Weekend Family Getaway

This past weekend my family went to Branson to spend some time together. It is getting harder and harder to get our whole family together for a week-long vacation so mom put together a weekend getaway for us. We rented a condo overlooking the lake and did nothing but hang out with each other. Our family is very close so we all had a great time.

Saturday we all layed by the pool. After that we went shopping for a couple of hours and then went back to the condo and had a mexican dinner. After dinner we played a Mexican Mystery and JD's girlfriend, Jennifer, was the murderer! What better way to end the night then by watching a movie together. Appropriately, we watched The Great Outdoors. A classic!

The weekend was a much-needed get away and I can't wait until our next family adventure.

Mom and Dad dancing in the kitchen while making dinner

Me and my fiance on our balcony

We Have a Date!

Set a Date - Check!
Book Church - Check!
Book Reception Venue - Check!

Looks like this wedding is actually going to happen and everything is on schedule!

I will become Mrs. Pettigrew on July 2, 2011.

We chose this date for several different reasons.

1. We knew it was going to be July or later in 2011 because I wanted a year-long engagement. August starts football season so that left us with July only. My dad would kill me if I tried to get married during his season and Ryan and I both think it is almost a crime to get married on a Saturday in the fall - we would rather be at a football game!

2. Once we started looking at the weekends I realized July 2 was a Saturday and I immediatley wanted to do it then because we got engaged on July 2, 2010 - a little corny I know, but cool that we will get married exactly one year later.

3. Because it is a holiday weekend, our guests will have extra time for travel.

Now let's see, now that we have a date set and the venues booked, that leaves us exactly 308 days for planning. My mom and wedding planner are already on top of things and they are huge lifesavers for me. They are doing all the dirty work and I am so grateful to have their help!

For more information about our wedding visit our wedding website at

http://adams-pettigrew.ourwedding.com/

The Burlsworth Trophy

I had the opportunity to work on an awesome project at work the past couple of weeks - the announcement of the Burlsworth Trophy.

The Burlsworth Trophy is the second national collegiate football award to come out of Arkansas and the first ever that honors a walk-on. The media are calling it the "Heisman for Walk-Ons." The trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth who was a walk-on at Arkansas and eventually worked his way to become a scholarship starter and All-American. He was drafted in the first round of the 1999 draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later.

Brandon Burlsworth

When the Burlsworth Foundation approached Elise and Mitchell Communications, she automatically assigned me to the project because of my background with the Arkansas Sports Information Department. I have to say this was one of the most fun things I have worked on to date. Since the press conference was held at the UofA I got to work with all my old colleagues at SID and I was pitching to all the sports media who I use to work with. It was great to catch up with everybody.

L to R: Jeff Long, Frank Broyles, Ken Hatfield, Danny Ford

There were about 100 people at the announcement and unveiling of the trophy including media from NWA and Little Rock. I was also among Arkansas football legends - Frank Broyles, Ken Hatfield, Danny Ford and Jim Lindsey were all speakers at the press conference. The unveiling announcment appeared on ESPN.com, CBSSports.com and many other national websites. In my opinion - a success!

Brandon's Mom and brother, Marty, unveiled the trophy

I worked closely with the Burlsworth family and got to know a lot about Brandon. He was an amanzing person and they are so honored to have this trophy named after him. I also heard that there is even a movie being made about his life and football career. How exciting!

The Burlsworth Foundaiton is an amanzing organization that supports the physical and spirital needs of children. Read more about the Foundation and Brandon's amanzing life here.

Come back in February to see who the first recipient of the Burlsworth Trophy is!

Wedding Rant!

I have to take this time to vent just a bit. First we will have a pop quiz. There is only one question so no need to have a cram session.

1. What is Meredith's favorite color?

Answer: PUPRLE

Of course it is! All of you have known that about me for as long as you have known me. My favorite color has always been purple and most people would call it more of an obsession anyway. Come on people, I even have a bathroom that is purple!

Well it was a no brainer, and probably the easiest decision of the wedding, when I chose dark purple for my color (purple bridesmaids dresses, flowers, etc.) Another reason I love purple and chose it was because it was DIFFERENT and nobody else was using it.

WRONG! These days EVERYBODY is using purple. The more wedding blogs and photographer websites I look at, the more purple I see. So for my rant I would like all of you brides who don't really like the color and just using it because it is "in" these days, kindly pick another color. I don't want my guests hating it by the time next summer comes. Purple has always been my favorite and I have always known I was going to use it for my wedding so I call first dibbs.

Thanks and have a lovely day! (would you say this is the first signs of Bridezilla coming out?)

My Maids, for me, the Bride

I finally have asked all of my best friends to be bridesmaids and I am so excited to have these 8 women standing with me on my special day! I racked my brain to come up with a interesting way to ask them and this is what I found:This book is awesome. It has pages full of hideous bridesmaids dresses. And I love the title: "You can wear it again" because we all know that a bridesmaids dress can never really be worn again so I am not even going to make that promise to my maids. On the inside of the cover I wrote "Dear X, I hope your dress doesn't end up in a book like this in 20 years! Will you be my bridesmaid?"

Everybody has loved getting them and looking through the pictures. So now...drumroll please....my bridesmaids are:

Stacia Petrancosta, Matron of Honor

Collin Ward, Maid of Honor

Emily Striegler

Shelby Nolte

Kendall Jones

Bekah Hopper

Kelsey Hency

Jeni Sackett

I was able to give Kelsey and Kendall their's in Destin so it was fun watching them open the books together.

