Honey, it's Bloggable!

Hi Blogging Lovies! Happy Tuesday! How was your weekend? We had a fabulous time! Friday night my hubby and I went to Philly for a romantic get-away. We went to a cancer charity benefit/auction last year and bid on a weekend package in Philly. We won and haven't been able to use it until this past weekend. It was a blast! We went wine tasting and cheese sampling, out to a fabulous Cuban rest, spent time walking around downtown and grabbing drinks at random, hip places, and then we finished the night at a wonderful hotel. Truly a memorable time! But, I have to admit, I was a little on the "silly" side by the end of the night. I think the flights of wine at the beginning of the night and the mojitos at dinner really did me in. When we got back to our hotel room, we weren't ready for the night to be over! I offered to run downstairs to the wine bar and pick up a bottle of wine to bring back to the room. I think I was gone for almost 45 minutes; my hubsy was just about to come down stairs and find me when I finally walked in the hotel room door. I had a nervous smile plastered on my face and was giggling. He said, "What happened?!" While I was down there, I made friends with the bartender and a fun couple that was sitting in the restaurant sampling wine. I ended up trying all sorts of different wines from various vineyards around the world; it was quite educational and oh-so-fun. I ended up buying not one bottle of wine, but two. And these were not exactly the cheapest bottles. AND, the bartender was so nice and helpful, so I left quite a hefty, generous tip. I realized as I was walking back to the hotel room, with my two bottles of wine, two wine glasses and a bottle opener, that perhaps I spent a little more than my hubsy had intended on me spending. I was truly wrapped up in the experience and didn't quite think everything through. As soon as he responded with "What happened?" I went into my story of how I made some wonderful friends and had the opportunity to enjoy a cultural tasting experience. I also mentioned how I couldn't buy just ONE bottle, every one was saying it's so silly to buy only ONE. I then proceeded to tell him how much I spent, tip and all. He almost hit the floor! I batted my eyelashes, apologized, and gave him my attempt of a cute and innocent smile and simply said, "Look on the bright side! At least it's Bloggable! My blogging buddies will get a kick out of it." I truly did feel bad and was very apologetic. Luckily, he laughed and hugged me and forgave me for being not quite so frugal. It's come up a few times since Friday night; I have been teased quite a bit. Oh, and we definitely didn't even drink a whole bottle, let alone two. Le sigh. Lesson learned. Don't buy more than one bottle of wine when you have already had quite a few glasses and are not in the best state of mind to use the best judgement. But hey, a bloggable memory! I keep reminding him that. :o)

Good gracious, he's so hot. And quite forgiving, praise the Lord.

Scrumptious cheese platter.

It looks like I'm chugging, but I promise I wasn't. I was really into the swirling and sniffing, etc. That's better. So much fun!

Walking back into the hotel room, late night...bottles in tow.

So there's a mini weekend recap! How was yours? I am SO so so SO excited for the 4th this weekend! Do you have any fun plans?? Hope you're day is going fabulously well!

Blessings!/XOXO

Good Stuff

1. Ah, ya'll are AWESOME! Your comments were SO helpful and made it so much easier for me to make a decision on the Pottery Barn rug. As of now, I'm keeping it. My mom is coming up on Friday so she and I will go out shopping and play around with the room a bit more. I will take a picture after we accessorize. Unless she convinces me other wise (I take to heart what my mama says), then I'm keeping it! My husband is also thankful for your helpful comments; I think he is a bit tired of hearing me stress about it. But it's a big decision! Haha, men just don't understand. Every time I walk in the door and see those big yellow dots staring at me, I just have to smile. And I think I will eventually put it in a kitchen or playroom or home office. THANK YOU times a billion for taking the time and telling me what you think! I'm going to have to ask for your advice more often!

2. Thank you SO much for stopping by my sister's blog. I know how encouraged she felt from your sweet comments and I am so thankful for you taking the time to say hello. It's so fun having a sibling in the blogging world! Today she wrote about her trusty cooler. She cracks me up! Ahhh, love her...sigh.

