from the mouth of winnie the pooh.

I always loved that sweet yellow bear with the honey pot...

{image via we heart it}

have a lovely weekend.

{image via we heart it}

Have a lovely weekend, my dear friends! Do you have any exciting plans for the next few days? We're going to go on our date night tonight and enjoy some always welcomed time together, husband is going to mow the lawn {feel bad for him...it's more like a field than a yard}, and we're going to pack for our trip to Gatlinburg next week. We're going there for a conference for husband's work, and I'm going to be photographing the event as well--it should be a fun time!

Here are some fun links to enjoy this weekend:

• A photo collection of IKEA shelves. Brilliant. Husband and I are major fans of IKEA, and I loved getting to see how other people incorporated IKEA shelving into their homes.
• Adorable packaging materials. I am a sucker for paper goods and packaging of all kinds.
• How to make your own frozen yogurt. Jonathan and my newest obsession is frozen yogurt...so, if we had an icecream machine I would totally be making this recipe today.
• How to waste time efficiently. Seems like an oxymoron, but it doesn't have to be. I enjoyed this article on how to be productive during those "wasting time" moments.
• Basil Tomato Soup Recipe. I made this soup for the first time this week, and Jonathan and I completely fell in love with it! Pair it with swiss & tomato grilled cheese, and you've got yourself a perfect meal. I substituted 2% milk instead of cream, and used half the suggested amount of butter...and it still turned out amazing!
• And lastly, here's an adorable video to bring a smile to your Friday {via A Cup of Jo}:

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

Happy Weekend!

our day at the tennessee state fair.

When my mom and sister Moriah came to visit this weekend, we decided it would be the perfect day to go to the Tennessee State Fair here in Nashville. At first we thought that the weather wasn't going to cooperate with us, since weather.com told us it was supposed to rain all day...but we were blessed with a perfect sunshiney day!

Growing up, going to the fair was a highlight of my year. As a kid I would submit things in exhibits at the fair to be judged: quilts, baskets, cookies, artwork, etc. And there was nothing better than walking into the exhibit arena and seeing one of my creations with a ribbon pinned on it.

The fair brings back so many great memories. I love everything about it...the smells, the cheesy rides, the smell of hay, the animals, the food, the not-so-great performers singing loudly over the sound system. Love love love it.

So, here are some images from our day at the fair:

The ferris wheel is definitely my favorite.

Eating some yummy fair pizza.

There was a girl hanging from a helicopter.
It took me a while to decide if it was cool, or just plain stupid.
I decided on the later.



Um, as much as I love fair food...
you couldn't pay me enough money to eat one of these things!
HOT BEEF SUNDAE...really?



Jonathan found our new lawn mower. :)



Moriah wanted me to go on the swings with her.
I think I had the most fun out of all those kids.



Love them.

I am so glad that we got to go, because it looks like this might have been the last year of the Tennessee State Fair. :( True, it wasn't the best fair I've ever been to (and it was slightly overpriced)...but it was still a great, memorable day together.

family game night.

This past weekend, my mom and my littlest sister (Moriah) came and visited us. Each night that they were here, we gathered around the table after dinner and played a game. I have always loved family game nights, and this was no exception.

I love them.

autumn is here!

Today is the official first day of fall, and I am so excited about it! I absolutely love the changing seasons, and autumn is definitely one of my favorites.

I love everything about it: the crisp air (even though it's still 76 degrees in Nashville right now), the color and smell of autumn leaves, sipping on apple cider (hot or cold, I love it both ways), pulling out my sweaters and scarves from storage, baking apple crisp, making caramel apples, going to fall festivals, lighting my pumpkin spice candle, roasting marshmallows over an open fire, pumpkins and mums decorating the doorsteps of houses down every street, and having an excuse to dress Max up in his hot dog costume. :)

What are you looking forward to this fall?

{images via marthastewart.com}

Also, a couple new things I want to experience this fall: carving a pumpkin (that's right, I have never done it...and I think this is the year to change that!), and making these delicious pumpkin patch cupcakes!

we are family, i got all my sisters (and brother) with me!

I love my family. And I am SO excited, because my mom and my littlest sister (Moriah) are coming to visit us this weekend. (The rest of the family can't come, because they have previous commitments for this weekend.) It's going to be great to spend time with them!

Speaking of family, I came across these pictures yesterday when I was clearing off the images from my point-and-shoot camera.

