Living, Learning, & Loving Little Rock

Hello friends, family, & followers! I'm back with another update on our adventures in Little Rock. 

We've both been crazy busy ever since I started my full time job, so we try to soak up every night and weekend we have together. We've hit the ground running when it comes to figuring out our favorite places to eat, buy groceries, work out, and are quickly becoming creatures of habit in this new town of ours. It's nice to be back in a routine, and feel like we're simply living life together, something we've both been dreaming of for so long. 

We're constantly learning new things about each other, and what it's like to live with another human being on a day by day basis- and not just a college roommate, but your other half. We're learning who's better at doing the dishes, who folds laundry the "right" way, who doesn't put the cap on the toothpaste (guilty), who leaves their socks in every room (not guilty), and who's grumpy when they come home from a long day of work hungry (both guilty.) All of these things seem so trite but they have been silly things we're learning about each other that we never got around to talking about while we dated.

It's also been an adventure budgeting with each other. We both see money a little differently so we've been learning how to combine our ways and meet in the middle. I paid our first major bill the other day, and felt like a full-fledged grown up. Right now I've been working reading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace book, so I'm hoping it will give us some great advice on starting off on the right foot. 

I've been gradually getting Adam to join in on my running routine, and maybe even enjoy it too! There's a beautiful park about 10 minutes from us that runs along the river, and it includes bike trails and a running trail across the Big Dam Bridge. We've been frequenting this safe running trail quite a bit, as well as riding our bikes on the River Trail, which is a popular and beautiful bike trail that runs for miles and miles along both sides of the river in a loop, through woods and a couple different parks. The last time we ventured out on this trail we wound up riding 17 miles. Needless to say, we haven't done that again...yet! I've really enjoying finding these safe places to run and just be outside. 

It's so refreshing for me, and a great way for me to get rid of stress and have some "girl time" when Adam would rather stay home and have his "guy time" with his video games :) 

We're still visiting around to different churches, but I think we may have landed at one that we both like. We seem to end up there every Sunday, and are slowing meeting more and more people, and running into previous Harding students. A little piece of familiarity is always nice, especially when you're still maybe just a teeny tiny bit homesick :)

We both are still enjoying our jobs, and have been greatly blessed to both be able to work a 40 hour week. In a way, we're in a perfect spot right now. Adam spends his days in the IT world talking about computer things, and I spend my days talking about Chacos and the pros and cons of other outdoor retail & gear. Working in a place where you're already passionate about everything, makes the days pass much quicker! I'm still pursuing Sarah E. photography and have a few more things lined up. I'd love to one day do this full time, but right now it's in a good place on the side of my otherwise busy newlywed life :)

We've been doing lots of driving around, with our Zillow app in hand, dreaming of the day when we can buy our first little house. I think we've got it narrowed down to 2 or 3 neighborhood/suburbs we both fell in love with, so we'll see what the future holds. We may decide to keep renting for a few more years and not buy a house until we're permanent somewhere. Who knows! We'll take it one year at a time though! We still have lots of dreams of the places we want to visit and one day live, so we're anxious to cross them off the list!

I think that's all for now, just wanted to give a quick update to all of our friends & family back home! 

Over and out!

Mr & Mrs Ingle

Life Update & Wedding Recap (it's long, sorry!!)

Hello hello! I figured it was about time to post a little update on what we've been up to since our wedding! We haven't set up our internet yet (be patient...it could be a while, we're lazy and can bum free internet off the bakery down the street from us, (but really)) so I'm currently hitting up Starbucks for faster internet, yummy coffee, and an incredibly unhealthy blueberry muffin. 

I can hardly believe that June 9th came and went so fast! Thank you again to EVERYONE who helped make that day so perfect, I can't say 'thank you' enough. There's not a SINGLE thing I would change, and thankfully all of the mismatched grey dresses and different grey ties looked AMAZINGGGGG.  If I could go back and relive it exactly like how it happened I would a million times! Throughout the day it felt like I was sitting up above it all watching it happen, and smiling the whole time. It felt so surreal, and I tried so hard to soak it all up. Best. Day. Ever. That's for dang sure! I'll always cherish having my best friends and family surrounding us and pouring blessings down upon us all day long. It seriously meant the WORLD to have so many sweet friends come share in our big day. I've always dreamed of what it would feel like to be 'the bride' and for it to be 'my day' and I'll never forget it, not for a single second. Even the day before was perfect, (minus my maid of honor taking a little bit of a tumble and requiring 18 stitches...but it's a funny story now, huh Lauren?) That morning Adam and I went and picked up our marriage license, then I went and met up with my bridesmaids and my mom and we treated ourselves to french manicures, then to a DELICIOUS lunch at The Puffy Muffin. In the meantime, the boys went to a local shooting range and Adam got one last man-date with lots of guns. (only kidding.) 

