Tying Ribbons and Bows

Just had to share. Rickey and Abner eat breakfast together EVERY morning. I loved this pic. :)

Today I had the day off so I spent most of the time cleaning, sweeping Abner's hair off the wood floor (he's shedding his winter coat uncontrollably), making homeade lasagna for the boys who patched the ceiling when Brancy fell through the roof (if u didnt hear this story, I will blog regarding it soon), and doing wedding stuff. Tomorrow marks the official "4 month" mark to the wedding and we are down to doing the tedious tasks of "small but large" details for the wedding. Some days I feel soooooooooo unprepared for this one special day, I get so worried. But, im just holding fast that all these plans we have made so far will come together beautifully.

Some brides might not be able to say this truthfully, but I very well can. My fiance' is the absolute BIGGEST help in wedding planning and I appreciate him so much for that. Here recently, our time has been slim to none with each other due to our night and day schedules. Today, he got out of practice early and had two hours before he had to go to class, so we sat at our breakfast table and tied ribbons and bows on 144 tubes of bubbles. We had this explosion of chocolate brown and ivory ribbon everywhere and developed an assembly line that actually worked out perfectly. Who ever thought that Rickey Craig would get a kick out of making sure the ribbons were perfectly tied and perfectly even - he's so good. ;)

Rick had a project regarding the Mississippi Delta and had to take some photos of "delta things" for class. When he came home, we uploaded his pictures and I realized I had a ton of pictures of Monmouth Plantation where we will be having the ceremony and reception. Thought I would post these and navigate you around the grounds.... Please remember that we went to visit in January so nothing is in bloom.. Come Spring, this place will be blossoming!! So soon we will all be there saying I Do! Yahoo!

Avec tout mon couer,
Lace

main dining room

Front entryway to the Main House at Monmouth

second Dining Room

Front Door of Monmouth

side view of Monmouth

one of the sidewalks from the Carriage House to the Main House

side view of Wisteria Pergola. This is where we will have the ceremony.

View from Rickey's Room. He will literally walk from his front door to the ceremony, down this trail. Pergola is on Left side of pic - pond is straight ahead

Rickey's Room and Brothers rooms.. less than 100 steps from Ceremony

part of Garden Room where the reception will be held

Another part of Garden Room where reception is held.. they still had up christmas decor when we visited

outside of Garden Room for reception

front door of Garden Room for reception

The Garden Room from side angle

walking towards the Reception from the Ceremony (this is the path that rickey takes from his room also, seen above in pic

This is the Chef's Herb Garden, outside of the Main House

This is my walkway from the Main House to the Pergola. STRAIGHT AHEAD to I DO!

an outdoor courtyard by the main house

Quitman Cigar Room and Bar on the side of the Main House

Quitman Cigar Room and bar on the side of the main house

View from Wisteria Pergola up to the Main House

Walk way to the Reception from Ceremony side - on the side of Pergola

And this is the Wisteria Pergola from the front... :) Cant wait to see everything in bloom - we went in JANUARY

Ode to Love...

I had a recent revelation the other early morning while sitting at work. From the 4:00 hour to the 6:00 hour is kinda dead (no pun intended), and I seemed to have a lot of time to reflect about some things that had been on my mind..now, I seem to blog about my wedding, or my little family, or really the same things over and over, and not to bore my readers but I will once again blog about something I love. My love.

You see, before Rickey, and my friends can attest, I might have been a cynic (help me on that spelling here) when it came to love. I thought I knew what it was, thought I'd had it or been in it before but, wasn't really sure it was real or true.. Breakups could leave me heart broken and losses in life left me torn and hurt. Was love real? I mean, love like in movies, love that was forever and withstanding to all the elements. I had watched my friends go through the same challenges with endings that I was so happy for. Per example, some of my friends had terrible relationships but with the help of strong will and a matchmaker found the man of hthier dreams. And he's GREAT! Other friends had prior "engagements" and had been in situations so long, they didn't know if a leap of faith might prove different and show a different path, but through strength and support, took a chance and was the absolute best one she ever made. Candice didn't really like her husband when she met him, and actually thought he was a bit too "cocky" for her, but over time, friendship became courtship, and courtship brought about serious love. In all those cases, and so many more I could name, I watched bad situations turn into glorious ones and happiness was abounding. When it was my turn to make changes in my life it was initially hard. Rickey and I had many, many challenges to face. And I was scared. But knew there was something about this that felt RIGHT. Completely true.

