Expectations.


Truth.

That quote speaks volumes to me, always has because i'm the kind of person who gets hurt too easily and tries my best to hide it because I don't want to hurt anyone else's feelings, then I sob into my fiancee's arms (God Bless that man) while he convinces me that it's okay. Pretty silly, huh? But the truth is, I care too much. I got my soft heart from my mama. She really is the sweetest. I've learned from her. I've tried so hard not to let it show when I'm hurt by someone's actions. I cover the hurt with an excuse for that person, accept their apology and move on. Life's hard, we're all struggling with something, right? Sure, we are, but I feel like sometimes people use excuses to get out of something. Maybe they need time alone or maybe they really are feeling bad. I know we all have those times but that's why i've started saying exactly why i'm saying no to other's invitations. If I need some me time I say "thank you for thinking of me but I really need some alone time" or "thank you for thinking of me but I need to do this, this, and this". Whatever the case may be I'm learning to say it, not just say "I really don't feel well" unless I really am sick. I never want the people I love to think i'm just avoiding them & not making them a priority. People may get hurt by you saying no but they'll hurt less if they know it's the truth and not a lie. I never want to be the type of person that people expect me to say no or to bail out on them when we have plans. If I make plans with you then i'm sticking them out unless I truly can't. I guess that's what gets me hurt. I expect others to do the same but I can't expect everyone to have a heart like mine.

The thing about planning my wedding is, i've gotten to see who is really there for me & there are one or two exceptions to this because these people have been dealing with things that are far more important. Things that I truly do understand and would do the same if I had to. People that weren't my very best friends have become through this & we're super close now. My sister in law and I have gotten even closer and this has made me see that I really do need to take the extra initiative to keep even better in touch with her and my brother. I've gotten even closer to her sister, too! And my Mom, of course I've always been close to her but it's been sweet to share these moments with her, of course. It's also shown me the opposite but through it all I choose to be happy and celebrate with those who truly want to celebrate with me & share this journey in our next chapter together!!!
#FromMisstoMrs.
28 Days!!







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Perfection.



What is perfect to you? Is it a home that is so clean you could eat off the floor? Is it white couches and crisp, clean decor? Is it when your hair and make up is flawless? Is it looking like your family just stepped out of an ad for Polo? Is it nothing but smiles and laughter? Odds are that if your answer is yes you aren't alone. In a world that's so social media driven it's very easy to look at someone's Instagram account, Blog, Facebook page or the other hundreds of social media sites and think to yourself "I need to be more like her. She's got it all together."
I'm just as guilty of thinking those things and often times, of being the one who posts those pictures because I fall into the trap of thinking these things define me. My phone has told me, more than once, storage is full, because i'm busy taking 100 pictures of the same thing just to get that one perfect shot. In my adult life i've found myself striving to perfection, even though, I was raised to believe the only perfect in the world is God. I know i'm not perfect, life isn't, nothing is so i'm trying to give that image in my head up.

My car is dirty. There's bird poop on the outside and enough dirt inside I could make my own baseball pitching mound.
My house needs to be dusted, the kitchen needs to be mopped, the carpets need to be vacuumed.
Currently i'm just wearing nylon work out shorts and an Under Armour tee shirt.
My engagement ring is being repaired meaning I won't have it for my Bachelorette party Saturday.
There are clothes that need to be folded.
Thank You notes to be written.
Insurance to be taken care of.
And my wedding only 29 days away.

Normally all those things would have sent me in a tizzy (yes, that's a Southern term meaning fit) because there are a lot of things that need to be done in order to make "perfect" happen in my world today yet here I sit. At my desk, laptop in hand. The only light I have is the sun from the window + my marquee letters, & a candle burning. I'm listening to Point of Grace, and ignoring the rest of the world because this is what I need at this moment.
See, perfect is different for everybody & this is perfect to me at this moment. It's what my heart & soul needs. It's where I feel like I need to be in order to be the best of myself. This week has been a rollercoaster and I've gotten off track. This is what I need to be able to give the best of myself to those who need it and believe me, i've not been giving it this week. Trust me when I say, i'm not perfect and I don't strive for some impossible belief of what I think perfection is.

I roll my eyes.
I huff and puff.
I get teary eyed over the stupidest things.
95% of the time I don't want to deal with people.
I get frustrated with my son for acting just like me (your wish already came true Mom).

