The Shelvolution

The shelves by our TV are ever changing and they will continue to change - especially since they are going to be gone eventually. We have plans for a mounted corner TV - but since that won't be happening for a while, our shelves will be staying around a while.

First, we had what Matt called "sterile" decoration. I liked it. Very simple and structured.

Then there was Christmas.

There's been lots of changes in between, but here's where we are at now (as of Sunday):

Matt says this set up has character. I don't know if other people would say it does, but I know it has lots of history books from college, a hand drawn picture from one of the girls I used to nanny, our wedding cake toppers, Murano glass from Italy, as well as a wooden bust and drawer my parents got in Europe. To me, character is exactly what is has.

Here are the shelves by themselves.

And, last but not least, close up of my favorite items I mentioned above.

Where we'll go from here, I'm not sure. They'll probably stay as is until one Sunday when I decide to rearrange again. I'm hoping sooner rather than later we'll get a new couch, coffee table, media center and get the TV mounted in the corner, but I won't hold my breath!

What does the area around your TV look like? 

Blessings

There are times when I get impatient with my life, when I get frustrated my house isn't more put together, my wardrobe isn't more designer and my hair isn't more Princess Kate.

It's at those times it's hardest to remember this:

Source

Think about how true this is for a second. If you're reading this blog, you have the Internet and something to read it on (smart phone, computer, tablet, etc.), you have the time to read it, you're not working from sun up to sun down (or, if you are, you have breaks). The things I complain about in my life someone longs for. They pray and hope for it while I sit here blind to all the blessings God has granted me. How? Why? Why did God bless me so much? I don't deserve it. But I am so, so thankful for His grace.

Sarcastic Saturday: #1

(Source)

InstaFriday: #1

I'm linking up with Courtney at Joyful Joyful and Kristin from Buttons and Pockets, who link up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged for my first InstaFriday. 

This week was a good one. Last weekend Matt and I got some stuff done (finally hung photos - post coming soon), went to a wedding, watched a lot of The Walking Dead and hung out. I also started blogging again (yay!), got a new layout design thanks to Shawna, and had a relatively productive work week. 

I had a root beer float for the first time in ages Saturday night because, why not?

Have you ever tried Kiehl's Whipped Body Butter? If not, you need to try some stat. This stuff is amazing. Matt calls it knuckle butter and I just call it heavenly. It has a light scent and absorbs quickly, yet when you wash your hands in the morning, you can still feel it.

The back of our Toyota Corolla has super dark windows and I decided to take advantage of it while Matt was inside getting the dog. This is my "back to blogging" outfit. 

This is one of the ways we feed Astro. Usually it's in addition to freezing a Kong full of kibble and wet food. He tends to eat his food way too quickly (without chewing) and then he vomits it up. Gross. Below is one of the ways we found to slow him down, even if it's just another 2-3 minutes. 

Wednesday was a rough day at work. I'm in the middle of switching accounts sets (stressful) and am currently taking care of two books of business. What did I do to get over it? I came home and poured myself a beer. 

Yesterday was Matt's birthday. Sometimes this boy eats things that I can't fathom eating. I love his old butt a lot though!

A year ago Sunday I cut my hair, it's come a long way. Here it was a year ago:

And here it is today:

Just a little bit of a difference, no? I can't wait for it to get long again. When I want to cut my hair off in two years, please tell me no.

This weekend we don't have too much planned other than cleaning, I have nursery duty Sunday at church and chilling out a bit.

Have you ever cut your hair and regretted it? What are your weekend plans?



Thrifty Thursday: Sandals

Let me start off by saying happy, happy birthday to my wonderful husband who turns 28 today. He is such a blessing to me and I am so thankful God put him in my life. I love you, boo.

Summer is creeping up on us here in Austin and that means sundresses, hats, and sandals for me. Last year I didn't buy a new pair of sandals (I know!) but this year, I really need some. I love wedges, but a great pair or two of flat sandals are a must. 

I love DSW so I did some research online of what I'm looking for this summer. I know I want something that has a heel strap of some sort since my feet tend to slide around in flip flops and I hate the noise they make, so that's what I started with on my journey of sandal finding.

Here are some of my favorites from least to most expensive:

Quiped

Dido

Phoebe

Grove

Rosalyn

Which ones are your favorite? Have you started your summer shoe shopping yet?

Meet Astro

On October 16th we adopted a puppy named Khalipa. First thing we did? Change his name to Astro. He started off as an 11 pound, 8 week, little butthead who wouldn't sleep at night and he's now a 50 pound, 7.5 month old, big butthead who wakes up before 6am most mornings. Even with all of his short comings we still love him. In fact, we love him enough to take him to the vet and do exploratory surgery after we thought he had something stuck in his intestines and causing him to vomit for days on days (he didn't). He got his stitches out yesterday (I'll spare you the photos) and has been doing much better.

It's the lack of sleeping at night, jumping on people, scaring children, counter surfing, barking at nothing and general annoyingness* that drive us crazy, but snuggling (on his terms), shaking hands, high-fiving and rolling over on command, chasing his tail, giving hugs, and his curiosity (sometimes) is what makes us love the little bugger.

Enjoy an Astro montage of him growing through the months. Really though, how do puppies grow so fast? He used to be so easy to pick up and lug around!

*Is this a word? It says it isn't, but I'm pretty sure it is. At least now it is.

Do you have any pets? If so, do they drive you bonkers?

784,800 Minutes

784,800 minutes. Otherwise known as 545 days or 1 year, 5 months and 28 days. That's how long it has been since my last blog post. Wow.

A lot has changed since then. I got a "real" job, we bought a house, celebrated our 2nd anniversary, I turned 25... and then 26, we got a puppy, and I've grown as a person. Like I have, this blog is going to evolve. Fashion is great, and I may still have some outfit posts here and there, but that's not what this blog is going to be about. It's going to be about life - the trials and the triumphs, life as a homeowner, as a puppy-parent, and a wife. There will be projects that were conquered and projects that have failed - and lots of projects that are in the works (or in my head).

Stay tuned. Until tomorrow, I leave you with a recently posted Facebook photo of Matt and I then (our wedding day) and now (January).

(Left: Nick Lamb Photography, Right: EP Love)