Five on Friday

I am so glad it is finally Friday! Honestly All day Wednesday I though it was Thursday, so I felt like the last half of this week just drug by! 

1. There are ladies that take turns doing the flowers for the front of our church. Well this week she gave them to me, they were the most beautiful roses, with a ton of greenery! They also happened to match our new room! If you can't tell from the name of this blog I love roses! (Rose is my middle name) They've added such a beautiful element to our room, and I hate that they're already fading. . . 


2. Our church cancelled services on Wednesday (because school was cancelled, the light dusting that we had was gone by noon) So we went out with some friends to a sushi/Asian restaurant. I don't eat sushi, but their fried rice is absolutely amazing! Anyway we had so many people we were able to get a sushi "boat" I wish I had taken a picture, but just believe me it was awesome! 


3. 2/52 I've finished my second book so I'm one step closer to finishing my Reading Challenge!

4. Aaron started grad school again . . . ugh! This isn't necessarily a happy moment in the Five for Friday, but o well! It's definitely a major part of our week now, and I did get a lot of reading done last night when I took this picture! This was our attempt at quality time! Ha!


5. My parents are coming up tomorrow for a little bit, and I'm hoping we'll get a few projects done around the house!



I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, Meet @ the Barre, Carolina Charm, and The Farmer's Wife, and Coffee with Caitlin! Check out these awesome ladies, all of their blogs will keep you entertained for hours! 

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2 Years Later the 5 Best Things I did, and you should too!

Today I have been married for 2 years. . . this seems crazy to me! How can it possibly be that I've already spent 2 years with the love of my life?! Sometimes I feel like it's been 10, and more often I feel like we just got married a couple months ago.

I made a lot of mistakes about my wedding, my photographer was awful, I should've spent more money on certain things, and less money on a lot of things, I'm sure there will eventually be a post about that, because I don't want anybody to make the mistakes I did!

Today, however, I want to think about my wedding day, and even though I would have done things differently, it was absolutely perfect! I wasn't nervous, and everything seemed to go smoothly, and even when it didn't, I could not have cared less! There are so many things that made up this perfect day, but I wanted to share some things, that I am so glad that I did, and hey maybe you should too! These are in no particular order, but I hope they will help some bride out there!

1. I just said these are in no particular order, but this is probably my favorite thing that we did! We got married January 5, just a little while after Christmas, so for our Christmas presents to each other we decided to get perfume/cologne for our special day! I cannot recommend doing this enough, every time I wear the perfume (normally just on special occasions) it brings waves of emotions, and memories! It was also very important that we picked them out together (I'm pretty picky) and that way we knew each of us liked the choice, and wouldn't hate the smell of our wedding day! In case you're curious we got Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme for me, and The One for Aaron.

2. Get a coffee with the Bride written on it - I just thought this was adorable, and loved the photo op! My husband loves Starbucks, so he has this picture hanging in his office. This is the only day you get to have that written on your coffee so go for it! 

3. Do a First Look - I cannot even imagine then inconvenience of waiting to see Aaron until the ceremony. I suppose it may be different if you have an earlier wedding, but this day is about you and your love, why wouldn't you want to spend it with them? Just my personal opinion, but everyone is different! I loved being able to spend time with Aaron, before everything got hectic, it also helped with pictures!

4. Question Guestbook -  I still look over our guestbook, because it's sweet, sentimental, and hilarious all at the same time! I took our engagement photos, and put questions on different pages for the guests to answer! It was so much fun, and there were some answers from people I would have never expected! It's much better than a list of names in a blank book I'll never look at again!

5. Have fun - I know this is completely cliche' but it's true! If anything goes wrong you are going to be the only one to notice it! Don't spend your day focusing on the bad! Remember all the fun moments that make your wedding day yours and yours alone! Like when you have a surprise visitor at your first look, or you have to switch shoes with your Maid of Honor because your heels are sinking into the mud, and how many times the recessional song was messed up in the rehearsal, but it worked out perfectly when it really counted!  

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Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! You don't see those words too often, but I had a wonderful weekend, and I'm only working half a day today! So I would call that a happy monday!

