Life in the Past Two Weeks - Pt. 1

A lot has happened since Mr. GrapeJuice and I moved into our new house. We're still unpacking, but we've definitely gotten used to living on our own. We've even lost some weight in the process! Mr. GrapeJuice says this is because of my cooking. Not that my cooking is bad! It's just that I make the right portions without a lot of leftovers. Mr. GrapeJuice and I are the type of people that will eat because the food is there in front of us. Being on our own has definitely helped us drop that little habit.

But...onto happier topics {not that food isn't a happy topic!}.

Like, photography!

Back at the very beginning of March, I won a free photo shoot through Framed by Fletcher.

We had scheduled a photo shoot for the middle of March but it POURED that whole day so we rescheduled.

Boy, am I glad we did!!

We got some super hot photos at dusk in Nashville!

Mr. GrapeJuice and I are seriously considering this couple for our big day!

I hope we can agree upon something soon.

I'm Back!

Oh, wow...

It's my first day back to blogging in almost two weeks!

I can't believe I've been gone for this long.

A LOT has happened.

I'm talking a LOT!!

We'll get to that later.

Right now, I need your help.

Ashley's Bride Guide is having a contest.

They want to know who Nashville's Best Bridal Blogger is.

You can vote for me...or your other favorite!

Just head over here and vote for me if I'm your favorite.

And, if I'm not your favorite, please DO vote for your favorite.

We all work very hard to blog about weddings and would love to know what you think!

You gals {and guys?} are fabulous!

Best Monday Ever

Yesterday was perhaps the best Monday I've had in a long time. :) Two wonderful things happened! Around 10 o'clock in the morning, I got an email from our realtor. The sellers accepted our offer! We will be closing on the house in April. I'm so excited. :D Below are some pictures of the inside of our house and the backyard.

The other fabulous thing that happened yesterday is that I won a contest. It wasn't just any contest either. I won a free photography shoot! Can anyone say engagement session?? Because, that sure was my first thought when I saw that I won.

The photographer is planning on hosting another contest of this nature. Definitely check them out - Framed by Fletcher!

Winner! =]

I am so excited to reveal the winner of my first giveaway! I have to say that it was quite successful. And, I want to thank you all for entering! :) I hope to hold more in the very near future.

So...

without further ado...

the winner of...

the personalized notecards

 &

the personalized hanger

 &

the gift card to MyWeddingFavors.com

 is...

Natosha @ Big Spoon + Little Spoon

Congrats, girl!

E-mail me within the next 48 hours to claim your prizes.

Wishin' and Hopin'

I told myself that I would wait until I had 100 followers before I did a giveaway.

But...

I'm thinking [what can be a good thing, contrary to popular belief]...

that when I have 50 followers...

I will host my very own giveaway.

I hope this is an incentive for some of my "stalkers" to finally become actual followers!

Happy Thursday.

Because we all ~ our Pumpkin Spice Lattes

A fellow Nashville bride blogger, Miss Kriss, is hosting her first giveaway!
{{totally exciting}}
She is giving away a specially designed set of 25 personalized notecards in whatever color combo you would like.
You can also choose to have your name or monogram on the front of the notecard too.
In addition to receiving 25 personalized notecards, you will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card since we all ~love~ our Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!

If you are interested, head on over to her blog and ENTER!!!

[as a note:: this is not a sponsored/compensated post. no money/product was given in exchange for advertisement.]

A Cookbook Giveaway

I love cooking...if you can't tell by what I have on my blog. You know - the chocolate chip cookies with cinnamon, the peach cobbler with blueberry muffin topping, and the spice cupcakes... :)

Well, imagine my surprise when I found a cookbook giveaway from one of the blogs I read. The authoress cooks sans gluten, but the cookbook she's giving away is what really caught my eye - The Joy of Cooking.
If you think you would be interested in obtaining this gem of a book, head on over to the blog - Without Adornment. This contest ends August 30th so you've got some time still.

Don't You Just Love Free Things??

I'm not typically a lucky person, but I still like to try. It never hurts to try. Think about how lost we would be without lights and plumming... Yeah, it brought a gross imagine to my mind too.

Anywho...!

I discovered a little contest available at Legally Pink and Green. {If you love all things fun and preppy, this is a blog for you!} She is giving away a 2010 Wall Calendar, and it just so happens to be pink and green. And, who doesn't need a calender for 2010?? I know I do. :)
There are five different ways to enter this contest, and you can find out what they all are here!!

This contest ends Thursday, August 20th @ 5 pm.

Hair Accessory Give-Away

I was over at Miss Kriss' blog and noticed that she had a contest posted on her sidebar. Always ready to put my luck to the test, I headed on over to the blog {Headbands and Hand Bags} that is holding the contest. The owner of this blog is giving away...

1. A beautiful navy blue ribbon headband
2. A cute, preppy pink and green headband
3. FIVE ribbon flower headclips

If you love a good hair accessory - and I totally do - then head on over to her blog and put your name in!!

Click here to enter!

This contest ends Sunday, August 16th @ midnight!!
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
:)

Awesome Give-Away!!!

If you are getting married and are in need of some Save-the-Dates, then you are in luck!! The Thirty-Something Bride and Rachel Jasper have teamed up together to bring you...100 FREE Save-the-Dates!!! If you are highly interested, as you should be, then head on over to The Thirty-Something Bride's blog and enter. :)

All Photos: Rachel Jasper Designs

Better hurry though!! Contest ends tomorrow at midnight!!

News Worthy

Last night, in true budget bride fashion, I was perusing the internet for any information that could possibly help me. While I found lots of budget saving idea, most of them were repeats that I have: a) all ready seen and read or b) all ready posted on here. But, I did find a couple of articles that brought joy to my heart and excitement to my oh-so-boring night.

The first news article I found was about a couple who only spent $443 on their wedding. Oh, yes. You read that right - $443. Their story was amazing and truly puts my budget bride theories to the test. If someone can only spend a little under $500 on a wedding, then by golly I can spend less then $10,000. Don't ya think? The bride was also in a national contest at the time called the Clean Start Challenge sponsored by Lifetime Television and SC Johnson cleaning products. Did she win? Of course!!!! When did she find out? Right before she cut the cake at her wedding reception!!! O.M.G. So inspiring. Check out the full article here.

This next bit of information is for any brides in the St. Petersburg, FL area. Next weekend, NOVA 535 is hosting its first bridal event, and they are giving away a $50,000 wedding!! In order to qualify for this giveaway, you must be 21 years old; you must be willing to star in a documentary; and you must host your event at NOVA 535 on January 31, 2010 - which is a Sunday. You also must fill out the application, which can be found on NOVA's site, prior to attending the event. And, ladies, go dresses to impressed because they'll be filming your interview. To read the whole news article and to get more details click here.

And, in other news, I'd like to wish my sister, who is also my Matron of Honor, a very happy 20th birthday!!! Congrats on the new house sis!!