In any case, true love is hard to find. I don't think the initial factor of meeting someone will prove that love is there- time has to be on your side. But its real, it exists, and I'm living it. Its a happiness I cannot even describe, and sense of peace that lies sooo deep in your heart that u can never shake. Its a match- perfect match- of similarities and differences, fused together so perfectly that the relationship just works. Its supporting the one you love no matter what. Its speaking in kind words and affection- hugs and kisses at the door. Its wonderful. And I can only hope that all my friends and loved ones who are searching for that true love (which is sooo real and existant), just keep the faith and hold tight. I prayed for Rickey for a long, long, Looonnggg time.. And my prayers were definately answered. And I thank the great Lord above for my gift. Its there, so ask and you shall receive- and what a gift that is..

ENGAGEMENT PICS!!!!!! (Joles this is for you)

I woke up this morning, chipper for some reason, and to my dismay, my FANTABULOUS photographer put up my engagement pics... Rickey, Abner and I had to check them out and were STUNNED at how fantastic they are.. I seriously LOVE every single one...

You can check them all out (and order some if you like) at

http://www.debbiemedlockphotography.com/

Go to online viewing, and our password is sugarmill

I hope that you enjoy!

I ADORE...

Taking a break from my morning Peppermint Coffee and Taxes, I had my day-off addiction of watching my FAVORITE show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians... I swear, this is my family- except they are Armanian and we are.. Southern. :) Sometimes we have the boyfriend that no one likes (Rob), some of us are getting married to AMAZING guys (Lamar) and my mom seriously reminds me of Kris. Plus all the Kardashian sisters are just like MY sisters, tell it like it is, and hilarious- while backing each other 24/7.

That being said, I absolutely am in LOVE with Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom. I had no idea who in the world Lamar Odom even was before this show, and hearing some of his back story (losing his mother as a child and making a life for himself and his family) I just think they are the most precious couple and he loves her more than the world. The last episode, where Klhoe made him a present for his away games, just literally made me have tears in my eyes - from laughing SO HARD and also from happiness for Khloe. He LOVES HER!

In the valentine spirit, just a picture of my favorite couple - aside from myself and rickery.

P.S. Today is Rickey's first home game!!!!!! YAY! Good luck to my boys!

Avec tout mon couer,

Lacey bug

Sugar Mill Photos

HELLO FRIENDS!

I am proud to say that since I have the best photographer in the world, she gave me a sneak peek of one of my engagement pics from the Cinclare Sugar Mill... I cannot wait to see the rest of the finished product! Will post when I get more...

Avec tout mon couer...

Lacey bug

p.s.... If anyone wants to book a room at Monmouth for the wedding let me know! Rooms are going to be limited and we want our family and close friends to have first choice! Message me and I will get you the booking number. LOVE!

Feel that BRRREEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!

Geaux SAINTS! I will admit, I've never been much of an NFL fan. I love college sports because I have always felt like the boys played because they loved it where professional players played because of the millions they made in salary. Learning from Rickey playing professionally, there is a difference in the nature of the game between College and Pro. My Grandmother Betty, if you knew her, loved football, and sports in general. So if there was a team that my family has always supported, it was just the saints. Betty would tell of how Archie Manning, when playing for the 'Aints, had a hard time and never won a super bowl or even a playoff game. All in al, my Betty would have LOVED to see those saints win a game. My new family who I adore is from LA, you know, and are ALLLLL die hard fans. Ryan and Stephen live in the heart of new orleans and from their porch you can almost see the super dome.this entire season I've watched these games and cheered for those saints like they were my very own brothers or sons and I have loved seeing them excel! We were excited for the super bowl and couldn't wait for a Saints victory! Rickey and I were in LA over the weekend and just the excitement and enthusiasm in the air was contageous. There were signs everywhere showing love and support. One house even had these inflatable pigs that were stuck in the trees with a sign that said "Pigs do fly! We believe!".. The hype was grand and everyone had hopes of a win.. Saturday afternoon, rickey and I went to the LSU-Kentucky basketball game and it was so funny to see everyone not dressed in purple and gold, but in BLACK and GOLD! All saints fans! I will admit (and goodness I never thought I would say this) but.. I love it down there- And I cannot wait for Baton Rouge to be my little home in a few years! Sunday nights game was awesome! I even got to watch a little before I left for work and rickey text me updates! We cheered and celebrated and everyone from LA that I knew text me! Joy oh joy! The saints won!

