perfect pool day?

we spent the day yesterday at my parent's pool. big suprise there, huh? we had fun. despite the frigid temperatures of the pool. so so cold. it didn't seem to bother elle though. not one bit. she loves the top step, so that's where we stay. she did venture into the fish floatie for a little bit and i even got waist deep to pull her around. the pool might not have been so bad if it would have been warmer outside. it was warm, don't get me wrong, but the wind was blowing something fierce and that made it just a teensy bit too cold for the perfect pool day!

sorry, if you follow me on instagram. these pictures are redundant for sure.


could she be any cuter? no!


loving the top step!


route 44 sonic drink on a pool day is a must.
don't worry amiee and jess...it's just tea!











i got a little bored chasing elle around the pool, so i started snapping pictures of all mom's plants. aren't they all so pretty? that woman is good at everything!


elle enjoying the beautiful day under the pergola. sweet sweet girl!

hope everyone had a fabulous extra day with your loved ones!

cheers to a short week!

happy memorial day

photo credit

happy memorial day.

praying for all the men and women that have sacrificed so much for the freedom of our country. thank you for your selflessness. forever grateful to you.

today we are relaxing. not doing much. aaron is getting ready to shave our goldendoodle, peaches. and elle is down for her morning nap. we are headed to my parents pool after elle's nap and we'll spend the majority of the day there.

we went to my parent's house yesterday afternoon. elle swam for a little bit. she only likes to get on the top step. she's not super adventurous. which i am very okay with.


sportin' her new 'kini.

on saturday, aaron and i went to joplin for the day. we did not take our good camera because we didn't know what we were going to experience, and we didn't want to seem insensitive snapping pics of people's great loss. now i wish we would have taken the camera. home owners were around but not like i thought they would be. maybe one homeowner to every 6-8 destroyed homes. if that makes sense. we could have snapped pictures. lots of them. and not offended anyone.

my iphone takes great pictures in natural lighting so i did get some pictures. these pictures do not do the city of joplin any justice. its completely devastating. it took my breath away. many times. standing in the midst of the destruction and i still could not wrap my mind around it. honestly, so many peoples lives completely turned upside down. in a matter of moments. its really sad.

i saw a lot of hope. where there really is none. thankful for jesus who loves and restores. joplin will rebound from this. lives will be rebuilt. it may take years, but with the help of volunteers, lots of donations, prayer, and love, joplin will be restored! i honestly believe this.

we worked in one old lady's home. she was 73 (i believe. 71 or 73.). her name was josephine. she was a preacher, man. she loves the lord and was so grateful that he spared her life and that he sent people to help her in her great time of loss. she was also a hoarder. for real. she had a mess. her house was built in the 1800's as a hospital so it was still standing. probably about 70% of it was still standing. so we could tell, even through all the destruction, that ms. josephine had a lot of crap. ha. not funny, ha. we moved all her antiques out of her house and a couple of men helped move her furniture to a house that she was leasing. she had a lot of stuff. but, i think we got out all the most important stuff to her. and her husband left her after the tornado it. up and left. seriously, dude, not cool. and ms. josephine was ticked. she had every right to be.

it was a very emotional day. speaking for aaron here, but i think we both have a new perspective on life. i pray that what we experienced on saturday never leaves our hearts.

here are some pictures from joplin. some edited in instagram. but, of course.




st. john hospital


destruction as far as the eye can see.

For the mountains may move and the hills disappear,

but even then my faithful love for you will remain.

My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”

says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Isaiah 54:10

continue to pray for joplin. every day. keep the lost and broken in your hearts. if you would even go as far as to pray for ms. josephine, ms. stella, and francisco by name. francisco is a saint. a good good man. doing god's good work. ms. stella is ms. josephine's friend (she is 60). she lived in the plaza apartments and now has no home. she doesn't know where she will sleep night to night. bless her soul. she is also a katrina survivor. and she loves the lord. and knows that with god's good grace and perfect timing she will prevail.

cross church is accepting donations every day at all 3 locations.
go {here} for more info on volunteering and donating.

follow @restorejoplin on twitter. go to their website www.restorejoplin.com for other ways to get involved.

