Life Happens, and then we blog.

Post title brought to you by Beth of Living a Goddess Life.

So, I'm back! What happened right? I launched a new look and brand and then dropped off the face of blogworld.

Basically, I was experiencing my first tax season and I seriously over estimated what I could handle outside of work.

Unbelievable the number of people ya'll. For reals.

#30daysofhair wasn't the amazing success I thought it would be, after about a week I forgot to take pictures even when I did actually do something with my hair, and being honest? I didn't go a full 30 days. It wasn't a fail though I found a few cute new styles that I really like and I've added to my trusty fallback list.

Can you tell I like Braids?

Easter weekend was great. It was right after tax season and we managed to keep it very low key and relaxing.

This past weekend I went on a Women's Retreat with my mom and sister and it was a wonderful time. I really needed it. Jason and I have been church shopping but not enthusiastically. Being with the women from their church motivated me to find somewhere that I can get involved with a group like that.

That was April in a nut shell. Let's begin again shall we?

Mama said there'd be days like this...

So yesterday.

Seriously, it was one of those days ya'll. I was running late so I did nothing, repeat NOTHING to my hair. It wasn't pretty. On the way to work I got a speeding ticket. Our AC went out and my step-dad was staying with us overnight, so the making him dinner and hanging out at home turned into going out for Mexican once the maintenance guy got it working so the apartment could cool down. (Of course at least he actually came out after hours and we didn't have to sleep in an 85* apartment!) Then on the way home I realized I'd lost one of my favorite earrings. *facepalm* So of course I went to bed with a headache and a cool pack.

But today is a new day! It's Friday! So what if I have to work tomorrow, there is still something about Friday that means it's gonna be a good day. We're 10 days out from tax season being over which will mean a couple of days off and back to early afternoons for us, and today is payday! I think I'll do a little cyber shopping for a new spring dress. I've had my eye on this one. What do you think?

Torrid

Happy Friday!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Keeping it Real

Some blogs have authors who are seriously talented in just about every way. Their pictures are always perfect. When they take pictures of their homes they are always the perfect combination of sunlight, cute knick knacks, and of course clear unclutterd tables and floors.

I'm not saying it's not real. Because I whole heartedly believe that some of these women have homes and apartments I would drool over and that they are just flat out more stylish/organized/talented than me.

For me though, and I think at least for 75% of the bloggers out there, DIY posts or project sharing is super intimidating. It's just so easy for those to reveal our real lives - messy, cluttered, and less than perfect.

For example: Sunday/Monday when I shared pics of my guest room & storage closet.

When I showed my boss this pic, she asked why I kept chicken in my closet.

I kinda freaked out. Did people really think I kept chicken in my closet? I'm messy and unorganized, not gross and slovenly! For 45 straight minutes, I worried. But then reality set in. Most people know what a Bojangles Tailgate box looks like, and most people know that no actual food ever touches the cardboard. When I moved, I used every sturdy box I could get my hands on, including a bojangles box. Big deal right?

Then there is instagram. I love looking at pics of my favorite artists at work because most of them actually look like used studios. I organize my workspace and it looks like this....

Not this....



But that's just because instead of buying those awesome color coordinated crates and shelves, I use what I have to save money. Even if that's a Green Mountain Coffee box for files.

Real Life. That's what's happening over here. I strive for the perfectly clean and organized apartment but my husband leaves his shoes in the floor, and our cords are painfully visible around our TV. There are even days that I"m just too tired to wash the dishes and straighten the counters, so it stays a mess overnight!

How about you? What "Real Life" things do you beat yourself up over?

The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

"Why don't you go get in the shower?"

When Jason told me for the third time in thirty minutes that I should go shower, I was starting to get a complex. In fact, it was about to start a fight. My feet hurt from shopping and I was tired. So all I really wanted to do was sit down for thirty minutes.

Then he admitted, "I really want you to soak in the tub."

My Valentine's Day gift was a freshly scrubbed tub, new bath salts, chocolate, and an uninterrupted, unrushed hot bath.

 
It was heavenly.

One of the reasons I pushed for the apartment we chose was because of the large roman tub. (Don't wrry it was the all around winner anyways) I love a big tub. But we've been so busy and so rushed that I haven't had an opportunity to use it! So after four months I got to relax in my huge tub.

