It came and it went

 Tired doesn’t even BEGIN to describe how I’m feeling after this weekend.

Currently I’m sitting typing this blog, in a warm room, with a cozy cardigan, and I’m about to sleep on the keyboard. Not the pretty, feminine type sleeping. I’m talking about the face down, drooling on the keyboard, ugly sleep. Perhaps the key is to take off the cozy cardigan and turn the air down to like, 32 degrees, and then maybe {doubt it} just maybe I will stay awake.

I’ll make no promises.

Not even this ice cold coke is helping.

It all started on Friday. If you remember from last time, I mentioned that Charles had his ten year reunion coming up. It came & it went {along with my sleep..} and we didn’t waste a single minute. After working all day Friday, I went straight to the local farmers co-op to buy some hay {pictures to follow…} for our bonfire. I ran to the grocery store to grab a few things {when company comes into town, you’ve gotta make sure you have the important things like water bottles, granola bars, toothpaste, haha} and then rushed home to spot clean and get my hair / makeup done before the festivities.

Since Charles had a lot of out of town friends in, we decided to get everyone together at a locally owned {and kind of absolutely} incredible Guatemalan restaurant called Rolando’s. After the roughly 20 of us ate, had a few drinks, and chatted for a few hours, we all went back to our house for a {wait for it….} bonfire! I can’t believe it’s starting to be about that time. It was also the first fire we made in the new firepit, so we were thrilled to get to share that moment with our friends from near and far. We may have gotten a tad carrier away, because we had friends over until 5 in the morning. Yes, you read that right, 5 in the morning. Who do we think we are, 21 year olds? It was an absolute BLAST.

I woke up at about 7am the next morning {I know, two hours sleep, WHY} and started some crockpot homemade cinnamon rolls, which, I might add, were delicious. I then started assembling our absolutely huge very small but still amazing mimosa and bloody mary bar! The guys were going golfing that morning / afternoon, so I thought mimosas would be great for the girls before our day and bloody mary’s would be the perfect send off for the guys before their golfing adventure. The guys went off golfing while the girls sat on the patio catching up. We then went to lunch at a local restaurant with a nice patio {if I didn’t mention how perfect the weather was last weekend, shame on me, because I should have, and it was}. The guys met up with us on the patio of JJ’s after they golfed and we had a few drinks and enjoyed the weather until it was time to get ready for the reunion.

We got to the reunion which was at one of our favorite places here in town, 21 West End. Although I didn’t graduate with Charles’ class and I didn’t know everyone there, it was so much fun to see him interacting with people that he used to hang out with when he was younger. It was a sight to see! After another quite long night, I woke up way too early, but it was nice to grab a blanket and a hot cup of coffee and sit on the deck, enjoying the peace and quiet on an extremely chilly morning while the others slept {some until noon…}. As a send off for all of our friends who were staying with us, we all went out to eat at Pho Vietnam. Now I know that this place isn’t named “the hangover cure” but it might as well be, this food is absolutely amazing and always makes us feel better.

Now the work week is back upon us, and I have so many fond memories of this past weekend. Our upcoming weekend isn’t going to be nearly as exciting, in fact, I have nothing on my docket, but I’m looking forward to that.

I’ll send you off with a little photo love!

A few of the girls at dinner Friday night!

Cuddling by the fire on a hay bale under a flannel blanket..this is what life is meant for.

My attempt at a mimosa bar / bloody mary bar. I think it turned out pretty well for just whipping it up on short notice!

4 hours on a patio on a beautiful day..can't beat that

SHS reunion 2015!

Hay bales around the fire pit. I just had to do it!

 

The one before the one

 Phew.

That’s actually the only word that there is to describe what I’m feeling right now about the past few weeks. Phew – they are over, and I’m left over here, a delightful mixture of exhaustion, delight, lethargy, anxiousness, and excitement.

We’ve had a fabulous rest of our September since the last time I’ve caught up with you all. We had a baptism for our precious nephew and godson, Liam. We celebrated our two friends who are about to get married. We had house guests. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We went to my cousin Andrew’s wedding in Shreveport. We built a firepit. We had a surf n turf party with Charles’ boss. We got a new washer and dryer {yes, I had to throw that in there, my laundry takes me NO time at all now..} But most of all, Charles and I enjoyed the last bout of summer side by side.

But those things are in the past. Let’s talk about the future…

It is now October, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. October to me signifies the start of a season where everyone is happier, where the weather is beautiful, where I start baking, where football is in full swing, where smelling my hair and having it smell like a bonfire is actually a good thing..

