The Simple Things

Link up with Jessyln!

Here are the simple things I appreciated this week!

~... Sweet comments from you guys that make my day... ~

~ ...Rocking sick babies back to health...~

* Music *

~ ...This AMAZING make-up that the fabulous Pink Lou Lou has recommended...~

~ ...The app "hanging with friends - it's addictive!... ~

~ ...My friends that are there for me no matter what :)...~

~ ...Lunch dates at Jason's Deli...& making the perfect ice-cream cone... ~

~ ...Knowing that the 4th of July weekend is not far away... ~

~ ...God moments. He always knows when to throw them your way at the EXACT right time... ~

~ ...The completion of my coffee wreath... ~

~ ...Fun soap... ~

~ ...And of course, my honeybee and sweet puppies that make my life complete... ~

I am blessed, so so blessed & GRATEFUL. The Lord is too good to me.
 * Counting my blessings today *

Posin'

I did some bridal portraits for a photographer that is just starting out, he is A M A Z I N G. I am by NO means a "model" (it makes me laugh just using that term) but hey, I got a free canvas with one of my other pics for free! Holla! :) I wore his wife's wedding dress - its 10 years old and TIMELESS. Love. I did THESE with him a couple of months ago with my friend, Candice. Here are some of the bridal:

Hot-Doggin' Good Time

Well kids, the weekend is over & Monday has arrived. It was such a great weekend with great friends & family. God has blessed me too much. I can't wait to look back years down the road & read this blog, it will be fun to see what we were up to, and how much our life will change. :) I took a ton of pics with my "nice" camera & am  too lazy to upload them, ha! So... a few iPhone pics will have to due. :)

Jam packed in a suburban... :)

Road snacks are fun.

SO SO SOOOO happy to have my Ellie girl in my arms again! :)

Us girls watchin' our men play some softball!

MMmmmm HOME :)

My precious pups after their haircut :)

Gettin' our cuddle time in

Now we just have to make it to Thursday, and we're off again! Have I mentioned the 4th is all favorite holiday?! Well, it is. :)

The perfect link up: The Simple Things

If any of y'all read THIS post I did last week, you will know that this link-up I found called, The Simple Things every Thursday is P E R F E C T for me! :) It's a recap of all the simple things that made you happy throughout the week. This blog is ADORBS, I mean how pretty is the name Jessyln Amber - not to mention the girl is gorgeous, y'all! :)

Without further adue: The Simple Things (I am SUCH a dork. ha)

~ Finding out how awesome instagram is :)

~ Pool time, 'nuff said

 ~ Morning snuggles with my pooch! She is the sweetest!

 ~ An hour long good, wholesome talk on the phone with my fran

~ Talks with my seester about her first daughter/my first niece! *giddy*

~ The name, Adalee. Pronounced ADD-UH-LEE 

~ Monogramming anything & everything
~ My "homemade" pink lemonade

~ Forever21 (love that store)

~ Net-flicks in the mail.... (it gets better).....

~ ....101 Dalmatians being one of them!

~ Sno-cone dates!

~ And last but not least, road-trippin' it HOME with great friends today!!!! And getting to see my wonderful family. <3

Happy Thursday! :):):):):):):):):):):)

Instagram

I love it! HOW am I just now finding out how AWESOME it is?? I need to stay updated on technology! ha! :)

Candice & I Saturday night! :)

Random Tid-Bits

I'm not sure why, but I am D R A G G I N G this Monday, maybe it's because I haven't had ANY coffee? I think....... I think I may need some. :)

Oh well - I'm happy the weekend is over (even though it was a nice one!), and this week has started because we are going HOME on Thursday! Yippeeeee!! The church I grew up in has am annual softball tournament every year that my love bug is participating in. He has thrown together a team from here & we are ALL ( 11 guys, & 2 girls ) packin' up & heading out! It should be interesting because Chels & I will have to "hang" with 11 smelly men. :) I'm excited though to show them all where we grew up, take them out to my parents, eat good ole Southern home cookin' ALL.WEEKEND.LONG, & have a fun, but HOT time. Hot because it's supposed to be in the 100's.

And maybe, just maybe I can LEARN to cook... but ONLY if I can wear this CUTE apron!

Moving on.... who watched Miss.USA last night? You know this girl did, I love me some pageants! Of course I was rooting for TEXAS! I was pretty proud that she was 3rd runner up. Did you know Texas has the most wins in the pageant? We know how to work it ;)

Image

I love how they showed clips of years back. My favorite? The 50's. Classic, timeless elegance. I also love how they showed the evolution of the swim suit! 

 Image

 Image

They have definitely got smaller...and smaller....and smaller. Pretty sure they can't get any tinier - but those girls rocked them with their amazing bods. Umm, lets just say I was feelin' pretty guilty sitting there with my mint chocolate chip ice-cream. ;)

I'm just ready to be done today because lover face & I are going to hit up the sno-cone place, and then head to prayer. I hope they won't mind my blue lips. :) hehe

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to my DAD! I love him & can't wait to see him next weekend! He is enjoying this weekend by having NO kids in the house, ha!! My brother (who is 13) is with my grandparents traveling for 2 weeks, and obviously my sister & I have flown the nest! :)

This weekend is much needed - I have been cleaning, baking, crafting, and cooking - all while chatting on the phone with my loved ones! Thank goodness for unlimited minutes on weekends!! I know, I'm an old lady. :)

Love summa time because you can give blue kisses! ha!

