a day

yesterday RT and i had the day off together. you all know how much i love days like that :)

we got up and went out to our favorite diner for breakfast .. ran a few errands .. did some shopping .. had lunch sitting outside .. went to a matinee movie .. had a little down time at home with the d.o.g.s .. met my sister and brother in law and some friends at the food truck park for dinner .. and saw les miserable.
what more could a girl ask for in a day spent with her husband??

the only thing was that i am a musical theater lover in a big way but i wasn't all that impressed with les miserable. i have never seen it before last night and i have to hand it to the cast the singing was phenomenal but the play itself was not. clearly that is just my opinion. i know there are many many fans out there i just don't happen to be one of them.

happy weekend!!

solo dining

most of the time when RT is not home for dinner and i am eating alone i make something super easy and simple. pasta. cereal. sandwhich. quesadilla. something that will be ready is five minutesish and i don't have to worry about getting specific ingredients at the store. but last night i cooked for real for just me. shepherd's pie. i adapted it from this skinny taste recipe. 

instead of using ground beef i put a chuck roast in the crock pot on low covered with a packet of lipton onion soup mix and some water over night. i shredded up the meat in the morning and put it in the fridge until i was ready to use it. i also did my potatoes a tiny bit different. i mash mine with a little butter, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper.

so while the potatoes were boiling i mixed up the beef and veggie concauction in a large skillet and then i poured that into the bottom of a baking dish ..

.. then i spread the mashed potatoes on top. sprinkled the top with a little paprika for color. and baked it for about twenty minutes

when you pull it out the gravy has bulled up around the edges and it is basically the most deliscious sight you have ever seen.

so good i even brought it for lunch today .. and probably tomorrow too .. and the next day .. and the next day .. ok enough {ha!}

yum!!

happy wednesday!!

wise words from a favorite

i am a major humongous audrey hepburn fan. i love her movies i love her style i just really love her. my wedding dress was designed after a dress she wore in the movie sabrina for goodness sake. anyway .. the other day my mother in law sent me an email that included a poem that audrey wrote at some point when asked to share her beauty tips. i think it is so inspiring. it puts reality and true beauty into perspective ..

"for attractive lips .. speak words of kindness. for lovely eyes .. seek out the good in people. for a slim figure .. share your food with the hungry. for beautiful hair .. let a child run his/her hands through it once a day. for poise .. walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. people, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. never throw out anyone. remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. as you grow older you will discover that you have two hand .. one for helping yourself and one for helping others"

happy monday!

top: joie

pants: genetic denim

booties: rachel comey

why i blog

a couple of weeks ago my dad's youngest brother and his twin boys were in town for a visit. they stayed with my parents and my mom showed my uncle my blog. he went through some of my posts and the next day when i saw him he asked me a question that has randomly really stuck with me. he asked why i blog .. am i looking for some kind of recognition .. am i hoping for it to be a career opportunity .. do i hope that my blog will eventually generate income .. am i trying to reach a certain number of readers .. why do i blog?? he was being really complimentary about the blog and was genuinely interested in my reasons behind it.

the simple answer is that i blog because i like to. a couple of years ago i was sitting at work sifting through the blogs that i read and just kinda thought to myself why don't i do this? so i asked RT if he would take my picture and i wrote a little diddy about my outfit and the rest is cyber history. i love clothes. i love shoes. i love hair and makeup. i love getting dressed in the morning and {most days} i do it with a purpose. my outfit choices are strategic. and i thought a little fashion blog would be a fun outlet .. and you know what .. it absolutely has been!!

as far as recognition .. i am not sure what that would even mean for me. i put my pictures and my thoughts out there on the internet so it's not like i'm shy but i am also not one to constantly seek attention.
i love my job so much. i started working at the hoop part-time when i was still in college and have just never left. i was promoted to manager in january and honestly i just can't picture myself not working here. i joke with my boss that if she ever wants me out of here she will have to drag me kicking and screaming {ha!}. it is the best job for me. i get to work in fashion but in a very laid back and comfortable environment. in short .. i am in no way looking for a career change.
i guess i could sell sponsorships and do other things like that to generate some income through the blog. i would never snub my nose at some extra cash flow but i don't want to feel obligated to this thing. as it is .. i have some regular readers {thank you for your support .. it honestly means so much to me:)} and i blog when i am feeling inspired about whatever i want.
this little blog of mine is a hobby. a way for me to showcase my creativity and love for fashion .. with some friends, family and food thrown in too because those are also things that I love :). i am not seeking fame and fortune .. i'm just blogging.

