Welcome Home, My Love...

Maybe you noticed these pictures on your Instagram feed yesterday?

And then you thought, "Wait. Where did he go?!"

Well, I can't tell you his destination but I can tell you that my husband has been in another country for THREE AND A HALF WEEKS!! If you were to compile every single day that we had been apart since dating, prior to this trip... it would still not add up to three and a half weeks - 25 days - that we were away from each other at this one time.

If you're new to our blog, I'll fill you in on a few key details...

• JD travels for business pretty frequently.
• Thanks to his gracious company, I am allowed to travel with him unless security/safety issues arise.
• We choose not to post any real-time information when traveling.

I picked him up from the airport with this tears, bright green sign, tears, a box of Cheddar Jack Cheez-Its, tears, and Mama E's pecan mini muffins. Did I mention a terribly dreadful amount of happy tears!?

So we packed up the car, headed home and unpacked the bags. A few minutes after JD said, "I'm going to try to stay up late so I can get re-adjusted to central time," I found him sweetly sleeping with his new business class eye mask covering his eyes on the couch. Hey, he made it to 5 p.m. That's better than I would do. 

We woke up at 7:30 in the a.m. and started sorting through his foreign treasures...

How cool is this engraved scroll-holder? JD got our last name engraved in English and Arabic. He suggested we write our vows in calligraphy, age the paper and store them in here. ;) He's awesome.

JD received these tiny houses on his KLM flight. All business class passengers get to choose one on each flight. I'm thinking: Christmas Village material. 

Normally they store potpourri in the houses, we think, but they didn't for these because of Customs regulations. 

We love collecting things from other countries, especially when they have English on one side and the country's language on the other. Thus, we have a wonderful collection of Coca-Cola products. JD also brought back some Tabasco, Colman's Mustard, Ketchup and Jelly jars. Yum!

And then he pulled out a grocery bag of... chocolate bars. Snickers, Mars, Kit Kat, and Twix bars all with Arabic writing on the sides. Room service would leave them on his bedside table. It will take us at least a couple of months to finish these off, but I was so glad he saved them and brought them back to share with me!! 

What did we do to celebrate his return??

We shaved his beard off, devoured Five Guys burgers and fries, and...

we counted / rolled the coins from our finally-filled-up coin jar. And we had so. much. fun! Honestly. We sat there, laughing and talking with music playing in the background, simply counting coins. No TV. No distractions. Just spending the day together. Pure bliss. JD decided we should try to find all 50 states for the quarters and a penny for every important date in our lives year.  The only state we couldn't find was Colorado. We're hoping we'll find it eventually though! 

Oh - and we found four "Jesus Christ" coins. "Good For One Dollar In Trade" Haha! We were pumped each time we found one in the jar. Praise the Lord that we do not get into Heaven based on how many Jesus coins we have stashed away in an old coin jar! 

Come back Thursday to see how we remained intentional in our marital encouragement during each other's absence. 

The Epic Shabby Chic Bridesmaid Luncheon for a Dear, Dear Friend

My mom and I hosted a bridesmaids' luncheon for my first "BFF", Emily Perry. We met at the age of two and have been friends ever since... yeah, 22 years. THAT is sisterhood. Her and her sweet new husband, Brian, dated for eight years and have finally TIED THE KNOT!!

Anyways, I have been so. stinkin. EXCITED. to show you photos of all mom and I put together. Among many other things, Mom (referred to earlier posts as "Mama E") set up all of the centerpieces and decorated the mantel; while I made the chargers, mason jar glasses and table runners. 

Meet Mrs. Gardner...

Mama E: "Tomorrow, call me 'Mrs. Gardner'."

Me: "No mom! We're not going to call you 'Mrs. Gardner'. That's going to be Emmy's new name."

(I was thinking it was a game she was wanting to play.)

Mama E: "Yeah. Call me 'Mrs. Gardner'..."

Me: "No, mom. Seriously, we are not calling you 'Mrs. Gardner' all day."

Mama E: "I'm talking about what you should write on the chalkboard!!"

