A clock and paper?

David planned for he and I to head to the Brasstown Valley Resort to kick off our anniversary celebration! It was the most breathtaking place - this is the view from our room!
On Friday morning, we took a two hour horseback trail ride. It was so peaceful and relaxing!
David's a natural on a horse! :)
The resort from the trail ride.

Tradition calls for paper to be given on the first anniversary, and clocks are apparently the modern gift. Who comes up with this stuff? So, I wrote a journal for David that detailed our ups, downs, events, and fun from the first year we were married and got him that sharp-looking bedside clock.
He surprised me with a beautiful album with photos from our first year's events!
I just read that Lauren got one of these this past weekend too, and my parents got me the baby grass and surf butter dish to add to my R. Wood pattern. I just love the colors!
My parents also surprised David and I with a fun oldies CD to jam out to, and this beautiful yellow and gold tole tray! I have never seen one like this before, and I am tickled to have it our home!
I took our cake topper out a few days before hand to thaw. We had friends for dinner the night we got home from Brasstown Valley, and they were able to share in the deliciousness too!

We used the cake to celebrate Wesley's birthday too! We were so excited that the Hills and the Wages came to spend the night with us - we loved celebrating Wesley's day and our anniversary too, if only Lauren the other birthday girl had been with us!
Captain David!
On Sunday, we had the pleasure of the Hices joining us! Little Luke is adorable and perfect, and we were so glad to spend some time with Glenn and Josh! As always, Colby and Jaime came to hang out too!
My sweet hubs of one year!
On Sunday night, we had a special dinner to cap off the great weekend we had, and to also kick off Colby and Jaime's wedding week. They are getting married tomorrow, and we wanted to have one last relaxing dinner with them.
The evening was just lovely, and we enjoyed filets, macaroni n' cheese, caprese salad, asparagus, and a green salad. As always, there was plenty of wine and laughing. For dessert, we had True Love's cupcakes - yum!

I wanted to share this recipe for mac n' cheese. I know we all don't really need to be eating this on a regular basis, but try to make it for a special occasion. We've been enjoying a little along all week - it makes enough for a great week of leftovers. I absolutely love mac n' cheese, its been my favorite food for like my whole life, and when you add truffles to it, its just decadent. However, Gainesville doesn't have this type of gourmet truffle oil, but the dish was wonderful without it.

California Truffled Macaroni and Cheese
makes 6 servings

4 tablespoons butter
1 lb. elbow macaroni
2 quarts milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 lb. mild cheddar, grated
2 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon black truffle oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup panko (bread crumbs)
fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9x13 baking dish. Cook pasta. In a large saucepan, heat the milk to hot. In another saucepan, melt butter, add flour, and cook about 3 minutes until straw colored. Raise heat and add milk. Make sure milk on bottom doesnt burn, and then remove from heat. Add garlic, chedder (mild and sharp) and Gorgonzola, Tobasco, truffle oil, salt, and pepper. Stir in the pasta. Pour into baking dish, sprinkling the panko and P-R over the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes and garnish with chives!

Enjoy!

Wedding fun!

As I told you a few days ago, this past weekend was my and David's first anniversary. We had a great weekend with friends and talked about how fast our year has gone by. So, after I reminisced about the Rehearsal Dinner and Bridesmaids' Luncheon, I had to end with the Wedding itself. I know I have added a ton of pictures, but my fellow brides will understand this!
I began with our wedding invitation - I absolutely loved it and still think its gorgeous!

These photos are a mix of my friend Jill's, my cousin Bengie's, my photographer Canasta Broadnax's, and my friend Ben Eckles'.
These were the boxes the wedding party recieved upon arrival in Hawkinsville. They all got a t-shirt to commemorate the weekend and some homemade goodies by my friend, Susan Conner. She made some amazing breads to include in the boxes - banana nut and pumpkin!
My sweet siblings, Abbye, Asa, and Brince, helped me form an assembly line to tie the little napkins and tags on each loaf!
My wedding bouquet was fastened with one of my grandmother's brooches, and has a sash with my mother's and grandmother's initials and wedding dates' embroidered on it. Hopefully, it can be passed through our family, and each time have the bride's initials added to it.
My fabulous friend James Farmer designed some beautiful floral arrangements for the church, and Canasta did a spectacular job of capturing special moments and the details of my happy day.




My sweet grandfather, Gongaman, drove David and I from the church to the reception in Mr. Jimmy Johnson's Bentley! It was absolutely divine to ride in!

We had pashminas at the reception for the ladies in case it got a little chilly!
Leon Holloway of Gatewood Florist and Cousins Catering was responsible for the gorgeous decor at the reception and the delicious food. He and I clicked immediately! I didnt eat anything on the night of the wedding but some grits, so we had leftovers the next day and they were incredible!
Our photo table included wedding pictures of both my family and David's family.
David and I had a romantic first dance to an acoustic guitar played by a family friend - it was to Elvis Presley's "I can't help falling in love with you". The whole time I was thinking "How lucky and I?"
Sir Lawrence and First Class from East Coast Entertainment served the evening with awesome music! My Dad and I danced to "My Girl". He's a great dancer, and we always make a point to dance at other events when we can!
My friends adore David! This is such a cute picture...he has a special relationship with each of them.
I am sure I'm a little partial, but man! That is one good looking wedding party!
Amanda Meadows of Karen Holleman cakes in Macon crafted this beautiful cake for me! Its based on the Martha Stewart "Forget Me Not" cake.
She also made David's chocolate on chocolate mosaic cake with strawberries and raspberries. He also had a variety of desserts on his table...carrot cake, tiramisu, creme brulee.
I love how our youngest guests are peering at us just waiting to have a slice of that delicious cake!
My beautiful friend Becca and handsome brother Brince!
One of the food stations....looks like a couple of salads and such.
Midnight snack for the well-wishers who stayed late-night: cheese biscuits, sausage biscuits, and coffee punch!
My beautiful Mom, who was my co-planner for 9 months!
As you all know, I absolutely adore my brothers and sister. I love this photo because it shows our fun dynamic - the young Asa always making us laugh!
These next few photos were taken at the beautiful swamp lands behind Dr. Johnny and Miss Latrelle's home. He and my Dad have been best friends their whole life, so being able to take pictures there meant so much to us!


These are a few of the details around the reception....



This photo, and the rest on this post, were all taken by my talented friend, Ben Eckles. He's great, and is available for all of you brides-to-be!