Stitch Fix #3- Meh

You know what makes a 12 hour day so much better? Getting home and seeing this package-

If that picture doesn't scream happiness to you then I just can't with you right now (Any one else notice how that's the phrase now?? So strange! What does it mean? You just can't with me? Huh?)

I had some seriously high expectations after my last fix. It was insanely awesome. I even pinned a lot of stuff to my StitchFix Pinterest Board. There was no way they could send me any duds now!!!

Looks promising....

... WRONG.

1. Papermoon Wynn Mixed Dot Print Front Pocket Blouse

Ok, I actually liked this top a little bit. I was honestly really overwhelmed when I first saw it. I mean, that's a lot of dots. I was kind of all meh about it and then I tried it on. I love these tab-sleeve shirts that are in style right now. As much as this shirt grew on me I just couldn't find any logic in keeping it. NEXT.

2. Fun2Fun Colibri Heart Print Tab-Sleeve Blouse

Look, no matter what setting I put my camera on there was no way I was going to make this shirt look good. I saw "tab-sleeve" in the description and got seriously pumped. And then that heart pattern. Uhhh, I'm not 5. I don't know about y'all but a heart pattern like that makes me think of little girls. And then that material... yikes is the nicest word I can think of for it. Really. NEXT

3. Toss Providence Color Blocked Tassel Clutch

I am having some serious seperation anxiety when it comes to this clutch. I want it, I need it, oh baby. For reals though. Why oh why did you have to be almost $50?! You went back to Stitch Fix land and I may have shed a tear or two... NEXT

4. C. Luce Katrina Cut Out Detail Fit & Flare Dress

WOOF. Ohmygosh. I just.... why on God's green earth does this dress exist?! I was a little worried when I first pulled this out of the box but remembered the other stuff I've tried that wasn't not the norm for me turned out OK. Y'all, I looked like a linebacker. I didn't think I could ever look that way. I mean, I wasn't even wearing shoulder pads!!!!! I looked and sounded like this cat-

This dress is the sol reason you don't see me trying on these clothes. Just no. NEXT.

5. Ezra Shaye Ribbon Detail V-Neck Blouse

And the angels sang!!! This shirt was the saving grace of this box. Color- check. Style/Cut- check. Fun little detailing- check. Only- $28- CHECKCHECKCHECK!!! KEPT (you know just in case you didn't get that before...)

Overall, this box was a bit of a letdown but that had to happen eventually. Not every box is going to be perfect. I still do love me some Stitch Fix, and I'm already looking forward to my next Fix. 20 more days just in case you were wondering.... Here's to getting some really great pieces for our DC trip coming up in just a little bit!!

Do you think I made the right decisions on what I sent back and what I kept? 

If you're interested in Stitch Fix please click here to sign-up. *Disclaimer- I do get a $25 credit if you click on that link.* It's $20 per Fix and that $20 goes towards whatever you keep from the box. If you purchase all 5 items you get everything 20% off. I seriously could not recommend Stitch Fix enough. It has made me step out of my comfort zone and given me some really great pieces. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

A (very) Pretty Place

Memorial Day Weekend is always one of my favorites every year. I mean, who doesn't love patriotic holidays?!

This year we spent our MDW in Asheville, NC and in Greenville, SC. Our trip to Asheville was a graduation and anniversary present to us from my parents. The trip to Greenville was more of a last minute decision due to a family situation but it was so good for the soul.

You want to know when you're really enjoying your time out of town with your hubs? When you take two pictures in one of your most favorite places and one of those pictures is from your favorite brewery/soccer bar there. But seriously y'all, Asheville is a hidden gem that I think everyone should discover once in their lives.

Green Man Brewery

Marriage is about compromise and doing things that will make your spouse happy. My hubs is happy discovering a new town, when he's in the mountains, discovering new beers and enjoying good food. Asheville is the perfect place for him.

Asian food puts him in one of his happy places

Pat and I are both huge fans of being in the mountains. The mountains always include boiled peanuts which makes them heaven on earth for this girl. Seriously drooling even just thinking about boiled peanuts now. Excuse me while I drive back to North Georgia for a quick trip...

Caesar's Head, SC

My cousin Brooke was such a wonderful tour guide and even put up with my husband's antics. Like that one time he decided to show us an off course drop-off where we both slid down half of the mountains. Hashtag fun times.

Oh, we're going to need a giant stick to climb back up the mountain?! Sounds fun...

I will be forever grateful that she took me to one place that I have always wanted to see. I mean that place is named "Pretty Place." Who wouldn't want to see a place named that?!

