November 26, 2013

A Sweet Little Shoot

Last weekend, Beau and I set up a photo session with my sweet friend and owner of Sparkle Photography, Chelsea, in hopes of capturing a decent photo or two of us for this year's Christmas card. Let's just say I'm having a hard time deciding which of these will be gracing the front of this year's card. We had so much fun with Chelsea and her little crew! She had so many fun poses already picked out for us and made it so non-awkward and once you start scrolling, you'll see what a phenomenal job she did!

PS-Can we bring back this warm weather already?!
PSS-How'd I get so lucky to marry such a drop dead gorgeous man like Beau? #pinchme #mushy





















Thank you, Chelsea, for these incredible shots of Beau and I! They're already plastered all over my walls and we can't wait to share them with friends and family on our Christmas card this year!

November 25, 2013

How To: The Perfect Burlap Bow

This weekend, it was in the negatives and might as well have been snowing cats and dogs so I'm pretty sure I spent 80% of Saturday and Sunday in my pajamas and in front of a warm fire.

Ok half of that first sentence is a lie. It doesn't get into the negatives nor does it ever snow here in Texas but at 30-something degrees, I was convinced one of the two were bound to happen. I was also convinced this weekend that I'm just a big ol' wuss when it comes to winter weather and am already counting down the days 'til summer. There. I said it.

All that to be said, Saturday morning was spent getting ready for Thanksgiving (my first year to EVER host a holiday dinner!!), assembling more new bar stoools, decorating, as well as hanging stuff on my nekkid walls. And by "stuff" I mean, the printed photos I just framed from our recent photoshoot. I swear, I'm posting all the pics tomorrow from 'said' photoshoot but in the meantime, you're in for a little lesson today. That's right...today I'm teaching you, my friend, how to...

Tie the perfect burlap bow!

You know...because tying the perfect burlap bow IS a necessity in life, I tell ya and this little tutorial I found and followed on Pinterest is life changing.

Ok so first things first, you'll want to cut a big piece of burlap ribbon. This was the 2.5 inch wired burlap ribbon stuff from Hobby Lobby (where else?). For the frames I was adhering them to, I cut off about a 3 foot piece. When it comes to making bows of any kind, more is always better. Don't you ever forget that now, k?

Lay your burlap out flat and locate the middle section.

Then you'll want to cross the burlap somewhere in the middle, as shown below.

Now, you'll pinch the burlap smack dap in the middle with your fingers to give it it's bow-like shape. If you notice one "ear" is bigger on one side than the other, now's the perfect time to adjust it.

Here's what the front should look like:

Now, a very important step in keeping your bow held together...you must tie it off with something. You can use floral wire or if you don't feel like messing with wire cutters like me, just a thin piece of ribbon will do the trick. Tie it in a knot around the middle section-that's all ya need. It doesn't really matter what you use here because it's going to be covered anyway.


Now, you'll want to take another piece of burlap (I used a different color and a thinner type) to cover up the middle section of your bow.

Simply cut out your piece of burlap, wrap it around the middle section of your bow, and hot glue that baby in place.

Bada bing. Bada boom.

You just tied the perfect burlap bow and no actual "tying" was even involved! I swear, it's magical.

 And here's my final masterpiece, if you will!


The navy blue frames are originally from Hobby Lobby in size 8x10 and I absolutely love the way they look in our house! There are a few different colors/sizes in these frames and yes, you need them in your life.

And there you have it, my friends. Now go! And hot glue burlap bows onto everything you own!

November 20, 2013

Missing You

Missing you always, but November 20th of every year is the toughest day of the year for me.
Happy 54th birthday to my daddy. My angel. My everything.
Missing you more than ever today.

Be sure to hug your daddy extra tight today and be incredibly grateful he's still around. Life's just too short to take anything, especially our loved ones, for granted.

November 18, 2013

Weekends at the Ranch

Ohh weekends. Always toying with my emotions...

One day you're counting down til the suit and heels come off and the next thing you know you're clocking in and turning yet another page in your planner.

Such a love/hate relationship with these things that start with "week" and end with, well "end".

Anywho...since Friday, Saturday and Sunday have temporarily broken up with me for the next 4 days, I might as well relive the past 3 days of my life via iPhone photos. Right? Right.

One. Oakley and I mastered the backseat driver role on the way to our ranch this past Friday afternoon. And by "mastered" I clearly mean I was crammed in this little 1 foot by 1 foot sliver of Beau's backseat in his truck while she took up the other 90% of it. #bigdoginalittletruck
Two. Upon arriving to said ranch, I somehow managed to sedate my dog with enough bacon treats to get her to pose atop our ranch rock without falling into a bazillion cacti. Mission: accomplished.
Three. My awesome hunting getup. Workout clothes, Beau's XL camo backpack and little to no makeup. Such a fashion statement, I am.
Four. Refer back to #1.
Five. I'm convinced there is absolutely nothing more breathtaking than a South Texas sunset. Try me.
Six. Ranch-style sunflower seeds from a butter bowl whilst hunting from a deer blind on a Friday night. Something that I've done since I was a child and something that will never get old.
Seven. Oakie Bear sniffing out some old skulls on the fenceline. Have I ever mentioned how much I adore her curiosity?!
Eight & nine. A sunset photoshoot we had on Sunday evening with one of my sweet friends, Chelsea. She did incredible and I cannot wait to share all of them with y'all! More to come...I promise. (Unless you really...really...wanna spoil the surprise, I updated my "About" page after the shoot so here's a mini sneak peek!) ;)

How was your weekend? Surely it was spent eating sunflower seeds, crammed into the backseat of a truck with your 80 lb dog or running through open fields your guy. No?





