chalkboard

If you read my earlier post about the things I love in our home, then you are aware of my love for fresh flowers!

My problem is, and JR thinks it is rather ridiculous...is that in no way, do I have the ability to arrange them. I buy a normal bunch of stemmed flowers, and they end up being chopped down to 4 inches tall because I can't find the right vase for them! Last wknd I had all of our vases out, and I went one by one until my wee flowers looked now like a tiny weed. I have no talent in the floral dept...

Thus, when I saw this spectacular and oh-so-cute idea, I knew it had to go in my to-do file!

I can't remember exactly where you can buy these, but 1) There is no "bunch" I must arrange, I can just plant, water, and go 2) The name thing is super super cute and 3) This is totally a DIY project!!

One of my favorite things to do is take a product and find a way to make it myself! It's way more fun like that!!

So my idea is to buy your average clay pot at a Home Depot or whatever...

Next, buy some Chalkboard Spray Paint such as this---->

Give it a coat or two, let dry, and for my favorite part! The name! Everyone in your family can have their own flower pot! One day when we have our babies, I'll make them one :)

I'll try one out with JR and I! Now I just need to see if I can keep it alive :)

That's my DIY for the day!

what makes me happy today

1. I GOT A NEW CAMERA!!!!!!!! THANKS MOM AND DAD :)
I've been wanting a new one for awhile now, eeeeek! I'm so excited! Now I can go back into picture-taking mode! I think JR liked the break he got, ha!


2. Giving gifts could truly be one of my absoulte favorite things to do in the whole world. I enjoy finding the perfect gift for whoever it may be, and I tend to go for things not so "average"...I like finding unique things that mean something to me about that person or find something they don't already have. It can be exhausting, because I tend to get very wrapped up in "the search", but in the end it is so worth it!!! With that said, I have been looking for the absolute most perfect and precious flower girl gift for my soon-to-be-niece, Emma! I can't say what it is, because it is so perfect and precious for her that I ofcourse, want it to be a surprise! It arrived today and I am beyond excited to give it to her :)

gifts, gifts, gifts.....

Happy wknd to you! We are off to OK!

free things

I love free things. It doesn't matter what it is, I will like it. You're always somehow "wowed" at this free keychain that is huge and ugly, but because it was free you say "WOW", coolest keychain ever!!!

Don't be ashamed, we all do it.

Our good friends Scott and Kat gave us and Lauren and Rico a free pass to the Will Ferrell sneak preview of his new movie, Semi-Pro.

I am dissapointed to say that it was not very good, and I forced laughed a few times because it was free, and I felt like to get the full free experience, one must laugh.

Our evening began at Kona Grill for some sushi and appetizers and our movie started around 7:30, so we ran up to make sure we had a good seat! JR came home with a 70's fro wig, that he insisted on keeping and he set it out in our living room and it is mildly disgusting. It's this huge, blonde, poofy, perm-style wig and he thinks it's super funny. The kitties do not. They think we brought home some kind of sea urchin....they take off as soon as they spot it....men....

Great night!! Thanks Scott and Kat!

so happy

If there was one thing I would do every week it would be to get a massage and a facial :)

I'm scheduling another facial for next week!! I LOVE them!

They make your face sooo pretty!

Oh, the little things I love!

another pretty

i've been tagged

Note: I originally started this post below last night, it is now Tuesday morning, so there will be sidenotes on the things that did not get accomplished; shocking.


Okay, Lu! I'll do this for you....


10 years ago: I was in HS, at Berkner, the lovely. I could not yet drive, but was dreaming about my Mitsubishi Eclipse, haha! That was my dream car, that got replaced with a 4-runner because my parents wanted me in a BIG car--which we later had to replace with a HUGE Tahoe, oops :)

I was a star Bandolera **insert grin**, living in Richardson, TX and I couldn't see past Friday night...


Things on my to do list today:

Go for a walk (it is a beautiful day, and the cold weather is coming back, boo); we did not go walk

Cook chicken tonight, that is good; after much debate we ended up at Jake's b/c the weather was so nice, and after sitting outside for 5 minutes, the wind was insane so we moved in. -2 points b/c we ate inside and we didn't eat a home cooked meal, we were ashamed of ourselves.

Go over some wedding stuff; did kind of do that, showed JR some of the stuff I've been working on (my secret project)

Put up laundry, grr (put up on basket of laundry, one to go)



What would I do if I suddenly became a Billionaire?

