Are all about waking up a little earlier than normal thanks to a cute dog nudging you in the back to go outside which isn't the normal for me but since I am house sitting for a friend and keeping her dog while she is away I experienced that little bit of cuteness yesterday morning. I also enjoyed the adorable coffee shop by her house and  picked up a tasty latte and blueberry muffin. 98% fat free people, and super tasty! {Confession, I only eat the tops of muffins} Yesterday was a super busy day that zoomed by which forced me to work through lunch but I also got to eat free pizza left over from a meeting in the building. Score. Then I threw on some skinny jeans and rushed off to a night with the girls and a little bit of jewelry heaven for a Stella & Dot party! The night ended perfectly thanks to a phone call from the best photographers ever to let me know that our engagement pictures were ready which of course means I will be driving you all CRAZY over the next couple of weeks with every single one of them. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Yup… I love those kind of Thursdays! Happy Friday, friends!!!

we ate a lot of food.

Thanksgiving was a great time to be thankful for food because I ate a lot of it.

The desserts aren't even pictured but they were wonderful also!

It's so much fun to eat all kinds of food for the Holidays.

I enjoy the Southern food with my family....

and then I enjoy the Arabic food with Peter's family.

I'm kind of in love with this whole situation.

Hope you all had a super fabulous Thanksgiving with a LOT of food!!!

a list of happies.

Today I am thankful!

Thankful to have a roof over my head

and a warm bed when I woke up on this Thanksgiving Day.

Thankful the cup of coffee and the woman that made it this morning.

Thankful for a loving family that will always love and support me.

Thankful for a handsome fiancé to start a life with.

Thankful for his crazy, big family.

Thankful for the little ball of fur that loves my lap so much.

Thankful for the women I have in my life.

Thankful for my church and their passion to stay biblically oriented.

Thankful for my job and the fun people I work with every day.

Thankful for the city of Greenville, SC… I love that this place is home.

Thankful for this little space I can call my own,

where I have the opportunity to write my thoughts and memories.

Thankful for life and the freedom to live it.

Thankful for the men and women that died for that freedom.

Thankful for the power of prayer and love.

And most of all, I am so incredibly thankful for a loving God that gave me life.

I know that He is my maker and He is the only One that can make me complete but He still gave me everything else I listed above! All the things that make me happy every day come straight from Him. His love is so beautiful and I'm thankful for it.

I hope you all have a beautiful day of Thankfulness.

Enjoy it and soak it in!!

Love/Hate relationships.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day… aka eat way too much food day!
Every year it happens. We spend time with family, make excuses for stuffing ourselves and we enjoy the day. But regret it the next day.

This year is a little different for me. I’m in pain. Like, actual physical pain…

Typing this post is actually hurting my arm muscles and crossing my legs right now is causing some pain also. There is only one answer for this feeling……. YOGA.

Yoga and I have a true love/hate relationship.

I get to class and stand on my mat and I feel in control. I feel connected to myself. Connected to my heart that is yearning for an hour of peace with my heavenly Father. Connected to my breath that I use to push through the moves and not give up when I feel pain. Connected to everyone in the room that are moving and breathing with me. That's the love part.

Then the hate shows up....

The thoughts like, “I’m never going to do this again!”

“UGGGHHHH, I HATE THIS!”

“Why do I ever want to come here!?!”

“Just think of that WHITE dress, Cassie!!!”

“How is the instructor not sweating their face off?!?”

But somehow at the end of the class the love starts creeping in again…

I feel powerful and connected again and one of the most exciting parts of every class lately is noticing how much love is overpowering the hate. Some nights I hardly feel any hate at all which makes me want to give hot yoga a big sweaty hug and a peck on the cheek.

So tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, I’m going to allow myself to indulge a bit and not feel that bad about it because this little relationship I have with Hot Yoga will make up for that delicious broccoli casserole.

And peanut butter pie.

Mmmm, hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

those moments when reality kinda smacks ya in the face.

With all the holiday hustle & bustle going on it has suddenly hit me…. This will be my last Thanksgiving as a single woman. It will be my last Christmas with me and my family the way it has been since I was born. Next year will be completely different.

I will be a newlywed. With a husband. With a new family all my own… just the two of us but also combining our whole families together. Connecting two sides through marriage forever.

Making decisions and plans and starting our new life.

This is such a fun experience but at the same time I’m trying to soak everything in.

Make memories of the little things that I usually don’t think twice about. Celebrating Thanksgiving at my house for the first time with my whole family. Drinking coffee and watching the parades with my mom on the couch. Spending Christmas Eve at my grandma’s house for the 25th time. Helping the little kids pass out all the gifts after stuffing ourselves with too much food and peanut butter balls. Waking up in my bed on Christmas morning and opening Santa with my mom and brother. Going to my Dad’s for Christmas day lunch and gifts.
All these things are traditions I know.
Traditions I look forward to every year.

