Summer Bucket List

I recently came across a blog post that featured the author's "Summer Bucket List".  It got me thinking about what I wanted to do and achieve this summer so here it is...

1.  Spend a week at the beach
2.  Lose a solid 10lbs
3.  Go to an Atlanta Braves Game
4.  Shop for fresh veggies at the farmer's market every Saturday
5.  Use my DSLR more.
6.  Have more lunch dates with friends
7.  Get an awesome tan
8.  Liven up my back yard/deck.
9.  Read everyday
10.  BLOG MORE

I hope it works out for me to get everyone of these accomplished!  Do you have anything in particular you want to during the summer? 

Thanks for reading!

Weekend Fun

This past weekend was the best weekend I have had in a long time! It started out Friday night with a date at Olive Garden. I met a really nice guy and I didn't want the night to end. We had great conversations and the food was good, of course.  After dinner I met up with my girlfriends from work and we hit up a bar here in town called "Creekside Tavern".  We had a couple of drinks and danced.  We met 4 military guys who were so much fun to hang out with. 

The next morning Casey and I had to work until noon.  After work we went to the Farmer's Market downtown to get some fresh produce and went to eat a nice lunch at Steel Magnolias.  Our downtown is simply fabulous.  It has many nice resutrants and stores and the atmosphere is awesome. After lunch, Casey and I went shopping and had much needed pedicures. We went to a new place in town that not a lot of people apparently don't know about. It was nice for it not to be crowded and quiet. It was so relaxing!  I went with a green polish and it's slowly growing on me.

 After shopping we went home to get ready and met the new military friends at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  After a great meal we went to Creekside again and had a blast.  It was so much fun to spend a weekend with friends doing fun things.  It doesn't happen often but I am going to try to make a point for it to happen more. I realized many times this weekend how blessed I am to have these girls in my life and to enjoy being young while I can! I'm 26 and someday I will have kids and a hubby and won't be able to do these things anymore.  Here's to embrasing my 20's!

10 Things About ME!

I noticed that in the past few days I have acculmulated a few new followers (YAY)! I thought I would share a few things about me so you could get to know me better.

1.  I am a follower of Christ.  I love Jesus and thank him everyday for dying on the cross for my sins.  I grew up in the church and I'm so thankful for that. I made lots of memories at Vacation Bible School, singing in the Children's Choir, and being involved in the Youth program. 

2.  I am an bank teller and have been since I graduated high school in 2004.  I was part time while going to school and in August of this past year I became full time. I have gone to school off and on the past couple of years but plan to start back to school this summer to finish my degree in Early Childhood Education (it is taking FOREVER) and hope to graduate this time next year. :) I attend Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga (15 mins North of the FL line).  The campus is covered in old Oak trees filled with moss and the buildings are Spanish style.  It's a gorgeous campus and only about 2 hours from the beach.  That may or may not have been a deciding factor.

3.  I am very close to my family and love spending time with them! I have a younger brother (22) who is my best friend.  I am blessed to have loving parents that I know would do anything for me.  Valdosta is 2 hours way from where they live so I only see them about twice a month.  I plan to move back home (Perry, Ga) when I am done with school.

4.  I love photography and take pictures as a side job.  I got my first camera in the 1st grade and I have been snapping away ever since.  I love to shoot engagement sessions and sibling sessions. You can check out some of my work on my Facebook page, KT Lense Photography.

5.  My favorite thing to do is travel.  It doesn't happen as often as I would like since I do live on a teller's salary.  I was fortunate enough to spend 5 weeks in Paris through the study abroad program at my school in the Summer of 2010.  I studied photography and loved our assignments.  While there we were able to go on excursions on the weekends. I went to the Champagne Region, Florence, and Nice.  I wish I could go back all the time!  Florence was so neat and had the best food and the nicest people! It was small so my friend and I rented bicylces for the weekend. I liked it almost as much as Paris. :)

6.  I really want to be an interior designer.  I have always loved watching my mom decorate and I love the way a room can change just by moving furniture around or taking items from one room and putting them in another.  I wanted to major in interior design but my dad thought it wouldn't be a job that would be stable in this economy. So here I am, reading design blogs and living vicariously through You. :)

7.  I read blogs every morning.  I get to work and get things done that I need to do and then read through my list of blogs in between customers. About 98% of the blogs I follow are written by interior designers or DIY'ers (is that a word?).  I love reading about projects and getting ideas to use in my own home.

