Currently: containers make me excited.

It's been a hot minute since I've posted a "currently" or "lately" series...and its a random Wednesday, so why not? I like these posts because they are just enough when I'm not feeling extremely inspired! So here's a look into a few currents of my life lately;

Currently...

Reading: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Yes, it's true that I started this book LAST JULY on vacation with my family, but I didn't finish and since we've returned home from that vacation last year I hadn't made ANY time for reading. Well, I'm so excited that I've changed that. Caleb and I are making more time for things we love now, no more excuses!

Wanting: every maxi dress ever. I have a couple, but I need a fancier, more wedding-appropriate one. Preferably one thats not a "t-shirt" material...BUT! I still need to be able to move around easily in it! Any ideas?

Wishing: my Nanny the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!! She's helped to raise me, taught me some of life's most valuable lessons, and makes me laugh almost every day. I wouldn't be who I am today without her... I love you, Nanny! Thanks for being a wild, amazing, silly grandma!

Loving: stalking my friends Reese & Renee's instagram. They recently moved to Hawaii and I spend a ridiculous amount of time drooling over their adorable images. The love they have for life is infectious!

Drooling over: this lunch I packed for today. Seasoned tilapia, baby carrots (hummus not pictured) and my afternoon snack of cheese (rice cake & fruit) also not pictured.

Looking forward to: the last weekend of the month. We have 3 more weddings until then and while I'm VERY much looking forward to them, a full weekend with no plans sounds pretty appealing right now! :)

Thankful for: that husband of mine. I had a consultation after work last night and he offered to go grocery shopping at the same time. THEN after HE cooked dinner, he suggested that we hit the deck with our books in hand and just enjoy each others company. Pretty sure I fell in love with him all over again. He's a smart one, that man.

Excited about: the new containers my husband surprised me with! I love new containers...like, its a problem.

Enjoying: all things photography equipment. Seriously, I spend more time than I'd like to admit dreaming of all the lenses and gear I could buy if money wasn't an issue...anyone feeling generous!? ;)

Proud of: My cousin. She just turned 8 on Monday and we got to celebrate her all evening long. I drew her this tiny little chalk crown and we had way too much fun. Makes me want to buy a chalk set and be a kid again. I love her to pieces...and can't believe how old she's getting! She and her brother are my only first cousins, isn't that nuts? #tinyfamily

I hope you all have a fantastic, hump day...and because no, it never gets old...

New & improved

Last night was my first day back at the gym... in over 8 weeks. Did you read that correctly? In over EIGHT WEEKS! I've noticed a recent trend lately in my overall personality... I'm always tired, I'm always feeling gross, I'm always eating whatever I want... well, that stops now! It has to stop... as I said last night on my Instagram, I'm just "sick and tired of feeling sick and tired". No more excuses.

It's time to get back in shape. Hardly any of my pants fit comfortably, and that's just not acceptable anymore! I've already been logging my food, cutting out pop and I'm saying no to treats more often because they should be just that, the occasional treat! NOT something I have after nearly every meal just because I feel like it. I've gained quite a few extra pounds since the new year and I don't like that at all. Time to be a better ME!

I'll admit, my little trip to the gym last night was anything but pleasant. Our apartment complex was having a "resident appreciation night" and selling $5 pizzas in the parking lot, my run sucked and I found out halfway through my stay at the gym that someone left the flippin' HEAT running on an 80 degree day! I thought I was going to die...but you know what? I didn't. I completed almost 2 miles and walked uphill for some of it. Like I said, it wasn't the most amazing workout, but I still don't regret it!

Something about getting one part of your life back in order makes you just want to be better in all areas...so Caleb and I are calling this a new beginning for us. We want to be the best US we can be... in every part of our lives. That means making more time for reading instead of netflix binging, more time outside and less time on the couch (which we have been pretty good about already, yay), more healthy meals/meal planning rather than sporadic trips to Chipotle/Donatos. We're excited about these small changes and think that they'll make a huge difference in our overall habits.

What are YOU doing to be a better you this month?

A weekend for the books!

I wish weekends were longer. Seriously, I feel like Sunday night comes SO quickly, and I hate feeling like "ugh, Mondays", but I kind of can't help it. I'm trying to be better at feeling thankful no matter WHAT my weekend plans are, no matter HOW quickly they go by...etc. So even though its Monday, I'm crazy thankful for the awesome weekend we had. We packed in a TON!

Friday we started out the evening with some awesome friends at a new local Mexican joint and of course, played hours of Catch Phrase...can't go wrong with that! We had so much fun and stayed up WAY too late! We slept in Saturday and had some down time before our eighth wedding of the year. EIGHTH! I honestly can't believe we've already got that many under our belt or the 2015 season. Like always, we had a blast but this one was particularly entertaining! We got a new favorite photo booth picture together, and loved their backdrop. That was a legit life size N & K marquee and yes, it rocked...and yes, her name was Kayla. So, of course she rocked too ;)

In usual fashion here are a few sneak peeks from this (model) couple's wedding day (again, annoyed with Blogger for not uploading my photos at their full resolution and still haven't found a solution, but still...you get the gist).

Sunday Caleb and I hit up some yard sales and I got a pretty bad sunburn...somehow we forgot it wasn't going to be cloudy and left the sunscreen at home. We scored a couple cool vintage video cameras and a funny action figure for Caleb. Not sure that it was worth the over 35 minute drive, but we got Skyline after it so I was a happy gal, and of course, spending time with my man is always awesome.

Later that afternoon we had a "summer kickoff" for the youth group and I tried to even out my tan lines (unsuccessfully, if you were wondering)! We had a blast with the kids, playing games (for HOURS, I was so out of breath) stuffing our faces with food and just having a great time!

