It's Canton Time!

It is time again for the annual Canton trip with the most amazing rabble-rousing, bargain hunting, matching shirt wearing ladies. I am leaving tomorrow to make more memories like the ones below (remember last year?), as well as look for:

1. Halloween decorations
2. vintage trays
3. photo booth props
4. engagement party outfit!

Wish me luck :)

I'm sad my sisters won't be able to make it this year, but don't worry. My mom and I plan to do some damage!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Remember- time goes by fast. Spend it with the ones you love.

~xo~

boy are we excited...

The Merrick family keeps growing! This morning was exciting beyond belief. We were told to wear pink or blue according to what we thought the sex of the baby was going to be to the gender reveal party- aka the birth! Geaux Team Blue! Lauren and David welcomed a new baby boy into their family as we welcomed him into ours. Here's a snapshot of our morning:

I can't believe it's already been 18 months since Hudson was born! I love watching my family grow. Hooray for healthy and beautiful baby Andrew!

feet in the sand with the clan...d

I can't believe we are a month away from Lauren & Justin's wedding at Nottoway Plantation! I feel like Lauren and I have been talking about this wedding since, well, forever and I can't believe it is here! I was lucky enough to get to share in her bachelorette party in Gulf Shores, AL with a gathering of her friends from elementary, high school, and college. There was a little bit of me that wondered how the weekend would go since I'm the "work friend", but these girls put any fears I had to rest on the drive to the beach. As you can read here, we weren't even sure we could make this trip due to Isaac, but I'm so glad we did. The weather was perfection. Leaving on Friday morning, we stopped in Baton Rouge to pick up Laura and dine at the Chimes.Unfortunately they were out of the alligator appetizer, but the boudin balls were spicy and delicious.

"Sing-screaming" to 90s rap songs on the drive to the beach could possibly be my favorite part of the whole bachelorette weekend. Who doesn't use their phone as a microphone, I'd like to know?

The next few days consisted of me trying not to turn into a red lobster on the beach, while still having fun in the sand. I have to tell you- I applied SPF 75 in the condo and then reapplied with 100on the beach and I still got some sun. Gone are the days of  lathering myself in baby oil. Ahh, getting older (and wiser) is awesome, but certainly more pasty! On Saturday night we went to Flora-bama, which has grown considerably since the last time I was there. They have three music stages and more bars than I can count. It was shoulder-to-shoulder crowded, but we found a sweet spot in front of an industrial fan and danced the night away.

 Our last night at the condo we cooked spaghetti, drank wine, opened presents and played bachelorette games that turned into baring our souls to one another. It was kind of priceless.

I can't WAIT for your wedding next month, Lauren. You are the BEST. Thanks for being you...and thanks for having kick a$$ friends.

wedding update: dress shopping

The wedding planning is coming along... and it's really creeping into my blogging time! Sorry I have been absent the last few weeks, but I'd like you to know I now have a florist, photographer, transportation, wedding music, and band. Thank you all for your suggestions! I am meeting with Allison with Aly B's Bakery next week and the priest to go over our FOCCUS test the following week. Yay!

The next biggest challenge is going to be finding THE dress. Two weekends ago my aunt, mom, and I went to breakfast at Another Broken Egg, then met my Lauren at Happily Ever After to try on wedding dresses off the rack. As a first time wedding dress tryer-oner, this was, not surprisingly, an emotional experience for me and I was beyond thrilled to have the ones I love surrounding me. When the consultant placed the veil on my head the tears came rolling down my cheeks and I started shaking from the inside out. Everyone was shouting, "Oh, this is it. This is the dress!" and I am thinking, "No, no, this isn't it, but look at me?! I'm a bride!" It was a pretty surreal moment.

After we left Happily Ever After, we went to Bella Bridesmaid to see what Lauren, the matron of honor, and I liked for bridesmaid dresses. I am pretty sure my colors are going to be dusty rose with hints of champagne and gold. We had fun trying on dresses, talking about honeymoons, and dreaming of the big day. Although I didn't find my wedding dress, I will treasure this day forever.

The search continues...tonight I am going to Azarues to try on more dresses with Leslie. This weekend I am going to New Orleans for a work reconnaissance trip and while I'm there I have set up an appointment with Wedding Belles for Saturday morning. I will try to be better about documenting these wedding planning moments and sharing them here on the blog with you.

Next week my goal is to find a design for our invitations. Do you have any suggestions/ideas or websites/shops we should look at?

xoxo - Linz

this one's juuuuust right...

Planning for a wedding has been interesting so far. I really never thought I'd be the one that would jump right in and start planning the day I got engaged; and I didn't. I waited 2 months, enjoying every minute of our new engagement. When the planning stage began, I first wanted to insure I had a particular priest. We worked with his schedule and then the church's and -boom- we had a wedding date. We will be getting married May 18, 2013! I love the month of May and my boss said "8+1 = 9 and 9 is a holy number." I'll take it!

As a professed procrastinator I have even surprised myself at my eagerness to get all-things-wedding scheduled and reserved. I have a whole note pad next to my desk that I write down my thoughts and ideas in throughout the day. I have a stack of bridal magazines that have been dogeared. I have scoured countless blogs looking for ideas and then emailing everything to my mom and sisters! (God bless them.) The bonus is, Tison has totally been my co-pilot in this process. He gets just as excited as I do when decisions are made. Here are some photos of the reception venue hunt:

 I loved everything about this place, but found out it was already booked for the May 18th weekend. :(

Randle T. Moore Center was all locked up, but I really like the look of the place.