He also cooked while I was soaking, so steak and potatoes followed shortly thereafter.

How was your weekend?

Winter Cleaning

Jason and I got married in October, and we got the apartment into an acceptable condition in time to have a party for the Clemson/Carolina game in November. Then we decorated for Christmas. Once that was over it's been an endless cycle of cleaning up and having people over for the past month. No joke, we've had company four times in the past two weeks!

I'm so tired of cleaning, especially since I'm just treading water so that it's acceptable. I haven't yet had the opportunity to really get into our guest room and do what I want with it, or organize our closet and make our bedroom homey. It's starting to effect my mood. I feel like I'm in a rut and I don't want to do anything when I'm home because its just so overwhelming!

So I sat down, used pinterest for inspiration, and created a game plan.

Monday: Kitchen
Clean
Organize Cabinets

Tuesday: Living Room
De-Clutter
Clean Desk & Organize Power cords
Finish Wedding Picture Collage

Wednesday: Bathrooms
CleanOrganize Cabinets and Linen Closet

Thursday: Closets
Straighten & Organize

Friday: Guest Room
Take Trashbag(s) and go through clutter!
Make a donate pile

Saturday: Mix Bag
Install overhead fan/light in guestroom
Straighten Chests of Drawers & Nightstands
Organize Pantry
Clean Fridge
Catch up any laundry from the week

Sunday: Relax
i.e. celebrate my sister's birthday!

Of course once I get it where I want it, the goal would be to keep it that way!

 

 
Do you have any tips or tricks for keeping your space clean and organized?

Weekend Goals

(Wedding picture completely unrelated to this post, but you know you like a good group pic!)

 

So I have a few goals for myself this weekend. Jason will be busy getting our cars taken care of and I want to get some things done in the apartment as well as get some inventory made for the Wired Essentials Christmas Show on the 7th!

Apartment:

Wash ALL Laundry

Organize Guest Bedroom Closet (Tech Gadgets and Craft Supplies)

Organize Computer desk and straighten cords, etc.

Bake 2 loaves of bread

Bake a Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake from Jodi Rae's Recipe.

Wired Essentials:

Take Inventory of Current Stock.

Move all Earrings to new cards.

Fill outstanding order (Only one, I got it this morning)

Generate an additional $500 in inventory focusing on newer designs.

What will you all be doing this weekend?

I found it.

I could've named this post "The reason my husband will never let me shop with Jennifer again" but that would've been a little wordy.

So once we settle in a little more I'm going to blog about downsizing and the ways that Jason and I are making smaller spaces work for us. When two people ages 29 and 31 get married, there is a lot of stuff. Then you register for better stuff and you have two of everything. My favorite work for the past month has been "donate".

Nevertheless, we have more kitchen stuff than our kitchen can hold. So I've been wanting to get a buffet I can put in our dining room area for more cabinet space and also to put our coffee maker and wine gadgets on. So this weekend Jen and I went browsing at Unclaimed Furniture to see what was out there and how far my money would go.

Then it happened. I found this.

I'm in love with it. It's exactly what I wanted and it matches our other furniture perfectly. Of course it's a little over $1000 and we don't really have that to spare at this moment in time. So I'm getting our second bedroom set-up this week so I can start churning out product for a Wired Essentials Christmas show.

It's my mission to make the money for this beauty by Christmas!

Have you ever found something you just had to have no matter how much you had to work for it?

Time to reconnect

Like most people, I had trouble keeping up with everyone while I was planning my wedding. I still tried to fit in girl's night and texted some long-distance buddies, but inevitably they would ask about planning and suddenly I was lost in to-do lists and business again. Don't get me started on how behind I am reading blogs! So when I saw that Jennifer Blake was starting 30 days of letters, I just had to join in.

I'm going to make it a point to send a letter or card (maybe the occasional package) every day in November. I'm going to try and get creative about who I reach out to. Jennifer is opening her challenge up to send letters to readers, and I think that is awesome, but I'm going to focus on reconnecting with people I already know. I'll share along the way, maybe re-cap once a week or so.

Have you ever felt like you've been a little out of touch? What do you do to plug back in?

3 hour phone calls & other things that make me happy

 

It was a full pot kind of morning.