Three weeks ago, my family came to help us with our move to Nashville. That Sunday was my littlest sister's (Moriah) 10th birthday, so to celebrate we went to Opry Mills Mall and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. A fun time was had by all. :)

The birthday girl!
(a.k.a. the littlest sister, Moriah)

We had a great time eating the yummy food (I'm a fan of the Rasta Pasta there...yum!), watching the shooting stars on the ceiling, and talking above the sound of screaming chimpanzees. :) We did miss Miranda, who was still in Indiana at the time.

Family is the best.

thankful thursday: lunch, super target, the office, and husband.

Last week was the first week of a new series we're doing around here called Thankful Thursdays.

This week I am thankful for:

Lunch. Yes, I am often thankful for food. :) There's just something so refreshing about lunchtime. I make myself a sandwich, take a break from working, and relax. It's a nice way to break up my day and take some time to enjoy it, and not just rush through the day without looking back. Plus, I love me a good sammich. Nom nom nom.

{image by me}

Super Target. I think this one speaks for itself, really. I am thankful for Target, but SUPER Target? Well, Super Target is extra super...obviously. Plus, they sell soft pretzels...and when your husband buys you a hot pretzel at said Super Target, well, it makes your shopping experience even that much more enjoyable. (there I go again with being thankful for food.)

The Office. Michael Scott is just too funny, and I love to laugh. The Office premieres tonight, and I am more than excited!

Husband. Because, like Mary Poppins, he is practically perfect in every way. For examples of his super-awesomeness, click here.

{image by me}

What are you thankful for this week?

hello, my name is tiffany. i'm a perfectionist.

I think I can safely venture out there and guess that I'm not alone when I say that I'm a perfectionist. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to myself. I don't mind if other people aren't perfect, that's silly to expect. But I don't like to mess up, and when I do...I'm not easy on myself.

{via fffound}

The other day I heard a quote by photographer Dane Sanders that really inspired and encouraged me:

Trade in perfectionism for excellence. With perfectionism, it mandates that you never fail, and that's a pretty tough standard to live up to. But with excellence, it mandates that you fail over and over and over again. If you follow that recipe, you're going to land at the kind of excellence that you can only find through trial and error. You do that, and you're going to find yourself in a winning position.

being silly at staples.

There's just something about going to an office supply store that gets me and Jonathan all giddy on the inside. Go ahead, laugh it you want...but it's true. For me, I think it has something to do with the sentimentality of getting new school supplies every fall growing up.

Well, last night we went to Staples...and we were like two little kids in a candy shop.

Yeah...it's okay if you pretend like you don't know us the next time you see us. I think it'd be totally understandable...

BUT, in our defense--we did go there with a purpose: to buy me some new black pens. And we sure did find some awesome pens at that.

i heart maps.

To me, there is just something whimsical about maps. I love looking at a map, seeing all the places I've been to, and dreaming of all the places I want to travel to someday. A few months ago, I came across this blog post by Jordan Ferney over at her blog "Oh Happy Day!" She shares a neat idea of mounting a map to some foamcore, hanging it up in your house, and marking all the places that you go to. She gives the complete tutorial here.

I am all about finding new traditions to create with husband and later on carrying those traditions out with our kids. This could be a great new tradition to start!

Also, I have been trying to find a map of Nashville somewhere...but am surprisingly having a difficult time of it {if any of you know where I can find one, please do share!} I would love to hang a map of Nashville up on our wall and mark all of our new favorite spots.

{images via Oh Happy Day!}

a weekend full of sunshine.

I hope you all had a great weekend! I got to spend it with my favorite person, so I was pretty happy. :)

This weekend, husband made me even more thankful for him. He has a habit of doing that. This weekend I loved that he:

• Came home from work on Friday with a little surprise for me.
  
• Was patient with me while I took forever deciding what kind of pizza I wanted.
• Cheered me up when I was feeling a little less than great about myself.
• Mowed our football field sized lawn...for five hours.
• Went grocery shopping with me.
• Made me laugh until my sides hurt.
• Encouraged me in my dreams, like he always does.
• Finished some projects around the house while I was sleeping.
• Hugged me tight when I really needed it.

I know I say it all the time, but I'm truly thankful for my husband.

eight years ago today.

Eight years ago today, the bell rang after first period in my small high school in rural North Carolina. I grabbed my books and my purple Jansport backpack and started moving down the hallway shoulder to shoulder with my classmates. I laughed at something my friend next to me said...and then I heard it: "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center." Mid smile, I stood there in disbelief.