Here are some pictures from that morning and the day before: (photo overload!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The rest will be on FB soon, the internet is super slow here so I'm getting impatient :-)

After lunch, me and a few of the girlies went back to the hotel and took a nap...and may have watched Ellen because Rosie and Sofia Grace just so happened to be on! There's always time for Ellen. 

Rehearsal started at 4:30, aka 5 because my sweet groom likes to make a grand entrance ;) Everything ran smoothly it seemed like and our wedding planner, Shelly, helped get everyone in place. That was my first chance to see how our florist had decorated the auditorium, and I almost cried! It was so perfect!!!!! BEAUTIFUL green and white hydrangeas and other pretty accent flowers, and a banister full of different rustic lanterns. My heart be still. I just loved it! My friend Libby, of Libby Barker Photography shot our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner so I'm super excited to see those pictures!!! I'm SO glad I had her come shoot everything, Lord knows I did not want to have to lug my own camera around! Our rehearsal dinner was at Country Boy Restaurant in Leiper's Fork, TN. It's a little country cafe on the main strip there right across from the original Puckett's, and my grandparents used to always go there for breakfast so I grew up knowing about it. It's just a few miles from our house, but for some reason it's like a hidden gem that a lot of Nashville/Franklin-ites don't know about! They have a super cute meeting room downstairs with doors that open up to a grassy area facing the river. There are old quilts on the tables and mason jars with candles on the walls and old convenient store signs on the wall as well. I knew when we looked at it that it would fit our theme perfectly! Just wait until you see pictures of the decorations from the night...the Ingle's REALLY outdid themselves. It actually made me cry a little at how perfect it was. (Adam got used to a lot of random tears over the weekend.) Mr Ingle hand-made a lot of the wood decorations and carved little things on them too. I can't wait to see Libby's pictures from the night. So many special speeches were made and just having everyone we love the most together in one room was really something special and I'm so glad we'll have it documented. Future brides: do this! My brother made our slideshow, which made me cry again, and it was so special. I could tear up just thinking about that night. So moving on! After dinner, the boys went bowling, and me and a few of the girls went back to the hotel and basically crashed. I was exhausted!!

So now it's wedding morning!!! 6:15 on the wedding morning I was WIDE AWAKE. After not sleeping at all. I figured that would happen though :-) We ate breakfast (my mom had brought my favorite ham & cheese croissants from a bakery in downtown Franklin for us to have) and then my hairstylist came at 9, followed by our photographer and videographer. Lynnette has been doing my hair since I was a junior in high school! She's pretty much the best ever, adorable, and so much fun. I love her and am so sad I won't have her at my disposal to fix my mane! So she did my hair (again, such a bizarre feeling! The whole time I was thinking "is this really happening??") It was. All of the 'maids did their own hair and makeup, and looked SUPER CUTE in the embroidered robes I gave them! I thought every single one of the girls looked absolutely beautiful, and I still cannot believe how pretty my friends are :-) Once we were all made-up, we headed to the church. Allyson did my makeup, and I'll always remember us sitting in the window sill cracking up and trying not to think about what was really about to happen! I'm so thankful to have her, and that was such a precious memory to make. Fast forward through makeup, I put my dress on and was ready to get this thing started! I'll make this super short and fast because that's how it felt to us! I had a first look with my dad and brother first, and then had my first look with Adam. I wanted dad and daniel to see me in my dress first because they were really the first men in my life :-) It was a very special moment, and I'm so glad I chose to do that! I think we'll all remember that forever! We did the look on the front steps of the church, I had them both facing away and then I walked out and had them turn around. Here's a couple pics dad took on his camera back inside while we were waiting for adam to get in position for our look :)

