did you know?

that yellow songbird is having the most spectacular giveaway days ever? you need to check it out to get a chance to win some free swag! but even without the awesome giveaways, her blog is totally a good read. lots of creativity and life mixed in between her crafty creations.

now. please bear with me as i list all of the reasons why today is GREAT:

•  i was featured on tatertots and jello and it was the FIRST time that has ever happened. i am giving myself high-fives.
• i got an unexpected $150.00 gift card! thank you Jesus for a blessing outta nowhere. we all know the Lord will take care of our finances and we needn't worry about money (and i'm not even in a worrisome place financially) but it is GREAT and so loving when he does choose to bless us with money.
• i am going to A&M/college station/bryan/the presidential hostel/layne's this tomorrow. 2 of my loves combined at one tailgate: sky ranch and a&m! whoop! (ps. i'm a total 2%er so i'm mainly excited about layne's)
• that also means i get to see people i miss! if their not at the game (not likely).
• i will be finishing my dresser tonight ( a blog post to come FOR SURE!)
• i will get to catch up on the duet episode of GLEE
• i will eat my leftover poppyseed chicken

do you like coffee? i do. now. have you tried coffee mate's Toffee Nut Creamer? DELISCIOUS. like a coffee shop. try it now. if i was a famous blogger, i'd give some away.

now i need your opinion. what should i buy with my $150 dollar gift card?

christmas presents

wedding presents

etsy accessories

sassy winter/fall clothes

boots

photography stuff

food (going-out food)

contribute to our austin mini-vacay

contribute to our cancun vacay

house decor

something else i haven't even thought of yet! 

what do you think??

oh, and i will be blogging about my state fair experience later on tonight or this weekend. get ready.

and lastly, if you are a super christian and always pray for people, can i be one of them? without going into too much detail, i am trying to reconcile with an old friend. want my heart to be right, want a good response, don't want to be insecure or emotional. all that stuff.

thanks fellow blog stalkers friends! :) love love.

lies, lbs, and COFFEE!

so has anyone seen "lie to me"?

i'm obsessed. as in i watched all of season 1 yesterday. in one 24 hour period. and i can tell you this: it took a lot less than 24 hours. :)

onto the lbs. the 5 of them that i lost! woohoo. wish i could reward myself with something... like buttery popcorn and pumpkin crunch (which i'll be making for bible study this week. i'm in desperate need for something autumn-y and don't want to keep the leftovers at my house!)

speaking of autumn... i want to go out and buy all the fall scented candles ever known to man, bake apple crisp and pumpkin pie, put orange, grey-green, and white pumpkins all over the house. i want gourds and candy corn. i want leaves and a mantle i could decorate with them. but i probably won't buy all that stuff... except the candles. i am getting some TODAY!

also, here are the projects i am trying to complete sometime soon:

-knobs in dresser

-serving tray modge podged and painted

-empty frames on the wall

-frame with bird in it (made out of fabric)

-spray paint mirror and frames (that will go on fram wall)

-design photo blog and PICK A FREAKIN LOGO

-wall shelves up and decorated in our bedroom

whew... that just seems daunting. sigh.

okay good story: nella cordelia (this blog and story has inspired and changed me. i'm officially obsessed)

now, pictures! (don't worry, the COFFEE part is coming)

(why is this picture bad quality? no clue.)

friends forever! right fred and jacob??

hi hubzy! thanks for making dinner for me. i love the weather being cool enough to open the door while dining. (notice i call it dining instead of eating. instant class.)

love this mug i got from hubzy's aunt.

okay friends. here it is. i have officially began drinking coffee. for those of you who don't know... i have historically hated coffee. as in, when my parents would offer to pick me up something at starbucks, i'd say no thanks. (to a free 5 dollar drink!) BUT the other night i decided to re-try it with some caramel flavored coffee and creamer (at this point i want my coffee to taste like a dessert, okay?) friends... i had to pull out the instruction manual to figure this out. :) but i conquered it and now enjoy it! (decaf only, please!)

so thanks for reading my random ramblings. as always, more to come.

p.s. WHO IS SO EXCITED FOR GLEE TONIGHT?!?! (me!)

monday, monday

also known as day 1 of hubzy's birthday week!

also known as one of my VERY few days off!

started off with good time with jesus.

