Show Us Your Life- Wedding Party, Flowers

Its another Friday edition of Kelly's Korner, Show Us Your Life. Today we are showcasing wedding flowers and wedding party. I could show pictures all day. So I have tried to narrow it down, and keep it short and simple while showing off all my beatiful flowers and all my beautiful friends/family. So with that said, if something or someone is left out, don't be upset. I still love you. Let's get started!



These lovely ladies are my bridesmaids. From Left to Right as follows:
Liz- My sister, and Matron of honor
Meagan- Highschool friend (she is getting married in a few months!)
Crystal- Best friend through a random meeting by Keith's best man
Kendall- Friend through school and college years, Maid of Honor
Mallery- Great friend (she is getting married NEXT month!)
And the girl beside my face is Autumn- we met on a random school trip and have been the greatest friends ever since. We get alot that we look just alike.

The bridesmaid wore Mocha brown 2 piece dresses from David's Bridal. With long skirts, a mini train, and a basic top. The bust of the top has a row of beading under it that matched their flowers! I had their jewelry especially made for the dresses and the wedding, of brown pearls.

Now to my little babies! My 2 nephews and my niece. Branden, Luke, & Kaylea



All 3 of the kids wore Strasburg "coutour" haha. I didn't want my boys to be in just regular tuxes. I think kids should be in sissy clothes at weddings! So Strasburg, white knee socks, and white shoes were in order for the boys, and a big white poofy dress for Kaylea with a wreath of baby's breath flowers. Aren't they beautiful!



I wanted to include this picture just because it is the sweetest most beautiful picture! Luke just loves Kaylea so much! They have gotten to grow up together which is really cool because Luke's mom (my sister) and Kaylea's mom (Keith's sister) actually graduated high school together! Maybe they will be sweethearts!



Here is the whole wedding party. From left to right. (I already introduced to girls, so we wont do that again)
Daniel- Keiths friend since like birth I swear
Alex- Football buds
Mac McDaniel- Keiths best bud (more on Mac later)
Emile- My cousin, I babysat him for literally FOREVER!
Wayne- Keiths brother
Seth- Best man, my best guy friend, and Keiths main man. About 10 minutes before the ceremony. Seth came into the room I was in, sitting on the bed with my dress literally surrounding me, and he pushed over my dress, sat beside me, and said "Ok honey, last chance to run away with me. Let's go." It certainly took all my nerves away. He then told me I was beautiful, kissed me on the cheek, and left. I just love him!

The guys wore Calvin Klein 2 button pin strip shadow tuxes with black vests. Complete with square toe heels. For you girls planning a wedding, square toe is the way to go. The guys told me they were so comfy! And I think they are more stylish then the round anyways.

Now let's talk flowers!



I love this picture. I can't remember who I was on the phone with, or what they said that obviously struck a nerve with me, but I assume it was something I didn't want to hear!



This is my bouquet. I found this picture on the internet of one similiar to this and made some tweeks and then had the job of finding someone who could name all these rare flowers and get them shipped in from places! It took me and the florist about 2 hours one day to name just ONE of them! I think one of them is originally from South America. There were alot of rare flowers in it mixed in with calla lillies. Calla's definitely dominated my wedding. Yellow, orange, and red calla's. My bouquet I swear weighed 5 pounds or more and was a beast to carry around but I managed to do it and loved every minute of it! I still get compliments on my bouquet.

Here are some other flowers that could be found throughout.



I didn't include other arrangments but it pretty much followed suit. They just got taller and bigger!!! Ha!



So here is a picture of the back of my bouquet. Notice that Keith and my highschool class rings are in it! We have been together since high school! It meant so much to me to have our rings in my bouquet. It truly symbolized that we have been together FOREVER! You will also notice that the cover off my baby Bible cover is included (something old). And lastly, the white rose. In highschool, Keith and I, and the rest of our wedding party to be exact, lost a very dear friend in 8th grade. Keith's very best friend in the entire world, Jay, was killed in a car accident. Jay was also Mac's cousin who was a groomsmen. There is no doubt that if Jay was alive he would have been our best man. Keith and Jay were lifelong friends. We wanted to do something to remember Jay during the wedding in our own special way. So the white rose was put in my bouquet and over that rose, Keith and I took our vows, promising each other our lives. And Jay was there watching. As the ceremony concluded, we took the white rose out of my bouquet and presented it to Jay's mother, Mrs. Laverne. I won't include a picture of that, because it was a special moment for us. And I don't want to cry!