But it's life and it's messy and it's not perfect and that's okay. It's okay that I don't have it all together. That i'm not head of the PTO, looking like Barbie Mom, losing my identity in my child or spouse. It's okay that I roll my eyes and huff and puff because at least there's something going on in that brain of mine. It's okay to cry over the stupid things and it's okay for wanting to hide away in my own little world. At least we're all nice in here. And it's okay that my son acts like me because I can relate to him.

It's time we all stop striving for an image of perfection based off someone else's Instagram account. It's time we define perfect for ourselves and strive towards that. Of course, you have to be kind to yourself in your thoughts of perfection and know we aren't Wonder Woman so what can be put off until tomorrow can wait.

I leave you this this question..what is your idea of perfection?
For me, it's simple. Perfection is sheer and utter happiness.

It's the moment my fiancee walks in the door from work and wraps his arms around me.
It's moments like these. Just me, my lap top, good music, candles, and an hour of devotionals.
It's doing something nice for someone else like sending my in laws a meal.
It's snuggling in on Sunday nights with my guys to watch some t.v.
It's the morning drives taking my son to school where we talk, heart to hearts.
It's the silly little squirrel that has taken to peaking in the windows when she wants peanuts.

Sure, some days perfection is other things but perfection for me is always happiness.






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Wedding Wednesday.

Hi Lovelies! I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday. Mine is a rollercoaster of emotions just like the rest of the week has been. But enough about that. Let's talk Wedding! It's only 30 days until I get to marry my Prince. He's the Peanut butter to my jelly, the sprinkles to my cupcakes, The Ricky to my Lucy. Basically he's my everything and without him i'd be lost. No kidding.

Everyone says "I married my best friend", I used to think that was cliche but that was before I got engaged to my best friend. He really was my best friend for 13 years before we dated. We talked about everything. I think that made our relationship so much easier because we had a base built solely on friendship. We went out on a "date" one night (I honestly didn't realize it was a date) and since then we've been even more inseparable than before. I'm not going into detail about our love story because you can read that here


For today's Wedding Wednesday post I'm going to share with you my Wedding Shower! It was such a fun day, surrounded by love and the most amazing people in our lives.


My sweet sister in law, her sister, my mom, my sweet friend Crystal and my Aunt Melody all made this day super special and super awesome. I can never thank them enough.

Since we're getting married on the beach, my sister in law kept with the nautical theme. It turned out so perfect!

I opened tons of presents and had the best time playing the What's In Your Purse? Game. Then my sister in law asked my questions she had asked Alex, about himself. Everyone had to guess how many (out of 20) they thought i'd get right. I got 13 & my Mom guessed exactly 13 so she won the prize! A pretty little reed diffuser. We ate too much food and laughed a lot.


And before everyone left I asked them to take a picture with me :)

It was a wonderful day and I can't truly say how special it was and how much it meant to me to celebrate the next chapter of my life with these wonderful ladies.

Special Thanks to these lovely ladies for putting this together for me.
Crystal, Myself, Jordan, & Kristen.

If you're interested in my other Wedding Wednesday posts, you can check them out here & here.

Happy Wednesday Lovelies! We're 1/2 way to Fri-YAY!




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Weekend Wrap Up.



Hi Lovelies! I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday. I am, well, other than the fact that my kid called from school saying he didn't feel well. He's fine, just a headache but as soon as I walked in the office I was handed the check out list b/c teachers don't want to handle any of that mess. Anyway, it's not going to stop me from having a fabulous Monday. I'm still on a love high from this weekend. Saturday was my Wedding Shower, more on that in a minute. How was my weekend spent?

Fridaynight my brother and sister in law came out to spend the night at my parent's house. My sister in law was the main
co-ordinator for my wedding shower and since the shower was held at my parent's house, they spent the night. We hung around with them until about midnight, laughing and talking and playing Family Feud. Once we got home our heads hit the pillows and we were out like the lights.

Saturdaywas my shower but not until 4 p.m. so my fiancee and I took our sweet time getting ready. We hung out in the office for a good part of the morning, it was a nice slow start to what I knew would be an energetic day. We took showers around 11:3o, got dressed and headed out to Taco Bell for lunch then a run to Target so I could get a new dress. Last minute decision b/c I had to look my best and nothing I had would do! I was only in a slight panic when it was 12:30 and we weren't at my parent's house yet. We made it in plenty of time though. We helped set up just a little bit, my sister in law & mom about had it all done. I'm not going into too many details because I have another post planned just on this subject but I will say that a good time was had by all, I got a ton of nice gifts, and I have some of the best family and friends ever!

Here's a sneak peak.


