pinspiration

i'm sure by now you have heard about pinterest. if not, then i suggest you go right over here and get on the bandwagon. it is absolutely amazing and there is inspiration galore.

i have pinned quite a few things that i love. i want to try to take some inspiration from pinterest and bring it into my life. what's the fun if it just lives on a board and you don't ever do anything with it?

so i give you....pinspiration in my life #1.

pinterest photo {here}

shan's photo

i loved the look of those nails. having that ring finger different definitely gives my nails some new flair. and although i didn't have that pretty pink sparkly nail polish, i used what i had and made it my own. i really love this look and will have to try it again with a different color combination (doesn't just have to be sparkly!)

engagements

hello friends. my goodness it has been a busy few weeks. but it has been fun and i'm here to share a little adventure with you from last weekend.

on sunday, we headed up for asheville. packed the car with fancy clothes, change of outfits and a puppy. what for? to meet two of my sweet besties for our engagement pictures. my SUPER talented friend jenna was taking our shots and jen played assistant for a day (and a mighty fine assistant she was!) we had a ball. first off, it was so so great to see them. and it was fun to take pictures.

so here we go. i'll tell you up front that i included a bunch (not even all) of my favorites. so i apologize in advance for picture overload!

and how could i not include this next one? we love gilly...sorry. (SNL reference)

here is a picture of the three besties. i could've included a more normal one but this is just so us. a framer for sure. i love them so much and am so blessed to be surrounded by girls who are beautiful, strong and an encouragement to me daily.

(tickling gilfedder - she loves to be tickled)

jenna did such a great job taking our pictures. she is so talented. and jen jen was so great and brought so many sweet ideas with her. 

thanks sweet girls for making the trip down. it was so much fun seeing you and i can't wait to celebrate lots of things in the next few months.

for those of you in kentucky who want some fabulous pictures taken for yourself, head on over to jenna's blog to see more of her work and for her contact information!

meal planning

i am not so good at this. but i am going to try. maybe putting it out there in blogland will help me be more accountable on doing this every week. i won't start big and pretend i am going to cook a meal every night. but i am going to try and plan out my meals a little better. i am a little sick of getting home from work and thinking asking A "what should we have for dinner?" i'm sure he loves coming to visit me and getting that question over and over again. so here i am - trying to plan a little better (and inspired by a blog i love - christi over at burlap and basil)

so here it goes. my hopeful meals for this week:


-tortellini or ravioli with homemade marinara (thanks jules!)
-roasted white corn & shallot pasta (recipe found here)
-black bean taquitos
-large salad with a side of sweet potato fries
-strawberry flax smoothie (for breakfast)


i'm not going to assign them to different days. i'll wait and see what sounds good on the day of. but let's hope that i can stick to it and fix some good, healthy and homemade meals this week. and if i can stick to this, maybe this can become a regular feature on the blog - not only to keep me accountable but to share ideas and recipes with friends.

date night

it was long overdue. we hadn't had a fun little date night in months. little trips, sicknesses and other little things prevented us from heading out as a couple. but we finally planned and made it happen last night.

we started off the late afternoon by running a few wedding errands. off to michael's, target and world market to pick up things for our reception. it always feels so nice to get a few things checked off your wedding to-do list. or any to-do list for that matter. but we did. and my little convertible was packed full of fun little things.

next up? off to see a movie. i mentioned we had a few groupons/living social deals to use so we planned our date night around using some of these deals (cheap!!!). we each bought a deal a few months ago to get 2 movie tickets for $9. and since we both bought the deal, we had 4 tickets to use. and for some reason, we decided to wait until the very last weekend before they expired to use them. so last night - off we went to see the new "x men" movie.

(photo)

we both enjoyed it. x men movies are always good (at least in our book). definitely recommend. 

after the movie, we went to a new (for us) restaurant downtown. it is a little restaurant tucked away on a side street known for their tapas and wine. 

(photo)

we each tried new things that were hit or miss. tempura asparagus? my absolute fave of the night. A loved the ribs he ordered. 

and just because little girly things make me happy - i got to wear a new nars lipstick (nars barbarella) i ordered from sephora a few months ago. a peachy coral color that is oh so perfect for summertime. 

(prettiest little photo of lipstick from this sweet blog)

we definitely need to be better about taking sweet date nights like that more often. our 4 year anniversary is coming up this month and you know what that means? another date night and another excuse to put on some lipstick? AND we get to go to my absolute favorite restaurant. it ain't cheap so we reserve it for special occasions (shan's bday and our anniversary). so i am super looking forward to it. 

happy date nights!

updates

hello sweet bloggers.

i do believe it is time for a little list.

1. two days after my previous blog post, i woke up at 5am to watch a wedding. as a girl planning her own, how could i possibly miss the royal wedding? it doesn't hurt that i think kate middleton is adorable and has a great sense of style. i couldn't miss seeing the dress she choose to marry a prince.

(photo)

2. our wedding is less than 4 months away which makes me want to pass out. i have a lot of things to do. i need to print out every picture that i call inspiration and hang them on a blank wall in my apartment. i feel like that will help me focus.

3. in the beginning of may, i had a sweet bestie come visit. it was julie's first time to greenville and so we definitely had a jam packed weekend filled with good food, long talks, wine and adventuring downtown. i feel so blessed to have the friends that i do. (ps: did we take any pictures to show you? of course not. i am such a good blogger)

4. i took a little trip to kentucky a few weeks ago. it was in the works for sometime but it was a super secret. i went to surprise this little lady....

since she had just had this little guy....

isn't he just the cutest? i couldn't wait to go see her/meet him any longer. the fun part? she had no idea i was coming. 

rachel - i so wish i could've captured the look on your face when i walked into your house. your hubby did a good job of keeping you in the dark. it was the best weekend to be able to be with you and love on you and E for a bit. i just wish it could happen way more often. kiss parker for me :)

5. and to update you on this past weekend - it was lovely. A and i went to the lake house and spent two days with A's family. it was great to relax and be out in the sun. i went as the pastiest (its a word) girl ever (my skin is see-thru) and came back a little less pasty. i need a summer tan something fierce (#whitegirlproblems).

6. i'm hoping to have a little date night this weekend with A. we need to use up some groupons/living social deals that we have bought in the past few months. i'm thinking we will use the groupon for a tapas restaurant this weekend. that sounds delish.

7. do y'all groupon or living social? if not - you definitely should. they are great sites that send (really good) deals out everyday. usually they are 50% off or more deals to local restaurants, salons and adventures. we heart it.

8. so it's june and it is already 75 billion degrees outside. is this happening to everyone right now or is it just us lucky south carolinians that get punched in the face by heat everytime we walk out the door?

i have much more to discuss with you but i will leave it at that for now. happy thursday my sweets!