A few faves!

Its Thursday! Not only is it Thursday, its the LAST day of the month... and you knowwww what that means.

I'm linking up with my girl Ashley for my favorite things of February! I love this idea, and this is probably like the 6th time I've linked up for it... its just such a fun post to write!

So, here goes... my favorite things this month have been...

1. Cuties.
I mean honestly, when are these not my favorite things? If I'm truthful...my hands are orange stained from just peeling one of these suckers. Ugh, so good.



2. This guy.
Again, when is he NOT a favorite of mine? However... this month was a little emotional for me. Stress from work that I took home with me, stress from my personal life, and just carrying around too many burdens that don't belong to me... he alwaaaays knows how to cheer me up. Not even kidding... last Sunday? I think I had a mini panic attack (is that TMI?!), and he told me to put on my coat, and drove me to Dunkin Donuts.  Uh... he's amazing.

3. Every one of my bridesmaids.
They officially ALL have their dresses picked out and on their way. I wish I could give you a sneak peek... but I think that I'll make you suffer, hehe.

4. Engagements!
Speaking of bridesmaids, one of them got engaged on Tuesday!! Of all days, Tuesday is also her birthday! What a day to remember. This is her adorable, unique, and fantastic engagement ring.



5. Insanity
Did you really expect me not to put Shaun T on here? I still hate him... but I will love him when this is all over. Tonight is day 11! YAY.
However...do you know who is NOT on my favorite list?? Freaking Tonya... from his Insanity videos. She just thinks she's so tough and awesome... well honey, you're not!





6. My planner.
I bought it from Target for $9.99 at the start of the year, and this thing is just still so cute and durable. I figured it might fall apart easily because of the price... but nope. Ha -- did I expect anything less from my favorite store on the planet?!

7. Game nights with our faves.
At least once a month Caleb and I hang out with some of our besties and have a game night. You know what is SUPER annoying though? Neither Erin or I can EVER win. I hate you MR. MONOPOLY!

Who? Me?!?

Just kidding... I love that freaking game! I probably always will, too!

8. My Bride bag.
I got this from my first Bridesmaid when I got engaged...I seriously use it for like everything. Even for workout clothes... because lets be honest, I'm "sweatin' for the wedding" ;)

______________________________________________________________________

So there you have it, just a few things that I've loved from the shortest month of the year!

Tomorrow is THEEEE DAY. Caleb and I get keys to our brand-spankin-new apartment!!! AAHH. I can't even wait to see it, to make it ours, to decorate... yaay! PS- In case you didn't know... tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Random Wednesday!

Happy hump day! Hopefully for all of you who may be drowning in work (me), that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, that is Friday. I'm ready for the weekend already. Then again, when am I not??

ANYWAY! Thought I would let you guys know that I am SO appreciative of all of you who keep coming back to read my little corner of the internet on a daily basis. It took me for EVER to even get the nerve to make my own blog, because I honestly thought  "who would want to read what I have to say?!" and as it turns out -- a lot of you were in the same boat before you took the plunge.

I have a few friends I've met over this blog-land that I consider my real friends. If you ever talk to a non-blogger about your "blogger friends", its somewhat like explaining to them what your imaginary friend is like from 2nd grade. My family probably thinks I'm crazy... but I do have plans to meet some of you this year, and I cannot wait!

Call me crazy, but I get so giddy every time I get a new follower, because I genuinely want to get to know you, and not only keep you as a reader, but make a new friend, too!

So here are some (you guessed it) random facts about myself;

-Camera in hand, I kiiiind of feel like I can take on the world
 -I absolutely hate cottage cheese.
-Caleb and I dream of going on an African safari (can you say 5 year anniversary trip!?)
-My uncle baptized me on my 18th birthday, I am so thankful for him.

-I work in finance, but surprisingly hate math. Doesn't mean I hate my job, I surprisingly love it! My job is just more in the stock market and retirement planning than math (thank goodness).
-Caleb and I just finished day 10 of Insanity last night. We are 1/6 of the way there! WOO!
-I could drink my weight in sweet tea. No, I'm not southern.
-Same with Mountain Dew, you with me soulmate?
-When I feel cute at work, I work better.
-I believe in wearing dresses all year round.
-My go-to appetizer is spinach and artichoke dip. Or warm crab dip... yummm.
-I suck at doing my own hair. Seriously, I can barely curl it.
-My nails are painted probably 10 times a year. If I'm lucky.
-I'm a girly girl, but I love all things sports.
-I think bow ties are cool.
-My MOH returns for Spring Break from her last semester of college Friday. YAY!! Can't wait to see her.

