Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts

Monday's Inspiration

{ image found on flickr, design by be true designs }

Spending the day with friends at the lake. Hope you are having a blessed day with yours!
-e.n.h.

PS - Check back tomorrow where I'll announce the Anthropologie gift card winner!

TGIF!

No crazy blog post today! It's the start of a long wonderful, lake, football and friend-filled weekend! And I can't wait to start enjoying it!
Have a great weekend and War Eagle!
-E

Introducing, Emily!

I didn't have a sketch of my inspiration this week, actually this invitation suite is inspired by one of my bestest friends. She got married last year in New Orleans and it was a heck of a shin dig! Seems the vintage but new, anthropolgie style has been huge lately, but I'd like to think that 'Emily' started that trend. I mean in college the girl never took off her pearls. I'm talking tshirt, jeans and pearls. Now that's the way to live! Hope you enjoy it! On the shop this suite will be available in 3 different colors (teal, pink and lilac).

On another note, its a beautiful day here in Knoxville. The window is open and the breeze and sunshine is blowing in! Hope to accomplish a lot this weekend for be true and for me! I see a day picnicking in the park in my future! Hope you have a great weekend!

-e.n.h.

Meet Diane...

Meet one of my new suites, Diane. Below is the inspiration and my sketches. Check back tomorrow as I reveal the full Diane Wedding Invitation Suite!
PS- The weekend was great! Got our photoshoot done and I can't wait to start looking through the pics and picking out my favorites to show you. Got to visit our dear friends Mel + Brad and we went to our favorite restaurant overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway on Saturday. Sunday we went kayaking, which was a blast! On the way home yesterday we stopped at Ikea in Atlanta (favorite!) and then stopped at my friend's Sara's place for a visit in Chattanooga...We didn't get home until 10 p.m. and went straight to bed! BUT the mini vacation was definitely worth the long trip, good to see friends and our ole stompin grounds.

-e.n.h

Peace Out!

Hey fab friends! I'm in such a good mood (even though I stayed up til 2 last night) because I'm getting everything finalized for our photo shoot with La Dolce Vita Studios this weekend!!!
AND I'm in a good mood because I see sunshine, friends and flip flops in my future! We're leaving to go back to Jacksonville tomorrow morning. Haven't been back since we left over a year ago, so it will be good to see the 'ole' place.

On that note, I'm out for the week from the blog world. I'll be back Tuesday where I'll start introducing some of my new wedding suites ( I can hear your excitement from here!).

Have a fabulous weekend!
e.n.h.

Life Update...

Pretty interesting week. Nothing too noticeable...oh well except my company is not doing so hot and because of that lay offs have been abound. Great friends who have put their blood, sweat and tears into this company are now gone and I am still here. I will miss them dearly and feel conflicted because I don't know how deserving I am to still have this job. And with that point, I really don't know how long I will be "still here", but right now that's where I am.

So with the thought of my unknown future looming I have made a big push to get be true designs up and running hard core. We are officially a business. Have all the paperwork and lack of money in the bank to prove it! I have been talking extensively to my business guru's in Jacksonville (aka Mel + B-Rad) for ideas, thoughts, advice. I have a clear plan in my head, its just a matter of getting that plan executed with money and time.

Some things that are changing or being newly formed is my new blog. I will unveil it next month to you, but I have already planned to have DAILY (you read that right) daily posts on all sorts of items: life events, my designs, other designs, design inspirations, growing the business, random musings...etc. Also in the works is launching an online store. So clients from all over can purchase already designed products OR contact me to create something unique!

We are going to Jacksonville next week to visit the business guru's, not for business, but for fun b/c we love them. But while we are there in the midst of catching up with our old friends, kayaking in the intercoastal and eating dinners at the beach I plan to have a photo shoot of some of my work. My brand is going to change and I feel this is what I need to make that sophisticated and "real business" look. Oh and I'll have 2 amazing photogs around me, so why not!

So that's your update. I can't wait to have everything that I'm planning to come into fruition and to launch it all (should be around April 1st!).

Besides work consuming my life, there isn't too much else going on. Plan to spend another weekend doing nothing except cleaning, watching UT bball, and maybe if the weather gets warmer go to the park again (Jackson definitely has cabin fever!).

