Merry Christmas from the Tulls

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas is almost here!

Well, let me give all my loyal and patient readers a quick recap of this CRAZY BUSY holiday season! Let's begin with the pictures of the rehearsal dinner I coordinated and decorated for this past week...Jeremy Richey and Amy Woodhouse's. Cynthia, Jeremy's mom, asked for my help several months ago and told me she wanted a theme! I chose Winter Wonderland and began telling her bits and pieces to pick up while I was in school and couldn't be here with her. She did a great job on picking out exactly what we needed to make this party a success! When I got home, she took off work for a week to be there to help me with whatever I needed (to Randy's dismay I'm sure - the store just isn't the same without her!) Anyway, we went to work last week and finally completed the chapel of FBC for guests to arrive. I think Cynthia was very pleased with the way everything turned out and I KNOW it was an emotional and happy night for all involved! My passion and ambition is to own my own boutique and plan events so this was a great first party to plan! The people were fantastic and so pleasant to work with...and yes, I will be calling on those same people when it is Lee and my turn! Here's just a few pictures to give you an idea of what the decorations were like. The pictures were taken during daylight so the ambiance is a little off, but use your imagination to insert moonlight and food!

A view from the stairs

The entrance...later the candles were lit and the windows were glowing!

The staircase

The glowing windows with a bit of snow

The food table...before the food arrived

The ice trees...made with antique chandelier crystals and lit homemade trees

The bar tables for those wishing to hang around the food

The door markers

My proudest item...I turned my least favorite part of the room into my favorite piece!

Where the carols would soon be played

The head table...from a terrible angle on my part!

Next, let's talk about the fact that Lee and I graduated!!! YAY! Me for the second time and FINAL time, and Lee for the first time and hopefully not the last (dental school)! To celebrate the occasion, Rhonda asked our families to dinner at Ruth's Chris in Memphis! We were so excited awaiting the amazing steaks and a fancy atmosphere. The night finally came and we loaded up in two vehicles and went to Memphis. The dinner was, as always, spectacular and the company was so fun and comfortable! We talked and laughed and celebrated for a while and several ate dessert while others drank coffee. We were finally run out for staying so long (not really) and headed home feeling older and happier and all that much closer to being married! Here are just a couple shots from the evening:

Lee and I by the fireplace (my favorite spot of the evening of course)

The whole crew (Sissy, Rhonda, me, Lee, Daddy, MawMaw, Mama, Dustin, and Mimi)

Thanks, Sissy, Rhonda, and Daddy for picking up the tickets!! :)

Now, for the last item of business on today's agenda: Lee and I becoming one family at Christmas time! So,...you think our fireplace is filled with stockings now? Just wait - MawMaw and Mama surprised us with a brand new addition to the mantle this year...Lee's stocking. Our family has had these stockings from generation to generation since my grandmother was young. Each addition to the family gets a past member of the family's stocking with the name re-done. Well, Lee got PawPaw's. That was so special to me in so many ways! These stockings are so sentimental and mean so much to our family and now Lee is sharing in that family tradition. Don't get too excited - it isn't UP yet....since he isn't an official family member yet and Russ wasn't initiated until the first Christmas he was married to my sister. BUT, Santa does bring goodies in it and all...he just finds it in a chair next to the fireplace!

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one Christmas, Rhonda texted us the other night with this picture:

She had gotten her housekeeper to make homemade stockings with our names monogrammed on them! They are super cute and SO RHONDA! She has already hung them right next to Coco and Izzy's stockings (the puppies) at her Jackson home and I can't wait to see them this week!

