Friday's Letters

Dear weekend, why did you have to be so conducive to having a perfectly unplanned schedule, yet everything was already completely planned?

strawberry chocolate cupcake from an actual unplanned weekend

Dear self, did you really have to go and injure yourself in the first five minutes of a sport again? Really?  Your tricep really could've gone without being pulled, and your knee cap would have been just fine without being bruised on the way down the rock climbing wall. Next time, wait for the easy wall. Seriously.

Dear boys, I'm glad you're better, Justinbustin, after staying home from school sick on Friday, then, going on a ten mile bike ride with Dad on Saturday. Shawners, I'm sad you're home sick from school. Crossing my fingers you feel better today!

Dear Brando, I really, really, really wanted to go on that ten mile bike ride with you Saturday. Perhaps my super strengthened legs would've saved me from injury on Sunday. But I'm glad you went.

Dear robotics team, I don't appreciate being injured at your celebration of the end of the season party yesterday I semi-planned but did a half-a*s job of because I was so tired after the season, but I am so glad you were all flexible with the two hour wait we happened upon once we got there and were happy to kill time with milkshakes at Red Robin. And I'm glad the season's over. 'Nuff said.

Dear new sunglasses, I heart you. You remind me of Breakfast at Tiffany's, whether you actually look like them or not. That is all.

Dear girls' night, I am so looking forward to you tonight. You've been a welcome reprieve back in my life the last few weeks.

And because I liked Basil's Dear God (and also because her letters were the push I needed to write this, especially after I saw only 23 minutes were left to link up):

Dear God, Thank you for my three amazing boys. Thank you for an amazing weekend, planned though it had to be. Thank you that I am able to stay home with Shawner's today. Thank you for my amazing hubby. Please help him to have a wonderful first day at his new branch. Please help the boys to get better. You are an amazing, awesome God!

What a Weekend

Brando likes to surprise me with new places to hike as he knows how much I love hiking *and* new places. It's the perfect thing to make my weekend a wonderful weekend and he knows it.

But you will have to wait to hear and see the rest of it, because today I am over here at sweet Lisa's at Momma's Me Time as a guest poster talking about Brando's and my love of travels and how very, very fabulous it has been for our marriage. My very first guest post! Eek! A little nervous, but super excited. Try not to get distracted by Lisa's gorgeous long hair and adorable little boy. Oh, who am I kidding, get distracted and spend a few hours getting lost in her site like I did.

Happy New Year and a (belated) Merry Christmas!

One of the highlights of 2011 and one of my favorite Christmas presents for Christmas was meeting Ashley, one of my favorite bloggers. The minute we decided we were heading to Phoenix to visit my Grandma, I knew I would be emailing her to see if she was in town. Turns out she was for two of the days I would be there. We ended up driving to her town, just twenty minutes away from my Grandma's town, to see the Glendale Glitters Christmas Lights. We met her at her house where she greeted us with her sweet barking puppies and "puppy chow" (link to another blogger I've met and love in real life who happens to share a fondness for puppy chow with Shawners and Ashley ;)!) - a yummy chex mix Trav made that I brought home to Shawners who gobbled it up and has been begging for it ever since.

Ashley and I had both already admitted via email that we are shy people until you really get to know us. But I already felt like I knew her via our blogs. She's just one of those people that is easy to know. She also knows me a little more intimately than some bloggers might because she's seen a few more of my personal struggles. So I was crossing fingers we would hit it off as I have with a few of the other bloggers I've met and become lifelong friends with. I had nothing to worry about, because it instantly felt we had known each other for ages. We hugged the instant we met and chatted incessantly from the moment we saw each other. Had our limited schedules not been around, we would have chatted half the night away.

She was so excited about asking Brando about some of his photography tips for her new camera, and Trav was easy to talk to while they talked camera. Actually, Trav was also interested in the camera tips. I had to keep myself from getting distracted, because for some reason when Brando goes to a certain point with talking about camera stuff my head gets all in a muddle and I can't quite follow him anymore. It's almost like I need a notepad so I can take notes to keep up. Regardless, in between photog talks, we snuck some cute, fun pictures and chatted about similar things we are dealing with such as not feeling pretty or cute in photos lately and feeling like we used to be and not knowing what happened! What is with that?! Of course, she is gorgeous in all her photos and so I am crossing my fingers the same is the case with me, but I am so glad to know there is someone out there that feels the same way.