3. GUESS WHAT. Do you remember this post when I mentioned that I wanted to take up running again? I have successfully gone running EVERY SINGLE DAY since then! Well, at first it was a lot of walking mixed with jogging, BUT, I am so excited to report that today before work I ran 3 miles, nonstop. I am so excited! It just proves that if we set our minds and hearts to something, we can do it. Trust me ladies, I am by no means an exercise guru. This is BIG STUFF happening here. I think I may put up a running tracker on my sidebar to keep track of how much I am running, solely to keep me in check. If I feel like I have to record it, it will motivate me. But I am warning you, it will probably stay around the 1-3 mile mark for now, haha.

4. Dinner last night was yum-o! I have to share. OH, and check out this little menu planner I downloaded and have started using from Project Girl. I think I am going to come up with my own menu planner (at some point...down the line...when I have time...no idea when this will be) and will definitely share it with everyone. I love tools of organization that are done creatively and with a touch of style. So, on the menu for last night was: Honey/Lime Shrimp over Rice and a Tomato and Avocado Salad with a homemade dressing. Pics below were taken quickly after preparation, I didn't take the time to make it extremely presentable. If you wanted to serve it for company I think you could really make it look nice. Add some parsley or lemon wedges in the middle of the salad, etc. Here are the recipes! Enjoy!

Tomato and Avocado Salad

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 pinch ground pepper

1 avocado - peeled, pitted and sliced into wedges

2 small tomatoes, each cut into about 8 wedges

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Arrange the slices of avocado and tomato alternately like the spokes of a wheel on one big serving plate, or individual plates. Drizzle lightly with the dressing, and serve immediately.

Honey & Lime Shrimp

(taken from this recipe, altered)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons dry white wine

2 tablespoons italian-style salad dressing

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and devained

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

cooked rice

1 lime

1. In a large bowl, mix together garlic powder, black pepper, 1/3 cup worcestershire sauce, wine, and salad dressing; add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover, marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.

2. Throw shrimp and marinade in a pan over the stove and cook until slightly pink. Add the honey, melted butter and remaining worcestershire sauce, cook shrimp until done.

3. Place rice in serving bowl, squeeze fresh lime juice on top. Place shrimp and sauce over the rice and squeeze the remainder of the lime juice. Voila! Enjoy!

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO,

ynkrxte2d8

The Single Mommy Diaries!! & a decorating question

Ah, I am SO SO SOOOO excited about this! As I know you already know, my family means everything to me and is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I have two beautiful sisters who are my best friends and biggest supporters. I don't know what I do without them! I'm the youngest, and have definitely relied on their helpful advice and awesome tips since day one. My sister, J, on the right, is a single mommy. She should be wearing a cape in this picture because she is a SUPERHERO when it comes to mommy-hood. I am SO please and excited to share with you that she just started her own blog! I have been on her back for a little while now trying to steer her into blogging. She is one of the funniest people I know and is an excellent writer (quite unlike me, seriously, she is GOOD). Not to mention, full of love and creativity and is just ridiculously, flat-out, AMAZING. I don't think it's possible to talk about anyone in my family without gushing. I'll have to do a post on D, our phenomenal oldest sister. BUT for now, back to the point. When I first started blogging, it was your comments that really encouraged me and got me hooked to keep writing. Your comments always make my day! If you get a chance, will you please stop over and say hello to her? Better yet, follow her! I know you won't be disappointed. I am so proud of her (can a younger sister say that?) and love her so much and am so excited that you now have an opportunity to get to know her. SO, without further ado, I would like to introduce to you: The Single Mommy Diaries!

After you pop on over and say hello, please come back for my decorating question below!

