Monday, May 30, 2011

Under Construction, Part 2

Are you sensing a theme here? Ha.

Along with our reception site, the location of our rehearsal dinner is under construction as well. We are going to be hosting our rehearsal dinner at the new event facility located at the Paris Winery. It is slated to be finished and ready to go around the middle of June. We should be set for our September rehearsal dinner. It really throws me off that our rehearsal dinner is in September and we are getting married in October...is that sad? Every time I have to give a date for the rehearsal dinner I have to stop and try to remember what comes before October 1.  (I guess that is my confession for this post. Haha.)

The Paris Winery is a beautiful facility located right in between Paris and Camden. We thought it would be the perfect place for our dinner. I have been to several weddings there and Mac was able to stop by and see the place just a few weeks ago. I have some pictures below of our visit. Thank goodness Trina always has a camera on her. As you can see, they still have a bit of work to do; however, it looks like it is going to be a great gathering place for our friends and family. 



 This is the crew that was headed to Paris for dinner and got pulled into a Winery stop.

  For my ADPis: There is definitely a cement lion fountain being installed to the left of this photo. Get excited. I see many photo ops in our future. OBIC

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Under Construction

Our wedding reception is being held at my neighbor's home. I have grown up across the street from the Whitworths...so it is only fitting that our reception is at their house! We are taking a bit of a risk with an outdoor reception, but we are going to have plenty of tents in case of bad weather. (Start praying now for lovely weather on Oct. 1)

Mrs. Vicki has been wanting to expand their outdoor living space for some time now, and our wedding reception has provided the perfect opportunity for just that. We have only been to Camden a few times since the construction began, and there are major additions each time we visit. I have a few photos below from our most recent visit to the construction site. 

The new additions to their house (or "The Bandstand", as Mr. John is calling it) are going to be great year round...and especially enjoyable on our wedding day.




Friday, May 13, 2011

BBQ Fest

Well, Mac and I made it to the first night of BBQ Fest and it was magical as always. Some of his friends have a tent and I know a few people with tents as well. One of my favorite parts of BBQ Fest (other than the ribs) is seeing all of the creative team names. I enjoy just walking around and checking out who is new to the BBQ scene and also seeing the old favorites. Here are some of my favorite team names: 
The Bastey Boys, Born in the Que S. A., Getting Piggy with It, Love Meat Tender, Hoggystyle, Notorius P.I.G., Slab Yo Mamma.

Here is a photo of me and Mac outside of the Hoggystyle tent. 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Crest and a Fest

The Mississippi River finally hit its crest last night just shy of 48 feet. My house is still safe and dry. We should get some rain Thursday and Friday, but not enough to cause any damage. The river is supposed to stay high for several more days before it starts to recede. So even though traffic on the Island will continue to be a nightmare, I can at least bring my furniture down and move back into my house. Let the spring cleaning begin!

This week is a very exciting week for Mac and me. It is our favorite event of the year...it's time for BBQ Fest 2011. Due to flooding, BBQ Fest has been moved from its traditional location of Tom Lee Park to Tiger Lane. Mac and I will be taking the shuttle (they named it the "PiggyBack"!!) from downtown to Tiger Lane to enjoy the festivities. I will be sure and post some pictures of us at our favorite festival of the year!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Flood, Flood Go Away

So, the river is supposed to crest tonight at 48 feet. We will see about that. In the meantime, my friend, and current roommate, Linea and I decided to take a "flood watch" walk before our workout today. I was able to snap a few photos on my iPhone. Some of these photos are in the same locations as the ones I snapped last week on May 4. Check out that post and compare the difference.



Sunday, May 8, 2011

One Down! ...and a flood update!

We had a great weekend in Knoxville celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Blake Lewis. Jessie, of course, had a beautiful ceremony and reception. It was so much fun to be a part of their day. I was a little bit stressed due to my current living situation and the fact that my car looked like a yard sale. However, it was a great weekend spent with my favorite people. And, who wouldn't love a rehearsal dinner in Neyland Stadium?! I have a few photos from the weekend, and I will include a flood update below that.
 Rehearsal Dinner in Neyland

 Sisters at the Bridesmaid's Luncheon



Just one example of Jessie's expert crafting ability

FLOOD UPDATE
When I left Memphis on Thursday, I pretty much "evacuated" my house. Thanks to Mac and several friends, all of my furniture was on the second level of my house. My parents and Mac's Dad met at the house on Friday to decide whether or not to pull out the appliances. They decided to leave them in. I got back to the Island this afternoon, and we still have full access. The power is on and the roads are clear. However, there are police officers at the entrance to the Island asking for your address before they will allow you on. This makes for a traffic nightmare. 