Sunday was spent putting away all the gifts we got & getting a new dishwasher. We didn't plan on getting a new dishwasher but when we got home on Saturday night my honey noticed it was leaking and had been for quiet a while apparently because the floors are now bowed. He wasted no time though, he went to Home Depot that night and ordered us a new one then went and picked it up Sunday morning. He and our neighbor spent a couple hours installing it. THe rest of the day was spent on laundry and chores then watching Fear The Walking Dead.

A small portion of the gifts we received.

Our new dishwasher.

Needless to say. I'm blessed. We're blessed. We're blessed with wonderful loved ones who came out to celebrate us Saturday and shower us with love and gifts. And i'm especially blessed to have such an amazing man. I was fully prepared to hand wash dishes without complaint until after our wedding and honeymoon but, without asking, he took care of the dishwasher. If that's not blessed then I don't know what is.

So that was my weekend in a nut shell. How was yours?


Now, onto Monday Coffee Talk.
Monday Coffee Talk is where bloggers can list three goals they wish to accomplish for the week. They can be personal, business, blog related. Whatever it is you want to accomplish, just write 'em down and link 'em up.

Here are last week's goals.
How'd I stack up?

1. Get back into the groove of my routine.
♡ Yes! For the most part. I'm learning to be patient because everyday is going to be different.
As long as I have my morning routine down then I can flow with the rest of the day.


2. Try to schedule blog posts.
♡ Nope, not even close. Life is busy and with a wedding 33 days away,
I don't see it slowing down any.


3. Socks. Those socks.
MATE THOSE SOCKS!!!!
♡ The baskets full? No
But I am getting better at mating them as they come through the laundry.
That totally counts!

Usually i would schedule more goals for the up-coming week but right now i'm too exhausted.
In all honestly, can I have a nap please?! No!
Okay, well at least there are cupcakes in my belly, I mean fridge. Okay, they're about to be in my belly.

Happy Monday Peaches!


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My Beauty Routine

Hi Lovelies! Welcome back! I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far. We've made it more than 1/2 way through now :)


Today I want to talk about my beauty routine. I can't tell you how important this is to me. Not just make up but skin care. I was a lucky teenager, I never really suffered from break outs. Maybe that's because my mom had my brothers and I on a skin care regime when we were pre-teens. For a few years of my adult life I quit doing my skin care routine and didn't really think much of it but in the last year I noticed the flaws in my skin and started my routine again. I never realized how much difference it makes in the appearance of my skin and the way I feel, too. I feel so refreshed when i'm taking care of my skin.

The line of skin care products I use is Aloette. It's a home based show company but all their products are hypo allergenic because they're aloe based. They're not sticky like an aloe leaf though and Aloette has started their own farms to grow aloe. Pretty cool, right?

Every morning after my work out I try to remember to wash my face with my products to un-clog my pores. My face always feels so smooth after this.

1st I start with my face wash. Hydra Cleansing Emulsion.
I love that it's light weight. It's not greasy at all and it doesn't dry your skin out.
I rub it all over my face then wash it off with a warm wet washcloth.

2nd I use my Sensitive Skin Toner.
A toner is a must for any facial routine.
I dab it on a cotton ball and rub it on my face and let it dry.

3rd I use my Nutra Hydrating Mist.
It's sticky if you use too much so just a little goes a long way.
I simply mist my face and let it dry.

That's my morning skin care routine. It's quick and easy and feels so good.

On to my make up routine. This is a little more complicated.


1st I rub my Clinique Moisture Surge into my skin.

2nd I use my Aloette Smooth and Soothe on my lips.
It's so minty fresh and feels amazing.
If my lips are dry then I use the smooth side then the soothe,
If not then I only use the soothe, minty lip balm.

3rd I dry my hair. I rarely use products in my hair so it's straight up drying it.

4th I use my NYX Dark Circle Corrector under my eyes and any other spots that might need it.
I'm a huge believer in this stuff, y'all. I'll never be without this!

5th It's time for my Clinque Redness Solutions make up.
I feel like my skin is usually super red so this stuff is a dream.
It covers myskin and evens my tone out like nobody's business.

6th It's time for face powder. Right now i'm out of my good stuff (Aloette).

7th Look Alive Eye Base from Aloette is a dream come true if you have dark circles under your eyes
(Hello allergies!!)

8th I apply my first base of eye shadow. Usually a light creamy color.

9th My second and third eye shadows. Usually a variation of browns or purples.

10th My favorite Aloette mascara. A-List Lash.
It's the bomb!!

