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Coming to you live from "Tennessee - America at its Best."

7.10.2011

That's seriously the state slogan, I'm not kidding. I Googled it. :o) Well folks, I've finally decided to make time to blog on this hot, peaceful Sunday afternoon. Many of you have been wondering what in the world the Williamses have been up to in their new home...maybe. I don't really even know if anyone ever reads this blog (except for my lovely gal pals Andrea & Meg :o) ). But in case there are interested parties out there, here's a taste of our life in Tennessee.

Seth is working full-time as a graphic designer at Premiere Speakers Bureau in Cool Springs, TN, about 20 minutes from where we live. He works in a fancy office that has marble pillars in the foyer for a boss who does amazingly generous things for his staff, i.e. catered lunch every Friday, trips in luxurious tour buses to play laser tag, never-ending donuts and birthday cake, etc. Here's a photo that was taken of Seth for the PSB website:

I am currently working part-time at a boutique called Social Graces in Hillsboro Village. SG specializes in invitations and stationary, and we also sell a varied assortment of giftable items, i.e. books, journals, etc. Here's a photo of the store from the outside:

Initially, I had planned on transferring from my position as assistant home manager at Anthropologie in Madison, WI to a somewhat comparable position at Anthropologie here in Nashville. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort was available, and after a totally God-ordained series of events, I said my goodbyes to Anthro after a 4-year-long relationship, and started a new journey with SG. The staff is super small, which I love because it creates a more intimate vibe, and opens the doorway to building real and deep relationships with the women I work with. By the way, they're some of the sweetest women out there! Not to mention that I ironically enough worked with one of them at the Anthro in Carlsbad, CA, while the store manager of SG also worked at the same Anthro in Carlsbad even though our paths never crossed at that time. Crazy, huh? This world is a small one, I tell ya.

After many moons of living in tiny apartments (albeit our 2-bedroom duplex in Cincy), we are finally homeownersrenters! We are living in an area of Nashville called Crieve Hall, which is located right above Brentwood and just to the south of downtown Nash. We have the sweetest, most caring landlords, and have had such a great time decorating and settling in.


Some of the perks to renting a house vs. an apartment:

1. We were forced to purchase our own washer and dryer, which we will now have for eons to come (we hope).

2. We have a HUGE backyard! We can't wait to fill it with family and friends once the weather cools down a bit.

3. I am able to bust a move late at night without worrying about making too much noise and getting complaints from neighbors.

One of the very best things about our little home is that it is literally only 2 blocks away from our dear friends, Scott & Susy Anderson. We LOVE being able to pop over and visit them (and vice-versa), and especially being able to be more involved in the lives of their 2 boys, Blaine & Hayes (Seth is Blaine's godfather).

In other news, Bou is still as rambunctious as ever. While Seth and I were living apart, I let Bou roam free during the night instead of shutting him in the bathroom. Did I think perhaps that he would stand guard if anyone ever broke into my apartment in the middle of the night? Maybe. No. Well, maybe. Aside from that, he started routinely snuggling with me in the early hours of the morning after I fed him his breakfast. Now, he continues to do so as Seth always gets up first to shower. Oftentimes, I wake up to Seth struggling to silence his laughter as he finds Bou squished up next to me in the funniest positions.

Alright, that's it for life in Tennessee for now. Time to go rest in this wonderful AC with my hubs and Bou!

I'm not gonna lie...

1.09.2011

...things are hard right now. Not hard physically speaking - we both have jobs, we are healthy, we are being provided for. Things are hard emotionally, spiritually. I feel pretty far from God in this place where my only confidante is Seth...well, and Bou too. I talk to God pretty regularly, but still haven't seen my current prayers answered, which sometimes makes me wonder if He hears me in the first place. I mean, I know he does, but I guess sometimes I'm more like Thomas than I liked to be. I need to see it to believe it. To put my hands in His wounds to know that He is real. Sometimes I wonder if God brought us out to Wisconsin to experience a season of just us and Him. But His plan isn't working so far because I don't know where He is.

But then today in church we sang a song called "Everything" by Tim Hughes. I've heard it before, but it really sank in today because I truly do want Jesus to be my everything. And even moreso, I'm finally beginning to grasp the fact that He is IN me. He's with me all of the time because He resides IN me. He won't ever leave me or forsake me because He is a part of me.

