:: the neesby lookbook ::

Ok. I confess. I'm a pathetic sap.

2012-03-04T23:25:00.001-06:00

I have recorded about 75% of all the text messages Hubs has ever sent me.

Lamely, pathetically sappy, no?!

{and ps it does make it easy that he's not a big texter}

I love going back and reading these little messages . . .

and remember those feelings that came with them.

It's like my own book of mini love letters.

SOooo to celebrate our nine months of being married today

I thought I would share some of my favorites:

January 11, 2010

Hey nicole! This is adam. What time r u taking off outta john wayne airport? There’s a chance I can come by and c u off. U can just text/call this # back b/c my regular phone’s still broken

{the day i was flying out of california and he flew his airplane to meet me and say goodbye.

coincidentally, the day we started dating}

January 15, 2010

Good morning, Beautiful! Just thinking of u

{this was first time he called me beautiful. i was sitting at the library and my heart dropped into my tummy}

January 21, 2010

Hey nicole! For the record, u r ridiculously gorgeous. Just had 2 say it. Hope ur having a good day

February 11, 2010

Good! Just thinking about this red-haired Beauty. I know. I went 2 the beach 2day. IT was beautiful. I was thinking we gotta go havea picnic there when u come.

March 8, 2010
Hey babe I just watched all of january’s videos on the blog. I couldn’t pull myself away. U r just WAY 2 beautiful & wonderful & perfect. Missing u terribly.

March 31, 2010
Hey baby! I’m done w/ the movie if u wanna chat. Feel free 2 sleep if ur tired tho. I totally understand. Can’t wait 2 c u!! Holding my breathe and my heart for you.

April 22, 2010
Hey Babe! I know ur probably in bed so no need to reply but wanted to let you know I’m praying for you & thinking about you. Sorry u had a rough night. Sleep well, Beautiful…

May 5, 2010
15 minutes!! Here in Cali u can wait for hrs! People start pulling out their cots and sleeping bags and start filling out temporary change of address forms.
{this was in response to informing him that DOT lines in Iowa take 15 minutes to get through. . .
as he stood in line in california for over an hour}

October 15, 2010
Hey Love! I’m at the same terminal u came out of on dec 15^th, 2009 – where all the magic started. Its bringing back a lot of memories. I love u sooo much

October 20, 2010
Forget kissing and driving. I don’t think I could kiss & walk @ the same time ;-) all sorts of accidents would occur. I luv u soo much baby. How’s ur day going?

November 3, 2010
Man! I stinking hate goodbyes, especially the part where I can’t c u anymore. That’s when it always hits me. I love u soo much baby & will b praying 4u. Luv u!
{after saying goodbye from a two day visit to california}

November 25, 2010
I love u sooo much baby! Can’t wait 2 talk & cuddle & catch up. U r the joy of my life. Ps. U looked super HOT 2day

December 4, 2010
I luv u!! I luv u!! I luv u!! I luv u!!

Decemeber 9, 2010
Just because I can’t say ‘I love u’ enough! Hope us enjoy the movie Baby & I NEEEEDDDD a pic of ur smokin’ HOT self. Call me when free tonight. Oh & did I tell u that I luv u

Ps. I’m drooling ;-)

January 15, 2011
Sorry baby love that I had 2 go so fast. I am so powerfully in love w/ u

January 23, 2011
I luv u sooo much my Love! Unfortunately skype was acting up & wouldn’t let me use the keypad. So I gave skype a bad report card and figured I’d try a lil later

February 22, 2011
I miss u sooo bad! I’m useless at work

March 11, 2011
Hey Lovie Sorry the pic is all fuzzy. It’s a drink cap w/ the words “miss u like crazy!” and I just wanted to say that I totally concur. Life is not fun w/o u!!

April 19, 2011
Thx for coming back to IA for me :-D I know Mississippi was warmer. I luv bring w/ u! Luving u…

May 9, 2011
U looked really really really cute tonight and by cute I mean hot!! I made it home safe luv. I love you

May 31, 2011
Hey baby! How's ur morning going? I love you!! Ps. I got my vows done!

June 4, 2011
Cant wait 2 c u hottie
- - -

What makes you pathetically sappy?!
Happy new week, Lovelies.
xo

Weekend Love V.9

2012-03-03T18:47:00.000-06:00

*posting this a day early as i have something special for tomorrow
happy weekend lovelies.

- - - -

{1} I still get teary-eyed when I think about our wedding. . . and those days of being engaged.
Loveloveloved it all.
Go here and here for engagement-adorable-overload

{2} Pretty please don't throw your scraps away.
Look at all the awesome stuff you can make?!

{3} Back on the wedding band wagon. . .
Check out this gorgeous bride and the story of finding her dress.

{4} DIY Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs?!

Umm. . . hello scrumptious!

{5} This gorgeous couple met in a airport. Whaa-whaat?!?!

Their blog is full of so much simple beauty from life.

{6} Right now I'm dreaming about summer parties. . .
with lemonade in mason jars on ice. Hmmmm

{7} I am also so excited for spring skirt wearing
{isn't Sydney's style totes adorbs?!}

{8} I just adore this room. And the tall art.

{9} Fall may be long gone, but Cinnamon Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
GET IN MY STOMACH!

{10} Lastly, do you want a heartfelt blog full of beauty and love?!

Get yer cute little bums over to Enjoying The Small Things.

Prepare to fall in love.

Friday Files {edition twenty}

2012-03-02T12:08:00.000-06:00

:: Lately the area around my body has become cranky-pants-central and I don't like it. Why be mad at stupid stuff that means nothing?! Praying daily for more fruits of the Spirit.

:: I was an awesome wife this week as I made homemade blueberry muffins, green springy cupcakes AND the most delish soft chocolate chip cookies. To counteract the awesomeness, I left all the dishes in the sink. . .

:: When it comes to choosing curtains for our windows, I become a neurotic-indecisive person. Never can quite make up my mind. It's like a revolving curtain/door.

:: Running shoes. Get the on my feet. This is your last warning lest I cut the from me forever.
{the shoes, not the feet. and not like that would do me much good. . . whateves}

:: I hate our sink water. So I buy big jugs of filtered water and drink straight outta the gallon. It's always a bit awkward when I'm taking a swig at a stop light. Uhh, hello other cars. Don't mind the cow guzzling from the water tough here.

:: You know that line in Anne of Green Gables {The Continuing Story} when Anne is crying because Jack stole her story and Gil is comforting her and saying how impulsive she is by rushing headlong into things, but he still loves her?! Sometimes I feel like that.

Like last Saturday when I decided on a whim to rip the paneling off our bedrooms walls. In the words of a friend, maybe it would have been cheaper to take that trip to Arizona. Lucky for me Husband is hot when he's a carpenter began the remodeling process without any nasty glares or cranky words. He's just a stud like that.

- - -

Happy Friday, Lovelies.

If you are wondering what we're up to, we'll be in the kitchen doing dishes.

To Celebrate Spring. . .

2012-03-01T10:59:00.000-06:00

Or the mere fact that it's March The First

and that basically counts as spring

{despite the fact that my winter coat is still on}

I present you a chance to win this gorgeous floral scarf

from the beautiful Shelby from

the blog, The Osmonds

I promise you will literally look like a puff of sunshine and blossoms

and no matter what the thermometer says, you will be springy and happy.

True story.

* Must follower The Neesby Lookbook AND Shelby's blog to enter

For additional entries

:: follow me on twitter

:: follow me on bloglovin

:: tweet about this lovely giveaway

:: blog about it toooo

Please comment ONCE for each entry.

Belly Laughing

2012-02-29T08:54:00.000-06:00

After driving school bus this morning

this text popped up on my phone

Thx baby! I luv u too

Thanks?

For what?!

Scroll to outbox. . .

where I find this message I did not send

I luv u adam. U r the sexiest thing ever!!!

Then it was speed dial 2.

Husband answered with a bit of laughter in his hello.

Which was followed by a solid 60 seconds of hard belly laughing from both of us.

Gosh. I love this boy.

The way he makes me laugh from his own two-sided text conversations.

The way he kisses my face all over when I'm mad other people for silly stuff.

The way he has taken my life and turned it all upside down and wonderful.

The way he fights for us.

The way he loves.

Psst.

What are you loving about your boy today?!

Make sure you give 'im a big kiss and let him know.

Little Bits

2012-02-28T14:26:00.000-06:00

I am too quick to judge the value of life according to how many awesome things we do

how many trips we take

how many adventures we embark on

how many crazy stories we have to tell.

Today I'm focusing on the happy little bits that make life just perfect. . .

- - -

green spring cupcakes

a brand new layout for our front room

{i think i'm obsessed with moving furniture around. it's like a free redo. whoop!}

cards from little sister

blueberries that are too sour for eating

{time to make something from here?}

kitchen colors finally chosen

a new little soap dish I made

{inspiration from here}

fabric for new curtains

- - -

what little things are you celebrating today?!