This October brings Charles’ TEN YEAR RUINION. Yep. Count ‘em. Ten whole years has passed since his graduation from high school. We didn’t graduate from the same high schools {or even in the same year…} but I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about this weekend and the upcoming festivities. We have some of our out of town friends that Charles graduated with staying with us this weekend, and I have to say, I think I have a few fun activities planned {stay tuned for that next time!} I will give you a teaser though – our house guests will be getting homemade crockpot cinnamon rolls, and Saturday morning, there may just be a Mimosa Bar and a Bloody Mary Bar involved…Mimosas for the girls as we plan our girls day, and Bloody Mary’s for the guys as they get ready to golf. We don’t have house guests a lot and I’ll have to admit – I love playing hostess. I’m not sure what it is..maybe it just makes me feel grown up.

I am very excited to bring you next week’s edition {I’m hoping to have so many photos and fun stories from this weekend to share with you – it will be a reunion / how I prepare for house guests segment..stay tuned}

Let me share some photos of the past few weeks to hold you over!

And that's a wrap

Labor day has come and gone, and with that means another summer {and another lake season} have come to an end. If I stopped long enough to think long and hard about it, I would probably become pretty upset with this fact – because I do love some summertime – but before I can get too beat up about it, I think about how excited I am for fall.

Oh, by the way, yes, today was the first official day that the Pumpkin Spice Lattes are out. Walk Run to get yours. {Yes – I did get one today because a sweet coworker brought one to work for me – and I like mine with two pumps of toffee nut, so check that out!}

All I’ve wanted to reflect on lately has been how blessed I have been. I’m sure this is a constant struggle for most people, but do you ever just look around and become at peace about your life? I sure do, and lately, more than I ever have. I’ve seen a lot of heartache and loss this year, more so than in past years, and while I could use this time to question my faith and how God could let these terrible things happen to such good people, I’ve used the time to focus my energy towards being thankful to God over the immense blessings He has bestowed me with.

I have two adorable nephews, a precious niece, wonderful parents and siblings, in-laws that love and accept me, the sweetest and cutest Dobermans in the world, a job that I enjoy going to every day, and last, but certainly not least, a husband that means everything in the world to me.  

The following bible verse has been coming into my mind lately {I’m sure you’ve heard it!}:

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

If I replace the word “Love” and enter the name “Charles,” I find that the verse I am reading is true. Charles is patient. Charles is kind. Charles does not envy, Charles does not boast, Charles is not proud. Charles keeps no record of wrongdoings. Charles does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Charles always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This is how I know I’ve found the man for which I am meant to spend my entire life.

I’ve always felt that I’d found my match, my person, in Charles, but lately this feeling has been overwhelming. Maybe it’s because we are approaching our 2^nd wedding anniversary later this month, or maybe God is just working in mysterious ways, but I have a feeling of peace about our future. It truly is well with my soul. Maybe all the sorrow and heartbreak I’ve seen lately was meant to happen to teach me the significance of the greatest blessings that I have right in front of me.

 

Love Remains the Same

Once upon a time, I had written a witty and amazing blog post. Perhaps the best one of all. And then reality set in, I was trying to do 5 things at once, and I ended up accidentally deleting said blog post before posting. The struggle IS real. I was extremely frustrated with myself at first, but then realized that I couldn’t do anything about it, so I decided to take a break and restart later. So here I am!

I don’t think I can even attempt to mirror what I had previously written {I’ve slept since then, HARD!} but I will try to think of something right around the same level of amazing {wishful thinking, wishful thinking..} I’m currently sitting on top of my comfy bed, with my new cozy blanket, a cup of tea {with marshmallows in it..because, well, marshmallows!} , a fall candle burning right beside me, and my husband sitting in the other room watching a few pre-season NFL games{which I must say, makes my heart very happy, it's a pleasant sound to hear. Happy fall!}. I think I’m ready for this. Aaaand, go.

As I grow older, I’ve noticed a lot of my tastes changing. They say your tastes start changing every 7{?} years {or so?}, and for me I feel that this is pretty accurate. This ranges from a wide spectrum of things, from my taste in company, food and drink tastes, musical tastes, pretty close to everything.

