ATL!

Welcome to Atlanta where the players play, And we ride on dem thangs like ev-ery day. Big beats, hit streets, see gangsters roamin, And parties don’t stop ’til eight in the mo’nin ~Ludacris

So for those of you who don’t know, I grew up outside of Atlanta, in Marietta. I was born at Northside Hospital. My parents spent a few years while I was toddler and preschool age moving around to different places like Nashville, Houston, and Orange County, Calif., but ultimately we ended up back in Marietta when I was 7 and starting second grade.

I graduated high school in 2001 and started college at the University of Alabama. Originally, I planned on transferring to UGA after a year, but I fell in love with UA, my professors and my major, the beautiful campus, the football team, my sorority, and Brian! The Crimson Tide love took hold and I did not want to leave. I am so grateful to my parents that they let me stay and continued paying out-of-state tuition for the remainder of my time at UA. I ended up excelling in my major, working for the campus newspaper, becoming vice president of my sorority, and I also marched piccolo for two years with the Million Dollar Band… that’s where I met Brian. He played bass drum. ☺

So anywho, after college, I came home to Marietta and worked for the hometown newspaper… very briefly. I’m talking 3 months during the summer of 2005. Really, I was ready to strike out on my own and needed to get out of Marietta.

That summer, Brian had moved down to West Palm Beach to live with his best friend Billy and work at the Mar-A-Lago resort on Palm Beach. I thought Florida sounded cool, so I started applying for jobs. I ended up getting hired as a copy and Web editor for a publications company in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. I got a lot of great experience and I wouldn’t trade that year for the world… but of course, after a year in Florida, Sweet Home Alabama came calling and Brian and I moved to Hoover, Alabama in August 2006.

We truly fell in love with the greater Birmingham area. It’s only 45 minutes from UA, the people are extremely nice, and the cost of living is reasonable. We loved it so much that in Feb. 2007, we bought a house! It is our little fixer-upper. It is a 1,300-sq-ft cottage built in 1949 with all hardwood and tile floors. It’s hard to believe we’ve been in the house for more than two years now.

Anywho, apparently we spread the Alabama love around so much that my parents decided to give it a go and they moved from Marietta to the Birmingham area in September 2007. They were able to downsize on their house, get out of the Atlanta congestion, and be closer to their youngest daughter..moi! In fact they’re just 6 miles from me.

So since September 2007, I have not been back to Atlanta. Not ONCE! It’s hard to believe. I’ve been to San Diego, New Orleans, Florida, Nashville, Kentucky, and even Americus, Ga. since that time, but not Atlanta. So I am very excited because my mom and I are driving to Marietta tomorrow night.

Saturday morning we have an appointment with CoverUpsLinens in Roswell to pick out my seat covers and table toppers. Then we are going shopping for my mom’s dress for the wedding…no, we are but 5 weeks out and she has yet to find one! We should probably go to Northpoint Mall since we will be close by. And we might squeeze in a trip to IKEA. Saturday night, I am attending my sorority sister Casey’s wedding in Norcross, Ga. It is at an old historic mansion called Flint Hill and it looks gorgeous! I can’t wait!

We’re also looking for a place to dye my shoes, and my mom is attending a bridal shower on Sunday as well. So it’s basically an Atlanta weekend wedding extravaganza!

-K