Projects for the Wedding Update

Two weeks ago, I posted a list of all the projects that need to be done for the wedding. This morning, I opened up that post hoping I was able to cross a thing or two off the list, and kinda had a freak out when I realized that not one of those things had been done yet. Yikes! Now, that doesn't mean I haven't done anything, but it does mean I haven't done any actual projects.

But that's because the twins are still here, and it's not like a have a ton of free time when there are twin seven-year-old boys running around. So next week, my life is becoming wedding project central. For serious. And I'm super excited about it actually! There are so many fun projects and crafts that I want to do, and I can't wait to finally get started on them.

First up on the agenda though, will be getting our invitations out. As of yesterday, we're exactly two months away from the big day, and so those babies gotta go out in the mail pretty ASAP here! I ordered envelopes last night from an awesome site called envelopemall.com. I got 200 envelopes for just $40.50, including the shipping! And they should be here before Friday. Awesome. Once they're here, I will immediately start addressing them, even though the invites themselves won't be in quite yet.

And speaking of the invitations, I am so stinking psyched about them!! My blog-friend-turned-real-life-friend Angie did an amazing job designing them for us, and I just love them so so much! We're sending them to print through VistaPrint, and I can't wait to see how they turn out in-real-printed-life.

Some things I have actually accomplished are:
- Met with florist and went over flowers and set up and all that jazz
- Ordered invitation envelopes
- Researched my bridal jewelry, and where I can find it for a decent price
- Ordered wedding day shoes!
- Bought some stuff at Hobby Lobby for our cake topper craft
- Ordered the bicycle basket to use for cards on our gift table (gonna cute it up a bit too)
- Figured out our wedding favors
- I feel like there was at least one or two other things for this list, but now I can't remember them....

So things are happening, but obviously (based on the post from a couple weeks ago), there's still a whole lot more to do. But I'm not feeling crazy or overwhelmed with it all, I'm just excited to finally get started. This summer has been super busy having the boys here for six full weeks, and it's made wedding planning during that time very tricky. Now I should have plenty more time to get down to business, and really get moving on some things! I can't wait actually, I'm just so excited to get moving on plans and projects!

Wish me luck as I go into crazy-wedding-planning-mode over the next two months, and feel free to offer up more of you helpful tips and tricks and suggestions and all that, because I'm open to anything!

Much Love,
Halie

Promotions, Peaches & Things That Make Me Happy

Sooo, it's Friday! Duh. Us bloggers always like to point that out though don't we? Now, for those of you that have seen this appear in the form of a guest post lately, so sorry about that...my brain needed a little break, and that break came in the form of just editing a saved draft post I already had :)

But anyways.... I love trying to take the time to recognize and appreciate some of the small things that make me happy. Of course it changes all the time, sometimes almost daily it feels like, but today I just want to share with you five quick things that are currently making me super happy!

1. Summer time. I love the sunshine and the beach and swimming and working on my tan. Seriously - it's one of my favorite things about living in Florida. (Well, Florida's kinda sucking it up in the sunshine department these last two weeks, but still...) I'd permanently set up my beach chair in the waves right there in the picture below and read endless books and get a gorgeous golden tan, if that was an acceptable life choice.

2. Wedding planning! We're at a pretty fun part of the process, and I definitely have what a fellow blogger-friend of mine described as "bride brain." It's all I can think about sometimes!

3. That my co-workers bought me a pretty plant to take with me to my new office. They also all signed a really cute card and we all ate cake together yesterday. I definitely felt the love and support from my old section for my promotion, as they bid me farewell and into my new section!

4. Watching the whole series of FRIENDS again. I've seen the whole thing multiple times (probably three or four, and then of course random episodes all the time), but my fiance hasn't ever watched them all the way through. We just started season one last week, and I'm loving it. It's definitely my favorite show!

5. Fresh fruits! Mangoes, peaches, strawberries, cherries (the fresh kind, not those nasty jar ones), green apples, bananas and watermelon - seriously y'all, summer time is great for fresh, yummy fruit, and I'm definitely trying to take advantage of that! And and even more than just the fruit, is putting fresh fruit on my fro-yo, because I'm definitely loving some fro-yo lately!

Simple list, but each of these things brings me so much enjoyment and happiness. I think y'all should also try to list at just five little things that make you happy. I think it makes us stop and appreciate those things so much more when we take time to actually recognize them! So think about it, and then make sure you take advantage of those things.

If it's a person - tell them.
If it's a place - go for a quick visit.
If it's an activity - get out and do it!
If it's food - definitely eat it.

Whatever it is, just make sure you take time to enjoy whatever it is that makes YOU happy!

I hope y'all have a great Friday today, and of course the most bestest weekend too! Come back again on Monday, and I'll have some 'fresh content' for ya from my weekend happenings and hoopla's. Tootles ladies!

Much love,
Halie

Pounding the Pavement

Yesterday was the first of the month, and I missed a prime opportunity to share some of my goals for the month of July. But that's alright, because today is still a great day to talk about some upcoming goals. June was a crazy busy month because Jeff's twin boys were here for most of the month. And while I was able to accomplish a small number of things, mostly my time was spent enjoying our time with them. For July however, they won't be joining us until the 20th, so that gives me three full weeks of time to focus on some things for me and for the wedding.

And I plan to be in crazy focused mode, doing some of the following fun and productive things....