I'm in the black, and that's Caleb in the dark green on the bottom right ;)

My weekend was just awesome... and I hope yours was too!!

FriYAY

When its Monday and I still have the whole week ahead of me, it feels insanely slow...but when its Friday and I'm looking back at my week? It felt insane fast! I had my first week of free time...no consultations, no appointments...just a few phone calls with brides and a whole lot of editing but you know what? It was glorious. I think I needed a week like this to hit "reset" on my mind/body. Caleb and I took a few long walks hand-in-hand, watched a couple movies (and way too many episodes of The Office) I even cooked dinner!! ;)

We enjoyed one of Caleb's last softball games last night and I even made it home before 10...but for some reason we felt like staying up to watch game 1 of the NBA finals so I'm still feeling pretty dead today, which seems to be a recurring theme for Fridays lately.

We've been spending a good 30 minutes before bed each night reading, its been awesome. Of course, I chose a love story, and Caleb some sort of history novel...but his sounds like one I could actually get myself into! I might have to snag it from him when he's all done.

Our besties came over Wednesday and we had some of the yummiest food in all the land, and they also brought us a few goodies! Including the best saltwater taffy EVER!

The night before that I got to go Downtown to watch I Love Lucy "live" at the Aranoff with a co-worker, we had so much fun walking around downtown, eating sushi + getting $2 cones!

Overall it was a really great, relaxing week. We have our EIGHTH wedding of the year tomorrow with a rock star couple that I seriously can't wait to photograph again! I hope you all have some fun plans for the weekend! Enjoy!!

I really like him.

I think I'm super sappy lately because we just celebrated our 2 years, and we've taken walks hand-in-hand almost every night this week...but man, I really like that guy. Obviously there's a ton of things I love about him...but from day one, I was not afraid to tell him he had the best calves ever (am I succeeding in making anyone uncomfortable yet?!) ... it got me thinking about the other fun things I love about my husband. You know, the things that make him, him.

When he sings to me...like on our wedding day! Best surprise ever.

...or just when he sings in the car. Those are some of my favorite moments with him. Making dumb music videos to silly songs where he can sing at the top of his lungs!

How he puts shredded cheese and ranch on everything, literally almost every dinner at home.

That he gets on my case if I'm too tired to brush my teeth at night (I promise I'm not disgusting).

The fact that he could care LESS what people think about him. I like to think I'm like that, as well, but he inspires me. He truly does what he feels like, even when it makes him look like a goofball.

His dark hair. I hope our babies get that feature of his. Oh, and his cute nose.

His walk with Christ. He came into my life at the most perfect moment and I don't believe that was a coincidence.

The way he respects me, and just gets me. I'm very fortunate to have a man that loves me like he does.

That we can have just as much fun together watching a Redbox rental vs going out for a fancy date.

He's a great teacher. Although he's not in his dream career (high school history teacher) her serves our youth at church and I know that so many of them look up to him. He is so great with them, and that makes me so happy.

and maybe one of my favorite things about him? He knows food is the way to my heart. One time, I was just bummed with how my day went and he surprised me with Chickfila... I've never loved him more ;)

In all honesty, its so easy to take our significant others for granted day-to-day, but I never want that to happen! Caleb is not only my husband, but my best friend! He knows how to make me smile, and knows when to just let me vent...I may love that man, but I also really like him, too.
Squeeze your loved ones tighter tonight, friends! Enjoy your Thursday!

June goals

I know its cliche to talk about how fast time is moving, but honestly... is this real life?! 2015 is nearly half way over already?! I'm definitely not complaining, though... I'm ready for warmer temps!

via

Since my half marathon in early May, I really haven't worked out much...okay, at all. Other than a few rounds of ultimate Frisbee and backyard kickball, I've been lazy. Mostly because for 3 straight weeks I felt like I could hardly put weight on my right foot, but to be totally honest? I had gotten out of the habit of exercising around mid-April. I truly think its because I just got lazy and stopped setting realistic (yet challenging) goals for myself.

Caleb and I watched a football movie on Sunday night where they wrote down very specific "season goals" and gave their cards to each other to keep the other accountable...I remember telling you all last year about our "weekly goals" challenge for each other, and we're going to start implementing that again. More on that to come later! For now...here are my JUNE goals!

To use MyFitnessPal again! At one point, my streak was over 170 days...I know its not all about the streak, but it really made me think twice about what I put in my body because I'd be logging it all.

Drink more water. This kind of goes hand in hand with the above goal, but I haven't been drinking nearly as much water as I used to so I'm wanting to cut out pop (upcoming dentist appt!!) and focus solely on water.

Get back in the gym. Now that my foot is feeling a million times better (no pain whatsoever - pretty sure I'm in the clear!), its time to push myself again. I've missed running and lifting so much. I've gained quite a few pounds since March and I'm ready to shed them and get back to feeling fit again! Exercise just makes me a happier person, and I love that.

Make our wedding album selections. I mean... talk about 2 years in the making. The sad part is? It was INCLUDED in our wedding package.. all we have to do is pick out our favorite pictures and its made FOR US! Although, I do still want to make my own customized photo books for a lot of seasons in life (both 2013 + 2014, our honeymoon and also our wedding...but lets be honest, that won't happen until wedding season is over).

Finish 2 books. This is a huge goal for me. Reading used to be such a huge part of my life and I love it so much. Now with blocking out certain evenings throughout the week for more "me time/free time" I know I can get this done.

Relax more. Sure, I've got a never ending list of edits to complete, and 4 weddings this month...but making more time for "me" and things I want to do? It's definitely happening. I'm excited for this month and all the fun things it's going to bring!!

What are a few June goals YOU have for yourself?

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!