Five On Friday!

{ONE} My awesome husband got a new job! A full-time, benefit giving, great hours job! We're so thankful and are really hopeful that this will work out for the long haul. T will be working 6am to 2pm Tuesday through Saturday and attending school full time.

{TWO} After Duke ate my Oakley sunglasses (ERRRR) I became determined to find a dog toy that he liked and lasted longer than 30 minutes! I reached out on Facebook and a friend recommended West Paw Design. Which is a USA based company that offers a full no questions asked refund if the toy gets ruined. I decided to check out Pets Supplies Plus and what would you know they carried the brand! I ended up getting the Hurley bone and Jive ball. A week later and they're still going strong. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll last and keep him entertained.

{THREE} As soon as I get off work later today the husband, myself, and our two friends are heading to Torch Lake for the weekend! I've never been and after googling it I'm even more excited! I'm hoping for a great weekend and be on the look out for a recap on Tuesday!

{FOUR} I've finally gotten back into reading and just finished the newest Pretty Little Liars book- Crushed. I can't believe there's only one book left in this series! Now I'm reading Where we Belong by Emily Giffin.

{FIVE} I have a few leads on new job prospects and I'm crossing my fingers that one of them work out! Job hunting sure is exhausting!

My Favorite Things | Beauty Basics

This weeks Favorite Things topic is beauty basics, which is perfect because I had planned on posting my favorite summer makeup items anyways!

 {ONE} Cream eyeshadow

I really like Benefit and Maybelline's versions, because they last all day and the pot lasts FOREVER.

 {TWO} Waterproof mascara

Not picky on the brand, but I tend to stick with drugstore brands for mascara.

 {THREE} Tarte blush

These suckers are SO long wearing and come in a variety of beautiful colors.

 {FOUR} BB Cream

Tarte's BB cream is the best one I've found and I've tried quite a few! I love the light feel and the staying power.

{FIVE} Bronzer

99% of the time I wear makeup I wear Tarte's Park Avenue Princess bronzer. A little goes a long way and the color is perfect for fair women like me!

Wedding Wednesday | The Ceremony

I'm back this Wednesday with another chunk of wedding pictures! I can't believe that we're only 10 days away from our first wedding anniversary! This past year has definitely flown by and I don't see things slowing down anytime soon. I can't say I mind though- I enjoy being busy and having fun things to do. Now onto the ceremony pictures..

 The husband making his way down the aisle!

 The girls, Grandpa, and I waiting for our turn.

 Grandpa and I <3

 My cousin Leah read an excerpt from Richard Bach's Bridge Across Forever

"A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life."

 It was SO HOT! You can see me squinting because the sun was in my eyes and if you look closely you can see sweat dripping down T's chin.

 Instead of a Unity Candle we did Unity Sand with our wedding colors. The vases are really nice quality and it looks good displayed in the house.

 "You may now kiss the bride!"

Mr & Mrs!

I am so thankful that we all got through the ceremony without anyone fainting! It was a record breaking weather day and anytime we see any guests from the wedding they mention how hot it was haha

My Favorite Things {Gettin' Fit}

As the title says this week's edition of My Favorite things is Gettin' Fit which is perfect, because I had planned on writing a post dedicated to all of my favorite workout items :)

 Link up Here!

Nike 3" Dash running shorts are my FAVORITE shorts. They don't ride up, have a liner, aren't too long, and have a hidden pocket! Not to mention they come in a TON of cool colors :)

Good shoes are THE most important thing and should not be something you skimp on. I highly suggest going to a running store and getting your foot/walking style measured. However, if you don't have one near you then know this- work out shoes are supposed to be at LEAST a half size larger than your everyday shoes ;)

Scunci Evolution  Hair ties. These are the ONLY hair ties that will hold up my extremely thick and heavy hair. I only wear them when working out, because they are a rubber and I don't want them to pull my hair out.

Wrightsock Cool Mesh II I only have one pair of these and can't wait to buy more. While they are pricey ($11/pair) they are WORTH every penny! I have the Quarter Neon Pink ones! Read the description on the website ;)

While I don't have one (yet) I do think Garmin Forerunner 10 would help a ton with keeping track of your workouts and keeping you motivated.

Summer 2013 Bucket List

In honor of this week being the official beginning to summer I thought today I'd share my summer bucket list!

{1} Visit Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum
{2} See fireworks
{3} Go to the Columbus Zoo
{4} Go camping

{5} Go to the Backstreet Boys concert! - tickets are bought :)

{6} Trip to Cedar Point

{7} Bike all 17 miles of Hines Park

{8} Have a picnic

{9} Go in the dark put put

{10} Attend a Tigers game

{11} Run a 5k

{12} Start scrapbooking again

{13} Organize iPod

{14} Revamp blog

{15} Celebrate our anniversary

So that's my summer to do list- what's on yours? :)

Dads Day

This holiday has always been a awkward holiday for me until recently. I was raised by my grandparents and growing up we never celebrated Fathers Day. Sure, we'd participate in art and make the crafts everyone else was making, but at home it was just a normal day. As I've grown up and have become extremely close to my grandparents I have started to feel different. You see my grandpa IS my DAD. He is the one who raised me, who attended every single one of my soccer games, who picked me up from middle school dances, who drove me to school every morning because I didn't want to take the bus, who let me take over his minivan after I got my license, who helped with every school project, and who did every single thing he possibly could for my brother and I. And he still does. He's who I call when I need help with a recipe or the car, who I text when I get a good grade, and who I tell funny stories to. There is a difference between a father and a dad in my opinion- one who creates and one who raises. So even though he is not my father he is my dad. I owe him everything and love him more than words can describe. His Parkinson's diagnosis has made me realize how important it is to never take your family for granted- so even though we didn't really celebrate Dads Day growing up we sure do now! I hope that one day he will be able to be a great-grandpa to my children and make them laugh the way he only can.

