December 8, 1982: The Day of My Birth

I realize I am tardy with this post and considered skipping it all together, but it was just too great not to tell you about!

December 8, 2010 marked my 28th birthday. This was my first birthday as a wife, and can I just say that my husband knocked it out of the park!

First I was treated to breakfast in bed. Bacon and pancakes, complete with candles. I'm spoiled, I tell you.

I had a great day at work, then we went to Restaurant Iris for my birthday dinner with our bests, Megan and Justin. 

(See that great pink sweater and black belt that I'm wearing? That's courtesy of my husband!)

Here's the thing about Restaurant Iris: Although I admit that I might be biased, no one can argue that Chef Kelly and his staff make your meal an EVENT, no matter who you are or what night you dine. The amount of attention to detail and service you receive is simply outstanding. And the food's not too shabby, either. 

I am a bit of a creature of habit and usually stick with ordering the things I know. At Restaurant Iris, it's usually the always-delicious amandine of gulf speckled trout and cauliflower. But because it was my birthday, I decided to venture out and try the 5 course menu. Here is what I ate that night:

five course “dégustation”

• pâté of chicken, pickled beets, and champagne
• seared tennessee foie gras with a pomegranate “gellee” and shallot confit  
• creole “midnight snack” of shrimp, poached egg, and remoulade
• seared hawaiian tuna, ginger pilaf, “tum ka gai”
• warm chocolate cake with “glüwein” iced cream

I am a little ashamed to tell you that 1) There was very little to no food left on my plate after each course and 2) I was not a good sharer. It was that dang good.

We stopped for a photo op on the way out....

We celebrated my birthday with our families coming over to the house that Friday. It was a dinner chock full of my favorites: Ryan cooked my favorite salmon, my MIL brought cauliflower mash and homemade rolls, my SIL brought green bean bundles, and my parents brought mac-n-cheese. Food heaven for me! We hung out, opened presents and focused all of our attention on this precious little one:

Then Wes and Mommy posed.....

Then Sissy and Wes picked our noses!

 (Nice photo bomb, Ryan!)

It was a great day filled with amazing people. I am so blessed!!

Christmas 2.0 - The modern Story of Nativity

I received this link today from my uncle and thought it was a great twist on the birth of Christ!

A Shared Post....

So I know it's been a while since I posted and I have no excuse, except that I have been super busy. So I am going to make it up to you....sort of.

I don't have time to talk about what I really want to talk about (my birthday!!), so I'll share with you a post from the Green Line Marketing site. Every Monday for the last few weeks, we've featured one of our team members. The features are silly and have little to do with marketing, but we want our clients to get to know us a little better.

This week was my turn. My apologies to those who have already seen this.

25 Random Things about “The Boss”

25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about GLMG’s Head Honcho, Meghan Heimke:

1. I love the smell of Pine-Sol. Seriously; sometimes I just fill my sink with it so my house will smell clean.

2. I went to college to be an elementary school teacher, but soon realized that God did not bless me with the necessary amount of patience needed to have that job.

3. I love The Bachelor, even though it has a low success rate and the girls are a little psycho. It’s quality entertainment.

4. I know that chocolate and caffeine will give me migraines, but sometimes I just can’t resist the temptation.

5. I love Reba McEntire. As a child, I would pretend I had big, red curly hair and would perform for my family.“Fancy” was my name.

6. I like to think I’m in better shape than I am.

7. My family is God’s most precious gift to my life.

8. I have a terrible memory. Interestingly, I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but I can remember every word to old country music songs I haven’t heard in a decade (see #5).

9. In fifth grade I got an unfortunate perm that shrunk my hair to above my ears. Roy Green sat next to me and nicknamed me “Poodle.” I think he liked me, I was obviously a babe.

10. I don’t like to be on camera; I’d rather my clients be front and center and me be behind the scenes.

11. I love to read memoirs and fiction-but only if it’s realistic. Unless it’s the Twilight series. I heart Edward Cullen.

