thursday travels

so last week, i said i was going to start taking you on travels on thursdays. and i was going to share a list that A and i put together of places we would love to go to someday.

and then last week i didn't.
blogging fail.

but here i am. with a place we want to take an adventure to together.

photo from flickr {here}

costa rica. 

i want to be her

maybe just so i can live in this house.

have y'all seen the movie "it's complicated"? it's a cute little flick that has one of the most fabulous houses i have ever seen. i was literally drooling the entire time.

or how about the amazing little store/bakery that the character owns in the movie?
sure...i'll take that too.

photos courtesy of here 

definitely recommend the flick. and anyone who wants to buy me the house...it would be greatly appreciated.

moving on...

on sunday, A and i had the chance to go over to my boss' house with a few other co-workers and their significant others for a day on the lake. my boss is a fabulous lady and her and her husband were fabulous hosts.

also, her house was breathtaking as well. an old cottage that had been renovated with some rooms added on. my favorite part of her house was the back porch. a huge porch (not screened in) with a long rectangular table (homemade by her hubs) and a sitting area with a fireplace. a perfect place to eat dinner and unwind every night. she said they spend most nights out there...i can see why.

i felt like i was surrounded by beautiful houses this weekend. first in the movie and then at my boss' abode. and although i completely believe that true joy doesn't come from worldly things (like beautiful houses), i still get excited to think about having my own little place someday with A. a place where i can paint, decorate and renovate to my little hearts content.

everyone loves a list

1. i made my apartment my you know what this weekend. kicked its tush and made it clean. finally. and then i had a "pamper shan" day as well. it was a long time coming.

2. i have been living on a budget for the past month. to be candid, i was sick of not really knowing where my money went (after all my regular expenses were paid). and i needed to start saving some serious dollars. so i did. and it has been good. a strict budget can make you feel so free.

3. i bought some cork at staples this weekend and am trying to figure out what i want to do with it in my house. kitchen perhaps? i also bought some fabulous fabric while home in lexington a few weeks ago. those will be made into a window treatment for the living room. i, of course, will share pictures upon completion. don't hold your breath. i need to become very brave.

4.
every once in awhile, i venture out and try something new. like nutella.

and then i wonder why the frick i have waited so long and how many good pieces of toast i have missed out on.

5. A, his brother and I went and saw the movie "inception" this past weekend. drop everything you are doing right now and go see it. now. go. you will thank me later. it is AMAZING.

6. i just now thought "i wonder if you are supposed to put nutella in the fridge after you open it? because i haven't been doing that. i hope i haven't poisoned myself. updated to add: no refrigeration needed. i am safe :)

7. i have a tired little puppy laying at my feet right now. life doesn't get much better folks. 

8. have i mentioned on this blog before how obsessed i am with thunderstorms? because i am. and it is thundering out right now. and i love it. LOVE. 

9. i never thought i would say this....but i love twitter. there. it is out for all to see. 

10. i am ready for a long summer vacation. a trip to florida is planned next month. might not be a week but it will still be a vacation. where i can finally become tan. (edited to add: i am pasty white and i am a pissed off little girl. dang 8-5 works days are hampering my laying out style in the summertime). 

just call me samantha brown

i have been bitten by the travel bug. and i want to go to so many fun places. to explore all over this world of ours and adventure my little heart out. hopefully over my life, i will get to some of the places that are on my list. probably not all but some.

in the beginning of the year, A and i made a list of places that we want to travel to together when we get hitched. someday in the future. it is a big list. and i keep adding. i am so anxious to get on a plane and adventure. road trip. take a train. just go.

i figured i would start to share these place with you, my sweets. thursday travels sounds like a fun little title to be had. a post where i reveal a place on our list. a place that we want to go.

it will be like a "tuesdays 10" (started by my friend brit) or a "lovely friday" (started right here on the homefront of MNSC). some weeks i'm sure i will forget. but i will keep you updated as often as i can of showing you our list we put together.

what do y'all think? looking forward to this thursday to see my first place of travel? i need to pick a good one..start out with a bang bang.

happy first {of many}

on june 24th, we celebrated our fur baby's birthday. with cupcakes {for us}, special treats {for him} and a whole lot of love.

and to top it all off, we sang happy birthday to this sweet man.

oh yes we did.
happy birthday my pup. happy birthday.

who knew A was a {design} star?

as brought to my attention by my mama...

