Welcome to the Good Life!

wilw

Has this Wednesday hit anyone else especially hard this week?  I am so thankful today is sharing all things fun and lighthearted because I am beat!  Link up with Jamie to share what you're loving this week. :)

I'm loving this motivation to do a little something extra for yourself on Wednesday.  When I am physically tired, it is so easy for me to want to skip a run or a workout and just eat junk food--but unfortunately that just furthers the cycle of feeling tired, etc.  So, today I will add a little something extra into my day to give me some much needed energy! {And probably also an extra cup of coffee. ;)}

I'm loving these spring sperrys.  I seriously cannot get over them.  I just don't know which color to pick?!  They're all so pretty.  I want them all! :)

I'm loving this inspiration.  Being in a time of waiting is not easy, but I know God is working through all of this!

I'm loving the warm weather we have been having!  I am so motivated to get all of my work finished today so hopefully I can spend a few hours outside in the sun.  I just wish my view was just a little bit closer to the ocean. ;)

And, of course I'm loving my husband!  We celebrated the second part of our anniversary this past weekend--blog post to come--and I just am so thankful he is mine.  He is such a fun person to be around and I love the time we spend together. This picture is from our honeymoon and it's VERY safe to say I miss my long hair!!!

our weekend :)

Hi friends!  How was your weekend?  I can't wait to read and hear all about them!  :)  We had a great weekend, as it always is when you get to be home with the ones you love!!

First things first, the little baby town (seriously less than 2000 people) has a pizza place that now sells GLUTEN FREE pizza and pasta.  I don't know if anyone even cares besides me, but it is seriously changing my life.  Since eating there on Thursday, I've suggested pizza for dinner at least twice...  It was so delicious and I may never cook again! ;)

After a nice dinner out, Rob and I continued our fancy date night with a trip to Target where I found this amazingness in the freezer section--Greek yogurt ice cream.  Delicious.  And, not too terrible for you!  This is the kind I bought, but there are several others to choose from!  This was the only gluten-free option though.  Try them out for me though? :)

Saturday night was a big time date night, but it deserves its own post.  My husband is just the most amazing husband there ever was.  He seriously makes me smile all of the time by his thoughtful words and gestures.  And, even though this might embarrass him some--he is the most romantic boyfriend in the world.  He spoils me and I love it. :) 

Sunday, we went to church and I was SO excited that so many of my friends were there!  We are so very rarely all at church at the same time that this was a wonderful treat.  I was able to sit with my cousin during the service, listen to my uncle preach, and have lunch with my best friends and their husbands.  I'd call that a win. :)  Also--there were three adult baptisms.  It makes my heart so happy to see adults baptized!  Making the decision to follow Christ is a beautiful thing! :)



How was your weekend?  I can't wait to hear about it! :)

statement wall

I love reading magazines!  It doesn't matter what the topic is--beauty, fitness, shopping, home decor, cooking--or even my husbands car magazines--I love to read them.  As I've been looking through them lately I have seen some BEAUTIFUL statement walls.  Have you noticed any of them?  Our home right now doesn't have a lot of long walls where we could really put one to work, but I definitely think in our next home we will have at least one! Here are a few I've seen on Pinterest that I am drooling over.  What do you think?  Do you have one in your home?

                                                                                                 Source: alifesdesign.blogspot.com via Becky on Pinterest

                                                                                        Source: cococozy.com via Becky on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Becky on Pinterest

                                                                                                                        Source: grahambrown.com via Becky on Pinterest

                                                                                                            Source: akadesign.ca via Becky on Pinterest

                                                                                                Source: capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com via Becky on Pinterest

wilw

Hi friends :)  I am so happy to be posting about the things I am loving this week.  After yesterdays pretty heavy blogpost, I am ready to focus on the positive and the wonderful things happening in my life. :)  Link up with Jamie to share what you are loving this week! :)

I'm loving this song that came on my pandora today!  It was just the perfect pick me up.  The song is a few years old, but somehow I hadn't heard it yet.  :) 

I'm loving the wonderful blessings I talked about yesterday.  Yesterday wasn't a perfect day, but there were so many great things that happened and I am just so thankful for all of them.  Even though I was pretty cold, Rob and I enjoyed dinner together out on our deck.  I had on several layers of clothes and still had goose bumps, but the time we spent together was wonderful. :)

I'm loving this sandwich holder my mom gave me to pack my sandwiches in when I'm subbing.  It cracks me up SO much and I feel like a little kid every time I use it.  However, it's pretty much the greatest invention--no more smashed sandwiches.  Why didn't I think of this?!