12. I tend to exaggerate sometimes. Often. Usually.

13. I want to have a house full of babies one day. I know that’s what I was put on this earth to do.

14. I can recite every line to “Steel Magnolias.” My friend Whitney can vouch for me.

15. I am a nurturer by nature.

16. Without my husband, I would starve. I cannot cook.

17. I think that thoughtfulness is one of the best qualities a person can have.

18. I have mad thumb-war skills due to my abnormally fat thumbs.

19. I regret not learning how to cook my grandmother’s bread pudding. It was ah-mazing.

20. I have a Type-A personality. It’s exhausting.

21. I get intimidated by cooking shows.

22. Sometimes I choose a bottle of wine solely because I like the label. It’s a very sophisticated selection process.

23. I think I am much taller than I really am. 

Until a year or so ago, I thought I was as tall as LeBron James. True story.

24. I hate to be cold when I sleep. It makes me very cranky.

25. I never know the names of songs or who sings them. And it annoys me when people say, “Gah, you don’t know who sings this?!?” People, I don’t care. And even if I did, #8 would prevent me from recalling it for your little trivia game.

The End.

Whitney Got Married!

A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends. -Chinese Proverb

I love this quote and I love the people that this quote makes me think of. One of my most precious friends is Miss Whitney Staggers.­ Whitney and I were both Phi Mu’s at Mississippi State and lived together for three years in an apartment in Academy Village. Whitney and I didn’t know each other well when as she asked me to live with her over corn dog nuggets at the Phi Mu House. I’m not sure if it was her one-of-a-kind personality or the corndog nuggets, but I instantly knew this person would be in my life forever.

Whitney is a true Southern Belle from Starkville, Mississippi. She instantly showed her Southern hospitality by welcoming me into her family, who became my “away-from-home” family while I was away at school. Whitney and I complimented each other well and she soon became so much more to me than a roommate- she became a best friend.

Throughout the years, Whitney and I have remained very close. We’ve seen each other through breakups, jobs, moves, and now finally our own weddings. She was one of my first calls when Ryan and I got engaged, and I was ecstatic when Whitney, my friend who never really entertained the idea of marriage, called to tell me that Michael was “The One.” When Whitney was a bridesmaid in our wedding last September, Ryan and I finally had the opportunity to meet the man that’s made our Whitney so happy. And he did not disappoint; he was even more precious than she described.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of serving as one of Whitney’s bridesmaids in her wedding. Here are a few of the reasons I was excited:

• Whitney is getting to marry the love of her life…
• ….at one of the coolest places on Earth…
• …in front of many of our college friends…
•  …and I love her.

So here’s a photo recap of the weekend:

Our Digs.

The Bridesmaid's Villa

Pretty sick, right? I'll spare you the "AFTER" photo.

Bridesmaid's PJ Brunch.

Jenny, Meghan, Jennifer, Whitney, Kaylan, Brittany, Catherine and Lindsey.

 

Our gift was beautiful handmade vintage earrings from Catherine Thoms.

She's so excited!

Poor Jenny doesn't feel well.

Pretty Girls in Dresses.

Lindsey and Jennifer

Brittany and Kaylan

Isn't Carley beautiful!?!?

I have really hot friends.

Me and Britt

She'd been working on her jazz hands all day.

Kaylan, my wedding weekend roomie & stylist.

The Beautiful Bride.

The Details.

The Groom's Cake

A beautiful painting of Whitney and Michael on the farm with their dog, Gus.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the most handsome man at the wedding (besides Michael, of course!) Ryan was amazingly helpful and flexible the entire weekend, which is really important when one spouse is in the wedding party. I loved introducing him to my college friends who had not yet met him and was so proud to be on his arm.

Some funny (and not so funny) behind the scenes facts:

• The husbands/boyfriends/dates bought and consumed 8 cases of beer for the weekend.
• I was in charge of steaming dresses before we walked down the aisle. Unfortunately, I got too close to Lindsey's skin and gave her a 3rd degree burn on her hip. I am SO sorry, Lindsey!
• Kaylan crushed her finger/fingernail in the bathroom door and whined about it all weekend.
• It took two people to attempt to get me into my dress for the rehearsal dinner and it still didn't work. Thank God for Plan B dresses and LifeTime Fitness!
• Right before Whitney and Michael exited the reception, she asked me to go get her prescription. Trying to rush, I fell down the stairs and broke my toe. It's black, blue and purple, but the bride had her necessary prescriptions before heading to her honeymoon suite.