gems

remember when i shared this picture of my baby self awhile back?

yes...wearing a clemson hat. coincidence?

well...enter stage right...
the most precious of precious baby pictures. of A.

look. at. that. hair.
swoon.

i can't wait to get my hands on more. so i can look at that every single day.

a weekend at the beach

A's family had a celebration for his grandparents last weekend in Cocoa Beach, FL. it was a nice little trip to the beach.

but oh my goodness was it hot. i'm talking like you don't gracefully walk across the sand. nor do you walk swiftly. the only way i can describe it is you haul your butt as quickly as possible to get to the ocean. no care in the world other than getting to that shade/ocean as quickly as possible.

it was a great day though. some laying out time. followed by a little trip for A and S to orlando to go to one of shan's favorite stores {h&m}. then back to see toy story 3 with the fam {recommend it of course. not in 3D though. there was not really one part that was very "3D". plus one doesn't feel very glamorous in those goggles. not that one really needs to be glamorous in a dark movie theater. no matter people. 3D goggles = not pretty.

moving on...

a little picture of A and i on the beach. don't let the smiles fool you. we were cranky because (did i mention?) it was blistering warm. fa-reaking hot outside people.

but i did get to wear a ruffly bathing suit. which did make it better.

9 years ago

9 years ago today was the day that i gave my life over to the Lord. i remember it exactly and it has been such an amazing journey since that day.

amazing, grace-filled journey. full of bumps and bruises. and joy and tears. and learning. so much learning. that will never ever end.

hebrews 10:32-36


"remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. you sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions."


"so do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. you will need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."


i remember what it was like when i first started following the Lord. so fresh and new. and exciting. i was such a child of the Lord. in my ways of thinking. but i leaned on Him so much in the beginning because it was so new. i just ate everything up and learned so much.

i often think of how i want my life to reflect how i once was when i first really learned what it meant to be a Christ-follower. not that i want to revert back and forget all that i have learned along my journey. more so, i want to automatically depend on the Lord without even thinking of it. i find myself putting other things in the forefront of my mind so often. and i want nothing more than to have that child-like faith of trusting my Father and leaning on Him because you know nothing different. it's what children do...rely on their parents. to take care of them. and to teach them. and to discipline and correct them. to mold them.

so as i think back today, sitting in a bunk bed 9 years ago on june 28th, i can't help but think of all that i have learned. but also wanting to not lose that child-like dependence on the Lord. that fresh outlook on my walk with my Father.

happy Jesus birthday shan.
keep fighting and pushing and being molded in a woman of Christ.

french + j.crew

so i went to browse the j. crew website today (browse only. the prices on that website make me want to punch something. if you could divide all of those $$$ by 4 then i will maybe consider you j.crew. maybe.)

back to the point of this post...

upon entering their website they have a sweet little video for you to watch. so i did. and i loved it. so j. crew. so preppy meets chic. so paris. (rachel...you will love it, i'm sure).

check it out {here}.

now that is how you do marketing. (spoken like a true marketing/public relations major). that is how you get my attention.

i'll take all of the looks featured in the video. and i would like the song to be added to my itunes stat. if only i could figure out who it is by.

what do you think?

happy anniversary my A

A and i celebrated our 3 year anniversary last wednesday.
june 16th.

it was a fabulous night. we tried a new (for us) restaurant downtown. Pomegranate on Main. persian food. oh my goodness. stop it. it was AMAZING. definitely returning there for sure.

and no. we did not sit on the same side of the table. we are not that couple. 

oh how great these 3 years have been.
and it's only going to get better from here.

short and sweet

a few weeks ago, my mama and sister went down to FL to visit the grandparents. on their way back, they paid a little visit to me. got here on tuesday night and left on thursday morning. so short but very sweet time spent with two of my favorite people ever.

aren't they beautiful? two fabulous women in my life.

there were many laughs and fun moments. they got to meet new fur baby Kentson. Auntie mo mo fell in love and Kentson recipricated that love right back to her.