11th Stop! You're making me blush! It's time for my Aloette blush!
I didn't used to use blush, I didn't think I needed it but my Aloette consultant taught me otherwise.

12th Eye Liner! Either my Aloette brown or my NYC smoky gray!
I'm a huge eye liner lover!!

13th Smudge and blend if necessary!!!

14th Making my lips kissable.
This color is amazing but it doesn't last long at all.
It is an NYC color so now to find a quality equivalent.

15th Lip gloss, if necessary! I love this completed look.

16th It's time to curl those locks. I love having bouncy, curly locks.
I feel sassy and beautiful.

Here's the completed look!
Sorry for the crazy eyes. LOL.
IDK what's going on there.



So what's your beauty routine?
What's in your make up bag?

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Sweating For The Wedding


Good Morning Lovelies! It's Wednesday! You know what that means!?!
♡ 3 days until my wedding shower
♡ 10 days until my girls day out/bachelorette party
♡ 38 days until my wedding
AND AND AND...
♡ 40 days until our Hawaiian Honeymoon!
With this exciting and wonderful season upon me I've decided to start over with a fresh slate. I was tired of never having any energy and feeling awful. My fiancee and I have one wonderful 12 year old son but we knew we wanted at least one more baby together, too and the state I was in was no state to have a baby, much less live a long, healthy life for our son so together we started eating better. We were using the MyFitnessPal App (still are) and watching our calorie count. We started that in January & we saw progress, so much progress. I lost 15 pounds, he lost 20 then we both plateaued and have been holding steady for a couple months. Steady is good but steady isn't our ideal weight so I decided to start yoga then I decided to join my friend Kristen (she's also my brother's sister in law) in the Beachbody program.

I started yoga about a month ago. I was doing it every morning and the energy it brought me was amazing. I started feeling so refreshed and energized not to mention, my back hasn't hurt me nearly as much as it used to. I fell in love with the way I was starting to feel and decided it wasn't enough so I joined Kristen in the Beachbody Program. She sent me the Cize dvd's and got me in on her 21 day fix group and her 5 day clean eating group. I did the clean eating group last week and learned some new things but mostly found some really great new clean eating recipes. I'm not on week 2 of the 21 day fix and loving it. The support is awesome. Every evening we check in and give our food, water, and excercise and rating of 1-5, 5 being the best. Even if we've had a bad day that day it's nice to check in because everyone is cheering you on. It's like getting together with your best girlfriends every evening, knowing you have cheerleaders on your team!

I'm still using the MyFitness Pal App to track my calories and now i'm using waterlogged to make sure I drink plenty of water everyday. My goal is a gallon a day.
I've cut out all drinks except coffee in the morning & tea at night. I'm a Southern Mama. I need my coffee and sweet tea.
We're adding more fruits and veggies into our diets and less pre packaged junk. Do I still eat out? Yes! Do I still indulge? Yes! But it's about limiting the sweets and picking healthier options when we eat out and always paying attention to the portion size recommendations.
I take a women's multi vitamin and a fruit + veggie vitamin because we don't get our full serving of fruits or veggies a day. EVER!

With doing all that I lost 15 lbs but that's not enough so I'm doing yoga & Cize and occasionally going for walks. Yesterday I just needed to be out of the house, away from people and in nature so I took off to my favorite park, next door to my son's school and walked an extra mile. It was great to exercise and clear my head.

So with all that combined i'm still on the mission to get fit and i'll be #sweatingforthewedding until the wedding comes then i'll be sweating for life because that's what this is about. It's a healthy lifestyle change because my soon to be husband deserves the best of me so does my son and our future children.

So if you're stuck in a work out rut and need some inspiration I hope you find it here.






If you think you're interested in the Beachbody program please send me an e-mail Lesliew21282@gmail.com.
Kristen has set us up to this challenge!

Hey lovelies! If you're ready to make some amazing changes to your life; your fitness & your health then I have the perfect opportunity for you! I've been doing beach body with my coach Kristen. Today she's challenging us to ‪#‎findafriend‬. If you think you might be interested just let me know.


I promise, it's the best thing you can do for yourself.



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Monday Coffee Talk Pt. 4


Good Morning Lovelies! I hope this Monday is treating you well so far. It's raining here and I'm worn out after a friend's wedding yesterday but I'm going to have an amazing day anyway because I'm having a girl's day with my Aunt and cousin Emily. They're one of my bridesmaids and my flower girl and they haven't had the chance to go with me to a dress fitting yet so they're going with me today! YAY!!! I ♡ getting to put that pretty dress on and pretend to be a pretty princess for an hour or so. Doesn't that sound like a lovely way to spend a Monday? I think so.