 

So I started writing a Friday Confessional Post, but It was so negative. When I'm stressed it's easy to let the little things eat at me. So in an effort to be a happy bride :) I thought I'd list out all the happy things from this past week!

• My sister came and helped me unpack/organize at the new place on Monday and we got A LOT accomplished! 

• I got to spend some time with this perfect little girl.

• I literally cut the contents of my closet when I was packing and cleaning this week. Yay for less clutter!

• We got our new sofa delivered!

• I had a great dinner with my mom last night. I love that we've found a plan to meet half-way from time to time to chat and hang-out.

• Finally I spent THREE HOURS on the phone last night with an old friend. It was great to catch up and I'm looking forward to cross-country trip #2 with her in December.

What was your happy this week?

Life Lately

I have been a bad blogger and an awful linky host! I've missed Wino Wednesday two weeks in a row! I blame the wedding. It's getting serious and every time I think I'm almost done I remember a half dozen things I forgot about.

Lately I've been covered in burlap, but I think the results are worth it.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time with this little girl. She wants to get married too.

Lately I've been indulging in adult beverages. Don't let this pic fool you. That apple moonshine knocked me on my rear!

Lately I've been reminded of how awesome my sisters are.

Lately I've been checking the mailbox and the forecast everyday!

So that's what's been happening with me, what about you?

Who is Scruffy Doo?

{Title almost un-related except that it was the phrase that stuck out from dinner last night.}

These are my people ya'll. We are a pretty close group and I wouldn't give them up for anything. It's always a good time. We went out for a co-ed Wine Wednesday this week in honor of my birthday. I wore my new eShakti Dress for the occasion and because Jack and Diane didn't quite want to stay in I've decided it is officially a "going out" dress.

Jason bought an awesome cookie cake for the occassion.

It was a great birthday! Now onto the weekend :) My bridal shower is Saturday and I can't wait!

She's a Nurse!

What an awesome weekend! My little sister graduated from Nursing School on Friday and we had a big party on Saturday. I'm so proud of her. She has worked really hard to get here.

I ended the weekend working on wedding invitations and decorations. Hard to believe we only have two months left! I'm so excited. 

How was everyone else's weekend?

Life Lately

I am in love with my new job. It is exactly what I needed. Of course I miss my old co-workers. But I have lots of reminders of them in my new office. I got several nice little surcee gifts from my co-workers and a beautiful piece of stained glass as a gift from the agency. I have them proudly on display in my new space.

Jason and I have been taking Dance Lessons for our wedding. We have been trying to get in a lot of practice lately and Sunday we were at the house with Little D and she wanted to dance too. 

Tomorrow is Jodi Rae's Pinning Ceremony. I'm so excited for her. We are having a graduation party Saturday and I can't wait to re-cap that for ya'll next week. I'm a little proud of the details :) 

Have a great weekend!

Greek is Greek Link-up!

In keeping with what you might expect from me, I went to college in a small town. As in were it not for the college it might not have been a town. Tiny.
At a small, private, religiously affiliated college, there are no sororities or fraternities. But Greek is Greek and we did have Literary Societies. I was a Euphie Lil Sis. Epsilon Lambda Sigma (little sisters). We were attached to the Euphie Men.  My roommate was an Athenian and our bestie was a Chi. Diversity folks. I could tell you all about the differences between Literary Societies and Sororities and Fraternities. But it boils down to money and houses. We weren't allowed to live in Greek Houses on our campus. We had designated Halls for meetings, but that was it. And our dues were cheaper. But I had my best friends.

I went to parties.(Off Campus of course)

And we graduated!

I loved being a Euphie. Our colors were Red and Black and our mascot was a ladybug. The Society has changed a lot. (Obviously so have I! I think I've been in denial about my weight gain.) I looked up pictures of the current classes and they have changed the colors. It looks like a lot has changed at my Alma Mater and that makes me a little sad, but I loved my time there and being in a greek organization seriously added to my college experience. 

The Beauty of a Small Town

via

I’m a small town girl. In my almost 29 years I have moved away from the small town for maybe a total of 3 years, and even then it was only 20 minutes down the road to what you might call a “small city”. I've finally given in and admitted that small town life suits me.  I thought I’d share five of the best things about living in a small town.

1)  You can’t go anywhere without knowing someone.

