I don’t care what anybody says, and gave the pups a bath!  They were being very rambunctious, so we played with their ball and worked on their fetching and sitting skills.  After a grocery run to Target, Justin and I decided to load the boys up and take them on their first visit to Pet Supplies Plus!  The twins will be ONE WHOLE YEAR OLD next Monday, and we wanted to get them some new rawhides for an early birthday present (we are those people).  So we attached their leashes and loaded them up in the car on the way to the store.  Thankfully, they have gotten MUCH better about riding in the car and only shake a little and don’t get car sick.  But, as soon as we walked in the door, Fitz decided he did NOT want to walk around this new store and promptly ended up in the buggy.  He was very happy to get his new rawhides

Gatsby had fun walking around the store and looking at the different squeaky toys, but then rounded a corner and saw a MASSIVE bulldog!  The boys took great pleasure in alerting the whole store of the imminent danger of this wild beast, and Gatsby had to join his brother in the buggy as he could not be trusted to keep quiet on the leash. 

After picking up some food for Mr. Kitty, we headed back home to let the boys run around the backyard and calm down.  Needless to say, it will be a while before we have another family outing to the pet store.  Oy vey!

Three weeks, y’all!  Flowers are ordered now, and there are LOTS of crafts I should be doing!  Now I’m praying I find the motivation to actually do them… ;)