adventures of raquel & reed: part 4

I haven't posted in over two weeks and I'm literally forcing myself to do it now. it seems like all I've done lately is work (my job at the radio station and then my new marketing internship) and I'm not sure that anyone wants to read about that right now.
I have had a few times in the last few weeks where reed and I have had some time to do fun things together and I thought I'd focus on those. 

reed and I caught up with robyn and ellie a few weeks ago for some yolo midtown and reed opted for something from the bakery rather than the self-serve frozen yogurt.

clearly, he thought it best to just dive right in. 

that's pretty much the best face ever. 

we've frequented a few memphis redbirds games so far this season, a summer favorite of reed's. he doesn't so much care that baseball is happening as much as he likes rockey redbird, the playground and the food.

and here's a throwback picture of one of his first meetings with rockey. note the crazy faced woman in the crowd.

back in the day, adam and his older brother andrew had a fort in their parents back yard.

reed has since claimed it in the name of thomas the tank engine.

during yesterdays trip out to Collierville to register for this years St. Jude Dream House, reed fell in love with the boys room set up in the house.

just in case anyone thinks i have adam locked in a basement, we did manage to sneak away a few weekends ago for a movie and lunch, our first date in a few weeks (and come to think of it, we haven't had one since) and of course, we saw Thor.
(side note: 5 days until X-Men First Class,  19 days until The Green Lantern, 47 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II and  54 days until Captain America. it's going to be a summer of nerd movie heaven for me & adam).


adam with mjolnir (thor's hammer).

and lastly, and in related movie news, i saw Bridesmaids with robyn last week and it was pretty funny and definitely not a chick flick. 

happy memorial day weekend everyone :)

So Long Sweet Summer

With school rapidly approaching (21 days) and my dear friend Molly updating her facebook status with the imminent arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte (that's PSL to the barista crowd), it got me thinking about the Fall season in Memphis.

The Cooper-Young Festival

 local artists, local musicians, amazing food & beer and seeing everyone you've ever met and most of the people you'd forgotten you'd met within one day. A lot of people take issue with Memphis (I'm often one of them) but every September, I love the Cooper Young Festival. So pretty please, don't let it be 100 degrees on September 18th! 

University of Memphis Tigers Football Games

 Alright, I'm not deaf, dumb or blind. I'm well aware of the lack of talent and winning by the Tigers Football team. But I love tailgating, I love the crowd, a sea of blue & gray, in the liberty bowl, I love that feeling of hope at the beginning of the season. And just as much, I love the familiarity of the mid-season where all Tiger fans say "Is it basketball season yet?"

Memphis Botanic Gardens

 I know, the Botanic Gardens are open year round. 

However, as much as spring and summer flowers are all that is pink and pretty, the fall foliage and the leaves changing colors is beautiful. Not to mention that in the last weeks of October and the first weeks of November, the Memphis weather is actually bearable enough to spend more than 30 minutes outdoors.

The River Arts Festival

It's a fairly new festival (I think since 2007) but the River Arts Fest is amazing. Artists have tables along Main Street, galleries are open (& giving away wine) and musicians are playing up and down the streets. It's both a great date night, ladies night out or to push the kiddo's in the stroller around the streets of downtown Memphis.

the Memphis Zoo, Arts in the Park & Zoo Brew are among other things I love about Memphis in the fall.

but this year, my favorite thing about the fall is definitely...

Me & Adam's Wedding

Ah, I LOVE him. October 3rd can't get here fast enough :)

The "Ah-Hah!" Moment in Wedding Planning

I have just had a wedding planning epiphany. I've been trying for the last two months to plan a wedding that would be representative of Adam & I as a couple as well as make everyone in our known universe happy.

as most people would expect, that's actually impossible.

actually, in addition to attempting to include everyone we've ever met as to not hurt feelings, i was also trying to make this wedding way more fabulous than either of us actually wanted it because, for some reason probably explained by high school insecurities, i wanted to impress these people. and, ladies and gentlemen, as Carrie Bradshaw has always preached, fabulous comes with a hefty price tag.

so how does my wonderful epiphany translate into wedding planning?

well I'm not spilling all the beans because I want to leave some intrigue but here are a few things Adam and I decided tonight while he played x-box live and i had a mini anxiety attack:

1. We're Cutting the Guest List. it's not the prettiest one on the list and I'm still torn about it. but if I'm honest with myself, I never thought I'd get married in front of 150 people and if it were entirely up to Adam, we'd be getting married in a field alone somewhere. Sadly, our extended families are huge and our parents would be deeply offended (and rightly so) if they weren't there and that means that some of our friends won't be invited. we're not crazy about it, but a few things had to give. 

2. We're Changing the Venue (again). this will be the third venue. i know, enough already, right? I'm not giving it away because I won't put the deposit down until tomorrow but I will say that it's not in the boonies and I'm very excited about it, despite earlier hesitation.

3. I'm Not Trying to Impress Anyone Anymore. This one says "I" and not "we" for a reason. anyone that knows Adam knows that that's pretty much the last of his worries. don't get me wrong, I do want to have a nice ceremony and reception and let our friends and family know that we're glad and excited for them to be there to celebrate with us. but we aren't Rockefellers and I'd like to stop putting up the pretense.

4. I'm Getting Back to Making the Wedding about Me & Adam. (this one's pretty self-explanatory).

that's essentially much all the big stuff.

so now I'm going back to buying wedding stuff on Etsy, tomorrow I'm booking the new(est) ceremony & reception venue and the invitations are going out by the end of next week. 

thanks for indulging this lastest wedding rant, faithful blog friends. I sincerely hope it will be the last.

but please don't hold me to that :)