She was off to Indiana to plan her wedding with her family the next day, and I back to my Grandma's where I had an... interesting weekend that I'm not even close to being prepared to write about. I am so excited for her, and am so, SO glad I took the opportunity to meet her! As I told her, I've learned from past experiences, if you pass up the opportunity to meet bloggers when you can that perfect opportunity may not ever come again. Something I didn't say, but have noticed, is that the blog friendship may dwindle, because if that person was an in real life friend you definitely would NOT pass up the opportunity to see them. This hasn't held true for in-town blog friends, but for out of town friends, it seems to have. And I just realized I have not kept up out-of-town blog friendships with a few people who I go nearby and visit sometimes. Little do they know I have SO many people to see, I rarely see everybody. I haven't seen Justinbustin's godmother in five years!! And she lives in my hometown. I need to remedy that!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year

from both of us to all of you and your loved ones!

Here's to an aMAzing 2012!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your tables be filled with bounties of food,

may you appreciate the beauty of the world God has created,

and may you be surrounded with the ones you love this and every Thanksgiving.

 
This year we are celebrating at my nephew's and new niece's bed and breakfast that they run in the hill country. So many changes this year, mostly me turning 30 and going thru a couple rough relationship patches with friends and realizing people aren't all they're cracked up to be, have me looking at this year a bit different. A bit more somberly, sadly. As I saw the other day, "At some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart, but not in your life."

On the upside, I have not ever been more satisfied and fulfilled with my family and my amazing husband, and the truly amazing friends that I have realized are true friends. While the boys are growing up, I'm ready to have another. I'm ready to start a new life somewhere, once again. Not in a runaway fashion this time. As a new adventure.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving! I am grateful for each and every one of you in my life!

I've been officially Pinterested...

Although it took awhile for me to jump on the pinterest bandwagon as I've been a member for quite awhile, after attending Allison and her Mr. Architect's wedding celebration Saturday, I realized I've fallen head over heels with pinterest. Before we even left for her celebration Saturday afternoon, I twisted my bangs from a pin - a picture that you save onto your virtual corkboard at pinterest. That particular pin, I can't quite find the right pin to show you. But, then, on the drive up to her place I looked up pins that I'd crazily gone pinning on the evening before and did my smokey gray eye makeup in the car by looking up a pin on Brando's iPhone.

Once we got to the friend's house we were staying at, Mere's, I tied a bow in my trench coat from another pin.

And I got no end of compliments on all of my pins and my dress too (thanks, Brando), which made me laugh. Thanks, girls. And since I'm one to give credit where credit is due, I had to share with all you.

My philosophy for pinning? Don't pin it if it isn't beautiful and makes my heart stir. I inadvertently learned this from Alicia at Crowley Party whose pins I absolutely adore - every single one of them. And, now, I love looking at my own pins and sighing a sigh of happiness. My DIY list, is long including this gorgeous picnic bench with built in wine cooler by replacing a plank with a gutter,

my Fashion list is full of fashion inspiration including this glamorous 60s inspiration,

my Inspire list is full of romantic couples having the time of their lives - times I love to have with Brando,

sweet settings full of magical whimsy like these glowing lanterns mixed with wisteria perfect for a garden setting party,

sweet quotes that remind me how grateful I am for the people in my life,

quotes to motivate that jump-start me into doing what I want to do,

and picture ops that are perfectly serene to recreate through the lens another day.

my Decor list is for one day down the road when I kick my booty into gear and actually decorate my home beyond what it is including this kitchen with it's gentle wooden island that I could just imagine walking into and sitting down at the counter to have a conversation with a friend right now,

my Travel list is almost too much to take in at once and that's just how I want to take in each and every one of those places to visit - one at a time including these gorgeous Blue Caves in Greece,

my Delish list is full of yummy, mostly healthy goodness including these delicious looking peach strawberry vodka popsicles perfect for a hot summer day or a cuddle up winter day where you want to imagine the taste of summer,

my Just Because... list is random goodness like this that-has-definitely-happened,

and my Seasons list is full of the upcoming season of goodness including so many winter wonderlands that make you want to walk right in and be completely enveloped in all that is the winter holidays.

