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}

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

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

december?!

i'm not exactly sure how it happened,
but i barely had a chance to celebrate fall this year!

we didn't carve pumpkins or decorate our front porch w/ hay bales.
we didn't go to a haunted house or see a scary movie.
unless you count hocus pocus.
we didn't decorate inside the house for fall either,
unless you count the four orange dish towels that i got out.

i did manage to celebrate fall in a few small ways.
by consuming my fair share of salted carmel mochas.
by taking in the turning leaves on morning & evening walks with the pup.
by attending the college homecoming football games of both of our alma maters.
by taking my cowboy boots out for a fall weekend in nashville w/ the girls.
by restocking & then consuming my supply of red wines.
by wearing skinny jeans & aldo boots every chance I could.
& by dressing up Sampson for halloween as a shark, for all of three minutes.

here's to hoping that i fully celebrate winter for all that it's worth!
peppermint mochas. hats & gloves. warm fireplace. cozy blankets.
twinkling lights. more red wine. baked goods. puppy's first romp in the snow.

photo is a print as seen on the raceytay etsy shop

the summer night

to me, memories of summer as a kid (age 8 to 18) revolved around the lake.
a four stop light town in the middle of northern indiana.
sail boat races. long white piers. star-filled skys. a small supermarket.
diving in the water. swimming to the ladder & out. repeating 100 times.
hours spent cruising the lake with my parents on our old speedboat.
a one theatre movie cinema with showings at 7pm & 9pm of the same movie.
sun kissed skin, fireflies, cute guys, back roads & fresh air off of the lake.
such a simple place where i made so many simple memories.
a place where summer days that seemed to last forever
& summer nights that were a perfection of thought.
during the summers, my heart will always be at the lake.
so long, august. looking forward to september
& one more weekend at the lake to celebrate summer.

photo {not of the town at my lake} by hula seventy. love love love her work.

one of those perfect summer nights

the other night was one of those perfect summer nights.
there have been a few of them recently, actually.
in which a few hours are spent on a lake with my husband & puppy.
on a speedboat from my childhood with the sun setting on the lake.
there’s something so soothing about those nights.

a happy puppy letting the wind blow in his face while demolishing a bone.
a happy husband driving us around & playing our favorite songs from his ipod.

and a happy me.
sprawled across the bow of the boat listening to the waves lap up against its side.
remembering back to my childhood
& all of those hours I spent on that same spot on the same boat.
soaking up the sun. reading my favorite books.
daydreaming about the years to come & how life would be.

life is good.

a boat. the sun at sunset. a puppy. a husband. good health.
& a good beverage. yes, life is good.

photo by Jennifer Hogan of Ever Whim Photography
from this amazing wedding feature on grey likes weddings.

27.

almost two weekends ago my 27th birthday surfaced.
if it sounds like i'm describing a pimple, that's pretty much how i looked at it.
the dreaded 27th birthday.

to be honest, it lived up to it's hype.
my husband golfed all day {not necessarily a bad thing}
& after i dropped him off at the course the back tire on my car blew out.
as in, i could have died.
my little dog & i sat on the shoulder of the interstate for 15 minutes.

the best gift i received was the man who stopped to help me change the tire.
you know, so that my husband didn't have to stop golfing. even though he offered.

the rest of the day was spent running around cincinnati on a 90 degree day
planning & attending someone else's birthday party.
from which i had a hangover from the next day.

now that the day itself has passed, i wish i would have done it differently.
i should have bought myself a present.
ordered a glass of champagne at our friend's party.
wished myself a happy birthday.
celebrated my life myself.

next year, on my birthday, i'm going to do just that.
order myself a cupcake from a local bakery & chase it with a margarita.
celebrating & being thankful for my life.

photo by Sweetapolita via the sweetest occasion
quote as seen on my revelment

meet sampson

i have always wanted a puppy.
for years on my christmas list to santa i had the same top 2 requests:
1. a dog.
2. a cash register {i am a nerd}.

i never received either from my parents or santa claus.
from the day chris & i started dating, our lives became busy.
traveling to see eachother. traveling to see friends. traveling to see family.
camping. partying at the lake. summer vacations. weekends of non-stop fun.
always on the road & having fun together.

almost 6 years later we're still living the life.
& on july 4th our lives got a whole lot more exciting.
meet sampson. our 8 week old goldendoodle.
the day we picked him up he endured a 3 hour car ride & a petsmart trip.
on day 2 {at 4am} he had mastered the "sit" command.
by day 3 he learned to respond to "sampson, come."
by day 4 he was getting the hang of "go get your ball."
day 5 he endured his first thunderstorm.
day 6 brought his first visit to the vet. he was a champ through it all.

he loves to be held but doesn't love his leash.
he loves to play with his monkey, hedgehog & pheasant.
he devours peanut butter.
he is cute when he plays, sleeps & walks. he is cute all the time.
he has chris & i wrapped around all four of his paws.

he is a perfect little pup.