I lift my eyes to the hills... Psalm 121:1

Pretty Place, SC

Pretty Place, SC

If a view like that can't get you to visit the south then I'll just have to bribe you with my momma's fried chicken. I am always in awe of the Lord's creation every single time I go to the mountains or whenever I travel around the south. Seriously, come visit. We have the mountains, lakes, swamps, oceans, wonderful food and amazing people. What's there to not like? Maybe you'll even get to visit a (very) Pretty Place...

Wanderlust: France and Belgium

Every once in awhile I find myself wanting to just drop everything and travel around the world. I have been so spoiled in my life with some of the most amazing opportunities to see some pretty cool places. 

I remember coming home from school one day in the 8th grade and telling my parents about a French exchange program called Junior Diplomats. I really thought they would tell me that it sounds like a cool program and that would be the end of the story. Well, praise the Lord that is not how that story ended!

My parents thought it was a great idea and signed me up for the program. I was assigned to the most amazing French family and their daughter Julie came to stay with us that summer. 

Summer 2003

That picture above is proof that I love y'all. It should be burned and never seen again but hey... we all go through that awkward stage, right? This is where you tell me "Oh yes, definitely!!" to make me feel 1000000x better about my awkward stage.

I met Julie 11 years ago. Eleven. Years. It is really hard for me to believe that was only 11 years ago because it feels like she's been one of my best friends my whole life. Her family has spoiled me and taken me to some of the most amazing places. Whenever I become wanderlust I think it's because I miss them and all of the amazing times we have had together. Get ready for a quick trip around Europe with the most amazing French family ever...

I can't seem to find any pictures from my first summer living with my family which is a travesty. Really. They took me to my favorite place ever that year (2004), Normandy. I'm going to have to go dig and find those pictures.

Le Touquet, France 2006

Ahhhh, the summer of 2006. I was a new high school graduate and France was playing in the world cup. Julie, Mathilde (my other French BFF) and I went to stay at the family beach house for a week. By ourselves. We were 17. My children will never do this. Ever. BUT oh boy was that week a blast. France was the runner-up in that World Cup and we still don't talk about that travesty of a Final. Terrible. 

Brugges, Belgium

If you ever get to go on a EuroTrip do yourself a favor and go to Belgium. Just do it. It's one of my all time favorite places and it is always over looked. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have heard someone say they wish they had worked Belgium into their itinerary for more than one day. Go to Brugges (Venice of northern Europe- it's really called that) and Bruxelles. You will not be disappointed. AND just in case you need more reasons to go- Belgium is the birthplace of french fries, Belgian chocolate is all over the place and Belgian waffles. Now I'm drooling.

Bruxelles, Belgium 2011- just landed and went straight for a waffle. As you should.

Who knows, maybe Belgium will become the place the man who will become your husband will tell you he loves you in the middle of La Grande Place...

One picture from that fateful night in 2011...

Back in France you'll take selfies with two of the people who will always hold some of the best memories of your life before selfies were a thing...

You'll fall in love with the streets and the amazing architecture ...

Lille, France- my other hometown

You'll find joy in the simple things in life. Like spending an afternoon wandering around your French family's new town and indulge in French delicacies...

You'll find your favorite days are wandering around the French countryside learning more about WWI and WWII history with you French parents who love to indulge your nerdy side...

My French daddy

My French momma- Site of the first battle the Canadian army ever won outside of Canada (WWI)

You'll go back to your French hometown and still fall in love with it every single time you walk into the main square...

You'll make sure to enjoy a French beer with one of your best friends and talk as much as you can because you know it will be years before you see each other again...

Mathilde

And last but certainly not least, you will step way outside of your comfort zone and try new foods for your French dad just because it's Father's Day...

Just missing Julie, her brother Aurelien and his wife

Alright, that didn't cure my wanderlust at all. I am ready to pack up and head back over to France and Belgium. Who's with me?!

#26- Have our friends over for a Crawfish Boil

I did something I have never done this weekend. I cooked something that used to live in water. You see, I've always tried to eat seafood but it has always made me sick. Food making me sick = I have never had the desire to try and cook seafood. Well, enter a husband who loves food that comes out of water and you find me stepping out of my norm. 

When Pat and I started dating I introduced to him one of my favorite food groups, Cajun Food. Listen, Cajun Food deserves it's own section on the pyramid. Period. It's just so dang good and I want to cry for anyone who has never tried it before. When Pat told me he had never had any sort of Cajun food before my mind was blown. To pieces.  Cajun food was a main staple of foods around my college experience. I mean, we had a date party dedicated solely to the pinnacle of all Cajun foods, Crawfish.

