i {heart} free stuff

after such a fun week at susanne's, i came back to my house to find a box on the front door. let me just tell you i LOVE getting packages in the mail! finding a little box on my front porch is almost as fun as seeing what's inside to me!!

so when i saw the box i had a pretty good idea of what it was...can you tell from the picture?! you see, last week i won it after entering a giveaway at a blog i read. i never win ANYTHING, so this was so exciting. except, like 5 years ago, at mike's old bank's open house, i won a TV. yea a TV...and the stinking president of the bank wouldn't let me keep it because i was married to an employee. i was robbed i tell ya.

back to my story...so i entered this giveaway but never thought i would win, but I DID! so are you wondering what i won?

are you?


this!!
( i tried it on and it fits perfectly! so cute!)




so thank you miss emily!

you say potato...

i love baked potatoes! there was a summer, when i was 12, that i ate a baked potato every day. to me, they are the perfect food, so filling and tasty!

so i'm still at susanne's and we had baked potatoes tonight. usually, i make baked potatoes as a side dish, like grilled chicken and baked potatoes or a good steak and a baked potato, but tonight we had them as our main dish. susanne spiced and grilled some chicken and cooked bacon. then we heaped sour cream, butter, cheese, chives, chicken and bacon on top of our potatoes! {yum yum} the potatoes were so big they filled our whole dinner plates!

tomorrow is my last day here and we are going to do some shopping!! we're going here and here!

{new loves}

love this outfit from banana republic

i am at susanne's and we are having so much fun! we always laugh so much when i'm here...today i am getting a pedicure (my poor toes need it) and making some snacks for the service group that meets at their house on friday afternoons.

then tonight we're going michele busch's preview party for her spring jewelry collection...so excited! i've heard about these parties but have never gotten to go!

i'll be sure to let you know what great little items we purchased...happy friday!

rainy day

today was the perfect rainy day. dark, windy, and stormy all morning. i took today off from everything else to do some spring cleaning. things i had been putting off for awhile...like organizing and cleaning out closets, changing my winter clothes to summer clothes in our closet, and cleaning my baseboards.

also, my floors. why do i hate to do floors so much? i vacuum regularly. but mop, no... rarely. i think it's inherited, my dislike of cleaning floors. my mom hates to mop too...so i'm pretty sure she passed that down to me.

so you're wondering why i put a picture of mike and i at the top of my post, right? it's to remember how much i love him. like tonight...we went to eat and had a great dinner. then stopped by the bookstore (he got a clive cussler book, i got tori spelling's new mommywood..looks cute!)
so we're having a nice time and then he says something rude...something that was not necessary and irritated me. then he tries to talk to me and pretend nothing is wrong...now add in a hormonal me who is tired from all my cleaning and mopping and you have got yourself a SITUATION! so i added the picture at the top to remind myself what a wonderful husband he is (most of the time :)

listen to
rainy day plain white t's

{new loves}

sorry my friday post is sorta late...i was running after 1st graders all day, then mike and i saw a matinee (17 again) go see it, it is great!!

earrings from anthro

shoes from piperlime

jeans and top from arden b

happy friday!

scents

these are my top 3 scents for my home...

1} volcano candle from anthropologie...smells fruity and fresh and makes me feel like i'm shopping in the store (one of my favorite places to go)

2} tommy bahama tin candles...i can close my eyes and really feel like i'm back in kauai on a breezy day

3} satsuma oil from the body shop...energizing and always makes me think of susanne's house

so go treat yourself with one of these yummy smells!

memorial 2009

our memorial was so wonderful this year...it is every year, of course! mike gave the talk and we had 183 in attendance.

he went into detail about what jesus went through when being beaten-it made me think about how horrible it must have been, not only for jesus but for those who loved him. he also spoke about how those going to heaven are in a covenant with Jehovah, much like a husband and wife in a marriage. those of us who hope to live on the earth forever receive the joy from that covenant, but don't directly partake in it, just like the audience at a wedding ceremony.

i was nervous for him, but he did a great job!