{more} happiness {the beginning}

as I mentioned before, i'm terrified to turn 27.
to me, 27 means that it's time to be accomplished & fulfilled.
i'll be turning 27 in 17 days.

i am happily married & live in a perfect little ranch house.
i {we} have nice cars & good friends, inherited a boat, don't work weekends,
have money in the bank & some left over that I spend regularly at target.
i am blessed.

but some days i find myself dragging & a tiny bit unsatisfied.
why, i don't know. i cannot put my finger on it. & it bothers me so.

what i do know is that i want to be happier {more fulfilled} in my daily life.
& it's time to make it happen.

on our vacation i read the happiness project. & i'm starting my own.
i'm starting july 1st & considering it my birthday present to myself.
it's time to find/work on/do things that make me happy.

monthly i'll be documenting my resolutions & updating my progress here.
{in addition to my regular blogging}
i do hope that you'll follow along.
here's to finding {more} happiness!

photo via: amanda wilcher

summer checkist

summer is officially here!
we started celebrating a few weeks ago, with a camping & boating trip
& spent memorial day weekend at the lake boating, boozing & schmoozing.
& just returned from florida after our first summer vacay of the year.
is it just me or is summer slipping by too quickly already!?

here's what i'm setting out to accomplish before the chill of fall arrives:
1. attend country concerts.
2. put my happiness project in motion*.
3. go boating often.
4. continue the book reading spree i've been on.
5. never say "its too hot" as winter will be here soon enough.


6. focus on the simple pleasures in life.
7. attend a festival/carnival. eat funnel cake.
8. ride alongside my husband for a round of golf.
9. work out. even if it means getting up a half hour earlier.
10. drink more water.
11. do whatever it takes to hang out with our friends more often.
12. donate old summer clothes from 2002-2005 that i will never fit into again.
14. finish multiple DIY projects we attempted to start in the spring.
15. appreciate how good the summer sun rays feel!

cheers to summer!

* coming soon to this very blog!
p.s. i am happy to say that i have accomplished most of my winter 2011 to do list and spring 2011 to do list! high fives!
p.p.s. photo via bippityboppityboo on tumblr

pcb 8 years later

june. already.
not that i'm complaining.
just getting a little concerned that summer is already slipping away.
that's a different story for a different day.

right now its time to live in the present & enjoy a frozen cocktail.
we're off to the sunshine state for a multitude of days.
a little vitamin d & time spent on the beach with friends.
you know, partaking in the good stuff in life.

i will say that I hope this trip to PCB florida is a little tamer than my last...
freshman year spring break. oh my.
what innaoropriate but fond memories i have of that trip.
that too is a different story for a different day.
a story that my future children should never hear.

its my hope that this trip will provide a little more relaxation.
a few moments to read a chapter or two of a book at the beach.
just the right daily intake of alcohol and greasy food.
not a single tan line out of place.
long walks on the beach, multiple times a day.

& god forbid there would be any 'bacardi o.'
had a little too much last time in PCB.
still can't stand the smell/taste 8 years later.

cheers!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54521962/beach-umbrella-5x5-original-signed-fine

indiana camping

some of my favorite childhood memories are times spent camping with my dad.
spring tent camping and fall & winter cabin camping.
campfires, games, sing-a-longs & flashlights skipping here and there.
too many snacks, comfy sleeping bags, hot chocolate, & star-gazing.
laughter, late nights, fresh air & staying up late into the night.

twenty-some {!!!} years later i still love everything about camping.
although i now substitute an air mattress for a sleeping bag & beer for hot chocolate.

this weekend we'll celebrate the start of summer by going camping in indiana.

friends will come. campfires will be built. food cooked over the fire & beers drank.
stories will be told & we'll stay up way too late. too many snacks will be had.
& i'm sure we'll sing-a-long when our favorite country song comes on the radio.

when i'm camping, it's like all is right in the world.
the beer is colder. the night lingers longer. the stars are brighter.
marshmallows are for dessert.
life just automatically slows to an enjoyable pace.
sounds like a perfect way to welcome the start of summer.

picture by: simply bloom photography

adventures

over the past few weeks we've had quite a few adventures together.

training for & running {& finishing!} a half marathon.
painting the shutters & front door of our house{what a difference!}.
spending hours in menards gathering supplies for late spring diy projects.
watching our grill attempt to set our house on fire.
switching things up & having breakfast for dinner.
celebrating a 30th birthday in vegas.
betting on horsies at keeneland in the pouring rain.

little adventures. bigger adventures.
adventures all the same each with it's own set of memories.

i want to have adventures with you. because it isn't one without you.
via bippity boppity boo

children, marriages & flower gardens

i always look forward to spring.
warmer weather, green grass, peeks of sunshine, chirping birds
& a reason, almost every week, to wear my cute rain boots.