8.  I love instagram.  I think I'm starting to like it more than Facebook actually.  If you haven't gotten the app, Afterglow, I highly suggest you install it.  It is a photo editing tool that allows you to chose from tons of filters, crop, frame, etc.  A lot of my photography friends use it also.  Back to Instagram-once you finish editing your photo in Afterglow, you can upload it to instagram to share it.  Another thing I love is being able to find new stores or blogs by clicking on friend's hashtags.

9.  I love reality TV.  I know...I'm one of "those".  My favorite would be the Kardashians.  I sometimes find myself thinking, "Why do I watch this?".  I'm facinated with their lives.  I can't stand half of them but it's a show that will not miss.  I have recently fallen in love with "What would Ryan Lochte Do?".  If you haven't seen this, you need to. He is super hot and super stupid which makes it super funny. He is definetely a "dumb blonde".  And in case you are wondering, Ryan Lochte is an Olympic swimmer who has won 11 medals and is known to be one of the best swimmers in the world.  You may remember him from the London Olympics last Summer.

10.  I am deathly afraid of Roaches.  DEATHLY.  I can't explain why I run around screaming like a chicken with it's head cut off when I see one.  I'm sure it would make a great YouTube video. 

I hope you have a great day and wonderful weekend!

Madre

Just like everyone else on the planet, I feel like I have the BEST mama EVER! And I truly do.  She is creative, giving, thoughtful, and loving.  She is always there when I need her and always gives the best advise.  She is a wonderful Christian example and I know God is so proud.  She never complains when I ask her to do something and is always making me the coolest stuff for my house.  I know that she would go to the ends of the Earth for me and that's one of the greatest feelings.  I hope she knows that I don't just think about her wonderfulness (I just made that up) on Mother's Day, but everyday.  I thank God all the time for blessing me with a loving, Christian mama.  Not everyone can say that-I am so blessed.  I can't imagine my life without her! I love you to the moon and back, Mama!

I'm a Mommy {Sort of}!

   This past weekend my mom and Molly came to visit.  Molly desperately needed a haircut and after calling many grooming salons in town we had to settle on Petsmart.  I say "had" to because I'm a very overprotective and crazy Sissy.  We have taken Molly to the same groomer since we got her and I was having anxiety about leaving her with someone I didn't know for several hours.  Once we got to the grooming counter, I kissed her at least 50 times (told you I was crazy) before I handed her over.  As mom was dragging me out the door, she noticed a lady holding a tiny puppy.  An animal rescue group is there every weekend with dogs for adoption.   Mom held her and instantly fell in love.  I couldn't get over how tiny she was!  I don't think I have ever seen a dog that small.  I have been wanting a cuddle bug for a while now.  Molly stayed with me during the 3 months I was without a roommate to keep me company.  I have missed having someone greet me when I come home and to snuggle with at night.  After walking around with her for a while mom looked at me and said, "I think we are going to have to get her".  I didn't argue with her.  We signed the papers and brought her home.
   Now, Molly has always played well with other dogs but she wasn't too fond of her new sister.  She growled and barked and ran from her.  She basically ignored her all weekend.  I hated seeing Molly so unhappy.  Mama and I both said we felt like we had "cheated" on her.  I told her many times that I loved her more (I'm sure I will love them equally soon) and gave her the same attention I was giving the new baby.  I'm hoping Molly was only acting that way because she didn't like her new haircut.  Like I said, she was in desperate need of one, which translates to she was matted and had to be shaved.  And when I say they shaved her, they shaved her down so far I didn't even recognize her when the groomer brought her to me.  I wanted to cry.  I'm pretty sure she won't need a haircut for another 5 months.
   The poor baby hasn't had a name until today.  I have finally decided on "Sophie" (still no middle name).  I have been calling her squirt or baby.  The other day I sent mama an email and told her "I put the baby in the bathroom".  It's funny when you think about someone other than mama reading that email!  Mama wanted to name her "Lucy" or "Minnie".  I loved the name Minnie b/c she is so tiny and I would be sticking with "M" names. My first baby was "Maggie" and now we have "Molly".  I just felt she looked like a "Sophie".  Heck who knows, I'm such an indecisive person her name will probably be "Minnie" before the weekend is over.
  Well, here she is.  All 1.5lbs of her!

