thankful

Something happened today that just made me so so thankful for the friends that I have. Don't worry- Mike and I are just fine, nothing happened to us. It just seems that when something bad happens, it can put things into perspective. I haven't talked about this on the blog yet, but thought I'd share it now. I have been really blessed this past year by becoming friends with some of the most amazing, dynamic, caring women that I've ever known. Last July a group of girls from the nest (you married girls know what I'm talking about! lol) put together a smaller private message board. Some of these girls I knew from my wedding planning days on the knot and others I met on the nest. There's only 20 of us and we have really grown close over the past several months. We're from all over the country, which really sucks when you want to have a girl's night! We had our first get together in New Orleans last month-- as crazy as it sounds, when we met in person, it was like I'd known them my whole life. Some of these girls are like sisters to me and I'm so thankful to have them in my life!! I <3 you girls!!

ummmm. not much to blog about.

Mike got the flu last week, but is feeling much better. I need to have an eye exam, I think I need glasses. We've been hoarding blu-ray movies since we got our blu-ray player. I'm in love with that thing. We watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford the other night and absolutely loved it. Casey Affleck was amazing... that's pretty much it. I'm ready for SPRING!! All this cold weather just makes me want to hibernate and watch movies with my husband.

My attempts at window "mistreatments"

I have to give credit to this fabulous blog post: Nesting Place: Window Mistreatments for giving me the inspiration to attempt a few valances.

I've lived with cheapo plastic blinds in this house for a year now. Since we're renting, I wasn't about to spend time & money on actual curtain rods and expensive drapes. I love window treatments, I dream of beautiful full length dupioni silk drapes lol...I'll save that for whatever house we'll be buying in the near future!

First off, the kitchen:

It may look crooked in the photo, but I assure you it's not!

A close up shot of the fabric: a classic black & white French toile

The dining room:


I used a deep red pinched taffeta.

And finally the living room:

(little secret: this one is just a tablecloth folded in half!)

Pinkie's Birthday & Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Pinkie's 2nd birthday! Check her out in her party dress:



lmao, she was kinda pissed!

I'm one of those cheesy lame people who has always loved Valentine's Day. Yes, I realize how "uncool" this is. Whatever.

This is what I woke up to yesterday:


love it!!

so we've decided that arkansas is not so bad...

and we're going to stay put for a little while. Mike's success at Wal-Mart is the main reason for our decision. He is advancing quickly and enjoying his work, so it only makes sense to stay and see how far he wants to go with them. So I've been trying to make our little house more "us". I've made curtains for the living room, the dining room & the kitchen (I'll post pictures later) and I've finally finished decorating our master bathroom. (pics at the end of this post). This also means that we can start house hunting! This has become my new online obsession-- so do we want a cool retro house from the 60's? A sturdy well-made home from the 80's (updated of course!) or a new construction home? Decisions, decisions!

And now, master bathroom pics:









with the new rug:



With the blue fabric I'll be making curtains out of:


Total cost for everything: $50!

Pretty Quiet

I haven't had much to say lately.
We're doing well.
I miss my girlfriends.
I'm making curtains for the living room & kitchen.
I was pretty happy with the Super Tuesday results.
(except Arkansas--Huckabee??? Really???) Yuck.
We're heading to Tulsa this weekend to attend a ceremony for my Dad. He's being promoted to a Senior Chief Master Sergeant. Way to go Dad!

Super Tuesday!

I love voting. Yep, I'm a dork and I don't care. Looking forward to casting my first vote in the state of Arkansas, and looking forward to voting for someone I really like! :)

The Garden District

What a blast!

I got back from New Orleans on Monday night. I had the BEST time. I really fell in love with the city. Here are a few pictures:

I'll post some of the gorgeous pictures of the Garden District later in the week. Hope everyone is doing well. :)

Quick Update

We're flying to Denver today for Mike's grandfather's funeral. On Friday, I'll fly from Denver to New Orleans. I've had this trip planned for a while and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be back to blogging next Tuesday!

sad news

hey guys,

Mike's grandpa passed away late last night. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

You must must must must

see Juno.

p.s. Michael Cera is the boy I would've fallen in love with in high school.

New Orleans Anyone?

I'm heading to NOLA in a little over a week. I am soooo excited I can hardly stand it! Have you guys been? Any recommendations would be awesome.

Already on the agenda:

New Orleans ghost tour: http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com/ which should be FUN and maybe a little cheesy. :)

I would love to see this: http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

and we definitely want to track down Brangelina!! lmao

any tips on restaurants, fun bars, neat things to see and do are appreciated!

this makes me laugh:

Picture Post of Mike's Birthday

These were taken on Mike's birthday in Chapel Hill and I just realized I had not posted them yet. Happy 29th Babe!!


A flask in a bar is NEVER a good idea...

(that's Mike's little brother Rob)

It was hot as hell in there and Mike was getting pretty lit:

This one makes me laugh. I'm hot & yucky & Mike is wasted. lmao

Most random picture of the night:

Poor guy trying to recover the next morning. 29 might be a bit old to party like a rockstar...


Soon after this picture Mike made another bad choice: Indian food after a night of drinking. hahaha!!

Visitors

P & B at our house a few days ago. Brooke was reading my "bible". I think you can click on the picture to get a better look.

What did you learn in 2007?

A message board that I'm a part of posted this question: What did you learn in 2007?

Here's my answer:

I've learned the power of forgiveness. Reconciling with my father after 10 years was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Part of me is whole again, a weight is lifted off my shoulders and I feel a sense of peace!

Even though I already knew this, I've learned even more just how lucky I am to have Mike. He's an amazing partner and makes my life better every day.

I've realized that I am in desperate need of female friends. Real, loyal, wonderful friends. Hopefully 2008 will bring a few into my life!

I've sort of re-learned how important my faith is to me. Finding our church and becoming baptized was life-changing for me.

Happy New Year!

We had a low-key night. I'm still getting over my Christmas cold, so we stayed home. Video games, cuddling on the couch and Dick Clark's countdown for us. Last year was the whole Ice Ball thing, so I'm glad we didn't do anything crazy this year. And yes, I had pink champagne!

2007 has been a terrific year for us. Mike got a great new job, we moved to a new state, made some new friends, I reconciled with my biological father and we celebrated our first year of marriage! Here's to a fabulous 2008!!

a late Christmas party

Just a few pics from my family's super late Christmas party. Since we spent Christmas in Chapel Hill, we celebrated with my parents & brother yesterday. We had a blast!

the gifts ready to be opened:


the food I made:


nothing fancy--Mexican roll-ups, sausage balls (or as my Dad loved to call them, "Christmas Balls"):
chips & homemade salsa, queso in the crockpot & little bacon wraps (recipe found here)


Connor & I:

My lovely parents & I (you have no freaking idea how many times we had to take this picture!! My mom is incapable of keeping her eyes open in a photo omfg!)


Mike's shirt says "I was raised on the street"-lmao

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a great time! We're trying to settle back in at home, we still get to celebrate with my family this weekend! I'm sick and really hope I get over this soon! Being sick on Christmas is no fun at all! :(