more so i eagerly anticipate seeing that first tulip sprout out of the ground.
seeing the buds on tree branches & the leaves on the perennials start to appear.
i get a little too giddy going to the garden center & picking out our annuals.
one day i want to have a fabulous garden.
my parents had three. one for vegetables and two for flowers.
my mom was always out in the gardens in the summer.
tending to the flowers and plucking fresh tomatoes & lettuce.

so much care went into those gardens.
& the result was beautiful.

one day i want a garden like that for myself.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.
one day i want children.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.
but until all of that happens, i have my marriage.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.

photo via revelment

arranged friendships

this weekend we headed to keeneland to celebrate a friend's birthday.

friends are quite spectacular things, aren't they?

i have a few good friends that i hope will stick around.

we've celebrated college graduations, engagements & weddings together

& someday {not any time too soon for me!}, the birth of our children.

as arranged marriages aren't too popular in the States these days.

i'll take an arranged friendship between our child & the child of our friends.

i would hope that they are a dynamic little duo. like batman & superman.

both little superheroes on their own accord but more powerful together.

resulting in lots of adventures & only a few broken bones.

lots of memories & plenty of belly laughs.

more so, a friendship that spans years & years covering graduations, weddings,

& witnessing friendships form between the little superheroes of their own.

via bippity boppity boo

important

there are times where one has to pause for a hot second

& remember that there are only a few important things in life.

in the end, working that extra hour won't matter.

neither will the time spent fretting about the appearance of gray hairs.

all of the hours spent watching shows on bravo won't do you any good either.

conversation over coffee & breakfast on a sunday morning. important.

its when you talk about the upcoming week with sprinkles of hopes & dreams.

weekend breakfast/lunch & dinner convos are my favorite.

put down the blackberry. turn off the tv. engage.

sharing {& indulging} in each other's interests. important.

for my husband this means going to target with me. every weekend.

for me, it's letting the husband golf often & gamble occasionally.

hence, vegas & why i'm going to join him on the links this summer.

play together you stay together.

helping others. important.

everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.

be kind. hold your tongue. help. give. smile. love.

spend time with family. important.

hence making sure chris' family was invited {& came!} to vegas.

hence taking some vacation days to help my mom plan her june wedding.

and address her invitation envelopes. and write a moh speech.

love. express your love. spend time together. take pictures.

make new friends but keep the old. important.

i have 7 close friends.

you know, the ones that come to your dad's funeral no matter the distance.

the ones that you can always pick-up with right where you left off.

the ones that mean more than they know. call, text, twitter. keep up.

few things matter in the end.

here's to hoping that i continue to realize what they are.

and work towards making the things that matter...matter.

a slight gentleman via mary ruffle

more stories to tell

i have officially crossed vegas off my list of places that i want to see.

it was , in a word, a blur. and three and a half days was enough.

i think i am still dehydrated from the sun & the drinks. there are other places that i want to travel to. the sooner the better.

texas. california. hawaii. massachusetts. north carolina.

&, naturally, overseas. multiple times. as soon as possible.

i want more stories to tell.

via coqueterias tumblr

a 30th. celebrated.

within the last few years one thing has be come apparent to me.

life is short but sweet for certain.

in thinking about my husband's 30th i knew i wanted to celebrate.

more importantly celebrate him, his life & everything he loves.

which are, in no order: me, family, friends, gambling, captain & sprite.

so, i planned a surprise 4-day trip for his birthday.

on the day of our departure, we arrived at the airport.

he still had no idea where we were headed {except that it might be warm}!

i led him aimlessly around the airport, before letting him know

that we were headed for vegas! as we walked to our gate, each with a huge grin on our face,

his childhood friend & girlfriend appeared & told him they were coming too!

we made it to the hotel {caesars!} in vegas & proceeded to live it up.

later that night, after several drinks, another surprise came:

his whole family appeared from behind him at the roulette table.

and that wasn't all. four more of our friends {old & new} followed hours later.

all in all, 16 people flew to vegas to celebrate his birthday.

the girls spent time by the pool and the guys at the sports book.

we went to a club {vip!} & a delicious steak dinner.

but mainly enjoyed each others company.

even if it was around an electronic roulette table.

it was a short trip, but sweet for certain. time {& money} well spent celebrating someone special. i love you chris.

to celebrate a 30th

my husband is turning 30 in just a few short days.
last night i gave him an early birthday card.
letting him in on a secret that i have been keeping for months.

i've planned a little getaway to celebrate. we leave tomorrow morning.
he won't find out where we're going til we arrive at the gate.
until then, the possibilities are endless.
planning this trip {& keeping it a secret} has been a labor of love.
but i did it all because i love him & i want to show him just how much.
cross your little fingers:

that this surprise goes off without a hitch & that it's well received.
that we have a ball, celebrate & enjoy this birthday for all it's worth.
and that, when all is said & done, when chris asks, "how much do you love me?"
i can say, "remember your 30th birthday...."