1. Weigh 179. As of last weigh-in Wednesday, I was at 184, and my goal was to reach 183 by the end of the month. And I did! Now I want to lose 4 more pounds again this month, to reach 179.
2. Clean out under my bathroom sink
3. Do some serious house hunting for our future home!
4. Do at least one thing from my summer bucket list (Tubing at Bear Paw? Antiquing or flea market?)
5. Start training for my first 5K, which is in September, using Hal Higdon's novice training plan below

I seriously cleaned my room out a couple of weeks ago, but now I want to make sure my bathroom is super clean too, and the only way that happens is dealing with the tornado that must have come through under my sink... I am hoping to move into our new place sometime in August, but for that to happen, we have to find a place first! We plan to take a day and just drive around the area we want to live in, looking for 'For Rent' signs, and then we'll go from there. Can't wait to find our future first home together!

And of course I gotta keep up my healthy eating and exercising for the month in order to continue losing four pounds a month every month before the wedding. I have confidence in myself that I can totally make it to 179 by the end of the month....And I'm sure running at least three times a week will be great for that as I start training for the 5K. My plan is to start next week, getting up early and running before work each day. I'd much rather be out there Pounding the Pavement at 6 a.m. in 75 degrees, rather than 6 p.m. in 95 degrees. So here's to attempting early-morning runs for the next two months!

And now for all the wedding-related goals for the month:

1. Figure out flowers
2. Begin working on invitations
3. Decide and pick out grooms wear, and groomsmen wear
4. Set up hotel block for out-of-town guests
5. Figure out honeymoon stuff! I'd looooove to be somewhere like this...

There are actually a LOT more wedding things that we will be working on, but I think those are probably the biggest. And the other things are more boring details, so no one really wants to read about those things anyways. Just know that we will be in crazy wedding planning mode over the next few weeks, trying to get as much done as possible. As of today, we are only 95 days away from the wedding, and it still feels like we have soooo much stuff to do! Ahh! This is where girls go crazy trying to plan a wedding... But I'm attempting not to let that happen.

Looking forward to getting stuff done for me, and for getting as much wedding stuff checked off the list as possible! I love lists and goals and checklists and stuff (obviously,  y'all should know this by now), so I'm really hoping to be able to cross off all of these things by the last day of the month. I'll update you along the way, and then do a recap post on August 1, and hopefully everything will have gotten accomplished. Here's to a productive month ahead! What are some of your goals for the month of July?

Patio Dining & Sunshine: Reasons I Love Florida

I'm feeling a little tiny bit creative today, coupled with a feeling of just really loving where I live. So I've decided I want to come up with a list of the reasons why I love living in Florida. It won't be anything fancy, but ya know, it'll do :) So the following is a quick list of some of my favorite things about Florida.

+ It's nickname is "The Sunshine State," and that right there is enough reason for me to love it. I mean seriously, it's sunny here about 89% of the time (I totally made up that statistic on my own, so don't quote me or anything), and I'm a girl who loves my sunshine. I mean even during the months of November through February when the majority of the country is drowning in rain, snow, sleet and hail, we can still have gorgeous blue skies and a bright shining sun. I love the sunshine.

+ Hand-in-hand with the glorious sunshine, are the gorgeous beaches that surround 89% of the state (that's a made up statistic too, in case you hadn't already assumed that). I mean, did y'all see that picture above? That's not taken on some remote, Caribbean island. That was taken on the Gulf Coast, at St. George Island last year. Beautiful. Am I right, or am I right?

+ Florida State football is perhaps the greatest in all the land of college football. Don't even try to argue with me on this one, or I'm pretty sure we can't be friends anymore. The Florida State Seminoles are my absolute favorite. And plus, I look pretty good in garnet and gold.

+ We have some of the most amazing entertainment places within just a few hours' drive of anywhere in the state. I mean hello? Orlando is like the top tourist spot in the country or something, right? (I guess I could have actually done some research to give y'all real stats, but I'm not all about that today...) Orlando alone is home to Disney World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Harry Potter world, Epcot, Sea World, Wet-n-Wild, and about 15 other amazing amusement parks.

+ Just about every restaurant has a patio for outdoor seating, and you can sit there almost the entire year. There's just something a little bit special about eating at a restaurant, but still getting to sit outside. Do y'all agree with me on this one? Especially the places at the beach where you can just walk up off the sand, and plop down right in your bathing suit and still get service. Those are the best.

+ And for more entertainment, there are of course zoo's and aquarium's, and there are even some pretty neat museums too. (Nerd alert over here for this girl!) But more importantly, you can take airboat rides in the Everglades. Which is pretty stinking awesome. And they even let you hold baby alligators.

+ I can wear flip-flops and dresses basically year-round. Yeah, people will sometimes be all like, "Hey crazy girl! Aren't your feet freezing?" And yes, sometimes they are. But sometimes I just don't care. And I hate having my feet all confined in restrictive shoes, so I'd rather just brave the "cold" and wear my flip-flops in December. And I know all you Northern girls love your Hunter boots, but I barely even know what those are. (Never heard of them before this past winter in fact.) And I'm glad I don't have to wear them just to make it to my car to prevent my feet sinking down in the snow and having frostbite start setting in before I even make it to work. No. thank. you.

There really so many other reasons I love living in Florida, but I think it's time to wrap this up for now. Maybe I'll do a Part II to follow this up sometime in order to rub it in your face how awesome Florida is fully detail why I love my state.

If YOU live in Florida, what are some of your favorite things about living in this sunny state of ours? Let me know, and I might include it in my next list. :) But if you don't live in Florida, I want to hear why you love the state you live in! I guess some of the others out there are pretty cool, so let me know about that too! In fact, we may even make it a one-time link-up, but I don't know yet. I just threw that out there as my brain thought of it, so let me marinate on that a bit more. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and I'll let y'all know later if it'll actually be a link-up or not!

