You're It!

I have been tagged... and I feel special, y'all :)  I love this here blog world!


The Rules:
1) You must post the rules
2) Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you; then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged
3) Tag 11 people and link them in your post
- I only tagged 10 and made 10 questions!
4) Let them know you have tagged them.

I was tagged by Katelyn at The Bluegrass Belle.
Here's what she wants to know...
 
1. What's your dream job?
I have 2... a realistic one and one that I dream about.  Being a teacher is definitely a dream of mine!  I have only a year left and then those little brains will be in my hands.  It's so challenging, but yet so rewarding at the same time.  There isn't a feeling like it!  As for the one I dream about... I'd love to open my own dog shelter and house as many stray dogs as possible.  It just breaks my heart to hear the statistics about euthanized dogs.  I know that will probably never happen... so, in the meantime, I volunteer at my local humane society and donate supplies when I can.
 
2. What's your perfect idea of a Saturday night?
Wearing my favorite pair of jeans and a t-shirt, spreading a blanket out on the porch to look at the stars, grilling out, and just enjoying the moment.  Life goes by way too fast!

3. What's your favorite vacation spot?
Home.  Yup, it's true.  However, I truly am looking forward to our honeymoon!!! :)

4. Country girl or city girl?
Country.  I don't know how to drive a tractor or can vegetables, but there's no way I could live in the city.  I prefer the quiet nights where I can hear the frogs and crickets and see the stars.  Vacationing to NYC is on my bucket list, though... :)

5. How many kids do you want, if any?
We definitely want kids... but not anytime soon.  I want to get my Master's, we'd like to build a house, and just enjoy being a married couple for a while before any little ones come in the picture.  We have had the "children" talk and are pretty much on the same page.  We want 2, for sure.  If we have 2 of the same gender, we'll probably shoot for 3.  And if we haven't gone broke or lost our minds by that time, baby #4 is a possibility... because we like even numbers ;)  My mom is probably flipping out right about now.

6. What's your favorite movie? (chick flick, horror, comedy, etc.)
I like movies that have something for everyone... a good moral, drama, some comic relief, and a love story.  Know of any movies with all those?!  Haha.  Sweet Home Alabama, City of Angels, and Where the Heart Is are at the top of my list!

7. Are you cheering for a team in the NCAA? If so who? (If you say anything other than UK, just stop, kidding)
Don't worry, Katelyn, I bleed blue all the way.

8. If you could "thank" any person anything who would it be and why?
Miranda Lambert... for being proud of who she is and making all us other ladies proud of ourselves, too!

9. Who is someone that you admire most?
My family and fiance for dealing with me on a daily basis.  I'm so very thankful for each of them!

10. What's your favorite childhood memory?
Wow, good question.  Hmmmm... I have three.  I loved getting to go on grocery trips with my mom; going bluegill fishing with my dad and little sis; and spending the week at my Nanny and Papaw's for VBS.  Those were the days!
 
Here are my questions:
1.  Who is your celebrity idol?
2.  Post one of your favorite pictures and tell the story behind it.
3.  What's on your bucket list for this summer?
4.  If money weren't an option, what's one thing you would buy today?
5.  What's your go-to outfit?
6.  What's your biggest pet peeve?
7.  What's something you've learned recently?  (I love learning... hence, the teacher thing.  This can be academics, fitness-related, or just a life lesson.)
8.  What's one TV show you couldn't live without?
9.  What's the funniest YouTube video you've watched lately?  Post the link.
10.  Post the links to your 3 favorite blogs!

