happy birthday noah!

our sweet nephew turns 8 today! we're so excited to celebrate with him tonight...

happy birthday to one of the sweetest, smartest, cutest and just all-around best boys I know!
we love you noah!

fancy.

I made a button..

I know...

so fancy.

feel free to snag it for yourself. 

what I'm loving wednesday...

happy wednesday. dear lord, I'm so happy this week is halfway over... three days left in this work week and next week is only a three day work week [I know, I'd be jealous too]. anyways, I'm linking up with Jamie again and here's what I'm loving on this fabulous wednesday...

I'm loving... all the fall tv that is back on especially Modern Family and Parks & Recreation...

I'm loving... the new cinnamon roll cake recipe that I tried out this week = yum.

I'm loving... that I ran my first 10K this past weekend and didn't die!

I'm loving... this adorable dress and think it should be mine [now only to convince the husband...]...

I'm loving... that the Gamecocks are 4-0, let's hope we can keep it up vs Auburn on Saturday [sorry Sarah] and be 5-0!

I'm loving... my adorable snuggly pup.

and I'm loving... my amazingly sweet [and goofy] husband.

happy wednesday!

Oh Ollie...

I have come to realize over the past year that the love I have for my dog may be a little over the top... but hey, he's my baby so quit judging -- plus, how can you not love his sweet face?

we bought Oliver a new bed this weekend [yes, another new bed] -- in our defense, now he has one downstairs in the bedroom and upstairs in the living room [aka we're lazy and tired of bringing it downstairs and upstairs everyday [and it was only like $19 from Costco, you can't beat that]... we were worried he wouldn't like it...

...clearly we were wrong!

Then of course DJ had the bright idea of me getting into the bed with Oliver so he knows its a "safe place" [?!] of course, I agreed [who am I?] and curled up next to him...

isn't he sweet?

then of course, I laid down and he decided my stomach was a much more appealing pillow...

must be those rock hard abs, HAH.

anyways, don't you love that sweet boy?

I sure do! 

10K!

I did it! I ran my first 10K this weekend! Well, I definitely did  not do as well as my 5K (not that I did so well in that either, haha) but I finished and that was the one goal I had for myself! We can't find the results online yet but I'm pretty sure I ran it in around 1:11 (so around an 11 minute pace overall - and I did walk up the monstrous hill that was around 1.5 miles in - sorry I was not running up that thing). Oh well, I did it a lot faster than everyone sitting on their couch not running, right? 

DJ was great and ran the whole thing with me... which kinda sucks because the time he had in the last 10K he ran was like 3 minutes faster than the overall winning time for this one - oh well, he's sweet and stuck by his wife. 

I was definitely sore on Sunday (and today) and am going to stick to this length for awhile. Awhile back I had planned to run a half-marathon at the end of October but it's just not going to work out -- maybe next Fall (or Spring) who knows! 

cozy fall friday's fancies

happy first day of fall! being a Florida girl, I was bred to adore summer and summer alone (after-all we didn't really have seasons in South Florida), but over the years my love for fall has grown... I'm actually excited for the weather to get crisp and the pumpkin goodies to come out in full force - and of course, college football! so with that in mind, here's a cozy fall friday's fancies for you - to me nothing says cozy like a sweater cardigan, so cuddly...

cozy fall friday. by hitajblog featuring pave earrings

this fall is gearing up to be a great one - and the first weekend of fall 2011 is no exception - my love and I are venturing out to flip burger for dinner tonight and then enjoying a netflix night in. tomorrow, we're running a 10K in the morning and spending the day with Mike & Julie (brother and sister-in-law) and Sarah & Greggie (our adorable  niece and nephew), we're heading to a Chili-Cook-Off and then just spending the day with the fam. Sunday = domestic bliss (laundry, cooking, baking).

only a few hours standing between us and the weekend... let the countdown begin...

so exhausted and my big baby....

today is one of those days where I am just utterly and overly exhausted. I'm so thankful that it's Thursday because that means Friday is just around the corner AKA the weekend. I'm so ready for it, so so so so so ready. This week hasn't been overly challenging or stressful, I'm just beat. I'm ready for some R&R [with a 10K thrown in there]. 