Jesus said, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:4-8

Jesus is already living in me, asking me to remain in Him as well.

Life Stages.

11.17.2010

Man, I feel like we're in such an interesting stage of life. Some of our friends own houses. (I'm serious. Like, they actually bought houses. They actually pay mortgages. Crazy, I know.) Some of our friends have jobs that they need to dress up for, i.e. suits and ties. We even have two friends that are in the medical field. They can actually examine certain parts of your body and diagnose illnesses, write prescriptions, etc. On top of it all...wait for it...we have friends who actually HAVE KIDS. So bizarre. We're adults. And not the "I-just-graduated-college-and-I'm-on-my-own-so-that-automatically-makes-me-a-grown-up" kind of adult. Like actual, real, full-fledged adults. The strangest part about all of it is that I find myself having adult thoughts frequently, even though when I look in the mirror I see the same girl who played the part of Patty Simcox in LWHS's "Grease" in 2001. I think things like, "Man, I am SO excited to be a mom." (What?!?!) "I can't wait to decorate our future house. One with some old charm would be nice." (Huh?!?!) "Did I fax in the form for our life insurance policies?" (Hold the phone!!!) When did this all happen? What a crazy season of life this is. And we're on the brink. We're on the brink of toppling from DINKPC (Dual Income No Kids Plus Cat) to parents (hopefully)...homeowners... This must be what our parents and grandparents meant when they say/said that they feel/felt so "young at heart". Granted, I know that we're still in great physical shape, but it's just mind-blowing to be in this season of life. In a good way.

So much has happened...

10.28.2010

...since the last time I wrote. It's always difficult to know where to pick up after you've neglected your blog for so long, so I think I'll start with the biggest development in the lives of myself and Mr. Williams. We moved. To Wisconsin. Sun Prairie, to be exact - about 10 minutes outside of Madison. And no, we didn't see this coming either. In moving back to Cincinnati, we thought we'd be staying there for a while...starting a family...buying a house. And when we envisioned moving again, it was always back to SoCal. But it turns out that the Lord had different plans for us. Most of you have heard the entire story from beginning to end, so I'll spare the details (and my fingers), and just say that it was, and still is a wild ride. The craziest part is that we were originally moving here for Seth's job, and in the midst of it all, I got the MIT (manager-in-training) position at the Madison Anthropologie (which was definitely a promotion from my former senior sales associate position). To top it all off, after about a week and a half of being here, my managers offered me ANOTHER promotion, and I'm now the new full-time, salaried Assistant Home Manager. Exactly what I would have chosen to be if I had a say in the matter. God's provision and hand has been SO extremely evident throughout this whole process. And I'm really looking forward to getting more involved at Heartland, making new friends, and building into old friendships.

Super Savings...Tuesday

4.14.2010

Well folks, I'm finally starting to get good at this! Here's my loot after a trip to CVS and Target:


And the final tally after coupons, ECBs, giftcards, & mail-in rebates (drumroll please):

$7.88!!!

Can you even believe it?!?! This is becoming quite a pastime for me.

The Cottage

4.02.2010

I'm sorry that I've been MIA for so long! Oh the busyness - how I get caught up in it! I suppose I'd normally say "such is life!", but I don't want to lean into that statement any longer. Thus, I'm dusting off the 'ole blog with this new post!

Today the weather is crazy beautiful. It's around 80° on the first of April - and no, that's not an April Fool's joke. It makes me feel more alive when the sun is shining and I can open up our windows to get a fresh breeze blowing through our house. Despite any uncertainty I'm currently facing, today I'm glad I'm alive.

Even moreso, this weather gets me SO excited about going to the cottage!!! The cottage is owned by Seth's parents and it sits on the edge of Hemlock Lake in southern Michigan. It's a place where we can relax to the max. Seriously. These are things I LOVE about going to the cottage:

running to "Strawberry Fields" by Coldplay on the backroads
playing in the lake
making & eating delicious meals (food always tastes better at the cottage)
playing cornhole
boat rides around the lake at dusk

Other things I love: laughing, not having an agenda, afternoon naps just because, making s'mores over an open fire, etc., etc. And the list could go on. Here's to hoping that we get a summer trip to the cottage on the books ASAP!!!

TTT (Terrific Target Trip)- 2.26.10.