I learned a lot of stuff this weekend

2012-02-27T13:31:00.000-06:00

1. Tai food is delish. . . as is tai iced tea

2. Sometimes I have to tell Husband what I want. He can't read my mind

3. Forever21 already sold out of my favorite pink skirt before I could buy one.

My summer wardrobe is officially ruined

4. My friend Maria makes the best dang bread. With three ingredients

5. Back massages are a sixth love language for Husband. It's like my magic wand

6. I need to start a blog series to record date night. Not because it will be a real hit with the folks,

but rather so that we can always remember

7. By putting time into learning to resolve conflict in these early days of marrige,

we are laying a precious foundation for a long satisfying relationship

8. I am officially ready for spring

9. Choose to use intimacy in marriage as the incredibly valuable asset it is

instead of a tool for manipulation

{true story}

and oh yeah.

10. Sometimes you should curb your impulsive desire to remove the

ugly paneling on your bedroom walls

or else you mind find something like this underneath:

Happy Monday Lovelies!

Weekend Love V.8

2012-02-26T09:06:00.001-06:00

{1} I love all the happiness in these vacations pictures.
And I'm adoring the bright colors of all her arm bracelets. . . just saying.

{2} Grab your kleenex and watch this touching adoption story

{3} I randomly found this beautiful girl's blog. . . and it's all
about finding happiness in the everyday. Mhmm.

{4} Who woulda thought a home so full of white could be so beautiful?!
I adore Katie's blog so much I am sharing two little beauties from it.

{5} This is actually a pretty sweet list of random acts of kindness.

How rockin' cool could we be?!

{6} How cute are these tiny vintage flower pins?!

{7} How adorable is Promise wearing her Hubby's clothes?!

{8} Do you remember one of my favorite bloggers, Jess?!

Can you believe she now has a perfectly lovely foodsie blog?!

Get yo bum over there and droooool.

{9} I'm kinda craving some house redo's.

How cool is this basement wall mural?!

{10} And just because any post is not complete without some baby love.

Be.still.my.soul.

What's your favorite web find this week?!
Spread the love, yo!
xo

Shop My Closet

2012-02-25T15:12:00.000-06:00

So here's the scoop, yo.

Yesterday I walked into Forever 21

and literally fell.in.love

with their spring collections.

Duuuude. So much perfect loveliness I melted into a puddle on the floor.

Soo o o o --

I went through my closet today and took out some stuff I rarely/never wear.

Which means you have a lucky chance to score some

awesome pieces for supersduperscheaps.

Check it out here.

Yes. You are welcome.

xoxo

Road Trip To Arizona - - Juuust kiddding.

2012-02-25T12:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes life requests crazy things of us.

Then sometimes it just asked that we be flexible.

You could almost call this weekend

'Crazy-turned-lazy'

The day before we were to leave on our long 25 hour drive to Arizona

Husband found out that instead of the three days of vacation time

he thought was available, there were only three hours.

It quickly turned from

'wow-this-is-gonna-make-money-a-bit-tight'

'now-this-is-just-plain-financial-suicide'

The lesson I learned from this.

Sometimes we have to have the humility to admit that we can't do everything.

Sometimes we have to be flexible enough for a change of plans.

Sometimes life is just unpredictable and that's ok.

So instead of coffee and toothpicks keeping our eyes open

for 50 hours of driving in a 5 day span,

we plan to spend our weekend cuddling in bed,

catching up on our favorite shows,

making some yummy eats,

date night,

dinner with some of our favorite people

and teaching Hubs the perfect way to make toast.

Cheers to the continued adventures of life. . .

no matter where they may take us.

Dear . . .

2012-02-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

{circa january 2011}

Dear Besty Friend.
I wish I was back on the beach with you right now.
Or going out for frozen yogurt.
Or just sitting and chatting about everything and nothing.
I miss you.

Dear Bus Trip.
Thanks for not starting until 7:30 am.
Sleeping IN 'til 6:20 was heaven on earth.
Sad, but true.

Dear Deer.
Please stay far from our car while we drive to Arizona.
It may be the middle of February, but there is no snow.
Go back to the North Pole.

Dear Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
People are begging for your recipe.
'Cuz, dude. You are the crème de la crème of midnight snacks.
We should begin a long term relationship.

Dear Husband.

I am proud of us for working through conflict and decisions and stuff like that.

You rock at drawing me out.

I think I'll keep you forever.

PS. You are the kindest, sweetest dish washer ever.

Dear Thrift Store.

I love the vintage maps for 5 cents,

the little metal filing drawer for $1.50

and two little bird statues for 50 cents.

You are my hero these days and I thank you for that.

Dear Bro.

Thanks for taking me to lunch at my favorite pizza place in the world.

I think you are a pretty cool dude.

But not just because you feed me.

Dear Road Trip.

May you be full of caffeine, chocolate and memories.

And may your 24 hours of driving create little tiredness.

Dear Kids in China.

I am going to share your stories with college students in a couple days.

I pray they are inspired to come meet you in person.

Because you are all so strong and beautiful and brave.

And I love you.

Dear Bloggy Friends.

You make my day.

Everyday.

xoxo

A Little Bitta CrAzee

2012-02-22T11:50:00.001-06:00

One of my biggest fears in life is settling.

Settling for a 'normal' life.

Settling for less than the dreams God would have for us.

Settling for only secure life, instead of one of adventures.

Settling less than what life should actually be.

This past week Adam and I have been agonizing over a decision about a long weekend trip to Arizona.

It went something like this.

Hubs really wanted to take a trip to visit his college/college pastor/friends.

I thought we could make it a partial work trip by me doing several speaking events for Bring Me Hope.

Perfect scenario, right?! Part of the trip being paid for by work. Makes it cheaper for us.

Ahaa. We are traveling, vacationing geniuses.

Until suddenly things fell apart this week.

Funds in the bank accounts were freakishly low.

Time off work became a bit dicey.

Airline tickets skyrocketed somewhere into the extraterrestrial heavens.

Our renter for the upstairs fell through at the last minute.

After lots of prayer and talking and researching the best option

we finally decided to drive that whole entire way to Arizona together.

Holymolymama. What are we, cu-rayzee?!

Seriously though, Adam and I love being together.

We love making memories.

Because life can sometimes be cut much shorter than we would hope.

As we have started our family, we have decided

that life is too short to allow money or practicality to manipulate our decisions.

Of course I am not saying this should be done in a thoughtless, irresponsible ways

{ei. credit cards, neglecting family needs, not being in unity as a couple, etc}

But rather, does money become the driving force in life

or do relationships?!

Sometimes it's fun to look back at the risks and crazy adventures

we have taken already. It's so true that once they are past

you always have those memories and I rarely find myself regretting it.

Take for example:

{buying our first house just two months after getting married}

{moving to California for a month}

{two week trip to China}

{emergency trip to Mexico to visit seester}

{one crazy road trip to meet our adorable niece, Juliet}

I am so thankful that Adam and I view life very similarly. . . otherwise this lifestyle would not work.

Also, please know that I am not saying this is the best or only way to live.

It just works for us and I choose to celebrate that.

Because like Mark Twain said:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Happy Wednesday to you, Lovelies!

xoxo

- - -

AQuestioningPS

What's the craziest adventure you have ever taken?

How do you and your Hubby make these decisions together?!

DoublePS

don't forget to check out my guest post over here today!

{Tutorial} Eco-Friendly Seed Pots

2012-02-21T11:27:00.000-06:00

One of my goals for this month was to start an indoor herb garden

inspired by this and the hope of yummy fresh mint tea or herbs in dinner.

I decided I wanted to start the plants from seeds

and dude. . . it's so easy you can too.

{Don't judge me if the seeds never grow and the paper pots turn into a moldy mess}

- - -

You will need:

: newspaper from your recycle bin

: a tin can to use as a mold

: a basket or crate to hold the pots

: dirt

: seeds

: water

some prayers for actual growth

Begin by cutting the papers into long strips.

Use a tin can as a mold to wrap several layers of paper around.

Crimp the button edge towards the center, creating a natural binding and bottom.

Place as many pots as you can make into your basket or crate.

Fill with potting dirt and plant herb seeds according to package directions.

Water them. Love them. Encourage their growth.

Enjoy fresh herbs from the comfort

of your own kitchen*

*still waiting for this step to happen

The great thing about these is that you are not only saving money by not

purchasing mini seedling pots,

but you are also recycling paper in a great way.

When the seedlings are grown, you can easily transplant directly into your

garden or larger pots. The newspaper becomes a natural compost.

Soo o o o, basically you become an eco-friendly rock star.

Without even barely trying.

Booyah.

Heck. Before it's all over, I may just have to plant myself an entire garden with these things.

Then I could potentially become a kitchen rock star too . . .

or something.

- - -

What plants, flowers or veggies would you start in these pots?!

xoxo

{original idea and inspiration from this post}

{Why I Blog} Community

2012-02-20T13:42:00.000-06:00

Remember my trip to China and how I wrote out a blog series about Why I Blog?!

{you can catch up here, here and here}

I've had more thoughts on some bloggy stuff and thought

I need to get it off my chest today.

I have done lots of studying into how people grow their blogs.

I have asked successful bloggers.

I have read heaps of articles.

{my favorite is from Casey here}

I have studied those people who seem to be doing something right.

One thing that really seemed to stand out to me was this.

Connect.connect.connect with your readers.

One particularly successful blogger

said she responds to each and every person who comments on her posts.

Seriously?! This is impressive beyond belief as she regularly has well over 50 comments a day.

Her reasons were genuine.

Wanting to show an interest in the lives of her readers.

To build that relationship with them.

So I told myself, I can do that. Especially if it grows my blog.