Since it's Monday it's time for my link up with Jasmine over atClassy Sassy and a bit Smartassy. She does a Monday link up called Monday Coffee Talk. I love Coffee and I love talking so boom!! You can join the link up here Monday Coffee Talk we'll get to that in a minute because first we had another weekend worth sharing.

Friday night my honey went to Best Buy with his Dad, when he got home a bird flew in our house. I have no idea where this thing came from but that's how our weekend started, with a bird in our house. Luckily our son opened up the front door and the thing flew back out. I ran upstairs because birds in houses never go well.

Saturday my honey & I spent the entire day cleaning the man cave/office. It turned into a storage area and was impossible to get down there and do anything in + we need room to work out so we cleaned & made a ton of progress but there's still more to do. That night my honey's sister and our nephews came over for dinner & 2/3 of our kids had a ball in a cardboard box. Oh the laughs!! We laughed until it hurt because these kids of ours are goofs. We ended the night in the house, everyone on their electronics.
It was a fun time had by all.

Sunday was a friend of my fiancee's wedding. It was so so pretty & so much fun.
We laughed some more and enjoyed time with friends.
We ended the night snuggled in bed talking about our wedding which is in 40 days!!!!

That was our amazing weekend. It was exhausting but totally refreshing and it's just what we needed. Time to clean, time to be with family and friends, lots of laughter. Now, Monday Coffee Talk is where bloggers can list three goals they wish to accomplish for the week. They can be personal, business, blog related. Whatever it is you want to accomplish, just write 'em down and link 'em up.


Here are last week's goals. How'd I do?

1. Mate socks.
I despise this chore with everything in me.
Summer means flip flops all day erry day, am I right?
But with my son back in school that means socks and tennis shoes. BOO!!
I may give in and let my fiance doing them the "military way."
♡ Nope! Not even close but my son did find a stash of mated socks behind the chest in his room so that buys me some time.

2. Spend my Saturday ironing and food prep.
Normally I would say Sunday but we have a wedding to go to Sunday so Saturday it is.
Ironing is another thing I despise, that's why I was doing two weeks worth last night at 9:30
But since i'm a kind fiancee i'll just grin and bear it.
Food prep is another big thing. After I pick my son up from school we spend time with my parents
then I rush home and throw something together so dinner is done soon after my honey is home.
My dream is to be June Cleaver and have dinner on the table the minute he walks in the door but
this is real life. Between visiting w/ my parents and Atlanta rush hour traffic it never happens.
♡ Yes!! Well kinda. I got all my honey's clothes ironed for the week
& made my son food for the week on Sunday. So it got done. That's what's important.


3. Find my routine groove again.
Before school started back I had my day planned to the T
but then school started back and now I feel like i'm in a constant state of frenzy.
Not really living in the moment, always feeling rushed for what's next.
I simply can't do that. I broke down in tears during my devotional this morning b/c I
felt bad for spending that time on me. Silly right? I was reminded that I simply need
to Be Still.
♡ Yes!! I felt better last week that I have in a long time, too.
I have my routine down to a t, at least on the days i can be home all day.

Now for this week's goals.

1. Get back into the groove of my routine.
I've gotten out of it over the weekend and today will be off schedule, too
but i'll get my groove back!!

2. Try to schedule blog posts.
On days like today, where I want to blog but have places to go I don't want to squeeze out a post.
I need a plan. :)

3. Socks. Those socks.
MATE THOSE SOCKS!!!!

So what are your goals for the week?
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Oh, Hey Friday!



Hey Lovelies. Guess what day it is? It's Fri-YAY!!! My week has been amazing. I feel like a new girl. I've been doing Cize and a 5 day clean eating challenge with my sweet friend and brother's sister in law Kristen this week & I couldn't feel better.
It's also been our first full week of school. I can say that's gone exceptionally well for us! However, I have learned a few things this week.

1. I actually don't hate mornings.
2. I actually enjoy working out.
3. I'm thankful for Kristen & her 5 day clean eating group.
4. You can't replace cream cheese with greek yogurt.
5. Pizza is the best thing ever when you're eating clean.
6. Shaun T's Cize will kick your booty.
7. I'm still a white girl with no rhythm.
8. I may need help shampooing my hair after these work outs.
9. My sister in law, Jordan, is better than yours.