i am happy with my life. i live in the same city where i was born and raised. my family all lives very close. i have a great little house that i share with the most wonderful man and two incredibly cute puppies. i have a group of great friends and i absolutely love my job. i am not against change AT ALL but i'm not looking for it either.

happy wednesday!

tank: jcrew

jacket: nana hand-me-down

jeans: citizens of humanity

wedges: gianni bini

two nine

yesterday was RT's birthday!! he turned twenty nine and for the next few months he will be four years older than me .. woohoo! old! old! old!

he had to work yesterday so we celebrated on saturday. we spent the day together and with friends watching college football .. one of RT's most loved activities {ha!} . that night i took him out to his favorite steak house and we had a super yummy dinner and then went out after. the weather was amazing and it was so nice to just sit outside and enjoy each other's company .. the cooler temperatures .. and the ever intriguing people watching. i am so glad that he is so much fun to hang out with!

yesterday my oldest niece came home from church with me and helped me bake RT's favorite strawberry cake. we decorated it with cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries and then delivered it to him at work. it would have been better for him to be at home for his birthday but at least we could still do a little something special for him.

so .. a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet husband! i am so glad you were born ;)

happy monday!

a little zig a little zag

hey there all of you wonderful readers :)

i actually wore this outfit on tuesday but i am just getting around to posting. i love this dress! i got it at the hoop to wear to a wedding in OK and this is the first time i have worn it since. i think i had it in my head as a cocktail dress considering the occasion it was purchased for but i made it work perfect for daytime/work by pairing it with a casual long knit vest and my most favorite jeffrey campbell booties.

it is so easy to get in a rut with clothes. for me .. i feel like all of my clothes are work clothes because ninety nine percent of the time, when i am getting dressed, it is to go to work. honestly i almost never even change clothes if i am doing something social after work {gasp!}. i love my clothes and i feel like i have lots of cute outfits but when it comes to getting dressed to go out .. i often feel like i have nothing to wear. i know i know .. yeah right! but seriously!

so ironically i had the oposite issue with this particular dress. hopefully i can continue getting creative and using my "daytime" pieces in different ways to transition into evening.

who knows .. maybe that will be a blog topic soon {ha!}

happy thursday!

dress: parker

sweater vest: bloom

boots: jeffrey campbell

nine eleven

via

as i am sure is the case with all of you .. the tragedy of september 11, 2001 is heavy on my heart today. i physically mourn for those lives lost and for their loved ones. this hits home for me so specifically now that i am RT's wife. i just can't even imagine what it must feel like for the wives who had a very regular morning with their husbands and then sent them off to what was supposed to be a very regular day at work only for them to never come home. it makes me want to cry to even think of it. for the wives of the firefighters who were lost. who knew that their husband's job was dangerous but he had been to work and come home safely so many times before that they forgot to be worried. on that day. they lost everything. they lost their partner in life. they lost their other half. they lost their very best friend. how do you even begin to move on with life after such an unexpected tragedy?? i am not sure that i could. today my thoughts and prayers are with them. because no matter how many years it has been they remember and mourn and hopefully heal EVERY SINGLE DAY.

and then i think about the soldiers who are oversees fighting for our freedom right now. away from their wives and husbands. away from their babies. away from their moms and dads and brothers and sisters and friends. what amazing amazing people they are. to bravely volunteer to leave everything and everyone behind. to risk their safety and fight. fight for a better tomorrow. fight for the future of not just this country but this world. the words THANK YOU are not adequate but they are sincere and all i have.

 

i will never forget.

an at home date

so this weekend we had two whole days with highs in the eighties. after who knows how many days of brutally hot not even worth knowing the temperature because it might make you cry .. 88° feels like pure heaven. and it was the first tailgating weekend so the weather was basically perfect. RT and i love to have people to the house on game day. we live about seven steps from the stadium of the college we went to so you can literally hear the game plain as day when we are hanging out on the back porch. RT usually grills or smokes something and i make all the sides and we all just hang out and enjoy the football company. as far as we are concerned the more the merrier. our team kicked major booty this weekend too and RT's parents were in town so it was extra bonuses on every end!

yesterday at church the sermon was on being burned by marriage .. or any relationship but he was referring to marriage specifically. RT and I have a great marriage and we are in a super happy place right now but it got us taking on the way home. one of the things we agreed on was that we want to date each other again. I know you hear about this all the time .. date your spouse. but we decided to seriously make a priority of it. one of the things that RT said that I absolutely loved was that when we were dating .. if I suggested we go to a movie he never would have said maybe tomorrow hunny I'm tired tonight .. {ha!} it's funny but also so true.

so last night .. ironically we were both really tired and didn't want to go out and do anything .. soooo we had date night at home. I made giant buffalo tostadas {recipe inspired by and adapted from skinny taste link} for dinner .. yum!

