...happy halloween & happy anniversary...

seven years ago today chris & i started dating.
two years later he proposed.

so, i'm sure you understand why i'm so fond of halloween.
it's a lucky little day for me.

i love you chris.
happy anniversary! xoxo

photo from our trip to napa this past summer.

sampson turns one

my baby bear turned one this past may.
one. tear.
he only wanted two things for his birthday:
a bow tie and a frost paw treat.
so, got him both {not pictured: frosty paw}. 

sampson is the best dog. 

totally a momma's boy but prefers to snuggle with his dad at night. 

that being said, sleeps in the bed with us. 

will do anything for green beans or turkey. 

loves to play with anything that squeaks. 

loves swimming. going on walks & sitting on our new patio couch. 

can find any black sock within a 10 foot radius. 

still has the puppy cray cray in him. but we love it. 

i love you boo boo. happy belated birthday!

{picture: sampson on his 1st birthday}

mother's day in NYC

mother's day was quickly approaching.
i was trying to talk my mom into a 4 day trip to NYC to celebrate.
with a little nudging {& the fact that i had already booked our hotel} she agreed to go.

& what a blast we had.

bryant park {free yoga!? you new yorkers are so lucky!}
times square & a night bus tour
central park, the central park zoo & the central park conservatory.
the 9/11 memorial & rockefeller plaza.
jersey boys  {my mom's favorite part of the trip}.
chelsea market & the highline {my favorite part of the trip}.

tiny shops. the subway. the hustle & bustle.
outdoor dining complete with people watching.
pictures together.
glasses of wine & bakery cupcakes.
adventure.
celebrating my mom.

it was a great weekend.
happy mother's day mom!
thanks for making the trip. it was worth it.

{photo: my mom and i on the highline}

i may be back, but summer is gone

hello old friend!
it's been so long since i've stopped by.
the summer is already such a distant and hazy memory.
i have lots of it to post here so that i don't forget anymore that i already have.

a trip to NYC in may with my mom.
sampson's first birthday!
trips to the lake over long summer weekends.
lots of calligraphy orders.
concerts.
a fantastic california vacation.
my 28th birthday.
our new patio.
baby showers for friends.

it was a great summer that went by oh-so-quickly.
i have to admit, i'm not quite ready for fall.
i need a few more boat rides with a cold margarita in hand.
a couple more chances to wear my brightly colored clothes.
a few more opportunities to wear wedges and flip-flops.
another day with those warm rays of sun adding to my tan.

for now, and for the next few posts, let's pretend summer isn't already over.
please and thank you.

{photo: in huntington beach, cali on my 28th birthday. quite the perfect view.}

2x3

i spent an hour or so the other night cleaning out our junk drawer. 

it had gotten to be a disaster. a 2x3 disaster. 

chargers, batteries, pens, rubber bands, take out menus & other usual suspects. 

along with golf tees, sunscreen tubes, cameras and medication for our puppy. 

something had to be done. the drawer would barely close.

so, i buckled down. 

i took everything out & sorted through the randomness. 

some things were trashed, some stored elsewhere {where they should have been}

& some put back in the drawer itself. 

at the end of the hour, an organized masterpiece. 

i was happy while cleaning out that drawer. 

seeing the bottom of the drawer & the rubber bands in one place 

made me sigh with contentment. 

i never would have thought i would have gotten so much satisfaction 

from cleaning out a junk drawer. 

more of this needs to happen in my daily life. 

more cleaning, more decluttering, more sorting & more organizing. 

not necessarily in large chunks. no. 2x3 sections will do just fine. 

photo via

knock knock

oh hi there. it's been a while.

tonight the husband is out of town & its raining outside.
so, naturally, i'm curled up on the sofa with a glass of wine & the pup has a bone.

i'm trying to really think back on what i did during the month of march.
it all seems like such a distant memory, perhaps since may is almost here.
i know i ate a lot of frozen yogurt. with gummy bears. that i know.
i actually didn't drink that much wine. which shocked even myself.
we went on a lot of walks with our puppy soaking up the warm march weather.
we saw the hunger games movie & spent almost every weekend with friends.
i've golfed (aka driven the cart) w/ chris a few times & even hit a few balls.

april brought more of the same.
lots of friends. lots of laughs. less wine. more golf. lots of walks with the pup.
it'll be capped off with a day trip to keeneland & finally seeing eric church in concert.
may brings a trip to nashville with my girlfriends & a trip to NYC with my mom.
all within the first 13 days.

it's interesting how fast the months have come and gone this year.
a new month knocks at the front door & slips out the back before i can blink.
i suppose that's a good thing. i suppose its what happens when one is happy.
not that i wasn't necessarily happy before. but now, for some reason, i can feel it.

perhaps its the louder knocking.
but i'd like to think of it as my willingness to hear the knocking.
having known that i've taken the current month for all its worth
& am ready to see what the next brings.

