Where I've Been

After the lovely @frugalnashville virtually high-fived me today for FF (thanks!!), I realized I've been a little...ahem...absent over here in my corner of the interweb.

See, wedding planning took over my life in the very best way possible. I have yet to tally the hours spent on making it a perfect event or put down the words to describe how great everything turned out, so I'll leave it to these few snapshots to speak in my silence.

We met with the venue to begin planning...



And then spent some time crafting...



And crafting...



And going over seating charts...



And then creating the escort card display for said seating charts...



We put together some welcome baskets...



For the out of town guests...



Planned ahead for tired feet...



And then actually invited everyone to the party!!



Showered the bride here in Nashville...





And in Texas...





And celebrated her bachelorette party with the Nashville Roller Girls Roller Derby...





The Attitude and I teamed up to get them a wedding gift...



And before I knew it, Stephanie and Matt were married!!!



Love them. More to come...

Goosey Loves Barbie

We got a huge collection of vintage barbies on consignment and have been working through getting everything up and listed on eBay. Shelden was having a hard time controlling himself around all the temptation.

Love how he turns his head to listen to Loochie's words of wisdom from the other room. And check out how cute his sad face is at the end! Poor little buddy. I made sure to give him extra "cookies" for not ripping their heads off.

Untitled from themiddleone on Vimeo.

I Can't.

The constant buzzing of the cicadas makes me feel like I'm stuck in a never ending background loop of Radiohead's "Everything In It's Right Place".



Go. away.

4 Things That Have Made Me Laugh Lately

1. Sisty was packing for her upcoming house hunting trip and fretting over finding a good place. No one in the room was really giving her much support or encouragement. Later, she asked if she could borrow Loochie's graph paper tablet. Immediately, her response was to hug herself and pace in the kitchen. Your youngest daughter moving a few states away to begin her married life? Crickets. Borrowing a pad of paper that you found at an estate sale for $1? Panic attack.

2. I went out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday at a Mexican restaurant. Per usual, the crowd in attendance was mostly couples. The waiter was having trouble keeping everyone's checks separate, so by the time he made his way to me he was more than flustered. He asked me who I was with and I replied "I'm alone". The table erupted in laughter and the waiter looked at me like I had 8 heads. Guess that's just what happens...

3. At dinner one night babysitting the kids asked me to tell them a story from when I was a kid. Admittedly, the one that first came to mind involved petty theft, but it was awesome so I deemed it appropriate for young ears. I prefaced with "if I tell you this, don't think I'm a bad person..." and the began the story by saying "it was when I was living in Florida..." The little girl looks at me and deadpans "Oh living in Florida doesn't make you a bad person". Some may beg to differ, sweet child.

4. While babysitting (again, this time for a different family), I was telling bedtime stories about monsters in outer space and the older boy kept interrupting. His little brother was getting impatient and wanted to hear the rest of the story. In a fit of 3-year-old rage, he jumped out from under his covers, ran over to grab a toy cell phone, and defiantly stood at the edge of the bed while yelling "UM HELLO?! POLICE!? YOU BETTER COME ARREST MY BROTHER BECAUSE THE MONSTERS ARE COMING AND HE WONT BE QUIET!"

Ed note: Look Frugal Nashville! Two posts in one day!

Well, This Happened...

Yesterday was an epic thrift store run. I found a vintage dymo label maker that has been on my wish list for months and months. Picked up a few books for wedding decor. Sorted through huge bins of handbags and found some serious gems. But nothing in my cart could even compare to what I found for Shelden.



Can't you just see him scrolling long and angsty poems in his journal about being misunderstood and alone?



Pure embarrassment. He won't even look at me!!!



We do serious work around here.