best vacation ever {part one}

A and I went to the island of vieques in puerto rico for our honeymoon. it's a pretty empty island and we stayed at the only resort on vieques. it was such a perfect way to wind down from the craziness of our wedding. we were there for 10 days and had such a wonderful time.

first off, let me show you where our little island was located. see our little island to the right of the main island?

{map link}

i'm going to write this post like a travel journal. i want to remember all that i can about our honeymoon so going to write little details along the way.

this picture is one of our first nights on the honeymoon. they had these round big beds with pillows galore up at the main building of the resort. this was our view from one as we were lounging.

this was a little attraction on the island. we found it when we were out driving. it's the oldest tree on vieques. look how small A looks compared...it was ginormous.

pardon the hair. it's going to look like that in most pictures. humidity + what felt like a billion degrees means ponytail 99% of the time.

this was our little island rental that we had for 24 hours. a brand new jeep wrangler. it was so awesome and perfect for driving around the island. you'll see below how crazy all the roads are...and only a few of them are paved. 

there are wild horses all over the island. it blew my mind when we first saw a herd. they are everywhere. out in the middle of nowhere. in one of the two towns on the island. walking in the middle of the road. everywhere. i was kind of in heaven. 

the US navy had this island up until around 2003 i think (part of the reason why it is so untouched). there are still remnants of our navy around the island. we found a bunch of bunkers out on one of our drives. 

remember how i said the roads were kinda crazy looking? here is an example. they were so narrow - i hit a lot of branches! these are obviously paved. some of the others were just mud with the biggest potholes ever.

one of the first secluded beaches we found. 

at dinner at "el patio" in isabel II one night. not our favorite but it was nice to visit this town and eat out on their little patio. i'm pretty sure i had rice and beans and A had steak. as you can tell, he didn't really like it. :) excuse the poor lighting - like i said, we were out on the patio which didn't have the fanciest lighting.

i'll be back with two more posts full of honeymoon pictures and adventures!

guilty

have y'all seen these videos? pardon the language in the titles but i couldn't not share these with you. they make me laugh out loud because they are so true. i can't tell you how many of these things fly out of my mouth daily.

enjoy!

are any of you ladies guilty of such things? do tell!

if any of y'all are on twitter, there is a twitter account to go along with these. i've retweeted a few that are things i say all the dang time. how can these not make you laugh? {twitter here}

working it out

over the last year, i have really gotten into a healthier lifestyle of going to the gym and eating better. since it has become a big passion of mine, i figured i would start talking a bit about my favorite exercises as well as maybe share some of my favorite eating tips with y'all. so here we go...

i have grown to love going to group classes. i feel like i push myself a lot harder in group classes because i have a trainer hollaring at me to go harder. my usual rotation during the week includes abs class, intense body, and yoga. however, i have found a new favorite. have y'all ever tried spinning? i tried it for the first time back in december and i have to say that i am absolutely hooked. i don't think i ever sweat as much as i do in spin class (TMI?) it's definitely my new favorite class to take at my gym.

{link}

lately, i have been looking online for some new workouts to do if i want to change it up and exercise on my own. i also met with a trainer for a few sessions (too bad i can't afford to meet with one all the time. thank goodness the few sessions i had were all free!) ever tried burpees? {described here} i absolutely hate them but they really are such a great thing to incorporate into a routine. definitely have to add the pushup in there to make it harder.

i found this quote on pinterest awhile back that i repeat often in the gym. over and over again when i have to run, do burpees or anything else that pushes me hard. i promise it works!

{pin}

this is a good one too...

{pin}

have y'all tried any workouts lately that you love? i love chatting about this stuff so feel free to share!

resolutions 2012

i just wrote a post about how unmotivated i am recently and then erased it. i feel like i was just complaining about things that don't matter to anyone but me. however, if you have any tips or comments on how to get out of an unmotivated or lazy slump in one's life (that is really quite annoying to me), feel free to comment :)

anywho...back to the resolutions. i created some resolutions in 2010. and at the end of 2010, it was awesome to look back and see all of the things that were accomplished that year. i didn't do it for 2011 and wanted to kick myself on dec. 31st when i had no resolutions to look back on to see if i completed them. so here i am, formally writing down some resolutions for 2012.

1. glam myself up.
i couldn't quite figure out how to put this resolution into words. and then DON went ahead and took the words right out of my mouth when she shared {this resolution}. i would say this is one that is directly connected to the little blip above when i talk about being unmotivated and lazy. i have gotten into a routine of waking up 15 minutes before i have to leave for work. this results in shan not looking very put together for the day. not that i need to be a glamorous person everytime i step foot outside my door. but more like i just want to be presentable and actually look like i am a grown up.

{pin}

2. continue with the gym
i would say one of my biggest accomplishments in 2011 was joining a gym and immediately getting myself into a routine of going 3-4 times a week (the wedding lit a fire under my butt to actually get in shape). i'm still going strong a year later and want to continue this throughout this year.

{pin}

3. be more organized
menu planning. a cleaning schedule. waking up earlier. i need to write stuff down and stick to my resolutions!

4. eat well, try new things, take a cooking class and cook more

self explanitory but i want to keep eating better and better, push myself to try new things and cook for us more. menu planning has to be a part of this one too. i need to stop putting it off so much and actually do it. i know we will save time and money if i make myself do it!

{pin}

5. take a one year anniversary trip with A
haven't even discussed this yet but it is a must happen.

6. wear my hair 30 different ways in a month.
anyone else get absolutely bored out of their mind with wearing their hair the exact same way all the time (it's either hair down, my bangs pulled back in bobby pins or a pony). this will be a challenge and a stretch but i think with all of the good ideas on pinterest, i might be able to accomplish it.

7. be super intentional about spending time with the lord. and praying.
to be completely honest, i have slacked on this major. i am not a morning person at all and then being married and living in a small place, i have yet to really make it a priority to step away and spend some quiet time with the lord. this has to change because i need it. i can so tell in my day to day life, my thoughts and the way i react to things when i haven't been making time for a quiet time. it's amazing how quickly and how much it affects your heart. this has got to be priority over everything else.

8. wear more lipstick

{pin}

9. learn to sew
don't know how i will learn or who will teach me but it needs to happen.

10. save money and budget well
i created a budget last year and am hoping we can continue utilizing it this year.

what are some of your resolutions and goals for 2012? would love to hear if we have any of the same or if you have a good one to share!

wedding week: the details

some of the little details that made our wedding day extra special...

and that, my friends, is all the wedding i have for you. it is so fun to look through all of these pictures again. it was such a special day for A and I and we had all of our dearest loved ones all in one place. it was so amazing and we are so blessed to be able to celebrate our marriage in such a beautiful way.

all of these pictures were from our wonderful photographer, jeff hall {here and here}. he was so great and captured everything i wanted in the photos he took. if you are in the greenville area and looking for a wedding photographer, we would recommend him over and over again. he was a pleasure to work with. 

wedding week: bride & groom

some of my favorites of us...

wedding week: bridal party + family

all of our dearest loved ones..

our awesome friend who married us. we love him...

my wonderful parents

and a bunch of A's family...