So, here's the deal. Since the first day I spotted this rug in Pottery Barn, I have been absolutely in love. I love how crisp and fresh it makes the room look in this picture! It is so fun, unique and vibrant. We moved into our first home not too long ago and have been slowly trying to fill all of the rooms - it can take a while! We only recently purchased furniture for our living room and are waiting to paint, etc. after I make some color decisions. I will need to post more pictures of the inside of the house some day, but for now I'll describe the feeling when you walk in the door. It is VERY open, which is what I loved about our house since the first time I walked in it. When you first walk in the door you are standing in an open area that has the living room on the left. The stairway is in front of you and next to that, on your right, is a little area with a table and lamp, and an area leading you to the family room, laundry room, etc. The dining room is behind the living room and so far only has our table and a picture I've hung on the wall - this room will be decorated next. EVERYTHING on this side of the house is waiting to be filled and decorated. Here is my dilemma: I love, love, love this rug from Pottery Barn. After we bought our living room furniture (two couches, coffee table and side tables), I couldn't stop thinking about the rug. I thought I should see if it would look okay in a living room setting. I went everywhere trying to find it and found out it was SOLD OUT, even online. Yesterday I made a quick stop at PB and found out they had ONE left, ON SALE. It actually didn't look quite the same in person as I thought it would - the yellow was a little more muted. I decided I should still buy it and bring home; try it out. Like I said, we don't have ANY decorations in this room yet, so it's really hard for me to tell if with a little help, paint and the right accent pieces, this could all work together. My husband I both thought it looked almost 70's-ish/retro! That is SO not the look I'm going for! And I know it would look better with a white coffee table on it, and some day we may do that, but for now, this is what we have. Please help me! Keep it or ditch it? It's also important to note we plan on moving again at some point in the semi-near future, so please picture it in the bigger scheme of things, ie. a living room in a future house too - is there potential for these pieces to work together, not necesssarily does it look perfect in this exact room. Here's a quick snapshot I took as I was running out the door. That little lamp sitting there is one I dragged in from the office to at least get a feel, definitely not staying. It's so hard to picture the room all finished, but I don't want to buy anything until I settle on a rug and decide on a theme! I wonder if a big lamp with a crisp, white shade and a lot more white and yellow accent pieces will soften the look up. I would also add a splash of another color, flowers in a vase, etc. AH, I would love your help! Is it drab? TOO funky? Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks in advance!

Blessings!/XOXO

Tuesday Tidbits

1. We put a down payment on a puppy!!! I really, really want to post a picture, but because we don't technically have "him" yet, I feel funny and want to respect the privacy of the breeders. But man, we are so excited! We went to see the new puppies on Sunday. They were only a week old! A beautiful litter of Golden Retrievers, and we were able to pick them up and hold them! Have you ever held a one week old puppy? It was magical. :o) We are able to pick him up on July 25th (when the puppies are 8 wks old) - which, is a whole other story. I'll be in Maine on July 25th! My mom, my girlfriends and I are taking a girls' trip together. I am so excited for the trip but am so bummed I will miss bringing home our little guy! I'm praying super hard that they move the "pick up time" to a week earlier, but I'm not holding my breath, especially considering I don't think they are even allowed to go home any earlier than 8 wks of age. We also don't know which male yet we'll be bringing home. We have to wait until they are a little older for us to go and pick which one we want. It's crazy to think that we are definitely getting one of them, and I may have even held him on Sunday, but for now we don't know which one will be ours! I can't wait to pick him out! Regardless, I'm so excited, and will be sure to post more about this later, including pictures!! And his name! Eeek! It's all so new, but I wanted to at least let you know that we made a decision and will definitely be bringing home our little guy at the end of next month. Hubsy looked at me the other night and said, "Our family is about to get bigger!" It was cute.

2. AWESOME weekend! I promised pictures, and guess what, I FORGOT TO CHARGE MY CAMERA! This is the only one I got before it died! I wanted to show how close we were to the field and got hubsy's head in it too. Trust me ladies, I was all set to snap away the whole weekend. I was so bummed! It's been so long since I've brought my camera that I completely forgot to see if I had any battery life left. We had seats in the FRONT row, behind center field. I think twice a baseball came directly towards my head. I squealed like a little girl A LOT during the games. Kind of scary, but a lot of fun. Braves won the first night and lost the second night. Pretty close seats, huh?

3. Let's hang out. I want to throw a summer party and invite all my blogging lovies. Wouldn't that be fun? Ohhhh, if only.