I then went to have my first look with Adam, where first we stood back to back and read our letters we wrote each other, and then turned around for the big reveal. If I write too much about our first look I'll cry, and I'm in a public place right now so I'll leave this memory between us for now :-) After our look, we went and took some photos, then met up with the rest of the wedding party for group photos and then we also did all of the family photos before the ceremony as well. I'm so glad we chose to do it this way. After photographing several weddings and knowing how rushed it can be and how easy it is to miss getting the pictures you wanted, it's so much better to take your time and allow as much photo time as possible to make sure you get everything. This day only happens once, and your photos are all you'll have once it's over! I'd hate to rush it and have to have a hectic rushed shoot between the ceremony and reception. I used to think I would never compromise on having the first time I see my groom be when they open the church doors, but I'm so glad we did the first look. It was so refreshing and relaxing to have a few moments together to breathe and take it all in. It was still the most amazing thing walking down the aisle seeing him though, almost like we didn't even do a first look! So that's my two-cents of opinion. After photos we pretty much just hung out and had our florist come and replace a few of the hydrangea bouquets because the heat had made a few of them wilt. I guess that was really the only thing that "went wrong." But even that wasn't a big deal!

I loved our ceremony, and wish I could have seen the processional myself! I'll have to wait for our video! I'd say standing in the lobby with my dad, watching the wedding party go turn by turn, was such an amazing feeling. I wish I could have stood there forever, and never let go, but I'm a daddy's girl so what do you expect :) Once the party had all gone down the aisle, and Rhett & Jack walked ran danced down the aisle, they closed the church doors and dad and I took a deep breathe and I think my heart almost came out of my chest. My song started to play and we let the first verse play all the way through, which about gave Adam a heart attack thinking I had r-u-n-o-f-t! Then Shelly fluffed my dress, the doors open, and voila! Talk about a surreal experience! Now that, was something I'll never forget. I can't even put into words what it was like to walk down that aisle. Pretty special :-)

So fast forward through the ceremony, we leave, and then take a few more pictures, then head to the reception! For those of you who have asked, the song we left to is by Edgar Meyer & Bela Fleck and is called "Big Country." We wanted our recessional song to be a preview of the reception, and I think it was perfect!

So we got to the reception, did our first dance, then me and my dad danced, then we "sat down and ate," cut the cake, talked to everyone we could, threw the bouquet, did the garter, walked out under sparklers, then drove off! That's pretty much how the reception felt to us. It FLEW by!!! However, in the few seconds I had to look around and see all of my decorations, I did notice that everything was EXACTLY where I wanted it, how I wanted it, and just PERFECT!!!! I. Loved. Our. Reception. The bluegrass band, the food, everything. Let's do it again!!!

So that's my somewhat quick recap of the wedding. We honeymooned in Lake Tahoe, California, and loved every second of it. I'm sure you've already perused our photos on Facebook. The weather was so nice, the mountains were still capped in snow, and the water was the prettiest shade of turquoise I've ever seen. Our cabin was adorable, and we took full advantage of our fireplace, even if it was June :-) Here's one of my favorite pictures from the week:

 

We love our new home! Our apartment is in an old historic home that's been recently renovated into 4 brand new apartments. I've been working so hard to make it feel homey and cozy and I can't wait to post pictures! Our front room however, has quite the epic trash pile. And by epic I mean, 1/3 of the room is piled to the ceiling in cardboard boxes. Therefore, this room is feeling left out in the midst of my nesting. But our bedroom, kitchen, and main living room are coming along nicely! We can't hang anything on the walls via nails because the walls are so old and will crack, so we've had to get creative with our mantels and shelf space! Hopefully I can get some pictures up by the end of the week. It's just a few blocks from Adam's work, and he has been riding his bike everyday! And Saturday morning, we rode to a Farmer's Market right across the river and stocked up on some fresh veggies! Yumm!

Adam still loves his job. We even went to dinner with one of his co-workers and his sweet wife. We've also visited two churches in the area, and are anxious to find our church home and start to really feel plugged in. In case you didn't hear, I was offered a job last night and I am so excited! It really is an answered prayer, and I know it will be perfect for me. Also, in case you don't believe in the "when it rains it pours" metaphor, let me just share this. I didn't hear back from any jobs for almost two months. And in the past week, I've been offered 4. Make that 5 if you count the one I turned down back in May. God is good. All the time. All the time, God is good! I'm such a busy body that I HAAAAATEEE not being busy and not having a full agenda. Just ask my mom. Being "bored" is probably the quickest way to kill me. I'm so thankful to have found a job so soon, and for it to be full time if I want it! 

I already want to wear my dress again, and now I know what my friend Becca meant when she said she misses her dress :-)

Ok, well I guess that's enough rambling about us. I'll be back soon to hopefully post pictures of our apartment and another life update!

Over & Out!

-Mrs Ingle

Blessed beyond belief!

It's Wedding Week!