Me: "Hahaha - oh. Well, maybe we should write, 'Tomorrow we shall call her Mrs. Gardner' instead...?"

Mama E: "Oh yeah. That would be much better."

The bride and bridesmaids' table. 

Notice there is an old school desk to the bottom left-hand corner. That's what you throw in when you miscount the number of guests coming. 

Mom used kitchen towels for the napkins to provide a more aesthetically pleasing presentation.

The bridesmaids and bride sat at the "groom" table, and the families of the grom and bride sat at the "bride" table. Thank you, Scrabble.

These lovely monogrammed jars with a chalkboard lid will be sold in our Etsy shop SOON!!

Drink Options:

Cucumber Water 

water with slices of cucumbers and branches of mint and rosemary - this refreshing water ran out QUICKLY

Virgin Mimosas

orange juice and sparkling grape cider

Coffee

The "marriage" mantel. Mom set all of this up. Isn't it lovely? We threw the vintage book wreath together in no time!

Menu Options:

Various flavored muffins

Mini pecan pie muffins

Heart-shaped fruit with dip

Egg & bacon casserole

Egg & sausage mini casseroles

French toast casserole

Italian cream cheese cake

My parents' neighbor, Amy, helped out with some of the delicious menu options!

The entire luncheon was a HUGE hit! 

Brian & Emily's wedding took place Sunday night. 

The wedding was beautiful and flashbacks of our childhood created kiddie pools of tears in my eyes.

Emily is such a blessing to my life. 

JD and I wish them both a lifetime of pure bliss!!

"This way... to happily ever after."

Friday Favesies: Weddings Edition

This week has been beautiful chaos, as my mom and I have been in a mad dash to get everything prepared for Emily's bridesmaid luncheon tomorrow. Emily and I have known each other since we were 2 years old and we've been best friends ever since. I am sooo stinkin' excited to post photos of the prep work for this party but I guess you will just have to wait until Monday. ;)

However, today is Friday Favesies over at Discovery Street...



and even though I didn't make much time to browse around the web this week, I feel it is only appropriate to include my all-time favorite this week: Photo Recap of our friends' (Matt & Julie) wedding. Check out Rachel Stricklin's blog. She is a wonderful photographer... and these photos... they're fantastic. Please, please, PLEASE scroll down to the photo of Julie, her mother and her two grandmothers all holding their wedding rings out. This picture nearly brought tears to my eyes when I saw it. Her dad said something like, "Matt and Julie... Your family has set high expectations for you, as we have (something like 200 generations) worth of marriages that have stayed together till death. We expect the same from y'all." Then he went into an epic speech about marriage, Matt and Julie. In reality, the photo of the generations of wedding rings truly spoke the same words Julie's dad said to her during the lovely little wedding reception. That, my friend, is the beauty of photography.

Attraction: What's that one quirky thing that made your spouse fall for you?

"Mmm girl. That smile. You just gave me whiplash."

"Oh my gosh. His hair? Yeah. It's pretty spectacular."

Let's be honest here. When we are attracted to somebody, there's just something about that person that we are drawn to. Whether it be their character, their personality, their laugh... it's something. 

And sometimes a lot of times, there is normally at least some physical attribute that draws us to that person too.

For JD, I'm pretty sure my glasses were a big selling point for him. 

Ok. Now, I know that there are thousands of things he could say that he loves about me... but my glasses are kind of near the top of the list. As in, they're probably in the Top 5. 

I read an article by Terri Trespicio entitled "Guys really do make passes at girls who wear glasses" on February 7, 2012. I had no other choice but to capture this quote and feature it in my journal... for no other reason but because the guy who flirted with me when I was wearing glasses one day is now my husband. 

Glasses make a person feel confident, sophisticated and smart. Yeah, they may have been dorky in middle school but the frames industry has really turned the style around. 

{People ask me if my Warby Parker glasses are real or fake way to often!! And yes. They are very much so real.}

I really can't say it any better than Ms. Trespicio, "Glasses seem to say I may not be all that accessible, but I'd love to see you try." 

And my sweet husband tried. 

Eventually, he broke through the barrier of non-accessibility and claimed victory over my heart. 