4. I loveee Bikram Yoga. In fact, I'm surprised I haven't posted about this before. We moved into our new house last August, about an hour away from where we used to live. There aren't ANY Bikram Yoga studios in our new area and it has been a really big struggle for me. It's like loving to play a sport and being told you're not allowed to play it anymore. I miss it! It really is the ONE workout that gets me motivated and going. A lot of bloggers have been talking about their journeys to becoming avid runners, or what they already do as avid runners. I have decided to stop sulking about not being able to do Bikram (ps. there are regular yoga studies everywhere here, but it really isn't the same as Hot Yoga, I don't feel like I get in as good of a stretch and workout) and have decided to start running, or at least attempt. I used to run all the time WAY back in the day when I was in track and field. I would love to enjoy running again. I'm a little nervous to start it back up, since it has been so long, but I am determined to find something else that I love just as much as I did Bikram Yoga. I am going to the gym today and am making myself RUN (or lightly jog, or walk, let's be honest) my heart out. I really hope to start enjoying running again. I'll let you know how it goes! I know to ease myself back in. I just want to skip ahead a few months and be done with the beginners stage!

5. Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are having a great start to your week.

Blessings!

XOXO,

Word Happy

Hellooooo, lovies!! How is your week going so far? This week kind of feels like it is going by soooo sloooowlyyyy. BUT, it is Wednesday! Hip hip hooray! This weekend hubsy and I are going to Baltimore for a weekend full of BASEBALL. Yep, TWO games, two nights in a row. I'm getting myself prepared, haha. I love baseball, but that is a lot for a weekend. My husband lived in GA for a while growing up and his whole family LOVES the Braves. A lof of our friends from school and one of my brother-in-laws now live in Baltimore, and the Braves are playing them this weekend. So, we're making a whole weekend out of it full of friends, family and baseball. Should be fun! This weekend, I am making it a point to take pictures. I know, I have been lacking in providing something fun to actually see while looking at my posts. I think since I returned from Italy I have been a little worn out of the whole picture taking process. But, it's time to get back in the grind!

This past weekend was FULL of hard work planting new flowers, bushes and mulching every thing in our sight. Luckily, my neck was healed and ready for all the work! Thank you for your sweet comments below. My neck ordeal was such a crazy experience, but luckily it is ALL better. Sunday evening when we were getting ready for bed, I couldn't stop thinking about what a perfect day we had. Granted, in the midst of being in a permanent state of bending over while mulching, I probably thought more negative thoughts about the moment than positive, but in the end, it was so perfect. Sunday morning we woke up and headed off to church. Our new church starts at 9:30am - EARLY for a non-morning person like me. It's always so hard to get up, but always such a joy when I'm out the door and on the way and feeling refreshed and ready to go. At church we sat next to a young couple who had a two week old baby girl! I couldn't help myself from constantly looking over and just watching her. She was SO tiny and BEAUTIFUL! We introduced ourselves and it turned out it was their first Sunday at our church and they had just moved into the area only a few weeks ago. She moved when she was 38 weeks pregnant, yikes. My hubsy asked them if they were free for lunch and I for sure thought they would be too exhausted (sidenote, they also have a two year old who was upstairs in sunday school). They said they would love to go to lunch! We spent a good two hours at a local restaurant sitting outside on the patio, eating good food and getting to know one another. It was awesome! It felt so good to be able to welcome a new family into our church, especially considering that WE have been the new family that people have been welcoming. We are so excited to hang out with them again and continue to get to know them. After lunch, hubsy and I headed to Home Depot (for I think the third time) and we picked up some more flowers to finish our weekend project. We went home, changed, and got to work. Probably about four or five hours into our hard work, we overheard a neighbor of ours talking to his kids. Our neighbors who are two houses down have a pool and a huge fence surrounding their house. We can never actually SEE them, but we can hear them. The dad goes, "Hey kids, does anyone want a milkshake?" Simultaneously, both my husband and I looked up at each other and smiled. That was it. We decided that sounded SO good that we had to jump in the car and go get a milkshake, or ice cream, or SOMETHING equally refreshing and yummy. We piled in the car with mud streaks and all. We realized on the way there that it was already dinner time, so we first stopped at a burrito place and grabbed some food and drove to a near by lot and ate in the car. We watched the birds and had a good time chowing down. After that, we were off to get a milkshake for myself and a chocolate and peanut butter sundae for my hubsy, his favorite. It was heavenly. We went home, finished our yard work, rinsed off, hopped into bed, and read for a good hour before we decided it was time to turn off the lights. I felt like such a little domestic wifey going to sleep that night. A full day of church, good company, hard work, and a full belly. I loved it! What an awesome Sunday. Whew, I just realizd how much I typed just to tell you about our day! I'm a tad word happy. Oh! What a perfect segway....