I'm loving living in the country right now.  It's not always my favorite, I'll be honest.  However, in the springtime it's pretty easy to love.  Lots of long walks with Rex, sitting on the deck with a fire in the firepit, and just a slower pace.  This might sound ridiculous, but I love watching the crops grow.  They make me so happy! {Yes corn field make me happy. ;) } But what do I love most about the country and our old farm house? Rob. :)  He makes my days so fully and happy.  And of course I love these beautiful sunsets--they're not too bad on the eyes either. :)

What are you loving this week, friends?

do right by your blessings

Over the weekend, I had a chance to catch up on some of my favorite blogs.  I read tons of blogs from lots of different people--but one of my favorites is Bower Power.  Katie is who I want to be when I grow up--but I'm pretty sure I will never be as cool as she is!  Anyways, Katie said something in one of her weekend posts that really stuck with me and has caused me to really think about my life:

"it's like I'm not doing right by my blessings"

Wow. 

I was recently really disappointed by a few of my friends.  I don't want to get into specifics, but I was really down about it.  I'm almost positive they didn't intend to hurt my feelings, but it still happened.  And, it really affected my outlook on life for a few days (and kind of still does when I think about it, to be completely honest).

After a long conversation with my momma on Sunday (aren't those the best?), I am trying to change the way I'm viewing things.  I am so blessed.  

I have an absolutely amazing family that is really close even though we aren't geographically close.  I married into another wonderful family that means the world to me.  I have the best mom and sister anyone could ask for--they really are that great.  And my husband?  He's pretty much the best.  Rob spoils me and makes me feel incredibly loved and valued every single day.  I prayed for someone like him to be my future spouse, but he is honestly more than I ever even thought to pray for--he's patient, hilarious, a great cook, so handsome, humors me when I'm acting a little crazy, and surprises me on a pretty consistent basis with flowers, a small gift, or even just a funny text message when he knows I'm struggling.   I have a wonderful job and a pretty amazing part-time job to boot.  I love the challenges both of them provide, even when life is pretty crazy and hectic.  Rob and I own a home and have been making pretty smart money decisions since we were married.  

I allowed one situation to make me forget all of that.  I allowed myself to forget all of my blessings.  I definitely wasn't "doing right by my blessings" and I want to change that.  I know things happen that I can't control, {as much as I would like to be in control of everything :) } but in every situation there is an opportunity to "do right by my blessings"--to appreciate and be thankful for the blessings I have.  

my weekend of movies! :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I was so excited to be spending the weekend at home.  Even though what I'm about to show you makes it look like Rob and I did nothing but lay on the couch, we actually did get quite a bit of housework and yardwork done this weekend--despite the crummy weather!  

Friday evening we went out for sushi (my favorite!) and then to see West Side Story.  Our seats were pretty terrible, but the theater was so so beautiful it made up for it just a little bit. ;)  I had the rainbow roll and the philly roll for dinner.  Both were delicious!

 

Saturday morning I woke up early to watch my niece and nephew play soccer.  We had pretty rainy and cold weather, so I couldn't believe they still actually played!  I also have volunteered to help my sister-in-law with the concession stand for a few of their games.  I seriously love stuff like that--even though that makes me the biggest dork ever. :)

After I finished helping out, I picked Rob up and we went to the grocery and ran a few other errands.  The weekends where we get to run errands together are seriously so few and far between.  Even though it's just grocery shopping, I really love getting to spend that time with him!  We also had a coupon for Redbox, so we picked out just a few movies. ;)

 

I have to say, Young Adult was probably my favorite.  For whatever reason, the others just didn't hold my interest too much.  In between all of my movie watching on Saturday I made vegetable soup in the crock pot and went on a great run with Rex.  I like running in the cold because I don't get as sweaty! :)

Sunday, Rob and I went to my home church (also a rare thing because of my travel schedule!) and then went to Red Robin for lunch.  I've been counting my calories with My Fitness Pal and I couldn't believe how insane most of the calorie values were for the restaurant!  Rob even switched from a cheeseburger to a chicken sandwich--and saved about 400 calories in the process.  Craziness.  I had a grilled chicken salad and an order of french fries. ;)  

We also went to Lowe's to check out some of their landscaping tools and ideas.  I think we are going to add a flowerbed to the back of our house by our deck.  I'm really excited to see what we are able to put together!  My mom has given us a bunch of her hosta, so I know that will be a big part of it.  I love planting flowers even though I'm terrible about remembering to water them!

When we came home, Rob worked outside for almost the entire afternoon.  I had quite a bit of work to do to get caught up for the week, but I did manage to take a nice walk with Rex.  He was pretty tired from playing in the yard with Rob, but he still managed to do a few miles with me. :)  I also managed to get several loads of laundry done and some of those household chores I hate like vacuuming and sweeping.  With inside pets I feel like the battle against animal hair is never ending!

And, to complete our movie watching mania, Rob and I watched a Harry Potter movie!  We just have two left--that is so crazy to me!  

