12 Ladies Dancing

    I love the stage, as much as I love being on it myself I love seeing amazing singers, dancers and actors on stage even more.  There is something about the sparkly costumes, the false eyelashes, the wigs, the quick changes, the stage hands and the talent that feels magical.  Last night for a Christmas surprise Adam took me to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at the Grand Olde Opry, it was wonderful.  I am so impressed with their perfection, synchronization and stage presence, their legs that go on for miles and their wide warm smiles.  If I grew up a dancer I would for sure have dreamed of being a Rockette, heck, I am not a dancer and still dreaming of being a Rockette.  These lovely ladies have been toe tapping and high kicking since 1925, which is very impressive that still today that it is one of the most-watched live shows in the United States, with over 2 million viewers per year.  Anyone that has a chance to go out and catch this live, go see it, you wont be disappointed. 

 

Our Wedding Video

 I love love love watching this and remembering the most memorable day in my and Adams life to date.  I cant believe it has already been 2 months since we said 'I Do' and became Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Home Sweet Home

Adam and I have been non stop traveling since we have been married and this week it is so nice to be home.  Don't get us wrong it has been wonderful seeing our family and friends along the way, but it sure is nice to sleep in our own bed.  Since we have been home we have gotten a chance to look at new homes for us to call our own.  House hunting is super fun but also stressful, confusing and a huge decision.  Right now we live in Franklin which was named in Southern Living's "Best Small Town" top ten list, Best Places to Live, CNN Money (August 2011), Top 5 Most Romantic Main Streets and Top 100 Places to Live, Relocate America (July 2011) .  So you can imagine how difficult it is to decide to move out of such a wonderful city, however Franklin being as amazing as it is houses in Franklin are very expensive and more of an investment Adam and I want to make right now.  We have been looking in a town 20 minutes south of Franklin called Spring Hill and have found a really nice house there.  Both Adam and I are still trying to decide if it is the right house and location for us and hopefully we can make a decision soon.  I'm usually the one to make a quick emotionally fueled decision and Adam is the calm, think about all the possibilities first decision maker so between the two of us I think we have the heart and the brain to make a good solid decision.  


Can you believe it is 2 weeks till Christmas!?!?!  Well actually it is 5 days for our Christmas with my parents and 12 days until our Christmas with Adams family.  It is so wonderful that we get to spend our first Christmas being married with our families even though they live far away from us.  Adam and I are truly blessed and thankful!

Thanksgiving

Hey Y'all!
We are back from our Thanksgiving trip to FL and wanted to share with you a video of our fun:

Giving Thanks

One of my favorite times of the year is Thanksgiving, I love the cooler weather, family and friends coming together and of course the desserts!  This year Adam and I will be celebrating our first Thanksgiving together at my parents house in Tampa, FL.  It is this time of year that we start to really appreciate and be grateful for all we have in life.  Really though we should be giving thanks and gratitude in our daily lives.   I was reminded today that when you feel entitled you can not feel grateful and we are not entitled to anything.  We are not guaranteed nor do we deserve things in life  so we should be thankful for everything that we do get blessed with. We are not looking forward to the 12 hour drive but we are grateful to get to spend the week with my family, friends and of course see my love nugget, Diesel!

My handsome son Diesel -  A face only a mother could love!

The "Robinson Bake Off" is a tradition that was started a few years ago is also the highlight of Thanksgiving.   Each year family and friends submit a home made entry into the bake off and is judged by everyone in attendance.  The winning entry gets a wonderful medal and of course the bragging rights for the best baked good for the year to come!  As the reigning champion I feel a lot of pressure to come up with the very best dessert to defend my title.  Yesterday I did a run though with two recipes that I found in Southern Living that from the pictures looked very tasty. Thank goodness for that run though, because neither possibility would have been worthy of the win.  Here are the two recipes that I tried:

Banana Foster Upside Down Cake

Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake with Praline Topping

So since neither recipe is going to be my entry the search for the prize winning dessert is still on!  Usually I know what I am making and have done a trial run though of my entry by now, this year I am seriously behind schedule.  Whatever I come up with I am sure it will be delisious, and hopefully award winning! 