We had an exciting weekend all in all with our team winning and getting to see the great basketball game.. I love spending time with the Noland family. Mrs Dana always cooks a huge meal and makes the beat dinner so we stuffed ourselves with Ribs, brisket, shrimp dip, and gumbo. It was delish and definately not on our diet! We even ate some King Cake- Rickeys Favorite- and had nice sugar highs. :) Saturday morning was the best part of our weekend though.We woke up and met with our preacher, brother Terry, for our first marriage counseling session. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew we would enjoy it. Brother Terry has the most open mind and even more so, the most open heart, and to hear him say that not everything is perfect-so don't expect it to be was cool. He gave us great tools to use to build our marriage in faith and things to process and think about while we are going through the marriage process in general. he is very special to us and we are thankful he Is in our lives at such an important and exciting time. After we left our meeting with him sat morning, we scurried to our photographer, Debbie and Mike Medlock's house. We were taking engagement pictures that day and I was sooooo excited I couldn't stand it. Debbie and I had been discussing where to take out pictures, here or there, and we finally heard about a place that sounded cool. She took us to an Old Sugar Mill thirty minutes outside of Baton Rouge and we were sooooooooo awestruck to see this location. Even though the temps were in the lower 50's and 40's, we sucked it up and took some amazing pictures. When the security guard let us come inside because it was soo cold, we were even more amazed to find out that a select few people get to use this location because its reserved for MOVIES! Yep, that's right, its been used in three major motion pictures. I think the security guard thought Rickey and I were actors taking pictures or something because they rarely allow people on the property to stand, much less shoot pictures. A man from a magazine was there taking still pictures as well so maybe he thought we were with him, who knows! Needless to say, we have some of the absolute COOLEST pictures I have ever seen. A big green barn, huge cranks and bolts used to power the mill, and an old tractor were some of our settings. We even got to see the mill's batch of refined sugar that had been processed last (and was shoveled into about 6 garages).. We took pictures in this and it was sooo neat! I tasted it (which kinda grossed me out after the fact but oh well) and we loved our Sugar pictures. I mean, how many people can say they sat in glittery sugar mounds and took pictures kissing the one they loved!? :) I am soooo excited to see the finished product and will put them up as soon as I get them from Debbie. Shout out to the best photographer in the world!! Mike and Debbie Medlock!! :)

Have a great night!
Avec tout mon couer,
Lace

Precious Time

Whew! The last month has been a little hectic and I feel like I have neglected my blog a little.. An update so far...

I have officially been living in Cleveland for a month now and its been a good change! Still trying to find friends and meet couples who are engaged or married, younger, with no kids, and busy schedules seems to be a little hard for Rickey and myself but we are trying! Baseball has officially started, with the boys playing this week in Boca Roton, Florida. Rickey didnt travel this game series because he was in charge of the boys who also didnt get to travel. He's been making sure they work out and go to class and do all the things they have to do on the day to day basis. He's also started back up with giving baseball lessons to the littles in town so needless to say he is busy. Since I am working a 3-2 split at night (3 nights on, 2 off then, 2 nights on, 3 off), time becomes precious to us. We average seeing each other an hour a day/night when I am working so we dont get much time to see each other sometimes! I have been off for the last two days and yesterday Rickey and I went on our first "date night" in Cleveland since we have moved. The Roof, a great little bar and restaurant in Cleveland offers this date night dinner every tuesday- an appetizer, two entrees, and desert for $30. Since we are trying to save money for the wedding and just to, well, save, this sounded perfect to us! The Roof has delish food, a brand new menu, and a cute little dining area that made us feel like we werent in Cleveland at all. It was wonderful to be able to sit and look at the man that I love and chat and talk to him about everything that has been going on in the past month, and everything that we have to look forward to!

The wedding keeps ticking closer and closer to being here. I am so excited I cannot stand it. Recently, I made my first trip to Natchez with Rickey's mom to start blocking the entire plantation off for everything that we are doing. The day of the wedding, the guys will be fishing and Monmouth will be hosting a little croquet game for our guests, while the girls get together in the main dining room and have a delishious brunch. All in all our wedding will be us, totally southern and classic, charming- but will be sooooo totally different as well. I cant wait til the weekend is here.. I also picked up my dress and its crunch time for me and Rickey to lose some weight so that we look awesome in our wedding pictures and honeymoon time..... that being said...

we started p90x.. for those of you who dont know what this it-and you are totally out of the loop if not because this is obviously the THING that everyone is or wants to do- its this drill seargent, boot camp, death like type workout that is supposed to get you in shape more than you have ever been in your life-if you can make it through the workouts alive. ;) We are actually doing fairly well, getting through our first week so far with minor aches and pains and major soreness.. We have also changed our diets completely, cutting out all our cokes and sugars in general. I have been detoxed a week and a day from Dr. Pepper and I can very well say that it's been alright! Rickey has also stopped eating sugar and poor thing, his bat buddy gal left him a box of cookies and nutter butters in his locker for this weeks game.... He was overly tempted! All in all we are losing some weight and feeling healthier. It makes me feel strong and in control and I love that!

Gotta get some rest before I work tonight... Love you all and will post more when I get something more interesting to talk about..

Avec tout mon couer... Lace