Heather at Small Town Girl tagged me! This rules of this tag are as follows:

Share six unimportant things that make you HAPPY ~ Mention who tagged you ~ Tag six fellow bloggy buddies. Too fun! Here we go.

1. The smell of Old Spice deodorant, mmmmm.
2. Sitting by a campfire with a glass of wine.
3. Lipgloss
4. Manicures and Pedicures
5. Getting wrapped up in a good book
6. Eating homemade gingerbread on a cool, crisp day. Growing up, my mom would make a pan of homemade gingerbread on the first, cool day of Fall, every year. Heavenly.

I tag, That's Sassy, Paper Girl, Mrs. Southern Bride, Ricardo and Lauren, Cristina and Emily - My six, newest followers! Thank you so much for deciding to stick around and follow my blog. It's such an encouragement!

Have an amazing rest of your week and weekend! (If I don't make it back before Friday). :o)

Blessings!

XOXO,

PAIN. IN. THE. NECK.

Soooo, Monday night I went for a jog around the neighborhood, and for the first time, I brought hand weights with me. I wanted to go for a run because it was so beautiful out, but I also wanted to get in a little arm workout. BIG MISTAKE! Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling fine. I was dressed and all ready for work, about to walk out the door, when all of the sudden, I got the most horrific pain on the left side of my neck. I stood there actually thinking I was having an aneurysm or something! I couldn't move my head! The pain kept getting worse and worse. As I was standing by the door trying to figure out what to do, my hubsy was getting out of his car, praise the Lord. It was a mess, I was in so much pain and couldn't move my head to do anything. To make a long story short, I completely pulled the muscles on the left side of my neck to the point where they were overlapping in a continuous spasm. I REALLY didn't want to go to the doctor, but when I realized I couldn't even lay down because it hurt so bad, I knew I had to suck it up and go see him. I went to the doctor that night and he gave me a muscle relaxer to try and break the spasm up along with a pain killer so that I woudn't be in pain while I was sleeping. The doctor also mentioned it would be a good idea for me to get a massage. Um, OKAY! You don't have to tell me twice! I informed my hubsy that this was, in fact, orders from the doctor. Last night I had the most amazing one hour massage! Afterwards, I went home and took my meds the doctor gave me and went right to sleep. Today, I feel like a new woman! But, I also feel like a very old woman. Who throws their neck out from running? Well, me, for starters. So ladies, I don't encourage you to run with weights. I should have known better, but I thought that if I wasn't going that fast then it would be alright. WRONG. I don't know, maybe my body is just that puny! This weekend we are doing a TON of yard work. I'm just praying my neck stays calm and collected, otherwise I may have to sit on the front porch in one of our rocking chairs and delegate to hubsy where I want our new flowers to go. I can't risk another neck injury! :o)

Thank you for your comments on the post below! It was great hearing your opinions on the whole dog front. I also loved hearing your own words of appreciation about your husbands. What a blessing! While I love talking about married life, and my studly man, I want to make sure that the women who read this that are single, know that they aren't alone! I was also in their shoes not too long ago. Kelly from Kelly's Korner did an amazing post this morning about singleness. She gave some awesome bible verses on patience and contentment. She is also hosting a give away for two books, one that is targeted towards single, Christian women. Check it out and leave her a comment so you can be entered to win! When I was struggling with contentment in my single stage, I loved the book What's a Girl To Do? While Waiting for Mr. Right, by: Jane Folger. It's a great book! I wanted to share this because one of the reasons I love talking about my husband and our life together, and why I praise God every day for the blessing I have in my him, is because I've been on the other side! The side where you yearn for God to bring you "the one". Each one of us has a different role in the bigger plan, and while we know God's plan is perfect, it doesn't mean it's easy. I thought Kelly's post was awesome, so I wanted to point it out to you. Blessings!