Other than the flowers, we had someone sing The Lord's Prayer and Ave Maria during our ceremony. "Dr. J" as we call him lovinly, married us. He did such a great job. My dad gave me away, and I swear for a minute I thought he was having a change of heart! We were married outside lakeside on October 27, 2007 at 6:00 in the afternoon. It was the perfect fall day. Chilly but not unbearable. Perfect for those of us in 10 pound wedding dresses!!! Keith actually picked our wedding location which was awesome to me. I had looked at numerous places for the ceremony and he came home one day and asked if I would come look at something he thought we be good for the ceremony, and it turns out. It was PERFECT! I married the greatest man!

So thats it! I will leave you one more of my favorite pictures. As Branden pulled Kaylea and Luke down the aisle! Have a great Friday! I can't wait to see all of YOUR flowers and hear all about YOUR wedding!

NEW BLOG!!!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I am so excited to introduce my new blog. Renee Sells Aloette! As many of you know, I am an Aloette Beauty Consultant and love doing it on the side. And since blogging is such a fabulous way of connecting with other people I thought, why not make the world a more beautiful place by advertising and selling these wonderful products through blogging! So the new blog was born! I hope it takes off. I can ship anywhere! And I offer lots of freebies! So HOP on over to the new blog, check it out, leave some love, and let me know what you think. Click the link below.

Renee Sells Aloette

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gloomy Monday

It's nasty in Baton Rouge today...and I honestly can't find the words to make this blog fun. I wish I could be sleeping in this rain, rather than working in it!

Few things though:

I wanted to give an update on Adrianna. Last week she had surgery in New York to remove the tumor. It was a long long surgery and Adri came out GREAT! The doctors say they have removed ALL of the tumor! She is still in ICU in the Big Apple, but the doctors have high hopes for her. She still has a long journey ahead, and is in a lot of pain her parents are reporting, but we continue to pray for this precious little girl. Check out her blog here.

Secondly, Baby Stellan. In the womb, he was diagnosed with heart failure, suffering from Supraventricular Tachycardia, hydrops and heart block. At 24 weeks the doctors told his family that their gravely ill unborn baby would surely die. Much to his parents surprise, and surely showing that God is in control, Stellan was born a healthy baby boy! However, Stellan began to suffer from SVT again at 4 months, was additionally diagnosed with PFO, a hole in his heart, and had a partially successful heart procedure performed at 5 months. He is currently back in the hospital in SVT again, going on 4 days now total. His body is just crumpling according to his mother, and it breaks my heart for this beautiful family. Please lift them up in your prayers. And read about Stellan in his mother's blog...





Hope everyone has had a great Monday, and we will see you tomorrow.

My 2 favorite men

I am laughing to myself as I originally was going to do alittle "ranting" in this blog. But after typing it, and reading it, I felt alittle better so I deleted it. After all, some very wise people once told me you can't preach to the people who don't care what you're preaching about. So in an effort to save alittle face, and keep the harmony. You get this. I make no promises though.

This weekend was a really good one! Friday night, Keith told me we were going out to dinner and that I needed to dress fancy. So, I did and we ended up at the Melting Pot, where he had made us reservations for dinner. I love that place, and it certainly didn't disappoint! The fondue was great, the atmosphere romantic, and my husband went above and beyond to spoil me that night. Ladies, that's the man I married! One that will still give you butterflies even after marriage and years of dating.