We had Pastor Appreciation yesterday at our church, and I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was! We are so thankful for the church the Lord has put us in. When I was growing up I never even heard of Pastor Appreciation, but our current church (my husband is the Student Ministries Pastor, but there are only 2 pastors so many times he seems like more of an Associate Pastor) goes all out. We had a couple of people who completely ran the service so that the pastors wouldn't have any responsibilities. I know that sometimes pastor's can be overlooked, but this is a wonderful way to show love for the staff you may have at your church! October is Pastor Appreciation Month so you still have a couple days! It can be as simple as getting him his favorite candy bar, or a heartfelt note! We were so overwhelmed at all the love we received, between the kind words said at the pulpit, and the gifts we received! 

 One of the ladies in our church made flower arrangements for the wives, and this bouquet is just too beautiful. Every time she does the altar flowers I love them, she has a knack for finding the perfect balance of arranged and handpicked. 

I loved the decorations they put on the door to the Youth Room! They did such an awesome job! 

Over the weekend we had a gas fireplace put in! There's a little more staining/trim work to do, but I was too excited to not put decor around it! 

She Reads Truth just started their study on Hospitality, and it was already an encouragement! Make sure you go check it out on their site!

Another happy thing I don't have a picture for, is Aaron and I booked our trip to Disneyworld for next year! I've been talking about it since we got married! He seems to think he doesn't like Disneyworld, but he hasn't been since he was 10, and last time they went with his 8 yr old sister and 2 babies, in July, and there was some kind of big convention. Ugh I might not like it under those circumstances either? October 19th I am already counting down the days! 

Hope that you have a wonderful Monday!

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Sushi & the Opera

Whoever did the design for the opera was amazing! I think it is so beautiful!

Well as you can imagine after that all-nighter on Friday all I wanted to was sleep! But we had tickets to a brand new opera that was premiering just down the street from us! Since my husband was so sweet to come with me, I decided we could go to a sushi place for dinner (I hate sushi- probably stronger than hate, but anyway. . . ) Luckily I think that made him a little bit happier about sitting through an opera with me! 


This opera was so cute, it was written as a children's opera so it was very easy to follow. It was written in English rhyme. It had everything that a fairy tale needs: a princess, a magical quest, a frog you know the deal : ) 

This was the only photo of us we got that night, we didn't even think to charge our phones!

I feel like we didn't even have a weekend from how busy we are! O well! eventually things will slow down, but right now I'm learning to be content with the busyness, and to get things done as fast as I can when I have the chance! Any awesome time-saving tips out there for me? ; ) 

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Five on Friday

I've been off this blog for the past 2 months, and it feels like it has been forever! I figured the best way to jump back in is with my favorite Five on Friday! So here it goes! These are some of my highlights from the week!

1. Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa - This hot chocolate is ssoooo wonderful! Seriously I love salted caramel, in fact a salted caramel mocha is my choice fall drink at Starbucks. I've been having a tasty cup of this almost every night since I found it!

2. Fall decor - I love fall. . . but honestly I don't care that much about decorating for it, I'm basically chomping at the bit to decorate for Christmas!!! But because some of my regular decor is summery/springy (think lemons, pineapples etc.) I decided I should at least switch those things out. So I went down to my Christmas bin and got myself some pinecones. . . they count as fall decor right? And then hit up Dollar Tree for some pumpkins, and paint! Voila my kind of fall decor, subtle but still in season!

3. Alexander, and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day - When I was little my aunt would read this book to me every time I came to visit her. I always loved that book, and was so excited about the movie. . . my husband was a little scared about how excited I was! And it did not disappoint! Seriously, I think if something has Steve Carell in it, it's a pretty safe bet that it will at least be a little funny! But really the entire show was just cute, and so funny! Check it out!

4. The Three Feathers - You guys, my husband seriously loves me! We are having an all-nighter with the youth group tonight. . . yes you read that right! an all-nighter. . . bring on the coffee and Pib Extra! Well there is an original opera that is premiering over at VT this weekend, I mentioned it in passing to Aaron, one of those "I know we can't go, but isn't it awesome that it's premiering here, and I'm sure it would be wonderful. . . " and that amazing man said we should go! So the plan is all-nighter from 8PM-8AM sleep 8AM-5PM opera 7PM-10PM my dream Saturday huh?

