churchy things {being nice/kind}

it's the first sunday of the month so that means time to get churchy around here. actually this post is a little less churchy than some of the others.

i grew up in the south. southern hospitality is real...all the time...everywhere. people are most generally nice and friendly to each other all the time...in the grocery store, on the road, on the internet. you get my point. that's what i grew up with, and that's just how i thought people were. sadly now that i have been and lived more places, i realize not all people are just nice to each other just for the sake of being nice. even though my recent travels (which I swear I am going to blog about soon) did not take me back to the south, i saw that same attitude. everyone in the virgin islands was so friendly. we went for a walk one day, and we were greeted by every single person we passed. i realize the workers in the resort are there to take care of the people staying there, but they were so genuinely friendly. it took me back to my southern upbringing, and really made me think about the way i treat people/the way i want to treat people.  that brings me to the churchy part. in the bible in the book of mark (among other places), talking about the commandments it says  mark 12:31   31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.  basically we are commanded to first love God and second love our neighbor. i am pretty good at loving my neighbors when they need something like a meal or a ride to the airport or even a babysitter, but i'm not always so good at being friendly to everyone i come in contact with or loving those that bother/bug me. i get irritated easily, and i judge when i shouldn't. there is so much negativity everywhere. i don't need to be the cause. i want to do a better job at loving my neighbor and being kind/friendly/loving to everyone around me. i want to go back to my days of being a southern and bring a little southern hospitality wherever i go. my goal for this month is to be more aware of the way i treat my neighbors whether they be my actual neighbors (who i admit i don't actually know) or random people i come into contact with around town, on the road, on the internet, my family, etc. who wants to join me in making june the month of kindness? be sure to check out there's a mouse in my kitchen for her churchy post

blogging the bach 9.1

i don't watch much tv...at all. i am NEVER home, and i really can't sit still. BUT, i have confessed a few times that i really love the bach (all versions...bachelor, bachelorette, bachelor pad...so sad it's not on this summer). as a side note, i have also mentioned that i like to abbreviate any and everything possible so that will most def (definitely) be happening around here. i've thought about blogging the seasons, but obvi (obviously) have never done it. i had so much fun teaming up with my may30x30 girls, and didn't want the fun to end. kimberly and i will be teaming up each week to bring you The Bachelorette season 9 (season 9 episode 1 hence the title 9.1...you with me still?)

before we get into this season... kimberly did an awesome post about bach lingo. check it here. i'm not just going to recap the episode. if you watched, you know what happened, and if you didn't, you probably don't care. one last thing...i HATE spoilers! if i want them, i know where to find them. it sucks the fun out of it for me. i love love love comments, but if you post spoilers i will be really sad and delete them immediately. thanks for understanding enough with the biz (business) and onto the show the first week is always a little hard for me. i can't keep track of who anyone is, and i feel a little like i have no idea what is going on. since i knew i had a blog to write, i took some notes (yes i'm a nerd). i already heard the following bach classic words/phrases...amazing, here for the right reasons, journey, fairy tale...did i miss any? i'm straight up in love with the blue car they gave her. i don't usually like crazy colors for cars, but i just love that blue (or maybe i just want to paint something that color). i'm also in love with the shoes des played soccer in. i NEED those sparkly heels. also, she played soccer in heels. major points for that.

my first impression pick goes to Drew. i can't even tell you why. i picked him before she even started handing out roses, and i had to look online to see if he even got a rose. we'll see..

the rest of my top 5

ben (looks like he might be problems. i also liked tierra the first night, and look how that turned out)

brandon

brooks (he's from utah and appears to get a lot of screen time which makes me think he'll be around a long long time)

zach k maybe

i'll re-visit these in a few weeks and make some predictions.

i have a few tips for the poor dudes (who will obvi never read mine or anyone else's blogs)

girls love kids...always (good move ben)

hot bodies are super distracting (who knows what zak had to say. while he looked like a bit of a fool with no shirt on, his rockin body definitely stood out)

even girls with questionable morals do not want to talk about the fantasy suite right from the get (get go) (poor jonathan has a lot to learn)

and finally (are you still readying? this post is turning into a novel)...

