Lovin' It!

I haven't posted a "Lovin' It" post in quite a while.  There are so many things I'm loving right now, so I thought I would share.

First and foremost, I'm loving my husband (always).  I sometimes wish he had an off button or at least a slow down button, but I know his mind is constantly going, learning, building, making, thinking, and lots of other   -ings.  Currently, he's building our new home, our best friends' new home, just finished my niece's home, selling the last of three homes he built tomorrow, managing a solar companies' projects in Lake Charles, selling the daiquiri shops, setting up a new show room at the flooring store, cooks, brings Andrew (and sometimes Jax) with him everywhere, loads/unloads the dishwasher...and right this very minute he's building some sort of lighting fixture out of an old cypress beam.  He. Never. Stops.  And I love him for it.  I'm not sure how I got so lucky!

Next, I'm loving our new place!  Saturday morning we woke up ate some breakfast and headed over to Wildwood Drive so Drew could do some concrete work on our freshly poured slab and so Andrew and I could do some fishing.  I think what I love the most about our new land is the potential it has for so many great memories for our boys!  Fishing, swimming, fourwheeling, bonfires...I just can't wait!  Do you ever just look at your life and think, "Man, I think I just might have it all?!"  That's how I felt about our life in a single moment on Saturday morning, when I took this picture.  I know so much can change in the blink of an eye.  But as I watched Andrew fishing and talking to Jax...I was overwhelmed with gratfulness to God for all he has blessed me with.

It's been pretty chilly here lately, I have been counting down the days until warmer weather would arrive.  Then last week we had a warm day and my Mom and I passed a snowball (not snowcone, snowball) stand that was...OPEN!  I yelled out loud, "Mom turn around!"  There was no way I was going to let a strawberry shortcake with extra cream (condensed milk) escape my tastebud's grasp!  It was delicious!  I wonder if I can find a dill pickle flavored snowball?  Hmmm....

Baby/nursery stuff!!  Between Ebay, Zulily, and Etsy every parcel carrier in town knows where we live.  While my Mom was in town we went to The Crafty Shack and ordered Baby Day's crib bedding.  I'm pretty excited about it!  It's hard to decorate a nursery that isn't built yet, but I'm still having so much fun!

  

I'm loving this dog.  He loves Andrew so much and vice versa.  If Jax and Andrew are in the same room Andrew treats him just like a person.  Holds a conversation with him, explains what he's doing, and Jax just looks at him like he's absorbing every word.  It's so funny and heart warming.  A dog and his boy.  I picture Andrew and Jax in the pond boat this summer trolling around fishing their hearts out.

And right this moment I'm loving the sounds of Andrew and Brady laughing as Jax chases them around the yard.  You know what's even better than that sound...the fact that Andrew is barefoot and chances are he doesn't even realize it!  He's not your typical "boy" he doesn't like to get dirty, or sweaty, or smelly, and for someone who loves to fish you can forget him baiting his own hook with a worm.  But every now and then he slips up and forgets about the dirt and becomes your typical sweaty faced, dirty handed boy and right now he could care less about anything else other than having fun! 

Happy Spring Break, Ya'll!

WIshy Washy

About a month ago our washing machine started making this godawful screeching noise during the spin cycle.  Drew said, "Something about the bearings...blah fixable... blah blah blah."...I said "Time for a new washer and dryer."  I knew I didn't want a front load washer because all of my friends and family who have them complain about theirs.  So we decided on the Samsung 5451 top load high-efficiency washer and dryer.  So far I love them!  I can wash a week's worth of clothes for two people in two loads!  Some of my favorite features are the "Handwash" setting on the washer for my delicates and that the dryer is a steam dryer which means less ironing.  And who wants to spend more of their day doing laundry and ironing?!  I'll admit I spent the first few loads staring through the glass watching the spin cycle, it's so fast and the tune at the end of the cycle cracks me up and thanks to YouTube, I have since learned that the tune is a rendition of Franz Schubert's "The Trout!"  

Lovin' It

Summer Time Parties!


Ok, so most of you know that going to the Kentucky Derby is on my bucket list and we actually were thinking about going this year to celebrate my 30th (holy shiz!) birthday.  But instead we've decided to go to Hawaii.  We thought it would be much easier to go to Kentucky once/if we have kids than Hawaii, so the Derby will have to wait.  No worries though, because we are for sure celebrating next weekend with a "Derby de Mayo" party at our house.  Margaritas, mint juleps, Mexican food, and Derby attire...I mean really could there really be a better weekend to throw a party than on Cinco de Mayo/Derby day.  No, I didn't think so!  I sent out these really cute e-invites I found here.  I've been getting text all week from my girlfriends as they find their hats and outfits.  I can't wait!

