Lulu, you have taken over my life...

You ever had anything that you are just addicted to? and I mean this in a trendy way....not your complete and utter devoutness to that Cookout milkshake that will.never.die.kindofway. 


I can.NOT stop buying workout gear from Lululemon. It has become such a problem. I get giddy with excitement when I get the email stating that they have new gear out. The adorable sales girls know me by name at the store. I go to their website every morning (after checking work email of course, but before I start my blog reads). If I know a package is waiting for me at home, I am an outta control maniac on the road to get home (Dale Jr. would have nuthin' on me). Anyone else see a problem here?

The pros of this addiction? It makes me want to go work out immediately and not stop until I am sopping wet. I feel like I could run forever when I feel like I have a cute workout outfit on. They are also a super cool, quirky fun company. Check em out if you haven't a clue as to what I'm talking about.

The con? The prices. Lord have mercy, they are expensive.

But here's the deal...a tidbit of insight for those of you who haven't been clued in yet. They last for a very, very, very long time. How you ask? keep them out of the dryer. That's how. Easy, huh? Laying out dry-fit material or Luxtreme (as lulu calls it) material to air dry makes it last 5-7 years longer. Uh yea, you heard that right. years. Air drying also gives your work out gear a fresher smell than if you were to dry it in the dryer (heat keeps in the smell).

Anyhoo, back to my addiction. I guess there could be worse things to get excited about. While I def should probably by stock in this company, I know my limits. There's plenty of items that I just stare longingly at. Here are some of my fav items as of late!

ugh, if only money grew on trees. oh well. i assume this too shall pass;)

So Long, Insecurity

Every other Thursday night, 12 teenage girls pile into my house to attempt to rid themselves of this pain.in.the.everlovin'.butt insecurity issue. Let's face it...it is one of the biggest detriments to women,  beginning with teenage girls. The sucky part? It starts at such a young age (Mean Girls anyone??) and when you're young, you think those issues go away as an adult. Ohhh, if only. Can they change? Yes. Do they evolve? Absolutely. But they don't go away. There's still the Lindsey Lohan/Rachel McAdams wannabe mean girl out there. The guy who makes you question yourself. The parent who doesn't support or encourage. Whatever the reason is, insecurity exists in everyone, whether they are willing to admit it or not.

Let me just say, I feel completely inadequate to be helping lead this study. Not in the least bit worthy.

Why? Because this has been an obvious struggle for me since middle school.

Have I come a long ways? Absolutely. Am I where I need to be to lead this? Not.Even.Close.

But I'm here and I pray that I can be an encouragement and example to these young girls. The pressure is there though, let me tell you, to make sure that I'm continuing to work away at my insecurities. God forbid I be a hypocrite (side note...this is one of my biggest fears and biggest pet peeve with other Christians).

I've realized that while I still struggle with the everyday insecurities of a 29 year old, I've been where these girls are. We all have. I just hope that them hearing this at their age opens their eyes and ears to identify it in themselves and hopefully avoid this trap as much as possible.

If you're reading this, can you take a quick second to say a quick prayer for these girls as they go through this? I think it's pretty obvious that our society doesn't help with any girls self-image, especially a teenager, but we can make a difference one girl (including ourselves!) at a time, right?!


P.S. Kudos to Beth Moore for writing this book to address this issue! If you haven't already, even if you don't associate yourself with any religion, I would highly recommend this! It's relevant, practical, and funny!

Baby Shower, part deux

No words for this post, just the pics I collected from shower attendees:)

The soon-to-be parents

Toys for Harley because she can't be left out

I think I posted this on the last one?? But if not, it's Allie+I with my aunt and grandmother

A better view of the dessert table, with the actual food in place

a better view of the drink area (still not complete, but better than what I had)

One of the food tables

Gifts, gifts, and more gifts...

That was such a great weekend! Glad we got that shower in before it got into the 90's here...ughhhh.

ISeeNoise

Decorating a house is hard. and can be very labor-intensive + not pocketbook friendly.

I like to say that my style is chic+glam with gold+sparkle. This can be pretty tough to accomplish given the cost of furniture and accessories (sorry, but $500 for a table is a major investment for this girl). I like to take it room-by-room in order to give myself a reprieve- physically+emotionally...YES, emotionally (I tell ya, decorating can take it out of you)- and to build up my bank account again.

I was SO EXCITED yesterday though to come across the Etsy shop ISeeNoise. The owner is an artist out of Vancouver whose pictures embody my style to a T. The best part? Her prices are ridiculously reasonable. So what do I do? I buy 3 of them. I'm either that obsessed or have no discipline at saying no to pretty things.

This one is my fav and will find a spot on my bathroom wall as soon as I get it....

My bedroom + bathroom are now almost complete...yayyy!!

And I was like baby, baby, baby, ohhhh...

We had Allie's first baby shower this weekend! (Sorry for the Justin Bieber reference...I doubt Sawyer is going to be as big of a fan as his aunt)

An amazing time with even more amazing friends and food. Thank you Pinterest for all the fabulous decorating ideas...

Since Sawyer's nursery colors are blue and green, we went with different shades of those two colors with a vintage feel.

A baby shower in the South isn't complete without mason jars...

This was the Blessings Board. Everyone writes a little note to Matt, Allie, or Sawyer for them to look at later. Such a great idea!

