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!

 

A picture's worth a thousand words

You have all heard the saying "A picture's worth a thousand words," and it is amazingly accurate! This weekend, pictures more accurately explain my whereabouts and what I was up to better than I would ever be able to explain to you. So without further delay..



There were martini's

There were handsome dates..

 

Charles bought an Elf on the Shelf {he says he will use it to scare me during the holidays. I don't really think that's what the poor little guy was designed for..}

There was cooking...and watching my handsome man build a fire throught the window

Charles practiced being a dad..

There were s'mores with the sissy {I FINALLY got to wear the handmade poncho I got in Mexico..happy dance!}

This happened....holey moley

The dogs helped out a lot, plenty of this occurred.

The beautiful Monday morning rainbow I saw outside the office today. "Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made.."


It was a beautiful weekend filled with friends, good food, family, shopping, cleaning and organizing, and resting / pampering. How could you complain about a weekend like that?! I'll see you all back here soon! XO

Michele

It's that time of the week again...

Happy, happy, HAPPY Friday, y’all! <3

This week flew by, which is surprisingly welcome due to the fact that the past three weeks have just continued to drag on. I am so excited for a weekend at home to enjoy this wonderful fall weather, work on the house {I got most of the cleaning done last night so I can relax on the deck tomorrow morning with a cup of coffee…yeah!}, and enjoy friends and family. Oh, and football, lots and lots of football and snuggles. Insert cheesy grin here.

Isn’t it funny that your idea of a “fun weekend” changes with age? A fun weekend to me used to mean a party on Friday AND Saturday. Maybe a big show in Fayetteville. Now? A fun weekend is sitting at home, cleaning house, cooking food, reading, maybe getting some shopping in {I plan on doing ALL of these things this weekend, by the way…} Even though Charles is about to be 27 and I’m about to be 24, I feel as if some of the people we associate with feel like we are “old and boring”. Well, maybe we are. But I’d take that over young and reckless any day of the week, I’ll tell ya.

I hope my Friday passes quickly. This girl just has a few hours and an afternoon meeting to make it through until my weekend begins! 3pm, I’m longing for you!

Since it’s Friday, let’s hop right in to 5 for Friday! Here’s what’s on my mind this Friday!

{ONE}

Good deals! When I’m shopping, I try to look for the best deals around in order to get the most bang for my buck. I got incredibly lucky this week with some of the deals that I stumbled across. First, I made the trek to Old Navy, where I found 2 zip front oversized cardigans, 2 cozy, lounging shirts, 2 pairs of the most adorable boot socks, the cutest mustard yellow sweater, and 2 pairs of super cute funky flats! That’s 9 items that would have totaled well over $150 dollars. I scored ALL of these items for $62 dollars. Old Navy is having a KILLER sale going on right now, so I highly recommend scooting on over to your local store and getting your fall “must haves.”

Another place I stumbled upon that had killer deals was JC Penney. Now, I normally always find amazing deals at Penney’s but this time took the cake. I got the about 6 tops and sweaters and two scarves, which, before all of the sales, would have been over $200. Of course everything there is typically on an extreme sale, and this time was no different. With all of the sale they had going on, it brought my total down to $110. Then, after all of the coupons they emailed me and sent to my home {y’all, I CANNOT stress enough how important it is to subscribe for email updates and mailing coupons from stores…it only works to your benefit}, I spent only $68 dollars! I mean, could I have gotten any more lucky with that? You best believe I was thrilled. Of course, I made my weekly visit to Suite One on new arrival day {wild horses couldn’t keep me away}, and got a few cute pieces as well, so I’m just all set! Want to get a JC Penney discount? Go to JC Penney and say “BOO” to the cashier. You’ll score 20% off of your total purchase! So worth it.

My final deal of the week comes from my beloved TJ Maxx! I scored a Columbia jacket for Charles AND one for myself. These puppies were only $24 dollars, and they had all kinds of styles, colors, etc. Way to top off my week right, TJ Maxx!