Da Beach!


I'll be soaking up the rays, cold adult bevie in hand in exactly 21 days.  Girls trip with my sisters, mom, and nieces to Destin.  I should come back with a few more laugh lines, a golden FL tan, and a relaxed mind.  Again I say, can't wait!

 My Fitness Pal!


So as I'm getting my body into "um, hello you're turning 30 and you're going to Hawaii" shape this year I've been using this handy little app to track my progress.  It helps you track calories, your workout, your goals, weight loss/gain...and I love that I can scan the barcodes of products and the nutritional information is logged on the spot.  I find it very useful when I am dying for a bag of Funyuns...I scan the bar code, view the calories and lack of protein, and sadly place them back on the shelf and move to the fruits and veggies department.  It's a free app and you can link up with your friends for a little encouragement along the way.

 New Shades!


I picked these beauties up while back in Tahoe.  Love them!

I hope you all are lovin' this beautiful weekend!

t.i.l.t.

Things I Love Tuesday:

After such a disappointing game I need a little pick-me-up, so I turn to the stuff I love for a little comfort!

Of course my Jax-y Boy!

Jax has learned to climb up stairs, but not down stairs.  And I might mention that he LOVES the stairs, so he climbs to the top and sits and waits for Drew or I to come get him.  So we've had lots of climbing exercise over the last two weeks!

elf, eyes lips face

After reading one of my fav blogs about this website I went perusing, to see what the fuss was all about.  And I just couldn't believe the prices for make-up here!  I mean really eye lid primer for $1, a 32 color eye-shadow palette for $5, this stuff has to be terrible right?!  Then I saw at the top of the screen, "11 piece brush set for $2.12 when you place an order for $25" or something like that...and who doesn't need new make-up brushes?!  So I caved and ordered all of the loot pictured above for $32.07!  I'm systematically trying each product to see if my skin has any adverse reactions, but so far I love the eye lid primer, I don't really care for the volume pumping mascara the brush is just too big for me and my eyes started itching after about 4 hours of wear, I like the personal blend foundation but I've only used it three times so I don't know if it will cause my face to break out or not but for $8, I can use it to run to the store, or beach, or where ever I don't feel like "putting on my face."

New throw pillows

I recently trashed my old feather pillows that I have had since college.  I was sick of finding down feathers all over the place!  Decorative pillows can get pretty expensive, so I turned to Etsy.com to see if I could find some handmade covers that I liked.  And thanks to the Fabricjunkie, Drew did.  Yes he picked out the pillows!  And we got the pair for $30 bucks to boot! Then I just went to Wal-Mart and bought some cheap-o pillows to stuff inside them.  Love them so much!

Back porch table

This is the table that my hubs made me for Christmas, I moved the old table we had next to Drew's smoker so he could use it while he's cooking up deliciousness.  You can see in the background the DIY project we started in November, the concrete stepping stones.  We started with 4 rows and I think I want two more rows to finish it off.  When Andrew was home for Christmas we made one block with our hand prints and Jax's paw print.  It's so cute, if it wasn't dark already I'd snap a pic.  I'll post one soon.

Pinterest Projects

After church on Sunday we ran to Home Depot and purchased the last of the supplies I needed to make a pallet table.  Thanks hubs for helping me!

I think my next project will be making hypertufa pots!  Yay!

This weekend we're making the trek to Nashville to see our favorite 7 year old!  He's off for MLK day on Monday, and since travel is easier on us than it is on him we're going to him.  Drew looked at the weather earlier today and it's going to be COLD up there!  But we can't wait!  I'm looking forward to the trip and the fun stuff we'll get into in Music City. 

these are a few of my favorite things...

So I wanted to rave about a few items that I am just loving right now.

My leopard print Clarisonic Mia
This thing makes washing your face with a washrag seem so primitive...so barbaric...so last year.  It's pretty amazing and I've only been using it for five days.  Every other night I use Adapalene, a retinol gel which helps turn over skin cells, on my face from my dermatologist so I hardly ever have issues with breakouts.  Therefore, I can't say how it helps in that particular area.  However, my pores are getting smaller, my fine lines are getting finer, my skin is softer, and I find that my moisturizers (Day and Night) and my primer seem to work better than ever.  Plus it's leopard print and who doesn't love leopard print?!

Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser
I don't use this as my cleanser all the time, in fact I'm a die hard Dove soap user (as is my dermatologist) especially when my face is particularly dry I'll reach for my moisturizing Dove beauty bar.  But if my skin is in a "normal" state I love this cleanser.  It's gentle, it's foamy, and now with my Mia I can use an even smaller amount of product, which is good on my pocket book.