I hope you have a fab weekend!
-e.n.h.

Menu Monday...returns!

This weekend was perfection. It was jam packed with so much laziness it was ridiculous. B and I stayed in Friday night because of the nasty winter storm, watched a rental and went to bed early. Saturday afternoon we wanted to veture out and we went to the Creamery in Fountain City. Its a delicious diner atmosphere with the yummiest sandwiches and milkshakes ever! B and I had a great lunch and some good quality time as the snow fell all day! Saturday night was Star Trek (I know I know...but it was B's turn for a movie pick from netflix), dinner and some yummy wine (like we needed to relax anymore!)



Sunday our sunday school and church service was cancelled so we slept in and then got up and went to a TN vs. bball game! Thankfully they won, so it was a great afternoon. Then I did a P90X workout with B. Not looking forward to how sore I am going to be, but glad I did it!



So with that being said I'm stepping up my blogging game and going to write out some of the eats I'm making this week for "Menu Monday":



Monday - Turkey Meatballs with Quick And Spicy Tomato Sauce and Whole-Wheat Spaghetti

Tuesday - Red Beans and Rice (IF I can get a ham bone from honey baked ham by then!)

Wednesday - Spicy Shredded Beef

Thursday - Grilled Chicken on Salad

Friday - Corn Flake Chicken Nuggets + Baked Fries



On the deck for this week:

Potential trip to Atlanta for work meeting

Working out with more P90X!

500 Days of Summer movie on Friday night in

My Christmas massage, mani + pedi on Saturday morning!!

UT Alumni tailgate and bball game Saturday afternoon

Superbowl Party @ B's coworkers house...and I STILL have not officially decided who I am rooting for.



The back story is this: I was born in New Orleans, as was my dad. So I was born and raised a Saints fan. I remember wearing a black Saints sweatshirt to middle school a lot and thinking I was so cool....someone should have told me the 'Aints we'ren't all that back then. I never really had any other team I cared about until I went to college. I always, always, always liked Peyton Manning and b/c of that the Colts have grown into my team. I know them all and have always rooted for them. Peyton and his boys even helped me to my Fantasy Football victory this year. So there is my dilemma. Root for the team I've always known or the team I'll always love....hmmm, it might be a game time decision.

(BTW - my bff is going to the game with her cajun husband and friends...I won't even tell you how much her tix cost...Whatever you think it is, double it! ha!)



Have a great week!

-e.n.h.

Resolution #10 already broken!

OK so I had a resolution to blog 5 days a week...and that was what 7 days ago? Oops. Oh well, life has been crazy since I made that resolution, surely you understand?

Our dear friends Angie + Watkins came to visit for New Years, which consisted of a yummy Italian dinner out and then a wine fest and TN football game to ring in the new year! The next 2 days were lazy and glutinous. And then on Monday I went to Atlanta for a meeting. Turns out a certain someone I work with has decided to move on with her own business and stop working for the company, which kind of leaves me at the helm. Very nervous about it and kind of frustrated b/c I had resolution #6 to work on (expand be true)...hoping that all this new job stuff won't take away ALL my time for it...who am I kidding, I know it will. I guess I'll add a resolution #11 and #12 to that list, patience + time management skills.

Anyways when I returned home on Wednesday we were welcomed with a huge snow fall. Right now it's done snowing (although the forecast says it will be back this weekend), but there are 1-2 inches on the ground. Jackson has never seen or played in snow (since he was born and raised in Florida) so he was having a blast learning what to do with it...B and I would throw snowballs at him and he would chase them and eat them! So glad I got my bad ass jacket when I did...I have yet to be cold with it on. Even though the windchill is below 12 degrees! Now if only I could get some gloves to match!
{ here's a pic of one of the bridges downtown on Thursday}

No plans for the weekend, except to run a few errands and workout...How great is that?
Hoping you stay warm wherever you are!

e.n.h.

the making of a Christmas Card...

