.Meet Spanky.

I'll start with sharing about our new family member!

I first saw Spanky a few weeks before Christmas.  While Christmas shopping with my mom one Saturday we had to stop in Hollywood Feed to get Elle some treats.

We walk in and I see this....

Spanky (front and center) with his brother Rascal to the right, and sister Darla in the back.

They were so sweet all cuddled up together and I was immediately drawn to Spanky for his sweet and scruffy face.

They were there with a local rescue group (Tails of Hope Dog Rescue) and after talking to the lady that rescued them I fell even more in love. Spanky and his siblings are doxie mixes.  Yes...Spanky's mom was a dachsund.  Surprising because he looks nothing like one! His dad had to be some sort of terrior based on his scruffyness. His mom had mange really bad and the puppies developed it soon after birth because their bodies didn't have the antibodies to fight off the little mites.

At just a few weeks old their mom passed away and the pups were left in a shelter....

In comes Tails of Hope to the rescue.  They took in the three sweet mange covered babies and nursed them back to health.

After hearing his story and seeing his sweet face, I couldn't help but think about him all weekend long. 

I went back and forth thinking "We don't need two dogs", "But he's so cute, maybe we could handle it."

Michael was all for me getting him; I was just stubborn and overthinking things as usual. By Monday evening I knew I had to have him.  I put in an application online and somewhat already began claiming him as mine.

Over a week went by with no word from the rescue group.  I was anxious and distraught thinking that I was too late and someone else applied for him before me.  With each new picture they posted of him on thier Facebook page, I became more and more obsessed.

Finally, while doing a final walk through at our home before closing, I got a phone call.  Indeed, I was the first application of several that had come in for Spanky! (praise the Lord!)  He still did not have a clean scrape for the mange so I had to wait 3 more weeks for him to get a rescrape before I could officially adopt him. (Bummer!)

I wanted him with us at Christmas soo bad but I knew it was best for him to get well before coming to his new environment.  Finally in January, two weeks after moving into our home, Spanky got to come live with us!

I was thrilled and we immediately fell in love!  He came into our home that night and acted like it was his from the start! He was loving on everyone, playing with toys and running around as happy as could be!

I am one proud momma.  We have become that couple that posts pictures of our dogs all the time....they are just too cute though.

It took Macy and Spanky about a week before they were completely comfortable with each other.

Now, they sleep in the same cage, cuddle on the couch, and play all day long.  They are the definition of best buds and we love seeing them together.

Enjoy the picture overload below as you see how he has grown and our life with Spanky since January!

First night with his new family.

First time we caught them lounging on the couch together.

First road trip. They had me cracking up the whole time.

Such a cuddle bug.  As much as I like to say he is momma's boy...he sure loves his daddy.

So so silly.

He loves sleeping in the bed!

 

 Watching Homeward Bound...they both loved it! hehe

Lounging in the new mulch. 

 We can never stay mad at these two...

Thank you for bringing so much joy and life to our home Spanky.  I couldn't imagine life without you.
You are the scruffiest, cutest thing and I am so completely smitten.

So now that you have officially met Spanky it won't be any surprise if I bring him up or you see random pictures of him. 

Until next time!

xoxo,
Candace

M.I.A.

It's been almost 6 months since I posted on my blog. Six crazy/fun/busy And exciting months and SO much has happened. Now that I feel like things are settling down I really want to get back on track with blogging. 

Mainly because I have so many fun things to share! 

We have a home! 

We have a new member in our family (he's furry and I'm completely smitten!) 

We are coming up on our 1 yr anniversary and I couldn't be happier as a MRS. 

I am so blessed by our marriage and all the doors God has opened for us.

I can't wait to be back soon with pictures, projects and stories to share!!

xoxo,

Candace

.Big News.

Lots has been going on in our world lately...

Most importantly....we found out this week that Michael is coming home!!!!

It's been a whirl wind of an experience and everything is happening so fast but we are so extremely excited! God has surely answered prayers and we cannot wait to finally live in the same city as a married couple!

With that said, I am currently typing away from our apartment in AL for what could be the last weekend we have to spend here! This coming week we will be sharing the holidays together in TN then Michael will return to AL for what should be his last week of work here! 

You can guess that when we got the news the only thing we have been able to think about is buying a home...our very first one! And let me just tell ya....we have been dreaming, anxious, and ready to start this process for a very long time.  So next week we will be officially starting our house search! Words can't describe how incredibly excited I am to find a place to call our own, to fill with all our pretty wedding gifts, and to decorate!! 

We definitely know what we are thankful for this Thanksgiving! In the midst of all the excitement going on, I will do my best to check back in with updates on our home search and the holidays!

xoxo,

Candace

.Bachelorette.

Tomorrow is Friday and I could not be more excited....