Run Baby Run

It is official!
No we are not having a baby, at least not yet, but we are running in the County Music half marathon on April 28, 2012.  It was a decision we made together as a way to keep ourselves motivated with our weight-loss goals.  It is so difficult for us both to stay on track with our healthy habits when football snacks are so delicious and with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the near horizon our willpower is being put to test.  We have about 23 weeks to get back into half marathon shape which is a feat I am sure we can both accomplish.  My first and only other half marathon I ran was the Women's Half Marathon this past October with a finish time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 29 seconds.  This time I am hoping that with Adam running along side of me we can break the 2 hour mark.  I have never been a runner and growing up you would find me as far away from the heat and the asphalt as possible, the ice was my home.  Skating made me feel graceful, empowered, competitive, strong and free, and I miss that a lot.  When I stopped skating I really desired that competitiveness still and surprisingly for a girl that hated running, it has been running that brought that competitiveness back in my life.  Any family and friends that want to come cheer Adam and I on, we would love to any and all of you here!

One Month

Adam and I celebrated our one month anniversary yesterday.  Well we didn't really celebrate, Adam was out of town for work but non the less it was our one month anniversary.  It is still hard to believe that one month has gone by already.  It really does just seem like yesterday that I was walking down the aisle and saying 'I Do' to my now husband.  Marrying my best friend of course will always be the stand out memory of  10/8/11 but I thought it would be great to reminisce a little bit about some of my other favorite moments of the day.

1. Hearing Adams personal vows and sharing mine with him is such a stand out memory of the day.  Writing our own personal vows with each other was a decision that Adam and I though was very important and a great way to make the ceremony more personal.  After hearing Adams vows and reading mine to him I knew that we made the right choice and I recommend it to anyone getting married in the future.

2. Another favorite moment of both Adam and I was having all our family and close friends together for one day to celebrate with Adam and I.  We were so amazed by the number of people that traveled so far to TN for our wedding.  It was overwhelming in a positive way, and we both love and thank you all!

3. Fried Chicken!  I still have people telling me how amazing the fried chicken was at the reception and that they want to visit TN again just to eat the fried chicken.  I am so glad that I fought to have that on the menu, Max at Pucketts was right, it is amazing chicken!!!

4.  My dress!  Not everyone knows the drama of my dress so here is the cliff notes version.  After getting engaged I did what most brides to be do, make dress shopping appointments.  After a long day of trying on about 50 dresses I finally decided on the LAST dress I tried on and bought it.  After taking a moment to breath and really think about my purchase, I wasn't happy with my decision.  A month before the wedding my good friend Michelle came to town to help with wedding plans, little did either of us know that in that weekend I would find my dream dress.  We went shopping at a store that was going out of business and found my beautiful dress!  It was the only one I tried on that day and I wasn't expecting to buy a new dress, but I fell in love with it!  It was the perfect dress for me and I absolutely still love it! 

5. Singing & Dancing!  For about 2 days after the wedding both Adam and I had a raspy voice from all the singing, well lets be honest its more like shouting and howling, that we were doing at the reception.  We both had so much fun and our band Stretta really knew how to get our wedding guests on the dance floor.  Bon Jovi's “Livin’ on a Prayer" will forever remind Adam and I of our wedding day!

Marrying Adam was the easiest decision I have ever made, he is the love of my life.  Now on to more difficult decisions, house shopping!  Here are a couple of picture of beautiful horses I saw in Franklin yesterday for you all to enjoy!

Laugh it up!

In an attempt to be funny my parents sent Adam and I this the other day:

 Here is our response to their stab at comedy:

 

Well there you have it folks, we may just be the funniest family ever. 

I want to also add that I think my husband looks pretty darn sexy in glasses :)

Are you ready for some football?!