I really loved my weekend.  I was able to completely relax and do all of the things that I wanted to do--how often does that happen?  Even though the weather was terrible, it was one of the best weekends I've had in awhile. :)

Alright friends, tell me how your weekend went! :)

wilw

It's time for everyone's favorite link up!  Head over to Jamie's blog to link up and play along with all of the things you are loving this week! :)

I'm loving my new car!  Even though I really miss my SUV sometimes, I saw this on my dashboard and I can't complain at all.  While I normally get around 50-ish, I'm totally ok with getting better mileage every once in awhile! 

I'm loving this quote.  I want to get it framed and put it in my house.  I find myself always looking forward to the future, but I really want to appreciate the here and now.  :)

I'm loving the peach tea Starbucks is offering!  It's only offered in certain cities (Austin, Columbus, and San Diego) and I LOVE one of them is my city!  I am seriously so so obsessed with the peach tea they offer.  It's such a treat on a hot day or during a long car ride.  I'm doing my part to buy it often enough to get it going nationwide.  So delicious. :)

I'm loving my darling husband Rob.  This weekend I was gone from early Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon.  When I came home, Rob had majorly spring cleaned our house.  I LOVE how nice our house looks right now and it's so much easier to keep a clean house clean--don't you think?  I would love him regardless of his cleaning ability, but he seriously does such an amazing job.  And it's one less thing I have to worry about this week.  I seriously hit the husband jackpot for a million different reasons and this is just one of them.  :)

miscellany monday!

-This weekend was one for the books, friends!  Friday, Rob and I met up with some of our friends to grill out and have some quality time together.  Even though I had to call it an early night, I still had an amazing time hanging out with my best girlfriends and their husbands. :)  Pictures to come soon of me with one of my friend's babies.  He's the cutest and we're kind of friends now!

-Saturday I woke up bright and early (7 AM, thank you!) to drive down to our campgrounds to be with some of our youth for a workday.  We painted, painted, and painted and then we swept, cleaned windows, tables, the whole nine yards.  The campground looks fantastic and I was so excited that we had almost 25 youth who came together to help us out! This was such an amazing weekend, I can't even explain it in words.  Just truly phenomenal.

-When I came home Sunday afternoon, I made a quick swing through the grocery store and picked up some kabobs for us for dinner.  Delicious.  Rob is a master on the grill and it was just top-notch.  

-Rob and I worked in our clothes for a few hours yesterday.  We had SO much laundry to put up and still so much more laundry to do.  I'm also not for sure if I can switch out my winter clothes yet?  Right now I have a crazy mix of everything in my closet and am just layering to make it through the day at a normal temperature.  

-Here's Rex chilling on one of our walks.  He cracks me up so much--he just likes to take a rest in the shade sometimes! :)

-I would also really like to be Reese Witherspoon.  Isn't she just the cutest pregs lady ever?  So effortlessly chic!

-This week is a pretty heavy travel week for me, which means I normally blog less.  However, I'm going to attempt to be so much better at this--let's see what happens!  

Tell me friends--how was your weekend?!

wilw

Hi friends! I hope you are all having good weeks! I am so thrilled that it's Wednesday--that just puts us a few days away from the weekend!  Hurray! :)

I am loving so many things this week, but I'm going to share with you just a few...

I'm loving this study!  We are about halfway through and it is simply amazing.  I am always amazed at the way God provides the perfect things to you at the perfect time.  I am incredibly thankful for this study and the encouragement it has provided me.  Sometimes I find myself wishing there was MORE work to do and MORE reading to do because it has just impacted my life so much!

I'm loving watching tv on my ipad.  I seriously have been flying through books so this is a nice change for me!  When I am substituting I will watch an episode while the kids are at lunch or during my planning time.  I love this escape from the day!  Right now I'm watching The Good Wife.  Have any of you seen it?  I'm a fan, even though Big from SATC is in it and it threw me for a loop at first. :)

I'm loving our sweet lab, Rex.  Rex has had more than his fair share of minor health problems lately, but he has stayed the sweet baby I know and love!  When I picked him up from the boarder this week he was so so exhausted and fell asleep on the way home--isn't this picture precious?

I'm loving Rob, of course!  Last night we had a super spontaneous date night to Brio.  The food was delicious and the company was perfect.  Little things like this just make my days so much happier--and I have Rob to thank for that.  I am so blessed to be his wife!

our easter :)

This year, Rob and I went to Kentucky to spend time with my mom and her family!  We had a wonderful time there, as always!

We were able to spend so much quality time with my granny, mom, cousins, and the rest of my family.  It just made my heart so full and happy--not to mention all of the good food we had which made my stomach so happy!  

Rob and I on Easter morning :)

Rob carving the prime rib--notice the fancy apron!!

My granny's beautiful spirea--isn't it just gorgeous?

And the dogwood tree in my granny's yard!  

This was actually a gift from my dad for Mother's Day to her one year.  :)

And here is a picture of my cousin Eli trying to give me rabbit ears.  He's always been a little bit shy around me, but this weekend we were pretty much best friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to spend so much quality time with your friends and family!  Easter is always one of my favorite times of the year!