I'm only working half day at work, getting on the road to be reunited with my husband, and heading to Tuscaloosa to spend the weekend watching the Rebels take on the Tide.

Another highlight of the weekend, I get to spend it seeing my long lost best friend Meghann!

This leads me into the real reasoning for this post....

Meghann was one of my MOH along with my BFF Ashley.

The two of them did a fabulous job planning our fun girls getaway to Nashville for my bachelorette weekend!

While Michael and his groomsmen spent Memorial Day weekend on the gulf coast, the girls and I heading a little ways North for a fun weekend in the Music City.

 Here's the 5 of us before we left to head on the road. 

(my cousin Kaylee was the only bridesmaid that couldn't make it that weekend)

We arrived on Friday afternoon at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel...

it was so fun to stay at such a beautiful hotel all weekend! We loved it!

 These two kept me laughing all weekend....

 You can maybe see why.... haha found a random sleeping woman to pose next to.

 Ashley and Meghann had the cutest set up on our balcony when we arrived to the rooms!

 

After settling in we changed to get ready to head out for dinner! 

 We found a delicious spot for dinner and then headed out on the town!

Side note: Nashville bars aren't too keen on Beyonce song requests...needless to say all we got to hear was country music haha (we can't help we are Memphis girls and enjoy a good rap song every once and a while :) hehe)

After a long night of fun we arrived back at the hotel looking a little more rough than when we left!

We woke up Saturday, got ready, and headed to downtown Franklin for lunch and shopping! 

We found the cutest lunch shop, then strolled the streets and visited all of the cute shops! 

So much fun! We made it to Opry Mills mall to hit up a few places like the J Crew outlet....

then back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner and another night out on the town!

Sweet friends! I sure love my bridesmaids!

Again, we found an awesome little place for dinner! Meghann was excellent at finding us some fun and unique places to eat while on our trip!

 

We had so much fun on Broadway! Excellent people watching, fun dancing, and great company!

What an awesome weekend!! I was so happy to spend some of my last days out as a bachelorette with these girls!

 

I'm so thankful for these sweet girls who I've been able to call friends for so long! I love each one of them and am so glad they stood beside me when I said 'I do'!

Happy Weekend to you all!

xoxo,

Candace

.Back Tracking.

Looks like I need to do a little back tracking and catch my blog friends up on some of the fun details leading up to our wedding day!

 Here were my invites! I had the invite design created on Etsy and had them printed on pearlized paper by my neighbor that owns a printing business.  He also printed the pale pink chevron on cardstock that backed the invite.  Finally, layered on the back of it all was kraft paper cardstock to cover the white from the chevron.  All in all, 3 layers thick of cardstock that I hand assembled which made for a very sturdy invitation. 

Tied around the invitation was our RSVP info on a scalloped kraft paper circle tied with seafoam twine...I was so lucky to find such a perfect color!
As you can see, we went with a more modern RSVP approach and opted to save some money and have people respond via email...
I must say it was a huge success! We had the vast majority of people respond and only a few older people weren't computer savvy and let us know by phone call instead.
This small detail saved lots of money on the extra paper, design, and postage for traditional RSVP cards and I wasn't ashamed at all....guess sometimes it's worth it to change with the times!

 The invitations were tucked away in a matching pearlized envelope with our return address printed on the back flap and sealed with a custom label printed with our names.

 This is the design I used for the envelope labels.  You will see later how else I used it at the wedding!

 Above is our monogram label that was used throughout the wedding as well! I got both designs created on Etsy for me and I love them so much! Again, be watching for where else I used this monogram label in the wedding!

 I made a Honeymoon Fund jar to sit around the house and at showers to save a little extra money! It was a fun craft one night while I babysat my flower girl! Plus I got to use our Candace & Michael label design again!

 I couldn't have been more happy with my flower girl's dress! It turned out precious and perfect in every way! I'm still debating on ordering one for myself in a cute color....I love me some bows!

I bought wooden hangers and attached handmade burlap bows to them to give to my flower girl and bridesmaids! I was so happy with how they turned out! :)

 I had another beautiful shower in May and was so grateful to get so many wonderful gifts!

 My bff and MOH joined me for the day.

 Of course my sweet mom was there.

And Michael's grandmother's joined in on the fun.

 My sweet mother-in-law.

And me and Mrs. Susie with the lovely hostess for the afternoon!

Here is my preliminary setup of the exit table above and entry table below.

I'll show the final outcome in the wedding picture post coming soon!

 And I'll end this post with a picture of my "new daughter," Macy.  She's very big as you can see her head is bigger than mine....she can be a pain, and she sheds a lot...but we love her.

I just love that this picture is the background on Michael's phone and work computer....he loves his two girls and that makes me happy!

Be back soon with more! :)

xoxo,
Candace