Much Love,
Halie

Puzzles & Parks - My Summer Bucket List!

Apparently the thing to do around blog-world this summer is make a summer bucket list. So of course, y'all know I just had to jump on that bandwagon! I mean, hello? Summer is my absolute favorite season. (Thanks Florida for basically an 8-month summer!) And obviously I'm a sucker for a good list or two, or three, or forty-five... And so the two together? Summer and a list? I just had to! And now without any further ado or rambling, I introduce you to my...

2013 Summer Bucket List!

1. Go tubing at Bear Paw

2. Go to a country concert - preferably outdoors!

3. Visit a new beach in Florida with Jeff

4. Buy fruits and veggies from the farmer's market

5. Go antique shopping and to the flea market

6. Ride 75 miles on my bike

7. Go on a picnic in a park

8. Complete another thing from my 30 Before 30 list

9. Eat at 3 new restaurants that have outdoor seating

10. Clean out under my bed

11. Actually start training for the 5K, with the C25K app

12. Find a place for Jeff and I to live! (and move in!)

13. Clean out under my bathroom sink

14. Take the boys to a water park

15. Plan, decorate & cook for family dinner one week

16. Keep learning the ukulele

17. Create a giant pot of succulents (once in my new house)

18. Purge & donate some of my clothes and shoes

19. Complete a 1,000 piece puzzle

20. Do some more Pinterest crafts

21. Make a really awesome summer playlist

22. Try Geo-Caching, finally!

23. Make something cute for Megan and Bo's new house

24. Build a sandcastle at the beach with the boys

The "time-frame" for this will officially be starting this weekend, for Memorial Day Weekend. And even though summer is usually considered to be over by Labor Day, I'm extending this through the end of September, because summer weather in Florida can really last through Thanksgiving sometimes... So I might as well take advantage of that. So I'm starting this weekend, and I'll get to cross things off all the way through September!

Between all of these activities and things to do, and also planning a wedding for October, we're sure going to be super busy! But I'm just excited about going out and doing more things! Life is so much more fun when you make a real effort to do fun things and enjoy your time. So that's exactly what I plan on doing over the next few months :)

Did you make a summer bucket list? Do you want to? I think we all should! Doesn't it just sound like so much fun?!

Prompt #8 - Advice

Sooo....I've kinda failed already at these "Blog Every Day in May" prompts, but I knew that would happen from the very beginning. My goal was just to do them when I can, rather than kill myself to do it every day, and so I'm doing my second one today, on day eight of the challenge.

Today's prompt is to give advice - anything at all. One of my dear blog-friends, Emily @ Be Blessed, Y'all, did her advice in A-Z list form, and I thought it was a great, fun idea. So she gave me permission to copy her, and I did just that! My list of advice is really for myself. These are things that I know I want/need to remember in my life - both now, and in the future. But even though this is advice for me personally, I still think there are some pretty great things on this list, that can be used and applied for just about anyone :)

Admit when you're wrong

Believe in yourself

Control your anger

Develop meaningful relationships

Enjoy the little moments everyday

Forgive quickly

Go have fun!

Hold your loved ones close

Invest in something worthwhile

Jump for joy!

Keep your chin up

Love deeply

Make things

Never stop learning new things

Opportunities are everywhere

Pray

Quit holding grudges

Risks are necessary, and often very worth it

Sing loundly

Travel to as many new places as possible

Use your talents for something 'bigger'

Visit friends often

Wish upon a star once in a while

X-ercise!

Yell as little as possible

Zits aren't that big of a deal ;)

Places To Go & Things To Do

I haven't shared a good "About Me" style post in a couple of months now, and my blog has definitely grown a lot since then. So today I've decided to give y'all a little more insight into my life! I've seen this in blog-land before, so I can't take credit for it, but I have no idea who came up with it to give them credit....Oh well. It's gonna be fun anyways :) So here's a reverse pyramid of getting-to-know-Halie facts.

10 Favorite Foods

Pizza - just about any toppings make me happy

Pasta - I like the 'short' noodles best, i.e. penne, rotini, bowtie, elbow...

Popcorn - at the movie theater is best

Buffalo Chicken Po'Boy -or anything buffalo!

Chicken Pot Pie - homemade by my Mama

Chocolate cake - or anything chocolate!

Chips & Salsa

Pretzels

Big juicy burgers from restaurants

Cupcakes

(Note: these are my favorite foods regardless of how healthy I'm trying to eat. I try to limit them, but I still love them anyways.)

For the record - Jeff & I split that and made it into 2 burgers. I didn't eat that whole thing...

9 Favorite Movies

The Sound of Music

Pitch Perfect

Pirates of the Caribbean

My Girl

How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days

The Little Mermaid

The Princess Bride

the Harry Potter series

The Holiday

(Note: I have sooo many favorites, narrowing it down to 9 was difficult!)

8 Favorite Musical Artists

The Civil Wars

Carrie Underwood

Gavin DeGraw

Rascal Flatts

Kelly Clarkson

The Band Perry

Lady Antebellum

Walk Off the Earth

(Note: Again, I have so many different ones, and they're constantly changing, but this is good for now...)

7 Things I Love Right Now

The sunshine

Avocado

My Polar Watch

Vine (find me! - HalieRenee88)

Bike Rides with Jeff

Learning how to play my ukulele

"The New Girl"

6 Places I'd Love To Visit

Italy - let's be honest - to eat my way all over the country

Switzerland

Cincinnati, Ohio - to visit Bridget!

