It would be difficult for me to share ALLLL of the reasons I adore Philip. There are TONS. But every time I think of a REALLY good one…I HAVE to share it. Today’s Ode to Philip was inspired because…

#3 – He’s helping me toilet train my cats. Yes. You read that right. We are toilet training my cats. Not litter training. They’ve got that one down pat. Toilet training. Yes. As in, I’m sharing my bathroom with two felines.

This is Ozzy.

This is Ella.

Before you call me crazy, however, consider some of the benefits:

No more poop scooping.
I’ll save money since I won’t have to buy litter anymore.
No litterbox = removal of a smelly eyesore = more space.
Less litter mess = less vacuuming.

We’re in our 4th week of toilet training with the CitiKitty system.

Week by week, as indicated in the instructions, we remove one ring from the CitiKitty, which progressively makes the hole larger until it reaches the normal size of the toilet seat. Once we get to this stage, the cats should technically be toilet trained.

Unfortunately Ozzy has had a few accidents this past week…meaning we’ve got to stay at the current stage for another week or so. Apparently one of his furry little paws slipped in the hole and it scared him. Poor little guy. Thankfully I’ve been able to keep an eye on him over the past day or two (due to the 4 inches of icy snow outside) and he’s given it another whirl. Hopefully within the next month they’ll be completely trained! *fingers crossed*

I’ll keep you posted. I have many more wedding details coming soon! Have a warm, safe weekend!

There are many reasons why I love and adore Philip. Here’s one…

#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.

I’ve heard about many women who’ve had every detail of their wedding day planned by the time they were 16. I am not one of those women. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with advanced planning, I felt that planning my wedding without being in a serious relationship would be unfair when I DID meet Mr. Right. Besides, it’s his day too.

All that being said, I didn’t really start looking at wedding blogs and bridal magazines until earlier this year (after Philip had taken me ring browsing) – which is when I discovered AshleysBrideGuide. Ashley gives me the daily fix on what’s happening in the Nashville wedding world. Sometime this past April she posted information about the Franklin Bridal Show that was scheduled for a Sunday in May.

Nashville and Franklin have several different bridal shows all throughout the year. I’d been mentioning a few of these to Philip and, being the wonderful & amazing man he is, he had mentioned that he would go with me to one.

After church that early May Sunday, I remembered the Franklin Bridal show was scheduled for that afternoon. I politely mentioned it to Philip and asked if he would consider driving us over to Lille Belle’s to check out the show. He agreed and we entered into a lovely tent with delicious cake, beautiful photos, decadent hors d’ oeuvres and stunning floral arrangements. Very shortly after entering, a photographer with VIP Williamson County asked to take our photo. After all, at this point, Philip was the only groom (to-be) present. (We appeared in the table of contents for the June issue and I started getting a little stream of messages from curious Franklin friends and acquaintances who’d seen the photo – pictured below.)

Not only did we have a great time at the bridal show, we met some amazing local wedding experts – including Mrs. Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married.

Liza is a bridal coach. Not a planner. Or a decorator. But a bridal coach. I know. I was confused at first too.

As Philip and I looked at her questioningly, she proceeded to tell us that she helps brides prepare to be fully present and aware on their wedding day. This still didn’t clear up much for me, but I happily put my name in her drawing for 4 free bridal coaching sessions and walked away with her business card and some of her informational material.

A day or two later, (after we were walking back to the car from the Death Cab For Cutie show at The Ryman) I’d received a voicemail from Liza. I’d won the free sessions! I rarely win anything, so I was pretty excited about this.

When I returned her call, she explained that she had not yet worked with a soon-to-be engaged bride, but that she thought it would be beneficial for both of us.

Well, I’m halfway through my 4 free visits with Liza and, I must say, I LOVE bridal coaching. We’ve had two sessions pre-engagement and we will be resuming our sessions shortly. (Now that we’re engaged and I’m not in and out of town every weekend.)

In a nutshell, Liza walks with brides through their personal wedding journeys to help create a relaxed and present bride – both through the transition from being single to being a wife and on the wedding day itself. Which means…

• A wedding truly in alignment with what’s important to the bride
• Less stress
• Clarity when making logistical decisions
• Deepening of personal relationships
• Feeling ready for marriage
• Ability to easily handle frustrations
• An enhanced sense of enjoyment and beauty
• A solid foundation within yourself

Amen! Liza’s concept for Maiden to Married comes from a book called The Conscious Bride, which I now own and can’t wait to start reading.

I’m so grateful to live in a city that attracts people like Liza and will keep you posted as she shows me the ways of the conscious bride.

I’m getting excited for tomorrow evening’s experiential bridal show in Mt. Juliet!

The Elegance Bridal Gala is Mt. Juliet, TN’s first annual luxuriously customized bridal experience. The attire is “little black dress” and there will be a mini cocktail hour, experiential bridal vendors, a fashion show and more! I’m especially excited about the experiential part. Not only will Philip and I get to meet some of the top local wedding vendors, we’ll also get to experience what they have to offer. Yay!

I’ll be sure to post photos from our experience!

Philip and I on a bridge over the Chicago River in front of the Chicago Sun-Times building.

Last weekend, Philip and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Chicago. After a short 1 hour and 15 minute flight (sure beats a 9 hour car ride), Philip and I boarded the train to be taken into the city and dropped off just a few blocks away from Stephanie and Kyle’s apartment.

Stephanie met us in the lobby and took us up to their lovely home on the 12th floor of a building in the heart of Chicago. The view from their place was amazing. An entire wall of their living room is nothing but windows. We could literally see everything the city had to offer – amazing shopping, impressive skyscrapers, the Chicago River, crazy cab drivers and more.

