The post from yesterday. You know, my anniversary post, just a day late.

My post from yesterday experience technical difficulties. So, you're getting the original anniversary post a day late. A day late doesn't take away how much I love Mr. Potts. So some of our favorites. I promise in the next few days to recap some of the past year. But I won't go too overboard.

Mr. Potts began the day by making his Meme laugh. I try to keep that tradition alive with her.

My family arrived. I was so so excited to see them! My handsome brother.

At the alter, side by side. We were ready. The pastor begins to speak & Mr. Potts immediately says "I do!" The pastor laughed & joked that his job was done. :) The whole congregation laughed. Mr. Potts and I giggled.

We were so excited to get married, we could quit laughing & hugging & kissing.

I was so ready to see my mom. She didn't surprise me. She looked beautiful & somehow managed to hold it together. My momma was so happy for me.

One of our favorite images from the day. Love how she caught these.

A few pictures in the beautiful leaves - we couldn't pass them up.

On our trolley for a trolley ride around town before being delivered to our reception site.

It makes him smile to see pictures where I am so obviously in love with him.
We were able to take some pictures at a place we've always enjoyed - notice all the Charlotte signs! The pictures turned out well. What do you think?

One of our Faves! LOVE IT!!
We have so many wonderful pictures that these are only the tip of the iceberg. We had such a wonderful time the cake time was fun. He wasn't sure if he'd get just a swipe on his nose. He didn't.

Oh I DO LOVE ME SOME BUBBLES!!!

My brother. I'm so glad he was able to share this with me as well as with Mr. Potts, My Mom & my sweet niece & nephew.

Two of our very best friends who live in NOLA came to celebrate with us - they told us they wouldn't miss it for the world.

My sweet sweet niece had such a fun time & watned to dance with Uncle Mr. Potts more, but alas, it was time to go home. I got my last hug.

The last hug led to tears. My poor sweet muchkin.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Potts! You've been beside me the whole way. Holding my hands, giving me a gentle push when I've needed it, reminding me of what I find important.

Laughing with me
Holding me when I've cried
Holding you when you've cried

I promise
I promise you me
I wouldn't want to know a life without you

I promise to be the girl in your guy nights if you need one.
I promise to plan fun trips for big & little reasons.
I promise to make sure you always know how much you are loved.

I promise to cook & baby you when you're sick.
I promise to help you stretch your hamstrings.
I promise to pick good books out for you.

I Adore You
I find you incredibly strong
I find you extremely compassionate
I adore you
I love you.

For You Mr. Potts.

A year ago today we were almost married!

Some of my favorite pictures of the munchkins from the wedding day.

Check out the expression of pure joy on my precious niece's face as she drops her petals.

My sweet nephew after the wedding. My mom gave him her cell phone to keep him occupied. Smooches!

We didn't actually get the first bite of cake, my precious niece did!

She wanted to dance. She ran & jumped into my arms (well, really just onto me) causing us both to tumble to the floor. She was so happy that day. Can you see it in her face?

Aren't children so precious?

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

I'd like to shine the spotlight on two fabulous bloggers today.

The first is Jenny DB of So Say I. What can I say, I began reading her & just fell in love. She talks in her sleep - so do I! She has a dog named Bondi which she named after a beach in Australia - from when she lived there (can you tell I'm jealous?)! And Bondi hides in the bathtub! She's an animal lover too & I'm sure we'll soon be great blogging buddies. Go over & say hello to Jenny - and show Bondi some love too. Cause, hey, we can all use a little extra love, right?

The second blogger I wanted to highlight is MCW from Saving the Best for Last. She is a Southern Girl living the life in NYC. Can I tell you how much I want to live her life (sometimes)? She reads good books & eats great food at what look like great places (I mean, $46 pitchers of margaritas - I bet they're GOOD!). She has the second cutest nephew in the world (I mean, he can't top my own precious nephew in MY mind, but I'm sure mine is a close second in her mind [did that even make sense?]). Every time I see one of her comments or read one of her posts I think of the Jay-Z song, Empire State of Mind.

Sunday is Mr. Potts and my first anniversary. I wanted to share a few pictures from that day that are super special to me. I'll post more through the weekend.

My two nieces. Can you tell my precious niece was excited for us to get married? My other niece had broken her arm a few weeks before the wedding & was hiding her cast behind me.


My beautiful ladies who were with me to share this day. So many lovelies & how pretty were the flowers??

Mr. Potts & his boys. They were at our favorite pizza place which is conveniently located across the street from our church. Also conveniently located less than a block from our townhome.

Oh MOTY...

I have shared before that my niece & nephew do not have the best mother. In fact, Mr. Potts and I call her MOTY - Mother Of The Year.