So this year I wanted to do something different than just send out a Christmas card...this year I wanted to add a little treat. I found this link, sometime this summer about how to make hot cocoa and such for wedding favors...I decided I wanted to send all my friends some cocoa for Christmas! Now that we're in east Tennessee where we have already gotten snow and below freezing temps, it feels right to send out some warming Christmas treats...AND the best part, it was homemade, so of course B and I did a lot of taste testing before we sent out our final batch!
Here's how it came out:

I got all my ingredients at my favorite healthy grocery store Earthfare, and I think all the organic ingredients make the cocoa taste so much better! B would probably argue with that since he's still not on the organic train like I am.
I used some green and white baker's twine from Divine Twine and labels from Swoozie's. I already had bags from a long time ago, so I measured out each bag, attached the twine and label and...


Voila! Little packets of Haines' homemade Cocoa! Marshmallows included! yum!

The next step was the tricky (and expensive part) I ordered small A2 mailer boxes from Paper Source back in October, added the cocoa packets and our Christmas cards, then attached a long label that wrapped around, in order to keep the box shut (sorry post office, no cocoa for you!). Slapped 4 stamps on each and sent them on their merry way! Lets hope they make it to everyone!
And here's our Christmas card!

So I'm out for the holidays. B's family has been here since Friday. They're staying in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, which is about 40 mins from us. And let me tell you, I will definitely be back there for 2 reasons:
1. the mountains! I really didn't realize that the mountains were so close to us...I guess I knew they were there when we went to the lake near that area this summer, but when we were driving to their place last night the mountains were snow capped and sooo big! I felt like I was looking at the Grand Tetons or something! I cant wait to start hiking (when it gets warmer) and water fall searching this summer!
2. the outlets. Um, why did it take me almost a year to discover these outlets, fully equipped with a Banana, Jcrew, Coach + Gap! Cant wait to find an excuse to go back!

B and I are travelling back to Memphis Christmas Eve day. We're going to spend the Eve with my parents eating dinner + opening gifts (b/c that's our Christmas tradition at my house), then Christmas day we're going to go see Sherlock Holmes and maybe another movie to fill the day.
Then we'll be back home for good on Sunday (like we're not moving, leaving or budging from Knoxville for at least 2 months kind of good).

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
-e.n.h.

Road Trip!

So B and I are going on another round the world adventure...and when I mean an adventure I mean we're driving straight down the interstate for 6 hours to Memphis for probably a less than 24 hour visit...Let me explain: B's company is based in Memphis, Millington to be exact. And this weekend is their company Christmas Dinner/Party. I'm excited to see everyone again and to get to eat at Texas de Brazil in downtown Memphis on Saturday night. What I am not excited about is driving, AGAIN, to Memphis on Saturday morning and then turning around and coming back Sunday morning/afternoon...We've decided to leave Saturday morning because B has been non stop this week with work. I've pretty much only seen him maybe 3 total hours the entire week. He's been leaving for work at 7ish (when I'm asleep) working until 1-3 a.m. (when I'm asleep) every night. And he's gotta work a little longer today too, to hopefully finish all this crazy work! Since I'm the driver I voted to just wake up early and head out...we'll see how it pans out.

I love driving and love road trips, but lately I feel as though I'm over it. Could be the fact that every time we get about 50-75 miles outside of Nashville we get stuck in some kind of traffic jam. Last week, no lie, we were sitting on the interstate for over an hour. Sitting. Just sitting in our car...as it was parked...on the interstate. Some people in front of us got out for a smoke break...other got out to stretch their legs...but we just sat. That is until we (and I mean B) had enough and made me turn around and we GPS'd our way through some backwoods country to get around it...which in the end didn't really save us any time, since we got back on the interstate and saw trucks we were sitting next to earlier, but at least it made us feel better b/c we were moving.

Anyhow, that's they plan for this weekend. Thankfully its one of our last trips for awhile (besides Christmas)...we've pretty much told all of our friends that we're not moving for awhile, and if they want to see us, they'll have to make the trip! Not us! ha!

Here's hoping you have a great weekend!
e.n.h.