more happiness. more friends. more laughter.
more family. more plans. more living.

celebrating

tomorrow night we're celebrating the 27th birthday of a friend of ours.

my husband's friend's fiancee. {got that?!}

we met in 2007 when my husband & his friend lived together.

she was {is} gorgeous & i was intimidated.

until about 3 years ago when we discovered our shared love for country music.

summer country concerts & trips to nashville {love!} followed.

as did "girl's night out" & dinner dates with the guys.

this past month she asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding.

she has become one of my close friends.

i always thought that my "close friends" would be the girls from my sorority/college.

those 9 girls mean the world to me.

i was fine {& blessed} with those 9 friends.

and now another has come along.

another girl & i made plans to celebrate her our friend's birthday.

dinner w/ 12 people, drinks at a bar & then hanging out at after.

my husband commented the other day, essentially,

that it's silly to want to get everyone together to celebrate a birthday @ our age.

{unless, of course, it's your 30th & your friends are surprising you in vegas}

i've thought that over for a bit. here are my thoughts:

there are too many scary & lonely times in life.

why not take the chance to celebrate when you can?

celebrate friendships. celebrate anything. celebrate the small things.

just celebrate. together.

so, tomorrow night i'm doing just that.

cheers to new{er} friends, good food, laughter, a night on the town

& a slice of birthday cake!

balloon bench via this pinterest pin from yatzer

...smile when it's raining...

in my last post(s) i mentioned the start of my own little happiness project.

3 new goals to focus on each month & every month thereafter.
starting with my attitude in january.
continuing with my marriage in february.

i can really see a change coming with my attitude.
& starting now I'm cutting out the unnecessary negatives too.
"it's so cold/hot outside!" "the internet is too slow."
"my margarita has too much salt on the rim."
i'm really wanting to say, think & project a positive attitude.
really excited about this & where its going.

february's goals for working on our marriage were itty bitty goals.
being present. using pleasant tones & expressions. giving proofs of love.

some are harder than others to do. all are so important.

i did really well with "being present"

by not turning on my computer @ home after work {to blog, read blogs, etc}.

by joining my husband for a round of golf on a saturday {brrr 40 degrees}.

& by doing the "little things" together {eating, errands, laundry}.

i'm actually really excited for the habits that i have set out for march.
centering around giving/goodwill/good cheer.

smile. give daily. be grateful.

i know for a fact that i don't smile enough.

this changes today.

i want to give give give.

my time, my attention, my love, my friendship, my knowledge, etc.

to my husband, dog, family, friends, community, strangers.

too many of us never take the time to give back,

even in the simplest way to the simplest cause or the smallest person.

this changes today.

i know this sounds cliche, but i have so much to be grateful for.

a husband that cooks, a dog that cuddles {sometimes}, a supportive family,

a quaint house, a boat to cruise on, no debt(!!!!), a supply of wine, a job,

a fantastic education, fun friends, a memorable childhood

& one heck of an amazing college experience.

"feeling gratitude & not expressing it

is like wrapping a present & not giving it." -w.a. ward

i'm ready to be grateful. to give. & to smile.

image via tonicoward

it's easy to be heavy, hard to be light

In my last post I mentioned the start of my own little happiness project.
3 new goals to focus on each month & every month thereafter.
starting with my attitude.

you see, i'd been in a funk {that i cannot describe} for quite a while.
i wanted to be a happier & i needed to make a change.
i needed to start with my attitude.
so i tried not to be negative, tried to be easy to please
& tried to breathe before reacting to a stressful situation.

it was not easy.
but i can feel a change coming.

i am more aware of my attitude & how it affects others.
i am more cautious to think before i speak.
i take more deep calming breaths.
i honestly feel lighter. happier.

a new month, february, brings three new goals in addition to the three above.
with a focus on our marriage.
be present. {put the iphone away & pay attention}
give a proofs of love. {show love & appreciation daily}
use pleasant tones & expressions. {no nagging, eye-rolling or face scrunching}
every marriage takes work. no matter how small the work may be.
xo,

photo as seen on design sponge

bring your own sunshine

oh hi there. happy 2012!
the past 6 months have literally flown by.
i suppose that's what happens when a 7 mo. old puppy is romping around your house.
but he makes me happy. so happy. so that's ok with me.

but now that we're a few days into 2012,
it's time for me to finally make good on my intentions in this post &
start my own happiness project.

for the month of january i'll be focusing on my attitude w/ these three goals:
1. positive words lead to a positive attitude. {stop being negative}
2. be easy to please at work & at home. {go with the flow}
3. breathe. {think twice before venting to others/facebook/twitter}

i've been tracking my progress so far. it's amazing what a little challenge can do.
i am much more aware of my attitude than ever before.
i can feel the change already. the shift towards the positive.
a brighter outlook. {more sunshine}
a lighter feeling.

photo via bippityboppityboo