T+J Engagement Part II

Thank you for all your sweet comments on our first engagement shoot reveal.

As some of you know, Ty & I met on our first day of graduate school here in Nashville.

Music City is where we met, fell in love, moved in together, adopted our two pug-babies & are currently planning our wedding.

We wanted pictures that captured this town that we have come to call "ours" & yet again our photographer Jessica Ranae fulfilled our wishes 110%!

All photos from Jessica Ranae Photography

I seriously can't believe that I am going to be marrying this cute boy in less than a year!

Somebody pinch me!

Until then, I am just going to be plastering the walls of our apartment with these pictures!

T+J Engagement Part I

When wedding planning you get lots of advice. Some useful, some you can forget you ever heard it.

One thing that has stuck with me, is the idea that within your budget you should spend on what is important to you & save on the things that aren't so crucial.

One crucial element to my wedding planning was finding the perfect photographer.

I have always had a great appreciation for photographers & knew that capturing our engagement, planning & big celebration in just the right way was something that seriously mattered to me. 

When I met Jessica of Jessica Ranae Photography, I knew she was the One.

Jessica's portfolio is filled with gorgeous pictures, using natural light, lots of relaxed people & yummy sun flare. meow!

Even though Mother Natured rained out our first scheduled session & threatened to postpone the second, we were blessed with 2 beyond beautiful days of photo shoots, resulting in pictures & memories that we will treasure for a lifetime.

All Photography by Jessica Ranae Photography

Oh man, I might tear up with joy, excitement, love, silly girl emotions, etc. every time I look through those!

Stay tuned for Part II coming to a computer screen near you in the next week or so 

(includes the picture we chose for our Save the Date cards!)

If you are a Nashville or Minnesota bride looking for a photographer, I highly recommend Jessica. 

You can visit her site for more delicious inspiration!

How He Asked

Friday was like any other day, up & out the door late due to puppies being puppies. 

Working all day, grabbing Chipotle on the run, planning on getting off work by 6.

And then my boss grabbed me into a "beer meeting" at 5 ... we talked science over beers until after 6:45.

When I finally escaped his office, I glanced at my phone to see several missed texts/calls from Ty, but I still had work to be done before calling it a day.

Ty was texting me, asking me to give him an estimate of when I would be finished. My 15 minute estimate turned into an hour, & at about the 30 minute mark Ty walked into my lab to see what was taking so long. I think I said something like, "stop bothering me, I have experiments to do" & he went back to wait on me in the parking lot.

So finally right before the clock struck 8, I walked out of the research building I work in & hopped on the back of Ty's motorcycle to head home.

On the way to the townhouse is one of our favorite little spots in Nashville, "Love Circle". This grassy spot is on top of the highest point around & overlooks the Nashville skyline.

Ty peeled off to head up to Love Circle telling me that we should check it out as it was the first nice night that felt like Spring. A-ok with me after a long day at work.

When we got to the top of the hill, his guitar was out in the middle, & I started to get suspicious that something was up. Ty regularly serenades me at home & knows all my favorite songs. He started in to one I hadn't heard him play before, "I Wanna Grow Old With You", and it was soooo sweet. I still just thought he was being extra romantic, but nothing like what was to come next. Ty put his guitar away (after a little bump on the head, cute nervous boy) & pulled out a leather box from his guitar case. He started telling me the loveliest things & got down on one knee. Seeing the man you love more than anything in the entire world kneeling in front of you with a tiny box might be the best moment of my life... nope, it definitely is!

I said YES & leapt into his arms! Then I realized I should probably let him put that gorgeous ring on my finger & stopped kissing his face long enough to do just that.

We spent the rest of the evening celebrating with friends & when we were heading back home around 4 in the morning my face literally hurt from so much smiling, happiness, & telling "our story" over & over.... pure bliss.

Sure it wasn't the 6 pm, sunset engagement that Ty had been planning for weeks. His friend had to steak out on top of Love Circle for 2 hours watching the guitar. No one told me to dress cute or do my nails. 