Happy Dad's day grandpa- I love you!

My Favorite Things | Beach/Pool

Even though this is later than I had anticipated I'm still participating! This weeks topic is favorite beach {or pool} accessories! Anyone who knows me know that I could layout by the pool or on a beach every single day and not get tired of it! I really wish South East Michigan had more {nice} beaches. Anywho let's get into my favorite beach/pool items!

Link up Here!

Here's everything all together!The towel is from Walmart & the brand Better Holmes, the Fedora is from Target, and the bag is Guess, which I got at Macy's last summer {LOVE this bag}!

A closer look at what I typically take with me ..

A beach towel, towel clips, sunscreen, after sun lotion, hair detangler, wide tooth comb, a water bottle/drink my NOOK, iPhone, and headphones!

And here's everything inside the bag!

Wedding Wednesday | Bridal Party

This weeks pictures are of our awesome bridal party! T and I were so lucky to have our closest friends stand up with us at the wedding and so thankful for all of their help. We even had a special guest- T's closest friend from the Army attended the wedding and we were so happy we could include him in a few pictures!

 The guys

 The ladies

 A huge bonus for getting married on a golf course- golf carts!!! We had so much fun in these and wish we had more time!

 The whole group

 One of my favorite pictures from the entire day! I can't wait to frame it and hang it up one day!

Of course I wasn't following the "rules" and looked at the camera.. everyone else was doing what they're supposed to.

I sort of feel like I'm "cheating" these recaps, because I'm not going into super detail, but it's the only way I can stay on top of posting these. And I really want to have them all posted by our anniversary which is in THREE weeks! Maybe one day I'll have time to come back and edit these entries to make them more in depth ;)

Currently June

Currently I am... 

{Reading} Crushed which is the most recent Pretty Little Liars novel. I thought that I'd be reading a lot more than I have, but I've been trying to figure out a schedule that works and that can include everything that I'd like it to. I do read during my lunch break everyday though.

{Listening to} Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell- such a good beat to it! Google it right now!

 

{Watching} I am so excited that Pretty Little Liars is back tonight!!! I've also been watching Keeping up with the Kardashians, Game of Thrones (which is now over), and that's it. I honestly don't know how I'm going to have time to watch all of my fall shows :/

{Enjoying} Daily walks with Duke, spending time with my boys, and being home. I never actually realized how much I missed living near our families and friends. We have been 70x more social since moving back.

{Annoyed by} Having to retake the GRE and reapply to Graduate School. It's so stressful and I'm not a good test taker. AT ALL.

{Wearing} AE Artist Capris and a teal polo- my sexy work attire. I am so excited that I've been able to bust out the maxi dresses again though!

{Shopping for} NOTHING! We need to rebuild our savings which means no more shopping for me. I have started my birthday wishlist though ;)

{Writing} Scheduled blog posts. I have found that in order to stay on top of blogging I need to write the majority of my posts during the weekend/my day off and then schedule them for later on in the week. Sometimes nights are just too busy.

{Excited about} The fact that I am going to the Backstreet Boys concert August 8th!!! They have been my favorite band since I was in Elementary school and I have always dreamed about seeing them! I'm also really excited about all the events we have coming up this summer :)

{Obsessed with} This IKEA desk! I'm actually obsessed with this Bloggers entire office! One day I WILL have an office just like that ;)
  
{Laughing at} My fur-child... he always makes me laugh and scream. 

Weekend Happenings | Week 24

I had an unexpected four day weekend this past weekend and while it didn't turn out how I hoped it would (T got food poisoning & crappy weather) it was still enjoyable! I was able to cross quite a few things off of my to do list so that's always good!

 {1} Started the weekend off with a long morning walk just Duke and I

{2} I spent the entire morning/early afternoon on Saturday condensing and organizing all of our stuff in the basement! I wish I thought to take a before picture- it was a disaster!

{3} I finally put my summer makeup in the 3 drawer container. It was all crammed into my train case & that wasn't working.

{4} Saturday night we went bowling with my family for my cousins Young Marines fundraiser! First time we've bowled in a while and we had a great time :)

{1} Like father, like son- T and Duke taking an afternoon nap lol

{2} My favorite yoga pants were on sale so of course I ordered two pairs! I got 2 for $53 shipped when originally they cost $60/each! Such a steal ;)

{3} We brushed Duke this morning for over an hour! So much fluffy fur!

{4} I forgot how much I love printed pictures! I printed 175 pictures at Costco to get started on scraping!

It wasn't the weekend we had planned, but it wasn't a bad one either! And of course now I'm not ready for work tomorrow!

My Favorite Things | Morning Must-Haves

I came across this link up this morning and knew that I just had to participate, because the topics are right up my alley! I love seeing what other people are currently loving or using. So I hope these posts help one of you out ;)

 Link up Here!

This weeks topic is Morning Must-Haves:

{iPhone} The first thing I do after my alarm goes off (if I don't hit snooze & get up on time) is check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and email on my iPhone. Those extra five minutes in bed waking myself up can make a world of difference!

{Breakfast} I used to be the person who NEVER ate breakfast, but my those times have changed. I cannot function if I don't eat breakfast. I usually have a bowl of cereal or a bagel/piece of toast.

{Cetaphil Moisturizer with SPF 30} If I don't put moisturizer on every morning my face feels extremely dry. I love that this lotion has SPF and controls oil. It's the perfect texture. I got it at Target for around $15.

{Water} Ever since I started my new job and started running I've been trying to drink water more often. I fill up my Camelbak every morning and start drinking it during the drive to work.

{iPod/music} The thing I love most about my 25 minute drive to work is jamming out to music! It wakes me up and gets me ready for the day.