Friday!

This week has been one funky random kind of week. Not for any reason in particular, but one that it's hard to describe how I'm feeling now that I'm not really sick but I'm not really 100% yet... it's hard to be motivated to do anything... and I just want to stay home and watch Hocus Pocus. Again. For the fifth time.    1.   I'm so thankful for our insurance this week. Adulting, I know, but I've been so sick this week and only had to pay a $25 copay instead of all of the strep-flu-mono testing they did while I was there!    2. I have a gallery wall plan! I'm in mourning over my chalk board wall, but me and a 40% off Michael's coupon are going to grab this little board to hang in the gallery wall:

3. My parents have decided to keep their stray kitten that was dumped in their yard. They've named her Ellis. Which sounds like LS. Which stands for Little... well..   4. Fleece vests. That is all.    5. My best friend is home from Wisconsin and we are slumber partying it up tonight.  With Jackson's best man, too, of course! Adult sleepovers are my jam.

   

Our weekend in Gatlinburg

Every couple of years or so, our church takes a big family camping trip. This year, all six of us (Jackson and I, his parents, and his brother and his wife) stayed in a cabin together.   We got the fold out couch which was maybe  the most uncomfortable bed I've ever had in my life. But hey, it was inside and we had a heater. A space heater. It was an adorable little cabin with it's own bathroom - thank goodness.  

We spent Saturday in the Tanger Outlet mall where Jackson and I hit gold at the Columbia outlet.  They had a "Spend $200, get $100 off" sale. I had a jacket and Jackson had a couple of vests, so we were already spending $100, so why not get the free $100? We each picked up a couple of more things for free! :)   Then we went to the strip and walked up and down looking for food, cotton candy, and something to kill time before we had to go back to camp. When we got back, we had burgers, hot dogs, and a campfire. All the while, I was sick as a dog coughing my lungs up.  We had a chilly nights' rest with lots of warm snuggles. We woke up Sunday, had a short devotional, packed up camp and headed home. It was a great weekend away with some of our closest friends having fun! Enjoy our photo dump from my MIL's pictures (I forgot to take a whole bunch).  

   

Honey Do List

My next project for our new home is a cute knob rack for our kitchen. There's nowhere to hang dish towels, pot holders, etc.  I wanted something fun and bright to match my favorite plate that Jackson painted. 

(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) So far, my favorite places in our home are the places that have a little love. :) 
Things still on our to-do list include: Styling the bookshelves and cubbies.  Get some hooks to hang brooms and nick knacks

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Hanging our Gallery Wall
Make a burlap wreath for our front door
Get a new bed set
Unpack the rest of the "random" boxes in the spare room
Take the donation boxes to Goodwill
Get some chairs for the spare room:

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Hang our plates in the kitchen
Rest and enjoy our new home. :)
 

On Marriage at Twenty-Two

A girl I went to both middle and high school with posted this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, and I've been struggling with how to respond. I feel like I need to, but don't want to start WWIII. So here... here sounded like a safe place.

 

Not only did the post itself irritate me, but the comments. Oh the comments.

 

I didn't get married because it's trendy. I got married because I love Jackson more than any other earthly thing.  I grew up with him, and it didn't make sense not to continue to take on the hard parts of life with him. I wanted to spend every day coming home to the one that pushes me to be my best, that encourages me and uplifts me, that is (and always has been) my better half.   I didn't do it for Facebook likes. I mean... what?! Read that comment a couple of times. That does not make a lick of sense.   I don't need experience to get married. Of course, High school and college life did not come with hard life issues. I only had one close person die, I had great friends, I graduated with honors from both high school and college, and barely struggled. I don't have to go through hard things to know that as the hard things come (because we all know they will), I want the iron that sharpens my iron to be right by my side.    I "found the love of my life" at 12. At that point, I was twelve years old and he was not the love of my life.  He didn't become that important or meaningful until we understood that love is a choice. It's hard, sometimes, to love unconditionally.  It's a daily choice to put the other before yourself, to want the other to be the best they can be.  It's a commitment to love and cherish everything from the best to the worst parts of your counterpart.    "Think about it". I do think about it. I think about it daily. I got married at 22 years old, and have the rest of my life to live and love Jackson with all I have and all I am.  I made (and make, daily) the choice to share life... all of the big monumental things and all of the nooks and crannies... the good, bad, ugly... to share my whole being with someone.   I don't regret it for a second.    

5 reasons I'm Failing at Organizing

I found this cute post about failing at organization. While very true on almost all points, I could think of the five reasons I am failing at organizing.   1. I like piles I make piles of everything. Things to keep, things to throw away, things to donate, papers I may want to read later, coupons I didn't want to clip right now but may come back to.  It results in a lot of paper mess everywhere. If it starts bugging me, no problem, I just move it to another surface not currently holding any piles or stacks of anything.   2. I need more baskets I can always think of a cute place to use a basket. Right now, I'm lusting after these two baskets from Target. I can't quite justify spending $40 on each, though, so if you find them somewhere cheap, help a girl out!

 

3. I like lounging and sleeping

I enjoy sitting on the couch doing nothing to the point where I fall asleep. I look forward to nap time.  This usually results in a mega Tasmanian Devil cleaning of our whole apartment. Then I'm back to my naps.