I know that everything will change and evolve but I’m okay with that too.

I’m so thankful for the man that the Lord has sent my way. I can’t imagine making new memories with anyone else but until that day comes along I am going to enjoy the traditions that are a part of who I am right now. 

I’m so blessed to know that everything around me is a gift from God and this time of year makes me thankful. My heart is full and content and comfortable.

Happy Thanksgiving Week, friends!

beauty in a season.

The colors in the trees lately have made me want to squeal with happiness. I’m also hoping that the pretty shades of yellow, red and orange stay put for one more weekend so we can capture the prettiness in our engagement pictures on Saturday! As of right now it is supposed to be in the 50’s and no rain so that makes me happy.

When I see a tree full of colors I can’t help but think of the Lord and His beauty. The way the seasons and colors change has always been beautiful to me. He shares all kinds of beauty in every season just like He does in our own seasons of life. Some seasons aren’t full of color and change like the leaves falling right now. Sometimes the season you are in can be cold and dark like the winter. I know I’ve been in that season a time or two but the most beautiful part about His undying love is how that season will pass. Just like the cold of Winter moves on to the beautiful Spring every year our cold seasons of life will turn warm again too.

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

The warmth is found in Him. The purpose is found in Him.

No matter what season you are in you are still found in Him.

We are His in all seasons of life and for me that always makes the cold fade a little faster.

a little place called Charleston

Charleston is one of my most favorite places and I am SO thankful to live just a little drive away from it. I try to make a few trips to the beautiful area every year and the weekend of my Grandmother’s Birthday was a new tradition we started last year. Somehow the past twelve months have flown by and this weekend will be the 2nd Annual Grandma Birthday Charleston Trip! So on Friday morning I'm heading to the wonderful city with my Grandma and Mom for a quick weekend getaway! We are pretty excited!!

With my Grandma at the Light Festival on Daniel Island // Shopping at the Market in Downtown Charleston // Beautiful horses pulling carriage ride tours // The BEST fried pickles and green tomatoes at Boulevard Diner

this weekend I got to love on a baby boy.

I think I may have loved on the sweetest, most content, happy angel of a baby boy over the weekend.

Jaden Micah Eliya

The entire weekend was so quiet (YES, QUIET) and calm with the new baby, Mommy and Daddy. He never cried unless it was just a little fuss that lasted less than a minute. He showed off his adorable dimples. Gave you deep stares from the corner of his eyes. He even picked up his own little head while sleeping on his tummy… seriously, at a week old! It was something to see and I loved every second of it!

Can't wait to love on him a little more on Thanksgiving weekend!!!

Dust and Ash

With this extra cold chill breezing through Greenville it’s obvious that November has seemed to make itself at home. Can’t say that I mind… coats, boots, scarves and crunching leaves are always fine by me!! I’m trying to take moments to breathe and recollect myself before the crazy holiday season begins. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it which always means Christmas is right around the corner. This time of year is always the calm before the storm for me which is ironic with the crazy storm attacking the North recently.

We haven’t heard any bad news about Peter’s family members that live in New Jersey and New York. Just some power outages but nothing too significant which we can only thank the Lord for.

I continue to pray for the families that haven’t been so lucky and hope they know that God really is in control and He is always there to lean on. I think that’s one of the hardest parts about tragedy… finding God at the center of it. People can feel hurt and abandoned so easily but reaching out and finding our Savior with them too is something I’ve thankfully never had to do.

I can’t help but think of Job and all that he lived through…

In Job 42, he replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you.

You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’

I had only heard about you before but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

V 1-6 NLT

I would hope that I would stay faithful to the Lord in any hard time but I’m only human.

I’m just a sinner that makes mistakes and falls but He is always willing to pick me up out of the dust and ash once I have come to Him in repentance. His love is always faithful and true even when I am not.

My heart goes out to the families that are going through this hard time of loss and destruction and I continue to pray that they know of His love.

little notes.

I decided that when I got my ring I wanted to ask my ladies to be apart of our wedding day in a cute way. My love of paper products had a lot to do with this idea of course so I really enjoyed making these cute little cards! I made each one a little different with different colors and writing style so each girl would have their own individual card. I mailed all of them except for Madison since she was extra lucky to have dinner plans with me on the day I sent them out. It was fun to give it to her in person, not gonna lie! :)

Now that they have all accepted my invitation I can share with all of you.

I don’t want my blog to turn into a wedding fiasco but there are a few things I can’t help but share. I know it will be here before we know it and I also know I will want to look back and remember a few details and this is definitely one of them. I love these women so much and I can’t imagine our special day without them standing by our side!!!

Little note for my future sisters!