My Spring List!

I could really get used to these warmer temps! It's so cool how each season brings its own bit of goodness. I love Summer for its sunshine and late nights. I love Fall for its chilly temps and blanket scarves. I love Winter for the snowfall and the holidays.

BUT! There is always something so magical about Spring. All the dead stuff comes back to life, the sun stays out later and the temperatures slowly begin to rise back to a comfortable, breezy level! Since I haven't written a goals post in a while I figured I'd make a loose list for the season of Spring!

Ease back into running || I used to run ALL. THE. TIME. I loved it, and I really do miss it! So this Spring I'd like to ease my way back into it and hit the pavement some! No real pressure, just going to try and enjoy it!

Make more breakfast || Caleb and I absolutely LOVE having breakfast for dinner, and my Breakfast board on Pinterest makes me drool anytime I look at it, so I need to start trying some of them!

Get crafting || I feel like back in my high school days (and even early college) I was super crafty. Always DIYing something, making a collage, some decoration for my room etc., and I miss it! This Spring I want to pick a couple of fun projects and make one or two of them happen!

Get a new bathing suit || I've been really dying to get an adorable one piece (they have come a logn way since early 2000's) or a high-waist two piece. I love the styles of these and this site has SO MANY cute ones!

Restore some old photos || Looking through old photos is probably one of my favorite things to do, hands down. But when you think about it - those old film photos are the only copies we have! I can't imagine not having them! I want to be able to look back on these for years and years. I'd like to start a project of converting my families old film memories we have to a digital copy (I've heard FotoBridge is a great company to use)!

Plan a fun date night || Whether it's a date night in, or a fun night out on the town, I need a reason to get my creative juices going again!

Make more time for reading || Both my Bible, and books. I own an insane amount of books and my list never ends, gotta start putting a dent in it!

Send some snail mail || This is another one of my favorite things to do! No need for a special occasion, "just because" mail is the best!

Be more consistent || With my exercises, and with my eating healthy, with my journaling, etc.! When I do these things, I just feel a lot more confident and happy, and that's always a plus!

I hope the weather continues to be awesome and warm and full of sunshine! Spring is absolutely one of my favorite seasons and it just gives me a renewed sense of hope and excitement! I'd love to know what's on YOUR Spring to-do list this season!

My April Goals!

April is finally upon us, friends! It's crazy to me that time continues to keep flying by. Caleb and I had a great, long weekend, but today I want to focus on looking forward in April! We've got lots of fun planned for this month! With a new month comes new goals, but I do want to take a look back at my March goals; which weren't terrible. I am disappointed in myself for a couple of these, but really proud of myself for some others. In March I wanted to...

Better organize my photos: I'm giving myself a big fat FAIL on this one. I did delete a TON of photos, but didn't necessarily organize them better. What I really wanted to do was purchase a new external HD or two and completely separate wedding photography from our personal life. I can't wait to permanently scratch this off my list.

Finish a book: I didn't even start one. In my defense I've been doing a Bible study, but haven't finished a novel in a while. I love to read, just need to make more time of it!

Run without stopping: YES YES YES. I am so excited. My goal was to run at least 3 miles without stopping as I'm going through my training. I'm happy to report I ran 4 miles with no stopping. I'm so much more hopeful about our upcoming half (which btw, is under a month away)!

Make 3 new side dishes: I won't be too hard on myself. I did make new things this month (new entrees and a new dessert), so I'm giving myself a win on this one.

See a new movie: Yay! We saw both Zootopia and Batman v. Superman in theaters! It was fun to date my man as much as possible last month!

Send out shower invites: done and done! Most of the RSVP's are in (better be, the shower is this weekend!!), and decorations are finalized. Can't wait for it!!! 

Onto my April goals!

Get over 100K steps in a work-week: my record in a work-week hustle challenge with my Fitbit was last week at over 93K! I'm ready to push myself harder and make it into the 100K's!

Spring clean: I've found several good spring-cleaning checklists that I want to put to use this month. Cleaning more than just "surface-level". I want to scrub our tub, vacuum every room, clean out our pantry, etc.! Cleaning keeps me in a good mood. I often find myself getting in "cleaning moods" RIGHT before bed.

Drop a couple pounds: I'm by no means "overweight", but since our wedding I've gained quite a few pounds. Since my most out-of-shape-weight, I've lost 4 lbs, and that feels great! Seeing results is a great feeling. Since we've been (generally) eating healthier and working out 4-5x/week, Caleb and I are both feeling so much better!

Narrow down our vacation spot: Since our family vacation got cancelled due to some things out of our control, Caleb and I are on our own now! Which is kind of a blessing in disguise. As much as we love our family vacations, Caleb and I haven't taken a solo vacation since our honeymoon, so its exciting! We have a couple places in mind, but we'd really like to narrow down and make our decision.