Ever since I was about 18 or so, I’ve been {gradually} incorporating, and dare I say even liking vegetables, but recently I’ve been LOVING all vegetables that I used to loathe. Tomatoes? Yum. Brussel Sprouts? Pass ‘em over. Okra? Gimme. Carrots? Mine. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with these vegetable cravings. Was I pregnant? Was I having some sort of mental breakdown? What was the root cause of this sudden onset love of vegetables? As it turns out, neither of the above were the culprit {although I’m sure some people would argue the latter..} I honestly think that I am just getting a bit braver as I get older and more willing to try new things.  

This is a change I am kind of extremely happy about: I am not longer just a sweet white wine lover! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dumping all of my moscato d’asti and Riesling down the drain, but I’m no longer reaching for them at the liquor store. Now, I’m looking for chardonnay and cabernet {and dare I say even the occasional shiraz..} Do I somehow feel more sophisticated drinking these newfound wines? You betcha. In case you were wondering, my current favorite brand is actually by Dave Matthews. The brand is called Dreaming Tree. DELICIOUS and your wallet will thank you, because this wine is budget friendly. A couple more of my favorites are Freakshow and 14 Hands..so walk run to your nearest liquor store and get your hands on a bottle {or two, or three..}

Musical tastes have absolutely changed. I hear most electronic music and I think “wait, is this music?” I’m over my “only rap music” phase, although I do love myself a nice rap song when I’m driving with the windows down. Don’t judge, you know you do it too. I’ve been really digging the Michael Buble Pandora station lately. It features good ole Michael himself, Frank Sinatra, Ben E King, & of course, Norah Jones, the classy lady herself!

You know the saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same. There are a few things in my life that aren’t going to change: my love for Charles, my faith, my love of my family, my chocolate & coffee obsessions, and my habit of watching reality tv shows, just to name a few. And you know what? I’m ok with that. My life is in a better place than I could have ever imagined.

Let's get down to the recap portion of our blog post today:

Fresh Farmers Market flowers..$5 for these beauties that will last weeks. Go home with your $15 bouquets that last 2 days, Wal-Mart. Although I still do love walmart..

You can't beat end of summer nights on the deck with your handsome hubby and a nice glass of red wine. You just can't beat it!

Honestly, it's felt more like fall lately than it has summer {well, at least the nights and the mornings feel that way} so I've been trying to spend as much time as possible outside on the deck with the girls {yes, the dogs..}

While at the lake last weekend, the mister and I woke up at around 6am to a thunderstorm. There's nothing quite like the sound of thunder when you're waking up. We decided to make the most of it and spend the early morning hours cuddling on the deck listening to the storm in a hammock.

When thunderstorms disappear, it's time to take a sunset boat ride with the family..and I'm glad I wore this shirt over my swimsuit and we were BOTH glad I had this blanket, because it got CHILLY.

Lake views..why isn't this my permanent view?

 



You know we love local things, and Friday we got the pleasure of trying out CORE brewing company that just came to our town. What and awesome place! If you're around my area, check it out, you won't be disappointed.

I hope as much as your life changes, some things remain the same. 

It could be worse

If I told you that my past two weeks have been dull, I would be seriously misleading you. Sadly, the adventure has nothing to do with any fun, wild, or crazy plans, it has more to do with a series of unfortunate events.

For starters, two Wednesday night’s ago, right around midnight, our 55 pound Doberman, Milli, came running into the house and jumped right into bed with us, only for us to find out that she had been skunked. Yes, you read it right. Skunked. It was the most FOUL smell in the history of smells, and it led me to spending from 12am until 6:30 am steam cleaning, washing sheets, cleaning curtains, mopping, giving dog baths, etc. Not exactly what a girl needs to be doing when she has to work 8 hours the next day {I did not possibly almost fell asleep on my desk..}

What makes matters worse is the fact that we were leaving that Friday to go to my nieces christening in Dallas, so we had to leave a semi-lingering skunk smell all throughout the house. Again, not ideal. I was about to have to do round two of steam cleaning, washing sheets, dog baths…

That following weekend was a whirlwind of family visits, playing with sweet babies, spending WAY too much time in the car, and finally coming home and crashing. The heat is getting unbearable here in good old Fort Smith, which has been putting me in this mood of cranky exhaustion and lusting over the fall {can’t sneak a late summer blog post in without mentioning fall somewhere..}

Then a few days ago, I am pulling out of my driveway and much to my dismay, I see our neighbors house on fire! I can’t make these things up. It’s been a mess of a few weeks. Always an adventure for the Alley duo.