We have actually discussed this before, b/c JR seems to think lately that he's bound to win the lottery :) and he's serious....take care of our families, JR has dreams of buying the farm, we would move back to OK and have a big farm with all kinds of animals, I would like for us to travel more of the world with my parents and our (future) babies , and I would open a shelter for stray animals. Horses, dogs, cats, anything. That would be the start of it...



Three of my bad habits:

-Not getting up as early as I should

-Not hanging up my coats in the coat closet, this one really gets JR (hahaha)

-Letting my laundry turn into mountains, I'm amazing at it.



Five jobs I have had:

-Republic Supply International (2 yrs now, applause. Thank you.)

-ARC in OKC

---------->4 year gap :)

-Gap (1 day, Lu)

-Island's Restaurant with Lu (2 wks)



Five things people don't know about me:

-Most may know, but I love OU to the clouds and beyond

-I don't like my hands, I have weird shaped fingers

-I talk to the kitties like they are my babies (like really talk to them), JR calls it "my clock ticking"...

-I shower in the same sequence every time; shampoo hair, condition hair, wash face, shave right leg, shave left leg, wash body, rinse out conditioner----always the same

-I have a fear of airplane toilets, paralyzing fear (that's super embarrassing)



I tag these people: Holly, Jen, Ashlee, and anyone else that wants to!! Copy and paste into yours and fill in your answers!

You're it!!

lack o' pics

I know, I know...there have not been many new pictures up.

I can't seem to find the charger for my camera battery :( sad.

It may be a sign that I need a new camera :) happy.

On tonight's menu:

Lemon Herb Chicken
Homestyle Macaroni Pasta Salad (I made it during lunch, delicious)
Peaches for dessert!!

Happy Monday!

best days

best days.

by graham colton.

best days.

by matt white

**Listen to both, they are both beautiful songs.

here comes the rest of our life

as I listen

JR thinks my affinity for music is rare and bizarre. I connect with music, I feel music, I understand life better with music. Certain songs soothe me, anger me, make me feel love, make me remember, allow me to just be...

I cannot carry a tune, I sing better in Spanish than in English (hahaha), I sing in the shower, in the car, I write lyrics all the time to no music...

My whole life, the way I see it, is a soundtrack. There are a million songs I would put on my life soundtrack and each so different and so characteristic of such a different time, emotion, or just a good dance song.

All dance songs make me get up and dance, it embarrasses my fiance :)

I dance anywhere. I have no shame. I make him dance around the house with me.

Sometimes I just like to get in the car, and play my millions of CD's---ipod, and just listen to the soundtrack of my life.

What's on yours??

as I wait

for JR to get home from work, I thought I'd start on a homemade cheesecake!!

I've been reluctant to make it, because they say that out of the dessert category cheesecake is one of the recipes most difficult to get right. So, I came home feeling semi-confident and it is in the oven as I write....

I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out! I'm behind on recipes! Last night I made a Mexican Casserole with a side of Taco Rice w/cheese, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries for dessert!!

The recipes will be posted for all of that shortly! Happy Wednesday!

i forgot!!

I forgot to take the pics in time, but here is what I had out for JR when we got home from work :)

I made cupcakes for him, and spelled out..."Almost UR Wife"....he loved them!!

Only 85 days!! woooo-hoooo!

alas, friday

It's Friday!! We have a busy wknd! Nancy and Ronnie are coming down, to do some wedding stuff with us. My brother is coming tomorrow and I have Lauren Edwards shower on Sunday!

Busy,busy! We hope you all have a great weekend!!

my other valentine

My daddy.

He showed up at the office with this for me.



Is that cute or what?!

after lunch...

I came back to these beauties.



My very favorite, white roses.

I have a little surprise for him when we get home!! I'll post it tomorrow so he doesn't see it before tonight!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! We wish you all a lovely day!

to my valentine

In 86 days I will be your wife. There is nothing more romantic than that...

Happy Valentine's babe, I love you so much.

fab find

In April, it will be 2 years since we moved into our luscious little condooo and it has gone through a multitude of furniture arrangements, paintings up, pictures down, etc...

The living room is finally in it's final stage, and then I start all over with the bedroom :) My fiance is super neat. He lets me do all of this!