It also means it's Oh, Hey Friday! time with the always adorable & bubbly Karli who blogs over at September Farm.

Oh, Hey Friday!

You can join or just check out her fabulous blog. If you do you should read it from start to finish, you're sure to laugh, smile, and nod in agreeance the whole way through. She's a bubbly, gem of a person & that's just what I know from her blog. She keeps life real.

How does this link up work?

1. Well first off you list 5 things. They can be as random as you want or all about one subject, there are no real rules here.
2. You link up your post at the bottom of hers, not mine. I'm not that fancy.
3. Then you grab the button, from below & add it to yours.
4. Then you spread the word about your blog, her blog, and everyone else's you want.
(I added that part-duh!)



Here are my Fabulous Five on this Happy Fri-YAY!

1. I've recruited my girl Crystal to help with hair and make-up for my wedding. So Saturday we went to see her and her honey's new home and hada trial run of hair and make-up w/ a side of wine. Our guys wanted to run to Frye's (an electronics store) & while they were gone we had girl time. Crystal even introduced me to Snapchat.


2. My sweet sweet aunt gave me a ton more succulents and flowers for my front porch. I love them so so much! I'm not sure my fiancee feels the same but plants are still better than a puppy ;)


3. After Saturday, which I enjoyed so much, I've stepped up my make-up game this week and have even started wearing nicer clothes. Usually i'm home all day so under armor shorts and tanks it is but this week i've stepped it up. I feel so much better and happier when i'm looking/feeling cute.


4. My Insta/Facebook post from Wednesday.
There's beauty in the little things if only you stop to notice. 🌸 I wasn't in the best mood this morning but I was determined to change that. After my morning work out I decided I was going to clean my car, after I did that I was still in s bad mood but as I turned the corner to put the water hose away I looked in the Rose of Sharon and saw butterflies & bees flitting & fluttering around. 🌸 it caught my attention and I stopped to snap a few pics. I can't tell you how this simple thing changed my whole attitude. I was reminded of how blessed I am & the beauty in the little things. 🐝🌸


5. The Shaun T. Cize work-out is no joke, y'all. I've done it for 5 days straight now and I'm exhausted and energized. I feel like a new person and am loving this new season in my life. I used to hate working out and never did it but now it's the complete opposite.


So there are my 5 for Friday! Tell me 5 good things in your life right now? What's making you happy? What are you loving?








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What's in my purse?

Women's purses our lives & there's something fascinating to me about seeing what's in other women's bags. I buy the US Weekly magazine for the article, if you call it that, about what's in a celebrity woman's purse and I die for a blog post about what's in your purses. Okay, not die for it but I do find it intriguing. You can tell a lot about a woman by what she carries in her bag. I did one of these posts in February but I haven't done one since & I know the suspense is killing you! I'm sure you've been wondering what is it that she carries with her everywhere she goes? What makes her who she is? No?!
What's In My Purse?

Oh, well, now you're curious, I'm sure of it!



Before the suspense kills you here's what's in my bag.


♡ No less than 3 pairs of sunglasses and not a single pair in my sunglasses case because that would make too much sense!
♡ Pens. I have an obsession with pens. The cuter the better & if you borrow one i'll be staring you down until you return it.
♡ A few stray dolla dolla bills, y'all.
♡ An old grocery list.
♡ An rsvp to our wedding.
♡ keys with my 31 fob and my Brighton owl that my sweet boy gave me for Mother's Day a couple years ago.


♡ Vera Bradley license holder.
♡ Coach wallet.
♡ Vera Bradley coin purse.
♡ Fossil owl pouch with hair elastics.
♡ A few rogue pony tail holders.


♡ B&BW Pink Lemonade Fizz lotion. This smells amazing!
♡ B&BW Stress Relief hand sanitizer. LOVE! This is a necessity when out in public.
♡ EOS mint chapstick. My fave!!
♡ H&M lip color set. I got this dirt cheap y'all but I love it so so much!!
♡ A couple extra lip colors + Aquafina chapstick. Obviously I love my lips.

And in my carry all pouch...

♡ Leather thingy with headphones and a selfie button.
♡ Face powder.
♡ Tide Pen.
♡ Victoria's Secret Fresh Vanilla Spray.
♡ Clinique foundation.
♡ Almay mascara.
♡ Cleaning cloth.
♡ Nail clippers & tweezers.
♡ Nail polish remover pads.
♡ Cleaning wipe for iPhone screens.
♡ Medicines for headaches & allergies.
♡ Feminine products.
♡ Q-Tips.