Big Sexy Hair Products
There are two staples on my vanity when it comes to big, southern girl hair and that's Big Sexy's Big Volumizing Dry Shampoo and Powder Play.  Waking up at 5am is pretty tough sometimes, so on mornings when I've hit the snooze seven times I spray my roots with this dry shampoo to soak up any excess oils.  We've all used the old baby powder method but who wants to go around smelling like a baby's butt...plus if you have dark locks you can end up with gray hair if you're not careful.  The Powder Play I just started using more recently and man this stuff is pretty cool.  It feels weird on your hair but if you're teasing, hairspray just can't hold a candle to this product.  Once you sprinkle it on your roots the more you play with or tease your hair the bigger it get's.  It's hard to be glamorous in the chemical industry and I particularly like using this product as a direct defense against "hat hair" at work.  When my hardhat comes off I simply fluff my hair up with my fingers and wa-la! no more hat hair.  

Got some favor-rite products you're loving?  Tell me about them!

December First

Finally it's December!  I love the month of December and I'll tell you why.

• It's my birthday month and I'll cry if I want to!  All sorts of cool people (besides myself of course) were born during this month.  Like Bette Midler, Gianni Versace, Jazy-Z, Tyra Banks, Walt Disney, Jesus (okay so maybe He wasn't really born in December but He still counts), Bobby Flay, Emily Dickinson, Frank Sinatra, Taylor Swift, Dick Van Dyke (they were both born on my birthday), Nostradamus, Jane Austen, Beethoven, Diane Sawyer....the list goes on.  We're pretty creative people you know us Sagittarius.  We are goal oriented, optimistic, intellectual, and good-natured.
• It's officially time to start decorating for Christmas at my house!  We're going to get our tree on Saturday after we finish up our Christmas shopping.  Oh yes I did say "finish up!"  I did a lot of online shopping this year, so I have a few more things to get and then the wrapping of gifts will begin!  (I secretly hate to wrap presents so my husband, who spent a few Christmases gift wrapping boxes at Buckle and can wrap gifts like a little elf, wraps and then I decorate.)  It's pretty much how we do most things, as a team.
• Tomorrow is the Festival of Lights Downtown.  Ever since I was little my parents would drive all over town just so I would see Christmas lights.  Drew has taken over that role pretty well, the only thing missing is my Mom's hot chocolate when we get home.  So tomorrow night we'll mosey on downtown to look at the lights and then eat at Little Village.  Oh. My. Gosh. So. Good.
• I love getting Christmas cards and it's not like you can send those in April.  Although it would be pretty funny.  I've already gotten a few and they light up my day.  I can't wait to send ours out this year.  Which reminds me I gotta get some stamps!  Buying stamps, by the way, is right up there with getting gas on my "Things I Dislike" list.
• December is the only month in which Ugly Sweater Parties are a GREAT idea.  Our friends Latham & Audrey are hosting one this year.  Drew and I were so pumped.  We have our own competition going on who's sweater is the ugliest.  Mine wins hands down, it's holiday hideous.  I can't wait to post pics from the shin-dig.
• Winter weather.  So it's supposed to be in the 70s here over the weekend but earlier this week is was in the 30s at night and I am so loving it!  I love cold weather because that means boots, scarves, tights, sweaters, and cute coats.
• And finally the most obvious reason I love December is Christmas!  But who doesn't love Christmas.  I love giving gifts, especially those that I think are just perfect for the receiver.  My family are the best gift openers ever!  We squeal, and we gasp, and we clap our hands, and we give out hugs, and thank yous like there's no tomorrow.  You know, people who don't get excited about getting a gift or those who no matter what will find something to complain about really erk me.  They just total kill my gift-giving buzz.  So don't be a buzz kill, be thankful that someone thought of you, spent time picking something out, and spent their hard earned money!

I hope you all have a wonderful December, I know I will.  I'll leave you with our 2011 Christmas picture.

Lovin' It

Five Fall Things I'm Loving

1.  Fall Foliage.  Who doesn't love the turning of the leaves?!  The sycamore trees are all turning a beautiful shade of gold, the crepe myrtles are glowing orange, the red maples are finally living up to their namesake, and the cypress trees are starting to rust.  Fall is South Louisiana is beautiful!