Any tropical island (really, I'd take just about all of them)

California

Paris, France

5 Favorite Games

Catch Phrase

Pictionary

Quelf

Golf (the card game, not the ball & putter game)

Phase Ten

4 Things I'd Like To Do Again

Take a trip back to NYC

Go on another cruise

Take a cross-country road trip with my college girlfriends 

Go snorkeling in the Keys

(Seems like all the things I want to re-do are all travel-related!)

3 Things I'd Like To Do in 2013

Visit a new state

Ride my bike 500 miles total (Only 7 down...)

Read 24 books (So far, I'm only on number 6)

2 Facts About Me

I get really easily creeped out - random things give me the "heebie-jeebies" all. the. time.

I've never broken a bone or had surgery or had braces

1 Meaning Behind My Blog Name

It's just three of my very favorite things - that just all happen to start with the letter "P!" I also really just like alliterations wherever possible, so that's one reason I did it that way. And for those those haven't noticed, every single one of my blog post titles starts with a "P" as well! (Full story of when/why I started my blog HERE.)

And that does it for the about-me stuff!

This morning, I did day 2 of the 6 Week Six-Pack, and was able to keep up a tiny bit better. Not completely, but better. By the end of this thing, maybe I'll be able to stay with her the whole time!? I'm feeling pretty great though, and it was a good way to start off my day, despite the fact I did not want to wake up that early to do it. But I'm glad I did :)

I'm only working a half day at work, and then leaving at noon. Then, the Family & Child Sciences department (my sister's major) is hosting a reception for the graduates and their families, so we'll hit that up this afternoon. Then our whole family is having dinner together and finally heading to the Civic Center to watch my sister and my cousin both graduate from Florida State University! Yay!! Tomorrow, myself, my Mama and my Aunt Suzanne are going shopping in Jacksonville (mother-of-the-bride dress for my mom for Meg's wedding, and wedding dresses for me!). And then Sunday Jeff and I have planned a beach trip to St. George Island for the afternoon! Definitely looking forward to that. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

I hope y'all have wonderful Friday's, and even better weekends! Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo!

Paris, Pens, Playlist, Planner & Pink

I am 'stealing' this idea from my friend Bri over at Breezy Days. She just did this yesterday, and I thought it was so cute, I had to write it down so I could do it someday myself. But I just couldn't wait and started working on it right away, so that I could just post it today! Plus, I've gotten a ton of new followers from a giveaway I'm participating in, so I figure you newbies might like to learn a little more about me. And besides, we all know how much I love lists, right?! 

Well I decided to add a little spin on things, and also add in a few more categories, so here we go!

Sets of FIVES

Five things you'll find in my purse...

1. There's almost always a bottle or two of nail polish in there

2. Six, colored Sharpie pens, that no one else can write with...

3. Burt's Bees chap stick. Always. 

4. Hand lotion, because I hate it when my hands feel dry

5. Little pouch full of gift cards waiting to be spent until I lose more weight (don't want to buy clothes now, then quickly shrink out of them in the next couple months!)

Five things you'll find in my bedroom...

1. Tons of stuff that doesn't have a 'home' so it just sits around somewhere

2. Stuffed animals, even though I'm 25 years old

3. Almost always or pile or basket of clean clothes I don't feel like dealing with

4. A bookshelf stuffed to the brim, and still piles of books on the floor...

5. Candles on just about every flat surface (bookshelf, vanity, dresser, night stand, knick-knack shelf...)

Five things I've always wanted to do...

1. Get a tattoo!

2. Go to Paris

3. Learn the guitar, although recently I've changed that to ukulele ;)

4. Get married

5. Meet and pet a penguin!!

Five random things I'm currently loving...

1. My beautiful engagement ring :) P.S. - Y'all getting tired of me mentioning that? Hope not, 'cause I prob won't stop...

2. My running playlist I made for myself

3. Veggie burgers - just sans bun for a little while since I'm trying to be super low-carb

4. Blogging. But duh, I always love that. It's just been sooo much fun lately! Thanks to you wonderful peeps :)

5. A lot more pink than usual...Turquoise is supposed to be my favorite, but I've been rockin' a lot of pink lately

Five weird quirks I have...

1. I always have multiple water glasses in my room, because I can't drink it again once it gets dusty overnight

2. I'm OCD about really random things (bed sheets, labels, my planner, placement of things)

3. I get creeped out easily and get the heebie-jeebies from the most random stuff. Like, a LOT.

4. I can kind of imitate Mickey Mouse, especially when I say, "Oh boy!" and sometimes when I laugh

5. My toenails must always, always be painted. Otherwise, ew.... I hate it.

Five random songs from my running playlist...

1. 22 by Taylor Swift

2. What Goes Around Comes Around by Justin Timberlake

3. Thrift Shop by Macklemore

4. Keep Holding On by the Glee cast

5. Babel by Mumford & Sons

That was fun, and easy! Just my favorite kind of blog post :) You guys should play along too if you want, because I always like learning more about my blog friends! So what are some random things about you??

Promises - My 30 Before 30 List!!

As of yesterday, I'm officially a quarter-of-a-century old. That's a big deal, right? Maybe, but also maybe not ;) Either way, I'm excited about it! Most of you should know, that for the past six months, I've been working on my list of goals for 25 Before 25, and I've had so much fun! Some were easy, some were hard, some were quick, some took longer, but all were enjoyed. (You can read my final recap in case you want to see how I did on those goals.) One of the things on my previous 25 Before 25 list, was to create a brand new list of 30 Before 30!!