Saturday morning, Keith unfortunately had to go into work for a few hours, but that
was ok. Soph and I slept in. Big time. When he got hime, we loaded up and took of to New Roads to stay the night with my mom. We decided that we just couldn't allow her to cook for us, so we took her out to dinner. At one of my favorite Mexican places, Que Pasa. It was great. We invited Elizabeth, and she brought Zach and Luke of course. So it was so nice to see them too. Just don't get to see them as much as I would like. But as usual, Luke came back across the river with us to spend the night. That night, we went boat riding, did alittle fishing, and played with Uncle Kenny and Aunt Lou, before retiring to bed. Luke cuddled up with MeMe, and Keith and I sharing a full size bed...war would definitely ensue...

At Que Pasa
2 of a kind.... Zach and Uncle Keith
Sunset on the Mississippi River...so pretty...

This morning, Luke was in our bedroom bright and early, explaining to Keith and I that "the sun was out" and it was time to go bass fishing. I said no til after breakfast and that is when Keith and Luke took off to the kitchen to start cooking. The next thing I know, Luke is going "Nannie, what kind of eggs do you want?"...I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful blue eyes staring at me. I grabbed him and loved and kissed all over him! Breakfast was fabulous by the way! :) The boys took off and left the hens at the house and went and did alittle fishing while mom and I visited. It wasn't long before they were back, Luke had lost his sunglasses in False River and had to have a new pair. So I got dressed and off we went to Wal-Mart. A pair of sunglasses, a new bathing suit, and some candy later we emerged ready to take on the day. Luke of course did some tubing. Then Uncle Keith, and then Uncle Kenny, and then Uncle Kenny and his dog Lady! We had a blast on the water. No fish catch to report, but thats ok.


We had some visitors stop by...


Keith's hair reminded me of RPatz as Edward Cullen...hehe


Uncle Kenny tubing...He was a spider monley! I hope he doesn't regret that tomorrow morning.


Lady taking her turn!

After a delicious lunch of fried Amberjack fish, coleslaw, french fries, fried Okra (Luke's favorite) and ice cream and cake for dessert, it was back into the water for alittle bit more fun in the sun....Well....Until.....I will just stop there.

Have a great week!

Number 66- Give Blood

Today, Ochsner held a blood drive for the employees. They do it about every 9 weeks, and get all of the employees to donate to keep the blood bank in good stock. Well, since I have a particularly rare blood type, they came and grabbed me first! Luckily, I had had a good breakfast and was able to donate. I always like to give my blood because I can only receive blood of my type but yet I can give to anyone. So if something happens to me, and there isn't any of my type I am out of luck! :)

So here I am donating my blood and crossing off another thing on my 101 in 1001.

Have a great day everyone! Stay safe in the hot summer sun!

Kelly's Korner (Show Us Your Life)

I am participating today in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life" Friday's. Today's feature is "Show us your wedding dress." I am super excited about this because I absolutely loved my wedding dress! So here we go!

WELCOME to Renee's Wedding Dress! I am Renee', your host. Lets start with just a basic picture of the entire ensemble and then I will break it down for you. So put on your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!



I looked long and hard for my wedding dress. The first place I went, David's Bridal, I thought I had found "the" one but I was dead wrong. Turns out, David's Bridal was not the place I needed to be, so the search for the wedding dress was on. My mom, sister, and I went to every dress shop in Mississippi and Louisiana I swear. Dress after dress I just never felt right in it. I didn't like it, there was SOMETHING wrong with it. And the few that I did like, my mom wouldn't like, or my sister would point something out I had not thought about...THEN...We were in Baton Rouge at this shop on Airline Highway, and were looking through dresses, I must admit I was pretty discouraged at this point, and was pretty sure I was going to get married in a potato sack dress. But my mom found this one dress and just loved it. I was immediately turned off from it because it was a halter top, and I was hell bent on NOT having a halter top dress. But to satisfy my mom, I tried it on. (Secretly cussing the whole time) Well, when I walked out of the dressing room, and onto the platform and looked up.... My mom, sister, and the salesgirl were all crying. I admired myself in the mirror, and started crying myself. It was the dress. The dress that could bring tears to your eyes. It was MY dress. I left with it that day. No one was touching my dress!