The moment I truly fell head over heels was when I realized that I could click 'Everything' and look at everybody's pins, not just the people that I followed. Now, my pins are a combination of everything I like, not just what they like, although it still includes a lot of that as well. I compare it to shopping it with your girlfriends, or exploring their homes and everything they like, which is just as much fun. My pins are a reflection of everything that I love and everything I see from others that I love.


In pinterest you can categorize all your separate cork boards by titles. I shamelessly borrowed the cutesy titles of a fellow pinner, whose name I wish I could remember. They were so simple, descriptive, and perfect, though, and included everything I wanted to pin.

This is me. And the trend is continuing.

Save me, somebody? Or just follow me and fuel my passion. Seems strange you still need an invite, but it's super easy once you have one. Email me for an invite if you need one.

Are you getting replies to your comments?

This is a public service announcement for those of you oh-so-sweet bloggers who leave comments (and some more California love):

Sea turtles at Monterey Bay Aquarium

When you leave a comment, make sure you've edited your Blogger user profile to include your email address, then check the show email address box, and hit save. Here is a photo tutorial of exactly how to do it. That way your email shows up instead of 'no-reply' when your comment comes through and I can say hi via email back to you! And I LOVE to say hi :) . And, no, it's not just you, there a lot that are that way.

 Penguins at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Now, back to your regularly scheduled, well, me.

Rio Del Mar Beach

I'm Back! And Humbled

WOW. I am HUMBLED by the amazing guest posts written by even more amazing bloggers that took over my blog while I was away. I am slightly in awe. When I asked for travel and inspiration, I had no idea what these girls had in store, and did they ever have ideas in store.

They had beautiful and poetic inspiration,

 

romantic inspiration,

inspiration through art and fashion,

a reminder to laugh while traveling,

moving and life in perspective inspiration,

detailed photos of nooks and crannies in Washington, D.C.,

exotic Costa Rica,

amazing Coron, Palawan, Philippines,

and fashion and packing tips for a perfect week at sea.

If you haven't checked out their blog posts yet, go now. You won't be sorry.

Guest Post Line-up

So delighted to have so many wonderful new and old readers fill in for me this next week and a half with their own special flavor. I have asked them to post on one of three things: travel, fashion, or inspiration. All of which I love and am guessing you do, too, as that's all I post on!

First up this Friday from Elle Sees, connoisseur of all things beauty and style, is a Costa Rican adventure - I've already seen her post, and I have to tell you, it makes me want to go to Costa Rica tomorrow. I can't wait for you to read it!

Saturday, you may be graced with the delightful and gorgeous Courtney, who blogs at With Gratitude about her adorable husband's and her's adventures, who are just as ridiculously hot and cute at the same time as Emily and her husband below.

After the weekend, enjoy D.C. through a bit of sweet Texas, and her precious family via A Texan Odyssey.

On Tuesday, now that the work week is in full swing, you'll be cheered up by Emily at the oh-so-clever name that I love, MeMe & He. Her man and her are absolutely adorable, as well as the list of things they love together - way to keep a relationship alive - and their pictures make me want to up the game on pictures of my man and I! Aren't they ridiculously hot and cute at the same time? Can't wait to see what she has to bring as she has studied abroad in Europe and learned a lot about traveling and loves adventures just as much as I!

For Hump Day (of which term I despise, but for this particular burst of color it seems completely appropriate - if every Hump Day were a burst of color I believe I would love the term) you will have the ever delightful, bright, colorful Artfully Awear. Ariel's fashion posts are inspired by art, and while I'm not sure what she has in store for us here, I guarantee you, you will be amazed by the color she brings into her posts.

Next up, you'll get the deliciousness which is Fabulous All Over who shares a love of all things California with me, and whose fashion and inspirational posts blow me away. How can someone be so gorgeous and so wise? She definitely has the best of both worlds.

Friday, get ready for some sweets, from the oh-so-stylish Candy (LOVE this bathing suit!).

On Saturday, for an extra special weekend retreat, you'll experience a vivacious love of life from the Crowley Party. She just got back from the beach, so perhaps you will see some beach photos from her - perfect for the weekend :) .

And, last but not least, get ready for Shalanda, a fellow Texan who also hearts Macy's just as much as I do.

I hope you read, enjoy, comment, and then make sure and bookmark these lovely ladies for future reads!

xo