The Vow

Such a sweet trailer!
Rachel McAdams is beautiful and not to mention Channing Tatum!
I hope the movie is a good one!

Some Quickies :)

Currently: catching up on the bachelorette online {JP, Constantine, Ben maybe? :P}

Recently: spent the weekend at the pool - put in my two weeks notice - have been working A LOT of long shifts

Crafting:
kidney bean wreath {for our "fancy wall"}

jewelry frames for our bedroom wall :)


chalk boards {three different ways and places}

{for the living room}

{for the kitchen}

{for the porch, and the aloe plant, I think?}

Running: I have been! This morning I ran 3.4 miles in 25 minutes... constant increase in mileage and decrease in time! SO exciting and loving my running highs :P

{for real though!}

Reading:


{LOVE this book! Definitely keeps things in perspective and keeps me from pointing the finger, examining myself and my motives more than anything!}
{VERY interesting, out of the box, and alternative}
{pretty raunchy (obviously, from the title) but very informative and inspiring}
{also pretty alternative}

Eating: In response to the last two books I have weaned myself off of meat and am in the process of completely eliminating sugar, empty carbs, and dairy out of my life :)

Life is wonderful, I love my puppy and husband and can't believe classes start in 23 days!

Just Staying on Our Toes! :)

Another wonderful weekend!
We traveled up to Clemson to spend a couple days with Mike, Sarah, and Madison
and had an absolutely great time!

On the way back to Columbia we stopped in Greenville.
DJ had spent a weekend there and kept telling me about how awesome it was, and I was not disappointed!

This park is pretty much in the middle of downtown Greenville

the bridge over the river definitely adds a cool architectural look

the whole park was just so clean and landscaped


We only stopped for a little while, but completely enjoyed exploring the city :)

We came home to a little bit of a flea scare, but after extensive scrubbing and cleaning, I can confidently say the apartment is cleaner than it probably has ever been
{Still completely gross, I know}

{He was not happy with us 1. for leaving him for the weekend and 2. for giving him a bath pretty much the minute we walked in}

I definitely should have taken extra precautions with it being summertime and all of Peyton's afternoons in the river.
Live and learn!

He hates swimming, but could lounge and play in the river all day long, and I let him :P

On another Peyton note, I have had this fear for awhile and it finally came true yesterday.
When we leave Peyton home alone, he always stays in his kennel.
Yesterday, as I was heading to work, I said "Peyton, get in your kennel"
But forgot to go lock him in.
I left at about 1:15 and around 5:30 DJ came home to this...

{oops}
He did much better than expected, he usually chews on cords
{which could have been a BIG bummer!},
But, needless to say, I hope not to forget again!

We have had an eventful few days, and are enjoying them as much as possible!

I can't believe how time flies! One month from yesterday I will be starting fall classes! {ahhh! and yay! :P}

Thinspiration :)

I have become one of the many.
The many who gain a few extra LBs as a newlywed.
After a panic moment or two, I have begun to transition from wanna-be homemaker extraordinaire, to a more moderate wife-y role.
{Ironic that this post follows one completely dedicated to food :P}

I have set goals to...

1. Run everyday
{outside is BEST}{love it when I get up early, but nights work too}
2. Alternate abs and arms every other day
3. Walk Peyton every afternoon
{in the hot HOT heat}
4. Drink TONS of H2O
5. Walk on the treadmill while studying as much as possible

So... thinspiration photos
{thanks mostly to Pinterest and we heart it}







Still living a beautifully blessed life :)

Happy Happy Birthday! :)

Yesterday was SUCH a fun day!
My sweet and wonderful husband of {a little over} 3 months turned 24
and I was sure to take that opportunity to show and tell him how special he is to me :)


Not only did I get to show him how much I care for him, but I was also able to enjoy my day trying new recipes, which were all pretty big hits {yay!}

Breakfast in bed came really early, so I gave these little guys a try


They were as easy as could be, quick, and looked much fancier than they were. Paired with a bagel and cream cheese, breakfast was balanced and filling :)

Once he left for work, the real fun began, making dinner and dessert!
I found a great link on Pinterest to a Family Circle article with some slow-cooker recipes


Beef Stroganoff was our main dish and gets two big thumbs up for its success :)
The only suggestion I have is use regular soy sauce. The recipe called for low sodium soy sauce and while it tasted good, it probably could've used a little bit more flavor.


These rolls were so cute and much easier than they looked! I used basil in the topping instead of oregano {i'm allergic} and they tasted like they had a pesto spread on them {SO good!}

We also had a salad {nothing special} with a vinaigrette dressing :)

And for dessert, oh dessert!
I decided to try this


"The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar"

And oh my goodness it was ultimate!

Our simple little birthday table-scape :)

We had such a fun night, and despite what it looks like, we did do more than just eat :P
Presents followed dinner, and a late night watching of Sherlock Holmes after that.

Happy Birthday Babe, I hope it was all you wanted!

Finally, Pillow Covers! :)

This is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it! :)
It has been a beautiful day, it began with a nice quiet run this morning and will conclude with an early dinner and an episode of Prison Break (my husband's new {yet old} favorite show) before bed.

Before that, I wanted to share some pictures of our little home with our recent updates, especially the pillow covers, since I was so enthusiastic and dramatic about finding the right fabric.

my favorite and the most complete part of our apartment :)

Love how they turned out, all of the fabric is from fabric.com

The red ticked pillow is Ralph Lauren from Homegoods, but the other two are my covers :)
{yes, he regularly rests his chin on the coffee table... weird... yet still irresistible}

another bookshelf picture, moving things around already! :)

I took this picture of Peyton on Friday afternoon, it was laundry day, there were piles of clothes everywhere, it just seemed like our little home was in chaos, and I absolutely loved that he had no problem with any of it, just cuddled up with a front row seat to my busy day :P

We had a beautiful weekend, on the lake with family Saturday, and met up with them again today for some birthday celebrations :)

Tomorrow is my loving husband's birthday and I have been searching for fun recipes for the past few days to show him how much I appreciate him.

We'll see how it goes!

An {almost} Surprise Party!

I tried, really really did, but in the last minutes...
it was no longer a surprise, but tons of fun to see everyone, and make him feel special :)

We had a great time at Ashley and Jesse's wedding Friday night,


Saturday had a fun {almost} surprise party,


complete with shuffle board tournament!


Headed to the lake with one of my and my family's favorite families ever on Sunday,

Yes, we tubed, he held me on most of the time, but it was still tons of fun!

Spent a wonderful brunch with my in-laws Monday,

And am now still completely exhausted!

Needless to say we had a wonderful weekend, spent with family and good friends, and enjoyed remembering and discussing the reason for the celebration of those who risked their lives to give us the freedoms we cling to today :)