 

{TWO}

Crockpot Recipes! Crockpot recipes tend to always be on my mind around the fall / winter. Warmer weather means warmer food, and crockpots just make my life SO MUCH easier. I know Charles doesn’t like it if I continually make the same thing {he loves variation and trying new food}, so please send me your favorite crock pot recipes my way!

{THREE}

Holiday Parties! I was out for drinks with Charles and his bosses, and the topic of their company Christmas party came up. Naturally, this got me into holiday party mode: What will I wear? Where will it be? How will I accessorize? What scent should I go with? Dressy or casual? The list really goes on. I LOVE planning for holiday parties, I love the atmosphere around the holidays. This year, my girlfriends and I are toiling with the idea of a special “holiday” girls night. More info on that later, I’m sure it will deserve a whole post dedicated to the occasion. What do you like most about holiday parties? Holiday season please hurry hurry hurry!

Here's Charles and I on Christmas last year!

{FOUR}

I can’t believe that tomorrow will be a whole month since I married my best friend! It feels like yesterday. Where did the time go? How bittersweet. I should be getting my pictures back within a few weeks, and I promise, when I do, I’ll do a post on the wedding AND on the honeymoon. Married life honestly hasn’t changed my life drastically like people said that it would {granted, I’ve only been married a month, so what do I know?} but everyone made it seem like as soon as I said I do, everything would just feel different, and they were right. It feels SO much better. Charles and I lived together for 2 and a half years before we got married {yes, I know, I’m a heathen, but I don’t think it’s bad to test drive the car before you buy it..}. We know each other’s bad habits {he leaves his clothes, shoes, and dishes everywhere, he doesn’t clean his bathroom and it’s gross…and I nag him and take up all of the closet space…} Being married was an easy transition for us, since we have been “Playing married” for a few years. I agree I am young, and most people might not think I am fit to be married, but I think I was born to be a wife at an early age. I always knew I would marry young and have kids young, and cook, clean, and take care of my husband. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about women working {I love my full time job and wouldn’t trade it for ANYTHING}, but there is something so fulfilling about taking care of the ones that you love. I feel very blessed to have Charles as my family, and I will never take him for granted.

 

{FIVE}

Weekend plans! They always seem to be my #5 on Five for Friday! It’s going to be a great weekend! Tonight, we are meeting up with one of our favorite couples for a dinner at 21 West End {chicken Caesar salad and pomegranate martini, y’all are calling my name!} It will be so great to catch up with friends we haven’t seen since the wedding. Saturday, we have decided on cooking out, football, and a backyard “bonfire,” since the weather is supposed to be divine. I couldn’t be more excited for a fall weekend here in Arkansas {I wonder what I’ll wear…} =) I'm ready to put this week in the rearview!

 

Isn't Cho the cutest pumpkin you've ever seen?! She just loves her mom.

 

What’s on YOUR agenda for this coming weekend? And what’s on your mind this Friday? I hope you had as wonderful a week as I have had. Until next time! XO

Michele

Back to Business, Sunday Evening Lull

Hello, y'all! I hope your weekend has been fabulous thus far! I know mine has. It is Sunday evening, I'm sitting on my couch under a cozy blanket (I don't know about y'all, but I have a tendency to keep my house on the cooler side...), snuggling up with the two cutest doberman (Cholla, the Min-Pin and the mommy's girl, and Milli, the Doberman pincher, and the daddy's girl), and sipping on a "larger than the restaurants will allow" glass of wine. In my world, you can't really beat that. Oh, and of course, my fiance is sitting next to me watching Mountain Men, we can't leave him out!

On Thursday, I blogged mainly about how excited I was for the weekend, and the plans I made for myself. Now that the weekend is drawing to an end, let me just tell you the turn of events. I honestly don't know why I set myself up to believe that a weekend will go a certain way or according to plan, because it NEVER goes how I mean for it to (no complaints, I like the little unexpected twists and turns)!