And thus began a commenting marathon.

It didn't take long before I had this epiphany.

{with a little help and conviction from this amazing article}

What if I am commenting back to every single person . . .

are they visiting my blog and commenting because they genuinely have something to say as true friends

or because they know I will be hopping right over to say something to them?!

What if my entire blog is built around this ping-pong game,

what happens when life gets crazy and I can no longer keep it up?!

Will this 'community' of friends suddenly disappear?

Worst of all.

What if I get one, two, five years down the road

and look back with regret over all the hours I spent distracted from

living out my real purpose for blogging:

Journaling about this life Husband and I are creating and celebrating the gift it is.

Sooo o o o. . .

I came to this humbling decision.

I choose not to operate my blog this way.

I choose to focus on building a genuine community of friends from this blog.

However and in whatever way this happens.

I choose to allow this blog to grow as slowly or as little as it naturally will happen.

I choose to make my Husband and my family my first priority.

I choose to live to the fullest and allow those outpourings to be reflected here.

DISCLAIMER:

I am NOT judging anyone who chooses to operate their blog differently.

I am NOT bashing said successful blogger for her personal choices. I respect and admire those.

I am NOT saying it's wrong to actively focus on growing your blog through various methods.

I am NOT saying I only want to grow a blog with zero relationships.

I am ONLY sharing my own heart and desires for my OWN blog.

INVITATION:

I AM inviting anyone to join this blogging community I am creating here everyday.

I AM inviting you to comment and interact as you will.

{like this}

I AM saying I will continue reading your comments and responding to questions or comments you make

I AM inviting you to follow me on Twitter so we can stay easily connected that way.

Dude. It is my new favorite way to have conversations with you lovelies.

Find me here. Or don't. :)

I AM encouraging each of you to remember where your first love and time belongs.

Our families and friends real. More than a web page that will someday be gone.

- - -

Oyohboyohboy.

Thus ends my words. All 2349063 of them.

Now I'm off to spray paint one of my $2 chairs or finish my little herb garden

or maybe just make myself something yummy to eat and then go for a run.

Or not. . .

Happy Monday to you, Lovelies.

xoxo

The Party

2012-02-18T15:29:00.000-06:00

Pink & Red Banner: handmade

Heart Window Garland: handmade

Tissue Puffs: handmade

Assorted vases, table cloth, & laces: thrifted

Menu: Strawberries, Cupcakes, Sugar Cookies, Thin Mints,

Conversation Hearts, & Strawberry Water

The Cute Girls: Mine!

Friday Files {edition nineteen}

2012-02-17T20:46:00.000-06:00

: I may or may not need to learn to stand up straight. Hello crooked back.

: I also may or may not have put on any makeup for our awesome Valentines Party. Sometimes a neeked face shows true love. Or so I tell myself.

: If you are wondering what those scratches all over my arms are, wonder no more. They are the scratches from all the crumbs we roll over every night. Dude. How can you resist eating pizza and cuddling at the same time. It's the epitome of multi-tasking. Try it sometime.

: It's a little embarrassing to think of the high and lofty thoughts I had of myself before getting married. This past week, my utter selfishness slammed me in the face on multiple occasions. Thank God for grace.

: Half price Valentines candy is kicking my butt. And waist. Boo.

: Do you want to come over and eat dinner some night?! Huh. Too bad it's a mountain of bills and useless papers. Sucks to be you me.

: Remember this month's goals. Yeah. . . Nooo. I still have 12 days to redeem myself. Lucky for me it's a leap year, hallelujah.

- - -

AwesomePS

I'm literally pumped out my mind because this weekend is the first that

Hubs and I have been home together, alone

for four weeks.

Gol. That's a long time.

We plan to cuddle

Watch shows

Cuddle

Eat heaps of more butt-kickin' foods

Date night

Cuddle

Clean the bathroom

Maybe do one or a half of the things on my goals list

Hello awesome weekend. . .

how I love thee.

Because I'm A Bragging Auntie Now. . .

2012-02-16T15:31:00.000-06:00

I Really Kinda Wanna One Now

Boy, Does My Man Look Hot With A Baby

- - -

Gosh, there are so many good titles for this post

and I couldn't resist sharing the gorgeousness with you all right away.

And PS I really have fallen in love with baby Juliet.

Haven't you?!

xoxo

i heart roadtrips

2012-02-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

: trucks stops for refills on caffeine and overpriced gas

: mountains

: did i mention i hate the overpriced gas?!

: watching the boy shave in the car

: kissing at the red lights until the cars start honking from behind

: looping through all 107 radio channels

: family tiiiime

: visits with some of my favorite redhead buddies in denver

: breakfast at the famous omelet hut

: watching the boys be boys

: and baby. did i mention baby?!

: did i also mention i'm a goob and didn't get the photos from bro's camera?!?

guess you gotta stay tuned for more soon. . .

duuuuude.

I've Kinda Run Out Of Awesome Titles With The Word Love In Them

2012-02-15T12:32:00.000-06:00

My little sisters rock.

As do Valentines Day parties with them.

We ate pink cupcakes and heart cookies until we could roll

ourselves around on our cute little bums.

Then we made little flower hair clips from this awesome tutorial.

It was just perfectly wonderful in the most wonderfulest way.

{more pictures coming soon}

As I mentioned yesterday, the love holiday didn't quite go as I had planned.

It all started while we were driving those long 13 hours through the night

to get home from the awesome trip to Colorado

{also more on that soon}

It was almost 2:00blearyo'clock in the morning.

Hubs and I had just switched drivers and I was cuddling cramped

down to sleep in the front seat when I sat up in horror after

the loudest, scariest crash on the side of our car.

Then next thing I know I'm clawing Hubs' arm for all I'm worth

and I'm screaming for God to help us.

We had hit a deer and literally lost control of our car.

I saw us veer straight towards the median

then hard right to the ditch.

Somehow God gave us a shallow ditch to careen into.

Somehow He allowed no other cars to be around.

Somehow our car was still drive-able.

Somehow we avoided a bridge that was just a quarter of a mile ahead.

God rocks, people.

Then it was a fury of shaking hugs and of course me sobbing

into Hubs chest how scared I was.

The next two hours included us getting stuck in the snow

then the mud underneath.

Calls to AAA. Runs down the road to figure out where-in-the-heck-of-Nebraska are we?!

Uhh, yeah. Hello AAA. Do you know where Crooked Mud Creek is? Cuz that's where we are.

{that was Husband running. not me. bless that boy}

Then the waiting. And finally the dragging out.

Finished by hot dogs from the closest truck stop and chants of constant

deer searching the rest of the night.

All the whole long boring monologue to say this.

The delays and tiredness from said insane

road trip, rather crimped our plans for the rest of Valentines Day.

It got me thinking. . .

Why has society defined this day too look

like overpriced red roses

truffles and

diamonds?

Why are expensive dinners the only expectable option?

And why must my feelings be hurt if any of the above is missing?!

Why can't a day spent together simply living life

or a movie and pizza while cuddling in bed

or even just the gift of life itself

be enough worth celebrating?!

Even just the fact that for so long I have dreamed of being married to

my best friend and that last night we got to go to sleep together in

our very own bedded mountain of blankets?!

This is real love, peoples.

And it's worth celebrating every single day of the year.

xoxo

TeenyPS

Hey you lucky girl, Vanisha!

You are the winner of the big giveaway!

Please email me your info.

While the rest of us will heave soft jealous sobs

over your loot. . .

True Love

2012-02-14T19:10:00.000-06:00

Soo o o o

my Valentines Day didn't go quite like I planned.

Then again I'm just thankful to be alive today.

But more on that tomorrow. . .

If you want to finish off your day of love with a blog post that will touch your heart and make you cry

please click here and check out what true love looks like.

I am unbelievably proud of my sister and the way

she is loving on the kids

in Mexico.

Can you imagine four girls from a poor rural village at a tea party!?

Can you imagine helping them celebrate a day they probably have never experienced before?!

Can you imagine the true love they felt from their toes to their fingertips?!

That's real love folks.

Period.

Happy Valentines Day from us to you.

xoxo

Love Day -1

2012-02-13T14:35:00.001-06:00

Tomoorrow* is love day, peoples. Whoopwhoop.

*should be pronounced with a Canadian accent

And I'm literally pumped out of my mind. Fo realza, yo.

First we must make it through that grueling 13 hour drive home tonight.

Then make the cupcakes and frost the cookies.

Lastly hang the bower of pink and red.

It will be lovely beyond loVVeely.

{i think i am fast becoming a partyaholic. it's just so dang fun to plan the awesomeness}

What are your big plans?!

- - -

Also PS. Pictures of my most beautiful baby girl niece coming tomorrow.

Died and went to cuteness heaven. True story.

You Are Never Too Old For Birthday Tents

2012-02-12T15:42:00.001-06:00

I literally had so much fun planning Hubs 30th birthday!!

I ran home in between bus routes to set up all the awesomeness

and after a couple hours of fanangling sheets, bits of fabric, curtain pieces, puffy blankets

with heaps of balloons and streamers

{and about 207 paper clips}

I created this magical little place to bring my birthday boy home to after

his birthday dinner and a movie.

And I'm not gonna lie.

The fifty plus teeny tea lights turned our front room

into the most romantic, relaxing

almost magical spot.

I think the boy was pretty happy.