Immediately upon arriving, I could tell Philip and I would really hit it off with Kyle. The man can COOK! When Stephanie opened their door and led us inside, a waft of delicousness spread throughout the entire hallway. Kyle had whipped up chicken breasts with a red wine sauce and perfectly baked/smashed potatoes. Mmmm. I can taste it all over again. We topped the evening off with a glass of wine and delightful conversation. Thank you to Kyle and Stephanie for not only treating us to some scrumptious homemade goods, but also for taking us to the Greek Islands Restaurant (The skordalia and saganaki were fabulouso!) and directing us to several other tasty locations.

I’m pretty sure one of the biggest highlights for Philip was going to Wrigley Field. I’ve never been a sports fan, (Give me a gun or a fishing pole and I’m set.)  but thanks to Philip’s patient explanations and tutorials about strikes, balls, RBIs, etc. I really enjoyed the  baseball game. (Seriously Philip, that would have been miserable without you. Thanks for being the bestest.)

Another highlight of the weekend was catching up with Sunny, a long time gal pal of mine and Stephanie’s. I also got to catch up with Rebecca, a native Chicagoan and amazing lady friend of mine whom I met at Belmont.

I have more photos to post and more stories to tell, but I’m saving that for my next post this evening. Stay tuned! Happy travels!

We returned from Chicago yesterday afternoon. Whew! What a trip. We had a wonderful weekend spending time with Stephanie and her fiance Kyle. They really helped us understand the ropes of getting around the city. More details (and pictures!) of the trip soon!

When Philip and I were looking at engagement rings, our first stop was Genesis Diamonds in Cool Springs – right between Nashville and Franklin. Genesis Diamonds also has another store in the Green Hills area of Nashville. On our very first trip to look at rings, I found THE one. Though we looked at several other local jewelry stores, everything was dim in comparison to the beautiful Verragio engagement setting we found at Genesis.

Now I get to enjoy this lovely setting (with a cushion cut diamond) every day as it sits on my finger. I’ll tell you the truth, putting that ring on my finger each morning is my absolute favorite part of every single day. Philip always gets a little chuckle because he catches me staring at it all the time. Here’s an up-close-and-personal look at my beautiful ring…

Thank you, Philip, for making me the happiest girl in the world.

I just finished packing up for our first trip as an engaged couple. (!)

This evening we’re flying up to Chicago to visit one of my best gal pals, Stephanie, who is also newly engaged. Her fiance proposed on July 4 on Chicago’s Navy Pier. Stephanie and I have known each other since we were competitors on rival speech teams in high school. (Speech competition is seriously intense. Not even kidding.) After we graduated, both of us were offered scholarships to be on our community college’s speech team – The SIC Forensic Falcons. (That’s me on the far left in the pink sweater.) Ever since those days back in high school, we’ve remained very close – though there are many  miles between us. I can’t wait to meet her fiance and see her gorgeous face and that beautiful ring in person.

I’m really excited about visiting bridal shops in Chicago. Philip told me that tomorrow is the “Running of the Brides” at the Filene’s Basement in Chicago. You ever heard of this? I’ve seen it before on The Today Show at the Filene’s in New York. I’m sure this event is a lot of fun and many brides probably find AMAZING deals on their wedding gowns, but I just don’t think I could do this. (I definitely won’t be participating tomorrow.)

I want my search for the perfect wedding gown to be calm, relaxing and with my mother and close lady friends – NOT with thousands of other women who are ravaging through clothing racks and swapping gowns back and forth. Seems like a neat event…but not for me.

We’re going to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game tomorrow and we’re also planning to see Blue Man Group at some point. Other than that, we plan to just do a little sightseeing and some major catching up with Stephanie and her fiance.

Stay tuned for more updates and details about our visit to Chicago! TTFN!

The Proposal

On Saturday, July 18, 2009 at approximately 5:00 p.m., my best friend asked me to be his wife. (I said yes.)

Philip and I had been talking about marriage for quite some time – particularly after my Dad started dropping some hints to me about it earlier this year. After several trips with Philip to the jewelry store, we finally found “the” setting. I chose a Verragio design and mentioned that I would like a cushion cut diamond.

Fast forward to July 10, 2009. Philip tells me to not make any plans for July 18.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you tend to plan things a week in advance and I need you to keep that afternoon open,” he said.

The following Wednesday, he told me we were having some pictures taken on Saturday at The Factory in Franklin and that I had to be ready by 3 p.m. for him to retrieve me for our photography session. Needless to say, I was somewhat suspicious and suspecting this could be “the day”.

At 3 p.m. on said Saturday, Philip picked me up and drove us to The Factory. I asked him who was taking our pictures, but he wouldn’t tell.

Shortly after we arrived, a black Mini sped past us. Sure enough. I knew it. Our friend (and co-worker) Tony Matula was Philip’s partner in crime and the photographer responsible for our photo shoot.

After taking a bunch of funny, sweet, silly and romantic photos, Philip said there was one more photo he would like to take. (Here’s where Philip gets down on his knee and you see me making the face in the above photo.)

Down on one knee with my hand in his, the man of my dreams looked in my eyes (which were welling up with tears at this point), told me he loved me and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world by becoming his wife.

We lunged into each other’s arms and I remember telling myself to remember every little detail of this moment. Fortunately, with Tony there capturing each moment, that was taken care of.

After wiping away the tears of happiness, I touched up my makeup and we took photos with the ring. Philip was definitely thinking ahead when he planned this. These are now our engagement photos!

I’m very excited to be starting this journey “down the aisle” and look forward to sharing all of our experiences here leading up to and beyond the big day.

Thank you in advance for reading and for sharing your tips, ideas, suggestions and stories.