Hickman House

What a crazy, but fun weekend. It has kind of been a crazy month, if we're being honest. I feel like I have been a little behind with the blogging lately- so I am kind of playing catch up. It is full swing wedding/engagement season. Which is so exciting! A little over a week ago we celebrated my dearest friend as she married her love. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL. I had the honor of being her Matron of Honor. Needless to say I was a little emotional all day long. Can't believe my Ellie Pooh is a married woman! She was the most beautiful bride ever. The wedding was romantic, soft and elegant, with a rustic feel. Lights were strung over the dance floor, and tables were placed out on the lawn under the stars. It was fabulous. Here are some pictures from their big day:

To say that I am exhausted is an understatement, but the exhaustion is so worth it. On Thursday night we brought our new precious pup home! We were so excited to finally get our hands on our sweet bully. We knew going into this process that it was going to be just that, a process. A long, tiring process. But I am excited to report it is no where near as bad as I was expecting it to be. Little man is so stinking good to be so little.

On Thursday we got him home at about 8 p.m. He did really well the first night with only two accidents. We took him out at 10 p.m. put him in his kennel, then proceeded to take him out at 12, 3, 5, and again at 7. He slept really well in between breaks. The first night the kennel was not his favorite at all. He would whine for a few minutes before falling asleep. After his 7 am trip- I let him snuggle with me until we got up at 8 for breakfast.

On Friday Sam and I both had to work so we took him to my parents house. We are trying to keep him on a routine as much as possible. His eating schedule is 8 am, 2 pm, and again at 8. So since we were working we put him in his kennel, and he stayed in there until it was time to eat again at 2. He got to hang out with my dad and Mumble until Sam got home. He played and slept and did really well with only one accident inside and none in the kennel the entire night! He is such a smart dog. Now as for the chewing- I have a feeling something will be destroyed here soon.

Last night it was Sam's turn for night duty. (I had the first night) We put him in his kennel around 10 and he only whined for about two minutes. Heyward will sleep and then bark just loud enough to wake us up and we take him straight outside. Last night we got a tad bit more time in-between breaks. He took him back out at 1 and again at 3 and then at about 6. We got our morning snuggles in and then it was breakfast time again at 8. Sam has the day off but we still wanted him to get used to the kennel since we work during the day, so we put him back in for just a little bit when I headed off to work. Sam is looking forward to spending the day playing with him and I am so excited to spend the night with him when I get home.

He is doing so well and we are absolutely in love. He already recognizes when I tell him to come to "mama" and when I tell him to go find his daddy- he starting turning in circles to find Sam. He sure is precious. We take him to the vet next week for his 6 week check up. As for Sam and I? We'll be living off of coffee the next few weeks!

I am a horrible blogger- I write posts and then never publish them. Here is one I wrote a few days ago on surviving your wedding day.

With quite a bit of friends getting married this year, and next, I have been asked many questions about wedding planning do's and don'ts. When it comes down to it, there are a BILLION different websites, books, and blogs telling you what to do on your wedding day. Some of them true,  some of them pretty silly. So with that being said I have compiled my own list of tips to surviving your wedding day. Hopefully this will help someone on their big day!

1. Get PLENTY of sleep. You are going to be exhausted at the end of the day. Don't plan to spend the night before your big day out. You want to be well rested to enjoy your day, call it a night pretty early.

2. Have a coordinator. I can't stress this enough. I literally have no clue how I would have survived without mine. She kept us on time, on task, and organized the whole day (the whole year, really). Thanks a million, Jami!

3. Surround yourself with energetic people. My girls kept me upbeat, hydrated, and fed all day long. Every few minutes one would ask me how I was feeling.

4. Have a buffer. This might seem silly, but it really will help your stress level. The bride doesn't need to know what is wrong, or who is late. The buffer is usually the coordinator. Let them deal with the issues, that is what they are pros at.

5. Find quite time in your day. I sat down with my bible, and my computer. I enjoyed the calm moments before the festivities started.

6. Do NOT, I repeat do not try to do anything on your wedding day. Hire people to do it for you, or ask super awesome family members that are willing to help. Wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready. That is ALL you need to be doing that day. You do not want to get overwhelmed.

7. Ask your friends and family to kindly wait to post pictures until after the ceremony. Of anything wedding related, not just you in your dress. That probably goes without saying, but you never know!

8. Have a wedding day survival kit ready. You just never know who will need a safety pin, lip gloss, or an old credit card to break into the house that you're getting ready in..hehe.

9. Be comfortable. You don't want to put your dress on until you are about to head out, so wear something that will be comfortable while you're getting ready. Also- reception shoes are a must. Heels will kill your feet all night long.

10. Last but not least- leave your phone in your bag. You have everyone you need there with you, use your phone as less as possible. Be in the moment.

You want to really be present in the day, remember every moment, and enjoy it!