The river is not expected to crest until Tuesday, and they are still saying it will crest at 48 feet. However, I am 100 percent sure they have no idea when or at what height it will crest. The Mississippi River is currently three miles wide in Memphis. This width is normally half of a mile. It is so crazy. I feel very blessed that my house is still safe and am thinking of those that are not as lucky. I have a few photos of the current flood levels below. 
 Wolf River on Sunday, May 8

 Same photo, but taken on May 4

My house. Yes, my couch is on five-gallon buckets. 
I am thinking of this as a great opportunity to do some spring cleaning.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Flood Update

As many of you know, I live on Mud Island. It is normally a lovely place to live. However, will all of our rain and the normal spring floods...it is turning into a bit of a nightmare. I am surrounded by the Wolf River Lagoon as well as the Mississippi River. I live on the north side of the Island, so the Wolf River is more of an immediate threat, but the Mississippi is threatening to cut off access to the Island. 

Last night, Mac invited over some of his friends to help move all of my furniture up to the second story of my house. Silly? Maybe. But I would much rather be prepared. Thanks to all of his friends who helped us out. 

I am keeping a few changes of clothes, my computer, my laptop, and my bridesmaid dress for a wedding this weekend in my car at all times. I have a few photos below of the flooding. I am hoping to get out this afternoon and get some more pictures of the Mississippi. However, the "flood tourists" are making Mud Island traffic miserable. I may have honked at a car yesterday. Oops.
 My friend Linea took this photo. This is the second large parking lot on the Island. The river is normally below the farthest tree line.

 My friend Linea took this photo. These are townhouses on the Wolf River side of Harbor Town. The water is normally down a hill from the garages.

 The townhouses you just saw are to the right of this photo. This is the backyard of the Montessori school on the Island. There is normally an amphitheatre here.

 This is the marina on the Island. The ramp usually goes down. Now it is level with the ground. There is no boat ramp.

 Sandbags around the school.

 This is the access road off of the north side of the Island. This is about four houses down from mine. 

 This is just one of the tourist attractions on the Island. There has been a steady stream of traffic by my house for about two weeks. Katie and I said we could have make a killing off of a lemonade stand.

 Moving the furniture. 

 Cramming all of it in my guest bedroom.

 This used to be the access road by my house. 

Same location as the previous photo, just now facing my house. I am standing at the water line and my house is the fourth one. 

I will keep the blog updated with the latest news and hopefully photos!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Yay! Our Save the Dates are in the mail. Hope everyone is receiving theirs soon. If you are checking out our little blog for the first time...welcome!

I am going to do a separate post with the much-requested flood photos. I have a few photos below of our (long) save the date process. Hope you like them!


Monday, May 2, 2011

Fun for Mac

Since Mac did not have the most fun while we were registering at Macy's, we decided that it was time for him to register at a store that he liked. We thought that Sunday would be the perfect opportunity for him to go on his "scanning spree". So on Sunday amongst tornadoes and floods, we headed to east Memphis to visit Sears. Mac got his own scanner and did some damage in the tool as well as the lawn and garden sections. I can't wait for him to get some of these gifts, because I have several projects in mind. I am expecting big things. 

I have included a few pictures of Mac registering below.

Flood Update: I am concerned...especially after being around all of my east Memphis friends at work today. I wanted to go ahead and move all of my furniture upstairs, but Mac convinced me to wait another day. Katie and I went ahead and moved a bunch of small, decorative things upstairs. All that is left downstairs are the big furniture pieces. Mac's Dad and my friend Tom have both offered to come with their trucks if we need them. I will include some photos of the flooding tomorrow. Pray for Memphis!


He is becoming a pro at this!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Wedding Events

On Saturday, Mac and I headed to Nashville to celebrate with some of our close friends. Tis the season for weddings, and this weekend we were celebrating Chandler and David with a couple's shower. We had perfect weather and a beautiful setting for our party. A delicious "country supper" was served and then the whole group trucked it over to the Franklin Main Street Festival. We danced the night away...and of course, my parents stole the show. They have never met a dance floor that they didn't like. I have included a few photos from the party below. 

Flood Update: My house is still above water...barely. Katie and I are pretty concerned about the possibility of flooding, but we have an evacuation plan in place. Please pray that we stay dry!

 The Warden's beautiful back yard

 Mac and I before the festivities

 Bridesmaids

 Diamonds...of course!

The happy couple