simply lovely series {part 1}

I finally got around to getting my first series started!  Mr. H and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary coming up on September 10.  I thought I'd reflect on this last year and share what we've learned about marriage so far.

You've heard people say the first year of marriage is the hardest or something similar right?  Well, we heard that too; and it's safe to say the first year of our marriage was actually very easy and pretty blissful.  Mr. H and I will be the first to tell you that it's 100% from the Lord.  Before we even got married, we knew that we needed Christ to be the center of our marriage.

Mr. H and I do a weekly devotional on Sunday at home, which I've mentioned it before.  It's called Devotionals for a Sacred Marriage: a year of weekly devotionals for couples by Gary Thomas.  They are very short chapters, and it's just a time for us to go through it together and talk about what we took away.  It's also a time to reflect on where we are at spiritually personally and a time to talk about our week. There have been a few key ideas we've taken away from this book that I'll be sharing.

I'll also have a few guest posts from some family members and a fellow blogger. I've got some questions I'll be asking and I'm looking forward to hearing their views on marriage.

I'm really excited to see where the Lord leads this series.  I've got several topics I'll be sharing and it will all lead up to our one year anniversary!  Which by the way it feels a lot longer than that, but at the same time I can't believe it's already been a year.  I know that may sound confusing, but hopefully you know what I mean.  Ha.

I'm also really excited because I'll be posting lots of pictures of our wedding.  Like any girl, I think my wedding was the most beautiful ever!!

I hope you enjoy this journey with me!

let's talk bachelorette

I'm so proud of my top three guys making it this far!!!!

LIKES

(I want to keep you all!)

Jef-I've liked you for a while, but after every episode I think I can see a real connection between you and Emily.  I think everything you say is so genuine and I honestly think you would be a loving husband to Emily and a fun step-dad to Ricki.  You and Emily had an amazing day and the way you turned down the fantasy suite was so respectful and makes me like you even more!  Emily would be more than lucky to have you as her husband.

Sean-I think the world was in shock when Emily sent you home last night.  I honestly don't think Emily explained exactly why she sent you home.  The only think I can think of is that she saw something more with Jef and Arie.  I think you and Emily would have made a perfect couple and I would have loved to share my city with you too.  I have an awesome friend who will be perfect for you!  I'm sure you read my blog so just send me a message and I'll hook you up.

Arie-I have liked you from the start.  There is obviously a strong physical connection between you and Emily.  Honestly, I thought you would be the one to go home.  I thought she would see that she was missing more of an emotional connection.  Plus to be totally honest, I wasn't thrilled with your family and thought they weren't very warm and welcoming to Emily.  Don't take it personally, I totally like you Arie.  I love how much you care for Emily and want the best for her.  Best of luck Arie!

OKAY, two things: 1) I wish the "Men Tell All" was after the final episode.  I can't stand to wait two weeks until she makes her decision.  2) From the preview of the final episode, it seems as though she doesn't choose either Jef or Arie.  That better not be the case or I'll be very upset.

p.s. What's with the final episode being on Sunday night?  Weird!

Tell me what YOU thought about last night's episode?

Were you SHOCKED Emily sent Sean home?

I'm liking up again with the lovely Meghan from More from Meg.  Check out all the chit cat about the latest episode of The Bachelorette!

Until next Monday!!

4th of july in pictures!

Last week flew by!  I was so lucky to have Wednesday-Friday off of work so we had a long week/weekend at the lake.  It was so nice to get away for several days, have time with family, relax, and spend time with family.  

Here's a recap of my July 4th holiday with Mr. H's family:

• good food
• homemade ice cream
• 4th of July decorations
• watched fire works
• family time
• slept in
• boat rides
• watched everyone do water sports (I only tube...I'm lame.)
• paddle board
• played games
• lounged
• watched Act of Valor
• enjoyed the lakeside view

handmade sign my sister made, whimsical occasions

Me and Carri enjoying the boat ride

Jonathan wake surfing

Carri wake surfing

Mr. H wake surfing.  It took him a few tries, but he got up and was awesome!

Mr. H and Sarabeth being silly siblings.

Me and Mr. H

Yummy burgers for our July 4th cookout.

Homemade ice cream in the making!

This is homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.  This was actually made in an electric mixer.  We made vanilla in the old fashion ice cream maker shown above.  This ice cream was soooooo amazing!!

I'm slaving away in the kitchen making guacamole.

Mr. H and I after our yummy July 4th dinner!

Big Mr. H, Jonathan and Mr. H all relaxing after a big cookout.

Sarabeth and I

We do it big for July 4th.  Who doesn't love patriotic decorations!

This dog is the most loved dog by this family EVER!  Emmie is the luckiest dog and she doesn't even know it.  She's not suppose to be eating people food, but Jonathan gave her a few licks of the vanilla ice cream.

