postcard cake.

I'm way late on posting this, but I can't not share this with you!

Justin's birthday was last month and I couldn't be there to celebrate. In searching for something awesome to mail him, I ran across this tutorial for cake you can send via US Post! Say whaa? I was seriously so excited, I couldn't contain myself.

I took myself to the local Home Depot for my supplies. I found everything, but wasn't sure what kind of sponge to use. Confused, I bought an over priced grout sponge. Terrible choice! It was like shredding a stuffed animal. I even got out the saw, hoping that would cut better. Nope. I decided to run down the street to Dollar General , buy a cheap sponge and see what happened and it worked perfectly! It was so easy to cut and didn't shred to pieces. Advice: spend $1 on a sponge, not $10.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the process, but follow the tutorial I linked above and you will have a perfect piece of cake! The post office lady might laugh at you, but who cares! 

Love him!

Happy baking, y'all! 

happygram cards.

So, when my main squeeze moved away to Atlanta, I wanted to send him away with some love. I knew that his first week there would be rough trying to unpack and settle into a new place and city. I wanted to send him with something that he could open up every day for that first week. [Background: J has always been so good about giving me little things to open when we are apart. I've always loved it about him. Last July, he was gone on a trip and he left me with gifts for each day, wrapped in Christmas paper. Christmas in July. He is too sweet.] Anywho... I found this idea on one of my favorite blogs, Green Wedding Shoes. You can find the printables here. They made theirs for Valentine's Day. Mine were for a random week for my man. :)

The sweet boy sent me a picture every day when he opened them. A few weeks later he sent me this...and it made my day!

Love instagram?? Make some of these for all your friends! Happy gramming!

sweet sister.

This weekend we celebrated my not-so-little sister’s 21^st birthday. I seriously can’t believe she is 21! 

Let's talk about this sister of mine! There are so many things I love about her, I don't tell her enough!

She was the prettiest baby you’d ever seen, with the squishiest cheeks around! After my scrawniness, I’m sure my parents appreciated a baby they could pinch. :)

When she was little, she used to suck her thumb and twirl the corners of burp clothes up her nose.



She has always had an eye for beauty. In a couple of months she will even be licensed to make women the world over more beautiful! Need a hair stylist??

She is hilarious. Really, she has our family laughing all the time.

She is a great big sister to the baby sis.

She marches to the beat of her own drum. I've always been a little jealous of that.

She has a big heart for animals. Current obsession is long-haired English Cream Weenies. Seriously, look at 'em! 

She would do anything for a Fizoli’s breadstick.

She is a loyal friend.

She is a tan goddess. Also jealous of that!

She is just plain fun to be around. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET SISTER!

a daddy's love.

Happy Father's Day!!

I think it takes a special man to be a daddy to three girls! I can imagine most dads dream of playing baseball or fishing or talking about cars with their sons. Then sometimes, they are blessed with three daughters, instead. While each of us dabbled in sports, none of us are athletic! We aren't really the outdoorsy type, either. And we sure don't know anything about cars. Our dad has been a champ through all of our girly talks and Barbie dolls days and we really couldn't ask for more in a dad.

He loves God.

He leads.

He loves our mom like crazy.

He comforts broken hearts.

He adores kids. (and kids LOVE him)

He teaches.

He serves.

He cares for people.

He is kind.

He is fun.

He is selfless.

WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU, DAD!!

colorado springs.

Last month, I got a cool opportunity to travel to Colorado Springs for work. Sure, I spent a little time working, but I definitely got my site-seeing in too!

Colorado is beautiful.

The weather is beautiful.

The Rockies are beautiful.

I loved everything about the Centennial State!

And because I was traveling alone, I took about a thousand selfies, I spared you from most of them.

Garden of the Gods

I enjoyed the park so much that I actually went twice. It was so amazing!

My God creates the coolest landscapes! I even made some deer friends. 

 

Helen Hunt Falls

I wanted to see some water, so I was excited when I found this little place.

My poor little rental car barely made it up the hills to get to it, but I'm glad she made it. 

I found this Penny Arcade on my walk through town. Every game is still a penny!

Then the most precious plant boutique. I wanted to take them all home!

Pike's Peak

Awesome! I cannot tell you how amazing this was. These pictures don't do it justice. 

Like I said, God creates the most amazing landscapes. 

I was literally in the clouds, 14,114 feet high!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1

a party for my guy.

Can I just talk about my sweet man for a minute... I am so in love! More of our story in another post, but for now, I want to brag on his latest accomplishment. Graduate school!

After more than a year of preparing himself mentally and academically, Justin was accepted into grad school!! I could not be any prouder or happier for him. He worked so hard, y'all. He put countless hours into every aspect of it - studying for the GMAT, researching every school in America, applying and writing essays for his top 5 choices - and it paid off! One night we were hanging out and he nonchalantly said, "So, I got into Emory." AHHHH!!! I screamed and jumped around like a crazy person, hugging him and asking why he wasn't screaming and jumping around with me. He was so cool about it!

^^^ Isn't he so handsome!? ^^^

Fast forward a few short weeks and he was packing his apartment ready to move to Atlanta. I couldn't let him leave town without a party! Surprise party, of course!!

I loved how perfectly all our decorations came together.

Big shout out to both families for all the decorating help! 

Check out the story of the skeleton here! Pretty cool story!

It was so hard to keep this secret for all those weeks of planning! I wanted so badly to tell him about it. But I made it without a peep. The day of, I was a ball of nerves! I had to ignore his texts all day, acting like I was super busy "running errands." Finally, it was time to bring him to the party. I had it all planned out, what time to walk up, which trail to take, how to convince him to follow me even though I know nothing about these trails. I was a nervous wreck! But it all worked out perfectly. He patiently followed me through the woods without asking any questions. As we walk up, trying to hide my face, I see everyone hiding. Then we get there....SURPRISE! He is totally confused. He said later that he thought "These people have the wrong guy." haha! I loved it!!

That smile melts me!

Everyone helped tremendously with pulling off this party. I'm so happy we were able to celebrate our Justin! It was a wonderful and fun afternoon!

 

THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE! SO THANKFUL FOR EACH OF THEM!

a mama's love.

It's Mother's Day!

We celebrated by all of us accidentally wearing black to church this morning. Dad said "You look like you're going to a funeral." Thanks Dad, just take the picture.

Where do I start when it comes to our mama? She is so special and we don't give her enough credit for everything she is and does. 

She is the rock of our family.

She always thinks of us girls before herself. 

She loves birds.

She loves our dad more than anything. 

She is the queen of our house and takes pride in her home.

She has a green thumb that can grow anything.

She taught us to only shop the clearance sections. 

She is a dedicated teacher to the little ones at church. 

She loves her grand(fur)son and gives him way too many treats.

She is crafty. (shameless plug: KB Kreations)

She is the best. 

She holds us together.

WE LOVE YOU, MOM!