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

1 Peter 5:10

a little randomosity for you

and a little instagram art for you.
sorry if you follow me on twitter. the pictures are redundant.

last night i made kale chips. yummy for thy tummy. i roasted a whole batch of them, but they were too cramped on the baking sheet, so only about half were roasted to chip consistency. i will for sure be making these lots. kale is cheap and what a healthy alternative to the greasy potato chip.



so easy to make...clean. cut of rib. tear into bite size pieces. toss with olive oil (i think recipe recommended 2 tbsp) and seasoned salt. lay in a single layer on a parchement paper-lined baking sheet. bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

one of my new dresses from forever 21...



bought it mainly because i thought it would be easy to wear and layer this summer but when i wore it on tuesday, i just became mesmerized by it. i love the colors and the pattern. its so pretty. all my favorite colors. and it cost 15 buckaroos. doesn't get much better than that? i'll forever be 21 with prices like that!



heaven in a stemless wine glass. that's all i gots to say 'bout that!

last night i decided to try tanning towelettes. i watched numerous you tube videos about these suckers. thought i had the towelette tanning technique down.



i was wrong. i'm a little streaky today. not so much orange. just streaky.
i may be orange tomorrow because tonight i've got to fix these streaks.



mixed florals and stripes today only because this stuff was clean and not wrinkled.
but, totally diggin' it.

p.s. i bought this striped maxi skirt at tj maxx for $10 and i have worn it so many times already. i absolutely love it. so comfy and easy to wear. and goes with so much.

i've been tuning in to a new local radio station while at work. cruise kruz 94.9. they have a great mxi of music. all pretty contemporary. no rap or hip hop. thank goodness. i don't know how many more times i could hear rihanna's s&m. ga-ross. they play corrine bailey ray's "put your records on" daily. a little over the song but i love the chorus.



these words would look so good painted on a canvas.

that's all i have for your today. sorry so random. sorry so boring.

hope you have a happy thursday.

tasty tuesday {spinach + fruit smoothie}

i created my very own recipe. my first time ever!

the week before last on the today show (i think. don't quote me.) they were making healthy alternatives for summer desserts. and one was a green smoothie. i was getting ready for work so i wasn't able to sit down and watch the segment but they were throwing a bunch of green stuff in a blender and supposedly it was supposed to be good. i know one ingredient was kale because i thought to myself...interesting.

one day i was hungry but nothing sounded particularly good. i wanted something light and cold, so decided on a smoothie. we had a couple very ripe bananas and lots of strawberries that, if not used that day, were going to go to waste. as i was gathering my ingredients for my smoothie i saw the spinach and grabbed it. what the heck?

i have had this smoothie, or a version of it, every day for the last 8 (or so) days. had it yesterday for lunch. will probably have it again today. i looked around online for its caloric content and i think it has somewhere around 150-200 calories per 8-ounce serving. i usually drink about 16-ounces.

elle louise loves this smoothie! loves. loves. loves it. 
it does not last long once poured into her sippy cup!

usually i just throw a bunch of stuff in the blender and turn it on but yesterday i measured out everything for the recipe! thought it would be easier to share it with you that way! gosh, i am so super excited about this. kinda stupid how excited i am.


what you are seeing:
ice. greek yogurt. spinach. banana. strawberries. 
what you are not seeing:
blueberries. apple juice. but they are there.



mmmmmmmmm......

spinach + fruit smoothie
derived from {my kitchen}
makes 4 8-ounce servings

ingredients:
5 medium strawberries
1/4 c blueberries
1 banana
2 c spinach, loosely packed
1 c apple juice (i used organic knudsen)
3/4 c greek yogurt (i used dannon greek with strawberries on the bottom)
ice (the amount depends on how thick you like your smoothie. i don't use a ton so elle can drink it with ease.)

directions:
throw it all in a blender. crush ice. liquefy. ta da!

so so yummy! you really can do whatever you want with this recipe. you can't mess it up. use whatever fruit, fruit juice and/or yogurt you like. we always have blueberries and strawberries on hand. elle loves both and eats them like they are goin' outta style. one consistent ingredient i have stuck with is spinach...good serving of vegetable. and you don't even taste it. so you could totally sneak this past your picky eater.

yesterday morning we had a tough time at work. elle louise would not take a nap and she was so so tired. every time i tried to pick her up she would say no. then hit me. but, that's neither here nor there. luckily, the shop accountant was there and babysat the store so that i could head home a little early. much to my suprise, elle did not fall asleep on the way home. so i fixed her up some veggie nuggets and annie's mac 'n cheese, sat her in front of dora and made my smoothie. measured out all the ingredients. took pictures. etc. i poured her a little sippy cup full of smoothie and took it to her, only to find her asleep in her high chair. mother of the year right here. i picked her up, snuggled her a bit, rocked her a bit, and put her in her crib. she slept for 3 hours. she was tuckered out from the night before. sheesh. its hard being a baby.