This should be fun... get at it girls.  I TAG ALL OF YOU! :)

Wedding Wednesday {cake}

First of all, thank you all for your help with the registry.  I have a complete list in hand and I can't wait to register!  We are hoping to do it the next weekend that Nathan has off... which will probably be next weekend for Easter.  The stress has most definitely worn off and excitement has set in :)

Today, we're going to talk about cake.  One of the most important elements if you ask me.  Why?  Because girlfriend loves anything sweet!  I decided a long time ago that I didn't want a monumental layered cake.  It's not us, it's complicated to cut, and I'm scared to death that it would fall over.  So, in order to compromise, we're going to have cupcakes for our guests, a small cake for the groom and I, and a groom's cake.  I'm thrilled with my decision!  Cupcakes are inexpensive, can be personalized in a billion different ways, and there's no cutting involved.  Just come on up and grab ya one :)

I'll be making the cupcake stand(s) out of antique plates and mugs that I found at a local thrift store.  I found a tutorial online and hope to get that done within the next few weeks.  I'll update you when it's done!   As for the cake, my aunt's mom has graciously offered to make it.  I kenw I wanted something simple and not too fussy.  Lord willing, I found this on Pinterest one day... and it's perfect.

We'll make a cake stand for this out of scrap wood.  I'm sure many of you have also saw that floating around on Pinterest as well.  The groom's cake will be the infamous chocolate and strawberry cake that my aunt's mom should become rich for.  I mean, seriously, I wish y'all could taste it through the computer screen.  Be jealous!  In order to make it more "manly", we'll jazz up the groom's cake table with antique fishing reels, duck figurines, deer antlers, and Lord only knows what else. 

I can't wait to see how everything looks (and tastes) on our day.  I know it will be fabulous :)

Happy Hump Day!

six years ago

I tend to not get sappy on le bloggy, but today is a special ocassion. Six years ago today, one of the shiest, country boys I'd ever met asked me to be his girlfriend. After a few weeks of getting to know each other and going on a date, I couldn't say yes fast enough.

I was only 14 years old... practically a baby when I think about it now. Neither of us knew anything about life except for the fact that we enjoyed it a lot more when we were together. Many roller coaster rides and an engagement later, we still don't know a whole lot about life except for the fact that there's nobody else we're supposed to spend our life with.

I absolutely do not know what I've done to deserve this guy. I am incredibly blessed that he's been a part of my life for so long and that I've grown as a person with him. We both have our own seperate dreams and we pursue those dreams... but we do it together with support and encouragement. Like I always say, we're nowhere near perfect... but we're real.

It makes my heart so happy to know that in 6 months I'll be your wife and we'll continue writing our story.


I love you more than words can say... :)

PS -- that pic is from my Junior Prom in 2008... see this post for more old pics of us.

weekend, basketball, & music video

This weekend goes in the books. Nathan had a 4-day weekend thanks to some vacation days and we soaked it up! I cooked until my heart was content, cleaned until everything was caught up, and had some major QT with fiance :)

My favorite recipe from the weekend captured my sweeth tooth. No surprise. I named it Bonfire in a Pan -- aka s'more casserole. I love s'mores so it was love at first sight!


You need 1/4 stick of butter, a bag of marshmallows, a bag of milk chocolate chips, and a box of Golden Grahams cereal. Put the butter and marshmallows in the microwave for about 90 seconds. Stir until it becomes a cream... almost paste-like. Then add in the chocolate chips and stir until it becomes chocolate heaven. Finally, stir in the Golden Grahams. Make sure you have a decent size bowl in order to stir it well. After that, put it in a 9x13 pan and serve! There were only 2 pieces of this stuff left yesterday... it is good, y'all!

I spent most of my time curled up on the back deck with my new best friend. Yup, I'm addicted!


I know, I know. I'm late to the party... and I don't really have an excuse. My sister got the whole set for Christmas so I've had easy access to them all. She and my mom saw the movie on Saturday and can't stop talking about it! I refuse to go see it until I finish the book so it doesn't spoil it for me. Are you guys obsessed with this series, too?!