Don't let that tiny thing fool you.  She drug my bedroom shoe out of my closet and into my room all by herself last night. Mommy had to explain shoes were not chew toys.

     
I will post more pictures soon! I was trying to take some with my DSLR last night but she was too busy trying to play. 
See you sooner than later! Promise!
PS.  In case you are wondering, she is a Chihuahua/Pug mix.

Peaches to Beaches {Yard Sale}

Last weekend was the annual Peaches to Beaches yard sale.  This is a yard sale that beings in Barnesville, Ga (below Atlanta) and stretches down Highway 341 to Brunswick, Ga (located on our beautiful coast).  It is always the second weekend of March and attracts thousands of people not only from Ga but from other states near and far too!
Last Friday, I took the day off of work to hopefully find some good things before they were all picked over on Saturday. I ended up sleeping in (hey, it was my day off) and was really mad at myself about that.  I got out to the sales around noon.  I started off in Perry where my mom lives.  I went downtown to a few stores that were having sales in honor of PTB but struck out.  I then traveled down to Hawkinsville (20 mins south) where my dad lives and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town.  Saturday afternoon, I went to Eastman (20 mins south of Hawkinsville) to see my Grandmother and stopped by a few other locations along the highway.
I ended up with only a few things this year.  It was kinda disappointing.  My friend Ashlee recently posted on her blog her finds from PTB and she basically struck gold....SEVERAL times that weekend. She recently purchased a farm house and found lots of rustic/vintage things to decorate with photography props for her business.
Anyway....here is what I found....

I bought this chair to use as a photography prop.  I thought it was the perfect size for children. I am of course going to paint it.  I haven't decided on a color yet!  It had a price of $10 on it but I ended up paying $6.

I bought these milk glass vases.  They were pretty dirty from being in storage so I soaked them overnight in dish soap and hot water and now they are so pretty.  I paid $0.50 for both!  I love the one of the left!

I bought this ottoman for $10 (!!!) from a church in Hawkinsville.  I know the person that previously owned it so I don't have to worry about bed bugs or anything gross like that! HAHA! It's very comfortable which is an additional plus! I plan to have it covered and tuft soon!  I'm also thinking of changing the legs.

 I found this crock for my dear friend, Dever.  A couple of weekends ago I went to visit her in St. Mary's.  Her and her husband collect them and have them all around their house.  I sent her a picture, which she forwarded to her husband, who told her to get it. It was a steal at only $60 (they can get very expensive)!

Like all yard sales there was TONS and I do mean TOOOOONS of J-U-N-K!!  It started to get quiet ridiculous actually.  I eventually decided to take pictures of some of the crazy things people were selling b/c no one would believe me. Enjoy, lol.....

TP holder made out of PVC pipes.  I was just so dumbfounded by this.  I have no words.

These are birdhouses made out of just about anything.

I can't imagine why no one had snagged this up by late Saturday afternoon. I would much rather soak my feet at home in mildew and mold than go to the spa.

I couldn't believe it but people had farm animals for sale.  Bunnies, roosters, chickens, and llamas.

Someone even had their award winning birds out for show. I had no idea there were such competitions...

And for the winner of the complete shocker of all weekend.....drumroll.....

EMPTY beer cans for $1!! WHAT THE HECK??!!!!!

What's the craziest thing you have seen at a yard sale?  Do you have yard sales similar to Peaches to Beaches where you are from?

  

I Need an Intervention....

If you know me, you know TJ Maxx is my jam.  I LOVE that store but mainly b/c of their home decor section. I never dig through their clothes and usually just skim the purses and shoes.  Most times I just shoot straight to the back of the store to study everything in my favorite section.  Sometimes TJ can be a hit or miss and yesterday was definitely a hit.
I went to look for some Easter decorations and left with one Easter decoration and tons of random things.  I am so A.D.D.  In my defense, the Easter decor was pretty much picked over.  I did need a couple of kitchen things and the other things I bought were wants and not needs.  I could hear my dad in my head saying, "Is that a want or a need?".  Needless to say, I didn't listen.
Ok...here a some of my favorite things from my visit!