So..lets start with the front of the dress.



As I mentioned the it is a halter top dress with a V cut chest. The top part of the dress is completely beaded with lots of sparkly beads that I loved. The beading continued down where the dress had a "shadow" opening that revealed an under layer with more beading. The dress itself was white satin of course. Beading went along the bottom of the entire dress.

I will note, that I am not very good at desribing things in great detail. Thats why I am glad I got some good pictures of it!

To the back!



As you can see, the back also had intricate beading and satin buttons running down the back of the dress. One of the buttons served as the button to hold my bustle after the wedding. My train (the one picture I couldn't find) was pretty long as you can see in the first picture. So I was nice to have that bustled after the ceremony so I could dance the night away!



Another picture of the back. You can continue to see the buttons going down the back, and another shadow opening like the front with the beading running down and around. The train also had these little wing things that gave the dress alot of depth. I really liked that part, my dress with the shadow openings and beading gave it so much depth.

Now, to one of my favorite parts, and the part that I was not going to change my mind on. The veil.



I had my veil picked out before I even got my dress! I had seen it in one of the early stores we went to and decided that was the veil I WOULD have. I might have been swayed on a few things, but that veil was not a subject to try to change my mind on. This is the best picture I could find of it. Basically, it is layers and layers of tulle with tiny beading throughout at random places. It was also trimmed in satin on each layer. The beading shined and sparkled when hitting the sun. It has these little diamond beading as well that really made it stand out with my dress. Yes, this was not just a average veil! I didn't care how much it cost, I was getting that veil. And I did, and it was beautiful, and everyone loved it. And I still have it and look at it. And I still love it and don't regret spending as much money as I did on it!

And lastly, shoes. I won't post a picture of them, I just wore satin ballet slippers. Nothing fancy. I wanted to wear flip flops but I got married in October, so those weren't really the best option for me at the time! However, I was determined to do 2 things....I was NOT wearing stockings and I was NOT wearing heels. Besides, who cared what my shoes looked like? They had my dress and veil to look at! So ballet slippers it came to be. No heels, no stockings, and better yet, comfort! They eventually were taken off sometime during the reception because I'm from the South and I like to run around barefoot, but while they were on, they were fab.

So thats my wedding dress. I feel so bad that it now sits in a closet wrapped up and may never be worn again, but thats ok. Maybe I will wear it for my 50th wedding anniversary! Maybe my daughter will wear it one day. But if not, it is and forever will be the dress that brought the store to tears, brought me to tears, and made my husband eyes light up as I walked towards him to promise him forever.

Feel free to comment on my dress! I would love to hear what you think of it! I hope that you as well participate in Kelly's Blog Hop because I would LOVE to see your wedding dress! Until then, thats all folks!

Have a great weekend!

I need YOUR help!!!!!

Ok world!

I need YOUR help!!!!

I am trying my hardest and have everyone I know trying their hardest to come up with a cute name for my blog! Unfortunately, our brain power is running low...so thats where YOU come in!

Submit your ideas in my comments section for possible titles of my blog!

I will choose my top 3 and then submit those for a final vote!

PLEASE help me with this!

Thanks so much! Happy Thursday!

Few Words Wednesday

Hello Blog World,

I will tell you that this week finds me dragging bootay big time! I just can't seem to get going. On my second cup of Joe this morning and still could lay my head down and pass out. Maybe its the weather dragging me down, I don't know. But it is my usual Wordless Wednesday (I will be honest, I am so tired, I spelt Wednesday wrong in the title 3 times...I just couldn't wrap my head around spelling this morning.) But I do have a few things to share, then I am going to shut my mouth and try to remember to stay awake.

Baby Izzy is doing GREAT! Paige and Haynes were able to see her and hold her yesterday so that lifted everyone's spirits. I can't wait to see her myself and love on her!

Secondly, I made my sisters crawfish pasta last night that she posted on her blog yesterday. It was so good! I have some left over for lunch today that I can't wait to dig into!

