Thanks to technology, however, I got a front row seat!

The British Monarchy has an official YouTube Channel fittingly called TheRoyalChannel and I was able to catch the entire ceremony  in one clip! I’ve uploaded here for your enjoyment:

Kate was absolutely stunning. Simple, elegant and breathtaking.

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the Royal Wedding than meeting up with my girlfriend Suzanne, who is a wedding planner (and actually woke up at 3am to catch the wedding in real-time!), and meeting up for a Royal Tea Party at Lulu’s in downtown Franklin. Here we are enjoying lemon tarts, petit fours and tea, of course:

Did you catch the wedding? Were you up early like Suzanne this morning? Or were you a straggler like me, coming in late to the party? What was your favorite part?

My favorite part was the vows. You could sense a bit of nervousness…(as I can only imagine…being on a world-wide stage!) However, I loved the way the seemed to gaze at each other. It’s the way I remember Philip and I looking at each other almost a year ago, when we were encircled by our closest family and friends. So hard to believe it’s almost been a year! Time sure flies!

In honor of the Royal Wedding, I’ve created a clip about how you can give your skin the Royal Treatment…but you’ll have to head over to my other blog, The Skin CEO, to see it.

Wishing you much love and joy on this beautiful Spring day!

Not only was our visit full of time with family, friends and enjoying too much food…we also used up all of our giftcards from our wedding registries at Durham’s Hardware and DreamBaskets. SO much fun!

On top of that, we also had the opportunity to unwrap a few late arrival wedding gifts!

Philip and I LOVE art. We own several pieces of original art and have a handful of prints from Hatch Show. (We buy one for every show we see at The Ryman!) We’re excited to say that we have a beautiful new piece of original art to add to our collection…a picture of us on our wedding day from friend and artist Chelsea DeVillez:

This painting is inspired by her “hat lady” art. It’s nearly as tall as I am! We didn’t know whether or not we’d have a wall empty enough for it, but we found the perfect spot. It’s hanging directly above my glass-encased brooch bouquet. I’ve known Chelsea since kindergarten. We have a long, beautiful history of friendship. Although we live hours away from each other and don’t get to visit often, we get together and it’s like no time has passed. Chels, we’re so grateful for this unique, personal, heartfelt gift. SUCH a conversation piece. Thank you!

We received another piece of art from cousin Beth on my mom’s side of the family. Thankfully we don’t have to find a wall to display this one.

Beth created a lovely handmade quilt for us! I feel like quilting is becoming a lost art. I have a few handmade quilts that have been handed down to me and I’m so happy to have this quilt that was made just for us. I know it will provide warmth and comfort for many years to come. (We’ve already used it a few times these past few days!) Beth, thank you for sharing your quilting talent with us and gifting us with this treasured handmade piece.

From our friends Loyd and Deeann, we received a beautiful silver cake stand and candy dish: (This isn’t a photo of the exact gift…unfortunately between the Christmas clutter and bad lighting I couldn’t shoot a photo I liked…but this resembles the cake stand closely!)

We’ve been friends with Loyd and Deeann for about 3 years now, I think. (Time flies!) We were in small group together at Journey until they moved to Atlanta shortly after their wedding last year. Read all about Deeann and Loyd’s wedding here. Thank you two for these beautiful entertaining pieces! So pretty! Now I just need to make a bundt cake or something so I can show it off.

What a Christmas! We’re so blessed with the friends and family we have. It’s hard to believe Christmas has come and gone and 2011 is almost here. More wedding goodness on the way!!

(Thanks to Little Spoon for sending over this photo from their 10-10-10 wedding!)

Greetings friends and family! As you’ve probably suspected, my head has been stuck in the ground these past few months as I’ve been working on a handful of projects for my businesses. The exciting thing is, several upcoming events are VERY applicable to you, so stay tuned for those updates!

Of course I had to make sure I posted today to commemorate Philip’s birthday. Just 29 years ago, Charlie and Laura welcomed their 4th child, an amazing man who would one day become my husband.

If you want to know a few of the reasons I’m crazy about this man, make sure you read my “Ode To Philip” entries:

Ode to Philip #1 – He rescues kittens.
Ode to Philip #2 – He makes everything fun.
Ode to Philip #3 – He’s helping me toilet train my cats. (We totally gave up on this, by the way. Turns out getting 2 cats toilet trained while also trying to move to a new home is NOT a good situation.)

Of course some of these “odes” are cute and silly and all…but no blog post, description, conversation, etc. can truly encapsulate what makes me so wildly in love and completely captivated with him.

Philip, you’re my best friend. You tore down a little wall I’d build around my heart and made me okay with being vulnerable again. I could write an endless amount of odes to you and never fully paint what makes you so special to me.

As we celebrate your birthday today, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for choosing me to spend your future with. Thank you for being a man I respect and honor. I look forward to many more wonderful years of dreaming about our future, learning more about each other and enjoying this journey with you.