when i went on the website to see if drew is still on/check out bios, i saw a poll for best bleachable moment. there were a few in this episode. i'll end my post each week with my pick for the best bleachable moment.

that could have but probably not been funny if he wasn't so serious about the fantasy suite. all i have to say about that is bless his little heart.

now go check out kimberly's post and see what she has to say. and let me know if you're watching and/or blogging and what you think of the guys this season.

update on what's in my bag

i'm sure you're all dying to hear about my trip, and i will tell you all about it i promise. tonight i am dead tired from the swift kick in the rear from reality today. until i can go through ALL my pictures and get some sort of plan, i've got a couple other posts for you.

a while ago I linked up with some other bloggers to talk about what's in my bag. i generally keep the same things in my purse most of the time. i took out a few things i knew i wouldn't need while traveling so I guess i had some extra room. we forgot to bring the stroller shopping so i put kyler in my purse. Chelsea and i thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop laughing. karlee wasn't too amused with the whole thing. the little dude didn't seem to mind.

if you follow me on twitter, you saw that i guess i committed to blogging the bach this season. i'm going to do my best to post on tuesday mornings, but i'm a little delayed this week. i'm teaming up with kimberly, and we'll be posting on saturday this week. sorry for the delay, but this whole rejoining reality is sucking the life out of me.

may 30x30 {days 19-24}

are you sick of reading about what i've been wearing this month yet?!? ok good because there are a couple more posts to go. if you make it to the end of this post, there's a fun little surprise at the end. although i am finally back home after all my travels, days 19-24 were mostly spent in the tropics. i did put on clothes a few more times than last week...yay for me! day 19...another day at the pool

day 20...we took the ferry to st john and i was once again in my swim suit all day

day 21...i actually put on real clothes (gap melon stripe and black maxi..remember when it was a dress a couple weeks ago?!?) and makeup. ignore my hair. it hates humidity

day 22... i took this picture in the morning not really sure if i would end up putting on clothes, but i actually did. i decided to post it anyway since i spent the majority of the day at the pool.

and then we decided to go to a nicer restaurant for dinner so we actually got ready again. denim pencil, teal tank. again my hair is a disast. i should have brought better products, but you can't pack everything.

day 23...another travel day. i was sick of my hair hence the messy top knot. target stripe v, big star jeans rolled to capris

day 24...back in the states. i almost forgot what my hair looks like straight. this might be one of my favorite outfits of the whole thing. blue stripe old navy, white banana shorts

karlee wanted in on the action. please note the hip pop. this girl loves pictures.

we went mini golfing so i took a few more pictures. since this was my favorite outfit i'm posting more pics:)

i told you there would be a surprise at the end. with this 30x30 challenge coming to an end this week, i've teamed up with these lovely ladies to bring you a giveaway. most of us stopped shopping for the month so we thought it would be fun to give you a giftcard to do a little shopping for yourself. you can select from gap, loft, target, old navy, or forever 21. enter with rafflecopter below. good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open from 5/27/2013- 6/2/2013 and the winner will be announced on 6/3/2013. Entries will be validated. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected.

special thanks to kellyhttp://www.mrsintraining.com/2013/05/30x30-days-19-24.html for hosting this whole thing

jacquelyn for putting together the giveaway

kimberly for creating the image

as always, check out what everyone else has been wearing this week.

may 30x30 week 3 {days 13-18}

since i've been soaking up the sun (and having the worst cell coverage ever) i'm way behind on this post. when i initially picked my 30 pieces i actually only picked 29 in case of an emergency or something. i packed clothes to wear on my trip, but i quickly realized most of my daily outfits were a swimsuit and cover up. so, maybe it's cheating, but my piece number 30 is a swimsuit and cover up. it's been so great living in my swimsuit and soaking up the sun. day 13. it was hot as blazes but i had to wear something i wasn't taking. red target cardi, cream tank, black skinnies

 day 14. i look awful after traveling for almost 18 hours including a red eye and 2 layovers. stripe old navy v, old navy charcoal hoodie, big star jeans. i put this outfit on monday night before the airport and was more than ready to get out of it by tuesday afternoon.

 day 15. spent all day in my swim suit until i showered and put on my pjs. it was wonderful.

day 16. we took a bit of an island tour so i actually wore real clothes. too bad this is the only picture i took and the camera lens was foggy...oops. target stripe v, big star cut off shorts

day 17. another day spent at the pool=heaven if you ask me

 day 18. another travel day (st kitts to st thomas). it's so hot and humid=i look like a wreck. target stripe v, big star jeans.

i was a little nervous doing this challenge while traveling, but since i barely got dressed it's been great. check out what my other friends have been wearing. i'll be back in a couple days with the rest of my vacation outfits/swimsuits.