Friday night actually turned out just like I planned in my head. I came home from work, relaxed for a little while, got ready, and went to 21 West End. My work colleagues and I had great conversations and a great overall night. If you don't mingle with your co-workers outside of work, I HIGHLY recommend making the effort. It gives you a chance to get to know people in a casual environment, and you might end up viewing someone in a completely different light. I had the pomegranate martini (DIVINE, I tell ya) as well as the Chicken Oscar. I should have made an effort to get pictures to show you all, however time completely got the best of me. I wore a long sleeved black Piko top to dinner, with a pair of high waisted, loose black shorts with a gold chain design to dinner, and I paired it with a pair of rust colored wedges (again, I wish I took a picture for show and tell)!

Saturday morning I woke up and went to our local Farmers Market with Katie, and I'll tell you what, I was impressed!  I ended up purchasing some great items, including cucumbers, onions, garlic, pepper jelly, habanero mustard, and blackberry jam! I also picked up some sunflowers and a bouquet of fresh flowers while I was there. The sunflowers have been placed in my kitchen to brighten things up, and Charles is a sucker for sunflowers! My first farmers market experience was a great one and I know I will be back again, and SOON, if I can keep my butt in town for a weekend! When I got home from the market, I cooked breakfast for Charles and I, and then we went and completely cleaned out our cars inside and out. I can't speak for you, but I feel a LOT better when I start my week when I have a clean car. I think cleaning my car out on Sundays should become a new routine for us. We then spent the rest of the afternoon lying around lazily at the house, until it was time to get cleaned up for the wedding. After the wedding, we rented the movie "Movie 43" (NOT recommended, it was too odd for words) and got some Tassanee's (our favorite Thai place in town) and had a lazy night in.

Farmers Market Haul! ADORE!

Breakfast I made with the delicious blackberry jam from the Farmers Market

Today, I woke up, drank a cup of coffee and tore up Pinterest! I'm so addicted to that site, it helps me pick out my clothes, plan my weekly menu, etc. After that, I spent a little bit of the morning cleaning up (laundry and dishes) and completely cleaned out and re-arranged everything in our fridge! It is so much easier and more pleasant to open up the fridge and know where to find things, and to have everything clean, and all of the old items discarded. I had mentioned how I wanted to re-arrange the furniture, but Charles surprised me on Thursday night and re-arranged the living room, which I adore! After cleaning up, I got ready for a Bridal Fair at Inscriptions, where I was given a free Vera Bradley bag, SO cute! I have a slight Vera Bradley obsession, but I'm convinced this is ok, because all women have a small Vera obsession...right? ;) Charles and I then went to might parents to relax by the pool and grill out. The musician for our wedding came over and we chose the music for our wedding ceremony. It absolutely BLOWS my mind that it is only 54 days away! I can't even stand it!

Vera Bradley bag I scored at the Inscriptions Bridal Event!

I've mentioned several times in this post some local treasures I visit frequently. Shopping local is something I highly encourage to you all, get out there and make the extra effort to find where your local farmers, boutiques, restaurants, etc. are and support them! They take great care of you and you usually get more bang for your buck. If you live around here, I'll share with you some of my FAVORITE local places. For all of you fashionistas and shopping addicts out there like me, go to Suite One! I shop there and follow them religiously, I rarely find myself anywhere else when I'm in search of the perfect outfit. A favorite local place to dine of ours is Ralph's Pink Flamingo barbecue! They cater events, and they have the BEST barbecue (and potato salad...=D) around. Check them out if you live around here! If you're looking for one of a kind, unique gifts for any occasion, or invitations, etc. then check out Inscriptions! They are also a supplier of Vera Bradley bags, which helps my Vera obsession!

I think this is going to be all for me tonight, folks! I start my new work schedule tomorrow (6am-3pm..oh the life of a Freight Broker) and I really need to get myself on a new sleeping schedule! I PROMISE I will be back again, sooner rather than later!

Until next time, xoxoxo

Michele