I will go into much more detail about each and every one of them throughout the year so check back continuously.

I love you girls with all my heart and I am so excited about the next year!

The Start of a New Junior League Year

This year I am starting my first year in Junior League as an active member. Last year I was a new member. Not only am I starting my first active year but they also made me a New Member Trainer. This means that I will be a liason of sorts for a group of 13 women who are new memebers. This is the first year that a trainer has ever been a first-year active but they thought it would provide an interesting point of view.

We had our New Member retreat a couple of weekends ago. The new members got a chance to learn the history of Junior League, hear some officers speak and they got to actually work in the community. My group went to the Children's House in Fayetteville and made scrapbooks for the kids. That was right up my alley!

My group is the Purple Group (who would have ever thought I would have chosen purple?). We had to come up with a tablescapes theme for our group. If you dont' know what a tablescape is then you definitely don't watch enough of Sandra Lee and the Food Network. For my tablescape I chose Mardi Gras. We had beads and masks that I made

I was really nervous about being a new member trainer, but at the retreat all of those fears vanished. Being a New Member trainer is exactly like being a Gamma Chi at rush and that was one of my favorite things ever. I enjoy getting to know the girls, answering their questions and helping them learn the ways of Junior League. While getting to know my group I found out that one of my girls, Ellen, is a football coach's daughter just like me and her Dad and my dad play each other. Small world right?

We had a lot of fun at the retreat and I can't wait to get to know my group better and do more work in our community!

Who Knew?

Who knew I could actually grow something?



For some reason, that gene that every girl gets that you should automatically know how to garden and grow things, I didn't get it. I kill all my plants and never have anything edible come out of the ground. But that is not from lack of trying. Man I try, every year!



Well this year, that all changed! Ryan planted me 4 jalapeno plants and look! It is actually growing and producing japs!!! Wahoo!!! I am so proud of myself. These babies are out of control. I picked all of these in one night and can usually get that many 2 or 3 nights a week. So if you want some fresh, super spicy jalapenos, I'm your girl!

Decoration - A Southern Tradition

For those of you who don't know, Decoration is a grand southern event in small, rural towns. I know this is a new concept for most so I wanted to enlighten everybody about this family tradition.

In Winslow, AR, Decoration happens at the Black Oak Church of Christ. Black Oak is a single-room church and has a cementary on the side. This cementary is where the Adams side of my family is buried. When Decoration rolls around - which is always in August and 495 degrees - all the families come for a pot luck lunch (outside) and then after, decorate the family graves with fake flowers galore - or even an arrangement with miniature doll heads (that deserves a blog post in itself - check back).

There are several tables lined up for all the food but you have to be careful when filling your plate. If you cross your family's table, you are lible to get slapped on the hand with a spatula by the matriarch of the other family. Food lines are NOT to be crossed. I challenge anybody to find better food than what you can find at Decoration. This is true country, home cooking and it's the best there is! Every year you will find fried chicken, fried okra, 14 different kinds of pies and dozens of casseroles you never quite know whats in them but they are delicious all the same.

Uncle Bob and other Adams family members

My grandparents' headstone. Love you MeMe and Papa!

The other Adams Family members

The Adams siblings - my Aunt Janie and Daddy

Now, you all know about Decoration and one of the Adams Family traditions. I love my country family!

Destin: The View

No words needed.....

All pictures courtesy of Kendall

We had so much fun at Destin and I can't wait to go back!

Destin: The Food!

When I'm on vacation I EAT! And man did we eat in Destin. I love seafood so I was able to get some good authentic grub. I will now walk you through all the great dishes I had.

Thursday
Lunch: The Backport - Seafood Nachos
Dinner: Harbor Docks - Crab stuffed shrimp wrapped in Bacon

Friday
Lunch: Sandwhiches on the beach
Dinner: The Crab Trap - Crab Legs (my favorite seafood dish ever!)


Saturday
Breakfast: The Donut Hole - Donuts of course
Lunch: Sandwhich on the beach
Dinner: Harry T's - Seafood Pasta

Sunday
Lunch: The Great Southern Cafe (in Seaside) - Shrimp and Grits with mushrooms and spinach

Dessert: Frost Bite - a Snow Cone!

Check back tomorrow for Destin: The View!

Destin: The Fun!

I just got back from my much-needed vacation with some of my bestest girlfriends! We went to Destin, FL for 4 days and 3 nights and it was heaven! We did nothing by lay on the beach, read all day, take naps and then eat utill we couldn't eat anymore.

We took so many good pictures, correction: KENDALL took so many good pictures, that I am going to divide them up into separate posts. I brought my camera but after the first night I just stop taking it out because Kendall has an awesome fancy camera and she took way better pictures than I could.

The first post is dedicated to how much fun Kendall, Kelsey, Collin and I had. I strongly believe there is nothing better than having quality time with your girls.

on the beach - we were so excited there was no oil

This might be my favorite picture of the whole trip. One whole side of our condo was floor to ceiling mirrors so every night we would all sit in front of it and get ready together - just like the good ole days at the Delta Shelta

Shopping in Seaside

Kels with her Nook - she is so cool!

Somebody says smile in an elevator and we do this

Our first night. Another one of my favorites

We wouldn't have survived without these floaties. It was 100 degrees everyday so we had to stay in the water

Check back tomorrow for Destin: The Food!