A Lovely Life

I try to live my life based on a couple of principles: 1. Treat others as they treat you. 2. Do no harm. Take no shit. It happens all too often that I'm told to "curb it", "calm down" and essentially stifle my fiery nature and have been labeled a bitch or bitchy. Why? Is it because I'm being strong and standing up for myself? Or because I believe I deserve better? Or is it because all of that makes you uncomfortable? Curb it? No thanks. Not happening. If you're going to be straight forward, rude or down right abusive with me, then do not expect me to sit back and take it. If you're bold enough to treat me that way, then by all means be bold enough to take it in return. If my standing up for myself gets me the label of "bitch", then GREAT! Y'all can get me a monogrammed bag with B-I-T-C-H on the front and I will tote it proudly. I used to be apologetic about it and my mouth. While my mouth still gets me in trouble from time to...

Thanks for hanging out during this fun 10 Day YOU "Challenge".  This is the last day:   ONE Picture This was taken on our engagement trip to Jamaica in December of 2011.  It was the last night of this whirlwind adventure and I remember being so over the moon excited for what our future held!  If you're reading this, we should be in paradise currently.  Still as excited as ever.  Still filled with excitement about our future...we just happen to share the same last name now.   Stay tuned for pictures when we return!!

You and Me by Dave Matthews Our song.  The one that seemed to play the entire Summer we first started dating.  5 years ago this July.  Our wedding song.  Perfection. Fancy by Iggy Azalea My official Summer song for 2014.  It makes me wanna turn it up and dance!

1.   Cinderella.  Not sure you can call that a film, but dear GOD I love that freaking movie.  The Disney one of course.  Glass slippers, ball gowns, pumpkin carriages, mice friends...  When, I list that stuff out it sounds quite weird.  Either way, I LOVE a good fairy tale and this has been my favorite since about 4.  It was THE movie that I watched over and over and over again as a little one. 2.   Legends of the Fall.   It's a long one, but worth it.  This is one of those movies that takes you on a journey.  I loved the dynamic way all of the characters evolve. 3.   Napolean Dynamite.  Not really Oscar worthy, but one of those stupid cult classics that I just think is great.  A movie with no cursing and no sex is rare nowadays.  I also happen to be able to recite half the lines from it...

1.   Eat, Pray, Love.   Elizabeth Gilbert.  This is actually the first book I got that got me hooked on reading again.  I couldn't put this story of a woman's pretty ballsy journey in Italy, India and Indonesia.  Well worth the time to read it....great insight! 2.  Bossy Pants.   Tina Fey.  I've read some funny books, but this one had me hysterically LOL'ing while simultaneously crying during a flight back from California.  It was a random airport buy (I liked the orange cover) and is one of my favorite books.  I want to be Tina Fey's BFF.  3. T he Kitchen House.  Kathleen Grissom.  This is one of the only books that didn't come recommended by a friends, but was chosen by yours truly based on Amazon.com reviews.  It's one of those books that sucks you in resulting in a quick read because you simply can't put it down.  Not an easy read necessarily, but a GREAT one! 4.   East of Eden.  John St...

1. Mac and cheese.  I prefer my own home made, but will KILL a box of Kraft.  Don't hate on that blue box, y'all. 2.   Potatoes in pretty much any form.  French fries are my #1, but I love them mashed, roasted, as pancakes, baked, as chips.  You get the idea. 3.   Sour Patch Kids.  We rarely go to the movies, but when we do I've gotta have my little yellow bag of kids.  And not the knock off version either.   4.   Broccoli.  Because I had to put something healthy on this list and because I've been in love with this veggie since infancy (or that's what my mom's told me).  It's my go-to veggie! 5.   Cheeseburgers.  Like, the good ones.  Well cooked, great cheese, perfectly toasted bun...yes!  I don't have a favorite place here in Atlanta, however, I am open to suggestions.

Happy Friday, y'all!  Let's continue our the YOU Challenge, shall we?  This is one that will not be difficult and one I've been excited to post about! SIX Places 1.   Jamaica.  Our surprise engagement trip and my first trip out of the country.  Absolute perfection! 2.   California.  I was born there and haven't lived there since I was 6, but it will forever be home to me.  My family and so many amazing memories are there.  <3 3.   England.  My family is English and while I haven't been, it holds so many sweet stories and an entire side of my family I haven't met (yet - planning a trip in Winter!). 4.   Antigua.  We spent 14 days of pure paradise on our honeymoon. 5.   Georgia.   Where we met, married and have our first home.  The place my husband was born and raised.  Where I met my very best friend in the world.  Where Frank was born.  ;-)  H-O-M-E 6.   Grenad...

If you've been missing for a bit, I've decided to do the Ten Day YOU Challenge.  I love sharing things and thought it would be a good exercise in regularly blogging.  :-) SEVEN Wants 1.  A content home life...no one is ever happy all the time.  I'd like to continue to say that our life in our little home is perfectly content and on the upside of happy! 2.  A family.  I've always known I've wanted a husband and little ones, so we're laying the foundation for that one day. 3.  Another dog...WHY AM I SAYING THIS?!  Because I do.  Frank needs a friend, y'all.  4.  The ability to retire.  Planning, saving and more planning! 5.  To be able to travel more.  Not necessarily more frequently, but I'd love to be able to continue crossing places off of our bucket list.  We're doing pretty well so far! 6.  A new bike.  Shh....I haven't really talked to J about this.  ;-) 7.  To continuously ...

