the great outdoors

Garret and I have been together for 6 years so we've had lots of time to learn about each others likes/dislikes along with each others past experiences and hopes for our future. Even though I'd love to say that I know my husband like the back of my hand, I'm happily surprised to learn new things about him. 

This last week, Garret took me hunting for the first time and I was quickly surrounded by so many great memories of his past. He was telling me stories about the first deer he ever shot and showed me the locations of old tree stands his grandfather placed made out of wooden pallets. Garret has such a vast knowledge of different trees and plants and was teaching me things I never knew. 

The weather was absolutely perfect and we ventured to the top of a large hill to watch the sunset. To him, this was a normal day out in the woods, but for me it was an adventure and I'm so blessed that he let me be apart of it.

 To hear his enthusiasm and passion for something so close to his heart made me fall in love with him even more. 

diy: lamp update

We bought a pretty plain-Jane lamp from Target a couple years ago.

We actually did this quick and easy upgrade last year, but it's too good not to share on here.

Our house consists of several rustic and eclectic items so it was suitable for us to choose a moose design for our lamp appliqué.

Supplies needed: black card stock, scissors, clear tape, and stencil.

Cut our your design of choice from black card stock and adhere to the inside of the lamp shade. 

Easy as that!

It would be cute to do initials for a child's room or a thick chevron design for more modern look.

My favorite part is that our lamp shades are thin enough to see the black card stock design even with the lamp turned off.

Enjoy!

The possibilities are endless :)

baby it's cold outside

 

Today is the coldest day in the last 24 years in my little hometown.

I've decided to crochet ear warmers and sell them for $5 each.

They will be available in:

 red, sage green, mustard yellow, cream, dark brown, heather gray, black, and plum.

  



 

Message me on Facebook to order yours today.

I can also mail them to people outside the Ozark area.

 

 

I hope everyone can stay warm! It's going to be a long winter.

c a p t u r e

Allee and I have been the best of friends for 11 years. The sad part is that we only have a handful of pictures of us over the last couple years because 99% of the time we're together, we're in pajamas or sweat pants.

We decided to take a short little trip around the back roads of Ozark and decided to capture these memories.



 

So thankful for such a solid friendship.

Around Here



"Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world"

Isaiah 12:5

 

It's such a beautiful morning with bright blue skies and snow on the ground. Yesterday, we put away all the Christmas decorations and reorganized our house which left us room to display part of the snowmen collection my Memaw gave us. I have a serious problem where I can't leave any shelf or wall uncluttered...but I like to think of it as my own organized chaos. 

I changed the large chalkboard in our living room from the lyrics of "Oh Holy Night" to a simple winter theme.

 

Although I definitely prefer warmer weather to the current frigid temperature, I still can't help but love the way our small town looks covered in a blanket of snow.

 

 

Lately

 

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on here and I need to make this a normal routine for me. Blogging is such a good way to organize thoughts and set goals for yourself and it's a great way to recap on daily events.

Since it's a new year, what better time than now to make a list of new goals?

Mine include:

1. Hike and explore new trails with my husband

2. Stay on track with school because the end is in sight (graduation in May!)

3. Enjoy my current job every day because I'm blessed to even have a job

4. Spend more time with family

5. Read more books

 

 

I loved 2013 and everything it had to offer in both mine and Garret's lives. Although we both worked full time and were full time college students with ridiculous amounts of homework, we made it a priority to travel and live every day to the fullest.

We are very blessed to live next to a river that we can kayak down, so we took full advantage of this on (almost) every nice day of spring, summer, and fall. We had the opportunity to spend a week in Estes Park, CO with my parents which was a great experience filled with hiking and horseback riding. Since I had to take summer classes this last year, whenever I had a two week break from summer and fall semester, we took time off to drive to Gulf Shores, AL and spend the week under the sun with friends. We discovered a love for Northern Arkansas and was able to spend a day hiking before all the cold weather hit and we cannot wait for warmer weather to explore more trails. We also went on two camping trips and took our husky, Jake, with us and he absolutely loved it! In 2013 we expanded our family of 4 to a family of 5 with a new kitten, Aspen. Aspen was 2 weeks old whenever we found her and raising her was equivalent to raising a new born with bottle feeder her every 1-2 hours throughout the night and having to stimulate her to go to the bathroom every 2 hours...it was very good practice for whenever we become parents to something that isn't covered in fur =)

 

 

 

For 2014, we are planning a vacation to San Diego in May with my parents which we are beyond excited for because we will both be graduated from college by then. Garret and I are also planning on taking our annual trip to Estes Park, CO in October so we can see all the aspens change colors and participate in Elk Fest.

 

 

Excited to see what 2014 will bring.

Cheers



Gulf Shores

Garret and I are spending 6 days in Gulf Shores, Alabama and we're loving every minute of it.

Our lives have suddenly transformed into a Zac Brown Band song, and we're not complaining one bit :)

This vacation is Garret's birthday present I gave to him in June, but couldn't travel until now because of summer classes. Selfishly, this trip is just as much of a gift for me because ever since I started Dental Hygiene school last fall, I have been working 40 hours a week and having clinicals/class/lab 24 hours a week. I try to be super human at times, but all those 64 work weeks begin to catch up with me. This has been such a relaxing vacation so far and we've been blessed to stay with Garret's best friend, Shane and his wife Kim and 1 1/2 year old son Graham.

Yesterday was our first day at the beach and it was everything I hoped it would be: relaxing.

I was finally able to finish a book I had started in June but was unable to have any leisurely reading time due to summer school and I'm already half way into a new book. I forget how much I love reading books that have nothing to do with dental ;) And I'm glad that I'm able to put my anniversary gift to good use! (Thanks for the Nook, baby!)

Today was an absolute dream! 

Garret and I spent the whole day at the beach and exploring all the quirky little shops along the boardwalk. We both love discovering new places together and I'm beyond blessed that we both have a passion to make traveling a priority for our marriage. 

After getting a nice sun burn and souvenir shopping, we had dinner at The Hangout which is right on the beach and has great food, good drinks, and live music. 

After dinner, we walked hand in hand along the waters edge during the sunset and it was the best way to end our day. After the sun had set, we used flashlights to find baby crabs running across the sand and came across 2 blocked off areas where baby sea turtle eggs were being nested. One of these days we plan on watching the sea turtle eggs hatch and watch them scurry into the sea.

I hope everyone has a blessed week!