Have a great day!

This pic is of my sweet Godchild and me. I love him so much. He is my heart.

Blog Hop- Recipe or Favorite Dish

Today, I am participating in McLinky's weekly blog hop. This is my first time, so I hope I did it right! If you are reading this from McLinky, I want to say Thank YOU for stopping by! Please leave me a comment with your blog link so I can follow you and maybe we can become blog friends!

Roll Ups-

You will need:
Here in the South, my husband hunts alot so we use deer backstrap, but you can also use just a regular roast.
Marinade of your choice (we use Italian and worcestershire)
Onions
Bell Peppers
Philly Cream Cheese
Bacon
Tony's (seasoning)
Bamboo Ka Bob sticks

What to do:

The night before, cut your meat into small sections, as thick as you would like (we make ours thin) and put in your marinade in the fridge over night to really soften your meat and let it absorb the juice.

After marinating, compile your ingredients and get ready to craft!
My husband and I do this together, its great quality time and its one thing we can work on together and not kill each other!

Cut up your onions and bell peppers into small pieces. Keep in mind you will be putting these in the sections of meat, so don't make them too thick.
Next, take a piece of onion and bell pepper and put them together using a dab of cream cheese. The cream cheese will hold these together in the meat.

Place the onion, bell pepper roll in the middle of a piece of meat.

Holding the sides of the meat together, wrap the roll up in bacon. We generally cut the pack of bacon in half to produce more servings of roll ups. Plus, I am not a HUGE fan of bacon so less is more to me.

Stick the roll up through the middle using a ka bob stick. We usually will fit up to 5 roll ups on a stick.

Sprinkle Tony's on top of the roll ups to give it that extra kick.

Throw these on your grill over medium flame and let them cook! We like our meat to be more on the medium side so ours don't take long to cook. Remember, the longer you leave them on the grill the crispier the bacon and meat will get. So its all about personal preference here. Just make sure it gets cooked! I don't want any of my blog friends getting sick!!! :)

I make a potato and a veggie to go with them. Its really your choice! They are super delicious and even better the next day!

ENJOY!

P.S. I have to give a shout out to my wonderful dad for showing and letting me help him make these roll ups when I was younger. It was something that he and I did together and I enjoyed each moment of it. I passed on the recipe to my husband and now he and I make them. If not for my dad though, I would never eat one of my FAV dishes! So thanks dad, I love you. Maybe we can make some roll ups soon.






Have a fabulous day!

Happiness in yet so much emotion

Hello world,

Today is a sad, yet joyous day for many reasons. It is Monday, and I admit I have a case of the Monday blues. But it is a beautiful day outside, and that I am thankful for as well.

I am also sad because today, July 20, was a very dear friend (ex-boyfriend even) birthday. Tyler passed around October 4 due to a MVA. Today Tyler would have been 23 years old. As I think about Tyler today and all the laughs we shared, I am so thankful that while he was on earth he was able to touch so many lives. Including mine. He is greatly missed by all of us. And we know he is watching down on us. So Happy Birthday to you Tyler Paul.

We are joyous today however for the birth of a new baby into our family. Izabell Garrett was born July 20, 8 weeks early, weighing in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces. She is currently in NICU at Woman's Hospital. Mother, Paige, is doing well. Haynes, Izzy's daddy, is my cousin who I love very dearly. Just last year we went to Las Vegas to celebrate Haynes and Paige's marriage. I am so thrilled for the new addition to their family and can't wait to hold sweet Izzy. Please keep Paige, Haynes, Izzy, as well as my family in your prayers during this time.

So as you can see, today is a sad, yet wonderful day. As I think about Tyler and all the wonderful things he did while here, I hope that Izzy will do wonderful things as well. I know she will. She is related to me after all! :)

Have a great Monday everyone.

