I have a confession to make...

Hello, my name is Taryn and I am a Grammar Nazi. Truthfully, it's not much of a confession though. Those that know me, know I am picky about grammar...and, if I know you well enough, I will probably correct your mistakes. In the most loving way possible, of course.

That's not to say I run around reading people's blogs and judging them by the way they write...I would never do that. Heck, I know I'm not perfect...I just try to be the best little English major I can be. :)

A friend of mine showed me this link today...needless to say, I was amused. There are more than a few people I know who should print this out and post it next to the computer. Just sayin'...

Silent Sunday - Christmas Cats

Mr Jones and I are done with our Christmases...4 days, 4 Christmases...it was hectic to say the least! I'm thankful for the peace and quiet of a lazy Sunday with my husband and kitties.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Mr Jones and I are heading over to my brother and sis-in-law's house today for Christmas. I hope all of my bloggy-buddies have an absolutely wonderful day!

Just for fun, a few Christmas LOLcats... :)

Christmas Rule #1

Never trust a guy when it comes to the Christmas tree. They want big...the bigger, the better. Seriously. When a guy tells you "Oh, it's not that big...look, I can almost touch the top", don't believe him. He's lying.

Well, the good news is, we finally have a Christmas tree. And...it's huge. Thankfully, we have a vaulted ceiling in the living room because when the box says 9' Christmas tree, the box means 9' Christmas tree...not 8' with a foot long branch sticking out of the top like Mr Jones led me to believe. The tree and the ceiling have become best friends.

Yup, the tree is definitely that big.

You know it's Christmas when...

You know it's the Christmas season when you approach the entrance to your favorite store and hear the familiar incessant ringing of THE BELL!

We all know the Salvation Army is known for bell ringing...non-stop, deafening bell ringing. There have been times I was so teeth-gratingly annoyed by the sound in the short walk from my car to the store's entrance, I gladly dropped some money into the bucket just to get the ringing to stop. (Sorry, but it's true...)

Because of the toll it takes on the wrist (and one's sanity), bell-ringing shifts are usually short - an hour or two - before another volunteer takes over. This especially holds true in Michigan where the bell ringer is likely frozen solid after an hour or two. A frozen solid bell ringer is a useless bell ringer.

A shift change is quite a remarkable feat (in my opinion). Somehow, they are able to pass the bell to from one ringer to the next without missing a single "ding-a-ling-a-ling." Either they are professional bell ringers or they've been practicing...much like relay runners. Such skill and coordinated agility must take hours and hours of practice. Seriously.

Yup, there's nothing quite like the Christmas season.

The spirit of Christmas is about giving...but my question is: Do the ringers really need to deafen everyone who crosses their path??

Happy Holidays everyone!

Biggest hit at our wedding? The favors!

When we started thinking about favors for our wedding, we knew we wanted to do something really fun/cool...what better than Jones Sodas?! I mean, our last name is Jones after all!! Once we decided on fell in love with this idea, the obvious choice was to look into ordering personalized bottles from the company (because personalized bottles are so much cooler!). Unfortunately, they would have been close to $600 after shipping...not something we could afford. :(

Time to start brainstorming again, right? Wrong!! Why not make our own?! Mr Jones is a photographer and quite handy with Photoshop (if I do say so myself). This would be an easy project for him. After we talked it over and came up with a Game Plan, I tasked him with making the labels. I absolutely love how they turned out!!

And, our cost was a lot less - BONUS.

Labels - we made a different one for each flavor


Taking off the old labels...


And putting on new ones!


The finished product at our reception! :)



P.S. The barcodes were altered so the bottles cannot be returned for a deposit.

'Tis the Season for buying gifts

...for myself?? Yup, you heard that right. I went out tonight in search of Christmas gifts...and walked out with a new winter coat and black flats for myself. Oops.


Will re-attempt Christmas shopping tomorrow. Fingers crossed it goes better than tonight.