A little throwback for y'all. Crawfish Date Party circa 2010

SO all of that to say/bore you with, we decided awhile ago that we wanted to have a Crawfish Boil at our house this spring (aka Crawfish Season). Pat had never been to one before and that was just not acceptable. 

All crawfish boils should include Abita beer. It's like a law or something.

 I somehow forgot my friend's boyfriend is an actual Cajun and really knows a thing or two about crawfish. I was slightly freaking out.

Can I get a Hail State and go Phi Mu?!

  Well, well, well. Whaddyaknow?? The girl who can't eat crawfish kicks butt at making crawfish. It's true. A real cajun told me so!

Chloe might've loved the crawfish too. *Disclaimer: we never feed our dog from the table. This was a treat*

Pat probably ate about 15 of the 30 pounds that we had. I might be exaggerating just a little bit, but he loved it!

Hubs loved it so much that he took my suggestion and made himself quite the lunch today...

Man, I am probably the luckiest girl ever. My hubs can cook!! 

Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and made something you never thought you would before? I think it's safe to say we'll be doing this again next year!

101 in 1001 Update

I am one of those people who gets all gung-ho about doing stuff and then never does it. I have to write things down in order for me to do them. There is something so seriously satisfying about crossing something off a list. Hence my 101 in 1001 list. Let's see how I've been doing-

1. Go to the movies five times

2. Volunteer on a Habitat for Humanity house

3. Volunteer at the Atlanta Mission

4. Consistently put away $100 into savings from each pay check for 3 months- Welllll, sorta. Does putting it in there and then using it for emergency purposes count? No? Crap. I need to get better about being serious about my savings.

5. Do a "no spend" month

6. Go visit friends who live more than 5 hours away

7. Hike and camp out at Tallulah Gorge

8. Finish a Beth Moore Bible study with a friend

9. Journal every day for a month

10. Celebrate our 1 year anniversary Completed 5.11.14

11. Celebrate our 2nd anniversary

12. Celebrate our 3rd anniversary

13. Go see a musical with my husband

14. Go to at least two concerts

15. Take a weekend trip to Savannah

16. Go to the beach

17. Go and visit my grandmothers just because

18. Go to Asheville, NC for a day trip

19. Learn how to solemn ski

20. Go white water rafting

21. Swim with the Beluga whales at the GA Aquarium

22. Go on a dinner date with a friend 20 different times

23. Go to brunch at least 10 times

24. Read through the entire Bible

25. Send our Compassion kid a letter once a month for a year - I'm so glad I put this down because it has prompted me to do this more. Now I'm off to write our May letter! (3/12)

26. Have our friends over for a Crawfish Boil- Boom Bam! I get to do this this weekend. Don't tell them it's my first time every cooking crawfish. Oh yeah, and I can't eat the stuff. I'm such a good friend. Cooking my friends the good stuff (or so I'm told) and I can't even eat it! Booooo allergies

27. Go to a home game at Mississippi State- Woo hoo! Can't wait for October. We have our weekend picked out.

28. Run a 5k

29. Run the Peachtree Road Race

30. Go see my grandfather's grave in Arlington National Cemetery

31. Make a photo book of our wedding pictures Completed 3.20.14

32. Make a photo book of our honeymoon pictures Completed 3.19.14

33. Learn how to make my momma's famous fried chicken - Some time around my birthday this is going down. Every time I talk to my mom I pump her up for my birthday meal because I'm her only daughter and I deserve the most labor intensive meal to make. Or something like that. *That is extreme sarcasm. I'm just the smartest kid and choose the best meal my momma knows how to cook <-- That last sentence is not sarcasm*