What a weekend it has been! I have been going nonstop all month and I finally had a little bit of a break this weekend. It has been nice and relaxing! Just what I needed. Lots of big things happening for us Hickman's lately! So excited to share what is happening with us within the next few months. God has blessed us tremendously and we are so grateful.

One of the big things that have happened this weekend is another one of my sweet friends has drank the koolaid. Super excited to announce that my dear high school friend is getting MARRIED! We are so excited for you, Hanna and Ethan! Marriage is fantastic and so much fun. We chatted that morning about her date (I just had a feeling it was happening) and I told her to call me if anything happened. Sure enough a few hours later- she called! I love getting these texts!! He took her to the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and popped the question. (Que the awww's) I am hoping you'll get to read her engagement story as soon as her blog is up and running.....hint hint.


Also this weekend we met our new furbaby! We don't get to bring him home for a little while, which makes me sad- but we are so excited. We decided not to renew our lease at the place we are staying, which has been the sole reason we haven't been puppy looking already. Our sweet Olde English Bulldog will be ready right after we move so we knew it was perfect timing. I have had my heart set on a bulldog forever and as soon as we found a litter and checked the pick up date we knew it was meant to be! We are over the moon! Pictures to come! Also- for puppy parents, tips would be greatly appreciated!

Busy doesn't even begin to describe our lives lately. After not being home for almost 2 weeks (Newspaper conferences for Sam, Braves weekend trip for Sam, and Katie sitting at our in-laws!) We have somewhat finally settled down into a routine again. Except we're still crazy busy and with lots of wedding festivities, anniversaries and work, I have a feeling its not going to get any slower. But hey, we like it that way. Last weekend we got to spend some time with our sweet friends Devin and Haley. They were thrown a couples shower that we were so excited to attend. Good food, great people and they got some really awesome stuff. They even played the shoe game which was so fun to watch. Oh it brings back so many memories! It was almost a year ago when we played the shoe game at our first couples shower. Where does the time go? I love watching them experience the joy and excitement of being engaged like we did! Anyways- after the shower we headed back to Haley's to spend some more time with everyone. We have been so busy that we haven't been able to see much of anyone so we certainly enjoyed ourselves!

All while my husband became a traveling gypsy this past week, I have become quite the busy MOH for my sweet bff Elliott. Her wedding is less than TWO months away so we have been getting things done. This Sunday is the shower that us bridesmaids are hosting for her. I can't wait to get to shower her with all the things she will start her new married life with! Eeek! And next weekend I am hosting her bachelorette party in Myrtle Beach. I am so excited for a weekend in the sun with some sweet ladies! I have also picked up both of their dresses I will be wearing in their weddings which makes everything so surreal and makes me so anxious for their big days! Ah! Happy times!

Other than that not too many thing happening in the life of The Hickmans! Busy working and enjoying married life. Tonight we are heading to dinner at our favorite joint, Hamburger Joes's, with our favorite newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Cox!

I bet you're all really confused by that title. Before we begin let me preface this by saying if you know me at all, you know I am an avid Jack Roger wearer. Like 99.9% of the time that is what is on my feet. I have bought several pairs and I have enjoyed them all. Until just recently. Last Summer around July, I was in desperate need of a new pair of Gold Jacks. So I order me a pair and loved them, for about a month. I wore them to a football game and when I got home I realized that my heel had come off during the course of the night and it was nowhere to be found. Well, spending a good bit of money on these shoes, I was puzzled at how easily and fast this happened. But because they are my go to shoe, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and emailed the company to see if they could just replace it. Few weeks went by and no reply. So I put them to the back of my closet and forgot about it. Well spring rolled around and I pulled them out again forgetting that they were broke.  I contacted the company yet again, finally getting a reply. They pretty much gave me the run around, asking for picture after picture. I got the hint that they were going to tell me it couldn't be fixed even though they were new and was putting no effort in helping me. So needless to say I was a little put off with them. Gasp, I know. I hate bad customer service.

So I started doing research on the company....my mind was blown and I was a little heart broken. Jack Rogers were not even the original Navajo sandal! There were not patents on shoes, so they copied the original design from Luigi Pucillo, who was asked to create this sandal by Jackie O. If you want to read the entire story in a few quick words you can find it here. Needless to say these were the sandals our beloved Lilly Pulitzer were crazy about- not Jacks. You can also see how they are made here. Now obviously I am not stupid, and this could be just another he said she said deal so I did further research of my own about the actual shoe. You can actually SEE the difference in the two. Check out the heels....I bet Palm Beach Sandals heel wouldn't fall off after a month. And even if it did, they come with a warranty to resole your shoes whenever you need it. Finally, good customer service. And for about 10 dollars cheaper on each shoe- why wouldn't you pay for better quality? I will no longer be purchasing Jacks. I statement I never thought I would say. End rant.