I continue to be a firm believer that birthdays are the special day of the year

where YOU and only you are celebrated for just the way you are.

It kinda makes me pumped to be married

to this boy forever and to have babies and

to continue to create heaps

of tents and cakes and

special memories

together.

- - -

InformationPS
Don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway here.
Who doesn't want chocolate, a necklace and a custom watercolor painting?!
No duh. Seriously.
Winner drawn tonight.
Get your buns over there. Now.
xo

Friday Files {edition eighteen}

2012-02-10T10:21:00.000-06:00

random awesome? thrift finds in mexico

gosh i miss this girl

:: Thrifting is fast becoming my rediscovered obsession. How can I resist two dollar chairs and a tiny glass plate for a quarter?!

:: Yesterday I wore fuzzy heart socks. Uber fashion faux pa, but sometimes comfort must trump beauty.

:: I think I lost a library book. And I'm a little bit freaking out. It's probably like $57.98 to replace it all 126 pages of it.

:: Heart sugar cookies with pink frosting and carrot sticks are my lazy-girl-breakfast.

:: Husband and I are exceedingly proud of ourselves when we clean the entire house in one night. It's like we are clean-freak-ninjas or something. Then it's like. Wow. This is what normal people do everyday.

:: I chose the most depressing movie to take the boy to for his birthday. How's that for ringing in year 30?! {at least the rest of the night was awesomesauce. stay tooooned}

:: We literally lock ourselves out of our house on a weekly basis. It's just that pathetic. Maybe we should get smart and make 234,957 copies of our keys?! #somedaywewillgetsmart

:: I am dying of need for ideas of cute winter footwear besides boots. This is where you lovelies swoop in and save the day by enlightening me in the comments. ReadysetGO.

- - -

Happy lovely-glorious-delicious Friday to ya.

I am quite beside myself to be with the boy for 13 hours straight in our car.

Music, dance parties, unhealthy snacks out the bahoozle, reading to each other.

I predict heaps of perfect memories to be made.

Toy Love

2012-02-09T11:43:00.000-06:00

It's fun seeing my toys featured here today.

Visit my the shop and receive a 25% off coupon through the end of this week! Whoop!!

Wouldn't every kiddo would love a snake or pocket doll in their Valentines mailbox from

their somebody special?!

Use the coupon code LOVE25

Yes, you are welcome and I love you too.

In other random news.

Tonight we are going to the visitation of our friends parents.

Loosing both parents in one day to a tragedy like this is heart wrenching.

Pray for their precious children left behind.

Then tomorrow night we head west, my friend.

Westward to where our darling baby girl niece is waiting

for heaps of hugs and cuddles.

Maybe just maybe baby fever will overwhelm us. . .

Maybe.

Happy Birthday, Favorite Boy

2012-02-08T09:37:00.001-06:00

First of all. Isn't my mother-in-law just stunningly gorgeous?!

Mhmmm. . .

In other news. Thirty years ago today, my favorite boy in the whole world was born.

And I'm kinda really glad he was.

It's amazing how much you can love someone that was born on the other side of the country

so many years before you. . . you-cradle-robber-boy-you.

So just because thirty is something to really celebrate AND

you all know how I feel about birthdays,

I am excited to announce that today

will be the boy's best celebration yet.

Don't forget to come back soon to see the photos of the awesomeness.

Sorry I cannot currently disclose things. It's pretty top secret at the moment. . .

just in case the boy happens to be reading.

Hey you birthday boy, you!

Are you excited?!

Sorry.

No hints here.

In the meantime, I may just gloat over the adorable photos from 20+ years ago.

Like seriously, peoples. Won't we have the cutest babies in the entire whole wide universe?!

Yippee for me that I pretty much won the cute-baby-boy-lotto.

Lucky-ducky me.

TeenyPS.

Happy birthday to you too, bro.

Kinda lucky for you that you share a birthday with the awesomest person around!

{Giveaway} Big Group Love

2012-02-07T13:52:00.001-06:00

Hey Lovelies!

Happy happy Tuesday to ya.

Today is a wonderfully lazy day.

In my defense, I did some laundry. I plan to make heart sugar cookies.

Frosted with pink sugar and little white pearl candies.

Sometimes I think I'm in love with love.

Mhmmmm. . .

So share some love

you will find three lovelies who are offering

you some pretty awesome stuff you can win.

Hustle your cute little bums over there

and the winner will be drawn on Sunday night.

hugs and keesess!!

- - -

Corina's Corner

{your very own custom watercolor. you lucky-duckies}

:: blog :: shop ::

Whispering Sweet Nothings

{hermatite peace necklace}

:: blog ::

The Duplechin Daily

{caffeine love package. i just may rig this so i win. sad, but true}

:: blog ::

- - -

Must be a follower of The Neesby Lookbook to enter

Please visit each shop/blog and leave them some love. Follow their adventures.

Become a part of the amazing communities of beautiful, lovely woman.

Tweet and blog about this giveaway for extra entries.

Additional entries for each blog you follow.

Comment once for each entry.

xoxo

Goals I Can Get {February}

2012-02-06T18:03:00.001-06:00

{jeans: gordmans, shirt: f21, scarf: stolen from seester's closet, glasses: walmart, shoes: american eagle}

I'm kinda loving making these monthly goals and watching them actually get accomplished.
It's kinda like I'm a rock star or something. . . or something.
Remember when I first talked about it here?!

Here's a leetle update from last month
with new goals for February.
And some what I wore while visiting Seester in Mexico.
This is the day I paid fifty cents to use the bathroom
AND the day we watched a couple FULL.ON make-OUT on the park bench
in broad daylight.
Hello people. Gross.

January's Update on Goals

: Run at least twice a week

I did super great, running at least every other day for the first two weeks of the month.

Then it actually got cold and frozen runner's lung was just too not cool.

The last two weeks of the month I ran/walk/played sports several times

Better than nothing, the way I figure it.

: Complete chapter one in chinese book two

Let's not talk about this one.

A girl can't do everything on her list, right?!

: Reach 300 followers

YAY! You guys are awesome! THANK YOU for spreading the love

So glad we are friends!!

: Write one handwritten letter to someone who has impacted my life

I wrote two actually! Go meeeee!!!!

: Read two books

Read two fiction books. Started three non-fiction

Kinda feel like a cheater.

But they were sodanggood.

: Send a package to my bestie in Mexico

Didn't get it sent. . . but I did hand deliver some gifts to her last week.

I guess that's better than mailing one, no?!

Goals for February

: Read two non-fiction book and one fiction or two or three.

: Send seester another package. In the mail this time. Or mail myself to her.
Either or.

: Learn to crochet

: Start a little herb garden from seeds

: Plan weekly menus for at least one week

: Send a surprise gift to someone.

: Exercise at least twice a week

- - -

K, lovelies. Shoot me your best goal for this month.
Ready.set.GO.
xoxo

Weekend Love V.7

2012-02-05T16:47:00.000-06:00

{1} Isn't this doll just. . . just a doll?! Her little pixie cut is totally adorable with her hair flowers.

And PS her blog is called Paddington Way.

'Nuff said.

{2} Can people quit making these redics adorbs preggo videos?! Yur killin' me folks. . .

{3} I just always always love this girl's blog. Check out this day's Instagram recap.
PS. Isn't her puppy to perfectly adorable?! Oolala.

{4} If I could bake with owl measuring cups, I would never leave the kitchen.

{5} Wouldn't this be adorable with parts of our vows stitched in?! Love.love.Love.

{6} Somedays I think I have an awesome traveling life.

Then I see Jenna's recap from the last four years and I actually think I live under a rock.

{7} I am literally planning on celebrating every.single.holiday. this year.
Which makes me sad I missed Groudhog Day this week. Boo.
How awesome are these ideas for Memorial Day?!

{8} While searching for something via Pinterest, I stumbled upon a most lovely blog
Inspired By Lovely
Died and went to heaven. Too much loveliness to handle.
Hustle your leetle buns over and prepare to fall in love.

{9} I plan to make these adorable fabric covered hangers this week.
Just a pop of sweetness.

{10} Always on the hunt for simple ways to make rooms more cozy.

Just like this.

It's Like We Became Mommy & Daddy Overnight

2012-02-04T14:16:00.000-06:00

If you were to peek in on us this weekend

you would find the boy and I

up to our elbows in

diapers

bottles

cartoons

little shoes

and

kiddos.

While we were a bit sad to give up a Saturday morning of

lazy sleeping in, I'm looking forward to watching this

hunky boy help me take care of three little girls.

Kinda makes the heart go bingitybangbang.

But PS wish us luck in our church going efforts tomorrow morning.

May we all arrive in one piece with shoes and socks on everybody.

God bless us, everyone.

Happy weekending, lovelies.

Friday Files {edition seventeen}

2012-02-03T11:06:00.000-06:00

This week's edition of the Friday Files is a bit different.

It's a rather gutsy honest story . . but that's what these Friday Files are about, right?!

{if you are new or just plain forgot why I started them, you can catch up here}

Promise me that after you read it, we can still be friends.

Or else you shall be officially banned from the cool circle.

Kidding. But seriously. I would probably unfriend myself too.

K, ya ready?! Set.GO.

- - -

On Monday night, while I was down in Mexico

I got a voicemail from Husband and it went something like this.