Continuing with the "challenge" :   EIGHT Fears 1.  Heights.  6'1" and PETRIFIED of heights... 2.  Failure. 3.  Ants...less of a fear and more of a creepy, crawly, make me jump around kinda thing. 4.  Crowds of new people.  I'm SUPER awkward! 5.  Drowning in a Tsunami....while I realize this is pretty unlikely, still a fear. 6.  My teeth falling out.  Like, all at the same time.  Anyone else have those weird nightmares?! 7.  Loosing all I've worked so hard for. 8.  No blog readers.  :-D

Yesterday, I started a fun, 10 Day Challenge . Here's Day 2! NINE Loves Justin ...almost 5 years together and I'm more in love with this guy than ever. Family (this does NOT represent all of them!) I forever wish we lived closer to some of the best people I know!! My Bestie There are a MILLION words to describe this lovely lady, but my favorite is BEAUTY! Frank How can you NOT love those ears?! Workin' at Peachtree Bikes 3 Years at this place and the last 6 months have been the craziest!  Thankful to have a job that I love and challenges me. Travel We've been to some beautiful places and have so many more trips planned!  Life is wonderful traveling with people you love. Our Home Our first place together!  We're blessed beyond measure to have a place to call "home". Wine Because, duh. Macaroni and Cheese I think if I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, this would be it....

I recently saw this on another blog and thought I'd join in the fun! So, today I share TEN Secrets/Truths: 1. I have a random fear that reaching my arms over my head in a room with a ceiling fan will result in my losing my hands. 2.  I am 6'1" and am petrified of heights.  Random, I know. 3.  If I could eat carbs EVERY day without any health or weight consequences I would.  Potatoes, pasta, bread...yum! 4.  I've never been ice skating or rollerblading.  Ever.   5.  I LOVE terrible, trashy, "reality" TV.  6.  My engagement story is one of the best ever (I may be a bit partial) and I really wish more people would ask, "How did you get engaged?" 7.  If I won the lottery, I'd pay off all my bills and never tell anyone. 8.  I had to delete Candy Crush off my phone because I was afraid I'd become one of "those" people who started paying out the wazoo for "extra lives". 9.  I'm a constant worrier.   10. ...

It's pretty apparent that I love a good list.   So, I thought I'd take a moment to make a list of things I'm loving right now just because.  :-) theSkimm. theSkimm is a daily email that I get with a quick version of the goings on in the world.  It gives me just enough info to be the "know" without having to read through a million news reports.  Check it out:   www.theskimm.com Julep.  LOVING this right now!  This is an service that sends you $40 worth of beauty products for $19 each month automatically.  What you receive is based on a quick and fun quiz to get your style profile.  You're given one of 5 different style profiles and that's how they determine what to send you each month.  I've already gotten 2 shipments and have loved the products I've gotten!  What I love even more is that your first box of goodies is FREE and once you're "in" you get a ton of great coupons, free shipping and sneak peaks of future products! ...

Tuesday ended up being the single worst traffic day in Atlanta.  That's not official or anything, but I'm willing to bet. Like we often do in the Georgia winters, we had a threat of snow for Tuesday afternoon.  95% of the time nothing happens and, if it does, it's nothing to call home to mom about.  Once every few years, we find ourselves shut down because of icy conditions that make it impossible to get anywhere.  I'm one of those people who never believe the weathermen when they say it's going to snow, because it usually doesn't...cut to Tuesday around noon. It started snowing.  A lot.  And then it started sticking.  And then, around 1-ish, every school in metro Atlanta let out along with every business causing a mass exodus of what is estimated at 1,000,000 cars.  That's one MILLION.  On roads that can barely handle our normal rush hour traffic.  In conditions that were dismal.  Snow quickly turns to ice in the South and bec...

Here's the thing...I LOVE order.  I love lists.  I love having a plan.  I love clean.  I love straightened.  I love things that have places to go and actually end up there...It's been mentioned that I have a very Type A/OCD personality.  When I get mad, I clean , y'all.  Ridiculous.   Being Type-A comes in handy when someone needs help with organization, lists and note taking.  Oh!  I love a good notebook!!!   Being Type-A can also be a little frustrating because, I tend to find myself striving for the impossible:  perfection.  I thought I may be a bit crazy until I saw this article that changed the way I look at myself:   16 Signs You're A Little (Or A Lot) Type A on Huffington Post.  I read all 16 points and identified with exactly 15 of them.  FIFTEEN, y'all!  I had J read it and he jokingly said that it should actually just be called, "Type H" because I'm pretty much modeled after the persona...

I've stated before that I'm learning more and more as I get older how important it is to truly cultivate my relationships.  Every relationship takes work whether it be a spouse, family member or friend.  Close relationships are a gift.  Especially if they span years.   I was listening to my local morning show on the drive in this morning and one of the DJ's talked about this blog she found.  In a recent post, the blogger made a list of the the important parts of having girlfriends.  It's geared to her young daughter and you can read her post here  and go check her blog out at  www.thehouseofhendrix.com.  She's got some awesome advice on there. I felt the need to share this list with my own best friend today.  While not everything will apply at times or maybe ever, the advice is solid.  Check it out and if you're blessed to have some special girlfriends in your life, share it with them, too! 35 things I want my daughter to kno...

There is something about getting mail out of a mail box that makes me so giddy.  I know that most people grow out of this, but I seem to be loving it more and more.  That's funny, too, because after hand writing all our save-the-dates, invitations and thank you cards from our wedding season you wouldn't think that writing anything else would sound appealing.  I actually think that all that writing to people helped cultivate my love for a handwritten note that much more! Letter writing reminds me of being a kid and being excited about receiving little stamped notes in the post.  I recently thought to myself, "why did I stop writing letters again?".  So, I  actually made it a mini goal to start hand writing letters more.  Just because.   In an age of emails, blogs :-), social networking, etc, etc, it's nice to remember how it feels to sit down in a quiet room and write a little note to someone to say hi.  I also happen to LOVE finding adorabl...