Unbelievable. 

But oh so wonderful! 

What does your spouse or significant other find in you that is truly enthralling? 

Even better, what is the #1 reason you were drawn to your significant other?

New Etsy Arrivals Coming Soon to Jitney's Journeys!!

You've asked for it and we are about to rock your face off with some new amazing stuff in our Etsy shop. 

Prepare yourself.

And your wallet. ;)

Mark your calendars for August 20. We will have an awesome Release Party going on right here at Jitney's Journeys where we will introduce all of our new handmade products. 

In the past two weeks, we've added a new member to our team... Mama E [my mom]. Talent truly flares from her fingertips like a freshly-lit sparkler. It baffles us. We're thankful for her inspiration and the joy she takes in sharing her creativity with our shop. 

Are you dying for a sneak peek yet?! Ok. Ok. Here's a few snapshots to tickle your fancy...

People always come to our little home and ask, "Where did we get that awesome LOVE banner from?" We made it. And now you can have one too! It's on super heavy duty cardstock... as in, I had to put on safety glasses just to use the scroll saw to cut out these letters. In fact, I don't think I would even classify the backing as cardstock. It's that intense. :)

These other pieces were created by Mama E. We (especially, I, Whitney) are infatuated with birds and nests. They have such a sweet spirit about them, but at the same time, scream freedom. That's my style.

Glass-etched, monogrammed Mason jars

And this. Oh. Isn't it just lovely? I have officially created burlap napkin rings. It was a far cry from an easy task, but we're really hoping people will fall in love with them as much as we have. 

Who wants some fantastic Chevron napkins? This girl does. I think we'll put some of those up in our shop too. 

Follow us on Instagram for more sneak peeks over the next two weeks.

@jitneysjourneys

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bet She'an, Megiddo... The Everything Israel Video. Come explore with us!

Want to go to Israel?! Try this on for size...

It's quite a lengthy video but it's difficult to condense two and a half weeks of the Holy Land into one short clip. We hope y'all enjoy!!

We'll start posting about Germany soooooon!!

Cathedral Caverns and Monte Sano with B-Money and Theresa

A few months ago, JD's sister Theresa and her husband, Brandon (or B-money, according to JD), spent a couple of days with us in Huntsville for the first time since our move. I'm sure you've heard of a "power couple" but I'm set in the fact that you haven't met a power couple until you've met these two amazing people.

They work as house parents for the Baptist Children's Village in Mississippi. Yeah. It's a pretty intense job, to say the least. But they're perfect for it because God has stirred their hearts and carried them through. It's been awesome to hear about the ways Christ has worked in them and through them to love on these kids who possibly haven't received much love from their real parents.

We, of course, made some delicious breakfast for our much-anticipated house guests. Cinnamon rolls, sausage, OJ and coffee (JD drinks his coffee black... Theresa and I obviously prefer coffee with our cream).

We took them on a nice hike through Monte Sano...

And then a journey through the amazing Cathedral Caverns...

And lookie there...

We have officially identified a fallout shelter. 

A nice gentleman took our photo outside of the giant mouth of the cave, measuring 126 feet wide and 25 feet high. 

A caving trip just wouldn't be the same without a trip to the souvenir store and some Rock Crystals... so Theresa and I begged the guys to buy us a pack. They are just too sweet. The guys, I mean. ;)

We were so thankful to have Brandon and Theresa stay with us for a few days. Brandon and JD always have the best time together (they were roommates in college), and Theresa and I immediately became best friends when we met for the first time. It is such a blessing to call Theresa, not my sister-in-law, but my sister. The same goes for JD and Brandon. We couldn't be more thankful for our families and the wonderful adventures we get to go on together!!


We want to hear about your town! If your family came to visit you, where would you take them to visit if they don't live close by?

Need Glasses? Fall in love with Warby Parker.

Ok - so we're not sure what happened... but out of nowhere, we've been slam-packed with Etsy orders this week and it has been AWESOME!! We are just lovin' this new shop and interacting with all of our delightful customers. :)

Yet, in the midst of our busyness, we have neglected our blog this week. Not cool. So, we wanted to share just a super quick blurb about a product we LOVE! This is not a sponsorship; it is a sincere confession of a product I (Whitney) have fallen in love with... Warby Parker. 

