Week recap....

This has been a super busy week! I'm so lame during the week, I usually sit at home and watch my shows.  This week I stayed out....

Tuesday I took short stuff to Opry Mills theater (you know, his "second home") to see Smurfs 2.  Seriously cute movie--- I love all the old stuff coming back! As we sat there before the movie, Kadin goes "Aunt Nicole, have you ever watched the old Smurfs?" and I said "Dude, that was on TV when your mom and I were little" --- and his eyes got so huge and he said "REALLY?!" - I love this kid. Guess it's time to dig the Smurfette pillow from the 80's out of my closet - it was my sisters, and we found it at my Granny's house when she passed away, so I brought it home. Kadin will totally freak.

I'm hearing they are doing a Smurfs 3 -- I kinda hope they stop with 2. There's only so many storylines they can fit in a 2 hour movie.

I say it all the time, but I could just eat this boy up. Cutest boy ever. 

Wednesday, Samantha, Paige & I went to see "We're the Millers" - critics can say whatever they want about this movie, but it was BEYOND hysterical, we laughed so hard we cried. Not to mention, I love love love me some Jason Sudeikis. It's totally worth seeing. And stay for the outtakes in the credits, especially if you loved watching Friends ;)

Zanies was on the schedule twice this week - Thursday for Victoria Jackson, Saturday for Bobcat Goldthwait! Both were absolutely hysterical. Larry had never been to Zanies and always wanted to go, so he & I went for Victoria, and then Mom & Sis came along for Bobcat.

Victoria was so hilarious -- and thankfully, left out most of her politics in her stand up routine. She did so many of her SNL skits, and sang some hilarious songs she wrote -- pretty perfect for Nashville. And coincidentally, she wrote a song about Nashville too. (Which had a perfect line about "that show Nashville" messing some places up for the locals hahaha)

I was super excited to see Bobcat - he has made some hilarious movies! While a lot of people mention Police Academy when they bring up his film, my personal favorite that I will forever associate him with is Burglar! Seriously, if you've never seen Burglar with Whoopi Goldberg, run out and get it - he steals every scene he's in! He didn't let us down in his standup routine - he was on for about an hour and a half, and there were so many people that were in tears from laughing so hard. 

with my sissy before the show!

After such a busy week, I'm enjoying a lazy Sunday! Soooo here's a little Sunday Social!

1. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?I totally wanted to be a Country Singer, I was absolutely positive I was going to be just like PL. 

2. What was your favorite way to kill time as a kid?Usually in my room, listening to music, or taking a bike ride. 

3. When did you get your first cell phone?When I was 16. I had a pager before that, and after I turned 16 and got a car, I had an accident not too terribly long after. My parents got me a phone immediately following my car accident.

4. What is your favorite magazine to read?Glamour

5. What is the one random object people would be surprised to find in your purse?If you don't know me - my camera & extra lenses, and a lens for my iPhone. If you know me tthough, you wouldn't be surprised by that :P 

Weekend Catch up....

Happy Monday! It's a "time to sit down and look over the calendar" morning -- when did August get so busy?!

Saturday we took the kiddos to see Despicable Me 2 - and we all loved it as much as the kids did! It was totally cuter than the first one, and we cracked up. They are making some seriously funny kids movies lately. Is there anything funnier than the Minions!?

This entire scene had the whole family cracking up --- so hilarious & adorable.  

There are SO many movies coming out we want to see --- and being the movie freaks we are, we're headed BACK to the theater tomorrow & Wednesday. Tomorrow we're taking Kadin to see The Smurfs 2:

Because he talked about it ALL.DAY Saturday. And I made the mistake of saying "I'll take you to Opry Mills to see it" -- and most of you know his deep love for that damn theater there that he calls "his second home" --- so all afternoon I got the "SO, Aunt Nicole, when did you want to take me to Opry Mills?" So freaking spoiled.

I finally upgraded my iPhone 4 to the 5 over the weekend (hooray for a better battery! Man I love my iPhone, but I was really going to throw the 4 through the window for the horrible battery life I had! I know, my phone is glued to my hand, but that was the worst battery life in any phone I've ever had!), so Kadin had to play with it, and had to test out the camera on it at lunch...

My boy is growing up! Aunt Nicole is not liking this at all :(

And after a cute pic, he said "Cross your eyes or stick your tongue out!"

love love love this boy. 

That sums up our Saturday! A day with the fam, and smooching on my sweet boy, can't ask for a better day than that. 

Sunday Funday....