Wow! Can you believe it's HERE?!!!

It's officially wedding week, and this time next week, I'll be on my honeymoon with my husband-not a care in the world!

I still think I'm a little shocked that it's finally here. I feel like this day has been in the works for so long and it's always been "when we get married...", "next summer at our wedding...", "one day when we are married.." and now, it will be, "We're married...now what?!" 

Crazzzyyy. 

I can't even fathom what it will be like to wake up next to Adam every morning, and fall asleep next to him every night. What a dream. No more goodnight phone calls! Finally! 

I think what I'm most freaked out about is that this is my last week in Franklin at home. As I lay here on the couch, curled up next to my dog, it makes me sad! But sad in a good way. Change is good, and a LIFE change like marriage is so exciting! I think it will be a weird adjustment, but it's time :-) Sorry Adam, I'll always miss my dog :-)

Speaking of dogs I went over to my brother and sister in law's house yesterday and got some good nephew-pup lovin in!

I love my Trace-y-poo!

 

Today we were able to take all of the reception decorations to our florist, who will be in charge of getting them to the barn on Saturday and putting everything in its place! It feels so good to have all of it out of our house and out of my hands! I officially can no longer worry about the tiny details. Everything will be perfect, regardless!  

Remember how our blog is called 'citrus and mint'? Two completely opposite flavors? And remember that time a total Type A was marrying a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants? Yup. That's still happening! Planning our wedding has really made me appreciate our opposite traits and how to work with them! However, I think we're both ready to be wedding'd-out and get on with our newlywed lives :-)

Family and friends will start arriving as early as Wednedsay, then a few on Thursday, then Friday is booked full of fun wedding festivities! The weather forecast for Saturday looks phenomenal!! Talk about answered prayers!

God is so good! Now, I'm going to enjoy this week and take it all in! It will be here and over before we know it! So here's to enjoying every moment between now and then!

In case you haven't given it a visit, here's the link to our little wedding website! 

 http://www.mywedding.com/adamandsarahingle/

-the Future Mrs.

10...

Holy Moly. I feel like I blinked and now we're 10 days away. 

It's getting so close!!

You know what else is getting close??

Six of my adorable friends are also getting married this year! Jordan in June, Jessica in July, Nicole in September, Anna in October, Paige also in October, and Elizabeth TBD (she's working on a date :) )! Wedding season is definitely in FULL SWING! 

Moving to Little Rock is a little bitter sweet. I'm STOKED to be living in a new city with my HUSBAND and starting our new life together, but I'm so sad to not be around for all of the wedding festivities & preparation for these sweet girls' big days! Thank the Lord for snail mail and Facebook. The UPS man will soon become my best friend.

This past weekend I spent 5 days in Searcy/Little Rock with Adam getting things moved to the apartment, job hunting, and chilling out before the wedding jitters set in :)

I think we're both in disbelief of how close it is!! I'm not really sure how to feel. Does every bride feel this weird mix of emotions so close to their wedding?

For those of you curious, here is Adam's new building :) Stephen's Inc. It's right across from the River Market and Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock.

And here is really what goes on at his cubicle:

 

On Monday I went with the boys on a quick fishing trip. It was hot. Crowded. And nothing was biting. Needless to say we were home by lunch time.

 

And without further a-do, here are 10 reasons I can't wait to be Mrs Adam Ingle. In honor of Mr Adam Ingle and his eternal nerdness. 

10. You let me be myself, and don't make fun of me. At least not all the time.

9. You go and get me a diet coke even though you HATE that I drink it like an addict. 

8. If I say a not-so-funny comment, you still attempt to make me feel like it was really funny. Because usually, you follow it up with something also not-so-funny. We're a perfect match.

7. When I asked you to kill me a pretty duck and have it stuffed and mounted for our mantel you were so proud.

6. You always quote random movies no have has ever seen. One day I will be in the Cash Cab and I will win because of it.

5. You call me just to say "Something awesome just happened and I had to tell someone about it!"

4. You let me go fishing with you and just sit in the sun and watch.You also go play in the sun with me just because you know how much I love being outside, even if you do come out of the deal with a sunburn.

3. You let us watch countless episodes of American Dad even when you've already seen them all. You know I love Roger.

2. You send me a simple sweet text message every morning when I wake up. And you have everyday for 4 years now. It's the little things.

1. You let me plan my dream wedding, and are ready to be my partner in crime for the rest of our lives.

So Happy 10 days Mr Adam Ingle! We're almost there!! No more saying "bye" and only spending weekends together :) 

Get ready. I'm a handful! 