 

4. Organizing is Expensive

See number 2.  I would have a labeled bin for every little trinket, but with the invention of pinterest, I feel like all of the organizational "needs" are so expensive. What I wouldn't give for a pantry that looks like this... but the canisters, shelving, labels, etc. are almost too much to make the organization worth it. I'm hoping to organize like the Container Store on a Dollar Tree budget.

 

5. I've learned that it's okay One of the most important lessons I learned from some wonderful ladies early on is that it's okay if there is laundry to be done and you just need "you time". Dirty dishes, of course, may need attention a little quicker, but my piles of paper are not going to ruin a day or week. Not spending quality time with Jackson or resting will ruin my days or weeks. Prioritizing is key.  

Friday!

I am so thankful Friday is here. It was a long last weekend full of moving, canoeing, and unpacking followed by a week of being busy and stressed at work. I'm so ready to relax this weekend. But first...   Dear Hiney Home 2.0 - We are starting to love you as much as we loved 227. We love the floor plan, and I'm having a blast figuring out where to put stuff.  Also, holy storage space, Batman. We said bye to 227 on Monday after our walk through, and got out with charges for "a simple cleaning, one broken blind, and a small spot on the carpet"   Dear Dad - Thanks for passing on that whole "feed the strays" thing. We have somehow inherited the apartment stray. We're calling him Toothless for all of you "How to Train Your Dragon" fans.

Dear interview this afternoon - I'm praying hard for you to go well to result in an offer! I'm so ready for a change of pace.     Dear Comcast - Thanks only goes to the lady who works at the "corporate complaint escalation" department who fixed our cable and internet.  Also, thanks for whatever you did to make our bill $24.84 this month. P.s. Thanks to Nashville Electric for our $42 bill. 
Dear My Sweet Alma Mater - It was so great to be home this week for a job fair, even if we didn't hire a single person. I'm so looking forward to us beating Vandy in the homecoming game this weekend! :) Thanks for always welcoming us back with open arms!

     

A Letter to 227's New Family

Dear new family living in 227,   227 was our first home as a family of two.  It was a bachelor pad for 4 months before that, though. I tried my best to keep it livable, promise!  It has a relatively new washer, oven, garbage disposal, and kitchen faucet; all of them died when we lived there. You're welcome. :) Under the paint on the wall next to the kitchen is a chalkboard. It was home to many chalk creations and sayings to bring the seasons and events of the seasons inside. It's where I practiced being artsy and loved every minute of it... except the minutes it took to paint it back.  

  I'll go ahead and apologize on behalf of 227 for the spiders. They're everywhere and constant. Get some brown recluse traps and you'll be golden. Sorry for the black paint on the balcony siding.  It's from Jackson's first ever duck hunting season. There were once almost 100 spray painted bottles that were used as decoys sitting out there. You have the best view off of the balcony; you can also leave your windows open and not worry about anyone seeing you walking around pantless  or couch sitting all day.  Oh, sorry about the chew marks in the bedroom blinds. We got a kitten, didn't tell the office, and he took a liking to that window sill. He really just wanted to see outside and the blinds were in his way. We raised them to prevent further damage. :)  

  I don't know if the smoke alarm works. There were many nights where bacon smoke would fill 227 and it never went off. You may want to have them check it.  Also, you can hear all of the machinery in the utility closet running at all times. You will learn to tune it out and it becomes the white noise that will help you sleep.  You can also hear the traffic from the interstate; another white noise source.   We never had a problem with our neighbors. In fact, they were always nice and pleasant. There is one yappy dog, one crying baby, and you can occasionally hear the coyote babies howling in response to interstate sirens in the woods. There was once a big ole snake right outside our door, but the maintenance men came post haste to remove him to the woods. If you ever need anything, go to Sherri.  She will always work with you to help with anything you need.   We hope you love living there as much as we did. We hope your family can flourish and grow together... it will have to... you only have 631 square feet. You'll learn to work through whatever life throws because the only place to run is the laundry closet.  

Friday!

Dear Packing, you and I are not and have never been friends. I honestly am a little irritated knowing we'll be here again in a few more years. 

 

Dear Feeny, it's not good to take mommy's earrings and scare everyone into thinking you've eaten them. Also, thank you for snuggling all day Monday.  It was my favorite thing.    Dear Monday, thanks for being so productive. I made a doctor's appointment, went to the bank to replace my lost debit card (shhh....), packed and cleaned and even found time for a nap. :)    Dear Hiney Home 2.0, please treat us as kindly as Hiney Home 1.0.  We loved our first home, and I'm a little uneasy about moving away from it.    Dear Bestie, Thanks for accidentally matching me to work on Thursday. ;) It was a great laugh that we all needed after the week we had.

   

Birthday Wishlist!

Now that we're past Jackson's birthday, I feel better about making my Birthday Wishlist! 
I would love a new comforter set. 

(grey // navy)

A Deathly Hallows decal for Remus (the Rav4)

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An MTSU Homecoming T-shirt; we're playing Vandy and I won't be able to pick a side!! 

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A Volunteer Traditions Decal for Remus... in black and gold of course

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