FINALLY working on painting my guest bedroom dresser... any suggestions for knobs? i'm also thinking about modge-podging the bottom of the drawers or wall papering them... thoughts?

yeaaaaaaaaah. pretty much watched almost 2 seasons of this drama today. i'm okay with it.

time for the poly coat!

peeling and cutting apples to go into trev's day one gift... i don't like apple pies, but hubzy does. so he ONLY gets them on his birthday!

apples, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon!

chocolate caramel apple pie galette

found this delicious recipe (and about a million others) here.

let me explain. the first "pie" i made was beautiful. the second one i made fell apart in transport to the cookies sheet. we can label this a fail... but on the bright side, i was able to eat a lot of the pie crust off! LOVE pie crust.

this picture is for my mother. there you go, you got to see Fred on the blog.

that's all that's left. it was pretty good for apple...

FREE find. going to sand and repaint the same shade of blue! :)

hubz brought me this little wooden stand from home. it is PERFECT for the kitchen. i tend to get lots of stuff on my mac because i am always bringing it into the kitchen to use for recipes. i am going to pray paint this and use while cooking. love.

trev and i are watching buffy the vampire slayer. the whole series. his choice.

ze end! looking forward to the end of the week birthday celebration! :)

fridays and faves

my friday is kind of like a monday. i work late hours on the weekends. then i am off some next week. trying to pump myself up for a great weekend. trying. hard.

okay so really what i want to do is list a bajillion foods and recipes as my favorites. but that seems like a bad idea. because i already want to bake a whole cake and eat it (hubz is gone, i'm sick, i have a long work weekend ahead of me. whine whine whine) so i'll stick with non-edible tings for now....

1. storms... i really think i could be content if it stormed for a month.

2. this homemade tee:

3. unique lampshades like this one and this one:

and lastly, 4. cough drops. i hate that i need them... for a week. SERIOUSLY? when is this cough thing going away?!?!

the end. i'm linking up here!

oh, and...

so a few quick randoms:

• i'm actually watching buffy the vampire slayer. the whole series. HUBZY wanted to. he's already seen it! weirddddd
• dessert tonight (and tomorrow) is cream cheese swirl brownies. recipe adapted from hershey's and coming soon. seriously moist and delish.
• jimmy needham = NEW LOVE. yes, i know i'm behind the times, everyone already loves him. but he came to play for a retreat here this weekend, and i adore his music. i blame 89.3 KSBJ for my previous hatred of all christian music. it is 2010. stop playing ffh and amy grant.
• i need a scent for my home.i walk in and it smells blah. (or like dogs sometimes...sick) i want to have a scent in my home, so can anyone recommend to me a good plug in/candle/spray that  actually creates a scent that hangs around for a while? 
• i'm loving on lightroom plug ins and presets. love, love.
• mopped the floors in our house for the (gasp!) first time ever.
• i want skinny jeans. there. i said it.

a few quick photos:

(not jimmy needham, but man, this church seriously decked out the auditorium for their retreat!)

so.... how are you feeling about the trial logo?

a few quick verses/quotes i'm inspired by lately:

• "The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
  is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
  friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
  all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
  you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
  human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
  heaven, if Christ were not there?" John Piper - I mean DANG. in all honesty, that is a hard question!!! Lord, make my desire for you greater.
•  "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
   See, I am doing a new thing!
         Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? -Isaiah 43:18-19
  
  

a few quick videos i've cry-laughed at this week:





and lastly... HAPPY LABOR DAY!!! i hope you guys had a great 3 day weekend!

i'm so weird.

i've been googling wedding dresses the past couple of days.

no i'm not getting married. or remarried.

no, i don't have any friends engaged right now.

just go with it, okay?

if i could do it over again... this is what i'd want:




the end.

it's a new day!

today is the beginning of september!

this means:

-FALL (well kinda)

-beginning of our new budget (dave ramsey style, ya'll)

-beginning of my new eating and exercising habits

-bible study starts up again @ jill's 

-a super steady, super busy month at work (not as excited about that one)

-trevor's birthday!!

but lets get down to the nitty gritty. i am so excited about this month for 1 specific reason. OBEDIENCE.

in my life, my quiet times, by observations, i have learned so much about how my life reflects on my willingness to obey the Lord. the way i eat obsessively speaks of my self-discipline. the way i let our house get disgusting is a direct reflection of my heart. realizing all of these things has led to conviction, encouragement and challenge about this month.

be it our money, our food, time with each other... we are going to be obedient with it. everything i do is either obedient to the Lord or disobedient. this month, the rest of this year, i choose to live a life of obedience. of discipline the Lord has given to all who claim him as savior. i am beginning a journey i've set out on a thousand times, but failed. i will fail again. but this time, i am not giving up! my heart is connected. i'm init to win it! (to far? too cheesy? :) )

so... i am committing to have wednesday weigh in! WHOA. on the blog. WHOA. my eating change is not about losing tons of weight. but being disciplined in this area is bound to show itself on the scale. i won't be sharing my weight, but i can definitely share pounds lost! 

so. i am EXCITED about this month. it is the beginning! it's a new day! it is my january 1st! :) 

on another note.... i've been slowly working on photography logos. started out with asking a someone to create one over the summer but realizing that i know what i like and am not good at communicating it to other people! so i sat down and created my own. let me know which one you like! or if you have comments or suggestions. here we go!

see you around!

and i'm back!