-Back in high school (and probably once a year...) I eat marshmallow fluff straight out of the jar.
-I SO badly want to go on the show Amazing Race. Caleb won't do it, though. Erin, you down? ;)
-Bubble baths are my favorite things ever.
-I used to work at Bath & Body Works. I miss my Victoria's Secret discount every day.
-My faith has never been stronger.
-I've never been out of the country.
-I am obsessed with Target...but, who isn't?
Whewww.... that was fun. I know, you're dying to know more.... ;)

That's what I like to call a Random Wednesday!
Thanks Shanna!

Ohh little Katnip...

SURPRISE. Since Caleb moves into our apartment this weekend, he needs a TV. So guess whose big screen he is taking?? Mine... and guess whose entertainment center he's taking with it? Mine.

So because of that, guess whose cable box my family cancelled at the last minute??

YOU GUESSED IT.

Mine.

So I had to resort to friends and YouTube to recap what I missed from the Oscar's and let me tell you...I'm so sad I didn't see this live. I love her. This is why Jennifer Lawrence is one of my favorite people on this planet.

No, not because she tripped UP the stairs, which I may or may not be famous for...but because she brushed it off like "psshh.. those stairs, trying to steal my show?!" and almost laughed her dress off. I seriously love this girls spirit. Not only did she play the PERFECT Katniss... she is adorable, dorky, and seems SO down to Earth.

This got me thinking... man, JL and I would for sure share a best friend necklace.

Why, you ask?

Girl loooves to eat.

She's hilarious.

She breaks out in random dance...

She's so awkward.

See? Down to Earth.

My random thoughts about J LAWR;

-Girlfriend can rock any hair color!

-She pulls of a better smokey eye than Tyra Banks.

-I wish her and Bradley Cooper would either date, get married, or just have babies already.

-Her facial expressions are perfect

-Sometimes I wish she and Liam would just get together... (woops, sorry Miley!!)

-We almost share a birthday.

-She's the youngest person ever to be nominated for TWO "Best Actress" Oscars.

-Um. The girl is gorgeous.

Let me just say, her Oscar dress was gorgeous. Her "girls" were tucked in, her hair was beautiful, and her speech was short and sweet. I think if her and I were to hang out... she'd realize we were soulmates, bring me along to the next Hunger Games series filming and we'd stuff our faces with burritos and sweet tea.

ANYWAY... it cracks me up what some ladies ended up even wearing to the Oscar's? Like it's not one of the biggest nights of the year for them...what were ya thinking Kristen Stweart!?!

Also, did you know those nominated... yes, you heard me... simply NOMINATED... got a goodie bag worth over $45K?!!?!? As if those people can't afford all of that themselves and then some. This kiiiind of made me sick.

Not only because I'm slightly jealous... but because at least SOME of that money could've gone towards things that really matter... like charities, starving children, research... *wake up world*

________________________________________________________________________________

Last night was Insanity day #9. Whew! It killed me. I mean my arms literally gave out on me while I did Shaun T's famous "in-and-out abs"... maybe one day I can handle 3 push-ups in a row? Oh well, I gotta deal... my wedding dress will probably be in by mid-April and I'm trying to rock the crap out of it! Only 88 little days til we say "I do"... ahhh.

Another plus? We're another day closer to Friday!

Weekend schmeekend.

So the crazy thing about a week going by really fast, more than likely means your weekend will go by in literally the blink of an eye. *sigh*

Luckily, it was amazing. But then again, what weekend isn't? Moving on.

Friday night, we were good! We made sure we did Insanity, and then sampled dinner #1 that our caterer made us for our wedding.. YUUMMMM. (hint-- it's Italian...& no, we are not Italian. Its just, who doesn't love pasta??!). After, we watched an old favorite of mine and Caleb's; Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls. We literally traded off reciting basically the whole movie, and then... Caleb fell asleep. I swear. He is as bad as a baby full of milk. Boy can't even stay awake through a tornado. So, he left.

Cue Saturday morning... I woke up, fumbled around for my glasses (I'm practically blind), weighed myself, threw on a headband, drove to Caleb's and we forced ourselves to spend our morning doing Insanity. Good news though-- my body is getting stronger, after only 8 days, I really can tell!

I hopped in the shower, got ready, and made fun faces at my camera while preparing to take a passport photo...

THEN... aahhh. We made a trip to Kay Jewelers, got my ring cleaned. She's looking nice and shiny. i tried on a $4,000 band on just for laughs, and then we made our way over to Men's Warehouse.