Speaking of Christmas, Mr Jones and I realized the other night that Christmas is (much) sooner than later...as in 2 weeks away! We were so consumed with the wedding and the honeymoon, that this little fact completely slipped our minds. It's going to be an interesting 2 weeks as we scramble to get everything together in time for the holidays.

We did put up our Christmas wreath yesterday though. After all of the wedding DIY projects, we were feeling crafty so we headed over to Hobby Lobby and bought a plain wreath, gold pinecones, and some berries. I think we did a pretty good job...what do you think?

Baby, you (we) should be in pictures...or at least a wedding video!

My fabulous videographer, Shutterspeed Productions, blogged a preview of our wedding video today. Let me just say, I LOVE IT - not that I'm completely biased or anything. :) It captures all of the emotions of our beautiful day - the laughter, the tears (but that was the only time I cried all day!), the love, and, most of all, the absolutely wonderful time we had!

I've watched it a few (ok, more like 20) times so far. You could say I'm slightly obsessed...but I'm justified right?! I've even gone into stealth mode and turned off the speakers on my laptop so Mr Jones doesn't know I'm watching it...again.

The bigger version can be found here: Taryn & Brian

Back from Mexico...and freezing my butt off!

Mr Jones and I spent today trying to stay warm and wondering where our 85* Mexico weather went. Needless to say, we weren't too happy to be thrown kicking and screaming (inside only...we would never cause a scene at the aiport...we're far too mature for that...hehe) back into the 30* Michigan weather last night. The only good thing about coming home is getting my rings back. I had them resized and soldered together while we were gone. I officially feel married again!!


Since Mr is the photographer, I left most of the honeymoon picture-taking to him. Here are a few that I took (I know, pretty pathetic...I promise I will have more to share soon!).

Mr and his octopus, squid, and cactus stirfry from The Lobster House...I know it sounds like an odd combo, but it was yummy!


Hanging out/surfing the web in a poolside bungalow (my favorite lounging spot!)...Mr decided to play paparazzi with my camera.



Mr floating by the bungalow in the lazy river...definitely our favorite pastime.

The Newlywed Game...at our wedding?!

While planning the reception, I knew I didn't really want to have a bouquet or garter toss. Call me non-traditional, call me a non-conformist...I just knew they weren't for me. Before becoming Mrs Jones, I was always the single girl who tried my darnedest to avoid going out onto the dance floor for the bouquet toss.

Not having a bouquet or garter toss left a gap in the reception, but my DJ was quick with an awesome suggestion...The Newlywed Game! Both Mr Jones and I had to take off our shoes and give one to the other person. Then, the DJ asked questions and we raised the shoe of who our answer was. Some of the questions were:
Who is the biggest flirt? (Me...haha!)
Who is the better cook? (Him...without a doubt!!)
Who has the crazier family? (Him...and we agreed)
And my favorite...Who do you love the most in the world?

My sister-in-law got some pictures...so I thought I'd share. :)

This time tomorrow...

I will be in Mexico! The past few weeks have been so surreal...it certainly doesn't feel like it's time to go on my honeymoon...let alone be MARRIED! Wow.

Mr Jones and I will will be spending a blissful week at Exellence Playa Mujeres. I've always wanted to go to Mexico and, now, I'll get my chance!


Because it's our honeymoon, we decided to upgrade to a 2-story room with a rooftop terrace and private hydrojet pool (SO excited about this!).

Steps going up to the terrace:


Hydrojet pool and lounge area:


While there, we plan on going to Chichen Itza. As a Spanish minor in college, I learned a lot about the Mayans and, in turn, Chichen Itza. It's a must-see for me...and for Mr Jones and his camera. :)


We also have another excursion planned, but I'm keeping that one a secret for now. :)

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Well, we did it!!

I'm officially a married lady. *grin* Yesterday, was absolutely GORGEOUS! It was sunny and warm...in Michigan...in November. It was completely unexpected and very much appreciated! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

I promise I will be sharing all the little details soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a few pictures of my special day...thanks, Kim!

Look how happy I was! I didn't cry...woo hoo!

Thanksgiving - what's that?