I did feel good about myself this morning, did my good deed of the day and helped an old man on the train. Don't you just love old men? Not like that, just their sweetness and cuteness, reminding you of a grandpa... I didn't really know either of my grandfathers but I like to pretend they were like the grandfather in Parent Trap (don't you love him?).  

Anyways, off my tangent on old men... there isn't too much going on in my little world - just quality fall TV programming [there's so much, I don't know where to begin?!] and QT with the boys... speaking of the boys... let me stop rambling and talk about the big baby for a minute - no not DJ, Oliver...

Oliver is a big baby...
need proof? check this out... 

does your dog cry like this?

seriously. I have never heard anything like it before.

...is it wrong that it makes me laugh [and that I record it]?

did you think I was going to say I was exhausted because there is a big baby growing inside of me?
you're crazy.

what I'm loving wednesday...

hello wednesday. so happy this week is  halfway over, I'm already exhausted and just ready for the weekend...  hello sleeping in and sweatpants. I'm linking up with Jamie again and here's what I'm loving this week...

I'm loving... that I got back on my running game and am running my first 10K this weekend!  I'm not expecting the same results that I got from the 5K but it'll still be a fun and great experience.

I'm loving... that Danny, my MIL and I went out to dinner with my friend Tiffani last night and had such a great time. We had yummy Mexican food and laughed and laughed and laughed. Danny and my MIL were telling stories of the craziness that occurred at their house when we were growing up and all the random times. Then Tiff came back to the house and we just talked for a few hours, it was so great to catch up and such a fun relaxing night!

[my tiffers]

I'm loving... this skirt that I got from Old Navy this weekend. so. freaking. cute. I'm wearing it today and I love it! (they only have the purple print online, sad - so here's a picture of me in the green/blue one - in the bathroom at work, classy)

I'm loving.. that the Gamecocks are 3-0. Here's to  hoping they're 4-0 after Vandy this weekend!

I'm loving... that it's foodtruck wednesday at Underground Atlanta - I can't wait to get myself a Korean taco from Yumbii (YUM)...

and as always... I'm loving my sweet, sweet pup...

and my amazing and adorable husband...

happy wednesday friends.

sec east loving....

Lindi came to visit this past weekend and we watched the UT vs. UF game and the SC vs Navy game... it was a house divided between my two loves... DJ [and Florida] prevailed [go jean shorts go].

SC also won which was exciting - it would have been more exciting if the game wasn't that close... I mean, Navy?! Seriously.... AND UCF lost to FIU... what on earth was that? To top it off, Clemson beat Auburn - sad for Sarah and sad for me (Clemson, yuck).  It was not a good week for the SEC.

Oh well, college football aside it was - as always, a great weekend with Lindi. Always so relaxing and low maintenance to spend time with her.  Doesn't it feel great to have a friend come in town and just relax with them and not feel like you have to "entertain" - that's how it always feels with Lindi... It makes me so happy that we're driving distance from each other and our visits with each other are so much more frequent than they have been in years! DJ and I both are so excited to go visit her in her new home in a few weeks... Knoxville isn't going to know what hit it...

bento boxing...

I've been bento boxing it up lately for lunch....

love my laptop lunch box. 

"Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help you pack nutritious, eco-friendly lunches. Our stylish lunch boxes--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and creative lunchmaking tips and recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. Our eco-friendly lunch 

boxes contain NO phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead."