Sent this to a few family members yesterday, just for some fun :)

And of course I've done just that. I haven't written it down and made it look pretty yet like I did with the last one, but I will definitely be doing that soon, so that I can display it as a constant reminder! So without further ado, here's my list of goals for the next five years!

  1. Buy a DSLR for myself, and really learn how to use it
  2. Bake homemade bread, all from scratch
  3. Visit Bridget, wherever she happens to be living at the time!
  4. Read and watch "Gone with the Wind"
  5. Take a cooking class or a painting class - or maybe both!
  6. Get married! (October 5, 2013!!!)
  7. See another Broadway play, or go to any Cirque du Soleil performance
  8. Meet a blog friend IRL (in real life) DONE 5.9.13 with Angie
  9. Complete a 5K (Did The Color Run on 9/7/13)
10. Be healthy! (Hesitant to set specifics, but I'm thinking I want to weigh 150...)
11. Host a dinner party at my own house, cooked all by myself
12. Watch at least 50 of AFI's top 100 films, from 2007 list. (At time of posting, I've already seen 21)
13. Fly on a plane again! (October 6, 2013 - to Cancun on the honeymoon!)
14. Read at least 50 books
15. Visit a state I've never been to before
16. Be in a job or career that I love
17. Eat something I've never had before - maybe something a little bit weird and different?!
18. Travel outside of the country (October 6, 2013 - to Cancun on the honeymoon!)
19. Triple my blog followers, blog posts & number of page views (Today: 298 followers, 262 posts & 19740 views)
20. Completely pay off my student loans
21. Be a part of a flash mob
22. Learn how to drive a stick shift, flawlessly and without stalling
23. Live in my own place (with my husband maybe?!) and decorate it just the way I want it
24. Attend a renaissance fair
25. Go back to New York City again
26. Go to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival to taste all the yummy foreign foods!
27. Have a pet of my own (adopted Primrose 11/9/13)
28. Figure out how to start putting away money for retirement, and do it
29. Go on a spontaneous weekend trip/vacation, without pre-planning anything!
30. Celebrate my 30th birthday in style!!

So, a few of these things are very similar or exact repeats of my 25 Before 25 list, and that's because I didn't do them before, but I would still really like to accomplish, i.e. complete a 5K. But for the most part, I tried to dream bigger and broader than I did with my first list, because now I have five full years to complete these, instead of only six short months.

I really believe that these are things that I will enjoy doing, as well as actually be able to accomplish. However, I will say this: I have no idea where in my life I'll be in two or three or four and half years - so if some of these need to be tweaked or re-worked or deleted with new add-ins, then I'm giving myself permission up front to do that. I mean hello? Five years is kind of a long way off to plan for. So I'm just going to be flexible on these if need be. Because honestly, I'm the only one truly worrying if these are all accomplished anyways!

And besides, the main purpose of this kind of list for me is simply to experience more, travel more, expose myself to more, love more, learn more, treat myself more... LIVE more. And that's exactly what I plan on doing. I plan on living a great life, and enjoying every day that God blesses me with! And while doing that, I plan on doing some awesome things over the next five years :)

Have y'all made any lists like this before? What kinds goals and dreams are on your lists? I'd love to hear more ideas!

Oh, and P.S. - Here's my super short Weigh In Wednesday -- I only lost a pound this last week, putting me at 204 today. I'm blaming that on the very untimely woman issues and some extra bloating because of that... ugh.

Popcorn Must be Eaten at the Theater

Today is my 25th birthday!!! Hooray! For some reason, I've always really loved my own birthday. I know some people tend to shy away to avoid the spotlight or extra attention, but I tend to bask in it. I don't know if that's "selfish" or not, but honestly, I don't really care - because celebrating my birthday is just always so much fun! And I mean, come on, it IS your special day after all! So why not take joy in it?! I know I always do! :)

Tonight my dear boyfriend will be taking me to try a semi-fancy, new restaurant here in town, The Front Porch, and I'm so dang excited! Chef Rego is apparently really famous for his multitude of restaurants in Atlanta and in the Northeast. But probably more notably, he has won two different episodes of "Chopped" on the Food Network! How awesome is that?! So yeah, I'm pumped :)

And so for today, in honor of my 25th birthday, I'm sharing 25 random facts that I'm guessing most of you don't know about me. Unless you're one of my real life besties, my boyfriend, my sister or my Mama, because they probably do know most of these things. I tried to keep it interesting and only add the "good ones" that probably wouldn't ever come up on my blog naturally. Hope you enjoy!