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon....this morning I got up a little early to head over to Watertown for a session. This couple is one of my favorites to work with - their past sessions couldn't have been any easier, and she was by far one of the best brides I've ever worked with! Today we shot at their property, and explored some of the land, which is absolutely gorgeous, rustic & out in the country. These times just remind me even more how much I love living in the south. Towards the end of their session, we brought the dogs out to be included - and then headed to the back to include the chickens. And as I cull the images and edit, the one with the chickens is just absolutely one of my favorites:

I love this place.

A little Sunday Social time....



1. What are 3 items you can't live without on a daily basis (water, food, shelter, and clothes don't count)?
iPhone, camera & eyeliner

2. What is your all time favorite book? Why?
The Great Gatsby. I was such a book nerd as a kid, I read all the time. I am so so glad this was on summer reading, because I fell in love with the story. And surprisingly, I loved the movie too!

3. What is something you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2013?
Put my degree to use. We'll see how this plays out.

4. If you could go back and relive any year of your life which year would it be?
This is kind of hard because the past year has been pretty awesome. I guess 1998, the year my niece was born. It was pretty magical becoming an aunt. Not to mention, we watched her, so I saw her every single day of the week, and usually on weekends since I was at my sisters when she wasn't here! And of course, 2002 would follow, when the nephew was born. Not only was it a great time for the entire family, being in the delivery room and watching my nephew take his first breath is definitely one of those moments you never forget.

5. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them?
That I'm seriously allergic to onions, and no I don't just not like them and playing an "allergy card". It would be great to not have to dissect my food and make sure there's no onions on it before I eat :) 

Happy Sunday!

Ohio! Part 1

August is officially here! My favorite month - and it's not just because I really love my birthday and celebrate all month long (no really, we pretty much are celebrating all month long this year! I may be an end of August baby, but I'm still an August baby and I hate celebrating my birthday in September!)- but I really love how HOT August is too!

You know, I travel a lot. We are always taking weekend trips everywhere we can - so I really should be accustomed to packing and unpacking. But for some reason, when I come home, it takes me FOREVER to unpack and get situated. Mom & I got home Monday night from our trip to Ohio, and I may or may not be partially living out of my suitcase still. I'm such a slacker, I know.

Some pretty great picspam from my fabulous Ohio trip ahead..... We had such a great time. I have a lot of Aunts & Uncles on my fathers side (compared to my mom's side, where I only have one of each), which means I have a lot of cousins. And, as it often happens when you don't live in the same area with your extended family - I don't keep up with a lot of my cousins. Well, I say that, but I guess I actually do "keep up" with a majority of my cousins - I'm just not close to them all. However, my cousin Emily & I have been partners in crime  since we were little.  It's been a year and a half since I had seen her, when I flew out to California for our Epic Thanksgiving adventure in 2011, so we were totally overdue for a visit! Not to mention, I was super stoked at getting some time in with my Uncle Scott, Aunt Faye, Cousin Dan & his wife Alice & all their boys! (Especially since I hadn't seen some of them in a few YEARS!) I won't be back until December, which isn't the ideal time to be able to be out in my Aunt's AMAZING back yard garden & play with the boys, so this trip was so perfect.

I know, I know, it's a long post --- I will break it down ;) Here's our first two days of vacation!

Before we went to see anyone, we went straight to the cemetery. Honestly, I think we had to mentally prepare ourselves for this moment - it's just never going to feel right to have to go to the cemetery to see my precious granny! 

Hanging out with my Aunt June & Uncle Gay. Seriously, are they not totally adorable?

Nothing better than baby toes! The split second Alice and Dan brought the boys to my Uncle Scott's house  and put them down, I started snapping toe pics. 

This was the HOORAY! TWIN COUSINS REUNITED pic!

Playing with my sweet cousin Gavin.  Probably one of the coolest kids you'd ever meet!

Aidan is such a great kid - such a good big brother! The last time I saw him he was a baby, and my cousin Emily might have had to pry him away from my aunt to give him to me --- hooray for having four kids to spoil and play with this time, there was plenty to go around ;)

I know ladies, Jacob is probably making your ovaries ache right now. We've been joking about his Gerber baby pose in the lower picture. I could EAT THIS BABY UP!

I could eat THIS baby up too - Baby Lucas is so precious. Look at those eyes!

For lunch Friday, we went to a Geneva on the Lake staple - Eddie's Grill. Love this place...and my Granny was a frequent visitor to this place -- to the point that we had to call Eddie when she passed away to let him know. He loved her! 

They have some pretty fab burgers, mixed with great fries -- which taste amazing with vinegar (try it, you'll thank me), and last but not least - the best root beer you'll ever have, even if you don't like RB!