Let me paint the picture for you... the heavens opened, the angels came down... and sweetly sang HALLELUJAH as Caleb tried on his amazing gray tux coat. & mm mm mmmm did he look SHARP. I only saw him in the coat over top of his bright yellow Marvel shirt, so on our wedding day its still a big ole surprise :) We ended up getting an INSANE deal (including a free $500 suit for my man after our wedding.. that he can keep! Ah. Can't wait to shop for that!), and we made our way out to head back to his house.

Caleb  is back there trying to find some wall decor... {swoon}

...alright, we didn't go straight home. We went to Marshall's and bought some bathroom decor for our future home... I mean, Caleb moves in in like 4 days... time to get with it! THEN we went home :)

I hope you all had as great of a weekend as we did!

Linking up with Sami today for her Weekend Shenanigans! For some reason blogger isn't letting me show off her cute little button so I still wanted to give a lil shoutout :) she is so fun and so is her blog. Check her out!

Friday laughs!

Omg, I have to share this with you all. Please tell me you all are as pumped for this below video as I was when I saw the title. I'm not kidding, this should brighten anyone's day. HA!

                  

Now that THAT is out of the way.

Dear week; you literally went by so quickly. Maybe because I stopped looking forward to Friday so much... and tried a little harder to enjoy each day for what it is! Dear Insanity; you suck. JK. I love you, but I also hate you. My muscles are sore, all the time. I know this will pay off... just keep swimming... Dear Anna, getting to know you better these past few weeks has been a blast...I just love you and your sweet, positive spirit.  Dear Ashley, our funny picture messages, novel-long emails, and friendship mean SO much to me. Can't wait to meet you! Dear weekend, YAY! You made it. Dear brother, I love you so much bud, you mean so much to so many people. You are hilarious, valued, and I'm so proud of who you are. Dear readers, you guys are awesome. I don't know what I'm doing to make you come back every day, but whatever it is... I'm going to continue, because you all rock my socks off! Dear new apartment, Caleb will be slowly moving into you in 6 little days. I am going to apologize in advance if he trashes you, or doesn't treat you right... I'm sure his intentions are good... but lets be real, he is a man. Dear eyes, I'm sorry that I put off making my eye appointment, I know you're getting dry, but things will be better soon. I promise! Dear Saturday, Caleb and I are tux shopping for he and his guys! So get ready. We're going with grey suits... so handsome!

Enjoy your weekend everybody!

If its not Friday, dance anyway.

I once received a mini- index notecard spiral from two of my best friends, Lyndsie and Angie at random. The first page inside said;

 "Let this be a whole notebook of encouragement. Write verses, quotes, lyrics, ideas, whatever it is that makes you happy. Take this book out at random and remember why you were put on this Earth. You have a purpose."

I kept it in my purse for a while, sometimes taking it out and dwelling on the awesome truth inside, and then stuck it inside of my desk at home... today I remembered how awesome this little booklet really was, and so I pulled it out. Lucky for me, some of the pages had been filled in by them already. My favorite quote being; 

"spend time with God for the pure purpose of being in His company. He can brighten the dullest of gray days. He can add sparkle to the routines of daily life".

I sit here today, finding myself fumbling through old pins I once saved on Pinterest, to fill this book up with my own inspiration.

So if you are needing some encouragement today, maybe a laugh, a good quote, or a funny picture... you have come to the right place! 

____________________________________________________________________________

- If its not Friday, dance anyway. (I may or may not have just made that up, and yep... I love it)

- Always be kinder than you feel.

- Do something good, just for the heck of it.

- If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough!

- There is more mercy in Christ, than sin in us.

- Let your past make you better, not bitter.

Oh Zooey Deschanel, I love you.

- The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

- A smile is the most BEAUTIFUL curve on a woman's body.

- A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.

- A person who is nice to you, but not nice to the waiter, is not a nice person. (words to live by, ladies, words to live by.)

- No one is in charge of your happiness but YOU.

_____________________________________________________________________________

SO there you have it. I hope I could make you smile on this random Wednesday, ladies. I love you all and am SO happy to have each and every one of you come back daily to read what I have to ramble about. 

Stay classy!
Linking up today with gorgeous miss Shanna;

My little flower girl.

Meet my flower girl, Maddie. She is my little cousin, and she is SO stinking cute. When Caleb and I asked her to be our flower girl, she started to blush and nodded her head. She is too precious.

