Nick and I have a fantastic and witty friend, Banks, who gave a hilarious speech at Ignite Bolder.  He was allowed 5 minutes and 20 slides, and y'all, he killed it.

And here is the video.

It has been a whirlwind week over here.  Hooding, graduation, and we moved to Nashville!  I'm typing from our new living room, looking at our fireplace (!!) and hearing Moose run and slide on the hardwood floors.  There will definitely be more pictures of the house once everything is in place, hung up, and arranged.  But for now, I wanted to share some pictures from my hooding and graduation from Wake Forest University, if you'd like to see...

Getting my hood on...


Thank you, stranger, for this hood and handshake.


With the hubs.  Thank you for carpooling me to school for two years!


Both my and Nick's families came to the hooding- thank you!  It was such a blessing to have so many people supporting and celebrating with me.


Mom just showing me how the hood works.


I can't believe how quickly the two years went by!

A few months ago, I started a list for people looking to overhaul their kitchens or those lovely newly engaged couples.  Here is part one {pots and pans} and part two {tools and essentials}.  Today is part three: knives!

Step one in the process of picking out knives: suppress your desire for one of those huge, expensive knife blocks that come with pre-picked out knives.  I will show you the knives you actually need and will use, and then if you want a huge block, you can get that separately.  But y'all.  Those things are hundreds of dollars.  Buy them individually, and you can just send me that extra money!

Step two: include the fiance {or male figure in kitchen overhauling}.  This is one area that men {who don't normally care about kitchen things} get excited about.  Because knives are like weapons!  {Please don't hurt anyone with your knives.  Don't let him either, mmk?}

Step three: look for two brands in specific, Wusthof {the expensive version} and Victoronix {the cheaper version}.  By the way, I'm not just making this up, Consumer Reports agrees with me about the brand business.  Actually about the big block business, too.

There they are!  Just four types of knives- disappointed?  Don't be!  You can get several of each kind.  But let's walk through them.

Tomato Knife
Not just for tomatoes, kids.  Although this knife, as its name suggests, is perfect for slicing tomatoes, which need a serrated {wavy} edge.  You can also use this knife to slice smaller cuts of meat.  It won't be your most used, but it's very helpful.  I would suggest having one of these.

Bread Knife
Yes, great for slicing bread, but because of its length and serrated edge, also great for carving meat!  Turkey, chicken, steak- you name it, this knife can handle it.  I would just have one of these, too, unless you carve a lot of meat.

Paring Knife
This knife is great for smaller jobs, peeling things, and getting into little spaces to carve out.  I have two of these, which is always nice if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen.

Chef's Knife
This knife is your workhorse.  I reach for this knife 80% of the time because it is a fantastic all-purpose knife.  I would have at least two of these, if not three.  Sometimes I use it to cut raw meat and then need to slice some herbs and don't have time to wash between- that's when the second one comes in.  They come in sizes between 6in and 8in, and I would say to pick one up and see how it feels.  If you're a crazy chopper, look at the japanese brands, but they are far more expensive.  For my everyday use Wusthof and Victorinix work just fine!

There you have it!  Remember always to keep your knives sharp.  I don't have a knife sharpener preference, but it's good to have a sharpener.  As for kitchen scissors, I just have a regular pair of scissors, because most of the time I'm cutting open packaging.  However, if you use scissors to cut through chicken, it's nice to have a designated pair.

What knives are essential in your kitchen?