Well, here they are, folks. The lovely people responsible for the amazing man I’m going to marry in 5 days. (!!!!!!!!)

This weekend was their 40th wedding anniversary. How wonderful! A surprise dinner celebration was planned for them Saturday night at Demos’ Steak & Spaghetti House – a Middle TN favorite.

With a divorce rate that seems to be increasing every year, it’s so refreshing and humbling to see strong, firm relationships that last. If you’ve ever met The Dials, you know what incredible, selfless individuals they are.

Charlie and Laura, I’m so thankful for you and your family. Philip is my best friend and I’m so looking forward to our future together.

These next 5 days are going to fly by. I just know it. I’ll do my best to keep you posted along the way! I have so much more I want to share!

Lindsey is another friend with whom I have a long history. I can remember playground conversations in elementary school, (thinking there was a ghost haunting the house on a certain corner of where our playground was located,) field trips & bus rides, hot summer days cooling off in her pool, jealousy of her long-legged, rail-thin body that tanned so well (and my dissatisfaction at the time of my short-legged body that burned at the mere hint of sun), A.P. U.S. history class, hilarious lip sync contest rehearsals…and so much more. Linds, I’m so thankful for your friendship and am very excited for you, Neil and your new life together.

Here is the happy couple:

It was such a beautiful reception. Not only was it wonderful to watch Neil and Lindsey so obviously happy and in love, it was also refreshing to catch up with friends whom I hadn’t seen in years. (It was nearly a mini reunion of the HHS Class of ’03!)

Another long-time friend whom I was so happy to see and catch up with was Chelsea. Chels, Linds and I share many of the same fond memories. We all grew up together. Went to school together. Had sleepovers together. Spent summers together. Many of my childhood and teenage memories involve these three gals, so this was definitely a heartwarming night to remember. Here’s a photo of the three of us:

And here are Chelsea and I getting ready for the dollar dance:

Such a great evening. Close friends from childhood are so few and far between. Time passes. People grow up, move away and start new lives. So thankful to still be connected with these ladies.

I’m excited to share with you that there will be a baby Atkins making an arrival later this year. You can follow Lindsey’s adventure in (soon-to-be) motherhood by checking out her blog here. (Crap. I cannot find the link to her blog. Lindsey if you’re reading this…leave a comment here with the link & I’ll add it to this post…or put it on your FB info page…or text it…just get me the link somehow girl, so I can share it with my peeps here. ) As I mentioned earlier, Lindsey is also a Rodan+Fields consultant. You can check out her site by clicking here.

Also, Chelsea is an AMAZINGLY talented artist. (Seriously. Even the girl’s signature is gorgeous.) Check out her art website here and make sure you admire all the lovely beach lady portraits in her Etsy shop.

Alright, that’s all for today. Philip and I are spending time with my family, so I’ve got to run. I’ll be back tomorrow!

I will be present and aware in the months, weeks, days, hours and moments throughout our engagement and wedding day. I will be true to myself and recognize my feelings and my emotions head-on as I prepare for our commitment.

Whether you’re a bride or a wife, you should read “The Conscious Bride”. You won’t be disappointed. I’m so glad I’ve read this during our planning. Stay tuned for more info! And thanks again to Liza of Maiden to Married for recommending!

#2 – He makes everything fun! I mean, come on. Look at that face. I died laughing when he tied that bow around his head while we were wrapping Christmas presents. He has a good poker face, eh?

I’m pretty sure we would even have fun cleaning toilets. Hehe.

Philip, you’ve brightened every day since we started dating over 2 years ago. Thank you for supporting my dreams and for always making me smile. I’m excited to be on this journey and share life with you.

Wow. Exciting!

Knowing we’re halfway through our engagement, you probably think I’m all aflurry between guest lists, decoration ideas, dress fittings, jewelry hunting, etc. While I am working on a few of those things, I’m nowhere near “aflurry” or stressed – mainly due to the fact that I am a conscious bride.

What does that mean? It means that planning our wedding is more than never-ending checklists that involve flowers, table linens, invitations, etc. We’re planning the ceremony and celebration of our love and life-long commitment to each other. That’s what truly matters.

When I say I’m a conscious bride, it means that Philip and I have started our planning by visualizing our wedding day. We’ve talked about our values and why we’re getting married. In all of our planning decisions, we’re comparing our options with the goals/vision/values we’ve set for our big day. The media and the wedding industry often focus on the materialistic, tangible objects of the marriage…but rarely does anyone urge the bride and groom to focus on the internal, intangible items.

Based on a recommendation from bridal coach Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, whom I met at the Franklin Bridal Ball last May, I just started reading a fantastic book titled “The Conscious Bride: Women Unveil Their True Feelings About Getting Hitched” by Sheryl Paul.

I can’t think of a more perfect way to start the year than by taking time to relax and enjoy this book. I’m about halfway through it and will keep you posted with final thoughts! Hope you’ve had a wonderful New Year’s Day!