{new loves}

earrings from
anthropologie

shoes from piperlime

dress from arden b

happy friday!

great experience

i read this experience and had to share it!! it was told by a c.o. visiting a congregation, and it makes you remember how Jehovah hears and answers prayers!!


A young couple wanted children, they tried for a long time with no success, they decided to adopt. They went through all the paperwork, and had been told that they would have better success with their adoption if they adopted from another country. So they decided to go on the waiting list for an International program. Meanwhile this young couple received a knock on their door. It was Jehovah's Witnesses. The Witnesses started a study with this young couple who made rapid progress and eventually got baptized. They soon decided that they were both going on the list to Regular Pioneer. They also decided they would just wait until the new system for children. So they called the agency and asked to remove them from the list. The agency said 'we were just about to call you, we have a 7 year old child ready to come home to you.' After discussing it further with the agency the couple went home and thought about it and prayerfully considered it. They thought being that the child would be in school most of the time they would still be able to get their time in to Regular Pioneer. So they accepted and brought the child home. They went home, got the room ready, bought lots of toys and placed a "My book of Bible Stories" in the room. The child was very sad upon getting there. They tried to cheer him up, but to no avail. They took the child to the room to show him all the toys. He still was stoic. Then he caught sight of the Bible stories book. He immediately grabbed it and started to cry hysterically. Once they calmed him down they were able to get this out of him: 'My parents in my country were killed. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. I prayed to Jehovah that I could live with a family that are Jehovah's Witnesses.' This unbelievable experience emphasizes that Jehovah hears our prayers and will answer them in the perfect time for us.

oceans

i can't wait until may 14th...we leave to go to naples to see mom and les! i am so ready for some 'beach time' and good shopping and eating. she said on 3rd street, there are all these amazing restaurants and shops, so i am looking forward spending some time there. mike wants to go deep sea fishing. and we're going to catch sunday of their assembly. should be so fun!

i am loving the fray right now...listen to their oceans


and look at this cutest skirt my mom told me about! and it's on sale...thanks mom!

close ups

these were from the anniversary party a couple of weeks ago...i have so many pics like this especially when mike and i travel...if we want a picture together, this is the way we have to take it {he he}

oh good news...i finished my first week of runners' training! yippee! it's going to be hard getting my body back in 'work out' shape since i haven't really worked out consistently for a long time...but i'm loving running. at first, it was really hard, and it still is, but it's addictive. i look forward to being out there, not having to think about anything except running. and my ipod keeps my company...thank goodness for that!

this week is going to be super busy. i have a test tommorrow in music, and a nutrition project i'm working on. i have a government test at the end of the week. plus, memorial is on thursday...so looking forward to that! and mike's giving the talk. i found a really cute dress at marshall's today to wear on thursday, so i'll try to post some pics of us at memorial.

have a good week!!

fashion friday

so i decided fridays would be the day i share some yummy new clothes that i'm loving...although "fashion friday" sounds like a bad fashion show at the richland mall. remember those? i thought it was so cool to watch the show on the little runway in front of dillards! so i need a better title for my friday posts...can you think of one?

all from anthropologie

also, i have a recipe for amazing banana bread, so easy and you don't even need a mixer...

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 c. melted butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. soda

pinch of salt

1 1/2 c. flour

preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter a loaf pan. mix melted butter into bananas. then mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla. use a big wooden spoon to stir really well. sprinkle soda and salt over mixture and mix in. add flour and stir. pour into pan and bake for 1 hour. yum!

step bump bump

because this made me laugh so hard, it's the title of my thursday post!!

saw this at a fav blog of mine http://blog.cjanerun.com/

so here it is...
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1752195

enjoy!

a beautiful world

i planted my snapdragons yesterday afternoon...don't they look so fresh and springy?

i always thought that summer was my favorite season because i love the pool and the beach and i love hot weather, but now i'm thinking my new fav is spring. it's warm but not too hot, the air feels cleaner somehow. i love seeing the trees bud and color starting to pop everywhere!

in honor of spring, i'm thinking of getting this cutie headband...http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21162228

what do you think?

'a beautiful world' tim myers http://www.imeem.com/timmyers/music/n2MH636j/tim-myers-a-beautiful-world/