34. Learn how to make a quilt

35. Get our wedding quilt finished - My mother-in-law and I are working on this baby!

36. Buy our first house

37. Go snow skiing

38. Get professional pictures taken of us

39. Take a picture together every year on our anniversary- 1/3 

40. Throw a bridal shower for a very dear friend

41. Get a dog Completed 3.28.14

42. Host Thanksgiving or Christmas

43. Take a cooking class at The Viking School

44. Take a class at Sip n Stroke with Pat

45. Put our paintings from the class on display

46. Get the Bible Verses from our wedding printed and framed for display

47. Write down our wedding vows and keep them in my Bible for a daily reminder of our covenant

48. Have the college students Pat is coaching over for dinner

49. Get that nice camera I have been eyeing for years Completed 4.20.14

50. Learn how to use that camera

51. Go to Mardi Gras

52. Go to the Sun Dial restaurant

53. Go eat where we had our rehearsal dinner Completed 5.10.14

54. Make lasagna from scratch

55. Go on a date to the Food Truck Park here in Atlanta Completed 3.22.14

 56. Send out Christmas cards

57. Be done with Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving

58. Go back to Harry Potter World

59. Bake Pat a cake for his 26th and 27th birthdays

60. Plan a Eurotrip for 2016

61. Get the French version of Rosetta Stone

62. Brush up on my French and keep my ear using Rosetta Stone

63. Send a package to my French family filled with their favorite American goodies

64. Go to the doctor and get a shot/blood drawn without crying

65. Don't buy anything that isn't on my grocery list at least 10 times

66. Ride a paddle boat in the tidal basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial

67. Go on a Girls' Trip

68. Organize my closet Completed 3.24.14

69. Go for a run every day after work for a month

70. Bike all the way around Stone Mountain without stopping or walking

71. Take a picture in the church we got married in on our first anniversary Completed 5.11.14

72. Take a picture at our reception sight on our first anniversary- I completely dropped the ball on this one. We just didn't do it. No way around that.

73. Dance to our first dance song on our 1st, 2nd and 3rd anniversaries- Dropped the ball on this one too. Somehow this never crossed my mind the day of.

74. Give up soda for a month (and maybe forever?!)- Hahahaha, I must have been dreaming when I wrote this.  

75. Save up for a new car

76. Get our couch cleaned- Yeeeeeeeah, this was supposed to make me do this when I published this darn list. Gross. I need to do that now. Oooor in a month when it fits into our budget.

77. Hike Kennesaw Mountain for the first time since high school

78. Take pictures of Pat in the goal- Welp, better charge up that camera. Have to do it this weekend or else I'll be dropping the ball again for good.

79. Reenact our engagement pictures in front of the ATL skyline

80. Send a friend a package just because

81. Try five new fruits at the Farmer's Market

82. Make beignets for breakfast one day

83. Have breakfast for dinner one night

84. Sell our a piece of furniture made by us

85. Sell a baked good (people keep telling me to do this)

86. Learn how to make my momma's famous Potato Soup

87. Dust around our house once a week for a month (aka get into the habit of it)

88. Buy a strangers meal

89. Go ice skating

90. Make a ginger bread house

91. Plant an herb garden Completed 3.8.14

92. Spend an hour laying outside and looking at the stars

93. Finish the Game of Thrones series

94. Go to Oktoberfest in Helen

95. Go on a picnic

96. Host a dinner party

97. Go to the zoo

98. Finish all of my name change stuff Completed 4.4.14 (I know you're all really sad that there's not an extremely thrilling blog post about my time spent at the DMV and SS office)

99. Make ice cream/sorbet from scratch

100. Fly a kite

101. Do a random act of kindness at least 5 times

I mean I'm pretty proud of myself for actually getting some of these things done. I love that I am being pushed to get some things done that I would otherwise never do. This is making me get out and enjoy my city more. Here's to powering through and getting more done this summer! Can't wait to share some of these adventures with y'all!

Currently...

I have seen this post floating around the blogosphere, and I'm not even sure where I got it to begin with because my idiot self looked at it at work awhile ago. So now I can't find my original link. World's Greatest Blogger right here!

Making: Plans for our budget. This blog post is off to quite a thrilling start, wouldn't you say???

Cooking: Grilled chicken, white corn and baked potatoes. I live for grilling season! And I'm going to let you in on a secret. Want the easiest grilled chicken recipe ever? Marinate your chicken in Italian dressing and then grill it. That's it. You're welcome.

Drinking: Water with lime. SO much better than water with lemon. Yeah, I said it. But seriously... try it. You'll love it.

Reading: A Feast for Crows aka the 4th book in the Game of Thrones series

Wanting: To be where I was this time last year...

St. Lucia, a boat, the Pitons, and Piton beer?! Just living the dream...

Looking: at my computer. Duuuuuh.

Playing: Ugh, I can't believe I am about to admit this... I'm still a Candy Crush addict.

Wasting: My time browsing through homes for sale around Atlanta online... 

Wishing: Pat's job search would end ASAP with a wonderful opportunity for him.

Enjoying: Evening walks with Chloe (our dog) and then watching her romp in our backyard. So much pure joy!

Waking: Up at 7:30 on Saturday. I am seriously so excited to be able to sleep in till 7:30. Who am I and when did I become a grandma?