The transition year on sharing our traditions has begun! We will be spending the 23rd with Fred at his new house in Pickwick, followed by an afternoon of Christmas cheer on the 24th with the Tull family at Mr. Sam and Mrs. Barbara's house in Corinth. We will then enjoy the Christmas Eve service at church as always and head back to the Tull's for some more fellowship. Then, we will continue our tradition of opening gifts at my house with the family (Daddy, Mama, Megan, Russ, me, Dustin, MawMaw, Rhonda, and Lee)! After that, it's goodbye for me and Lee until Christmas day (until next year anyway). We wake up and do our separate Santa's then it's back together for a day of fun at Rhonda's with the Vanderford side of the family. My family will be traveling to Jackson, MS as always and it will be my first year to miss that...bittersweet but SO exciting! Lee and I actually took a trip down to Jackson just to see everyone and let them know I wouldn't be there this year. Yay for new traditions and exciting new beginnings! Can't wait for 2010!!

I'll update again today or tomorrow with pictures of what our family has been up to this Christmas...too much to swallow in one post, I promise!

Marley and Landon Ashe

Well this weekend was filled with FUN wedding festivities for Lee and I. Marley Whitaker, a great friend, and Landon Ashe were married Saturday, May 5! This date actually marked the 6 month milestone from Lee and my date! We were pretty excited how that worked out. Anyway, I left my camera at home so I don't have any pictures except some I stole from some friends of the reception. To give you a visual though, the wedding was a beautiful Christmas wonderland. There were live Christmas trees and plenty of lights. Even the bouquets were Christmas greenery and single white roses. The company was great too - what a fun wedding party! Lee and I attended the rehearsal dinner at Landon's mom's house. The house was also decorated for the season with cute bride and groom add-ins. We had bar-b-que and the fixin's. Afterwards, the girls and Lee and other boyfriends/fiances/husbands headed back to our newlywed friends' house (Mary Anne and Chris) for talking, laughter, and lots of fun for Marley's last night. The groomsmen and Landon did their own thing too! The next day was the wedding and everything went perfectly for Marley! The reception was at Shiloh Ridge and we had a ton of good "Marley food." She knows her food! Then, we had a GREAT band and plenty of dancing until the day was officially over at 12:00. The weekend was a great way to celebrate and get some more practice for our big day! I came straight home last night and took notes on certain pictures I want after seeing Marley's and certain things that should be emphasized during rehearsal! LeeAnn Dodd was her director by the way, and did a great job! It was her first run at doing that job! Here are just a few pictures of the reception so you can see the happiness of the weekend!

The father/daughter dance to "My Girl"!

The first dance

Lindsey Dodd caught the bouquet!

And Chris Bush caught the garter!

Thank you Marley and Landon for including us in your wonderful wedding festivities! Congratulations and Best Wishes!

Winter Wonderland

As you may have seen through my playlist, Marley's bachelorette party, and the gift registration...I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit this year! While this year will be my last Christmas as a Smith, it is also mine and Lee's last Christmas to have different last names! It's so exciting! Don't worry, we still intend to participate in ALL our family traditions next Christmas. So, to ease into our OWN Christmas traditions, we made some teacake cookies last night. I even let Lee pick out the shapes and ice a few! ha. He's a natural! I played my blog music and we went to town on the cookies and finishing up some decorations. I just thought I would share some pictures of our last Christmas preparations in a Starkville apartment! I'm not going to show any pictures of his, though, because believe it or not he didn't decorate his apartment?! Boys will be boys, right?!

My front patio!

My kitchen table

Close-up of my last girlie Christmas tree

My tree and the few presents I have so far

One of the finished cookie platters

Work in progress...

He's learning fast!

My favorite decoration (Owl Happy Holidays)