2.  College Football.  How 'bout them Tigers!!  Between the Honey Badger and the Mad Hatter the wins keep on coming.  And the night games continue to elude us.  Every conference game thus far has been picked up by a major network for the 2:30pm slots.  This will be the first time since 1935 that a home conference game as not been played at night in Tiger Stadium.  It's a bittersweet statistic.  Our Tigers are undefeated and the whole country seems to want to see Les and our Tigers play but there's just something about a Saturday night in Baton Rouge that makes your hairs stand on end.  And what does Less say, “There’s a lot of magic in that stadium,” Miles said. “… But it’s a special place to play daytime or night.”  Yes sir, it sure is!

3.  Pumpkin Pie.  Is my most favorite dessert of all time.  My Mama is bringing me one to Canton in 3 weeks and my mouth is already watering.  I never really liked cake growing up so for my birthday I would ask for pumpkin pie.  Just say no to cool-whip too!  My Mom's is the best of the best and with a cold glass of milk, it's like a little slice of heaven.  Amen.

4.  Crisp Cool Mornings.  I feel a little more...alive, when I walk outside to a cool fall morning.  I watch the sun come up on my way to work with my sunroof down or I'll grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning sun from my back porch on the weekends.  It's mornings like this that I think God made them just for me...and my Mama.

5.  Candy Corn.  I know, you may be saying candy corn is available year round.  But it's just not the same, candy corn is a fall staple.  Who knew sugar or corn syrup could ever taste so good!  I think the cavities might just be worth it.  Did you know this stuff has been around since the 1880's!

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  ~George Eliot

Lovin' It

Well I have quite a few things that I am loving right now, we've been so busy over the last week I haven't had time to collect my thoughts and put them all into writing.  I even missed my "Miss You Mondays" post yesterday!  I'll have to post two for you, Andrew, this coming Monday.  So consider this a condensed "Lovin' It" post.

First, I'm loving the nature in our backyard.  Yes we live in a subdivision but our lot to bordered by a creek and about 15 acres of woods so on occasion some of the local wildlife wonder over into our yard.

Like this little guy!

Drew had just finished making coffee and I sat down with a cup and looked out our window and there he was!  He passed by two or three times tracking the smell of something or other.  We caught a few photos of him during his quest.

Something I'm not loving is the humidity here right now!  Drew took this picture Sunday morning before we left for the Saints game (WHO DAT?!).  Can you tell what the tracks are on the door?

That would be my frogs, they just wanted to tell me "Hi"! :)

And finally, the thing that is consuming my every waking thought this week, New York City!  I didn't think it was possible, but I think Drew might be more excited than I am.  He actually started packing before I did!!  

Big Apple here we come!

Lovin' It

 I have a lot on my list of things I'm loving today so I'll dive right in...

• First and foremost, our little boy will be here Thursday for the Labor Day weekend!!!  I don't think I need to go into detail as to how excited Drew and I are!  We've gone grocery shopping and picked up all of his favorite foods and stocked up on chocolate milk.  Put his favorite sheets on his bed.  Drug out all of his bathtub toys.  We love getting ready for his trips home, it's sort of like getting ready for Christmas morning.  We're just giddy and we can barely stand it! :)

• LSU FOOTBALL!!!  After all the drama over the last few weeks surrounding JJ, I'm so ready to see our guys pound it out on the field this weekend against the Ducks.  I know I guys have had a lot on their minds and I hope they can direct all of their frustrations into winning on Saturday in Dallas!  On a side note LSU fans really are the best around, read all about it here.   

• I scream, you scream, we all scream for New Orleans ice cream!  Thanks to Matt and Britt I recently discovered New Orleans Ice Cream Co.  I recommend the Vanilla Bean and the Cheesecake...ahhhh I die.

Next I have a few movies and TV shows I'm loving:

• Hunger Games movie!  The trailer premiered on the VMAs last night, oh my gosh I'm so excited!  The books were phenomenal and I know the movies won't be as good, but I can't wait to see it on the big screen.

• The Temple Grandin HBO movie.  This is a fabulous movie about perseverance and overcoming the obstacles life has put before you.  Temple is an amazing autistic woman, who changed the livestock industry.  She became a doctor of animal science and is a professor at Colorado State University.  Her story is definitely one you should check out.

•  Lifetime's series Against the Wall.  The main character is a IA detective with three brothers who are cops, a mom who wants to open her own bakery, and she has no time for a relationship...which of course means she's in complicated "relationships" with quite a few cute guys. :)  It's good, mindless TV.

• Project Runway.  The Klum of Doom and the contestants are never a disappointment.  I am loving Anya Ayoung-Chee's designs.  Plus her hair cut is amazing...amazingly ballsy that is.  But she rocks it and I like that about her.  