Order a wedding canvas: We have plenty of wedding photographs printed (seriously, hundreds), but I want a focal photo hanging in our living area. Whether that be a canvas, an architect print, etc.! I love our photos and I want to be reminded of that amazing day all the time!

What are YOUR April goals?

6 reasons I loved my weekend.

1. Caleb and I got nearly 2 full hours at the pool after work Friday and I already have a bit of a tan line. We've already made it to the pool twice this season, which is more visits than all of last summer combined. We're determined this year! ;)

2.  We shot our 7th wedding of the year on Saturday. This was one of those wedding days where the timeline kinda fell out the window and nothing went according to plan, but we still managed to have a really fun day with everyone and got a lot of awesome shots!

3. We heard a really amazing message on parenting at church Sunday. No, we're not parents yet...and we don't plan to be for a while, but there was still SO much truth to the message and that's always so awesome to hear. God's grace is so good!

4. There was about 5 hours yesterday that we just flopped. We had some music on, Caleb and I each did our own things, and it rocked. Having things we both love and can do on our own is so important, I think!

5. Church kickball. It's serious, guys ;) its SO fun to get together with people (some you hardly know, some feel like family) and just play a couple games of competitive kickball. We had way too much fun!

6. Starting a good movie way too late and deciding to eat cereal at midnight with my man...cause sometimes, ya just gotta say what bedtime?

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! I know we did!

Our Spring List - Happy April!

I feel like I'm usually pretty creative, but I just couldn't come up with anything clever enough for today to trick you guys ;) so instead... I'll be finding ways to trick my husband. It's not even 8AM and he's already pulled a fast one on me ;) feel free to send any harmless, silly jokes my way today!

Moving on! Okay! Spring is officially here, and this week it truly feels like it. Warm weather, a little rain here and there, and beautiful clouds in the sky. We've spent a lot of time with my mom and brother lately and its been a blast. Last night we took a long walk around our subdivision and it got me thinking about what else I'd like to do this season...

-Attend some outdoor games. Caleb starts softball soon with a league through his work and its so fun to pay for a cheap hot dog and watch my man tear it up on the field. Also? I'm hoping we can squeeze in some Reds games.

-Walks after dinner. That's my favorite tradition. We have so much fun, AND we burn calories!

My stud during our walk last night.

-Take a trip to the Nature Center. It's a special place for Caleb and I, and we haven't been back in years. It's miles upon miles of woods/trails for walkers, hikers, joggers, etc. & the gorgeous views are just a bonus.

-Bake some cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes...but fruity pebble cupcakes. Yes, you read that right. Caleb got way too excited when I showed him the link, so its gotta happen!

-Buy fresh flowers, at least once. I know, they can be expensive, but there is something SO magical about coming home to a fresh bouquet of flowers on the table. Totally brightens up our living area, too!

Fresh blooms on a tree from our walk last night! Love signs of Spring!

-Finish a couple books. I absolutely love to read and the past year or so its totally taken a backseat in my life, after that used book sale, we have been reading a lot more so I'm hoping to complete a few!

-Complete another half marathon. It's the first weekend in May, keeping my fingers crossed!

-Enjoy a sunset on our back patio. We never sit out there, and its a gorgeous view with the lake! It's time to take advantage!!

Those are just a FEW of the things I really want to fit in this season. What are some things YOU looking forward to squeezing in this time of year?

Spring Mani/Pedi's!

Spring is here!! If you're anything like me, you almost NEVER paint your nails, but with the fun bright colors I see out all the time, I think its time for a change of pace. Time to have some fun with my nails. My girl Ashley and I have put together 5 beyond adorable spring mani/pedi combos for ya!! We also have a fun surprise at the end!

Blanc/Go Ginza

Okay, can we talk about how obsessed I am with this gold color? I think I like it because its so different than the original BRIGHT Spring color most women would gravitate too...and hey, it would look GREAT with a tan!

Cocktails & Coconuts/Spaghetti Strap

Another super fun, but creative spring nail combo? BLUE! Again, its not a typical "go-to" for most, so its a fun way to stay outside of the box.

Find me an Oasis/Bikini So Teeny

Now head over to Ashley's post and see the other two adorable combo's we came up with! She's miss fashion herself so trust me, you'll love em.

As for the surprise? We want YOU to try out some of these colors! So we're giving you a chance at a $20 gift card to Target!! You can spoil yourself to some cute nail color, or a new Spring top...or whatever you want, really! Just use the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end this Saturday, April 5th, and the winner will be announced via email!
Have a fun week!