Something she said this past Saturday triggered a huge realization for me. While it wasn't entirely positive, it was eye opening.

MOTY, in front of my 5 year old niece, regularly talks about being fat & needing to lose weight. All the while sitting down to lunch and ordering a 12oz steak. Yes, for lunch!

My niece is a tiny thing. She'll be short and petite and beautiful. And hopefully well-adjusted, if I have any part in it.

She piped up after her mother commented on my weight loss and said that she needed to go on a diet - that she has to lose weight. My five year old niece said this & it broke my heart. What kind of influence are you on a child if they look at themselves at 5 years old and are dissatisfied?

I felt a kind of slow rage begin to burn inside me. I reassured her that she is perfect. Mr. Potts told her that she is beautiful & just right. Her mother didn't pipe up at all.

I've never once in front of her spoken about my quest to lose weight and become healthy. Five year olds, unless they actually are overweight & at risk for childhood obesity & diabetes should never be burdened with these thoughts. Encouraged to run & play outside? Definitely! Speaking to them about how unhappy you are & how you are fat & need to lose weight while turning around & ordering a steak & mashed potatoes for lunch? I don't think so.

My takeaway from this? Children, no matter how young, pick up on things you say & do. They watch what you do & listen to what you say.

My niece, she'll never hear anything like that from me. I only hope that I can be such a good influence as to counteract her MOTY's bad influence.

Pumpkin picking at the pumpkin catch this fall. Fat? Not on my life!

Tuesday night recap

Last night we were here:

Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena

Rocking out with himYummy found here

Dancing in the DarkBruce

Awesome show. Highly recommend it. We're HUGE fans. Extremely exhausted!

Fabulous Sugar Doll

Jen over at A Girl in Pearls & A Boy with Toys tagged me with the "Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award". I love the title of this award. How fun! To play along, I'm supposed to list ten interesting things about me. These types of things are hard. I'm not 100% sure that I'm a super interesting person, but here goes!

Ten interesting things about me...

1. I really enjoy what I do for a living. I like the way I interact with people regularly. I like the people I work with and I really adore my boss.
   
2. I finally, for once in my life, have all 10 fingernails & all 10 toenails. Yep, no nubs, just nails!
3. Due to the aforementioned nails, I may have a slight obsession with really pretty nail polish. Like Essie's heart my JR jewels.
4. I have a really hard time coming up with lists like this. My brain usually turns to mush and I find myself wondering what could possibly be interesting about me.
5. I secretly wouldn't mind being a size 0 or 2. I don't know that I've ever been that small. Or at least not since I was 9.
6. I have a mad love for good jeans. I love my AG's, I'm super stoked to fit into my James Jeans & I'm thrilled that some of my "in between" jeans are too big now. Are a pair of Paige in my future?
   
7. If I could buy a handbag a month, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Starting with this lovely.
   
8. I think I may have fallen in love with Living Proof's No Frizz Shampoo & Conditioner. I've used it twice now & it has seriously cut down on my hair's tendency to frizz up.
   
9. I would live in Cashmere if I could. Cashmere sweaters, cashmere t's, cashmere socks, cashmere lounging pants, the list goes on & on. The problem is my wallet. My wallet won't let me live in Cashmere.
   
10. I'd rather eat salty rather than chocolate any day. Yep, I don't really like chocolate. Whoa! I know!!

At this point, I'm supposed to tag 10 Bloggers to play along.

So....

Brown Eyed Girl
Amber
Brittany
Whitney
Julie
Brittany
Brown Girl
Tara
Annie

Congrats ladies! You're now officially Fabulous Sugar Doll Bloggers!

What Month is November?

Everyone is hyper aware of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that each month of the year typically has 15-20 different "Awareness" Causes associated with it?

For instance, October isn't just Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Squirrel Awareness Month (really? Squirrel Awareness??). Breast Cancer though has really won the support of so many of us & for good reason. It is a devastating diagnosis as well as something that is highly publicized.

Today, however, is November 1st. Which means a new month of Awareness begins. Alzheimer's Awareness Month begins today. For me, it is personal.

You see, I lost my grandfather to Alzheimer's disease. So this month is about him. Remembering the great man that he was. Celebrating the memories I have of him. Remember how he helped to shape my life. Missing him - as I do every day.

Did you know that it is estimated that Alzheimer's affects 5.3 million Americans today and it is projected that the number of Americans with Alzheimer's could more than triple to 16 million by 2050?

To learn more about Alzheimer's you can go here. To learn about changes you can make to help prevent Alzheimer's you can go here, here & here.


This disease takes the thing most precious to you. It takes your memories. So, this month, I will remember my Grandfather. Because I still have those memories. And I share the Alzheimer's Association's vision: A world without Alzheimer's.