Hey Babe. Just wanted to call and let you know before you saw pictures on facebook.

I buzzed my head with your brothers. . .

I literally crumpled on the floor and started crying.

Now before you judge me for having the emotions of a twelve year old girl

My husband has the best-most-hottest-freakin'-awesomest hair in the world.

True story.

It's blonde and a teeny bit wavy and thick and soft because he conditions it

and it makes my little heart go blamitybamblambam.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit but I was LITerAlly mad at that boy for a solid two days.

So mad I didn't even want to look at the photos

or think of going home and touching it

or anything else. . .

As I climbed on that plane in San Diego on Wednesday morning

I felt God starting to break through to my selfish, ugly heart.

I felt smitten in my heart as I heard updates from this family

about their wife/mom being hit with Spinal Meningitis.

Literally being on the edge of life itself.

I felt convicted because hair is just hair. It grows. And especially fast for Adam.

I felt God quietly whispering to my soul

how idiotic I can be by treating my sweet boy so ugly

over something so small.

Yet somehow inside I didn't want to be ok with it.

I wanted to be a little bit mad for the whole time it took to grow back.

Almost as if to be sure he would never do it again.

I felt like I could barely pray that God would give me grace to love no matter what.

As the miles of country flew away under me

I felt the grace and love of God slowly creep into my soul.

Slowly breaking me of the selfishness that cries out for rule.

By the time I saw my buzzed boy running towards me

I felt only love and excitement to be back with him again.

So even though I'll be glad when it's back

I am thankful that somehow I was able to let go

and not waste precious days of marriage with useless anger.

God seriously rocks, yo.

Seriously seriously is amazing.

Cuz not being mad at

my favorite boy is really the best thing ever.

Amenandamen.

- - -

TeenyPS.

Have you ever experienced this?!

Or maybe I'm the only wifey to get mad about dumb stuff.

Probably true story.

xoxo

Dear . . .

2012-02-02T15:26:00.000-06:00

Dear Seester.

I feel in love with you all over again this weekend.

I wish we were still going for tacos to that

same.old.stand

and laughing at them laughing at us.

Dear Mexico.
I kinda miss your tacos.
And beaches.
But I don't miss your barking dogs at 11:43PM

Dear Husband's Shirts.
Thank you for your hint of sexy smell.
You remind me of my boy in more ways than one.
If it wasn't so awkward, I would carry you around as a blankie.

Dear House.
You better thank your lucky stars
that I am the house cleaning goddess today.
Cuz today I'm dominating.
And PS I'm so glad to be back to you.
You are cozy and ours and I kinda like you.

Dear American Airlines.
How much money do you seriously
plan to earn by making passengers purchase
headsets to watch the movie?!
Fine. Whatever. Like I care about watching
Puss In Boots.

Dear Husband.
I love our tradition of getting a hotel room after
I've been away.
. . .

Dear Bag of Fabric From Mexico.
I will transform my
house
wardrobe
and
life
with you.
You are some kinda bag of awesomeness.

Dear Week Between Hubs Birthday & Valentines Day.
I have so many good plans for you.
It will be like birthday celebration x1000
Boooosh.

Dear Midday Lag.
Please don't wreck my streak of awesomeness.
Maybe some chocolate or sweetness of sorts
will kick you in the little behind.
Ha. Take that.

Dear February.
Thank you for the unseasonably warm weather.
Thank you for making me feel like spring is just around the corner. . . ish.
Thank you for inspiring to finally put my Christmas decorations away.

Dear God.
Thank you that you give grace
and love when I don't have it on my own.
I love you.

{Guest Post} Eat. Sleep. Cuddle.

2012-02-02T09:34:00.000-06:00

When I first opened Whitney's blog, I fell immediately in love.

I mean, how can you not adore someone who names her blog

Eat. Sleep. Cuddle.

?!?!

Yeah. I thought so.

Pretty please do yourself the favor of clicking over

and fall in love yourself.

Her photos. Her food. Her crafts.

Love.Love.Love.

- - -

hi everyone! i am whitney from eat sleep cuddle., and i am so excited to do a guest post for nicole today!

i love finding new ways to cook vegetables (and fruits), and i wanted to share a recipe with you that is a fun alternative to mashed potatoes.....mashed cauliflower! or mashed purple cauliflower, if you're feeling crazy and can find it at your grocery store. :)

here is the recipe (customized from this recipe).....

1 head cauliflower (of any color), cut into florets

2-3 tablespoons butter

white cheddar cheese

fresh parmigiano-reggianno cheese

chives

salt & pepper

steam cauliflower for 10-15 minutes. transfer cauliflower into a bowl and stir in butter and cheeses until you get the taste you want. * use potato masher or blend in a blender until smooth. season to taste with salt & pepper and add chives.

*you can experiment all you want and add whatever ingredients you would normally add to mashed potatoes. (i.e. sour cream, garlic, etc.). also, if you use purple cauliflower, don't be surprised when it turns a blue-ish color during the steaming/cooking process. :)

good luck! and big thanks to nicole for asking me to stop by! :)

Ten Mexican Loves

2012-01-30T12:17:00.000-06:00

{10} Watching the sunset with toes in the ocean.

{9} This beauty

{8} The chance to give a cup of cold water

{7} Thrift shopping in Mexico?! Whodu thunk.

Now how to get this chair in a carry-on. . .

{6} Dancing in the ocean

{5} Pink sparkly polish on dirty little fingers

{4} Splits in the ocean. The ocean pretty much rocks, yo.

{3} Unbroken sand dollars

{2} HIS love that is over

under

inside

around

covering us completely.

{1} This best friend in the whole world. It's like we were made for each other.

Weekend Love V.6

2012-01-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

{1} Check out this insanely amazing ugly-chair-remake. Talent this girl has. By the truckload.

{2} HolyMama. Is this family just too insanely adorable? Huh, yeah!?

Check out their perfectly adorable baby number two announcement.

{3} I am pretty obsessed with awesome parties. Like this rainbow art party.

Parties just make life so much more fun.

{4} Red hair and lace. Perfect perfect combination.

Baby fever full-blown right now

{5} I wanna make my own version of this. It's so so good.

{6} Have you read this chica's blog?! She is hilarious to the hight of HIII-larious.

So so real and awesome and fun.

{7} Much Love Illy pulls of some adorable messy buns.

Then she went and posted a whole buffet of tutorials. Check it out, Bun-Hun.

{8} I am craving this fan. It is perfectly vintage and just adorable.

Feel free to send one to me, anyone.

{9} This baby dress is too adorable for words. But who the heck would pay $195 for it?!

Bet my sweet little bottom I could sew one for pennies. . . ish.

{10} Literally JUST found this beautiful food blog.

Makes me want to become a kitchen goddess, then take photos of all the loveliness

{11} Why do all the cute stores have to be so dang expensive?! Srsly.

- - -

What has been your best find on the webs these days?!

Pictures of Mexico adventures tomoooorrrooow!!

xoxo

Photo An Hour

2012-01-28T09:08:00.001-06:00

9:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00

5:00

6:00

7:00

8:00

9:00

What Love Looks Like

2012-01-28T08:17:00.001-06:00

Currently I am spending time with my sister in Mexico. . .

So to keep ya company, I've pulled out

an oldie-but-a-goodie from my trip to visit Seester at the end of summer.

Check back soon for new pictures of sister time in Mexico!

xoxo

- - -

{originally posted on September 16, 2011}

It's been so special spending part of each day with the team as they go into the small community of Durango to tutor the adorable kiddos there. It's real love in action.

They come running from all directions. Some in their tank tops and sandals, even though it's breezy outside. Some with a used princess backpack. All excited to have help with their homework. All ready to give out big hugs.

{It's awesome that I'm an instant celebrity because I'm the sister of the bigger celebrity}

{my little mexican twin . . . with her matching nose freckles.}

It was so funny this afternoon. We started taking lots of goober-self-photos at the back of the Missionary Van and afterwards realized that all the neighbors were watching. Great. We are now established as the awkwardly-awesome-obsessive-self-photographers. Rep-Resent!!

I am so incredibly proud of my sister. Do you see how beautiful and amazing she is?!

It's been so special to watch what she does with the kids here.

She is amazing. And I'm proud to be her bestie. And you should read her awesome blog.

Friday Files {edition sixteen}

2012-01-27T10:04:00.001-06:00

:: I plan on consuming a large amount of tacos while I'm in Mexico with Tiff. No matter what it does to my stomach or waist.

:: Our superscools clawfoot tub is a land mine of shampoo bottles, body soap and razors. What's a girl to do when there is zipzeronada storage spots in the tub?! Anywayza. Consider yourself warned if you ever happen to be showering at our house. We do not cover medical expenses from twisted ankles.

:: You know how they say you cannot change the person you marry? Sure. Easy to know that in your head. A completely different story when you are learning to work together with two very different ways of doing things. News flash! This was how we spent most of our day on Tuesday.

:: When it's twenty degrees outside, it's hard to work out {e.i. run} When you are not working out, it's hard to eat healthy. Hello yummy cookies that melt in your mouth.

:: Several weeks ago I found a pile of thank you cards written and addressed from random wedding gifts people sent us. Umm. Hello. Adam and Nicole here. Remember us? We got married 57 months ago. Thanks for that gift. PS. Don't mind the crinkled edges on the envelope. It just sat in a basket for six months.