This past weekend, Lake Ouachita was my zone of peace, and I had every intention of getting a few {too many} library books to bring with me for the trip. A hammock on the deck overlooking the lake and a nice book, a bottle of wine, and sunset boat rides? I had THE best time. It was also a bit chilly during the morning times with zero humidity, which is unheard of during a southern summer, so I took full advantage of having coffee outside on the deck. Fall is coming, fall is coming..insert happy dance here.

After every peaceful weekend comes a hectic week. That’s right..we got skunked. Again. Two weeks to the day of the last skunking. And that day is today. I’ve had only a few hours of sleep and my house smells like skunk {and so do I...sorry if I work with you and you've smelled me..Guilty as charged.}

So lately, I’ve been watching shows on hulu / Netflix like they’re going out of style. Washing dishes? Bust out my iPad. Doing laundry? Put on the Netflix. Cooking dinner? Who doesn’t love a good show in the background to pass the time. This has been especially helpful lately as I've been pulling all nighters right and left with skunk problems.. Lately, I’ve been getting back into Mistresses {scandalous}, Preachers Daughters {where in the world did they find these people?!}, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars {like I’ll ever grow out of that}, and of course, The Bachelorette / Bachelor in Paradise!

Let’s jump right into some fun things that I’ve been doing the past week..

Because floppy hates, handsome drivers, and a cute Kate Spade tumbler are required for a road trip {Shout out to Paperwerk for the tumbler!}

Lake Ouachita & Lily Pad's with lifelong friends

When it feels like a glorious, humidity free {&& dare I say chilly morning}, you take advantage appropriately by wrapping in a mustard yellow crocheted blanket and drink coffee on the deck. You just do.

I can't even begin to describe my love for this picture. Sunset rides with bae are literally the epitome of perfection.



Okay Lake Ouachita, we get it, you're wonderful & glorious.

Alright, I've rambled on long enough, I can sense the laundry about to be done, I'm running on coffee and fumes, and I have to go to the Suite One debut of their Swanky Sooie line..smelling like a skunk.

It could be worse. 

On my Radar..

Well I’m back again for my 6 month check in!

That’s what it seems like anyway. I haven’t exactly been the best at keeping up and checking in lately. I don’t mean to be this way {and by this way, I mean sporadic in my blogging} but life keeps getting in the way! I’m really trying to make a conscious effort to get back into the habit of regular check ins. I feel like something is missing when I’m not writing about something anything {and if you’ve read any of my previous posts…everything}.

So what was I up to last time? Scrolling through my last post, it looks like it was right before Valentine’s Day as well as right before I hosted my sister’s gender reveal party at my house.

WOW. I can’t won’t even try to find the words to describe the whirlwind known as my last few months. {I said I won’t try to find the words, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t show you via pictures…} That being said, I will be posting some “rehash” pictures at the end, but I figured I would do a segment on “What I’ve been loving lately.” Can this be a wonderful transition post before my next post about what is happening in my life in the present? We’ll see {I do love something to aim for….}

Let’s get right to it:

»   Library Cards. Enter back with me to, approximately, 15 years ago. I was always amazingly in love with reading. Reading by the pool. Reading in bed with a cup of coffee & pj’s. Reading with a flashlight {light’s out is no joke, thanks mom}. Then IT happened. Yes, I’m talking about becoming a teenager. Friday nights meant movies with friends and listening to music, talking on AOL Instant Messenger with my boyfriend, trying out new makeup…the list goes on. Then I grew out of that phase {Lord, help} and then something ELSE happened. Yes, college. Between working and going to college full time, the only books I was reading were textbooks. I have now been graduated from college for 3 years {Hallelujah, thank you Jesus} and I’m finally getting back into the reading swing. But books aren’t cheap, y’all! Enter the library card. Here’s a few suggestions for you: Sparkly Green Earrings, The Antelope in the Living Room, & The Devil in the Junior League.

»   Organizing anything {and everything..} Y’all. It’s as if I’m pregnant and nesting. I don’t know WHY I have been feeling the constant need to organize everything I can get my hands on. My house thanks me for it, so I guess this I don’t really care why this has been such a love of mine lately.

»   Oversized sweaters in statement colors – Particularly loving mustard yellow, burnt orange, and wine colored sweaters..and booties..and jewelry..It’s not even fall yet and I’m already lusting over fall everything. I have to literally talk myself out of putting fall wax in the scentsy burner. I think it has something to do with when they start putting out school supplies, I go into fall freak out mode. {I will wait until football season, I will wait until football season…}

»   Farmers markets – It’s been so much fun walking around farmers markets in the mornings and trying new, fresh food. Not only do you get greater portions of the food for a fraction of the price, the quality is top notch. Charles & I have been having too much fun thinking of all sorts of fun, healthy recipes to create with our farmers market finds.