And usually a granola bar & always my iPhone but I was taking pics with it this time.

So now that you know what's in my bag tell me what's in yours?

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Modern Day June Cleaver


Modern Day June Cleaver wanna be with Lucy antics mixed in.
If I were on one of those Real Housewives shows that would be my tag line.

I definitely have aspirations to be a Modern Day June Cleaver.
She always seemed to have her mess together.
Her house was always perfect and she was always a beauty.
Her hair was always perfectly in place and her make-up was exquisitely done.
She had a the best behaved little boy and a more obnoxious older one who still wasn't that bad.
And she had dinner on the table every night when her husband came home from work.
How she did it all, i'll never know. I realize that this was just a t.v. show but it was reality back then.

Even Lucille Ball had a perfectly clean and organized apartment and was a real beauty.
Her hair was stunning and so was her make-up.
Her son was adorable and well behaved.
And she had dinner on the table every night for her husband.
And she was always dressed up.
Both of these women even cooked a home-made breakfast every morning.

Like I said, I realize these were t.v. shows and behind the scenes Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had a volatile marriage but what they portrayed on t.v is what I want. I have the Lucy antics already mixed in. It's just the way life is.
I've never lead a horse up our stairs in the home or crashed my husband's performances but the chocolate factory episode, that would so be me and my best friend.
We're each other's real life Lucy & Ethel.

The thing about these shows is that this is the way life was back then. It was slower & simpler.
You could leave your front door unlocked because the only people who were going to come inside were your neighbors who were your best friends anyway.
You could walk everywhere and small towns really were small towns.

My great-grandmother was very much the same way even through my childhood in the 80's & 90's.
You never stopped by her house and saw her not put together.
And you never ever stopped by that she didn't have a huge southern dinner ready to go.
She always had fresh veggies and everything was home made.
And her house was always clean.
She passed away about 7 years ago, I think and while I have some of her recipes and years of memories I wish I had spent more time asking her how she did it all.
I feel like this art of keeping it all together passed with that generation and we have the excuse now
"You have as many hours in the day as Beyonce."

I think Beyonce is a power house of a performer but she is incomparable to June, Lucy, and my great- grandmother.
Beyonce has people who do everything for her.
She probably has a nanny, a personal chef, a personal trainer, a house keeper and whomever else she may need at her service.
That's not who I strive to be. Sorry not sorry.

I wake up every weekday no later than 6:45 and my feet hit the floor running and don't stop until bed time. I'm not at all complaining, this is what I want to do for my family but I simply feel like I can never get everything done that needs to be done. Finding a balance between myself, my child, my fiancee, the house, cooking, cleaning, our family, our friends, running errands and everything else that needs to be done seems impossible some days but it's on those days that i'm reminded what doesn't get done today will still be there tomorrow.



My morning starts around 6:20 when I sleepily kiss my fiancee good bye and tell him I love him and hope he has a good day from the bed and i'm not even sure what i'm saying makes since. I'm not getting up to make him coffee or breakfast and he doesn't expect me to.

I doze back off for about 20 minutes then wake up to my alarm going off. I spend the next 15 minutes talking to God and trying hard not to doze back off.

I get up out of bed at 7, grab whatever sweat pants I had on the night before that are sitting on my hope chest put them on and stumble down the hall to our son's room where I attempt to wake him up. I then stumble into the bathroom and start the shower for him then poke my head in his room again and tell him it's time to get up.

After that I make my way back to my room where I throw on a bra and whatever tee shirt I find first then into the bathroom to pull my hair back up and brush my teeth. While asking "Is Dylan up yet?" No. So I rush back down the hall, yank the covers off him and tell him it's 7:10 and i'm not leaving until he gets up. It usually ends in "don't pull those covers back up." He sits up so I leave and a minute later he's in the shower. I'm making the bed at this point.

I'm awake enough by this point so I go downstairs, turn on the t.v., and the Keurig only to find it's already on because my honey, bless him, made his own coffee before work and left it on for me. I warm up my son's lunch for the day and finish putting it in his lunch box. I make my coffee and clean up any dishes or empty the dishwasher.

My son emerges from the bathroom in about 15 minutes so I give him his breakfast of pop tarts or pre-packaged microwaved pancakes
(no June Cleaver here!) I finish making my cup of coffee and together we sit on the couch, spaced out for the next 15 minutes while watching GMA and talking about the news stories.