:: Random bit of advice for the masses. Why set your trash out on the curb every week when you can let it build up for several weeks and only exert a fraction of all that energy. Geniuses, I tell ya.

- - -

ExcitingPS

I have some supersawesome giveaways coming up.

Peoples.

Do you know how many cool shops and businesses there are

in this leetle thing we call the blogging community?!

Seriously, yo.

Come back soon for some awesome stuff.

xoxo

Sometimes You Need To Jump A Plane And Fly To Mexico

2012-01-26T09:24:00.000-06:00

God made sisters for a reason.

This is one of the best reasons. . .

When one sister is down

the other is there to pick you up.

My beautiful seester is having a

pretty big crisis at the moment. . .

and she's all alone in Mexico.

Thank you God for frequent flyer miles

and planes that head west every single day.

Pretty please won't you pray for me as I pack my bags with kleenex

chocolate

and

chickflicks

and head across the border tomorrow.

Cuz sometimes a sister just needs the other for a crying buddy.

- - -

ATeenyPS

Stay close by cuz I have some awesome posts scheduled for you

along with a couple oldies that I'm pulling from the archives.

And maybe just maybe there will be some scenes from Mexico.

okloveyoubye

Mailing Love

2012-01-25T16:10:00.000-06:00

Do you remember the good old days. . .

Before internet

and texting

and facebook

and skype

and . . . an . . .

Everyday when it got close to the time for the mail to come

I would keep an eye out for mailman

always watching, hoping, waiting

for envelopes or packages with my name on it.

Those were the good old days.

I am loving my words for this year.

Encourage.

Dreams.

It's been fun finding ways to practice this.

Letters created from white cards and little colored paper pieces

Packages sent to friends.

Little messages on facebook to brighten a friend's day.

Words to build up people around me.

Oh and yes.

I also have discovered how fun it is to sew on

brown paper

with pink thread.

You will find all the brown paper

in our house sewed into a heap.

Can I come find to your house and use yours?!

Yums in the Tums

2012-01-24T17:02:00.000-06:00

I kinda super love to eat.

Slightly sad, yet true story.

Maybe this is why Pinterest is my best buddy

when it comes to cooking.

Today seemed like a good day to share some of the love.

So get your taste buds, tummies and running shoes ready

{cuz you're gonna need them after all this}

- - -

{Italian Chicken Wraps}

Last night I made my own *modified recipe originally found here.

Dude. Serious.awesome.food.

*I left out the veggie mix because our freezer is looking a bit bare at the moment. still mucho delish.

- - -

{Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites}

Umm. If you don't like cookie dough, I don't know if we can still be friends.

Kidding. But seriously.

I slight modified this original recipe by dipping them complEEtely in chocolate.

Seriously. No duh on that one.

- - -

{Broccoli Chedder Soup}

This has become a fast fav in our house.

Especially on cold nights that call for cuddling and said soup.

- - -

{Pumpkin Whoopie Pies}

Even though fall is teeechnically over, it's always a good time

for this pumpkiny sweetness.

Dude. It's like fall in your mouth.

{and extra cushy on your tooshy}

- - -

{Double Pumpkin Kissed Chocolate Chunk Cookies}

Speaking of pumpkin and cushy on your tooshy.

Dude. Pumpkin and chocolate are a deadly mix.

Make these dang cookies, yo.

Even if you must travel to Far Of Land Of Pumpkin and pick one yourseelf.

- - -

{Spinach Strawberry Salad}

Now. I know you are probably all thinking

Gosh, what a fatty. No wonder she needs to run. Get off your bum, woman!

Let's pretend like I actually made this salad and the pure health and greenness

magically melted away the pounds from the previous 323,584 fattening recipes.

Thank you very muchly.

- - -

Mmkay. Now it's your turn to link me to your best recipe find of late.

And pretty pumpkin sugar please don't all post

spinach/kale/fruit/vegan/carrot/soy

stuffs.

Otherwise I will officially have to unlike you forever, K?

okloveyoubye.

Dear . . .

2012-01-23T12:09:00.000-06:00

Dear Weekend.
You stole away too quickly.
How dare you do that.
Don't you know that Hubs and I love hanging out?!
Please conjure me up three day weekend soon. . .
Or else.

Dear Dinner.
Please cook yourself.

Dear Thrift Store.
Thanks for being oh so good to me.
I mean, where else will I find a pair of Express pants, Gap pants
and Gap jeans for just $6?!
You rock.

Dear Adorable Baby Niece.
Please hurry up and come out.
Your auntie is dying to meet you.
I promise we'll do all kinds of fun things.
I'll teach you to climb a tree
and become addicted to chocolate.
You just have to have your birth day first.
I love you.

Dear Falbo Brothers Pizza.
You have bewitched me.
Body, stomach and soul.
I could eat you every day until I die
and not even care.

Dear Three Little Sisters.
I loved our rockin' dance party last night.
Thanks for telling me that I don't know how to shake my butt.
Maybe you could teach me next time?

Dear Valentines Day.
Please hurry up and get here.
I have so many grand ideas for your party
that I could barely sleep last night.

Dear Bloggy Friends.
You guys rock.
Period.
End.
Of.
Story.

Dear Husband.
I'm sad the weekend is over.
Thanks for being so patient while I went into a million stores.
Thanks for being so fun to hang out with.
Thanks for being the dang best cuddler in the whole wide world universe.
You are my best friend
and I can't wait to see you tonight.

PS. Thank you for doing dishes last night. You rock.

Weekend Love V.5

2012-01-22T01:30:00.000-06:00

{1} Lovelovelove the way this beautiful girl articulates what most of bloggers experience. . .

So honest and real.

{2} How's this for an adorable baby shower?! Who is having a baby? Can I throw you a party?!

Pretty pretty please.

{3} Thank you Pinterest, for heaps of Valentines Day inspiration

{4} It may be only five degrees outside, but I'm drooling over this vintage swimsuit

{5} This recipe is why Hubs thinks I'm awesome this week.

{6} This super cutie talks about her recent thrifting trip. Hustle your cute little bums over there, yo!

{7} Check out what seester's been up to in Mexico. She's like a real live rockstar, peoples.

{8} Craving a inspiring crafting space like this

- - -

xoxo

Friday Files {edition fifteen}

2012-01-20T11:33:00.000-06:00

:: This week I sorted through heaps of old photos from the 2010 summer camps in China. I was reminded how awesome I look in a ponytail and tee shirts with marker all over my arm from the kids. Then I kinda missed it all in a deep corner of my heart.

:: Literally my brain feels like fried mush today. Take for example a text I got from a friend. It reads: Yep, we did! I'm like. Did what? Thank God for saved messages in the outbox.

:: I know I should be eternally grateful to seester for letting us use her car while she lives in Mexico. Are my constant moans a sign of ungratefulness when the dashboard when it's constantly lit up like a Christmas tree?!
Huh, what are the odds. It wants oil for the third time this month. Oh yeah. Low coolant too. What?! Service engine soon?!

:: Sometimes I worry that people take these Friday Files posts as a 'proper' way to complain about life. . .

:: Thank you to every single on of you lovelies, who have become my friends through this blog. I always wish I could answer back every single comment. There are some days I know that there are other things that have to take priority first. . . can we still be friends?!

:: On nights before the days I get up at 5:30 to drive school bus, I get turn into supercrankygrouchlady if I can't get in bed before 11:00. Sorry Hubs. And bro. And fellow people in the board meeting. It's really not you.

:: To the friend whose save-the-date card I kinda screwed up. I hope you don't hate me forever. You are the best. xo

:: So remember my amazing goall of reading two books this month. . . shocking, I know. Does it count if they were both dumb fiction books?! My resolve to is pick up some real life books next.

:: Somedays I get very discouraged that I can't fix all the broken, hurting children in the world. I realize how tiny I am. And how thankful I am that God is so much bigger.

Never Stop

2012-01-19T13:59:00.000-06:00

Do you remember how easy is was to be sappy and romantic and gushy

about how out.of.this.world.incrEdible your boyfriend was when you were dating?

{maybe this was just me?!}

A thousand lovey posts on facebook.

Endless blog posts about how UH.MaZ.ing he is.

Gushing to friends about sweet stuff he does.

You've seen it before. . .

It's funny thing that marriage does to you.

In this time when you actually are more committed to each other then before

More intertwined in each other's daily lives

More in love then those silly days of early dating

Yet somehow it's as though our eyes become dim to the true gift we live with everyday.

So here's my attempt to not loose that fresh, young love

for my boy. . . my best friend.

These are the things I'm loving about Husband right now.

:: I love the little back rubs he gives me in the dark early morning hours. . .

just because he felt like it may help me sleep better after all that tossing.

:: I love when he texts me while at a meeting with a friend and asks me to pick him up. . .

just because he misses me.

:: I love our late night snacks and ridiculous conversations over nothing.

:: I love how he prays for me when I'm stressed. . .

and when we are cuddling off to sleep at night.

:: I love the way he is so proud of all my little projects . . .

and then brags about it to his friends

{not sure the guys care about chalkboard calendars, babes, but thanks}

:: I love when he reads his Bible and prays. . .

keeping his personal relationship with God strong.

:: I love that he supports my dreams and goals in life.