After paying over $200 to replace lenses in a pair of frames I had for five years, only to have the frames damaged when the lenses were replaced with a stronger prescription, I decided I had to find a different route. (Do the math... if I had bought a $300 pair of frames with new lenses, it would've been around $500. Who would want to pay for that!?)

I was flipping through my Whole Living magazine and saw an advertisement for Warby Parker with the coolest frames I've ever seen. They remind me of Zooey Deschanel's style which is super cool. AND the ones I ordered are big and practical (I can finally see in every direction).

Little did I know, Warby Parker has a Home Try-On program. You pick five frames from the site. They ship them to you (free shipping both ways). 

You have five days to try them on, model them for all of your friends and post some photos on their FB site (if you'd like). 

These are a few pics I sent to JD while he was at work.

Send them all back. Tell them which one you want (or do the home try-on program again). And boom. $95 later, you have brand new, super awesome frames and lenses sitting in your mailbox. Yes. Only $95 for frames AND lenses. There's no better deal than that, right?

Apparently, there IS  better deal than that. "For every pair of glasses purchased, [they] provide a pair to someone in need."

Seriously people. THIS is the place to buy glasses the next time your prescription changes! (I waited five years before buying a new pair and now I want to buy 10 more because their frames are so stinkin' awesome.)

Have you ever bought a pair of Warby Parker glasses? Which kind did you get and DO YOU LOVE THEM?!

Also, I'll be contacting Ruthy, Lindsy, April and Leslie about the Jitney CDs because you are ALL getting a copy!!! 

Grab Your Lefty Scissors, Suitcase and Raccoon Hat...

One thing you may not know about us is... JD and I LOVE movies. 

It's kind of ridiculous. 

We get super pumped about in-flight movies and we are regulars at Redbox (and subscribers to Netflix, of course). 

Our favorite is going to the theater though. Isn't it wonderful? Get a tub of high calorie popcorn, a large souvenir cup filled with Coca-Cola to split and a full cup of popcorn salt (which we secretly take some home and stash for our personal collection sometimes).  

Our most recent matinee trip was to see Moonrise Kingdom...

This movie made me want to pack up a pair of lefty scissors, a few good books, binoculars and an old portable record player straight into my vintage suitcase. 

Of course, I would sneak away to a lonely, beautiful canal with my sweet husband as he wore a super cool raccoon hat and swung a his camping bag filled with survival materials over his shoulders.

Check out the trailer below...

Moonrise Kingdom was phenomenal. We highly recommend it!

We're going to see The Dark Knight this afternoon. JD gets so excited during the commercial preview on TV that I go silent mid-sentence (he tunes everything out during those 30 seconds). 

Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom yet? What did you think??

Whoop whoop!! Check it out... We are featured on Auburn Family today!!!!

We are deeply humbled and honored to have been featured on the Auburn Family's website today!! 

One of my former PR professors Facebook messaged me a couple of weeks ago to ask if he could feature our blog during their Auburn Alumni & Student Blogger Series for the Auburn Family Network. {PR = public relations... we all thrive off social media!) 

Of course, we excitedly responded with a resounding "YES!!", answered a few interview questions and waited anxiously for the story to transpire. 

And this... THIS... is what Robert French compiled. A thorough synopsis of all things Jitney's Journeys.

Sheer genius. Honestly, we were blown away by this article!! Robert, we cannot thank you enough for your kind words and desire to always highlight members of the Auburn Family. Everything I learned at Auburn - social media, video editing, interviewing, basics of PR - all of it has been put to heavy use when writing this blog!! Thank you to Robert and all our other fantastic professors at Auburn. We wouldn't be doing what we're doing without your guidance, hard work and wisdom!! 

AND if you're an Auburn Alumni and you're NOT a member of the Auburn Family Network, stop reading and GO SIGN UP!! :) 

We hope our readers enjoy this article as much as we do!!

War Eagle and good night.