our trip to the pumpkin patch.

A couple weekends ago, husband and I made a trip to Walden Farm to go and pick out some pretty pumpkins for our front steps. We had a great time, and there was a lot more there than we were expecting. The place was crawling with people...and there was a snack bar with yummy fall treats. We shared a hot apple cider and walked around looking at the farm animals before picking out which pumpkins would go home with us. It was a fun day, and we hope to make a family tradition out of it.

My handsome husband who takes me on fun dates!

As a little girl I wanted to grow up to be a farmer. We even lived on a farm for part of my childhood, so getting to see and pet all of the farm animals was sentimental to me. :)

"Yay!" for fun day dates!

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.

the day date: chef's market & sweet cece's

On Fridays, husband gets off of work at 12noon (woo hoo!) So, this past Friday we took advantage of the time and had ourselves a little day date. We put on our exploring shoes and went on an adventure in this new city of ours.

To start things off, Jonathan took me to Chef's Market in Goodlettsville for lunch. When we first walked in, I was overwhelmed with all the tasty things displayed in their glass cases, and written on their chalkboard menus. They have everything from salads, to sandwiches and wraps, to chicken casseroles, hot wings, pork enchiladas, and more! (view their full menu here)

After spending quite a few minutes deliberating over what to get...I finally decided on the hot chicken salad with sweet potato casserole, summer veggie medley, and an herb roll. Jonathan got the hot and spicy chicken wings with sweet potato casserole, green beans, and a butter roll.

Um, it was amazing. The only thing I didn't care for was the pecans in the sweet potato casserole...but once I picked those out, it was yum yum in my tum tum. And, they give you such large portions that I was able to box up half my meal and take home for later.

Next stop, Jonathan surprised me by taking me to Sweet CeCe's located on Harding Pike next to Publix here in Nashville. I had told him earlier that I really wanted to try this self serve frozen yogurt place, and by golly, it lived up to my lofty expectations. When you first walk in, you are greeted by CeCe's uber friendly staff. You grab your cup and choose from about 8 different flavors of soft serve frozen yogurt (my favorite is the Original Tart.) If you're not sure what flavor to try, they will let you sample them. Next, you can choose from many different toppings to put on your yogurt (you pay for your dessert by the ounce, so you can add as many or as little toppings as you want)...candy, cheesecake, brownies, berries, kiwi, and the list goes on...

I tried the Original Tart and Raspberry swirl topped with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. (My mouth is watering right now just typing all of this out.) Husband tried the Dutch Chocolate and Original Chocolate with berries and cheesecake.

We left with our tummy's full and our taste buds happy. We ended our day date by going to our home sweet home and relaxing with our sweet puppy Max. Life is good.

at last...photographs from our vacation.

Ever since we announced the big move, husband and I have unfortunately neglected our little blog. We've been busy finishing up our jobs here, finding a new home, packing all of our earthly possessions into lots of boxes, and making the move to Nashville. It has been quite the adventure!

We officially moved to our new place yesterday, and are loving it so far. Thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends who helped us with the move in Cleveland and in Nashville. We love you all and are so thankful for your help and support.

Since the craziness of moving happened right after our vacation, I never had a chance to share our vacation pics with you!

So...here are some highlights from our trip:

We were excited about going to Florida!

{Jonathan wasn't very excited about the 9 hour drive}

I love how the palm trees line the streets of Pass-a-grille.



Our beautiful 80's inspired decorated condo.
But we loved it, and it was oh-so-wonderful for our one week's stay.



This is where we spent most of our time.
Paradise.







Since we were on the gulf coast, the sunsets were AMAZING!



This is Percy the Pelican.
Last year when we were in Pass-a-grille,
I got a picture of him in the exact same spot.






Fish'n'chips are perfect for a beach vacation.
Especially when they come in a little boat.



Mmmm...nothing like Crush orange soda in glass bottles. Refreshing!



Celebrating two years of marriage.



See the note about shuffling your feet because of sting rays? It's true.
The sign doesn't lie, people!
{yep, Jonathan got stung by a sting ray while we were there...good times}






*sigh*

It really was an a absolutely wonderful vacation together. If you want to see the rest of our pictures from vacation, go here and here.

we have returned from vacation.

Last night Jonathan and I returned from a wonderful one week vacation on the gulf coast of Florida. What an amazing, much-needed, and perfectly timed vacation it was, too.

After Jonathan had just graduated from college, it was nice to get away and relax together...no homework, practicing, or studying for him...and no work, or emails, or technology of any sort for me. It was perfect.

{all images by me and Jonathan}

Stay tuned for more images from our trip {many, many more...}

nothin' says summer like the sno biz.

Last night we got to go to Sno Biz with these lovely folks, Thorne & Laura.

{you may recognize them as one of our favorite couples}




Nothin' says summer like colorful sun umbrellas and flavorful shaved ice.





Jonathan got the raspberry and I got the lemon meringue pie. Yum!


Fun was had by all.