Growing up as a northerner I was raised with football on Sundays watching the pros show everyone how it is done.  But things are definitely different when you are living in and south and married to a real southerner.  Saturday is the real day of football, its when the Dawgs, Vols, Tigers, Gaters and the Roll Tide take the center stage.  I'm leaning all kinds of new things about college football; there are many different divisions,  one foot in bounds is sufficient when catching a TD instead of two and the biggest difference is that going to a game is more like a fashion show for college kids.  Apparently as a Smith I must learn to love the SEC and find some super cute red and black game day outfits, GO DAWGS!  In honor of the big game last night (#1 LSU and #2 UA) I whipped up some treats to entertain a couple of friends and brush up on my southern hospitality charm.  Here are a few things I made:

Sweet Tea - Adam was sure to tell me the right way to make Tea

Rice Crispy Treats with Chocolate on top.  We didn't have LSU or UA color sprinkles so we improvised

Football Chocolate covered Strawberries

8 Layer Dip - Yummy!

Pop Em Like There Hot - Bacon, Cream Cheese & Jalapeno in a Crescent Roll.

Turkey Meatballs for Meatball Subs!

So it wasn't the healthiest munchies that I have ever made, but they sure were delicious!  By the way all of these recipes are from Pintrest.  If you dont know what Pintrest is, check it out, but I dont take responsibility for the addiction you may have to it.  Enjoy everyone! 

On the road....

Happy November and sorry for the delay of update to anyone out there actually reading this blog. Adam and I took our show on the road this week and last. Well really Adam is working and I'm along for the ride. One of the perks of not working right now, I get to travel around with my husband. I'm sure there are some women that probably enjoy the breaks they get when their husbands go away for work but I can honestly say I love when I get to spend any and all time with Adam.  Maybe that's the newlywed effect but I hope it lasts! I am so truly blessed to have married my best friend.

In our travels we got to stop in Charlotte, NC for the weekend to see our nieces and nephew Trick Or Treat. It is so cute to see the kids dressed up and all jacked up on sugar. It was pretty awesome seeing how close they all are as cousins. It reminded me of all my cousins going to Nana's house to trick or treat. Our costumes would always get ruined by having to layer on winter coats and accessories over our costumes, there was always one house that would give out full size candy bars that we would try to get there fast, the trading candy at the end of the night and who could forget my brother always having some sort of melt down about his costume or candy. All in all trick or treating was always a great family event and I hope that when Adam and I decide to make his table for two a table for three that we can continue to make it a family event with their cousins.

Today we are in eastern TN where Adam has some accounts to visit. While Adam is hard at work I am actually getting a lot done as well. I have almost completed our thank you cards, phew! We were so blessed that not only so many of our friends and family were able to come to our wedding but that that also gave us gifts. It was more than we could have wished for.

Ohhhh!!!! Our wedding photos are done!!! Family and friends that want to see just shoot me an email and I will send you the link to check them out.

Well back to writing thank you cards, I'll keep everyone posted soon!

Sneak Peek!

I know it has only been 2 1/2 weeks since our wedding but I am so anticipating our wedding photos!!! We love our photographers and they have done an amazing job on our engagement shoots and the sneak peek at our wedding shots are looking stunning!  The below picture and the picture on our background are by Josh & Meg Souder of Souder Photography, they rock!!!  Anyone need a photographer, you need to call them, they do astounding work and are incredibly nice people. 
I cant wait to see more!!!

He stole my heart <3

On a different topic I have decided to dial in on my cooking skills and be the best little apartment wife I can be.  I found a great looking recipe in Southern Living for Hearty Italian Soup with Parmesan-Pepper Cornbread Biscotti and decided to give it a try.  The biscotti looked and tasted fantastic, the soup not so much.  I followed the directions to a T but it was just not very tasty, it was missing something for sure.   Adam was a great husband and ate the whole bowl of soup and just smiled. I love him for the fact that even though he didn't like it he knew how much effort and time I put into it and didn't want to make me feel bad.  I think I will stick to the Italian wedding soup, tortilla soup and chili recipes that I know are fantastic next time I have a craving for soup.  However, I think I may have stumbled upon a new favorite thing to bake, biscotti.  I cant wait to try out some more recipes, and just in time for Thanksgiving ad Christmas.  Anyone out there in this blogger-sphere have any good biscotti recipes to share, I would love to try some out.

