Oh my, I swear I woke up every morning this week and thought it was Thursday for some reason?? Except for yesterday of course because I thought it was Friday. I even shared a #tbt photo on Instagram thinking it was Friday... Maybe I'm losing it?!? Seriously, confusing stuff but I’m so happy to say that Thursday was in fact yesterday and today is finally Friday. This weekend is going to be full of happiness thanks the long awaited wedding shower at our house and also some baby nephew lovin' so you can’t imagine how excited I am right now. Some other things that made me happy this week are…….

1// the many trips to Michael’s this week for the last touches on the shower. I may or may not have gone a little crazy on the dollar bin isle since everything was 50% off. Yes, that means I bought these lovely cards for FIFTY CENTS each! That's a six pack of each with envelopes!! Absurd. 

2// using this recipe to make the most delicious blondies for my Community Group on Tuesday night was a gooooood idea. I did make a couple tweaks and I plan on sharing the full details pretty soon!

3// stepping outside of my comfortable blogging box to talk about fashion yesterday was fun! Picture this… self timing my camera to take a photo of myself while the camera is resting on the steps of my stairs. Hilarious, guys! Check out my thoughts on fashion here.

4// lunch date with my sweet friend and sharing a roll of sushi and some pan seared tilapia tacos. Honestly, Takosushi knows exactly what they are doing! A combination of Sushi and Mexican food is the best idea ever in my book! 

5// this sweet man’s long massages for the past two nights have cut my back pain in half. Thanks to my competitive dancing in High School I have two herniated disc in my back so from time to time I can tweak it a certain way and the pain resurfaces for a little while. Now that this handsome guy is my personal massage therapist my back is feeling much better. 
So thankful for him!!

**Also super thankful for the sweet family and friends that have been praying for my back this week!**

one of my favorite photos from our HONEYMOON in Northern California!

Happy Weekend!!! See ya on Monday!

Total Truth // Fashion

I love to see fashion on TV, magazines, and blogs but when it comes to my own fashion I’m a little lost to explain it. I like so many different kinds of styles and when I look in my closet I see a wide assortment of clothing. Staying with my idea of sharing three points on the topic each week here are a few things that I know about fashion in my life right now.

1// stripes
They are an obsession for me. I didn’t realize this until I found a super cute shirt at Old Navy and instantly had to have it. I remember saying to myself, I don't have many striped shirts, I need this! and then I got home and realized my new shirt was now my fourth stripe shirt in my closet. How does this happen? I do love all kinds of stripes but my need for black and white striped clothing takes everything to a new level. I recently had on a short sleeve, black and white peplum top for a party with some skinny jeans and heels but once I realized it was a bit cooler than I thought it was going to be I changed to a quarter length black and white striped shirt instead {the one pictured above}. I then asked Peter, “is this striped shirt okay or should I wear the one I had on before?” his response was, “you changed?” Yes, I know he is a man but still.

Now that I have realized this weakness of mine I’m no longer allowing myself to buy any striped shirts. Or at least black and white ones. I do however need some striped dresses. A maxi dress to be exact. Or a few.

2// nails
An outfit is never finished without painted nails. I am a firm believer in taking that extra step to complete the look with a fun nail polish. It is the best accessory a lady can have. I’m also a firm believer in DIY home manicures to save money and this allows you to constantly change your look for outfits. Sundays are normally my nail painting nights and I always think about what I have going on that week before picking out my color. Some weeks call for a classic pale pink and then some weeks really need a pop of bright color. I know this is a luxury right now since I have extra time in my schedule (i.e., no kiddos yet) so I fully intend on enjoying it while I can.

3// store
Forever21 makes my heart so happy. I can’t explain the feeling I get inside when I find a beautiful dress that fits me perfectly for the incredible price of $19.50! It just does not make sense but thanks to Forever21 it is reality. Yes, some of their items are questionable and most of the clothing doesn’t last forever {ironic, huh?} but for the low prices and always changing styles it’s a win in my book.