I love Sunday's

Sundays are probably right up there with Fridays on my favorite day of the week list. Even though its the day before Monday, it is always just so relaxing. It is wonderful. Plus is means BREAKFAST!!! Last night, Keith and I were supposed to go out with some friends, but my poor husband, exhausted after working 13 hours Saturday (after his full 80 hour week mind you) passed out on the couch, leaving me and Sophie to entertain ourselves. I went to the pool for alittle while. No swimming, just enjoying the nice night on one of the lounge chairs. When I got back in, I was abandoned yet again by Sophie who was sleeping on the couch with her daddy. So after watching a movie, Mamma Mia, I decided I would go lay in bed and read. I fell asleep leaving Keith on the couch. I'm not sure what time he eventually woke up and joined me.... :) BUT thats not my point, to make up for bailing on me last night, my sweet husband got up this morning, careful not to disturb "sleeping beauties" (Me and Soph) and made me breakfast. Not just breakfast, breakfast in BED! He even put on my favorite movie, Twilight, and let just lay in bed, relax, enjoy my awesome breakfast, and spend time with him. It was so nice. Today, we are being lazy. Picked up the house, and doing some pool time.



I hope everyone has Sunday's like this. It's a great time to just be with the ones you love. And that is what its all about.

Have a great week!

Enough Said.....

Dr. Glover

Today is a very sad day for me. I will travel to McComb and say goodbye to one of the doctors I used to work for when we lived there. Dr. Glover was soooo much like a father to me. He helped me through some of the toughest times in my life. Times when no one else would understand, when no one else cared, when everyone else was going through the same thing, but yet I was taking it differently. He was there. He performed surgery on Keith and did a fabulous job. He even looked at a few moles on me, gave me a script a week before my wedding so I wouldn't break out with the horrible "infection" my so called friend had came down with. He is my Dr. Glover. He is an Ole Miss fan so the team rivalary was always at its best with us. We had a few bets everyone now and then, and lets just say I won them. He now wears an LSU scrub hat as part of that punishment. I have laughed, cried, and looked up to Dr. Glover for along time. I am glad he is moving on to explore other opportunities. After all that is the same thing I did. But it will be weird to not think of him sitting in his chair, feet propped up on his desk, tennis game on ESPN, and the sound of his snores coming from his office. I can't wait to see everyone again I used to work for. It will be a great day. I am even getting to have lunch with a great friend of mine Chelsie. I can't wait to buy her a drink as she just turned 21!!!

So, please pray for Dr. Glover and his family as they make this move. Pray that it is what is best for them and that they will settle down and be comfortable!

I can't wait to see those guys! I love all my doctors so much!

Here is a pic of Dr. Glover I took right before I left. He was always pulling the craziest things out of his closet of fun as I called it. This was a wig he found in there! I laughed all afternoon as he walked around the clinic in it.




And here is the result of the lost bet!

Hump Day

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Took alittle blog hiatus to get my head back on straight, its still not quite on all the way but I'm working on it. Is it just me or is this week SUPER busy?!?!?!?!!?

Monday I took a much needed day off of work. It was actually the day Keith was supposed to have his wisdom teeth out, but that didn't happen, so while he went to work, Sophie and I held down the fort...Why oh why can't I just be a stay at home Susie Homemaker? Dreaming.....

Tuesday was another crazy day. Just can't seem to get caught up with myself. Maybe its just vacation calling my name....I hear it in the distance on a padded chair next to the ocean with a little tropical drink complete with umbrella calling my name...At least we do have padded chairs at our pool and a cabana and I suppose I could talk Keith into delivering me said drink if I asked nicely...I swear if you don't see or hear Nicholson Drive you wouldn't know you weren't at the beach! Love my house.....

This week we were lucky to have our niece Kaylea and nephew Branden come visit us. Along with Papa Gary and Hannah (I just call her Banana.) Branden had a dentist appt so afterwards everyone came swimming. Branden tortured poor Sophie. Between my sweet Luke, and Branden...she might need counseling! Here are some pictures from the visit. I completely forgot to take my camera to the pool with us. Which is odd because I swear its been attached to my hip like an IV line much like my ever present Blackberry, but I guess it happens!