Happy Thursday!

Random Thoughts

What an amazing weekend! We woke up on Saturday and headed to Hershey, PA for a fun-filled day and night of roller coasters, cook-outs and an amazing hotel room at the Hershey Lodge, all given to us by my husband's company. We had such a great time! On Sunday, we woke up and then drove home to get ready for our Bible study cook-out we were hosting in the evening. We had a great turn out and a fabulous time entertaining and mingling with friends. Our Bible study is taking a break over the summer, and I honestly am a little bit relieved - we started missing so many studies because we have been gone! It will be nice to meet back up again in the Fall.

We have been looking at puppies! We visited a breeder last week and saw a litter of one week old Labrador Retrievers. They were the cutest little things! I have been hesitant about getting a puppy for a while now, since we travel so much, but my hubsy has been wanting one since the day we were married. We agreed that once we got back from Italy we would start looking. And we are! And honestly, now I want one so badly I'm becoming almost impatient! Haha. The weather has been so beautiful and I am so excited to go on long walks in the evening with our little guy (we want a male) and my hubsy. He has grown up with Golden Retrievers and LOVES them. Right now we are looking at Golden Retrievers and Yellow Labs. Any suggestions on which one you think we should get? I know all about the hair with the Goldens and the energy levels with the labs, so I'm really in the middle. We're visiting a few Golden Retriever litters this week. I will keep you posted! I really have never been one too obsessed with dogs, but I can SO see myself becoming one of those owners who refers to their puppy as another child. In fact, we have his name picked out and we aren't telling anyone what it is. How funny is that?!

I'm going to re-do my blog soon. I say soon, but honestly I have no idea when. It's funny, I don't own ANYTHING pink. I never wear pink, I don't decorate with pink...but I love the essence of pink. That's why I chose the theme for this blog to be about pink. But I am honestly getting a wee bit tired of the theme, and soooo much pink. Haha! I love change and I think it's about time to embrace a new one. I also feel that it is time to shift gears a little bit in my writing. I am sure you have noticed, but most of my entries are about what my hubsy and I have been up to and what is going on in our lives. I want to feel open and free to continue these writings, and still add my recipes here and there and other fun things. I'm definitely keeping the same URL, and will still be "Pocket full of pink", but I'm going to change the theme up a bit with the layout and use of colors. But don't worry, there will still be pink!

The other night I woke up around 4am and was FREEZING! It was so hot during the day but it cools down so much at night. We didn't have the windows open or the AC on, and I'm usually never cold at night, but for some reason I was absolutely freezing. I was only half awake too, and started earnestly looking for my comforter that I had kicked off earlier. My hubsy woke up and asked me what was wrong and I mentioned that I was so cold. He SHOT out of bed and ran and grabbed about four, huge pillows and started building a nest around me. He had the pillows so tight around me that I felt like I was in an oven. It was heavenly. He tucked me in, kissed me and went right back to sleep. An hour later, his alarm went off and he was up and off to work. I woke up later in the morning, still nice and toasty, and wiggled myself out of my "nest". I just sat there astonished at what an amazing man I have. He is always taking care of me. It didn't matter he only had one hour left to sleep, he got up and went about making sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable and warm. I praise God every day for giving me the man that I married. I love him so much and am caught up in disbelief every now and then at the fact that he is, in fact, MY husband. How cool is that?! It will be two years in September and I am just as giddy as day 1 at the fact that we're married. What a gift I have in him. I praise God so much for loving me enough to give me the blessing that is my husband. And I am praying extra hard this week that He will guide my actions and my words, and work with me to be a continuous gift in my husband's life: supportive and loving. I can do anything in Him!

Here's to a new week! Happy Monday!