PS- I took Jackson to the vet yesterday and was completely embarrassed and cracking up...He had to get his shots for the year plus the dreaded "poop" test and heart worm test. Well the vet did the "poop" test first and I swear to you, Jackson looked like a cartoon. His 4 legs stretched out like he was on ice, his claws were clinging to the steel table and the yelps he made could probably be heard a mile down the street...he then proceeded to try to wiggle his way off the table all the while peeing in fear. Well the vet showed some sympathy ( I mean they stuck something up his booty for crying out loud!) That is until he did this same routine for all of his 4 shots + getting his blood drawn!!! By the time they were done, the vet and the tech were making fun of him. The tech even said "We have 3 lb Chihuahuas that handle this stuff better"...the funniest part was that Jackson hid under the chairs in the room while the tech was in the room when we waited for the test results...as soon as she left he would come out...So looks like we've raised a baby.

The To Do's this week:

1. Visit with friends - We have some friends that are already home (aka Oak Ridge) for Thanksgiving and some that are driving through on their way to home this week (aka Columbia,SC), so we're hoping to get to have dinner/hang out a lil with them before everyone goes on their merry way.

2. Drive to Memphis - I think we're set. I went to the pet store Sunday and loaded up on Puppy pills to hopefully knock Jackson out while we're on our way. He hasn't been in the car this long, since we moved from Memphis to Knoxville. I hope now that we know he gets car sick/anxiety we can keep him calm/passed out the whole trip! And with B's ankle in a boot and trying to stop it from swelling, looks like I'll be driving the whole 6 hours...yuck!

3. Sleep in and Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - Although I'm never really one to care about it, it sort of is a tradition to have it in the background during the Thanksgiving morning. I would have been glued to the set anxiously awaiting to see the Glee cast perform, but since they're not going to, looks like background noise you'll be!

4. Eat lots of Turkey, less mashed potatoes! - I got off my "diet" this past weekend for our last home tailgate, so I need to make sure I try to focus on not over eating this week! Of course I picked the hardest week to do that! Also need to pick up on my half marathon training. So far its been sparse. I just need to get into the habit!

5. Go see the Blind Side - I hear its the best movie. I have not heard one single negative thing from anyone who's seen it or from the media. Sounds like something to do Thanksgiving afternoon!

6. Join the ranks of the crazy's and wake up early to shop Black Friday - Normally I am waking up early to go to the store to work and wait for all the crazy's to show up. Sadly, I will be joining them this year. B and I plan to get up early to shop for ourselves (isn't that awful!). He needs a new watch and I need a jacket to keep me warm in the mountains of TN...I am still going to go visit my hometown store to help out at 8, but if most stores open at 5, that leaves us 3 hours of shopping!!!! Cant believe I'm going to be one of those people!

7. Work at the Collierville store - Its my favorite time of the year and the day after thanksgiving is by far my favorite day to work in retail. I think its just how crazy busy everyone is, but everyone is generally happy and hopped up on turkey! It usually flys by too!

8. Watch some Auburn football! - After working at the store I'm headed home to watch my Auburn Tigers take on the Alabama Crimson tide...We have nothing to lose, and they're undefeated. I would love love love it, if the Tigers could pull off the upset. And I really think we have the talent and spirit to do so. BUT we'll see! War Eagle!

9. Visit with family! My cousin, her husband and her son are coming to my parents to watch football and eat some Memphis BBQ (we're getting 3 different kinds just to have a sampling!). It will be good to see them and hang out with the rents too!

10. Rockettes- B's parents are taking us to go see the "Girls who kick the air" (as I like to call them). I'm really excited...more for the fact that we were going to go see the show in Nashville with friends next week, but decided it was too expensive. So this will be a nice treat!

11. Drive back to Knoxville - by far the worst part of the week! Here's hoping we can get out of town early enough to get home before dark. We always have a tendency to leave late and get home late which screws us up for the next week!

Can you believe its already Thanksgiving???? Crazy! That means Christmas is right around the corner!

Hope you have a great one! (Be sure to eat those extra mashed potatoes for me!)
-e.n.h

Catching up!

Been crazy busy since my last Jamaican post which was, what like a month ago? Jeez,I'm a slacker!
Ok here's the rundown:
-Jamaica was awesome, way to short and my tan is already gone. :(

-After the Jamaican week I flew to Baton Rouge to visit one of my BFF's Emily for the weekend and to go to the Auburn/LSU game (yuck!). She has a new house, a new job and a new husband. And they are all great! So glad I got to visit, besides the actual game I had a blast. All the girls are old married people now, and we live in 4 different states ( Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina + Tennessee---can I get a shout out for the south! whoop whoop!) Its really funny because this past year we've seen each other almost every other month with weddings, showers, bach. parties and such so hopefully we can keep that tradition alive and see each other more than once a year from now on!

