my baby gurl dun growed up!

This post is dedicated to beautiful, and much cooler, younger sister. Caroline just had her first homecoming dance and (thank you retail) I wasn't able to be there :( It broke my heart, but I had plenty of pics sent my way from my mom and dad! I just wanted to brag on her for a minute: freshman class president, incredible dancer (she gets her skills from me), super smart, and beautiful, tall and skinny to top it all off! Tootie Bug, I'm so proud of who you have grown up to be! High school just better watch out! I love you, sis and miss you more!!!

Pinterest = My Not-So-Strange Addiction

Okay...for those of you that have a pinterest - you get it. That sudden urge to be crafty or try a new recipe or, if you're like me, totally revamp your closet. It gets the best of us! Well, this weekend I decided to give it a go. Of course I had to do it when I had true crafter supervision (thank you, Laura).

And here it is....my tulle wreath! It took about 2 full rolls of tulle. However, the next one I make I think I'm going to use a much smaller hoop. This was almost too big (a little lioness...)! But I am so proud of how it turned out!

Any pinterest DIY's you've given a shot?! Please share! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

So this weekend was just what I needed! After working 3 weekends in a row (tax free was on my weekend off -- it's an all hands on deck kinda weekend), I finally got to enjoy my long awaited 3 day weekend off! And the even better news - Chris had one, too!! He worked overnight all last week and is continuing this week, so it was some much needed hubby time! 

Friday night, we got to meet my mom in Galveston for dinner. Her friend Karen has a beach house down there and she was down to catch some rays over the weekend! We went and met her at a place called Fish Tales and it was delish! Most of us enjoyed crab legs and they were great - we will definitely be going back! And PS. Chris ended our night watching my Baylor Bears dominate on TCU -- what an exciting game and a great start to football season! Sic 'em Bears!!

Saturday night we went on a double date with my BFF, Kelli, and her boyfriend Chad. We hit up Chili's - using our coupon for the week - for dinner, then headed to Main Event. I don't know that we got our money's worth, but we still had a great time putt-putting, bowling, and of course people watching! We always have a great time with those two and can't wait to do it again! (Kelli, next time we'll head to "The Heights"!) 

Sunday was a totally lazy day! We didn't do a think besides going to the grocery and getting out later to grab dinner. We got to relax inside and it was so worth it! The weather was kind of gross with clouds and misty rain, so we took advantage of it!

Monday was the day we've been waiting for for a while now! Chris's parents have been having a pool put in and we were hoping it was going to be ready in time for us to enjoy! And it was -- but just a little chilly! And of course the weather decided to be a glorious 85 degrees, so it wasn't warming up very quick! Nonetheless - we had a great time with family and of course some good food! 

Here a few pictures from our weekend: 

They won.

We lost. :( But still happy to be there!

And well Kelli and I, but mainly I, got dominated in bowling.

Can't wait to do it again!

My in-law's beautiful new pool

Father-in-law manning the grill!

My sister-in-law, Nicole, and the pups :)

What a fun weekend! Only 5 more weeks of Chris's remodel and then we're NOLA bound!! :)

Good for the Soul...

So this post was intended to go up about a week or so ago after I FINALLY got to catch up with my slacker wonderful friend, Kristina! She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I haven't seen her since. Let me follow that up with the fact that I miss her terribly!! She and her husband, BJ, were living in Waco while he finished up grad school at Baylor. BJ graduated and Kristina found a job back in her hometown of Denver, CO!! I am so excited for them, but definitely will miss them just being up 45-North :( However...I'm greatly looking forward to planning a trip up to the cooler weather at some point!

Kristina -- this post was just for you and I SOOOO enjoyed getting to finally catch up. Now, don't let it go that long again. Miss you and love you!!

Since when...

...did I reach the age that new blinds would excite me?! I've been extremely hesitant to post pictures of the house because we have been anxiously awaiting getting new faux wood blinds in our bedroom and living room/breakfast area. Here are some before and after pictures and a small peak into our cozy home :)

Before - Master Bedroom

After - Master Bedroom (I know, the picture is off center now - I'll fix it!)
Crazy how much it brightens/opens up the room!

Before - Living Room (See why I've been so hesitant?! GROSS!)

Before - Breakfast Area (Yes! Those awful panels were on both HUGE windows!)

After - Living Room/Breakfast Area

It really made a big difference and already makes it feel more like "home"! We have some paint touch ups to do from where the panels were previously, but we already think it looks so much better! The pictures don't do it justice! 

And one more living room pic, just for kicks :)  I'll post more pictures of the whole house later! I have to find my camera cord :( 

Until next time...

Ps. Chris has 6 weeks of remodel left! And we're looking forward to this...a long weekend in New Orleans! 

The Second Best Day

Next to my wedding day, the second best day of my life was the day, one year ago today, that I said "YES!" to the most life changing question I have ever been asked - "Clara, will you marry me?"

I can still remember that day like it was yesterday and I imagine it will always be that way. Chris and I had planned to spend some much needed time away thanks to my wonderful friend Shannon that gave us some buddy passes to fly anywhere Southwest flies. After much deliberation, we decided on San Francisco - neither of us had been there before and it was a great escape from this Texas heat! Can I get an AMEN?!