These garden stools were presh! Perfect pop of color for my cute little back yard. They even match my chevron cushions that are in my chairs! They were $39.99 and while that may be a good price for garden stools, I wasn't wanting to spend that much on one item. 

These silver lanterns look like they just pranced out of Pottery Barn.  Their prices were great too! The one on the right was $24.99! 

This display was so beautiful and colorful! It made me so excited for spring! I really like the way they mixed in the lanterns with the flowers and pots.

Obsessed.  All I have to say.

Succulents! I have recently fallen in love with these flowers and TJ had them everywhere!

I was wishing I had a place for these blue and white Ralph Lauren lamps.  They are too precious!

These chevron rugs were only $7.99!!

My cart....told you it was random. I sometimes like purchases like that though! I got some things for the kitchen, a cute Easter bunny, bowls, and a beautiful wood frame!

My favorite purchase hands down were the bowls! I swear I died a little when I saw them.  I bought 1 for each place setting (3 red and 3 orange).  I put them in my cart before I decided to buy them. I couldn't let someone else get them! I love that you can see the brush strokes and the colors are so vibrant. They match my dining room perfectly! At $3.99 per bowl, I would say I got a deal! :)

Do you have an obsession with TJ?  What's been your favorite find?

 



Help....Seriously.

Hi friends!
    I'm writing today to ask you to give me any advise on how to spruce up my blog page.  I really want to learn how to add things like a signature at the bottom of my posts, a banner, a new background, etc. 
    I know a few of you have "pretty" blogs and I'm hoping  you can give me some advise.  I really don't want to be spending over $100 for someone to design my page for me.  That's the problem I keep running into when searching google. I want to be able to do it on my own if possible.
    I hope by making these changes I will have more followers and be more excited to post things going on in my everyday life. I have so many things I want to write about!
   Thank you for any advise you can give!! :)

My Bucket List.

I hope everyone out there in "blog land" is having a wonderful Wednesday.  Things are slow here at work this afternoon which is causing my day to drag by. 
I know this is pretty random, but I thought I would share my bucket list with you.  I'm always interested to see what's on others.
These are in no particular order and I'm sure I will be adding to it as time goes on.
1. Get at least a Master's degree
2.  Ski in Utah
3.  Learn to surf in Hawaii
4.  Have an amazing bod
5.  Own a BMW
6.  Nanny at the beach or abroad
7.  Visit these places...Ireland, Australia, Bora Bora, Coastal Italy, Cannes, California, London and Vegas
8.  Return to Paris
9.  Take mama to Monet's Garden
10.  Take a Mediterranean cruise with my family
11.  Learn to play the piano.
12.  Buy a nicer camera and become an AMAZING photographer
13.  Eat healthier
14.  Learn to run
15.  Be successful in whatever career I decide to pursuit
16.  Find my prince charming and have my dream wedding.
17.  Have 3 kids
18.  Own a home
19.  Own a place at the beach
22.  Graduate

10 Reasons Fall is my Favorite!

In the past few days, I have noticed several people writing blogs about their favorite things about Fall.  I really enjoyed reading them and found we have many of the same favorites.  Here are my top 10 reasons Fall is my favorite time of the year.

1.  Burlap-I LOVE burlap! I personally think burlap looks nice all year round but I feel it looks especially nice during the Fall season. Last year my mom made me a burlap table runner for my dining room to go with my Fall tablescape. It was perfect! I pulled it out last night to use it again this year and it looks lovely. 

2.  Mums- These plants are my sure sign that Fall is officially here! I went by Walmart when I got off of work yesterday and bought a couple for my deck.  I plan to go back to get more soon to plant in pumpkins like I did last year. 

3.  Leaves-They are so pretty this time of year! I absolutely love their colors and how beautiful they make everything.  Sometimes when I am driving I will catch myself admiring the leaves changing on trees and forget for a second that I need to be paying attention to the road. Oops! :)

4.  Clothes-  I can't be more excited to pull out my riding boots, cardis, and scarves! Some of my favorite pieces of clothing are orange, brown, and oatmeal.  My favorite outfit to wear during this time is a dress with leggings and my brown leather riding boots.  I'm so ready to be sporting these items soon!

