TORY

Men will surprise you...that's for sure! This weekend I went to Nashville to spend time with Ryan. I took a half day from work so that I could arrive during the day time and meet some of the coaches that Ryan works with. The minute I hit the TN state line it started snowing! I was excited minus the fact that I only packed spring time clothing because it was 70 when I left Tuscaloosa. I did bring a jacket with me because Ryan told me that he thought is was supposed to be cold. Thank goodness I did because it was 27 the entire weekend. Needless to say we decided to stay in Friday because the roads were iced over and it was FREEZING.

Once we arrived back at Ryan's from grabbing some dinner he said "well there is your gift on the table." Got to LOVE it!! There was no handing it to me, no beautiful wrapping, just there it is on the table!! That is so RYAN and I love it..would not want it any other way! I sit on the couch he hands these 2 boxes to me (see below).

I am a NORDSTROM LOVER (thanks Landi) so I knew instantly from the box that this little beauty was from there. I knew I had not told Ryan anything that I wanted from Nordstrom so I could not imagine what he had picked out. Even better I had told him that he did not need to spend over $100 dollars for the whole weekend. I know that there is not much at Nordstrom that you can get from less that $100 so I knew he broke my rule...imagine that! When I opened the box my heart skipped a beat. RYAN LOCKE had taken the time to go to Nordstroms, show a person a picture of exactly what he wanted so they could get it for him, I repeat had to go to Nordstroms. I have to BEG Ryan to go shopping with me because he HATES it that much. I was so impressed that he did ALL of that for me. LOOK at what an AMAZING job he did......

OH YES HE GOT ME TORY BURCH SANDALS THAT I HAVE BEEN DYING FOR!!!!!

So thrilled with his purchase!!!

I can't wait till it gets warm enough for me to wear these beauties!! I will wear them everyday along with my diamond earrings that he gave me fro Christmas! This man is an excellent gift giver. What man picks out Tory without someone telling them to go get them? I mean yes I have told him before I wanted some but never point blank told Ryan to please give me some. I just said it in passing. He also gave me a big box of Godiva Chocolates! UMMMM UMMMM GOOD! I am on a diet so this is not good but I am going to eat them up!

Saturday we went to Mt. Juliet which right down the road so I could pay my Belk bill before we went on to Nashville. I am in need of some new clothing items because most of mine have become to big. I cleaned out my closet the other day of items I can no longer wear and I ended up taking 25 items to the consignment shop. CRAZY. Of course I found some items that I just had to have!! Ryan hates shopping as I mentioned before but believe it or not he made this weekend all about me and did not say one word. He sat there with a smile on his face and let me shop my heart out! I found some precious items and somehow managed to get 6 tops for under $100 dollars. All of the tops came from either Belk or the Gap outlet store. Two of my favorites are below.

{$19 at Belk}

{ONLY $6 at The Gap}

After my shopping trip I decided I was not going to torture Ryan any longer and we could go on to Nashville.

While doing my internship in Nashville I fell in love with the Parthenon.

Ryan is very intelligent and enjoys history so I asked him one day had he ever been. He told me no but that is something he would enjoy seeing. I responded with I think its beautiful but I never got to see the inside while I was there. Of course the man who hears all plans for us to go. We took a tour and of course Ryan knew all the facts about all of the Greek gods. I was thinking I probably should have listened a little closer when Mrs. Cowan made me read Greek Mythology in Literature class. If you are ever in the Nashville area invest about 20 minutes of your time and go take a tour.

Athena

Athena's Shield

After we finished there we ended up doing a little more shopping (Ryan said we could). I also showed Ryan where I did my internship and some other neat places I found during my time in Nashville. We then went to Chuy's (my favorite) for dinner! Ryan is such a trooper he is not even a big fan of Mexican but is always willing to take me!

So now let me show you a few of the goodies that I gave him for Valentine's Day!! I did not take a picture of everything just the creative things that I actually invested time in. I have been looking at Pinterest some. I noticed that there was a deck of cards showing up over and over again with 52 Reasons Why I Love You on the top. I finally clicked on one and thought it was an adorable idea. Since Ryan and I are pretty new to this whole "talking" thing I did not want to use the word love. I changed it up a little to 52 reasons why I have fallen for you. Here are a few of the ones I did!!

It may look like a small task but it is a very time consuming one!!

I also made him a scrapbook that tells the story of us so far. There are pages left so that we can continue adding them in as days come and go!

I thought it turned out pretty cute for only 3 months worth of material!!

I love this journey so far. I am trying to do this different than I have any other relationship because I know Ryan is an Amazing guy. I don't want to think to much which is what I always do. I want to sit back, enjoy the ride, and let things play out the way the good Lord sees fit! I am so thankful that I have Ryan in my life and that he really does think about me! He listens to everything I say(which is a lot), truly cares about me, and deep down I know he would bend over backwards to make me happy. All of those things scare me but Its all I've ever wanted at the same time. I could not have asked for a better Valentine's weekend with a better Valentine!!!

Thanks, Ryan, for everything you have done for me, and I'm sure will continue to do for me. You really are a blessing!