Continuing--I am always on the lookout for neat design ideas as my crafty streak has recently strenthened and any fresh and unique ideas that I come across I save for future use. My basics are the following:

-Flowers
-Monograms (I just got the most precious monogrammed linen coasters, yippee)
-Browns
-Whites (I had an all-white room in college with a netting all around the bed, it was my own little Natalie Palace, JR would be rolling his eyes right here)
-Down Comforters
-Puffy towels
-Baby Blues
-Lamps, love lamp lighting
-Silk drapes, floor length ($$$$ but so worth it)
-Heavy wood furniture, I like the bulky furniture (rustic)

I'm a girl. Can't get more girly than that.

Now, when you share your space with the male species--some of the girly stuff must be modified ofcourse but overall this is what I'm working with.

Alas, my point in this post. I found this neat idea via blog, wedding blog I believe and I thought it would be perfect as a dining room centerpiece. Voila.



We have so many vases, and I think two of these tall ones...and I'm never quite sure what to put in them. We had this tree branch arrangement at one point, but everytime you walked by it would attack you and snag your clothes, etc. It was awkward. JR got fed up and disposed of the indoor tree arrangement :)

I love having fresh fruit in the house and lemons, limes, and oranges are always are great eye-candy in a big glass bowl. Hence why I loved the idea of the floating lemons in the tall vase! Brilliant!

Thought I'd share my find!

i am pathetic

I just got off the phone with JR, and he mentioned that his office just brought in some fresh cookies to celebrate February birthdays.

He says cookie, and my mind immediately goes into food mode. Then dessert----->then cookie----->then candy----->and within a minute I've already counted my change and am on my way out the door to go down and get some chocolate.

My guilt sets in once I've hit floor 4 in my building, and the whole way down I'm baffled at my own lack of self-control.

I have a wedding dress to fit into and look dazzling in, in 87 days.

Chocolate cannot win.

mmmm, it's so good :)

p.s. clearly my guilt is not much of an important factor, as I indulge myself in the choco as I type. One whole candy bar consumed in one blog post. p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c.

Happy Day before Valentine's Day!

so we're famous

HAHAHAHAH! This is so hilarious! However, I had to share the news before any of you might see it :)

We got chosen as one of US Weekly Magazine's Sexiest Couples, hahahah! We are featured on their website today on the slideshow! Ummm, you can take a look here!

http://www.usmagazine.com/node/15277?slideshow_id=558&o=28&rating=2

oh, and please vote!! I'm not sure what we win, but it's fun nonetheless :)

on the mind

I have cupcakes on the brain...mmmmm.

Been thinking about making some all day. What a delicious treat :)

Happy Friday!

no artist

Lauren asked me to post my masterpiece that I did last night...



I chose this design mainly because of the colors because they go great with the color of our bedroom! I got paint all over myself and I definately need an easel, but other than that I found painting to be very fun and I may go the Hobby Lobby route next time, and try the help-you-out canvases they sell!



Nonetheless, I present to you my masterpiece.

monet

Tonight, JR is playing basketball so I have decided to venture out of my shell and do something creative for a change.

I am the least creative person in the world, but I went today and purchased some acrylic paint, a canvas, and some brushes for a masterpiece that I will work on tonight! I have a picture I am working off of, but I won't post it in fear that my ability to re-create this image will falter and I will be subjecting myself to ridicule :) Feel free though, because I have set my expectations low in hopes that I may shock myself and find that I am a distant relative to Claude Monet, Degas, or Picasso.

Hopefully not Picasso, he was a strange cat...but an outstanding artist.

Hmm...

I will update you of my success or lack thereof tomorrow.

and for dinner I'm going to attempt baked couscous with a marinara sauce and my famous angel hair pasta!!!

and now, time for my 4:30 facial!!! YAY! great day in the almost-newlywed house!!

diamonds

MY WEDDING BAND IS IN!! It's locked up somewhere secret until the wedding!

and another

i play

For those of you who know me, you know my penchant for monogramming. Anywhere I can put my initials, puts a little joy in my life.

I realize it may be a vain thing to do, splash your name across inanimate objects throughout your home...but I find it to be a simple and elegant way to adorn your belongings :) I would monogram JR with my initials if I could. That sounds an awful lot like a modern day tattoo, but I'm not the greatest fan of inking the skin, so anyways.

There are some really neat things you can do with your monogram, so I've been playing/practicing a bit with my future initials. Thought I'd share some of my creations! Don't expect alot, as I am an amateur but it's fun nonetheless.