A never told me he was going to be on HGTV's design star. secretive man that he is.

ok so he is not. but his twin is. tell me these two do not look alike?

and here is dan. contestant on design star.

photo courtesy of hgtv

of course, A is much more handsome in my eyes. {cheesy? sure. true? oh yes}

good call on the twin stardom mama. what do y'all think?

sidenote: i refuse to pay for cable. which is nice most of the time. but let me tell you something.....i miss my hgtv like whoa. it should be on basic (read free) cable. that is all.

lovely friday

it has been quite sometime since we have had a lovely friday post. i love a lot of things. a lot. but the pressure to think of something to blog about does make it harder. strange? hmm...

anyway, with summer upon us, i have a new obsession. turquoise jewelry. oh. em. gee. i am obsessed with turquoise jewelry. i have added 4 new pieces to my jewelry box recently. and i rock them almost everyday.

{anthro}

{stella and dot}

{stella and dot}

{anthro}

{anthro}

{forever 21}

{stella and dot}

aren't all of these pieces just perfect? i like to use turquoise to jazz up an otherwise boring outfit. or use it as an accent color (blush pink? coral? gray? yellow?) which makes the turquoise just pop. 

do y'all have any turquoise in your jewelry box? i'm thinking you need to get some stat. 

and your welcome for the justification. 

this is how you do shabby

shabby chic that is.

i think this is what fairytales are made of.

i fumbled across this article the other day and was immediatley drawn to the cottage. a NY woman (who wears pink rainboots so you know she is a precious lady) worked some magic on a little cabin. she took an old fishing log cabin and turned it into a dreamy, shabby chic, "i-could-sleep-in-that-loft-for-the-rest-of-my-life" abode.

now please please droll over these 2 photots with me.

you can check out the article {here} where there is also a link for a bunch of pictures (that i could not, for the life of me, figure out how to get them onto my blog. they are steal borrow-proof. so please...go look and you will understand why i want the loft bed.

i mean, is this cottage not what every girl dreams of?

close to the heart

the recent BP oil spill has hit close to home to me. well, close to my heart.

i spent all of my life visiting the florida panhandle and it's prestine white beaches. my grandparents live in pensacola and many of my childhood memories involve family trips to that wonderful city. and to think that the oil is ravaging those beaches feels like a punch to the gut.

it breaks my heart in to a billion pieces to hear about this manmade disaster. the gulf coast beaches are supported by the tourism industry and to know that so many people will be canceling their plans to vacation elsewhere will be a major hit to the economy and people of our gulf coast.

i read an article the other day {that i can't find now...dang it} that talked about ways to help. unfortunately, since it is a toxic waste that needs to be cleaned up, one has to be specially trained to help clear the beaches. but the article did give one huge way to help. visit. she encouraged people to keep their vacation plans to the gulf. go support the people and businesses there. go to your favorite beach haunts and support them like you would without the impending oil spill disaster. i couldn't agree more.

in a time where all we hear of is how bad the oil spill is and how much it is destroying the environment, i have felt so helpless. but we can all definitely do our part....but not canceling vacations. by visiting our favorite cities in the gulf and supporting our neighbors down there who are feeling the effects of the oil spill everyday.

my family and i are visiting in august. i know by then, the beaches will be worse. we won't be able to walk along the beach and we won't be swimming in the ocean. but we will be vacationing, relaxing and supporting our beloved city. and i would encourage you to do the same.

i have found two other ways to help and i just love both of these ideas. one etsy artist is donating 100% of her sales from one of her photos to help the gulf.

and one of my favorite girls who designs stationery is helping too.

so my sweets, whether you take a vacation to your favorite gulf city or buy a photo or stationery, i would encourage you to help where you can. because our favorite gulf cities will be hurting this summer. lets help our neighbors.

a few other links to find out how to help:
nature squad | visit south | volunteer louisiana | volunteer florida

true story.

A: "are you afraid of snakes?"

me: "no. why?"

A: "well i saw one the other day. over where we take kentson to go to the bathroom. and i was just wondering if you would've been scared."

me: "i mean, i wouldn't have screamed. but i would've gotten kentson away from it fast. what kind of snake was it? an anaconda {cue smart tone}"

A: "well, it kind of looked like a pet snake."

me: "what makes you say that?"

A: "it didn't look threatening."

me: "it didn't look threatening? a snake? so that makes it a pet snake? was there anything else that made you think it was a pet snake?"

A: "yeah. it was tan and green."

by this point, i was literally crying with laughter.