-When I got back it was the 4th anniversary of my 25th birthday...B got me flowers and took me to a delicious Italian dinner and when we got home I opened my bday present: Season 1 of True Blood. We just finished the whole season yesterday and I think its safe to say we're both hooked! What is it with vampires these days? I'm a total groopy!

-That next Saturday was a rainy game day, but with our yummy catered BBQ and our tent rigging it turned out to be a great night with both Auburn and TN winning!

-Next week I went to Atlanta for a meeting and back...6 hours of driving is no fun. Especially when you stick a stressful meeting in the middle of it!

- Went to a Vols bball game with B. He proceeded to inhale a hot dog the size of his arm. They won, and it was a nice middle of the week break!

-Went to Nashville to host a Welcome Back to Mox and Donna (the lucky Jamaican wedding couple). Had a great time, the food and company were awesome! The highlights were when me, B, Mox and Donna were picked up in an 1998 limo to drive us to the party...prom 2009!!! Unfortunately the sun roof did not open so we didn't get to have as much prom fun as we wanted! But still fun. Then once we got home after the party, B and Mox decided to play "chase Jackson" and spent at least 45 mins falling all over them self's as Jackson owned them with his quick speed. It was hilarious. Poor Bobby landed on his face a couple times and totally stained up his clothes...But they did catch him once, and it was a mighty victory!

-The following week my rent's came for a visit. We had a great time hanging out especially on Saturday and watch fball (even though neither Haines' teams won) and eat some Tbones! They just left yesterday, but I'll get to see them next week for Thanksgiving!

- Oh, I almost forgot!!! B busted his ankle playing bball last week. So bad I had to take him to the doctor and he's getting an MRI today. Its not broken, but torn ligaments and maybe some bone chips floating around. Might even have to have surgery. Poor guy, I think he is more pissed off about the whole thing (since he's so high-adventure) than anything. It will get better B!!!

And I think that catches us up. For the rest of the week:
- Going to see New moon Friday morning at 12:04 am! And I am soooo excited!!
- Fball on Saturday, its the last TN home game so our last tailgating experience for the year.
- Then there's Thanksgiving in Memphis...super pumped about all the good food. Traditional Thanksgiving on Thursday, then Memphis BBQ on Friday...I plan to splurge a lil even though I'm on a diet (thanks C-line! Lost 4 lbs so far!).

Hopefully I'll be back before another month rolls by!
-E

Recap

So we had a fabulous time in Auburn this past weekend! I got to hang out with my BFF's + we pulled out the win! There was a wee lil bit of rain....and when I said a wee lil bit, I mean the entire earth's supply of water was dumped onto Auburn, about 20 mins before the game was to start. Lucky for us (well maybe lucky) we were running late and snacking on some tailgate bar-b-q leftovers when it started (you can tell where our priorities were!). So we hung out in my car until the rain slowed down, picked up the boys and hauled our butts to the game before it eventually started. Here's a pic from the night before at the supper club:
Caroline - Heather - Emily - me! Oh and PS I am NOT that short, actually we're all about the same height, but after we trucked it down from our hotel to downtown my feet were burning in my wedges so I changed to flats, and thus became the 'short big busted one' of our group!
And here's a shot of me and B...B's a lil worse for the wear with his sleepy eyes in this shot because he was recovering from the swine flu that I gave him...don't fret, we're both better now!
I had a great time and glad I got to see everyone! This week has been very low key, thank goodness! B and I figured out that we don't have any more trips until October, when we get to go to Jamaica!!! whoot whoot! So excited about that, props to Mox + Donna for choosing to get married there!
Have a good day!
-e.n.h.

This weekend...

We're going here { Samford Hall....aka Auburn University }:
We're going to be staying here { Heart o Auburn } used to be able to be rented for the hour for a suite with a red heart shaped jacuzzi...but its been upgraded since then...hopefully!