She knows she looks good.

We had a beautiful lakeside view of the fireworks.

Mr. H had patriotic music playing and it makes the firework show so much better.  Love them!

How did YOU spend your July 4th?

Another successful July 4th weekend.  I'm so not ready to start real life again.  It's always hard to come back to reality after a few days off.  

The only thing that will get me through today will be seeing Mr. H when I get home and watching the Bachelorette!!!!

Have a LOVELY Monday!

fashion friday...stars and stripes

I'm at the lake and have loved these last two days of relaxation, family and food!  We had a wonderful July 4th celebration and I hope you did too!  

4th of July has passed, but we can still celebrate...right?!?!?!  I put together some fabulous outfits that include stars and stripes to represent our awesome U.S.A.  

beach stripes

Here's the perfect patriotic outfit for the beach, lake or any poolside party.  With this striped bikini and star studs, you'll for sure be representing your country proudly.  And let me just tell you how much I love this stars bag!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

chic stripes

I'm a huge fan of all white with accents of color.  I think this outfit would be perfect for a day date or afternoon outing.  These shoes are my absolute favorite piece.  I'd love them in black.  With it being so hot already this summer, this all white shorts and tank will be a perfect outfit.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

party stripes

You wear this outfit to a party and you'll be all everyone's talking about.  I am in love with black and white stripes.  You can pair it with any bright top and it will look amazing!!!  Aren't those earrings super cute?  

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 

I'm linking up with the lovely {av} over at long distance loving for my Friday's Fancies.  Check out some of the other great outfits fellow bloggers have put together.  It's one of my favorite parts of the link up.

Have a great weekend!!

it's july 4th!

I LOVE holidays!  It's a time to celebrate, spend time with my sweet husband, family and if I'm lucky...get away from home.  

Mr. H and I are headed to the lake again for the rest of the week/weekend.  Mr. H's parents and siblings will be there so that will be fun to all hang out, relax, eat, play games, watch fireworks, eat and eat again!  Oh and we'll for sure be making more homemade ice cream.  I can almost taste it now!  Yummy!  

This will be my view for the next four days.  We'll sit on the lawn and watch the fireworks across the lake.  Who could ask for a better view?  

I hope everyone has a fun and safe July 4th and you're able to spend it with family and friends.  

Happy 4th!!!

let's talk bachelorette

Hey ladies!  Did you watch the Bachelorette last night??  I sure did.  We had taco night and Bachelorette watching.  It was an awesome night.

Okay, home dates are great because it's such a good way for Emily to see if she fits into one of these guy's families.  You can also tell more about a guy by the way he acts around his family.  Meeting the parents, siblings can always bring a few awkward moments.

p.s. I finally narrowed down my top three to the top two.

LIKES

(I give you a rose!!)

Sean-OMG, Sean I can't even believe the trick you pulled on Emily.  I thought for sure you were a goner if you lived at home, had your mom clean your room and lived like a pig.  I was like NOOOOO...that was by far the best little trick ever.  I have to say your dad is just the sweetest thing.  I'd love him to be my father-in-law.  I can see Emily and Ricki fitting in very nicely with you and your family.  Sean, I think you have a very good shot at becoming Emily's wife.  

Jef-You looked super hot on the ranch.  I love it that Emily secretly didn't know how to hold a gun.  That was a sweet little move on her part.  And your note Jef...wow you sure know how to write your way into a woman's heart.  That was so sweet and I can tell it was really genuine.  You have a big family and at first it seemed intimidating for Emily, but I think they were very welcoming.  I love your laid back, fun, outgoing attitude and I agree that it compliments Emily nicely.  Jef, you better be on your game next week...Sean and Emily have a very deep connection too.  

DISLIKE

(Lonesome taxi ride home...see ya later!)

Chris-I wasn't rooting for you this episode I must admit.  I think you acted awkward around Emily (maybe every girl, who knows).  You were fidgety and just seemed uncomfortable.  I completely see why Emily sent you home.  I think she has a deeper connection with these three other guys.  Plus the way you acted around her after she sent you home was very uncalled for.  If you were truly "in love" with Emily, you would have simply wished the best for her and ended it at that.  I think it's safe to say Chris that you were just not mature enough to be in this serious of a relationship.  I don't think you are ready to be a husband and for sure NOT a father to a little girl.  Best of luck...you have some great qualities, but you need a little tweaking.

Arie-I hate that you've made into my dislikes Arie!  I actually still like you...don't get me wrong.  It's just that I see more with Sean and Jef.  I also did NOT like your family.  I mean it was so awkward for Emily to have everyone in the room speaking a different language.  That was very uncalled for and I'm glad you finally caught on.  I just can't see Emily enjoying coming to visit your family and connecting with them.  Who knows though, I could be wrong.  We'll just have to see. 