Is it just me or do Christmas decorations come out earlier and earlier each year? Hobby Lobby had Christmas decorations out and for sale in the beginning of October! A bit early? I think so! Whatever happened to celebrating Thanksgiving? You know, the holiday between Halloween and Christmas?

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the festivities, but while we're stringing up Christmas lights and singing along with the "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", let's not forget to stop and give Thanks for all the blessings in our lives!

Red or Yellow?

Help...my poor little brain can't make any more decisions! I was in Nordstrom today and fell in love with this purse. I had the hardest time picking between red and yellow...which would you pick? :)

Sorry I've been MIA...

But it's for a good reason. I've been a busy busy little bride! You see that wedding countdown over there? It says 7 days. Yup...I'll be a married lady in one week! Actually, by this time next week, I'll have been a married lady for approximately 3 hours (but that's just a technicality).

My To Do List has been getting smaller and smaller (hard to believe)...but I still have the nagging worry that I'm forgetting something. Something big. *biting nails*

Aisle Decorations - DIY Fun

The aisle decorations - what a pain in the butt these have been! Seriously. The chairs provided for the ceremony (plastic lawn chairs - ugh) aren't the easiest to work with so I've spent many loooong hours trying to figure out how to decorate them.

My first, and favorite, idea was shepherd's hooks with kissing balls. I love their simplicity and elegance.


But, alas, my wedding ceremony is indoors (it's COLD in Michigan in November) and cheap free-standing shepherd's hooks aren't really easy to find (darn budget!). I figured I would have to come up other ideas - bows tied to the arms of the chairs as a last resort only (I wasn't "feeling" those)!!

Well, last week, I was browsing a fellow Knottie's Wedding Bio and I saw that she had sheperd's hooks set up in pots - the answer to this indoor bride's dreams!! Can you guess what Mr Jones and I spent yesterday doing?? :)

Getting ready to start - I think Bo wants to help. :)


Halfway done with our first two - kudos to Mr Jones for helping!


Two down, four more to go!

Woo hoo...we're moving on up!

(at least in the wedding we are)

I posted last week that we were possibly going to be upgraded to the bigger reception room. Well, I heard back from the event coordinator and we are in fact moving on up (upstairs, that is). I am really excited. The room upstairs has its own private lobby (vs. being in the hallway where all the Lodge guests would walk by), is twice the size as the previous reception room, and has high, vaulted ceilings. Plus, the decor is a lot more sparse/subtle so I can play around with lighting - woo hoo!

Upstairs Lobby - the guestbook and escort cards will be set up out here. There's also private bathrooms - guess that means I better start working on bathroom baskets! :)


Looking towards the dance floor - the DJ will be set up against the far wall


The room (head table on left by the windows)


The vaulted ceiling (see me over by the door? Haha!)

Sometimes, you just need a good laugh

...to combat the stress.

I have been browsing LOLCats and laughing so hard I snort (which is the best way to laugh, in my humble opinion).


I'm sure we all feel like this some days...


This one makes me laugh...hard. Snorts may or may not have occurred.


Turtles = love.


And for all my followers...mad love to you all!

I get by with a little help from my friends...

What more can a girl ask for than an afternoon spent with friends?! Yesterday afternoon was hands down the highlight of my weekend! I do, however, think the rest of the people at On The Border hated us - we were LOUD.


Favorite moments from lunch:
* The new "F word" is fornicator. I think the entire restaurant heard that one. Love you, Brandi!
* The fact that Lisa and Brandi are apparently the same person because they are black (despite the fact that Lisa is Jamaican and Brandi is, well, not). That one became a running joke throughout the afternoon.

How was everyone else's weekend?

Is it time to freak out yet???

ONE MONTH.

I think we are doing ok though. I met with my event coordinator at ceremony/reception venue tonight...and I think we are going to be upgraded to the bigger room (fingers crossed!). :)


To Dos for this week:
* Work on favors
* Work on unity and memory candles
* Finish DJ worksheet

After we meet with the pastor next week, I should be able to finalize our ceremony program (yay!)