25 Random Facts about me!

  1. I can't be in the car and NOT sing along with whatever's playing
  2. Popcorn must be eaten when at the movie theater
  3. My bedroom is bright teal. I chose the color when I was 19, and I actually still love it!
  4. I was 18 years old before I ever rode on an airplane
  5. When I drive in the summer, I strategically position my armpits in front of my car vents
  6. I own tons of books that I haven't read yet, but still continue to buy more all the time
  7. I will cry at the drop of a hat, and I am not one of those girls who is a "cute crier." It's downright ugly folks
  8. I'm pretty obsessed with musicals and Broadways and movies about them
  9. Suspensful and scary movies are some of my favorites. Just not the gruesome, nasty ones...
10. When I was little, I wanted to be "a ballerina and a band." Apparently I wanted to be both, at the same time
11. I had 11 different roommates throughout my four years of college
12. I don't wear makeup everyday, and I'm OK without it. However, I don't like pictures of me without makeup
13. I own every season of "Friends" and "Gilmore Girls"
14. When my sheets and comforter and clean, freshly made and pulled tight, that makes me super happy
15. In my house/bedroom, I much prefer lamps or candles instead of overhead lighting
16. I have never lived outside of Florida - and only in two cities: Tallahassee and St. Augustine
17. I am a serial list-maker. I mean, for everything. I've even been known to make lists of lists
18. There are white twinkle lights up in my my room year-round
19. Yummy smelling candles are one of my favorite things
20. I like my own handwriting, a lot
21. I hate repeating myself, so listen up, because I'll usually be annoyed if I have to say it again...
22. I actually really like driving. And on long road trips and stuff, I'll always volunteer to take the wheel for a bit!
23. I tend to be pretty adventurous with food, and love trying new and different things!
24. I used to steal collect menus in high school. I've slowed down on that, but still grab one occasionally.
25. Watermelon is my favorite fruit. I could probably eat a whole one by myself out by the pool in July.

My "little" sister and I at lunch this past Sunday.

Yay for random facts, and yay for birthdays!! I'm lucky again this year, because I get to celebrate my birthday multiple times. Tonight is just Jeff and I; Thursday is my immediate family; Friday is my whole family at my Grandparent's house; and Saturday will be with a few friends! I am indeed a lucky girl :)

For those of you who are older than 25, what did you do to celebrate? For those of you who are younger than 25, do you have an plans or ideas already? Cheers to 25!

Oh, and tomorrow I will be sharing my 30 Before 30 list! And I'm so psyched about it!!

Plunge into 2013

It's a new year my friends! January first, twenty-thirteen. Can you guys smell the the new calendars and planners and the change in the air? I think I can. (I think I can...) So without further ado, let's just go ahead and Plunge into 2013. Let's dive right in and see all that this glorious New Year has to offer us! Here's my Goodbye. Hello list for a brand new 2013... (borrowing the idea from a lovely lady I follow, at The Little Lovebirds.)

Source

Goodbye old. Hello new.

Goodbye being a staff member at BFBC. Hello to new opportunities and other open windows.

Goodbye Megan Trammell. Hello Megan Walker.
Goodbye to bitter. Hello to forgiveness.

Goodbye weight-loss laziness. Hello work out motivation.

Goodbye constants. Hello change.

Goodbye to an hourly, OPS State job. Hello (hopefully) to salary and benefits and something new.
Goodbye junk food, sweets & carbs. Hello fruits, veggies and healthier options.
Goodbye to 24. Hello to a quarter-of-a-century old.
Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013!!

And as far as New Year's Resolutions... I don't usually make them, and I'm going to try to stay away from that again this year. "Resolutions" are usually ambiguous like "be healthy" or "be happy," and how in the world do you determine if you've accomplished those things or not?! Instead, I've set 13 specific goals, that are easily quantifiable (big word there, right?!) that I want to accomplish this year. Some are similar to my 25 Before 25 goals, but set a little higher. Or some have been re-set if it wasn't accomplished. And now, here's my 13 goals for the year of 2013!

1. Visit a new state
2. Go to a new town somewhere in Florida (Visited Appalachicola on 3.3.13)
3. Fit into my bridesmaid dress for Meg's wedding (a few alterations, but it still fit! 5.18.13))
4. Weigh 180 pounds, or less if I'm ambitious/motivated enough
5. Throw Megan a beautiful wedding shower & a fun bachelorette party
6. Reach 300 blog followers, with 25,000 page views (now: 170 followers & 15,125 page views) 2.25.13
7. Ride 500 total miles this year on my bike
8. Go to zumba AND go for a run once every. single. week. (So far I'm doing great! as of 6.6.13)
9. Spend more time in The Word
10. Read 24 books (6 of 24 in May)
11. Visit a new restaurant/food truck in town at least once a month (3 of 12 in May)
12. Plan one real date night every month with Jeff (5 of 12 in May)
13.  Do more Pinterest crafts (I was real good at the recipes for my Pledge, but not many crafts...)

I have one month left on my Pledge of 25 Before 25, and I'm doing pretty well with those. And then after my birthday at the end of the month, I can focus more on these things and my new goals for the entire year!

So my friends, Cheers to a new year, and all the lovely things that come with it! If you've made goals and resolutions yourself, I wish you good luck with those, and hope you are successful! If you didn't, I still hope you have a marvelous new year as well.

For the life of us, we couldn't take a good, non-blurry picture last night... 

Happy 2013 y'all!!

Proper Place

Here is my next set of 25 random lists I'm writing before my 25th birthday. These two are my Favorite Albums & CD's and 5 Reasons to Stop NOT Cleaning My Room... And back HERE is the first two lists from a few weeks ago. I've had fun with this so far, and I'm looking forward to writing more of these lists in the next couple of months! Tomorrow marks exactly two months until my 25th birthday, by the way :)

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Good morning my bloggy friends! (Or afternoon/evening depending on when you actually read this...) Today I'd like to focus a little bit on Thanksgiving, since it is this very week after all! I just wanted to share a few things I am thankful for in my life, and then share a challenge at the end as well...

Photo found via Google images

The Bible tells us that we should give thanks in all things! (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  Sounds like a tricky thing to do, but it's something we really should work on each and every day, not just once a year for a special holiday. 1 Chronicles 16:34 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever." Isn't that great? That God's love endures, forever?! That alone is enough want to make you thank God all day long, right...?!