Baby Banner

i've had some old books in my car waiting for the perfect craft. one day i decided to make some baby banners out of old books and paper doilies. they turned out really cute (much cuter than the picture) and were pretty simple.

chalk around the edges

figure out a pattern for the book pages. i tried pendant, square, and a few others before deciding on this

find someone with pretty handwriting (i really really wish i had prettier handwriting). spell out baby girl/baby boy and glue to book pages. i used a glue stick.

glitter a circle inside the chalked circle

staple on twine

mass produce because just one is never enough

mail to out of state friends having babies

bouffant bun

several months ago i saw a post on twitter about the bouffant bun. i was obsessed immediately. it is the perfect style for my massive amounts of hair but also the perfect style for fine hair. this girl did a video tutorial.

Source: eisymorgan.blogspot.com via Erin on Pinterest

i promised my friends a live tutorial over spring break so here you have it...the picture tutorial of the bouffant bun. i still can't do a sock bun to save my life, but i can for sure do this.

1. definitely spray some dry shampoo (suave is best if you ask me) 2. tease your hair like CRAZY and then tease even more. don't just do the roots.

3. flip  your head upside down and put in a high ponytail 4. tease your ponytail...like a lot and then some

5. wrap hair into a somewhat loose bun. your hair is so teased that it should be pretty big and not really tight at all

6. pin in place with bobby pins or hair pins

voila you have a huge bun. practice on your friends. this will get you  one more day without having to wash your hair i promise

thank you erin for introducing me to the bouffant bun. i owe you one.

do you do a sock bun? have you ever tried this? let me know if you do.

Girls Night Out

several weeks ago aly started a group text about getting together for a girls night. we picked a day and time, and it felt like it was so far away. time goes by so so so fast. before we knew it, it was here. we all met at sawadee for dinner. the poor little babes didn't love dinner as much as we did, but we still had so much fun. we really missed those who couldn't come.

last time we all got together over spring break there was some crazy talk about the cuteness of this group hence the heels

charity had to leave after dinner because her baby just wasn't having it, but the rest of us weren't ready to call it a night. we ended up at lunaberry for the next several hours.we could talk and talk for hours, and the weather was so nice so we really did talk and talk for hours. i love these girls so much and miss them at work every single day. can't wait for our next girls night/craft night/whatever night.

blog design {blogger roundtable part 3}

i love love love the blogger roundtables and look forward to them so much. diedre was so nice and spent the evening teaching us all things design. the past few weeks have been super crazy trying to get ready to leave this place for a couple of weeks. last week was no exception. i planned to leave work in plenty of time to get to the awful waffle in provo in plenty of time, but i got stuck trying to finish something up. i also couldn't figure out exactly where i was going/find parking so i was a couple of minutes late. my computer took forever to start up and then wouldn't connect to the internet for another forever. i was way behind the group. i finally caught up and had a great time. after we were officially done many of us sat around talking blog talk much longer. i need to learn to use photoshop much better so i can actually apply some of the things we learned.

Kelli, April, Aubrey, Jessica, Rachel Jen, Bonnie, Tayler, Deidre

tomato basil quinoa with turkey

do you like quinoa? basil? ground turkey? i love love love all of those things so when i saw this recipe from danielle i HAD to make it. it was seriously so good. i highly recommend it. i did add some garlic powder and chicken broth to my quinoa to give it a little more flavor. it is a super delicious very healthy meal. go try it...

have you tried this stuff yet? try it! it's the best. i get frustrated with buying basil and using half and wasting half. this stuff lasts forever and tastes so good.