Oh yeah, Nathan and his friends built a front porch over the weekend, too! No biggie ;)


Ok, actually it was a big deal. It took a lot of time but we love it! It's not completely finished yet. It still needs spindles and will be stained in about a month... but I couldn't resist taking a picture. Now I really can't wait to get plant some flowers and get more patio furniture. It's the little things :)

We were glued to the TV in anticipation of each UK game... and guess what?! We're going to the FINAL FOUR! Basketball madness will resume this weekend when we play Louisville... our in-state rival. I love this time of year!


C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS!

Let's end this post with some eye candy, eh? Remember this post from when I saw Luke Bryan in concert?! One of the best nights of my life. Anywho, he filmed part of that concert to appear in his new music video for the song, "Drunk on You."


I've been patiently waiting for it to come out and it finally has!!! Anytime you see him in the black v-neck, that's footage from the concert here at WKU. Most of the crowd shots are from WKU, too! I've been in love with this song since I first heard it on his CD and I've been in love with Luke Bryan since I first saw him. Amen?! Thought so.

It's a beautiful Monday here in KY... I hope it is for you too :)

Wedding Wednesday {registry... please help!}

We're moving right along on our to-do list. It's hard to believe that it's almost time to start registering. I know it will be an exciting process, but I have to admit that I'm scared to death. Like, I have no idea where to even begin.

That's where you come in.

We know we're going to register at Target and Kohl's. They are both local, great prices, and great selection.



The good thing is that we pretty much already have all our decor, furniture, etc. since Nathan moved several months ago but what we need from you is to know what exactly to register for. How many place settings? How many sets of silverware? What the heck is that thing called that cores the apples? We're in trouble. If we went in there this afternoon, we'd probably come out without a wedding after fighting about what we need. That's how clueless we are :)

So, please comment with your necessities or any good websites that have a list for us to go by. Thanks in advance!

Have a lovely Wednesday :)

crazy busy = me MIA.

I thought last week was busy. Who am I kidding? It's only Monday and I'm already wishing this week was over. I have double the observation hours this week, a CEBS student ambassador event, and am being graded/observed on my KTIP lesson Thursday. Lots of preparation involved with all 3 of those. Plus, there's a trifecta of illnesses going around with those kiddos -- strept throat, the flu, and stomach bug. If I don't end up with the plague, I'm going to count my blessings. But Pinterest always makes me happy and I'm all about sharing the happiness. Here are some of my faves from recent days:












I think I got it all covered from wedding decor to an outdoor sink. God love that site. You can follow me HERE.

I hope you all have a fabtabulous week... I'll check back sooner or later :)

Wedding Thursday {favors}

Happy Thursday, friends :)

I'm back today with another look into our big day... the favors. I've went back and forth on what to do for this hundreds of times. It's one of the only aspects of our wedding that I didn't have a definite idea of what I wanted to do. Pinterest has millions of cute ideas floating around... but they were all either too expensive for our budget or just didn't fit. I talked with Nathan about it and we both came to the decision that we would take that money we had set aside for favors and donate it to something that was much more worthwhile. He told me that I could make the decision on where the money would go and he would back me up. So, then came another decision.

At first, I wanted to give to some organizations that we are already a part of like Ducks Unlimited or the NWTF. We love the outdoors and want nothing more than for our kids to be able to enjoy them too. But then I decided that we already give them money since we have memberships. Back to square one.

Around that time, I had started to hear a lot about the Wounded Warrior Project. It immediately became an interest of mine and I did some research into it. After all, I didn't want our money to be wasted... I wanted it to be used to help someone or something.


The organization is amazing and I felt that I had pretty much made up my mind. Then I had a sign. I was watching a bit of news one day and saw this.



I was in tears. I didn't care about all the political stuff in the interview... but it broke my heart to hear the story about that specific soldier. And it breaks my heart even more to know that there are thousands of other stories like that today. That moment solidified my decision to donate to an organization that helps those brave souls... and Nathan completely agreed. We are giving a portion of our wedding budget to the people who have given it all.

We won't have any cutesy items or candy bar. We will have a small note on the back of our programs that tells what we have done in lieu of favors. And it just seems right.