I kid you not. I see someone I know everywhere I go. My boss is forever telling me that I know everyone. When you live in a small town you do! You also know who all of your second and third cousins are so you quite often get to laugh and say “We’re kind of related.” When people ask how you know each other.

2)  The Phone Tree/Grapevine is still in full effect.

While this can easily be a negative thing if you’re out doing things you don’t want people to know about, it’s also an incredible blessing. When my dad died I only made two phone calls, my grandmother actually helped make them for me; First to my boss, then to my best friend. That took care of everything. The amount of support I received was unbelievable and I didn’t have to tell anyone else.

3)  If you need something, anything, you know how to find it.

Sometimes you need a job, sometimes you just need moving boxes, but you will always know someone who can help you out. This is sort of an extension of number one.  If you don’t know someone that can help you, then someone you know does. Connections are everything my friends!

4)  Friends stick closer in small towns.

I swear, I think when you live in a small town you could have friends that will pull together to build you a freakin’ house if you needed one. Even acquaintances from High School that you only see once every five years in passing! When bad things happen you find out that your community really loves you. When good things happen there are always a slew of people to celebrate with, too.

5)  Stars.

You haven’t seen anything until you've sat in your back yard after dark and watched the clear sky twinkling with stars. No city lights to get in the way. In a small town you know your constellations because you get to see them all the time.

The truth is I could do a separate post with this same list titled: The Downside of a Small Town. I'm going to stay positive though, because the truth is I do love my small town.

Boobies and Burlap

That was my weekend guys. I now have tons of pictures of Boobies and Burlap on my phone.

Kylie loved sleeping on my boobs. It was too funny the way she kept hugging them, and in the end there are lots of pictures of a cute little baby sleeping on my boobs.

Saturday Jodi and I grabbed lunch at the clock. It has been forever since I ate there and my Grilled Cheese with Bacon was yummy!

Last night I decided to work on wedding crafts. I'm really happy with the was these things are turning out. The living room was covered with burlap strings and scraps, but it was worth it.

So that was my weekend, how was yours?

Perfect, Beautiful Blessing

At 12:55AM this morning my little sister became a mom and I became an Aunt. Kylie is perfect. I love her so much already.

TV Stars, Yummy Eats and Big News!

So I'm going to start with yesterday and work backwards for this weekend recap.

For starters, yesterday I had breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown Greenville. It was awesome. I went with Jason's family and it was a great time.

Then last night my sister was on TV! Remember back in April when I was so excited about the Rock the Denim Event? Well Food Network came out to do some filming for the new show Food Court Wars and my sister was on TV talking to Tyler Florence! Fun, right?

Saturday brought no pictures because I was just relaxing and hanging out with Jason's family all day. We did find an apartment in the morning though and went to work on the application and reservation :) Jason will be moving into our new place on September 7th!

Friday though? Friday was a big day. Friday I got a new job!!!

This is my happy dance.

I start August 5th. I'm going to miss all of my co-workers, but the hours are so much better, and my stress levels are going to come way down. So of course Friday night we went out for steak to celebrate! We were going to go to Longhorn but there were cops cars everywhere and we thought maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Turns out Phil from Duck Dynasty was in there..... and we left. Oh well, my Hick Tav Steak was delicious.

So that was my awesome weekend :) How are ya'll doing?

Independence, Barbeque, and Awesomeness

I hope everyone is enjoying their day off! Here in South Carolina there's like 120% chance of rain so I guess time will tell how we will be celebrating. One thing I know is that I will be eating BBQ this weekend for sure! Have I mentioned my uncle makes the best BBQ ever? If you're in the area you really need to head to Gramling Farms and get some!

Strong chance that I'll be spending some time with my bestie today. Let me just say when someone compares you to wine, you know she's a friend for life.

Also, when you gush about how sweet she is you tend to start in with the whole "You're Awesome" conversation until one of you says, "We should really come with a warning label."

And then this...

And we hadn't even started in on the Wino Wednesday Festivities yet!

I sign-ed up for the PJ Party Swap at Chaotic Goddess Swaps. There is still time! I can't wait to put this package together. I have so many ideas, I just have to wait for a partner. The package is a $20 minimum/$30 maximum, so not too bad price wise. I love doing swaps. My friend Aubrey is sponsoring a PJ Party Giveaway too, so go get in on that!

I hope everyone has a great holiday!