Best of luck next week Sean, Jef and Arie.  Ya'll were my top favorites for a quite some time so I'd be happy for Emily to have any one of you!  Wow, I don't know how Emily will decide.  It's going to be a rough ride.  Until next time...

I'm liking up again with the lovely Meghan from More from Meg.  Check out all the "dish" about the latest episode of The Bachelorette!

Speaking of Meghan...she's one of my sponsors this month.  Let me introduce you to the super sweet Megan from More from Meg.  As you can tell by her link up, she's a pretty awesome chick who loves some reality TV.  

blog / pinterest / etsy

Hi Blog Friends!

I'm a twenty-something newly married girl living in beautiful Indianapolis, IN. I went to college at the University of Indianapolis and graduated in 2007 with a major in Marketing. 

I've had a lot of blogging experience - not only do I read a lot of blogs, but I used to work for a blogging software company and had to blog quite a bit! And truth be told, I miss it a little bit and that's what has sparked my interest in starting my blog. I love to spend time with our yellow lab, traveling, working out, reading, planning, organizing, and crafting! I am always on the go, and rarely do I have any patience! :) My husband and I are somewhat newlyweds (married for almost 3 years - not sure how long you can have that newlywed title), we moved into our first home in 2010 and I feel like I'm still decorating and making it "ours", but I'm loving every minute of it.

My husband, my brother in-law, and myself have a marketing consulting and business development company - I love working from home and being responsible for something that we built! Now I know what you're thinking - is it hard working with your husband and family? Nope, they make it easy! We are growing rapidly and that has been the main focus in our lives for some time now - even though we always seem busy, I wouldn't change it!

Now go check out Meg's blog!  

Have a great Tuesday FRIENDS!

pizza, margarita, dessert and more dessert...

Mr. H and I had an awesome weekend!  We had no plans Saturday and Sunday so we had lots of lounge time at home, which was super awesome!

Friday night is always pizza night and we decided to invite one of our sweet couple friends from Bible study over for pizza, drinks and Mexican train.  

Let me start by saying I was really wanting Skinny Girl Margaritas so I went to two stores and called two others, but no one had it.  Can you believe that?  I was so bummed.  Anyways, Lauren and I decided to make these super, super delicious frozen margaritas!  It's just a frozen can of Bacardi margarita (which I hadn't had in years!), a few strawberries and a little shot of tequila.  They were so amazing and perfect for the hot summer day!  

If you've never tried Papa Murphy's Pizza, it's a total MUST!  Look how yummy this pizza looks..and it tasted even better!!  

Lauren and Max brought stuff to make strawberry shortcake.  It's seriously the perfect dessert for summer and it's honestly not THAT bad for you.  Ha.  

Mr. H and I only got out of the house on Saturday to go to the store and then grabbed a happy hour Sonic drink.  Yum!  We spend the entire day watching tv, playing skip bo and just hanging out.  It was so much fun!

I REALLY wanted us to try one of my pinterest dessert recipes so while we were at the store we picked up a few ingredients.  The dessert Mr. H selected for us to make was Pioneer Woman's best chocolate sheet cake ever.  First of all, it was really easy to make.  And second of all, OMG it was/is AMAZING!  I love the melted frosting and the little pieces of pecans.  WOW!!!!!!

Mr. H was the chef and I was the sou chef.  We make such great team.  And you know I had to put on my super cute apron!  

It made a ton.  Don't worry we won't eat it all.  I don't want to turn into a big ol' cow!  That's right, I get a piece of it tonight and of course you gotta have milk with it.   

Let me just take a minute to brag about Mr. H.  He is just the best husband ever!  He's a morning person and I am SOOOO not.  He knows it takes me a while to "get up" so while I lay on the couch, he makes breakfast. 

He made me breakfast Saturday AND Sunday morning.  Sunday morning he made these amazing buttermilk pancakes with berries.  I'm so lucky to have such a sweet husband.  Thanks Mr. H for being so awesome and loving towards your wifey!

Sunday we went over to my mom's house (she just got back from a two week Alaskan cruise) and had lunch with my sister and her family.  We all hadn't been together in a while so it was fun to see everyone.  

Sunday night was so incredible.  Our church has what they call "Celebration Sunday" and it's basically a night of singing worship songs and baptisms.  It's just a joyful time and amazing to hear all the testimonies.  God works in everyone's life differently and it's so cool to see people's lives transformed.  

This week will be SUPER short...thank you July 4th!!!  Mr. H and I will be headed to the lake at the end of the week and I'm so excited to get away for a few days!!  

Happy MONDAY! 

(p.s. can't wait to watch the Bachelorette tonight!!!!)