Heather (my aunt, and her mom) and I took her out for a whole day and made her feel like a little princess. We went to Bob Evans where she got chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk. Girlfriend knows whats up.

We traipsed around all day, and sadly we weren't finding anything. Maddie kept saying "mommy when am I going to try on dresses?!" and we started to get desperate. We ended up going to David's Bridal and found so many options.

Dress option #1:

Dress option #2:

Dress option #3

That one had pockets, ^^^^^ do you hear me?!?! POCKETS. If you know me... you know I am 100% okay with pockets in EVERY dress ever, it makes them SO much more comfortable, and then I can forget carrying around my wristlet all night. This was almost the one we picked... but then, she put on this little gem...

...looked at herself, and I kid you not said ... "yes, this is it." as she looked herself up and down. HA! My little 5 yr old cousin is a divaaaa, and I love it.

She couldn't stop looking at herself, and that little head piece? {swoon}

Tell me she doesn't look adorable. We had a great day, filled with mall walking, Auntie Annes pretzels and too much laughter. I love her heart.

We are officially in the double digits, as of last Friday. GAH. The real wedding countdown begins!

Valentines daaay {re-cap}

Caleb and I never really go "all out" for Valentines Day, I mean... in all honesty, it is just another day of the year... marked by cupid ;)

But we still like to do a little something.

This year, we decided to make it a really low-key night at my house with my family (romantic, I know). He came over, and we exchanged gifts.

Pleeease excuse my mess of a room, yes those are gym shoes, a camera bag, pajama shorts, and a stuffed elephant you will find scattered on the floor. Can you spot them all? ;)

I got him a card, some Reese's Hearts, two magazines, and I hand made him a little coupon book good starting in May! Here are some of the coupons I included;

The first night we hung out together, we met at Taco Bell, got Mango Strawberry Fruitista's and cinnamon swirls and ate them in his car, and stayed there until 4 AM just talking. It was basically amazing

There were PLENTY of others, I just chose to share a few! ;)

 After I gave him his gift, he gave me mine!

A fitted womens Nike A.J. Green Bengals jersey!!! :) my first one EVER!! I was pumped.

After that, we did Insanity

These must be our game faces.

After, we changed out of our work out clothes, washed up a bit, and went downstairs to enjoy dinner with my grandparents, and my younger brother who invited his girlfriend over, too. We had dinner by candle light, it really was so precious.

After dinner we got some alone time by catching up on some of our favorite shows, you know... cleared up some space off the ole' DVR. Although it was relaxing, it was the perfect Valentine's Day. 

Happy Monday, friends.
How was your weekend?

Surprises, surprises!

Hiiii friends. I hope your Valentines Day was awesome! Mine was relaxing, amazing, and fun, but I am too sleepy on this cold morning to re-cap it, sooo check back over the weekend! ;)

For now, I do want to show you what the SWEET sweet Amy over at A Glimpse of the Gouglers sent me in my V-day package. We each participated in Erin & Megan's valentines swap and Amy got matched to send me a package, and boy am I glad she did! 

I was SO excited to get the package, if ya know anything about me by now, I am OBSESSED with snail mail, packages, hand written letters, cute stationary, etc. So to get this package when I got home one evening after a too-long office day was SO exciting!

Um can we talk about how cute this bracelet is?! Pretty sure its from Target. The girl knows the way to my heart. 

She said she swears by this stuff and that its her favorite. After I used the nail polish I was in LOVE, and I am officially hooked. This stuff is not cheap, though! Check out all the cute polish colors here!! Not to mention I never have time to paint my nails, but I made sure I set aside an hour of "me time" to do them... no base coat, no top coat... just 2 coats of this gorgeous color... and omg, the stuff lasted 3 WHOLE DAYS! No chips! I was excited. So worth the expense!

I was in love. Amy is so sweet and I'm so excited to continue getting to know her! If you don't already, go check out her adorable blog!! :)

_________________________________________________________________________

As I just said above, you now know unexpected mail is my favorite thing basically ever. So, you can imagine my excitement when I came home Wednesday with a package laying on my desk all the way from Louisiana. Uhhhhh...

Turns out one of my favorites, miss Kaitlyn wanted to be the SWEETEST thing on the face of this earth and totally blindside surprise me with an adorable Bengals shirt from Victoria's Secret!! 

How sweet is she!!?!? The back of it says "Win Me Over"... and girlfriend sure did ;) her note instructed me to "rock it while I rocked Insanity", and I can't wait too!! Thank you so much girl, you're the sweetest.

Can't wait to read all about your V-days! HAPPY FRIDAY!!