My patio door

The bar

My front/only entrance

Wedding Plans In Motion

Well, as I told you in my last post, I made a trip to Corinth this weekend. The trip consisted of registering for wedding gifts, going to Marley's bachelorette party, etc. Why did I register so early?? Well of course so my parents and grandparents could get a head start on my collections! ha. But really, I was completely oblivious to the fact that Christmas things won't be out when I get married in JUNE?! Makes sense though, huh?! The day was actually really fun. I just walked around the stores and picked what I wanted for Lee and my house/apartment and signed up for it. Of course, everything is still a surprise by the time you get it because you never really know what things will be picked up and which ones won't! Kind of exciting I think. The day started with a trip to Kates and Co. We then went to Ann's to register and back downtown to Ginger's on Waldron, Waldron Street Market, and The Sanctuary. I love that in Corinth you know everyone working EVERYWHERE so they get almost as excited as you about the event and are so appreciative of you registering in their stores. Once we finished up in Corinth, we ate at our everyday restaurant (Mike's Cafe) and I finally went to Velva for a much needed pickup! Then, it was off to Tupelo to Belk. Why didn't we just go to the Corinth Belk?? Well, the Tupelo Belk has a scanner gun you get to carry around...so I knew Lee would be on board to join me for that one. Also, do you think I could have convinced my dad to make a trip to the Corinth Belk? NO! But could I convince him that the trip to Tupelo and back would be quality time with me, Lee, and Mama? OF COURSE! So we all went...Lee and Daddy picked out some exciting things...

some wouldn't even scan (because they were not exactly fit for a wedding registry I'm sure...electronics and such). Then, it was back to Corinth where we all passed out from the busy day!

Here's a few of the fun places we registered today. I think Mama bought a Christmas gift for someone at each place as well since they had everything looking so festive! Completely unlike her so I tried to be patient with her A.D.D. multi-tasking!

Mrs. Kristi Burns at Waldron Street Market

Kates and Co.

My "retail alma mater", Ginger's

The next day, I ate lunch with the bride-to-be and Kayla, a friend and Marley's bridesmaid at Cafe Mike's (yes again). We then loaded the cars and headed to Memphis for a night filled with fun, laughter, dancing, and many many pictures. The group dressed in Christmas get-up...with the bridesmaids wearing red with white and cheetah santa hats and marley in white with a red veil I fixed up for her! It was huge and hilarious! The night was great!! This morning, we all made it up by 9 for the Continental Breakfast at the Hampton and headed home so everyone could go their separate ways once again. The room was SO nice and Marley's parents splurged for that which was so nice! The weekend was bittersweet...so fun and relaxing but sad to head back to Starkville for FINALS and PROJECTS. It will all be over soon...and I'm told I will want it back?! I guess you old folks do usually know what you're talking about, but I just can't see it right now. I'm so ready for that last project on Dec. 3!

Here is a quick recap of the bachelorette party!

Marley and her two sisters and maids of honor (best dancers around)

Did I mention she could dance?!

One of the items on her checklist was to kiss a bald man's head! haha

The whole crew! So fun!

Hard Rock Cafe! Our Bachelorette tradition

Her claim to fame

For some reason they trusted us to touch all this expensive equipment!

The Whitaker sisters (Also known to us as the Kardashians)

My fall...in a nutshell

Well...school is almost over - Forever for me and for a minute on Lee's end. Megan decided to give my blog a "facelift" as she so politely called it and it looks great....so grown-up. And while at work (Shhh...) I updated my playlist to get into the holiday season. I just felt the need to let you know I am in the process of working on the blog. This weekend I'm actually taking a break from school for just a minute, before all my final things within the next two weeks, to come home, register, visit Velva (my hair person), and go to Marley's bachelorette party! It should be a ton of fun filled with wedding stuff. By the way, we are a mere 198 days away from our big day! Marley's wedding on December 5th will actually be the 6 month mark! Since I will be moving home after December it seems (without a job - hint for any of you with openings), I should have much more time and access to keep this lovely thing up to date. Anyway, that is what's been going on and a little about what is to come! Check for updates Saturday or Sunday!

Just some photos to sum up our fall:

Two of my favorite people at the Girl Talk concert

Talladega

me with "Abby Shuto" from NCIS!

Me and Emmie at Talladega

The race car, Dale Jr., and the race track

Nick didn't dress up...too cool i guess

my happy plate at Pancake Pantry with Rhonda and Lee

Mary Anne's bachelorette party!