And then there are also some great Psalms about thankfulness as well:
Psalm 69:30 -- I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 95:2 -- Let us come before him with Thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
Psalm 100:4 -- Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, gives thanks to him and praise his name.

Photo found via Google images

I am thankful for:

A wonderful, loving family

My super sweet boyfriend

An amazing Savior who died for me and forgave my sins

Living in the Sunshine state

A church family to call "home"

Being called to youth ministry, and getting to work with the youth in my church

My education

Being healthy enough to ride bikes!
Being surrounded by a great group of friends
This amazing life God has granted me with

These are only ten things that I am thankful for. But let's be honest here people, because there about a million more that we can each name in our own lives. My challenge to you however, is to recognize these things every day, not just on one day each year! So, write down at least ten things you're thankful for, make it pretty, and hang it somewhere you'll see it every day.{ I'm going to put mine on my bathroom mirror.} And then make sure you actually read over it every day, and thank God that he has provided a multitude of blessings in each of our lives!

And finally, I just want to share the doxology with you today, because even though it's not specifically a "Thanksgiving hymn," it's still very fitting when talking about gratitude and thankfulness...

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise him all creatures here below,

Praise him above ye heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."

And Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!

Post 200 = Award for ME!

Oh hey there friends! Want to know what I'm doing for my 200th blog post?! I'm just chillin' over here, accepting my first blog award!! Hooray for accomplishing one of my goals for 25 Before 25 (200 posts & 10,000 views), because this post allows me to cross that off my list! And hooray for the award too, obviously :)

Sooo, actually the first time I was nominated was a few weeks ago by Megan at Just a Small Town Girl, but I didn't technically accept it then, because I didn't do this whole rules-of-the-Liebster-award post deal. But then just a few days ago, Kim from A Latte & A Prayer nominated me again, so I figured it was finally time to get movin' on this bad boy. Buckle up kids, 'cuz this is a majorly long post...so, here we go!

As some of you may already know, The Liebster Award is a way to give a friendly little shout-out to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It's a way to tell others that you really dig their blog, and to meet a few new people. The rules of the award are as follows:

+ List 11 random facts about yourself

+ Answer 11 questions from your nominator

+ Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer

+ Nominate up to 11 bloggers for the award with less than 200 followers

+ Go to each nominee's page and tell them you've nominated them for the award

+ Link back to the blogger who nominated you as a "thank you"

So, this should be pretty fun! I'll start first with 11 random things about myself. I tried to make it stuff you don't already know or I haven't shared on here yet...And hopefully I don't bore you all into a snooze-fest....!

1. I have never lived outside of Florida (only in Tallahassee and St. Augustine)
2. I have never ever broken a bone
3. The first time I saw snow or flew in a plane I was 17 years old, on my senior trip to Colorado
4. I never had to wear braces
5. I used to blow-dry and straighten my hair every day for like 8 years, and now I haven't done it since May 5. Instead I wear it my natural curly way, and I like it so much better!
6. Also, I used to have super bright blonde hair, but I stopped highlighting it June 2011, and  I love it so much more now. I now have a natural ombre thing happening, even before that became popular :)
7. My desire to lose weight and my love for yummy foods are constantly battling each other in my life
8. I can kinda-sorta play the piano. The one song I remember every note to is "Fur Elise"
9. I absolutely love singing, and if we're being honest here tooting my own horn, I'm pretty good at it too
10. I honestly can't pick just one single movie to be my "favorite ever." There's just too many good ones
11. One of my goals in life is to have a personal library room in my own grown-up house, complete with a fireplace and super cozy chairs and blankets

June 2011, approx. one week after the last time I did my hair. This is also the brightest it's ever been.

July 4, 2012. Darker and curlier, and healthier... And I'm actually wearing the same shirt as above! Haha :)

Ok, well that wasn't too bad...and if you'd like to stick around for more randomness, I will now answer the 11 questions that my nominator, Kim, posted on her blog!

1. Do you have any pets? Why yes! We have 2 dogs -- Mollie is the sweetest little Peekapoo, and I love her little old self so much. And then my sister's dog is a beagle named Squirt. He's pretty loud all the time, but he has his sweet moments too.
2. What's your favorite holiday and why? Um, I'm gonna go with Christmas on this one. And here's quick synopsis of why: Jesus' birthday, family, presents, yummy foods, decorations, Christmas trees, sparkly lights, cookies, presents...
3. If you could meet one famous person, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you ask them?  I honestly have no idea... I'm not super into famous people or have much of a desire to meet them. I mean, sure it would be cool to sit and have dinner with someone like Carrie Underwood or something, but ya know...it's whatev's...
4. Is there one food you refuse to eat or absolutely hate? I tried raw oysters once and was not fond of them. I have no desire to try those guys out again, ever.
5. Mac or PC? Currently I have a Dell, but if a Mac magically appeared in my lap, I certainly wouldn't be upset about it. Or even if the money to buy one appeared in my lap, that'd be fine too. *wink, wink*
6. Favorite guilty pleasure song? I'm a sucker for all sorts of teen pop actually. Things like: Call Me Maybe, Boyfriend, and We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together can frequently be heard blaring from my car
7. What accomplishments/achievements are you most proud of? The first would definitely be my college degree. I worked hard for that sucker - if only I can find a good way to put it to use these days... And second would be my blog! I am actually very proud of what I've done with it, and the amount of work I've put into it.
8. Do you read your horoscope? Do you think the description of your sign fits you? I don't read it at all. I know I'm an Aquarius, and that's where my knowledge of that stops...
9. Have you ever gotten in trouble (little or big) with the law? Well, I've had my fair share of traffic issues and oopsies, but it's nothing a little S.P.E.E.D. class/court couldn't take care of back in the day...
10. What is the one book you would recommend everyone read? The Bible, duh. (But seriously, yes...) And I also really, really like "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein
11. What's your favorite quote? "Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air." by  Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Whew! We finally made it through the all-about-me portion of this post! And now for my 11 questions for the blogs I will nominate...