*stay tuned for some engagement pics below!

so i've been gone. blogging has fallen on my list of priorities. in fact, this is my first day off in 3 weeks! WHOOP! don't feel sorry for me, i love my job and my coworker!

but i have missed my hubzy. his birthday is next month. need to get a gift. got a great day planned though.

so, i'm sure you are wondering what i've been up to lately, so i've come up with an incredibly interesting list for you all:

1. feeling way under-crafty and desperate to begin (or finish) a decorative project!! fine. i guess i'll finish the dresser i started in april. in three weeks. on my next day off.

2. same goes for baking. in fact, i think today i will make some salted caramel chocolate cupcakes. OA interns... get excited!

3. i've been studying proverbs 31 and other womanly verses with katy and it has been so cool. it is making me think and question so many aspects of who i am, who the lord has created me to be, and how i can be a better wife for trevor and myself. i've become a strong believer in my appearance, attitude, condition of my home and routine being a reflection of my heart and intimacy with the Lord. as ridiculous as that might sound, when my house is a mess, ususally my heart is a wreck, too.

4. working. duh.

5. dave ramseying our budget. thanks lauren and preston! know what i'm most excited about... our travel budget. next year? vegas. year after? hawaii!

6. NOT hanging out with friends.  :(

7. day dreaming about repainting our house

8. attempting to diet and exercise, but pushing it off until september 1st, when things slow down, we start out budget, and  have a fresh start. i will do it. i don't doubt myself at all... eating right and staying in shape is totally about obedience and stewardship.

9. watching make it or break it. can't get enough!

10. taking engagement pictures for carly and james smith! she is just gorgeous and they will be so great together! enjoy:

i will be blogging more. promise. cross my heart and hope to die.

wednesday's list

things i want to accomplish this fall

1. pay off 75% of trevor's school

2. read a book. any book. maybe 2. must be fiction.

3. finish painting the guest room dresser. you know... the one i started in april.

4. get new bedding for our bed

5. have successfully finished the Proverbs 31 study i'm doing with katy stone (she's living in africa for a year and we are doing a bibe study together via email and skype. cool? yes. beautiful friendship? yes.)

6. get pregnant. 

just kidding.

7. try 3 new restaurants in tyler

8. go camping

9. get a photography site/blog

10. celebrate my sister's 21st birthday!

i know its not fall yet, but summer is almost over so i gotta start making plans!! i'll keep ya updated on what's been done!

want to go for a drive?

i got my bangs cut again.
too short. but it will grow out to the perfect length.

on my way i decided i really wanted to take some pictures... i had no models.

so...you get pictures of the side of the road. literally. enjoy the boringness (but also to beauty) of my east texas drive.

And for your viewing pleasure... my lunch:

i'm processing through some marital things. "serious" post to come...

highlights

remember that magazine? i miss it....

moving on. here were some highlights from the past week.

so i made a fruit pizza for my sister when she came to visit.

such an easy, seriously good dessert to make with limited time.

i see a lot of these on blogs right now... maybe it's like THE summer dessert. 

so you should make it soon!

NEXT: we had a date day that yours truly got to plan. SO. i made clues for hubzy. five in total. basically the first was to go to the wine store and pick some up (he chose Ed's Smooth... pretty good... a red that won't dry you out!). The second was for him to pick a sandwich/deli place.. because it is his favorite type of food and my least favorite ( i want fried food 99% of the time.). we went to McAllisters, got it to-go and moved onto the next clue and spot: tyler state park. then we had a little picnic. then we hiked for an hour and 30 minutes. i was worn out! i want to be able to hike for hours! but to my credit... it was a hike in TEXAS in the middle of SUMMER. NOT ideal hiking time. then we ended the day with picking up a pizza to-go and renting an adventurous movie (not adventure land like it says in the clue below. trevor said he already saw it and it was kinda lame so we got sahara... it was good! how had i never seen it?)

GOOD DAY. 

now for the pics:

and then there was this:

hee hee. adorable.

AND THENNNNN the burns wedding! shout out to rachel robinson photography for letting me second shoot! here's a shot from the wedding:

so there ya have it... more blogging next week. wait. i take that back...vacation next week... so we will see. but expect LOTS of photos when i get back!