-the Future Mrs.

Lucky #16

16 has always been my favorite number, so I thought I would do a little blog post seeing how we're 16 days away from THE wedding!!

I had a meeting with our photographer and videographer the other day and I have to say I have so much confidence in these two talented friends of mine that I am already bursting as the seams to see the final result!!! Our photographer gave me my bridal portraits back, and talk about HELLO WEDDING! I think the wedding is officially REAL now that I've seen myself in a wedding gown and I LOOK like a BRIDE!!!! AAAHH!!!! 

Our last shower was this past weekend. It was a "Friends & Family" shower, and it was so much fun! Here's a few pictures from the shower, if you missed them on FB :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We got some more of our PB china! So excited about it!! Adam even loves it too! It's called 'mushroom' and I think it will fit perfectly with our new kitchen. Not too girly!  :-)

 

More Wilton! I think this might be my new favorite thing, you can do everything with these pretty pieces!!

 

 Ashleigh and her mom got us our laundry hamper and filled it to the brim with every cleaning supply we'll ever need! Such a perfect practical gift, I loved it!

 

 My mom collected recipes from our friends and family and had them all put into a Friends & Family Recipe Book! It's so cute. There's probably 15 dessert recipes...everyone knows me all too well!

 

 5 of my 11 bridesmaids! All of the local girlies except my sister in law Jennifer were able to make it! I can't wait to have all 11 together at one time!!!

 

 My great Aunt B was able to come in town for the shower, so special.

 

 My friends are the BEST!

Currently we are trying to get all of my furniture and clothes and all of our wedding gifts boxed up and ready to go on the truck tomorrow! This weekend is MOVING WEEKEND! We are headed to Little Rock to move all of our big stuff into our first place! CAN'T WAIT!!! I haven't seen it since we put a deposit down on it mid-April, and it was still under construction then. I'm so excited to see the finished product! 

 Here's a pic of the outside of the house. Our apartment is the top left, and the deck on the right is all ours as well! This pic is still from when it was being worked on, so excuse the mess out front :-)

 

We're so excited! Adam should be able to move in sometime next week, hopefully cutting his 45 minute commute down to walking distance!

I'm still on the hunt for a job, so we'll see what happens. We figure it will be much easier to job hunt once we're both actually in Little Rock and able to make contacts in person. I know God will provide, and things will work out. At this point I know it probably won't be my dream job, but right now my dream job is being a newly married wife :-) 

-The Future Mrs....

22

As of tomorrow, we're 22 days away from this thing!

Holy moly! Where has the time gone??

We've gotten an even greater response of yes's on our rsvp's than we could have ever imagined, and I am so excited to see SO MANY of my absolute favorite people!!! When I think about our reception, and all the crafts and decorations I've been slaving away making, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to care about them once I'm at our reception. Instead, I'm going to care way more about getting to talk and hug and spend time with all of the people who have made us who we are today! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now don't get me wrong, I'll be more than ready to leave and get out of there :-) BUT I'm hoping to spend plenty of time soaking up as much of the night as possible and enjoying having all of the people we love under one roof at ONE time! It will NEVER happen again! I'M JUST SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

3 weeks from Saturday! These 3 weeks are going to draaaggggg on and on and on but once they're here I'm going to never want that day to end!

Memorial day weekend we're planning on moving all of our furniture into our apartment, and then I won't see Adam again until the morning before the wedding when we go get our marriage license! Are we old enough for this?? Is this real life?? Is it really time to get married and now some of my friends are having BABIES!!! WHAT??!!! 

I still sometimes think I'm dreaming. Surely I'll wake up and be 13 again. Ick, but who would want that? :-)

I'm so excited to "date" my husband, and see what all this "newlywed" talk is about! 

It's almost my turn, and I'm a mess of emotions!

Hopefully these next 3 weeks are full of rest, relaxation, and peace. 

Yea right. 

Bring it on wedding!

The New Kid On The Block

Alright everyone, I'm back.  There is less than a month until the big day and I couldn't be more ready.  I started my new job five days ago and I love it.  Every morning I get to the office a little bit early just to walk around downtown Little Rock to see what our future district has to offer.  It is such a great little area and I know that Sarah and I will feel right at home once we move in.  There are some great hiking trails, a river down the street, great food, nice parks, pretty much everything we need to start our lives.  It's all coming down to the wire of the beginning of our lives, and I can't wait to see what is just around the corner.