Also, here are some pictures of my feathers! I love them - & I'm thinking about getting 2 more in the front of my hair.

I got pink, turquoise, and a light blue

They are kind of hard to see in pictures

And I can cover them up if need be! :)

Oh, and remember how I said Ellie was spending 2 weeks in Alpine with her brother? (Don's mom has her brother, Hudson) WELL - she sent me this picture this morning. Ellie will never want to come home to Lubbock! She is such a crazy pup, cracks me up!

Happy Weekend, y'all! :)

"Never gonna grow up, never gonna slow down..."

LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE this song!!!! It reminds me of my post below. :) By the way - thank y'all for the sweet comments!!! Happy Thursday!!! :)

Simple.

WARNING: long, possibly boring & quite cheesy post but I want to look back one day & remember this. :)

I've always considered myself a pretty simple gal. The simple things in life really do, make me the happiest. I know how cliche that sounds, but it couldn't be more true.

I've been thinking a lot about my life lately - where do I want to get married? Where do I want to raise children? Where do I want to grow old? Where do I want to sit on a porch with my husband & watch our grandchildren play in the front yard years down the road? Where, where, where.

I'll answer every single one of those questions for you. In Texas, in a small town. That's where. A simple life. I know the Lord is probably laughing at my plans right now because He knows what's best, but He could ALSO be smiling down on me thinking "she has finally figured it out." I guess I'll just have to have faith He will lead me WHERE I need to be.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who knows when I'll actually end up moving. You see, when you live in a small town there isn't much opportunity work wise. Bummer. But for now, I'm going to pray & remember that He will always take care of me.

Here is what a simple life out in the country is to me..........

~ Waking up to the sunrise, & thanking God for another beautiful day, with the coffee brewing in the background, & listening to the local radio station while getting dressed for work & what - not.

~ Coming home from work to your loved ones, cooking a home-cooked meal, relaxing, watching the news, catching up on whatever needs to be done.

Grilling out 4th of July 2010

~ A garden. I've ALWAYS wanted one. "There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments." -- Janet Kilburn Phillips. Nothing says "simple" to me than tending to a garden. It really is like a baby - you have to nurture it, take care of it, & feed it for it to grow. A flower garden AND a vegetable garden. I've heard having one is extremely therapeutic. 

~ I want to say grace every night before dinner. At a dining room table.

~ I want to have friends that last a lifetime. I can already check this one off though! I am VERY blessed in that department. Our friends that were married on Saturday posted a message on my facebook wall that made me extremely happy & even tear up. God puts people in your life for a reason, & I am forever grateful. 

~ I want to have animals, & I want MY children to appreciate the beauty of nature. I want them to know what real hard work is.

Last summer bluebonnets. My fav!

~ I want to learn how to make home-made ice-cream. Ohhh yes.

~ I want to watch every sunrise & sunset, & I want to have Sunday dinner with family & friends - that I cook.

Yes, I took ALL these pics back home.

~ I want to learn HOW TO COOK. HA. I know I can cook, I just never try. Or - I never have TIME to learn or try. I want to have the time. My sweet honey cooks all the time. He is actually an amazing cook. Maybe he can teach me? hehe. 

~ I want to pass on recipes onto children & their children, etc. Hmm I guess this means I should LEARN some recipes first, eh? :)

My idea of a recipe, hehe :) - Dec 2010

~ I want my children to be raised "Old-fashioned" with good 'ol Southern values. I want them to put God first, & I want them to appreciate every little thing this life has to offer - especially the simple things. :)

My momma's apple pie

My precious Nannie & Don at my hometown church

I was raised in a small town, & moved to "the city" when I was 19. Where I live now - really isn't a city to some people, but 250,000 people to me is A LOT, compared to 6,000. I just couldn't WAIT to leave Alpine, but now I find myself counting the days til I get to go home again. ( 9 days ) Strange, right? I think I have decided though that small town living is what makes me the happiest. I do struggle with the thought, "Will I miss the conveniences of living in a city?" all the time. Once again, time will tell.

Those are just a FEW examples, there are so many more.

The strangest thing I think I've experienced so far though, is that time slows down DRASTICALLY in a small town. Here I'm always busy, always running around, trying to keep up in this rat race. Life really is so much sweeter back home. 

I think there are pros & cons to living in the city, and vice-versa with a small town. Everyone has their own opinions, & everyone has their own perspectives. It is true though - if you have never expereinced small town life, it's hard to understand, & I totally get that.  Some of my friends here that are from Dallas, Houston, & Austin don't quite understand how I grew up. 
I feel EXTREMELY lucky to have found someone that wants to live a simple life, with me. When we talk about our future, the word S I M P L E always comes up and I think we have both come to the conclusion that all we want for ourselves; for our future family is: God, love, family, happiness, and the beauty of a simple life. Easy enough, right? We will see. :) If you made it this far into the post, congratulations! :) HA!