We all hurried to our next class. For me, it was Biology. Our teacher turned on the TV and we all stared at the screen not completely understanding what we were seeing. And then, we saw the second plane hit.

It took a while for the reality of the situation to fully sink in. It was so hard to believe that something like this would happen in our country that we felt so safe in.

Remembering that day, my heart goes out to those who were affected by the tragedy of 9/11.

thankful thursday: mail, raspberries, hair products, and parents.

One of the most important things in life is to be thankful. Goodness, we even dedicate a national holiday to giving thanks...so obviously it's important! :)

In all seriousness, the times where I feel the most joy in my life is when I am truly thankful. Noticing the things in my life that I appreciate: the big, the little, the simple, the silly. It is oh-so-good to give thanks for these!

So, I have decided to have what we're gonna call Thankful Thursdays. I'm going to let you know a few things that I'm especially thankful for this week, and in the comment section you can feel free to share what you're thankful for.

This week I am thankful for:

Snail Mail. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to receive things in the mail. And, if you've been following me on Twitter you'll know that I was anxiously awaiting something in the mail all week (and it finally arrived!) Living away from friends and family now makes me even more thankful for snail mail. So, if you want to shoot me a letter or something...it would make me the happiest person ever! :)

Raspberries. Every morning I eat a bowl of yogurt with fresh berries. And I decided this week that raspberries are my favorite.

Thelonious Maximus. He has been my buddy while husband has been away at work. He stays by my side every minute of every day. His puppy love gives me the warm fuzzies.

New Hair Products. I don't know what it is exactly, but I get soooooo excited when it comes time to buy new Shampoo and Conditioner. I hardly ever buy the same thing twice...I just love trying new brands and types.

My Parents. Besides the fact that they, well, brought me into this world...I am oh-so-thankful for the wonderful example that they have set for my life. Ever since I was itty bitty to even now, my parents always get up at the crack of dawn, have coffee, and read their Bibles and pray together. It's things like this that have set such a wonderful example for me and my marriage. They always showed me the importance of spending quality time together, and putting God first in their relationship. I may be slightly biased, but I honestly think I have the best parents in the world. :)

{all photographs taken by me}

What makes you thankful this week?

missing him while he's at the office.

{image via fffound}

Husband works in an office now, which is going to take some getting used to on my part. We used to both work from home together. Anytime I wanted to, I could glance across my desk and see his handsome face. Now, I have to wait until after 5pm.

It's okay, I'm not complaining about it really. I just miss him, and it's going to take some getting used to.

Some of you may call it pathetic. I call it completely head-over-heels in love. :)

P.S. In case Maxo the puppy reads this, I want him to know that he makes a perfectly great buddy and keeps me company during the day. But, he does sleep most of the hours away and isn't a very good conversationalist. And, his kisses are much too slobbery. Sorry, Max. You know it's true.

seeeester came to visit!

This past Saturday, my wonderful sister Miranda came to visit us! I was sooooooooo excited to see her, and to have a familiar face around here. To celebrate her time with us, we decided to go to a yummy burrito place we had heard only amazing things about-- Baja Burrito.

I'm pretty sure it was the best burrito that had ever graced my taste buds. (And I do not take these matters lightly.) We all opted for the steak burritos, and they were delish. Seriously...so good.

Next, you'll never guess where we went...we went to Sweet CeCe's again. Yes, that's right...TWICE in one weekend! We just couldn't let Miranda leave without experiencing our new favorite dessert place. Yummy, no fat dessert at that too. Holllla! As you can see below, Jonathan was obviously enthralled with his fro yo.

I decided to switch things up a bit and add some kiwi to my Original Tart and berries deliciousness. I was not disappointed.

And we have seeeester's approval as well. She thought the place was quite scrumptious, as promised. Just look at that happy face...

Next stop: off to see "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abriged]" at Shakespeare in the Park. We sat on a blanket (nice and cozy with everyone around us...it was a tad bit crowded), drank IBC Root Beer and Orange Crush out of glass bottles, and enjoyed the show! If you missed it this past weekend, never fear...the show will be going on this Thursday-thru-Sunday at 7:30pm at Centennial Park. If you're a Nashvillian, go out and support our local theatre.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable visit with Randa Panda (a.k.a. Miranda.) I miss her already!