5. Mocassins - These wonderful slippers were a surprise from my husband yesterday! These kind of slippers are my absolute favorite, and I wear them out in public way too often. . . 

Hope that everyone had a wonderful week, and that your weekend is much more restful than mine! I'm so glad to be back in the blogging world, and the plan is that you'll be hearing from me more! Hopefully, I can keep it up!

I'm linking up with Carolina Charm, Meet @ The Barre, The Farmer's Wife, and Lauren Elizabeth! Check these awesome ladies out, they are some of my favorites!

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Seasons of Love

I was thinking about today's post, and all I could focus on was my to-do list, which seems like a very Mondayish thing to focus on. Over the next few months, my to-do list will be growing, mainly because today Aaron is starting up his grad school again. 

When we first got married he took a couple of classes, but I wasn't working full-time and we weren't really involved in a ministry. Things have certainly changed though! I am now working full-time, teaching music lessons on the side, and am really involved in the church youth ministry, as well as a few of the administrative tasks. Aaron's obviously involved since he is the Youth and Children's pastor. 

The past couple of weeks I've found myself frustrated with the thought of the extra work I'll need to be doing. Aaron is absolutely amazing so he often cleans the house and does the grocery shopping on his day off - Monday. Since Aaron will be so much busier, I'll get to take over these jobs. . . you may be sitting there thinking this girl is crazy it's not that big of a deal, but I'm awful at that stuff especially the cleaning part! And while I may be better now than I was when we first got married, leaving the cleaning up to me is a scary thought! (Just ask Aaron, my mom, or any of my college roommates!)

However, I love this man. And in every season of life my love will be manifested in different ways. When we were dating in college it was sitting together even when we were just doing homework, over our long distance dating it was taking the time to call him(it was a sacrifice - I hate talking on the phone), or send him letters. These past couple months it's been expressing my appreciation for all of his help while I was involved with Oklahoma! I know that during this season what will help him most is having a clean home and full fridge! A dirty house stressed him out, and that definitely doesn't help when you're studying or taking a test! 

As awful as I may be at these things I know that during this season of our life, this is the best way to show love! Later this week I'll be sharing my cleaning schedule!! Fingers crossed that I'll actually stick to it!

All of this to say. . . love your man! We're all in different seasons of love, and I know that every person wants to be loved in a different way, but be thankful that you have someone to love! Love him, regardless of how busy you are at work, how many children you have, or how often you see your special someone. There will always be an excuse, but love is a choice, and I promise you'll both be a whole lot happier if you choose to love him! 

What season of love are you in? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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Five on Friday

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope that you've had a wonderful week, and I am sure you are all ready for the weekend! Here are some highlights from my week! long and stressful, but excited for a fun-filled weekend!

1. Aaron is back!! He was gone from last Tuesday until Monday morning, so a major highlight this week is that he is home!! : )

2. Patio Furniture - We bought some patio furniture a couple weekend ago and finally got to use it! Aaron set up a wonderful dinner (flowers included) on Tuesday! You can't see the furniture that well in this picture, but look at that view!

3. Terrariums - I have been obsessed with terrariums lately, but I couldn't find any that I liked (other than on Pinterest) This weekend however that all changed! We don't have a Hobby Lobby where I live but when I visit my parents I make sure to hit it up!! I miss it so much! They were having a 50% off sale on terrariums. . . seriously I could bought like 5 of them! I refrained and came home with this beauty! It's rusted metal so it looks very antique. I was planning on getting some stuff to put in there, but right now I'm actually liking it empty.

4. Another Terrarium and a Piano - (Sorry for the bad pictures quality!!) There's the 2nd terrarium from this weekend, my husband brought it back for me when he went down to visit his mom! He also brought back a piano with him!! I was so excited, we live right across the street from our church so I could just drive up there to practice or play around. . . but still that's not quite as convenient as having a piano in your home.