Liking: That it's THURSDAY so that means tomorrow is FRIIIIIIIIIDAY!

Wondering: How I'm going to learn how to cook crawfish by Saturday *insert panicked B here* 

Loving: That I got to fall asleep listening to the rain last night. 

Hoping: That traffic will be nice to me tomorrow. It was the definition of mean today.

Listening: To the new squeaky toy we got Chloe and feeling my sanity slowly slip away...

We don't believe in the personal bubble in this house anymore.

Needing: To win the lottery so I can travel the world and adopt all the babies I want! Seriously. Pat and I are wanting to go on a mission trip here soon and he is legitimately worried that I'm going to try and adopt all the kiddos.  

Smelling: Honeysuckle around our house and the Volcano candle that is always lit in our house

Wearing: Sweat pants and a t-shirt. The definition of glam sitting over here.

Following: Way too many TV shows. And people keep telling me to watch more. I am now in the phase of starting to cut back so I can read more. 

Noticing: That I seriously need a hair cut. It's bad. Really really bad. 

Feeling: Excited for an upcoming getaway that Pat and I have planned.

Opening: A bazillion different tabs on the internet- Pinterest, FB, Twitter, Blogger ... I should step away from my computer 

Giggling: At my precious little pup that can't be graceful no matter how hard she tries.

What have you been up to currently?

Key Lime Pound Cake

It's that time of year, ladies and gents. It's Key Lime everythang time! You know, that time before it becomes peach everythang. 

ANYWAY! This is a recipe my mom got from a church fundraiser that she and I helped cook for when we lived in Gulfport, MS. It is so stinking easy and SO delicious. 

KEY LIME POUND CAKE

Cake

1 box of Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix
1 box of instant lemon pudding
4 large eggs
1/2 cup of Key Lime juice

Glaze
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of Key Lime juice

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your bundt pan by greasing the pan. I do this with the baking version of Pam. You can also do this by rubbing butter on the inside of the pan then sprinkling it with flour.
Combine all 6 of the cake ingredients in one bowl. Once they are all combined then beat the batter for 2 minutes.
Pour evenly into the bundt pant and then bake for 50-60 minutes.

Right out of the oven

After sitting for 5-10 minutes out of the oven. That's the perfect time to remove this cake from the pan.

Ta-da!  Finished product

This cake really is so super easy to make and almost everyone loves it. If you are not a fan of key lime pie or anything tart then this cake is not for you. If you love all of those things like I do then I suggest you make this cake when you are going somewhere or else you will eat it all.


Do you have a favorite Key Lime recipe?

Happy Key Lime season, y'all!

Weekend Shenanigans: Graduation, 1st Anniversary and Mother's Day ... oh my!

What up weekend with so many life events at the exact same time! We got to start off the weekend by watching my baby sister graduate from high school.

And then I left there extremely jealous of all the fun times that she is about to embark on. I loved college and everything it had to offer. I even loved going to the library (nerd alert!). She has decided she wants to go through Rush and I'm even jealous of that (I can say that now that I'm 4 years removed from Rush). I really just miss living in the same place as all of my friends. Oh, and naps. I really really miss naps.

Saturday night Pat and I ate where we had our Rehearsal Dinner for our nice anniversary dinner. I might still be full. It was that good. You don't like French food? This picture will change your mind-

That right there is my biggest weakness. Mousse au chocolat ... I meeeean, I could kiss the person who came up with that recipe so long ago. 

Sunday was spent celebrating one year and our mommas. I love that we got to attend church where we got married exactly one year before and got to enjoy a wonderful lunch with both of our moms and the rest of my family.

One year later and back at the church. And I need to cut my hair. Moving right along...

Pat and his mom

Three generations: Moi, my mom and my grandmother

And then the moment we had all been waiting for. A whole years worth of waiting for the most magnificent cake in all of the land...

Bam! Look at how beautiful she looked even a whole year later!

And to continue on with this picture dump of a post here are a bunch of pictures of us with the cake. You get to look at all of these because they are approximately 1000x better than the cake cutting pictures of us on our actual wedding day.

Pat isn't even looking and this picture is STILL better than the ones on our wedding day

Awkward squatting and it is still better than our wedding day pictures.

Freakish face and ... well, you get it. Basically my mom should have been our wedding photographer.

Was it still good, you ask? Well, I believe this picture says it all...

Yes, it was still fantastic!

And just so I can prove that I did indeed get my own piece this year...

Noms.

What did you do to celebrate your 1st anniversary? 

I hope you all had amazing weekends! For all the mommas out there, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day and got pampered like you deserved!