splendor & folly

We don’t know the EXACT date, but based on getting him around 9 weeks old, we estimated Raleigh’s  birthday to be May 15th. He blew out the candle on his doggie cupcake (with yogurt frosting) and got a new toy which is now known as his ‘Birthday Buddy’.

If you have a dog that rips through stuffed toys in 20 minutes, I highly recommend the “Go Dog” brand of toys. Yes, they are more expensive, but they have a chew guard technology that makes it a lot more difficult to rip open the seems, and provides hours of entertainment!

You can find where they are sold near you here.

We just love him so much!! Here’s to another great year!

I have been reading a lot lately. Well when I say a lot, I mean reading two books in two months, which  is a huge accomplishment for me.

Usually I can never get through books because I end up reading them a few pages at a time before falling asleep and then I give up halfway through the book. 

When I have long plane rides though, I can breeze through them in a few days. Here are my two most recent reads, I recommend them both!!

And here is the next batch I picked up at the library yesterday…interesting mix! I have heard good things about the first two. The wedding book I just saw and picked up.

I want to remember to focus more on the meaning of our wedding than the style of our wedding. Even though I love planning the visual and style aspects, that is not the part that REALLY matters!

What are you reading??

This is a little color palette I have put together for our wedding. Keep in mind, I won’t be using the actual objects (well maybe some), but they represent the colors that will be used for invites, bouquets, centerpieces, etc. Of course this may change, but for now, I love it!

I promise to talk about stuff besides weddings soon :)

Hey all! Sorry I am becoming only a sometimes blogger, such is life! Even though having this blog was a big goal of mine and I had grand dreams of making it amazing, I’m just not feeling it lately. And I don’t feel like adding something to the pile of things to feel guilty about.

Similarly, I’m trying hard not to feel guilty about not having the most amazing, beautiful, unique, put-together, meaningful, special and cutting edge wedding around. Where would I get this idea that I needed to put together such an event?

Wedding blogs that’s where! Both wonderful and evil at the same time! Wonderful in the sense that they provide beautiful inspriation photos and ideas, evil in the sense that my wedding will never compare. Either way, I’m still going to look, so here are some pics I like via snippet & ink (Can you tell I like green and white?). Other pretty blogs include Once Wed and Style Me Pretty

I wanted to show off pictures of my beautiful engagement ring! At first I couldn’t figure out how to get a good photograph up close, then I discovered the macro setting on my camera, its awesome!

So the story behind the title is that when viewed from the side, the ring resembles a crown. Jake asked me once or twice before actually giving me the ring ‘do you like crowns?’.  I’m sure I responded with ‘uuhhh, I guess soo…’ because at the time I had no idea what he was talking about! But as soon as I saw the ring, it all made sense :)

I love gazing at it and thinking how lucky I am to be loved so much! Of course I don’t need a diamond ring to feel loved, but it is a symbol of a pretty big commitment…

Our baby is all legs…and ears!

Are you ever doing something – driving to work, running to pick up milk at the grocery store, staring at your computer reading emails – and you are just sort of in a blank state? Not happy, not sad, not anything??

I feel like I get in this state a lot, just sort of coasting through life emotionless. And then one day I realized that I can replace this ‘blank’ feeling with the feeling of overwhelming joy! Everyday mundane tasks can be fun, just because! It doesn’t even have to be something you express outwardly, it can be completely internal. But next time you are just ‘blank’, try it out! Just DECIDE you are going to be insanely happy for every reason you can think of!

I’m alive!

I’m healthy!

I can do anything I want!

I can burst into song if I felt like it!

 Everything is wonderful!

I know it sounds super cheesy and it might take practice for some, but I have found this to be really helpful. This is not to say there will never be times of sadness or frustration, but there is absolutely no reason that your everyday, boring life can’t be filled with all the joy you can muster up!

My joyful niece, Luna

Hello? Anyone still there??

I guess I took a little blogging break, time seems to slip by so fast and before you know it, 3 weeks go by! I will blame it on the amazing weather and always wanting to be outside, being busy with a project at work and going on interviews for a new job (which I didn’t get).

So here I am back to my normal daily routine, which will once again include blogging because it gives me something to do that I actually enjoy!! I’m planning on continuing my focus on fashion and beauty but also trying to include healthy living, working out, and recipes as well. I’ve been slipping a little bit as far as healthy eating goes and feel like I need to get back on track. I am never ‘on a diet’ I just have days where I feel good about what I eat and days when I feel super guilty about eating too much and eating foods that are terrible for me. So I just want to have more ‘feel good’ days! My goals are:

1. Eat healthier foods

2. Eat less

3. Work out everyday

“Working out” can include just getting outside and getting moving, or going for a long walk with Raleigh. I just want to try to be more active instead of sitting around watching TV (which I know I do way too much of ). I also think exercise improves mood and energy levels as well as gets me in shape for SUMMER!

So there you have it! I promise to be posting waaay more often, so come back and check on me! I’ll have updates on my goals, healthy recipes, fashion posts, inspirational posts and of course pictures of cute animals!! :)

Have a great week everyone!!

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

image via weheartit.com