P.S. I'm hoping some of you ladies could help me out. . . this is the only spot in my small living room that the piano will currently fit, but we have those built in shelves that I love to hate. They aren't quite wide enough to make a big statement but I also think it looks bad to leave them open if I'm going to put stuff on the piano. Any suggestions? We are renting so it would have to be a temporary fix.

5. Gallery Wall - I already mentioned this in my Weekend Highlights post, but I finally put my gallery wall up! I was so tired of having that empty wall of wood paneling! I'll probably change it up pretty often and add other things to it, but I at least have something up!


Today I am linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, The Farmer's Wife, and Meet @ the Barre!! Check out these lovely ladies for some wonderful Friday Highlights!

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I Love A Good Date Night!

Date nights are on of my favorite things! Not just the going out to a nice dinner, but anything fun with my honey! We've been married just over a year and a half, so I know some people may scoff at the idea that we need date nights. I know, I know there are no kids in the picture, but life gets busy. Sometimes I come home from work we have to eat super fast and then leave for a youth activity or rehearsal and by the time we're back I'm ready to fall asleep! I feel like date nights are important during all seasons of life. They were really important when we were dating, and I still want us to make an effort to love one another and plan special things for the other person! 

I am all about the dinner and a movie date, in fact it is one of my favorites! However, I think that when you do something different that requires a little thought or planning it just shows how much you care for that person and how important they are to you! Below are a few date nights we've done that I have loved! 

1. This is actually what inspired the post- Star Gazing! My husband and I live out in the country so the stars are beautiful, and so are the lightning bugs in the trees (when I was little I used to love seeing the trees "sparkle" it's still one of my favorite things) We borrowed my brothers truck to move a piano from my husband's mother. Anyway, last night it was so beautiful night we just threw some old pillows and blankets in the back and just did some stargazing! You definitely need to do that at least once in your life. Zeke had a lot of fun hanging outside as well. It was also absolutely free! If you don't have a truck put a sleeping bag out or some blankets that you don't mind getting dirty. 

2. Paint Together!  I wasn't expecting Aaron to like this idea, but he actually loved it! If you have canvases and paints this is completely free. We have those now, but when we did this date night we didn't. I found an art set on clearance at Marshall's for under $5 which was the inspiration for this date night. It was so much fun, we both did 2 pieces (not counting my first one which I threw away!!) Aaron did freestyle - he's much braver than I - I just picked out 2 of my favorite pictures and tried to copy them. 

3. The Mall Challenge! This can be as inexpensive as you want it to be! We went to the mall and gave each other $15, and had to buy each other 3 gifts (or however many you want, depending on the cash limit you give) with only that cash, no going over the limit! We didn't make it a race, but I think that would be a fun twist, like end at the food court for supper or ice-cream? 

4. This was a date night I put together probably just a month after we were married. Make A Date Night Jar Together! I got a large pickle jar and glued some lace onto it. I made the images above and printed them onto some cream colored paper. We divided them in half and had to each come up with that many date nights! Without showing the other person we then folded them and put them in! These were perfect when we had a free night or someone couldn't get the creative juices flowing for a date night! Quick tip: We drew dollar signs on the outside of the folded papers that way if we were on a tight budget we knew not to pick a $$$ piece of paper! ($=under $10, $$=$10-$25, $$$=over $25) Those prices did not include if we did dinner along with the date. Feel free to right click and save the above images! They are 4X5 JPEG files so when I printed them I used 8 1/2X11 paper and chose the print 4 per page option. 

5. Cooking Competition! Aaron does most of the cooking so this probably wasn't that fair - but it was my idea so it wasn't like he was trying to cheat! This obviously takes a little prep work. We already knew we were doing this for a date night, so we picked up all the ingredients on our normal grocery shopping trip. You would also make shopping part of the outing! We each made an entree, and gave ourselves 45 minutes, preparation and presentation included! We then rated the entree 1-5 on taste, creativeness, and presentation. It got a little hectic in our tiny apartment kitchen. I'm sure it will be more fun now that our kitchen is over twice that size! 

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and try them out sometime! I'd love to hear some of your favorite date night! Please let them in the comments, I know everyone can always use more date night ideas!

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