We got some time in at the lake....how beautiful is that!?

twin cousin selfie at the beach. This is pretty much how we are the entire time we're together. Well, that's when we're not obnoxiously singing (more on THAT later, we might have made some pretty epic videos this weekend. 

and then we went on the playground and acted like 4 year olds together. deja vu! 

Love this girl!  And if these pics aren't enough to show our fun....the video below should, just make sure to scroll over it and turn the volume on in the top left corner ;)

We went to dinner with our old neighbors Friday night --- neighbors I actually have a ton of memories of! 

And then we hit some local spots! Cheers from Billy's Martini Bar! RUN there and get the cherry kiss martini, because you'll die at how amazing it is.

I don't even remember where we were at this one! Maybe at "Just One More", where we went after checking out Em's new apartment? All I know is it was another moment where one of us got our phones out & we both instantly posed. We're pretty awesome like that ;)

Proof that Emily got me, the non beer drinker, to try a beer! No really, this never happens!

That sums up my Thursday & Friday in Ohio pretty much! Now to enjoy Friday night at home - tomorrow it's movies with the sis, Mom & Kiddos again! Happy weekend! 

Weekend Shenanigans

I'm not sure how the heck the weekend flies by so quick, but I am so not a fan.

We had our little get together for Granny's birthday this Saturday, and aside from getting stuff together for that, we had the most unproductive weekend ever. There are two photos that could completely explain our Saturday:

We started off with Vodka & Grape Juice. In a mason jar, because in the South, everything tastes better in a mason jar, right?! We got these seriously adorable straws to go with them too!

Kadin & Lizzie had so much fun in the pool, and of course he had to show off his jumping skills!

When I say otherwise unproductive, I mean it. I stayed at my sisters until 8pm Sunday night, and it was like noon that she and I crawled in bed with Mom to watch this weird Nicole Kidman movie "The Stoker". Mom left after that, and Samantha and I stayed in bed and watched a pretty terrible movie, "Spring Breakers" & then one of our fave movies of all time - National Lampoon's Vacation. 

That was the extent of our weekend. Paige chilled in her bedroom, Kadin was in the living room playing games with Mom's boyfriend, the bro-in-law was doing car work in the garage, so piling up to watch movies together seemed like the best option. Who needs to get dressed? Pajamas all day FTW, for sure. 

Friday night, Larry and I did get out for an 11:30 showing of 'Grown Ups 2'

I totally thought it was funnier than the first!  Some of the reviews don't seem to agree with me, but it was hilarious, and seriously star-studded. When we left, Larry made the comment he hadn't laughed that hard in a long time -- which is the goal of the movie, so I say it was a success! Everyone takes every movie so incredibly serious lately....this was a great light summer comedy! I really do love most of Adam Sandler's movies (I'm still scratching my head over that god-awful "That's my Boy" though!!).

And now it's packing time...Mom & I are heading to Ohio this week to see family! That means in just a few short days, I'm reunited with my twin cousin & god help Ohio with both of us running around together!

We're just babies here!!!!

I Miss You a Little....

This Saturday would have been my Granny's 86th birthday. She may not be here anymore, but as we do every July 20th - my mom, sis, the kids & I will be celebrating it for her. Since she passed in 2010, we have always gone out to dinner together, but this year we opted to change it up to kind of a little pool party at my sisters house. And in true Marcella fashion, there will be purple everywhere. (And food, because I'm pretty sure if you'd asked her to rank her two favorite things in life, it would be Grandkids and Food.)

They say you never "get over" losing someone, you just learn to live with it, and if there's anything I've learned in the past 3 years, it's that is certainly a true statement. I'm not sure how I was so fortunate, but until I was almost 27 years old, I never had a "huge" loss in my life - which may have contributed to how hard my sister & I took my Granny's death. My paternal grandparents had passed, but I truly wasn't overly close to them, and that probably sounds terrible to say, but I simply don't have the memories that I do with my sweet Granny, who practically had my sister & I every weekend as little kids.

When I say my Granny was born to be a Grandmother, I mean that with every fiber of my being. Everyone that ever met her called her Granny. My sister & I were just fortunate enough to truly be her grandchildren. There was never a time where my Granny wasn't doting on us. Or smooching on us. Or buying us something. Or snuggling on the couch with us telling us a story. Or hugging us. Or showing our pictures to everyone - quite often on t-shirts she had made. (And I mean this...people from her doctor to her dentist to her landlord knew us by name and face, there wasn't a picture that woman didn't show off!) If there was ever one thing in the world I knew for sure, it was how much my Granny loved us.