 The Fairfield Gardens were gorgeous. I caught Lauren staring at me, which made me realize I hadn't stopped smiling since we entered the gate to the "secret garden." Unfortunately it will not hold the capacity of people we are looking to invite, but I will use this place for something gosh-darn-it!

Our next stop was the Remington Suites rooftop. This was the last place on my top 4 list. I was thinking this place would be unique and also close in proximity to the ceremony. After seeing that the ballroom wouldn't fit everyone, getting stuck in the elevator, and walking up to the roof that looks like the bottom of a swimming pool, let's just say I had seen enough for the day. As we were driving out of downtown toward home, Mom reminded me that we should take advantage of the time we have to see as many places as possible.

We turned around and headed to the Barnwell Center. This offered the indoor-outdoor option I was looking for. When I asked the person behind the desk about availibility, she said they were not booking weddings in 2013, but that I should look across the street at the Riverview Hall. I didn't snap any pictures of that location; needless to say I was a bit disappointed. I really thought I would find THE place that day. After a sonic cherry coke zero and a little more prodding from Mom, we went to one last location. 

To tell you the truth I was starting to feel like Goldilocks. "This place is too small." "This place is too big." I have to admit that I didn't immediately like the idea of a country club rehearsal. I didn't want anything to be too stuffy......buuuuuut after talking with Marjorie, the bartender, about all the different events she has seen there and all the different possibilities, I let my prejudice go and started to really listen. It has the indoor-outdoor option. They could rent a tent for extra seating. All the catering, all the servers and bartenders, everything, is in house. I would have one person to contact about all of it - not 10 different vendors. I started to wonder could it be this easy? After some thought and several conversations with Tison about it, we scheduled another visit to meet with the Events Coordinator, Katie, and sign the contract. Dr. Bob and Mrs. Beverly (our member sponsors) treated us to drinks to celebrate and we sat on the back patio watching the sunset in rocking chairs and chatted for hours.

"This place is juuuuuust right."

Now, on to the next thing! Does anyone have any suggestions for bands in Louisiana? Tison and I are having the hardest time picking one. We are a bit picky when it comes to music. Any recommendations are appreciated!

babysitting Hudson...

Over the weekend Lauren and David had an engagement party to attend and asked Uncle Tison and Aunt Lindsey to babysit! This was the longest time either of us have spent with Hudson one-on-one ever! I was a bit nervous about entertaining him from 2-8. I had mommy friends on call, I made lists of things to do, Lauren even made a list for me too. I think she sensed my anxiousness. I don't know what I was so scared of though! Hudson was the most precious, calm, and curious little boy I have ever had the privileged of spending time with- the entire time {except when I got soap in his eyes during bath time.} I'd say I've improved a little since this time babysitting, don't you?

 I tried to document our few hours together. I captured just about everything but the hour we spent on the couch reading together- he, nuzzling up under my arm turning the pages, me, swooning over his sweetness. I could have sat there with him forever.

Hudson just loves to be chased. We got creative with the water sprinkler. Tison and I had so much fun with chasing him around. I mean- look at that smile!

{The new cool thing to do- put your finger in your belly button.}

He's the next Picasso.

Since water and chasing were making him giggle, I decided to blow up this water toy. When he showed hesitation in approaching it, I knew I was going to have to go in and play. He was very interested in how the little tikes ball squirted out the water. After awhile, we were both soaked and were ready for inside games.

After we changed clothes, we sang songs, read books, played games, and ate dinner...

...to my surprise, it was time for a bath and a bedtime story! I couldn't believe how fast the time had flown. Lauren and David, thanks for letting us play. He's such a peach. I can't believe you're about to have another little one running around in less than a month!!! xoxo

just a couple a lucys...

A couple of weekends ago, my parents along with Tison, and I experienced our first couples date together. A first of many to come I'm sure. We piled in mom's car and hit the road toward East Texas. On the west side of Marshall in Harleton, Texas lies a vineyard named Enoch's Stomp where acres upon acres of rolling hills are covered with grapes on the vine. I'm awfully glad this fifth generation grape grower found his way from South Africa to America. The evening was filled with wine tasting, dinner, grape stomping, and vineyard touring. It was extremely hot, especially after Mom and I completed the grape stomping competition, but the atmosphere reminded me of A Walk in the Clouds.  Remember that one?

My coworker and friend Katie and her roommate Britney met us there.

After dinner the grape stomping competition began. My mom and I split the 10 minute stomp in two. I can tell you, it is a real workout stomping for 5 minutes straight. and don't get me started on the pressure! Mom and I are competitive!

I really thought we had it, but alas. Someone out stomped us. Isn't the color of that grape juice disgusting? Who wants a glass?

There was some confusion with the purchasing of our tickets, but when Dad upgraded Mom and I, a perk was getting t-shirts! Thanks, Dad. (even though you called me and Mom a couple of Lucy's)

All in all, it was a wonderful first date with my parents. ;)