November 13, 2013

21 Clear Signs You're A Dog Mom


1. The top item on your to-do list every week is "Buy more bones."

2. You know the 16th of every month is always the day you have to coat that delicious little heart worm pill in 2 pounds of peanut butter and shove it down your 4-legged creature's throat.

3. Everything on your counters is pushed all the way to the very back for fear of lurking counter surfers.

4. Your couch hasn't seen throw pillows since the day you brought your furry friend home.

5. Morning routines now involve encouraging potty breaks, puppy food and long walks around the hood.

6. The lunch breaks you used to use for shopping purposes have now been taken over by trips back home for more encouraging potty breaks and yet another walk.

7. Pumpkin, peanut butter and coconut oil are what you now refer to as "puppy crack".

8. Your Instagram feed looks like this, this and this.

9. Slobber, dog hair and wet nose prints are your newest accessories.

10. Nose art can and will always be found on your car window, your front door, your back door, your refrigerator door, your dishwasher and your shower door.

11. You now vacuum 2 times a week rather than 2 times a month and now that you have this curious animal following you around and biting at the cord, it takes twice as long.

12. Your garbage can has a new spot: behind the closed pantry door and facing backwards at all times.

13. Date nights are cut short by a few hours thanks to the guilt that comes with leaving your fur child in a kennel.

14. Conversations with friends went from "What's your favorite vodka?" to "What kind of food do you feed your dog?"

15. Day trips to the bar have turned into trips to the dog park.

16. There's no such thing as sleeping in on the weekends.

17. Your "No dogs on the bed or couch" rule went out the door at month 2.

18. A new section of your budget is carved out specifically for "The Dog".

19. Money spent on vacations is now spent on training sessions and boarding.

20. Getting ready in the mornings consists of 80 pounds of fur in your lap while her nose deep dives into the makeup drawer for brushes.

21. Speaking of couches...yours is now covered in sheets.

Goodness gracious...it's amazing how these little rascals change us so much and so quickly...all for the better, of course! 

*Post inspired by none other than THE Daily Tay. :)



November 12, 2013

The Best Advice I Ever Got Came From A Complete Stranger

This past weekend, at my friend Ashley's wedding, a woman came through the locker room where we were all getting ready and started chatting it up about the wedding. What time did the wedding start? Who was the bride? What did the dress look like? etc...

As she was walking out, my friend Ashley piped up and asked her "By the way, what's your best marriage advice?!" and this lady, this complete stranger whom which I didn't even get her first name, gave us all what I found to be the best marriage advice I had ever heard.

I've always heard the normal "Don't go to bed angry" or "Always kiss me goodnight" or even the old fashioned "Fight fair" but you know when you hear something for the first time and it just automatically sticks with you? That's how this was.

And this is what she said...


You all may have heard this before but I never had and I don't know why but it just really hit home for me.

While I'm sure you would all assume I'm a perfect angel when it comes to being a wife, I'm here to break the news to you all that I, indeed, am not the easiest person to be married to.

It was the moment I heard those words roll off her lips I knew I was meant to hear them.

Sometimes...okay a lot of times...I'm impatient, or busy, or frustrated, or all of the above and I find myself snapping at Beau. It's not fun and I don't enjoy it and that woman was right. Your spouse is your best friend so it only makes all the sense in the world to treat them that way.

I would never (intentionally) snap at my best friend or talk down to one of them on purpose but here lately, I haven't even thought twice about it when I've snapped at Beau or talked to him like he was a child even though he sometimes acts that way. He is my best friend and he doesn't treat me that way. We're in this thing together and for the long haul and gosh darn it, I want to treat him like he should be treated all of the time, not just sometimes.

So thank you, random locker room lady, for the best marriage advice anyone has ever told me. I wish you knew how appreciative I am of that.

And thank you, Beau, for being the kindest, most patient husband I could ever ask for. I'm still working on this whole "wife thing" and am so grateful to call you mine.


November 11, 2013

Hitched {#ojedawedding}




This weekend, one of my best friends/sorority sister/college roommate, Ashley, tied the knot to one of Beau's good friends/frat brother, Todd. You probably remember reading about this beauty from here and this past weekend, they sealed the deal, exchanged rings and made it official! I was honored to be a part of their drop dead gorgeous wedding at Houston Oaks, located in the outskirts of Houston.


Rehearsal






The "locker room" we so miserably had to get ready in...





























Instagram signs designed by yours truly. :)



Stunning is the understatement of the year. I still can't get over how perfectly fabulous the entire wedding was! Congratulations Ashley & Todd! Love y'all! 

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