1. What is one of your favorite memories from college or high school?
2. Do you (or did you) play any organized sports?
3. What is the one food you can eat over and over again without getting sick of it?
4. What is one big goal you wish to accomplish in your life?
5. Do you like roller coasters and amusement parks?
6. What's your all-time favorite album or record or CD?
7. Mexican food or Italian food?
8. Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?
9. What are your top 5 favorite books?
10. What are three things you can't get through the day without?
11. Do you prefer a vacation in the mountains or at the beach?

And now may I have the envelope for the nominees, please?

Ricci at A Beautiful Mess

Katie at Take Two!

Lauren at The Crazy Life of LT

Angie at The Happy Bean
Laura at Calm Delight
Anna Lizbeth at Anna Lizbeth: My Life and Other Lovely Things

And here are some awesome bloggers who I'm actually friends with IRL that I also want to nominate ;)

Kaley at Cozy With Toast

Nicole at Hands Up

Maggie at Hook & Stylit

Now go visit some of these lovely ladies, and tell them I sent ya :) And share the bloggy love! And now that I've shared way too much and written such long post, I hope I haven't scared any of you away from my blog  :)

Oh and also, I voted today!!

Progress Report

Yesterday marked three months left until my 25th birthday in January, so I just wanted to write a quick update post about my Pledge of 25 Before 25... So here's a quick Progress Report on where I stand with some of the goals in my list of things to accomplish before I turn a quarter of a century old...

Here's some of my biggest news so far, last night while I was sleeping, my little bloggy-blog reached 10,000 views!!! When I decided on a goal of 10,000, I was then at 5,728. Guys -- that means I've gotten a little over 4,000 views in just three months! That is crazy and amazing and exciting and also humbling. It's so great to know that what I write, and do, and photograph is actually being read and looked at by my lovely friends, family, followers and everyone else in between. And to know that the amount of time and work I put into this, is actually worth it!  It's just so exciting! So thank you :)

I can almost completely cross that goal off now (10,000 views and 200 posts), but just not quite yet. I have 206 posts total, but some of them are still in draft form, and so it doesn't count until I have 200 published posts. This one is #195, so it will happen very soon!

Other things...
-- 10 state parks -- I have visited three, so I better get a move on!
-- 3 towns nearby -- we explored Thomasville a little bit, so that's only one new city so far
-- 6 new restaurants/food trucks -- I have tried 3 new ones, so I'm doing good with that goal
-- 6 books -- I have read two so far, and am currently reading a third. Decent progress :)
-- 10 nail art designs -- I have done 7 different ones, so I'm on a roll with this goal!
-- 200 miles on my bike -- at this point, I've only ridden about 54, so I've definitely got a lot more miles to go
-- Date night each month -- we're 3 for 3 at this point, so we're good!
-- I kind of started learning guitar, but decided my hand is too small so I'd try the ukulele instead :)
-- We just finished up the first session of Bible study with the youth last Sunday night, so that one's crossed off!
-- I've memorized three new scriptures, so that's going pretty well too so far.
-- I've made at least six or seven recipes from Pinterest, and I'll be making another one tonight

All-in-all, I think I'm doing a pretty decent job at accomplishing these 25 goals! Obviously I still have quite a bit to do, but I've still got three months, and I'm a pretty determined girl, so I'm not too worried about it :) I'm so glad I decided to create this list of goals, and I'm even more excited I've been really working towards it for the last three months. I look forward to being able to do another Progress Report once I accomplish a few more things as well! (For example: upcoming camping trip and planning the16-mile bike ride...) Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Pinstagram Lately

Made cupcakes & toppers for family dinner night,
in honor of Sister's senior year of college!

Loving the Salon Professional nail polish brand. I got 3 new ones :)

Grandmother made 4 pies for our big, birthday family dinner night

Trying to get the hang of the "arm party" trend...

Publix Deli makes some amazing Boar's Head subs for lunch.

Some editing in Camera + and a cute filter makes me look better ;)

Signed up, added promo code, and got all three shipped for $0.01!!

I was in need of a coffee one afternoon...

#2 of the Salon Professional brand I got from Walmart.

Love washing all my dresses. So many options the next day!

This cute pup was distracting me while reading Harry Potter.

Fancy date night for our 1 year anniversary!

(You can follow/find me on Instagram HERE if you like, or my username is HalieRenee88)

It's almost the weekend! And even though this week has been pretty slow and relatively easy, I'm still patiently awaiting 5 o'clock to roll around and for the weekend to begin. Here's some highlights of the upcoming few days...

• Dinner and game night tonight with friends and boyfriend
• Youth fundraiser car wash at the church in the morning
• Bike ride after the car wash with my sweet boy
• Dinner and a movie night with our little "college & career" group from church tomorrow night
• I'm singing in church on Sunday morning, so that means the boyfriend comes with me instead of his own church :)
• Down time and relaxing (hopefully) on Sunday afternoon!

I hope you all have made it through your week, and I'm sure most of you are all anxious and ready for the weekend as well! Love to all ♥