I haven't used the recipe book, but it's definitely made my lunches a lot more balanced
[except for the days like today where I eat burger king - SO GROSS, what is wrong with me?!] 
bento boxing also helps me have lots of different tastes -- which if you've ever been out to eat with me you know I love ("want to get two different things and share?!" is my mantra)
I'm definitely not good at that whole "portion control" thing so this is definitely helping! 

marta musings...

so I've become quite the public transportation guru lately... well, not really, but I ride it to and from work every day so I've picked up on a few random things.

first, let me explain the MARTA situation... as I've shared DJ and I are so fortunate because we can carpool to work together [aka we get to use the HOV thank the LORD]. we make the horrendous commute about 45 minutes to Atlanta [aka inside-the-perimeter] DJ drops me off at the MARTA stop that's like two miles from his office, I ride around five stops and walk a few blocks to my office - then in the evenings same thing except reversed (funny how that works out, hah). so that's around ten train trips a week for me (except when DJ is sweet and comes and picks me up from work... AKA when it's dark outside and I tell him he has no choice ask nicely).  now a lot of people I know are sketched out by the MARTA (yes, it can be sketchy at times but I've never not felt safe - I just play it extra safe and choose not to ride it at night by myself).

here are my tips for an enjoyable MARTA/train/public transportation experience:

• avoid eye contact [I hate when strangers talk to me]
• always, always, ALWAYS wear headphones... this one took me awhile since I'm usually reading on my kindle. then one day I realized it makes it even harder for people to try and make conversation when you can pretend you can't hear them
• when you do listen to music put your iPhone/iPod/mp3 player on shuffle... it makes the train ride so much more entertaining [exert from yesterdays playlist: fat boy slim, enchanted soundtrack, phish, the killers, ben folds, eminem... tell me that's not amazing?!]
• feel free to also listen to your music while walking down the street from the train station to your destination in a big city - it helps me attempt to bring to reality my dream of my life being a disney musical. [don't judge, it could happen]
• almost every morning without fail 5 different people are hacking up their lungs on the train: hand sanitizer... lots of it. hold your breath if possible.
• don't eat on the train [did you not read the last one - everyone is coughing and sneezing, you don't want to open your mouth more than necessary]
• walk with a purpose - there is nothing more annoying than lazily walking down the stairs to find the train doors closing in your face
• if there is a pregnant woman that gets on the train and you're sitting, GET UP -- it baffles me how many people don't do this [don't worry, I hardly ever sit so this has never happened when I was sitting or trust me I would]
• don't be an a-hole and put your bag down as a seatholder... especially when there are 20 people standing because there are no seats - this goes along with the last one - be a decent human being, come on.
• avoid eye contact. it's a big one, it needed to be mentioned twice.
• perfect the art of taking a picture with your cell phone inconspicously... I still haven't mastered this one but it's a must - you never know what you're going to see... especially when comic-con is in town -- 

I almost got a good one of this zombie/anime/I have no clue what she was but she was a trip. 

also, yes I was sitting on this train ride - no there were no pregnant women standing.

do you ride public transportation?

what are your helpful tips?

birchbox fun!

earlier this week I got my first Birchbox - I was so excited.  I just found out about Birchbox last month so here's the deal if you haven't heard of it:

I love trying new things and have makeup ADD so I love the concept of getting new samples to try every month, it's win-win for me!

first off, I love the packaging (which I promptly reused to send out whit's way belated birthday gift)...

then I opened it up and it was just like Christmas morning....

the goods...

•  Incoco Nail Polish Applique: looks really cool and if it was a different color I would have loved to try it out, but I didn't think the blue sparkles were very me so I passed it onto a coworker for her 12 year old daughter, I know she'll love it.
• Jouer Lip Enhancer: tried it out and I like it, it smells super yummy and I don't know if my lips are "enhanced" but they're nice and soft before I put my gloss on.
• LIV GRN C2C Fragrance in Earth: super clean and airy smelling, LOVE.
• Pangea Organics Facial Cream: nice and light and the lavender smell is great, I think I'll be using this as my nighttime moisturizer until the sample is done! 
• ...and a bonus this month: a birchbox friendship bracelet to celebrate their one year anniversary, it's delicate and adorable, I love it! 

all and all, a great birchbox success, 

I'm already counting down the days until next month!

oliver, lately....

yup.

a whole lotta sleeping, 

sitting on laps, 

and just plain being adorable.