We gave this to Allie to put in Sawyer's room as part of the Blessings Board. I pray that he understands this at a young age.

Sawyer got some incredible gifts! Including these cute booties and hat from coconut robot.

With his name inscribed on the bottom! Love.Love.Love.

Thank you Kacia!

Allison & I with my grandma and aunt, the dessert bar, and little man's banner (with the R cut off. Gosh, I'm one awesome photographer :/). 

I took very few and beyond terrible pictures-obviously minimal decor pics-but other people did, so I will post those when I get my hands on them! 

All I can say is that Sawyer is going to be on blessed little guy, surrounded by love and prayer. I am beyond excited to meet him! 

12 weeeeeks!! EEEEK!!!

Patience is a virtue...

At least, that's what I keep telling myself. I strongly believe that when my Creator was handing out patience, I stepped out of line. Waiting around, literally and figuratively, is just not my strong suit. I have two exceptions to the rule...waiting on the elderly and waiting on mama's with little children (unless they have zero parenting skills and their children are bad-mannered, bratty, and the parent does nothing to address behavior). Even then, I have to check myself on occasion.

My struggle here though is patience in LIFE. That's the biggie. It's always been since I started college. Probably even before. Me questioning "when is this going to happen?" or "when is that going to go away?" seem to be daily questions. Ugh.

Which brings 3 things to mind:

• God's timing + my timing can be, and likely are, completely different.

• As Beth Moore says, as a Christian, you will have "seasons" in your life to grow, stretch, and test you. 

• I am trying to find full contentment + peace in something else, instead of enjoying the stage in life I am currently in.

Here's the beauty of Christianity. God spells it out for us. It's my job to listen, learn, and apply. Problem with that?? I don't stop long enough to. And I like to be in control. EEEK! Not a good combo.

One would think that after 4 years of high school, 4 years of college, and 7 years as a "true adult", I would have learned by now. I'll admit it. I'm a little dense. I know that He has been trying to teach me lessons, but they didn't fit into MY plan or schedule. So as I sit here thinking about the "why" and "when" questions, I'm realizing that I am the problem. HE is waiting on ME.

Wow. This makes me beyond grateful for His kind of patience. If the roles were reversed, I can promise you that I would have been given up on a long time ago (especially considering my patience skills, or lack thereof). It makes me beyond grateful that His mercies are new every morning and I'm given a fresh start every day.

It makes me thankful for this season, as Beth calls it, in my life. It makes me look for contentment + peace in different places than I have before. And it's making me step back and hand the reins to someone else. Someone who knows me way better than I know myself and someone who knows what's best for me. A completely and utterly terrifying thing to do, but Lord knows that this chick is usually her own worst enemy (literally). So really, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Score.

*Just a side note, a girlfriend of mine helped start a blog called #shereadstruth. It's kind of a daily devotional board that rocks. Check it out here. I promise you won't be disappointed!

the long weekend

I love long weekends. Two days of no work, emails, voicemails, one day of the American markets being closed...pure bliss. As if that wasn't enough, I spent it with 8 of my closest friends at the beach. We were like a little family all weekend. So fun. I got another little nice, unexpected surprise that I will address later via pictures.

I'm gonna let the pics tell the story of this weekend...prepare yo-self.

Yes, it was black bikers weekend. Saw some not.so.amazing sights. Did see tons of amazing bikes around. For real. And met some really nice people!

Tons, tons, and tons of beach time.

Dinners out (Lil Jon and I)

Certain people being annoyed at me for taking pics...they got over it.

Pretty fishbowl drinks

Two of my fav peeps, Em and Kaci. #Chictothenextlev!

Soooo, regarding this unexpected until 24hoursbeforeIleft surprise...Chad asked me to meet him in Hot-lanta for a Braves game on Saturday. 

I packed up some of my stuff, drove the 5.5 hours to the city on Saturday, picked him up from the airport, and we headed to the Underground since we had a couple hours to kill before the game. Just want to say, the Underground was HIS idea. And it was a billion 103 degrees outside. KILL ME. Anyways, we walk into the Underground mall and immediately walk into a chick brawl. Awesome. Clearly we didn't stay long. We walked back out and just died in the sweltering heat the rest of the day. 

       

Chad and I at the game. Can you tell how hot and humid it was?!

I also got to see Ann! She let me crash at her place so we got to hang out with her while in Atlanta. It was so good to see her...she's been one of my best friends since we met at orientation at TU. Pray for her if you're reading this. She's been diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease and it's a daily struggle, especially with her two precious little girls. You can follow her blog here. 

Chad flew out Sunday morning and I headed back to the beach...I did get a text saying this little peanut missed me. So of course I had to hurry back. 

Our last night at the beach, we decided to go to Mellow Mushroom and to Broadway. If you don't have a Mellow Mushroom around you, I suggest you drive until you get to one. SO GOOD. 

Hungry beach babes

Kaci & I

Finally, no beach trip would be complete without Sugar Shack. Apparently it's a Chuck Norris fav.

Overall, fabulous Memorial Day weekend. I saw this quote and I thought it summed up perfectly the meaning of Memorial Day. "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." I am so thankful to our soldiers and the sacrifices of so many to protect the freedoms that I get to enjoy as a proud American.