look how different K looks before he was groomed and got a summer haircut!

and to top it off, we played with the photobooth feature on morgan's mac. oh yes...this always makes for a good time and laugh til you cry or quite possibly pee your pants moments.

so i might as well share a picture of the group with very beautiful faces.

you're welcome friends. you're welcome.
my family is awesome. and A fits right in. my goodness i am a lucky girl.

minty love

it's no secret that i have a big obsession with all things minty green.

so when i headed over to high heeled foot in the door blog last week, i got my fix of minty love. camila featured rooms chocked full of my fave color. yes please. YES PLEASE.

in case you don't follow her blog {which i seriously recommend}, i thought i was share the minty goodness with you.

i pink puffy heart minty green goodness.

a pup weekend

this weekend was a great one. it was one of those no plans, do whatever you feel like doing kinda weekend. it was great.

this weekend was all about the pup. well, really everyday is about Kentson. but this weekend, we went to the dog park for the first time saturday. and then again today. Kents loves it. LOVES.

guess who has a new obsession with said park?

this guy. and just in case you need more witness to this cuteness called Kentson...

look. at. those. eyes.
and ears. oh those ears get me every single time.

it has been a fabulous month with Kentson. he is my little sidekick. my buddy.

if you have a dog park near you, you should definitely take your pup. it wears them out. and lets them just run and run and wrestle and wrestle to their hearts content.

here's to good weekends and sweet pups.

harry potter love

the wizarding world of harry potter at universal studios is opening soon.
and i would like someone to take me there.

i love harry potter. i am re-reading the books and i just soak it all up. and this park looks fabulous.

can i be 7 again just to have a reason to go?
or maybe i will ask A to my 24-year-old self down so i can feed my love for all things potter?

all pictures from {here }

umm...yes. that last picture is butterbeer. call me a nerd but i would drink a butterbeer (non-alcoholic for all you non hp folk. c'mon people...this is HP. we keep it classy and kid-friendly!)

oh please please please will someone (*cough* A *cough*) take me?
someone out there...back up my HP love?

fact: pretty faces are my specialty

i love to take a pretty picture.
many times it's just me and my face.

sometimes i like it to be a surprise.

but most of the time, i like to take pretty pictures with all of my friends {or even A}.

oh yes jen jen. that last one is my favorite one of you.

pretty pictures indeed.

obsession: magazine

i am addicted. to {home decor} magazines. i didn't know it until i looked around.

and i always wish i would get elle decor and house beautiful.

what is wrong with me folks? i have a stack of about 12 that i haven't even gone through. they just keep piling up. and i am totally ok with that.

am i the only one?

{thumbs up} chuck

i had heard very little about this show.
and then A started to watch. which meant i started to watch.
and we are hooked. beyond hooked.

it is amazing, hilarious, clever and good fun.
do you watch? because you should.

we have been catching up on the 3 seasons. and it is gooooood.

cooking 101

i promised myself that i would try to cook a little more. and by a little more, i mean start. start cooking. because i don't.

so this week, i started. whipped out this little puppy...

and menu planned. wrote down what i needed from the grocery.

started out with this recipe. for me only because A is a picky eater. so more for me.


southwestern chicken lettuce wraps with spicy chipotle dipping sauce
*this recipe calls for chicken. i omitted that since i am a veggie and it was still delish. so you can try it with or without!

1 (8.8oz) package whole-grain brown rice

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

3/4 cup fresh salsa

1/3 cup chopped green onion (i used white)

1 (15ox) can reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

12 iceburg lettuce leaves

Spicy Chipotle Dipping Sauce (recipe below)

Prepare rice according to package directions. Place rice in a large bowl. Stir in chicken and next 3 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly in center of lettuce leaves. Fold in edges of leaves; roll up and secure with wooden picks. Serve with spicy chipotle dipping sauce.

Spicy Chipotle Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. 

It turned out delicious. i would definitely recommend. like i said, i omitted the chicken per my vegetarian diet, and it still turned out perfect! 

yummy dish.