P.S. - By 7:30pm when both of us were starving we ran 1.7 miles to Chick Fil A to have a real dinner and ran home. :)

Stttrrriiiiikkeeee!

We had a wonderful weekend here in Franklin, TN.  It was beautiful weather, perfect for a baseball game.  Speaking of baseball game, for those of you dying to see Adam pitch the first pitch at the Vanderbilt Vs. Cal State Fullerton here it is:

I was such a proud wife, if you cant tell by the shrieking squeal in the background, lol.  I have never gotten to see Adam on a baseball field, where he spent most of his college days, so it was a great moment for me to see him so happy and in his element.  Next I am going to have to get him to a batting cage so I can see him hit some balls, maybe he can even give me a lesson too :)

I am Mrs. Smith...good think I know how to bake!

The process to get your name changed is actually more complicated that I thought it would be.  I thought there was a one stop shop, a simple form to fill out, or a magician that magically could make Miss. Robinson change to Mrs. Smith.  This is not such the case I have learned.  It is a process that takes multiple stops and today was the first stop on the name change train. Today I went to the social security office to get my name legally changed to Kerri Lynne Smith!  It was a painless experience although it was so strange when the women handed my my confirmation paper and said "Here you go Mrs, Smith".  I thought, who is this Mrs Smith?  I looked over my shoulder to see if another woman was behind me but then it clicked, I AM MRS. SMITH!  Next stop the DMV

Adam has been working so hard to get caught up with work, it is amazing what missing one week of work will do.  I am also super excited to announce that Adam will be pitching the first pitch at the Vanderbilt VS Cal State Fullerton baseball game on Sunday!!!  I will be sure to get it on video and share next week. 

Yeah Mon!

 As some of you may know Adam and I spent our honeymoon in Ocho Rios Jamaica.  We had an amazing time and for the most part the weather was perfect.  We did so many things, snorkel, kayak, horseback ride, rock climb, shuffle board, climb Dunns River, take a catamaran ride, ride a bobsled, zipline tour, cliff jump, ATV ride, yoga, pampering at the spa, eat, drink and tried to RELAX.  Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Enjoying our first night in Jamaica

Yoga on the deck overlooking the Caribbean Sea

I think the water sports activities were our favorite! Paddle boarding, snorkeling, water trike & kayaking

Horseback riding in the ocean was a wonderful highlight

Canopy tour and bobsled ride at Mystic Mountain, such a blast!!

Our favorite excursion for sure!!! ATV through the mud!

Cliff jumping to wash off all the mud from the ATV tour

I think that Adam and I have gained about 8lbs combined after all the food and drinks consumed so it is back to working out and eating right for us.  Just like in college there is the 'freshman 15' there is the 'newlywed 15' and Adam and I are not going to allow ourselves to pack on those pounds.  I guess officially the honeymoon is over, but Adam and I are still on cloud 9 and are so happy to be husband and wife!  Oh I dropped off the water camera to get developed, so I cant wait to share those pictures as well :)

Our First Dance...

Introducing for the first time, Mr & Mrs. Adam Smith....

"Inside her garden lies the secret in the light
and I’d love to make her mine
an iris her soul, violet—her heart
the woman I’ve needed from the start
the woman I’ve needed from the start

make me a man—show me how to fight
take that woman—make her my bride
show us the new meaning of lives entwined

I am in love, I am in love, I am in love with you
but we got bigger things to do
like chase a new life on the heels of a newfound train
and take on the world with the girl and her new last name
fight for you—this I can do

When we’ve both grown tired and we’re covered in scars
I won’t give up on your heart
please don’t give up on my heart

make me a man—show me how to fight
take that woman—make her my bride
show us the new meaning of lives entwined
fight for me—won’t you please…
fight for me—won’t you please…

I am in love, I am in love, I am in love with you
but we got bigger things to do
like chase a new life on the heels of a newfound train
and take on the world with the girl and her new last name
fight for you—this I can do
fight for you—this I can do

this I can do…
this I can do…
this I can do…"

Lives Entwined by Matthew Mayfield