Granny had the biggest love for Country Music. Back in the day, she and my Grandfather used to hit Fan Fair like crazy people and meet everyone. And it's in that aspect that I am most certainly Marcella's Granddaughter. Who would have thought all those nights spending the night at Granny's, snuggled on the couch, watching the Opry together on TV - would wind up being one of those moments I would cherish forever? Mom & I carried the love up a notch and not only became the rabid concert go-ers and fan fair attendees, but wound up moving to Nashville.

I mean seriously, that's my Grandmother hanging out with Roy Acuff. Yes, you can be jealous. 

It's with our love for the Opry that I have one of my favorite memories.  I took her to the Opry in 2006 to see Patty, and we left a few minutes early to get her out before the mob of people let out. As I turned and realized Granny was not with us, I said "Where the hell is my grandmother!?" And "Down there - she's stopping at every aisle to hug every usher on her way out." was the response I received. Only my Granny.....

I miss her more than I ever realized was even possible. But every night I pull out my record player & listen to some Ernest Tubb or Kitty Wells, I know she's watching over and listening with me. (And probably high-fiving my Grandfather for my kick ass taste in music)

I miss you a little since you've been goneA few little memories keep hanging onI miss you a little I guess you could sayA little too much, a little too often, a little more every day

Happy Birthday Granny....I love you!

It's all about the music...

Happy Sunday! It looks like it's going to be a gloomy day in Nashville...sigh. And it's laundry day.

So last month at the Opry, P mentioned that she was going to hang out with Miranda Lambert for a few days this month. That arrived this weekend, when she was at Miranda's gig last night. And while I say I'm totally bummed I wasn't there.....I am secretly glad I was not there. P's crowd & Miranda/Aldean's crowd & music are sooo different.  I'm 99.999% sure I could not sit during Aldean. Anyway, she showed up at the after party too, and as I flipped through pics, I realized she was rocking the shirt I gave her last month. LOVE this!

As shown in this horrible quality photograph....P is rocking this shirt:

Because obviously, she is a Kick Ass Kentuckian.  This whole Kentucky for Kentucky campaign is so brilliant. As soon as they unveiled all their shirts, I ordered myself a "Kentucky Kicks Ass" shirt, and immediately ordered PL the Kick Ass Kentuckian one. While we were in Lexington last week I picked up this one below too. 

I have zero plans to leave TN again -- I can't be that far from my sis! But I DID graduate from the University of Kentucky -- KY will always hold a special place in my heart! 

And now for a little Sunday Social...It's super appropriate this week for me -- all about music! This is where the "Nicole was born in the wrong generation" is going to come out:

1. What is your all-time favorite song?  

I always try to say this is hard to say, because something like PL's "Diamond in my Crown" & "Here I Am" stop me dead in my tracks, and so do songs like "Silver Wings" & "It's Only Make Believe"...

But if I had to list one song as my all time fave, it would be George Jones "The Grand Tour". (And this would be followed very closely with another Jones song - "A Good Year for the Roses")  This is the ultimate country song for me.

Nobody cuts songs quite like this anymore! 

2. Who is your favorite singer/band?

Patty Loveless, of course.... I didn't get my PL tattoo for nothing. After a ridiculous amount of years of having her a part of my life, I don't think this answer will ever change. And here's my favorite picture of me & P:

3. What song reminds you of your childhood?
Three come to mind immediately:

-PL "Chains" I was just a little shit when the HTA record was released, and shortly after it was released, I was in the car with my dad for a long trip. We wore that record OUT and I sang the hell out of this song with my dad. 

-Madonna "Material Girl" When I was a kid, our family reunions had karaoke....and the twin cousin & I randomly decided to go sing this song. Everyone in our family still talks about it, and I still have the tape. About 14 years later, we went to a club together and did it again for old times sake! (Minus the Christmas dresses and crimped hair!)

4. What songs put you in a good mood?

Um, a ton. I guess my most current would be

Vern Gosdin "Set 'Em Up Joe"
It's our "go-to" song when we get to Dolphie's, we immediately have Scotty play this to have an obnoxious sing along. 

5. What is your music to rock out to in your car?

A lot....from my classic country like Conway, Loretta....to sometimes Pink, Alanis, Jet - it seriously depends on my mood. I listen to a lot...(although I don't listen to any rap or metal, and never will).. I just tell everyone my true love is Country.  Lately, my "rock outs" have been to 80's and 90's country. 

6. What is the most embarrassing album or song you own?

Haha I suppose something from High School....like not going to lie, I still own O-Town's CD? Oh wait! I still have Hannah Montana on my iTunes. Such a good aunt. (Although thankfully, that phase is now over for Paige!)