5.  Fair- If you are from Middle Georgia, the GA National Fair in Perry is "the" place to go in the Fall. I have gone every year since I was little.  There are rides, exhibit booths, concerts, and who can forget about the fair food?!  I love going with my family and the weather is always so nice.  One of my favorite memories of the fair is spending Senior skip day there.  A large group of us went and spent the whole day riding rides.  I went to Perry High School so we all use to go several times while it was in town. 

That's my cousin, Monica.  We were playing around with the cowboy hats a vendor was selling.

6.  Football-  I love to watch college football!! I am an avid LSU fan and try to watch every game.  I also love going to Athens to watch the Dawgs play but you won't catch me cheering them on.  I like going because college football is fun to watch live and b/c I LOVE Athens.  It's just such a fun little place to me. With all that being said, "GEAUX TIGERS"!

7.  Pumpkins-  I love pumpkins.  I like to decorate with them, use them for photo props, carve them, ect ect. Pinterest has been a great source for ways to be creative with pumpkins!  I don't like pumpkin flavored foods/coffees though.  I'm kinda bummed about that b/c everyone is always going on and on about reciepts that include pumpkin. 

8.  Thanksgiving-  My family always has a great turnout for Thanksgiving lunch.  We usually gather at my great aunt's house in Eastman because that is where most of my family lives.  I'm not really big into the food ( I hate turkey, dressing, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, gibblet gravy, cranberry sauce, ect.).  I know, I'm crazy.  Lucky for me there is a huge spread of other foods avaliable for me to stuff my face with.  I don't just look forward to Thanksgiving for the food.  I love my family more than anything and I  love having a day to spend with all of them.  I always try to remember the reason we celebrate this holiday.  Always count your blessings!

9.  Cool weather-  I'm obsessed with the weather this time of the year.  I just want to stay outside all of the time and I am NOT, I repeat, NOT an outdoor girl.  I hope to someday go to the mountains this time of year because the leaves are my favorite thing about Fall and I would love to see them there. I just never seem to have time. I really want that to change!

10.  Decor-  Now that I have my own house, I spend most of my free time sprucing things up.  I love to decorate for the different seasons and you guessed it, Fall is one of my favorties to decorate for.  I love the warm tones and the way the candles smell that I burn.  Last year I made these cute mumkins.   This year I plan to buy some fake pumpkins at Hobby Lobby to carve bc the real ones rotted in a week and I had to throw my cute little table decorations away.   :(  I blogged about that tablescape here.

This was taken on a trip to Pottery Barn recently. Don't we all wish our house looked like something out of PB?!

I hope you enjoy the Fall season!!

Last Hoo-rah...

This past weekend, my brother and I went down to St. Simons to meet my dad for our last beach trip of the summer.  Daddy has rented a house for 10 days and is enjoying some much needed alone time.  I'm super jealous! 
On Saturday, Cody and I scooted down the Golden Isle Parkway to spend the day on the beach.  I found my first sand dollars ever that day!  I was so proud!  My paternal grandfather, Jack, was notorious for finding tons of sand dollars every summer in SSI.  Daddy dubbed me "Little Jack" by the end of the day. I had lots of fun. If you have ever wondered how to find them, simply drag your feet along the bottom of the ocean and you will feel them (they are rough).  I threw all of mine back.  I just couldn't kill them.  Lol.

Around 6:00 we decided to go in and get ready for dinner.  We ended up ordering our dinner to-go from our favorite resturant, The Crap Trap.  It was delish as always!  After dinner, Cody and I went for ice cream at The Moo Cow and then went back to the house for bed.  We were tired from the drive and the sun.

The next morning we slept late and then went to the village for lunch.  We ate at another favorite, The Sandcastle.  I had the crab cake sandwich with clam chowder.  Amazing.

 After lunch, we strolled down to the pier to see what the fishermen were catching.  The city has recently re-done their pier area and it's beautiful!  Once at the end of the pier we spotted people taking pictures near a pelican.  The bird was huge and was being so sweet to let people snap photos.  I was a little aprehesive.  I didn't want to get too close incase it changed it's mind!  I have never seen a pelican that close before though. I think it must visit often.

Later that afternoon we went back down to the beach.  We went out to a sandbar and just sat around and talked.  It was so nice. 

Our trip was quick, but nice and relaxing.  I hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!