:: I love that he is proud of my work on this little blog. . .

and takes me out to celebrate however I want when I reach 100 new followers

{thanks guys, this means I get more of my favoritest pizza ever}

:: I love that the last seven and a half months have been the best of my life. . .

and that we get to spend the rest of our lives just like it.

- - -

If you could share about your favorite boy,

what would you gush about today?!

Happy Thursday, Lovelies.

I'm achingly happy that the weekend starts in 27 hours!

WhoopwhooP!

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Taste Best At Two AM

2012-01-18T16:22:00.000-06:00

{cardigan: gift, necklace:top dresser drawer, belt: stolen from seester, jeans: target, boots: gift from hubs}

My dad once told us that we lead a very random life.

I guess you might say it's true.

And I kind of like it.

Yesterday was super busy with work and a late bus trip I had

then Adam's hang out time with a guy from work.

When we finally got home and dropped into bed for just two seconds . . .
which somehow turned into several hours.

Next thing I know Hubs is crawling out of bed
and mumbling about how he needs to get something to eat.
what.the.what.
It's two-stinkin-oh-clock in the morning
Do ya know how yummy grilled cheese sandwiches are
in the middle of the night?!
Scrum-eeio, I tell ya.
Then we cuddled back into bed
to watch one of our favorite shows.

I love this life of ours.
No matter how random
and crazy it may be.
And love that boy of mine. . .
boyohboy, do I love him.

Contentment

2012-01-17T11:14:00.000-06:00

I realized about a week ago that I am getting a travel bug that has

weaseled it's way from my head all the way down to

my toes and fingertips.

Maybe it's the fact that a year ago I was traveling around about two weeks out of the month.

Maybe it's the fact that I love adventures and haven't had one since our ski trip in December.

Maybe it's just that I'm a bit lazy and get tired of having four straight weeks of work.

{fish and chips in fisherman's bay, australia}

{nelson bay, australia beach}

Gosh. Writing that makes me realize my maturity level is about a two.

What other twenty-five-year-old has such a short attention span?

As I drove my huge bus across the snowy roads this morning

this verse popped into my head

'but godliness with contentment is great gain'

Of course this doesn't mean that traveling or stuff or adventures or experiences are wrong.

Or that we are the holiest when we sit at home, quietly meditating on Scriptures.

For me it means that wherever I am in life

I am making the most of it.

Simply being to the fullest and best capacity I can.

Maybe it's also a good reminder for me to create memories.

So create experiences.

Adventures. . .

{niagara falls, canada}

I guess this means I'm off to plan some adventure for the Hubs and I.

Maybe a winter camping trip?

Picnic on the center of a frozen lake?!

Or maybe just working harder at saving pennies for a road trip to visit my friend in Tennessee?!

{nassau, bahamas}

Happy trails, lovelies. . .

Introducing {Lottie Loves, The Shop}

2012-01-16T16:50:00.000-06:00

Hey Lovelies!

Welcome to the very start of one of my big dreams for this year. . .

My very own little toy shop called

Lottie Loves

As I think back to the toys that meant so much to me as a child

I think of our doll house that my sister and I would play with for hours.

We had about a hundred small toy children and our houses that creatively sprawled across our

bedroom floor.

Then there were all our stuffed animals that we cared for in our animal hospital.

And our paper dolls.

And our tree houses.

Even the tractors, combine, beans and corn that we played with the boys.

Here at Lottie Loves, you will find a assortment of whimsical pieces

to inspire a child's imagination.

In our culture today, children's minds are being dulled to sleep by the

noises and blinking lights of battery operated 'toys'

Our toys will delight their five senses

and bring their minds to light again.

I cannot wait to get these delightful toys into your child's hands.

I literally feel like a little kid myself and couldn't wait another day to

show you the few pieces that have already been created.

Be sure to check out the shop here

and stay tune for heaps more toy premieres coming soon. . .

Happy playing

xoxo

Weekend Love V.4

2012-01-15T14:24:00.000-06:00

{1} How sweet is this chica's Esty shop?! Adorable necklaces galore. . .

{2} This was such a touching, inspiring post by my friend on marriage and babies

{3} How ridiculously adorable are these homemade pocket dolls?! Ahhhhh. . . .

{4} Do you love honest, real, beautiful blogs?! Check out this sweet girl. Love her heart already.

{5} Check out this awesome list of eco-chic ideas for your home

{6} Died and went to heaven this week with the ooziest, gooiest cinnamon rolls known to man.

{7} Suckered Hubs into swooning over pure adorable baby style

{not an announcement. i repeat. not an announcement. we just love babies.}

A Girls Chat

2012-01-14T16:38:00.000-06:00

Hey Lovelies.

Remember this post where we pretended like it was just you and me

sitting on the couch, chatting about our lives?

It's time to do it again.

So I'm gonna grab a plate of the gooiest, tastiest cinnamon rolls I recently made

and we'll chat it up, kay?!

I probably would start by telling you I'm so glad winter finally arrived

Or rather as my sister put it, snow finally came to join winter

It's fun to watch Hubs' excitement over all the powdery white

I should probably also mention that I hate driving bus in the dead of winter

Imagine with me. . .

It's dark and cold. Six in the morning usually is in January

I grab my keys. Walk across the frozen bus lot

Climb into the frozen ice box and start it up

The next ten minutes consist of pre-tripping

and scraping off the massive six foot windshield

Let's just say cold and crabby are the words for me

I would be so excited to tell you that today we put $180 towards our credit card debt
Literally I feel like I could run a marathon. So so excited
It's like a tiny little step towards becoming free of it all
One.tiny.step.at.a.time.

Then I would probably be sure you know that I never
want to be that complaining person when it comes to money
Somehow I hope to balance optimism
and reality.
Life is hard.
God is good.

Then I would probably ask if you remember my words for 2012

Surprisingly, I have been unbelievably encouraged by many people

Encouraging emails from you guys

Sweet comments, tweets, and posts

Then this beautiful, handwritten letter from a dear friend

I am humbled and blessed

And inspired to keep encouraging people

How much it does for one's spirit, we may never know

On an excited note, I would might just give you a sneak peek at

probably the biggest adventure I am embarking on this year.

An Etsy toy shop called Lottie Loves

Then again I may keep it a secret . . .

until the soon coming premiere

happening right here.

I would also probably share how

excited

inspired

hopeful

I am for this year.

I have so many dreams and it's fun to watch some of them start to grow

little by little.

On the subject of dreams

I would probably share how Hubs and I have been offered

an opportunity at our church to

help with highschool ministry

We are so excited and a bit scared

But really really thrilled that God would drop such an awesome

opportunity to get involved with the lives of teenagers.

The chance to do ministry together

investing in people's lives

encouraging them

is pretty awesome.

Then I would probably drag you by the hand around my house to show

you the super awesome thrift finds of the week.

Like another antique chair, some vintage patterns and old string

I have some pretty awesome projects up my sleeve.

Best part of this stuff?!

Two dollars and eighty-four cents.

Oh yeah. I also can't forget about these beautiful white plates

Sixty cents for the whole lot, yo.

The thrifting goddess has been smiling down on me lately.

Then I would probably wrap up the conversation with some random thoughts

Like how excited I am to redo this two dollar chair.

And how I've been so proud of myself for keeping up with my goals for January.

And how much I am adoring becoming a reader again.

And then of course how much I miss my sister best friend and cannot wait

for her to come home in just about four months.

And how much I love Husband for loving me so unconditionally.

And I would be sure to let you know how thankful I am for

YOU

You have made this blogging adventure so much more fun.

Thank you for that.

Mmkay. Thanks for listening to this cumbubbling of thoughts.
What would you share?!
I sure hope you'll stick around and do this again soon.

Enjoy your special love people this weekend
xoxo

Friday Files {edition fourteen}

2012-01-13T11:33:00.001-06:00

:: Cheers for Christmas cards that go out after New Years. Better late than tardy, no?!

:: Just when I'm doing fine. And I write posts like this. Then I'm see the amazing parties these people throw. And their gorgeous house. Suddenly discontentment sweeps me off my feet. This are the times I must pinch my own cheeks reminding myself, Nicole it's not about stuff.

Why is that so hard to remember?!

:: Sometimes I fall asleep in the middle of our nightly routine of watching a show.

Can somebody say I'm officially old?! Lamesauce.

:: I may or may not have had a small meltdown last night after going shopping for winter gloves last night. What is it about waking up at 5:30 and driving a frozen cold bus that strikes such emotional chords?! Then Husband was sweet and went shopping all over Wal-Mart to find warm things for me. Thanks to Jesus for his eternal patience with me.

:: Last week I did so great with eating healthy and running every night. So great until I made the most perfect oozy gooey cinnamon rolls. So great until it snowed heaps and the temps dropped about 35 degrees.

:: Yesterday I had the brilliant idea to do a photo an hour. . . barely made it through 2:00. Maybe my brain shall be on full function mode someday soon?!

:: I think I'm well on my way to being an official plant murderer. Good thing babies cry when they get hungry. . .

:: This week I was reminded that I am a reckless blogger. Furiously type. Upload photos. POST. Then read and realize typos pretty much all the time. Oyy. Must.proof.read.now. {please don't judge me four any you may find}

- - - -

Happy happy Friday, Lovelies.

I'm so so so happy.

xoxo

Check out my guest post tutorial over here today!