»   The Bachelor / The Bachelorette – I realize that I’m late to this party, but guys. I’m hooked. Yes I realize it’s one of “those” reality shows, but I can’t help it. It just keeps pulling you in. Nothing quite like sitting in your pj’s drinking wine, & watching 18 girls cry in the span of an hour or two. Genius.

»   Classical Church Music – There is a Pandora station that I have been LOVING lately and it’s called “O God Beyond All Praising.” I love listening to it when I am particularly anxious about something {a musical Xanax, if you will..} and I even like to listen to it at work while I’m working on a project or have a few spare minutes. This is primarily an instrumental version of church music {not Christian radio music, think church music, old school style – As the Deer, It is Well, Be still my soul, Jesu joy of man’s desiring…} Do your soul a favor and have a listen.

If anyone is reading this and you have a new obsession, send ‘em my way.

 

And now what you’ve all been waiting for…I know, the suspicion, the intrigue..A few photos to document my last few months.

We had a gender reveal party at my house {because y'all know how much I love to be the hostess!} My sister was going to have a sweet baby BOY!

We went to a motorcycle rally with great friends..

We got pictures taken by the fabulous Erin Wilson.

We partied for baby Liam!

We Lake Ouachita'ed all over the place.

We were blessed with a new niece, Tess!

WE WENT TO HARRY POTTER WORLD!

We fell more in love.

We became Godparents to sweet baby Liam.

 

That's all...until next time.

"You can't litter negativity everywhere and then wonder why you've got a trashy life"

Up & Coming

I’m well aware that this amateur attempt for a blog doesn’t reach many viewers, it’s more of my own way to remember things that were on my mind, things that have happened, and things I’m looking forward to..I guess you could call it my own personal internet diary? Sure, we will go with that. Anyway, hello to anyone out there reading!

 

With a pop, a fizz, & a clink, the New Year came and went. Charles and I actually fell asleep on the couch at about 9:30pm – shocking typical. I honestly wouldn’t have traded it, though. We had a fire going, a bottle of champagne, and two loving and adorable puppies curled up with us. Perfect ending to an otherwise routine evening in the Alley household. We then spent all New Year’s Day watching movies and football. Again, epitome of perfection for this 25 year old {but feels like 30 year old} wife.

 A lot has happened over the course of the last few weeks, some things I wouldn’t have expected and some things that I have been anxiously awaiting, yet it still feels like I haven’t been up to much. Most changes occurred at work, so I won’t bore you with too many details, but I will say that my position added responsibilities and opportunities that I have been anxiously awaiting, so stay tuned.

Since my January was probably too boring to even write about, I figured I would talk this time about what I’m looking forward to in the next few weeks..

First, the Superbowl! We love having people over {really, I just love cooking and getting together with friends…and I’m so proud of the progress that we have made on our house, so showing it off is a plus.} We have some friends that we haven’t seen in a long while coming over to watch the game with us. One of our friends is bringing his girlfriend who just moved here to town from Colorado, and we are so excited to meet her!

Second, I’ve been anxiously awaiting and planning my sister and her husband’s gender reveal party! I am hosting the party at our house in February, and couldn’t be more thrilled to have people over and enjoy the fun announcement together. Don’t worry, this will warrant more pictures than you probably care to see.

Every year, right around Valentine’s Day, we always have our annual friend’s weekend at Lake Ouachita at the lake house. This year, we are all going to our lake house on Friday, enjoying a nice evening relaxing at the house, and then going to the horse races together on Valentine’s Day! I’m SO excited. We have a new couple joining us this year, and we have become such fast friends that I know they will make a wonderful addition to friend’s weekend.

I’m also {finally} taking a personal day from work on that Friday to spend a little “Michele” time and pamper myself. I really haven’t taken days off work since my honeymoon back in 2013, and I need a “Michele” day. I’m going to sleep in {and by sleeping in, I mean “Michele’s version of sleeping in”…which is until about 7am} I have a massage booked for first thing in the morning, I have a mani/pedi scheduled for right after my massage, and then off to get my hair trimmed & colored and my eyebrows done by the fabulous Curtis Miller. There may even be some mimosas involved. Did I mention that I am counting down the days until Feb. 13^th? After that, I’ll head home to get ready to drive to the always beautiful Lake Ouachita with some great friends!

March will bring a Florida trip for my cousin’s wedding, so stay tuned for that as well!