But it is our story. And it is perfect.

this is your brain on love

I have no actual post for you today. Every time I started to type something, I got distracted my the big rock on my left hand! shiny object!

Ty totally surprised me on Friday & got down on one knee at our favorite little spot in Nashville.

I said maybe YES !!!!!!!

So my brain is a big pile of lovey dovey mush... & I can't stop saying "fiancé"

just in case you missed the big news on Instagram

I am going to go & smile some more & kiss that fiancé of mine!

little annoyances

I have always loved this quote. While I'm sure as gorgeous as Marilyn was, any man would have put up with all her crazy, the good kind & the bad, I agree that to love someone you have to love their endearing & annoying qualities, the best & the worst (yes, that "&" is bolded, underlined AND italicized for emphasis).

I never thought that I would find myself living with a man, my significant other, before marriage, but that is the situation that I find myself in & I have to say, it is pretty fun.

Things are by no stretch of the imagination "perfect" - we are currently potty training the puppy, sometimes neither one of us wants to make dinner, I wake up on the wrong side of the bed (way more times than I care to admit), he doesn't read my mind nearly enough... yadda yadda yadda.

But I am living with my best friend, and I have to pinch myself daily.

Just to pull back the curtain of perfection that I'm sure all of you assume I live behind (sarcasm), here are some things that annoy us about each other:

- when I want something done, I want it done NOW (& he doesn't always move to the beat of my drum)

- he wakes up first thing in the mornings ready to go, I need 2-7 snoozes

- he thinks I grind my teeth against the metal silverware when I eat (I don't hear it)

- I don't understand why he has over/under 4 pairs of shoes in the living room at all times

- um, the toilet seat! He says it is just as much work for me to lower it back down as it is for him to raise it each time... but pretty sure he has never fallen in (I don't want to talk about it)

- I get on to him for never putting his clothes up, & then I look at the floor around my closet & have to eat all. my. words.

- he says I use up all the hot water (have you seen how much hair I have??)

- I pretend to not know how to work the DVR, he pretends to not know where anything is in the kitchen 

Do you guys have the same "little annoyances" in your relationship?

What are some others on your list?
Let's see who puts up with the most ;)

slow down, you're moving too fast

Tyler,

Today we celebrate 3 years of dating - where has the time gone!? You are the man that I have built a life together with here in Nashville, traveling to new and familiar locations, finding our common interests (live music, craft beer, Doug the Pug, riding his motorcycle, watching Sunday night TV), cultivating close friendships, getting to know each other's family... and being taken in as family members ourselves.

Best friend - I couldn't imagine being on this crazy, wild ride with anyone else!

xxoo

{ Travel }

Hawaii Vacation, 2010

Chicago, IL

Atlanta, GA

Oregon fishing

Kentucky Derby, Louisville, KY

See more of our adventures after the break

is this real life?

 Sometimes when I am having a dance party to "Call Me Maybe" in the middle of the infield at a horse race with 25 of my friends, I have to pinch myself and be reminded that this life I have created in Nashville is actually real.

To my girlfriends: Thank you for thinking up the most fun activities to partake in, and always being down for a good time, a night in, or a random dance party!

To all my new friends: Cheers, we have already had so much fun in a short time, and I look forward to our future shenanigans!

To my boyfriend: I think you are pretty great, and I am so happy to have such a wonderful partner in crime for all of the crazy, wild, ordinary, spontaneous things that happen in our lives everyday... I cannot believe that we have known each other for 3 years, because it feels like we have packed 10 years of fun into that time already! Here's to building our lives together here in Nashville and beyond

xxoo

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number... so call me maybe!?

xx

Jessica

my boyfriend's back

My best friend is coming back today! This has been the longest my boyfriend and I have been apart, and the first time we have been in different countries from each other. I didn't previously realize how much I enjoy talking to him everyday, and just being able to send him random text messages of daily occurrences (crazy things happen to me on a regular basis). Not to mention how much I am looking forward to having my big spoon back!

.. that means you boyfriend!