It’s nothing personal. I promise. It’s not you. It’s me…and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to really kick it into high-gear and make sure I keep you abreast of ALLLL the exciting wedding plans we’re plotting. Because before you know it, we’ll be walking down the aisle, saying “I do” and sweeping each other away into wedded bliss. Time flies too fast, so I’m vowing to give you more of it these next few months, especially.

I’ll start where I left off back in November.

Toward the end of November, we participated in celebrating the nuptials of a couple we go to church with – Mr. and Mrs. Loyd & Deeann (Carson) Rieves. The bride is aka The Artist Bride, to whom I’ve referred several times. Their wedding was at our church, Journey, in Franklin…where we will say our “I do’s” too. Cincinnati-based Amanda Donaho was their photographer. Beautiful!

December has been another whirlwind month. Philip and I celebrated our 28th and 25th birthdays, respectively, earlier this month. For our combined birthday bash, we enjoyed an evening with some wonderful friends, playing Cranium and munching on Oreo truffles after slurping down some tasty (and REALLY easy to make) Asian Chicken Soup.

The following night we attended our company Christmas party. (For those of you who don’t know, Philip and I met at work. That’s a story I need to share, isn’t it!?)
Here we are having an in-depth conversation apparently:

This past weekend we visited one of my bridesmaids and her handsome husband during a day trip to Memphis. Well, they’re from Mississippi…but Memphis was the halfway point for us, so we met them at The Peabody Hotel and watched the ducks make their daily march to the lobby fountain. The four of us walked over to Beale Street for some BBQ and Yazoo, then headed to the Cooper-Young area for a cup of coffee at a locally-owned quaint, little coffee shop. After hugging them goodbye and working two more days at the office…we now find ourselves in Southern Illinois with my parents to celebrate Christmas and enjoy all kinds of food and fun.

(Thank goodness the wedding is 5.5 months away. As much as I’ve tried to eat “lightly” these past few weeks…it hasn’t happened. My wedding diet starts in January.)  

This past year has been amazing. It’s all gone by too quickly. For now I must run and get in some more family time. More updates coming in the next few days. SO much to tell you!

Have a wonderful Christmas! XOXO

#1 – He rescues kittens.

The week after Philip proposed, he was walking over with some laundry to wash some of his clothes. (Yes…he washes, dries and irons his own clothes. Praise the Lord for Mama Dial raising him right!) On his way over, he heard a TINY little “meeeeeow”! He walked over to the apartment building next to mine and saw a itty-bitty kitten huddled between a plant and the building.

He ran up to my apartment, told me what he saw and we ran back down to see if we could pick it up to bring it inside. Philip reached down and the poor little thing hissed, growled and tried to bite at Philip’s hand. What a feisty little character!

I ran upstairs, grabbed the pet carrier and Philip tried to pick it up again. After a few more tries, Philip reached back down, grabbed the nape of its neck and quickly thrust it into the pet carrier. We ran back inside with our disgruntled little friend.

That’s Ozzy, my handsome Himalayan kitty, in the background. Note his distance. Hehe.

After 30 minutes or so of the kitten’s growling, hissing and swatting, we figured we’d try to take it out of the cage and show it some affection. Philip reached into the cage, brought it close and started scratching the top of it’s head. A minute or so later, the once cantankerous critter was purring like a little freight train and half asleep in Philip’s hand.

After some maneuvering we realized it was a he. Philip decided we should name him Gob – pronounced Johb…like the Job in the Bible. (Why Gob? Its a reference to the character on the hilarious Fox TV show “Arrested Development.”) Because it was so late in the evening, there was nowhere we could take him, so we put him back in the pet carrier and he stayed in my bathroom overnight with a bowl of milk. As I was getting ready for work the next morning, I took him out of the carrier and held him for a few minutes. The little guy was terribly filthy. After a quick and painless little dip in the sink, however, he was all fresh and clean. Here he is sitting on my toilet seat lid nestled warmly in a handtowel with his milk bowl:

At this point, I knew he needed more sustenance and than the skim milk. No telling how long he’d been without his momma. He needed some kitten food and kitten milk. Because I live in Nashville, but work in Franklin…the only way I could get him the food is if I took him to work and stopped at PetSmart along the way. After a quick phone call to our office manager, I was given the go ahead to bring Gob and the pet carrier to the office. (Yes, my company is amazing!)

After annhilating the kitten food and milk I gave him, the little guy spent a majority of the afternoon asleep in my lap as I worked:

Unfortunately I had to give up Gob at the end of the day. And believe me…I was coming up with every reason in the world to keep this kitten. In the end, Philip convinced me it was for our own good that we gave him to the Nashville Cat Rescue. Both of my cats, Ozzy and Ella, were adopted from there. They take amazing care of the cats they get and I know they will help the little guy find a good home.

Though we spent less than 24 hours with Gob, we still think about him and wonder who the lucky family will be that adopts him. If you need family pet, get in touch with the Nashville Cat Rescue. They’ll help you find the perfect new addition.