The Art of Cozy

2012-01-12T11:24:00.000-06:00

If you were to randomly drop by our house one weekday night,

you would quickly find out that I am no

Martha Stewart.

There will probably be dishes in the sink.

The bed will most likely be unmade.

And there won't be a lot of decorations to make it feel like you stepped into a magazine.

Remember how our bedroom looked when we first moved in?!

Bumpy paneling painted that generic sand brown

A half torn off 'Rock Band' sticker on the wall

No closet door

Dressers thrown on one wall

The bed against another.

My philosophy was this.

Since painting requires stripping the room to bare bones,

why hang pictures and take all that energy to make decorate

when it's just going to change?

Fast forward six months.

Nothing has changed.

Zip. Zero. Nada.

Last week I had an epiphany. . . .

Wait. What was that epiphany. . .

Whatever. I guess it was cooler in my brain.

Anywayza.

I basically realized that I could be creative with what I have

and make our home cozy.

With what I have right.this.second.

So one afternoon

I huffed that furniture around the room.

Pounded in a few nails.

Gathered a few choice items from around the house.

And voila.

I present to you

La Bedroom de Cozy

{insert sparkly soundtrack from Extreme Home Makeover}

I realized that placement of furniture is key.

I realized that I already had lots of cool pieces from other places

in the house that really made the room perfect.

I realized that practicing the art of cozy makes it just that.

I didn't want to leave our room.

It felt like a brand new space.

So while I can't wait to take the paneling off

paint this room awesome

and maybe buy some real side tables,

It is possible to

create lovely spaces with a fairly non-existant

decorating budget.

Now, I wanna hear

all your best decorating secrets.

Or tell me your coziest, favorite room in your house.

Readysetgo.

- - -

AConfessingPS

The 'Rock Band' sticker is still on the wall

True story.

xoxo

730 Days Ago

2012-01-11T12:13:00.001-06:00

While Hubs and I were driving to work this morning at the butt crack of dawn

I got all sappy when I realized that two years ago tonight

our relationship began.

So if you're in a sappy mood

grab your cocoa and cookies

sit back

and enjoy this photo tribute to

our first two years together.

xoxo

. . .

{note: our relationship was long distance until two months before our wedding}

{First visit to Iowa in February. First time seeing each since dating.}

{First visit to California since dating.}

{Walks along the ocean}

{First plane ride with the sexy pilot boy}

{Mission trip to Mexico. This is when he had to go to the mexican hospital for a massive bite between the eyes. Poor avitar-looking-boy.}

{First visit to Disneyland. First time to see him scared from Small World}

{First time back to China as a couple. . . where we met three years before}

{First time to see the first spot Adam visited in China. We jumped in the river and swam in our clothes. Chinese people thought we had gone crazy.}

{Short visits to LA while I was flying around the country speaking for Bring Me Hope}

{This stop was between my trip from Canada to Australia. Some months we would only see each other for a day.}

{First holiday together. Thanksgiving in Iowa. Tree cutting with the fam}

{First and last diamond ring for my whole entire life}

{First ski trip to Mammoth just after getting engaged}

{First trip to the stores to scope out what we wanted to register for}

{First and last boy I will ever kiss}

{First time to the clear waters of the Bahamas}

{First house we bought together}

{First time back to California as Mr and Mrs}

{First time to introduce Hubs to the grand Iowa State Fair}

{First Christmas together}

. . .

After those nights of crying in my pillow.

Crying in the shower so no one would hear.

Crying to God and asking if love would ever come.

It did.

And it was worth every second I had to wait.

So to each and every brave soul who still waits.

Don't forget that sometimes we have to let go of our best

in order that we may watch something greater

unfold before our eyes.

. . .

“God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.”
― Elisabeth Elliot

Ten Top Ways To Save Money

2012-01-10T13:09:00.000-06:00

10. Pack you own lunches. Yo! Do you know how much money this can save you?! Especially if you pack crackers and water.

9. Get Netflix. What?! You say this is costs more money? People. Seven dollars and ninety-nine cents a month for unlimited movies and shows takes you much further than renting movies from your local Block Buster. True story.

8. Buy household items that are non-perishable in bulk. Our huge pack of toilet paper and oversized bottle of dish soap lasted for months.

7. Eat dinner before you go on date night. Then go out for dessert. Unless of course you order the most expensive, queenly dessert on the menu. Then you better stay home all together.

6. For those of us who are blessed to live in cold winter climates, keep your thermostat lower most of the day. Why keep your house toasty while you are at work all day? Or when you can cuddle under a heap of blankets at night?

5. Be creative with date night. Go to Barnes and Noble. Sit in the children's section. Read each other your favorite books. Rent a Redbox movie Use your Netflix and watch a movie with pizza and coke. It's ok to have cheap dates sometimes. Just never stop dating.

4. Engage in lots of free fun together. Like jumping off bridges with balloons. Or playing loud singing games will you drive.

{ok. this is just plain fun. even though it has nothing to do with money. . .}

3. Try to do as many things at once as possible. Like brushing your teeth and doing the laundry.

You will be saving time and money.

Because time is money.

2. Kiss as frequently and as long as possible. This boosts your immune system.

Which in turn lowers your medical expenses.

1. Shower with a friend. . .

This not only saves water.

But it saves time and money.

Because time is money.

- - -

Now it's your turn to shoot me your best,

most tried and true methods of saving money, kay?!

Readysetgo.

xoxo

Sometimes. . .

2012-01-09T10:35:00.002-06:00

It is too easy to get sucked into a computer-screen-shaped life.

All those dang cute blogs

the photos on Facebook of people I barely know

tweeted photos of celebrity bloggers who I'll probably never meet

one thousand and one inspirational ideas on Pinterest

on and on and on it goes.

While I never plan to throw my computer away and

don my prairie dress for a simpler lifestyle,

I must constantly remind myself that

living my very own real life

is four hundred and one thousand seventy-six times better

than anything I could look at on a screen.

Our real life weekend was spent with each other

cuddling in our bed watching a movie and eating pizza straight outta the box

rushing to church and being uber blessed

Panera lunch with friends

then a rockin' awesome photoshoot

a few tears on my part because of the major girl emotions of the month

then the awesome cuddles and consolation from Hubs

{he says I snuggle in like a puppy dog. . . sweet patient boy}

finding a new favorite worship song

reading Little House in the Big Woods to Hubs

{because what life is complete with out Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pa?!}

- - -

How did you spend your weekend?!

Happy happy Monday, lovelies

xoxo

Weekend Love V.3

2012-01-08T09:16:00.000-06:00

Here is sharing some of the amazingly lovely things I've found on the web this week.

The loveliness will leave you aching in all kinds of places inside.

xoxo

. . . . . . .

{1} Check out this amazing store. So full of perfect pieces for your home. Not so perfect for the wallet.

{2} Casey featured these gooorgeous dishes from Anthropologie. Died and went to heaven.

{3} Holysmacaronis, now I wanna go camping so I can make these campfire donuts. Yuummeee!!

{4} To carry on my infatuation with chalkboard things:

Check out this post full of the loveliness while I go off and paint something

{5} You have to check out one of my new found favorite blogs.

Lex has gotta be one of the dang cutest newlyweds. And she blogs about their adventures.

{6} Kinda love this one dark wall in this living room.

{7} I've been thinking a lot lately of ways to make our home more cozy and inviting.

Here's some lovely inspiration.

{8} Here's an adorable little Etsy shop that sells animal prints.

Perfect gift for baby girl niece that comes in just a week or two more?!

{9} Our house could use some cool old crates

{10} Indulge me in one more bit of Christmasness.

This room is oozing with festive loveliness. I just want to go sit and soak it up.

Thoughts On Stuff

2012-01-07T19:04:00.001-06:00

It's super easy for me to get caught up in the American dream of materialism.

As much as I imagine I don't

I do.

Plain simple truth here.

I love stuff, peoples.

I love shopping.

I love having an awesome house full of awesome stuff.

I love dressing cute.

I love traveling to exotic places.

I love would love to always drive cars that aren't embarrassing.

I would love to live in a world where I never had to worry about money.

Unfortunately, that's not the lifestyle we live.

Or maybe fortunately?!

{my super cool ten dollar rocking chair}

This last year

God has been gently reminding me that life is more than stuff.

More than clothes.

Furniture.

Cars.

Investments.

Vacations.

Computers.

Cameras.

. . .

And the more I think about it

I am thankful that in His graciousness

He has placed us in a lifestyle that reminds me of this daily.

I am thankful He has allowed me to travel to places around the world

where entire populations have less stuff than what's currently in my bedroom

in order that my own world may be placed in perspective.

I am thankful that He reminds me everyday that

I have everything I need to live.

Everything I need to be comfortable.

I am thankful that our lack of money

is a constant reminder that we are

nothing

without Him.

So here's to thrifting most of what we own

creativity with what is currently in our home

gratefulness for true abundance by the larger world's standard

and acceptance of what we don't have.

And seriously, peoples.

It's amazing how much you can create

with what you currently own

thrift stores

ebay

and craigslists.

And God saw it all, and it was very good.

amenandamen

OnePS

Hubs and I are having an awesome laid back date night tonight

at home

in our cozy bedroom

with a large pizza and coke

and Water For Elephants.

I am truly truly blessed.

Happy weekend to ya, lovelies.

xoxo