After about 20 minutes he's upstairs finishing getting ready for school and i'm downstairs, still watching GMA. I take him to school around 8:15 and come home then spend the rest of the day working my butt off to no avail. It's in these moments that I wonder how these ladies used to do it all do it so well. I'm fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom but I still can't do it all in a day.

At the end of the night I snuggle up next to my honey, sigh and think about all that I did do that day and fall asleep content because life is about finding the balance but it's also about not beating yourself up over what you didn't do. It's much better to think of the things you did do.






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Monday Coffee Talk Pt. 3



Hello Lovelies. I hope your Monday is treating you well so far. I've been going non stop since about 7 a.m. with no slowing down anytime soon but I'm getting a lot done, so it's a productive day. The Silver Lining, right? Since it's Monday it's time for my link up with Jasmine over atClassy Sassy and a bit Smartassy. She does a Monday link up called Monday Coffee Talk. I love Coffee and I love talking so boom!! You can join the link up here Monday Coffee Talk we'll get to that in a minute because first I actually have a weekend re-cap worth sharing!

We did something besides grocery shopping. Well, we did that, too but we also went to see some friend's of ours new house and my sweet Crystal did my hair and make-up. We were doing a wedding trial run and she took some pics of the finished product but then took my hair and make-up off so my honey won't see it and will be surprised at the actual wedding. Good thinking girl, even though I didn't want to take it off because I felt like a pretty pretty princess.
We drank too much wine and did hair and make-up and all things girlie while the guys ran to Fry's, an electronics store. After we were done with hair and make up we had time still so Crystal introduced me to snap chat. I posted my first snap.


After the guys got back we went to eat at a place called The Cuckoo's Nest. Totally delicious. I had the Cuban sandwich, it was the best i've ever had. We got home late that night and crashed.

Sunday was spent making grocery lists and meal plans and kicking off the 5 day clean eating plan i'm in this week. I found this super interesting article about what to avoid when grocery shopping.

A Guide to Grocery Shopping

Sunday my sweet neighbor also brought me the cutest little succulent terrarium b/c she knows I love succulents.




So my succulent collection is growing. See!!



The rest of Sunday was spent grocery shopping and visiting parents.
Now back to Monday Coffee Talk.


  Monday Coffee Talk is where bloggers can list three goals they wish to accomplish for the week. They can be personal, business, blog related. Whatever it is you want to accomplish, just write 'em down and link 'em up.

Here were last week's goals. How'd I do?


1. Wedding!
Finish those invitations and get them sent out!
♡ Ha! No and to be honest, i'm kinda over the planning part of this.
I know it's most women's dream come true but to me these are just small details.
I'm ready for the actual wedding to be here and to be a Mrs. instead of a Miss.

2. Step up my work out.
I usually do 3 yoga routines but I want to add at least one more this week & do 4! I can totally do this!
♡ YES! I've been doing 4 yoga routines + the Shaun T. Cize videos with my sweet friend/brother's sister in law.
I'm knocking this one out of the park!!

3. Just survive!
With my son starting back to school there will be lots of grumpiness while we smooth out our routine again.
I forsee more coffee than usual this week!!
♡ Surprisingly yes!! We did more than survive, we thrived.
He's been getting up and ready go to in the mornings like a champ
and i'm getting a ton of stuff done, too.
Go US!!!!

Now for this week's goals.
1. Mate socks.
I despise this chore with everything in me.
Summer means flip flops all day erry day, am I right?
But with my son back in school that means socks and tennis shoes. BOO!!
I may give in and let my fiance doing them the "military way."

2. Spend my Saturday ironing and food prep.
Normally I would say Sunday but we have a wedding to go to Sunday so Saturday it is.
Ironing is another thing I despise, that's why I was doing two weeks worth last night at 9:30
But since i'm a kind fiancee i'll just grin and bear it.

Food prep is another big thing. After I pick my son up from school we spend time with my parents
then I rush home and throw something together so dinner is done soon after my honey is home.
My dream is to be June Cleaver and have dinner on the table the minute he walks in the door but
this is real life. Between visiting w/ my parents and Atlanta rush hour traffic it never happens.

3. Find my routine groove again.
Before school started back I had my day planned to the T
but then school started back and now I feel like i'm in a constant state of frenzy.
Not really living in the moment, always feeling rushed for what's next.
I simply can't do that. I broke down in tears during my devotional this morning b/c I
felt bad for spending that time on me. Silly right? I was reminded that I simply need
to Be Still.



So what are your goals for the week?
I find that it helps to break them down into smaller goals. I get more doe that way ;)


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