 

and we snuggled up on the couch to watch the movie safe house on pay per view. it was so fun!! seriously!! even though we stayed home we still got out of our normal "anything good on dvr" routine and ordered a movie. we turned off all the lights so it was sorta like being at the movie theater except it was much cozier .. a lot cheaper .. and the dogs got to come too. The only things we were missing were giant sodas and family sized packs of candy.

hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

happy monday!!

on the real

RT takes the pictures for my blog and he left the house a little bit earlier than normal today to go play golf so there was no time for outfit pictures. i decided the next best thing would be to lay it all out and capture it that way. i have tried to take pictures myself with a stand and a timer in the past but it takes FOREVER and the quality is always pretty boo boo. so there ya have it.

something that has been on my mind lately is getting comfortable with who i am. who i really truly am way down deep in my core .. and on the surface i guess.

you see i look around and see all different kinds of people.

some are trying hard to be "normal" .. whatever their definition of that word is .. they want to fit in .. act like .. look like .. be just like those they choose to surround themselves with. i picture 'the plactics' from the movie mean girls.

then you have those that are trying as hard as they can to be "different" .. again the definition of the word is key and also dependant on the person. but still they are normally a part of a group of people who all have the "different" goal. thus they too are striving to fit in. find acceptance. be liked. just not by the plastics.

i have .. at one point or another .. had both of these attitudes.
as a kid i went to private school and {as much as i hate to admit it} i was our version of plastic. i desperately clung to the acceptance of the people i was friends with and i would have done or said anything to stay a part of that group.
then in high school i went through some tough stuff and ended up switching to public school. it was a great decision and with these challenges and changes i made the abrupt switch to trying to be different. i still had friends and i still wanted their acceptance but i didn't necessarily want to be POPULAR. as a matter of fact the mention of that word might have actually made me gag back then.

finally in college i fell into the group of friends that i have now and we are all so different that it is basically impossible to try and be just like everyone else. i love it. transitioning to college i lost touch with everyone i knew in high school and started over AGAIN. and again it was perfect for me. i was forced to be honest with myself about what i wanted to do and who i wanted to be. from there it was easy to just kind of fall in with a group of friends .. and later a husband .. that we all just accept each other. no matter what. i hope it will always be this way.

all of the people that i was friends with when i was in elementary school and middle school are still friends with each other. all of the people that i was friends with when i was in high school are still friends with each other. i think that is so special and occassionally i have little pangs of remorse that i am no longer in touch with those people but it just wasn't what was right for me. for my life. i changed. and i think {hope} it was for the better. i have to trust that GOD is leading me down HIS very specific path and would not lead me astray.

all of this to say that as i have grown i have changed and hope to continue to change. in light of this i have a new personal goal .. to get to know myself. on the real. to learn and embrace all of my quirks and crannies. you see i still want to fit in .. be liked .. find acceptance but i think everyone does. the thing is that i am never going to be anyone but me. and i wouldn't want to be. CONFIDENCE HERE I COME {ha!}

ok ok .. i know .. enough ..

happy wednesday!!

then and now

today is janey's very first of kindergarten. it is hard to beleive that my sweet angel jane is already old enough to be in elementary school. it seems not that so long ago she was starting preschool for the very first time. i am not even her parent and i still feel like she is growing up way too fast. all of my nieces and nephews are for that matter .. not cool .. not cool at all!!

i went to their house this morning to hang out with the twins while audrey, jason and deuce dropped janey off for her first day so i got to see her before she left. her mommy had curled her hair and she had her nails painted and was done up so pretty. very true to janey form.

i made her promise to call me when she gets home and tell me all about her first day and i am anxiously awaiting that phone call! i know she will do great! i love that little girl so very much!!

happy tuesday!