Well there ya have it... these life changing facts in my fashion world {sarcasm} and my first try at a timed photo shoot. Out of the twenty something photos I took that was the best one, ha! I'm most definitely NOT a fashion blogger but I do love to see all the beautiful outfits that they flawlessly put together. Yes, I may or may not try and copy them sometimes but in my little fashion world stripes, nail polish and a F21 shopping trip is my happy place. 

Take a look back at week 1 of Total Truth here!

The Chicks.

As mentioned on Monday we have big plans for our yard. They are daunting, hard working kind of plans but I know they will be exciting for us to do together! A big part of those plans are our chickens and I can’t wait to see what the next few months with them will be like. Over the weekend we took them outside for the first time and it was so much fun! 

Their first worm. They weren't too excited...

The setup we have right now for the chicks is in our guest bathroom tub and it has worked really well so far, but they are getting bigger every day and starting to use those little wings. One of them almost flew out of the tub last week so I think it may be time to move them to the garage in a larger area. 

This really is such a fun time in our lives. We are feeling more settled as husband and wife now that the busy holiday season has passed and I can’t wait to see all the exciting adventures we will experience in this first year of marriage. This spring and summer will be exciting & thankfully, the chicks are definitely a part of that adventure!!

Our Backyard.

It’s pretty obvious that my husband was born with a green thumb. Some of my favorite stories from his childhood are ones that include him building irrigation systems in their back yard so all the plants could be watered evenly in the garden he planted. When his neighbor saw what he did, he asked Peter to come and do it in their yard also. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he was only six years old. See, green thumb. What six year old likes to garden?

For our entire dating life he had a garden so when we got in engaged and started to look for houses I knew where his concern was, the back yard. We would walk in each house and he would instantly walk through all the front rooms and head straight to the back windows. If he didn't like what he saw then there really was no point to see the rest of the house. It didn't bother me, I understood it. It was a big deal to him so that meant it was a big deal to me.

Since we have moved into our home with our big back yard I have the fun task of keeping him grounded when it comes to the plans. When I saw our big, open, treeless yard for the first time I imagined cookouts with family and friends while little babies ran around playing tag. Peter pictured rows of plants and chickens and fruit trees. Don’t get me wrong, I want all of those things too, but I also want a yard we can enjoy fully. So during the past few months we have been running over ideas in our head and walking the yard together to try and figure out the best position for our garden and I’m so happy to say that we agreed on a plan without any disagreements. High Fives all around! 

Our awesome compost bin that we have been adding to ever since we moved in.

It has been so exciting to start this adventure with Peter. We have enjoyed shopping for organic seeds and plants for us to grow together. It was so much fun to buy little baby chickens for us to raise for fresh eggs. Using our yard to give us as much of a self-sustaining life possible is the main goal. I can’t wait for the day when I come home from work, throw on my boots and walk out in the garden to pick some fresh produce for dinner. I know we are a long way from that right now but it is there in our future. We can see it, and that is so thrilling.

Friday Five

What a weird, cold & crazy long week this has been. Like many others, I am completely over the winter weather. I’m ready for dresses and flip flops, even if this means I will need to shave my legs every day. It is that serious. I’m hoping for a beautiful day tomorrow so I can get some items checked off my To Do List without having to wear my big winter coat. That thing should have been put away in the winter coat closet weeks ago. Anyways, enough complaining… here are some things that made me super happy this week despite the cold weather!  

1// working on some fun DIY decorations for Madison's bridal shower at my house next weekend! 

All the details are coming together and it has been a lot of fun doing it.

2// these new glasses made me very happy this week. My vision has changed in the past three years and I can tell a huge difference when wearing these with the new lenses and I'm a big fan of these frames by Kate Spade!

3// a delicious dinner at Southern Culture on Wednesday night to celebrate one year of cousin friendship with Meghan. I love how close we have become and it blows my mind to think that we only "re-met" as adults a year ago. So thankful for her and for ours dinners with our Moms!

4// sharing a little bit of my heart yesterday with the Total Truth link up. Click here to read it if you are new around here!

5// sitting in the living room last night and realizing the only thing I wanted to do was curl up in bed with my bible and read Genesis. I'm so excited to read the bible chronologically for the first time! 

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!