• And finally a two of my favorite guilty pleasures:  True Blood and Jersey Shore...Okay so I only watch True Blood because I loved the Sookie Stackhouse novels and I must admit it has gotten pretty dumb, but now I'm vested and DVR let's me watch it when nothing else is on.  And let's face it Jersey Shore is like a train wreck...you just can't help looking at it. 

Lovin' It

• My Mama is here!  Oh my goodness, I was so excited when my Mama pulled into my driveway Friday afternoon!  There's just nothing like your own mother's hugs...and cooking!!  We cooked dinner for her Friday night, fried shrimp and oysters.  Saturday, was a girls day of brunch at Mason's Grill, shopping, then honey mustard chicken wraps for dinner.  Sunday...oh man...a whole smoked ham, chicken & dumplin's, homemade focaccia bread, and blueberry yogurt pie!  MMM-mmm-MMM!  My mom needs her own cooking show, seriously.

The Red Headed Paula Dean :)

• My kitchen.  As my Mom and I cooked today I fell more in love with my kitchen.  It has the perfect ergonomic/working triangle layout.  Three people can each cook a dish at the same time with no problamo!  

 

• My husband's spending sprees.  Last week I came home to two new purchases made by my husband:

 

 

As I tried on my new running shoes while Drew was setting up our iPad, I was trying to figure out what I had done to deserve such awesome sussies.  Then my amazing husband says, "Now the ipad is for work."  "Wait what?" I said. "You mean I can't blog, facebook, pin on Pinterest, play Angry Birds, or shop on Rue La La all day everyday from MY ipad?!"  "Nope, I bought it for work," says my husband.  So then I realized that my shoes were the "consolation" purchase of sorts.  Ew...he's too smart for his own good!  (But I love my shoes and my terrible knees love them even more! Plus I downloaded the Rue La La app and Angry Birds when he wasn't looking.) ;)-

 

• My husband's hard work.  Saturday I took my Mom, sister, and niece to see the 7,300 square-foot(!) house Drew is building at the Country Club.  

I know right?! What a view from across the greens, this house sits on the ninth hole. (sigh)

Okay, okay I guess he can have the iPad for work...

• Laughing out loud.  While pinning I'll see something that just makes me crack up laughing and Drew can't stand not to know what I'm laughing about, so he get's sucked into Pinterest and we end up with our heads together searching various topics of interests.

LOL!

• My back porch frogs.  They live behind our porch stereo speakers, in the paper towels, and they love clinging to our back door.  They announce the coming afternoon showers with they're croaking, they come out to see what we're up to, and they eat tons of pesky mosquitoes. 

 

It has been an amazing weekend and of course it's gone by too quickly once again, but I hope you all are ready for the work week. Only five more days until the weekend begins again! :) 

t.i.l.t

We are a household divided when it comes to two very important things and when it comes to these two very important things Drew and I are completely unable & unwilling to compromise.  We have tried and tried to convince the other that our way is the best way, but each other's attempts fall on deaf ears and we turn up our noses at each other and agree to disagree about:  Toothpaste & Toilet Paper

So today I am loving my brands of toilet paper and toothpaste, Charmin and Colgate.

 (In case you're wondering Drew's favs are Angel Soft and Crest Vivid White.)

Next, I am loving two items that when combined make my taste buds pull up their beach chairs, stick their taste buddy toes in the sand, and say "Aaahhh."

Crystal Light Mojito Mocktail

Fresh Mint

 The perrrrfect Mojito!

(Feel free to add rum!)

Thirdly, I am loving a pre-excercise drink that the hubs started making for me.  The supplement that gives you that extra get-up-and-go is USP Lab's Jack3d

Pretty much ran 1.5 miles, then worked out with my trainer, then mulched my flower beds, then went for a bike ride.  Maybe "get-up-and-go" is an understatement?  Anyway, I love it and it comes in lots of flavors.

I'm also loving a non-uv tan specifically the Mystic Tan system.  Wrinkly, over-exposed skin is scary and skin cancer is even scarier.  But just because you don't want your skin to look like leather at the age of 30 doesn't mean you have to be pasty.  I've tried having an actual person airbrush my tan: a) It's slightly akward b) I streaked really bad.  But with the Mystic Tan system (at Planet Beach) I haven't had any problems with streaking or turning Jersey Shore orange.  Yep, I'm loving it.

Finally, I'm loving my life in general.  I don't want for much, I have everything I need, I pretty much do exactly what I want, I love my job, very few obligations outside of work, it's pretty much perfect.  God is indeed pretty awesome!  Yes, life is good, even more so when I'll be relaxing seaside this weekend.