I'm dying to eat here { Niffer's in Auburn } the best corn nuggets, burgers and fishbowl you can find! (fishbowl = a fish bowl filled with many potent cocktails and comes with many straws to share)
Plan to partake in this { Tiger Walk } where you line up as the players/coaches walk down to the stadium, a very cool tradition that ALWAYS gives me goose bumps!
And the best part is we're going to be here { Jordan-Hare Stadium } as we watch my Tigers take on West Virginia. It's a night game, and I am pumped!
If we win, we'll then hit up here {Toomer's Corner } to roll the trees and celebrate with everyone! Let's hope we win!
The other best part? I get to hang out with my old roomies! Emily, me, Heather + Caroline, shown here at the Supper Club on the Shot bus...good times are about to be had!
I'll be back Monday! Happy weekend everyone!
-Erin
PS- I didnt mean to freak anyone out about my facebook post about how I hate hospitals (which I do!). I just had to go to the hospital by orders of the doctor to get a lump in my leg (actually its in my inner thigh) checked out. As of now they don't think its a big deal, maybe a swollen lymph node or fatty tissue, so no worries until they tell me otherwise!

sooooo, when is my vay-cay?

Sorry for not posting anything for a long time...this girl has been busy!
Let's recap:

1. went to OKC for a wedding. After 3 hours of driving + 5 hours worth of flying we made it! Went to lunch with the guys, hung out for a bit then went to the rehearsal/dinner. Fabulous Mexican food followed by an early bed time for me! (but not for B!)

2. woke up early Saturday morning for a run (while B and our roomie slept in)...the hotel treadmills were broken so I jogged my way to the OKC bombing memorial that was about a mile or 2 away. Very sad, somber and strange to be there early in the morning, where there was no one around but me. When I ran up there my ipod started on the Killer's song "Goodbye, travel well" and that gave me the chills. The memorial is beautiful though.

3. Did a lil weekend work and then went to the wedding. It was so fun! Amanda (the bride) picked a great color palette (pinks, lime greens + oranges) and it brightened up the room! I wish I had pictures, but our camera decided that the $2 batteries we picked up at the hotel gift shop were too lame, so we got in 1 pic before it died.

4. After the wedding, we ate, drank + danced! Those Memphis boys sure know how to break it down! And our friends Becky and Ryan's son Tyler was the hit of the party. He had an obsession with the dj's disco ball and would run up and down the dance floor to the dj and then back to his parents. He was so cute and I think he had a lot of fun! We had a lot of fun hanging out with him!

5. Sunday was spent flying back. We got picked up in Nashville and after a yummy dinner started the drive home to Knox....so at 1 a.m. we got in :( and we were grumpy, tired and not ready for Monday!

6. Monday morning, I drove to Atlanta for a big work meeting that lasted ALL week! and I'm very glad its over!

7. Drove back to Knox Thursday night. Our great friends Angie and Watkins were driving through so we saw them later that night and got to hang out a bit.

8. I went to breakfast with Angie and Watkins then got ready and we started our next trip (seriously, aren't you as tired reading about all of our travels as I am travelling them!) to Memphis. It was our 10th year high school reunion. Luckily B and I both graduated at the same time from the same High school, so it worked out great!

9. Made it to Germantown just in time to go to the reunion tailgate and hang with some old friends. It was really nice to see people we knew, but to also kind of meet people we knew of or were friends with in Middle school, but didn't really hang out with in high school.

10. Saturday day I spent getting the final touches to my reunion attire and then we both hung out with our parents a bit. Then it was off to the reunion! And it was a blast! The food, drinks, music, company was awesome. I really am glad that we went. There are talks of doing a 15 year reunion because it was such a hit, and I would definitely go!

11. Sunday we did lunch with our dear friends Ashley and Joe and we got to meet their lil boy Tyler, who is a doll! Loved him, can't wait to hang out with them when they come up for a football game in November!

12. Picked up Jackson at our friends Mox and Donnas house in Nashville, got a lil dinner and then came home...luckily this time we made it home by 11:30 p.m.! Still late, but we weren't as cranky as we thought we'd be.

