Whole Again

Our furniture was delivered this weekend! We are whole again. For two and a half weeks, we couldn’t do much more than visualize where our furniture would go and hope that it all went according to plan. Having never lived in a log cabin, we wondered how our decorative taste would translate in this space. The inside of an empty log cabin is like falling down a rabbit hole. The floor, walls, and ceiling are all the same color, and it is a bit overwhelming at first glance. But now that we’ve moved in some espresso wood, warm tones, and an area rug, we are so much more at home. We’ve spent the last three days decorating and organizing, and our home is nearly complete!

Also, I have concluded that we are the best packers (of the non-Green Bay variety) on the planet. From California to Texas to Tennessee, our only casualty has been a plate. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.


Oh, and in case you see a dog making appearances on my Instagram, we didn’t adopt him. That’s our neighbors dog, Rusty. He’s like the neighborhood watch dog, but sometimes, he comes over to our house to play!

A Letter to the Houston Bloggers

Dear Houston bloggers,

I miss y’all! It’s been a few weeks since I left Houston, but I couldn’t go without thanking you for a number of things. Moving to Houston two years ago was an exciting but scary thing, because for the first time in all my moves from city to city, I didn’t have a built-in community of some sort. As many of us would probably admit, the idea of blogging started as one thing and blossomed into something one-hundred times better, because we’ve made really great friends in the process.

So here are the things I thank you for:

1.) Having the best meet-ups in all the land. Let’s be honest. The rest of the country should be jealous of our meet-ups, because they are so dang much fun! Meg, you are the perfect meet-up host. I still laugh when I think about how you led ice breaker activities at Sugarbaby’s last summer! You are ever the theatre teacher!

2.) Being bad-ass friends. Trendy, loyal, intelligent, sarcastic, outgoing, and sassy. The best combination.

3.) Keeping blogging fun. It’s so easy for people to get wrapped up in gaining followers, making money, and becoming “blog famous.” I have loved having blogger friends who blog authentically.

4.) Being a big group of women that is genuinely fun to hang out with! That's a rare find. Need I remind you of the Kardashians, Real Housewives, Mean Girls, and every other "making women 'round the world look bad" group? Ha.


To my closest girls, Whit and Meg: Thanks for really ingraining “y’all” into my brain. It is coming in very handy in Tennessee, just as you said it would! As crazy as the last month has been with two trips, finding out I was moving, and packing up my life, I am so glad we had some “see you later” time together. I love y’all so much, and I can’t wait for Myrtle Beach 2014. ;)

My time in Houston was largely shaped by my friendships with Houston bloggers. I send love to each of you, and I hope our southern paths cross again soon!

Settling In

Hey. Y’all, I’ve missed you! We made the (mostly non-stop) 16.5-hour drive from Houston to Knoxville two weeks ago. Amelie and Boone were very good travelers which helped keep stress levels low. Adrenaline and excitement kept me wide awake for my shift behind the wheel from 9:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. It’s amazing to think that Mr. TBS got the job offer on June 10, and we arrived to our new home exactly one month later. So much changed so quickly, but this is a really exciting time for us.

We’ve been discovering our new neighborhood and memorizing the various routes to our go-to stores. We are tucked away in the country, as you can see in the photos above. I’m sure there will be times when I miss living in a big city, but having a Dunkin Donuts (or what I call my beloved “poor man’s Starbs”) almost makes up for it. ;)

Our house is gorgeous, although it is currently very empty! We feel like college kids, because our furniture hasn’t been delivered. The summertime is the busiest moving season, but we just found out that our stuff will be delivered this weekend. Hallelujah! We will be whole again!

I feel like I have so much to say, but I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll leave it at this for now. More tomorrow!

Things I Learned on Our Trip to Knoxville

My husband and I can pack for a four-day/three-night trip is a single backpack.

The woman who jumps through a ring of fire while standing on two horses is my favorite cast member of “Dixie Stampede.” Yes, she jumps through fire, but she has major stage presence.

Heights make me weak in the knees, but a view of the Smoky Mountains overrides that.

Even though traveling can be stressful (read: make two people apt to bicker), 

we always have a ton of fun.

It is possible to have a full, delicious vegetarian meal at Cracker Barrel 

(albeit equally unhealthy).

We had to buy a snake bite kit, because we’ll be living in the country near a river.

Four words: Water mocassins. Holy shit.

I love that Knoxville is not a big city like my past homes: 

San Diego, NYC, Los Angeles, and Houston.

Yesterday was my last day at my job. Bittersweet. Only a few days left in Houston before we hit the road! Ahhh! This is all happening so quickly, but looking through these photos again is making me feel so excited (except for the snake bite kit)!

Highlights From My Trip to San Diego

Summer is an awesome mom.

Best friends are the spice of life.

The world needs more people like my parents who care for feral cats 
with the help of the Feral Cat Coalition.

When Kate of The Small Things Blog fame
tells you to buy a dress (in all capital letters), you buy it.

I am lucky to have been born into my family.

My sister and BIL have officially been together for more than half of their lives! (Crazy!)

My parents are the sweetest, most proud grandparents on the planet.

Being born into this family means that every second of your life will be documented. Seriously.

I loved capturing this moment. 
Baby napping, dog-brother sitting nearby, and dad strumming the guitar.

San Diego is a beautiful place, but it’s the people that make it “home” for me. 

The Nameless Man

Happy July! This is our last full week in Houston, and packing was well under way over the weekend.

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that this man I talk about (and gush about… sue me) does have a name. A few weeks ago, Meg and I were talking about the fact that the internet is forever. We marveled at the things that some people are willing to air out publicly (sometimes hilarious, sometimes shocking, sometimes awkward). Although she hasn’t met him, she knows my husband’s name and assumed that I never mentioned it on the blog for the sake of privacy. That isn’t totally true. Actually, my husband doesn’t mind if people who read this blog know his name. However, I decided to omit it, because I am married to someone whose name gets Google’d for professional reasons, and I prefer that my blog not end up in the search results along with his media reel, international best-selling book link, and various articles he is quoted in for Cosmopolitan, Match.com, New York Times, E!, Forbes, etc. (There I go gushing again.) Let’s keep stories about funny things he says separate from his work life, okay? ;) 

So there you have it. The story about why the nameless man on the blog is nameless. 

I have to admit our wedding ceremony gets me every time, too, Meg.

If you have mentioned his name in a comment on this blog, please do not be offended that I removed it. Facebook and Twitter are cool, but we're keeping it off the blog. Thanks from Mr. TBS and me! 


UPDATE: Meg has shared the following statement (via her comment below): "People of the internet... Yes, I know Convo should be convo, and You're should be your. My phone hates me." Auto-correct happens to the best of us!