After several attempts to catch stand-by flights (and by several, I mean we were in Hobby airport for like 12 hours that day...), we were about to give up and try again the next day, when they fit us on a flight to Denver - ultimately headed to San Fran. Not quite that easy, folks. We got to Denver and it was full for the second leg. Eventually got on a flight to San Diego, where we were told that we would need to spend the night there and then catch a flight first thing in the morning for San Francisco. We landed in San Diego and ended up finding a room at a Hilton about 20-30 minutes away from the airport - paid way too much for a room we were in less than 6 hours - literally! Little did I know that Chris had the ring in his pocket all day - through all our waiting and waiting and waiting in airports. Chris had been insisting on getting a picture of us to document our day of "waiting" and traveling. I didn't really think anything of it. So when we got to the room, he pulled out his phone (I, of course, insisted on using my camera) - so we set up both. As I'm setting up my camera, I hit the button on the self timer, then turned around to stand next to him and he was down on one knee!! I was completely shocked. I had hoped that it would happen on our trip, but definitely wasn't expecting it at the end of this loooooong day! Of course, it was out 2 am on the west coast, so I had to wait until the next morning to tell anyone! You can imagine the lack of sleep I experienced that night. Here are a few pictures from the proposal and our trip to San Fran...

The Proposal - excuse the view! 

The next morning - looking good after no sleep :)

Our first night in SF - down by the piers

Golden Gate Bridge
(and my personal favorite pic of the trip!)

The Famous Lombard Street

In the Square just down the block from our hotel.

We had a great time and definitely enjoyed getting to celebrate being engaged all week long. A trip we'll always remember!

The Versatile Blogger

So, I'm not really sure what it is about my blog that makes it versatile, but a huge thank you to my precious, soon-to-be sister-in-law at The Next Chapter: Blog of a Baylor Graduate and Bride To Be that nominated my blog for the "Versatile Blogger" award and even more for giving me something to blog about! 

Official Rules:

• Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
• Tell your readers seven 7 things about yourself.
• Give this award to up to 15 recently discovered bloggers.
• Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news.

So here it goes...

1. I grew up in Bossier City, Louisiana - but it took a couple moves over the course of 8 years to get there. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee and shortly after my brother was born, we moved to Jenks, Oklahoma (just outside of Tulsa). We lived there for about 5 years before packing up and moving to Pleasant Garden, North Carolina (just outside of Greensboro). After 1 short year, my family landed in Bossier City and it's been "home" ever since!

2. I'm a PK - preacher's kid - through and through. My dad has been in the ministry since before I was born. Makes all that moving listed in #1 make a little more sense, huh?! He was a youth pastor for many years and currently serves at Campus Pastor at The Simple Church. Check it out!

3. Most of you know...but my husband and I met at work. We both started working for Target a little over 2 years ago. He had a girlfriend at the time and I was sure to let him know I was interested. Eventually they broke up, we continued spending time together outside of work, and before you knew it, as Chris would say, it was game over! 

4. I have a tattoo. Just one. It's little and on the inside of my left hand wrist (most of the time covered by a watch). I got it my senior year of college - kind of one of those let's go do something crazy before graduation sort of things. But it was also something I had been thinking about for a while. It's in memory of my sister that I lost in a terrible car accident my sophomore year of college. I brought her Bible back to school with me after the funeral and one Sunday, during a sermon on the Beatitudes, I noticed that she had underlined Matthew 5:4 -- "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you." It brought a lot of comfort to me during the time and when I started thinking about a tattoo - I knew that had to be incorporated!

My best friend and greatest supporter - Kelli

5. I have the best friends. Hands down. They've been there for me through good times and bad times...we've laughed, cried, sat in silence, and had so much to talk about we couldn't shut up! I don't know what I'd do without them. 

Dinner for my Bachelorette Party 

6. I LOVE country music! No secret to those that know me. I can't sing a lick, but you better believe if a song is on that I know, I'm going to sing along! Somehow I was blessed with an incredible skill of lyric knowledge and it doesn't take long before I've got every word down! As I sit here typing this I just finished watching Tim McGraw on Invitation Only and now Miranda Lambert is on. My college roommates used to joke that they knew I was home if they heard GAC or CMT coming my tv! :) I'll finish with this - Carrie Underwood is my girl crush and this is a perfect example of why: 

7. I'm kind of a nerd - my husband would say definitely so. I can't sing or dance and never was very athletic. So my outlet most of time is a good book! I LOVE to read and I always have! Chris got me a Kindle for Christmas last year and it's the greatest! I, like Amanda (see #7 on her blog, too!), am a book-before-the-movie kinda girl. Just started reading The Help and already can't wait to see the movie!

Now for my nominees for "The Versatile Blogger"and hopefully giving them something to blog about:

Chris's cousin's wife: Nikki - A Pair of Pecks &

Fellow Baylor grad and XO and not-so-newly wed: Courtney - Little Moments

Guess I should find more people to follow :) Happy blogging, you two!