So there you have my past 2 weeks, in a nutshell! But I'm still not done yet! This Friday I'm going back to Nashville to take my mom to see Wicked. Can't wait, I hear its great! Then I'll be back Saturday afternoon to hang out with the tailgating crowd. Sad I'm missing the first game, but hopefully I'll make it back to tailgate some! The rest of the weekend we hope to make it out to the lake and RELAX!!! Here's hoping!

-E

going to OKC!

So this weekend B and I will be taking a journey to a new state/city in which neither of us have been to. Oklahoma City, OK is where we are headed this afternoon (by way of Nashville). Would it be wrong if I get off the plane and start busting out "OOOOOOOOOkkkkklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...."....I loved that movie when I was little. I wonder if they still have Surrey's with fringe on top....If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, you must have had a lack luster childhood without musicals...

Anyways we're off to a wedding of one of our favorite Memphis friends, Brad, who is marrying a great girl, Amanda. B is actually in the wedding, so I'll be the stress free one this trip! Not only is our friend Brad getting married this weekend, BUT we'll get to see a lot of our high school friends. So I'm excited.

I think I'm want to go and see the OKC bombing memorial. If its close to the downtown hotel we're staying at I'm going to attempt to hike it over there on Saturday. I've heard about it. There are like 200 empty chairs in a field and a reflection pond and a tree that took the blast but is still standing...yes, I researched it...what else am I supposed to do in Oklahoma City besides watch out for tornados! Luckily so far the forecast says no chance of rain or bad weather. Just hotness.

I'll post pics when I return....hope you have a good weekend!
-E

Why I love Knoxville...





All the darn lakes around us! We went north this trip to Norris Lake. And when we finally got there (because we had a flat tire on the trailer issue that made us an hour or so later than we wanted to be) we knew why everyone came to this lake. The water is awesome and bright blue! We found a cove and parked for a while listening to our new water proof radio, while Jax swam and explored the shore. I'm loving this boat!




The Ooohhhcoee!

This past weekend we were fortunate to get to go on a lil adventure. B's company had everyone meet in the Chattanooga area to do a little White water rafting. I had been once before, when I was a senior in high school, and when I obviously had no fear of dying! Needless to say I was very apprehensive about our trip. We were the only boat that had all 6 people that knew each other. Well sort of. It was me, B, 3 architects that B works with and plays weekly basketball league with and one of the guys mom. She was awesome, and if it wasn't for her a few times I might have gone overboard! Anyways I survived....barley. At one point our guide made us run into a massive rock to do some kind of spin maneuver. Well it didn't work. Instead we got stuck straight up in the air, so everyone on the left was in the water...I was on the left. We tried to hold on while the guide was figuring out the next move, but then, the guy in front of me fell out. And then I got knocked out, followed by the guy behind me and even the guide!!! So 4 our of our 7 boat crew were floating down river bouncing off rocks (and they do NOT feel good!). Luckily that was the only mishap of the afternoon. It was great though in the end and we'll probably do it again next year!

Preparing for the big drop, I'm doing breathing techniques so I don't panic. B is ready to attack!:


I love how even though we're all in mid air the guide "Dickie" kept yelling 'keep your rhythm, keep paddling!":

By the way, thanks for all the kind words and support for the launch of the site. I know I still have a lot of work to do, but with everyone cheering me on, it should be a breeze!

the weekend...

So this is how we spent our Saturday....playing on the boat in the lake, with the Smoky Mountains as a back drop...not too shabby! Can't wait to go back in 2 weeks!
On another note, I'm getting back into the running thing. We ran Saturday morning before we left and plan to run again tonight. I just gotta stick with it! Hope you have a good Monday!
-e.n.h.

be true, be delayed!

OK, so the original launch date of be true designs and betruedesigns.com was supposed to be today. Well obviously it isn't (b/c I'd be putting on a huge hoopla if it was) ...so patience dear friends, it's on its way, I promise you'll be the first to know!

Besides that my knee is better. Think I'll get out to run tomorrow sometime. B is going dirt bike riding in the morning, and I have a bunch of errands to do. But luckily nothing to pertinent for the weekend. Just cleaning and getting ready for a meeting I have in Atlanta on Monday.

Hope you have a good one!

-e.n.h.

PS- on a side note, I did already make my FIRST sale with be true designs! And I have another in the works! so yea!