sweetest girl there ever were!

happy smoothie-making tuesday!

p.s. if you are in the northwest arkansas area and are wanting to help someway, somehow with tornado disaster relief in joplin and don't know where to begin. go {here}. you can donate your time and/or money. we are hoping to help some way this weekend. i can't get joplin off my mind. i don't want to. people are hurting there. they need our thoughts and our prayers. god's light will shine!

p.s.s. i'm linking up with 33 shades of green today! head on over to check out all the good recipes!

so close to home

joplin, i am heart broken for you.


photo credit {here}

80 miles away. pure devastation. in a city not much smaller than my own. i can not even begin to imagine.

the storms were back in our area last night. meteorologist drew michaels told springdale to "go to their safe space" and that's where we went.


horrible iphone/instagram picture.

elle was not at all thrilled about the closet arrangement. i must say that i was a little terrified. i'm not usually one to be creeped out by weather. but, last night was different. i was worried. especially when i heard about the tornado that took out joplin.

i'll be praying for joplin and hopefully doing more to help.
they are so close, there must be something we can do!

please pray with me.

almost to 200

sunday funday! my blog is almost to 200 followers.

i am so excited!



so is elle weezy!

seriously, are there 200 people out there that really care about what i have to say? i'm so glad that you do! i really am. hoping to start carrying sponsors and making a little moolah off this blog. that would be nice.

so...i'm going to have a little giveaway when i get to 200 followers. not sure what i'm going to give away yet...

a few weeks ago i made a hat for my friend that turned out cute. maybe i'll give away one of those. or that beaded chiffon necklace that i made a while back. or a toteable mug/cup with a drink gift card. hmmm. the possibilities are endless. itunes gift card. iphone case. nail polish. pioneer woman cookbook. not sure what it will be. but, it will be something (or somethings) that i love.

so spread the word. 
spread the love. 
help me to get to 200 followers.

something sweet saturday

came across this today on pinterest. just seconds ago.

it took my breath away.

Source: bobowoodlake.tumblr.com via the tiny twig on Pinterest

after elle louise was born, i received an email with a picture of hands. 4 generations of hands. baby. momma. grandma. great grandma. before my great grandma louise passed away there were 5 generations. elle louise. me. my mom. my mimi. my great grandma louise. i wanted to take that picture so bad. my photographer cousin, amanda, was even in town and we didn't get the picture. i am kicking my self now for not seizing the moment.

the picture above reminded me of that email and that lost opportunity. for one reason or another the picture didn't get taken. and that was god's plan. so i'm not questioning it. maybe it was a lesson to be learned of taking advantage of every single moment you have on this earth.

fashion friday {70's style}

polyester? no. platforms? no. but other than that i'm in love with the effortless style of the 70's.

Source: 100layercake.com via Jenessa on Pinterest

when i think 70's, i think
peaceful. laid back. creative. open-mined. loving.
if i could have lived in any decade it would have been the 70s. hands down.
or maybe the decade of the housewife. the 50s?
no definitely the 70s. i'm a free bird.

Source: eightyonedesign.co.uk via Hanneke on Pinterest

some modern day takes on 70's style...

Source: theglossy.com via kari on Pinterest

Source: beautylifestyle.blogg.se via kari on Pinterest

Source: bjonesstyle.com via kari on Pinterest

Source: jeanasohn.blogspot.com via kari on Pinterest

can you tell...i discovered pinterest? i am obsessed much!

last summer, while in the depths of my overweight despair, i garage-sold 2 pair of high waisted jeans. one pair thrifted the other pair from urban outfitters. kicking myself. i will never put another article of clothing in the garage sale. unless it is ripped or stained. i don't care if i have buckets and buckets of clothes in the attic (or storage. or wherever.). i'm done throwing stuff out. everything goes full circle. and maybe one day elle louise will want to wear my crap.

my mom grew up in the 70's. you know those frye boots i sold last fall? well my mom had an exact pair back in the day. she got rid of them. i have seen countless pictures of my mom from her school days and she rocked the high-waisted pants and other that's so 70's stuff. she's always saying i had something exactly like that growing up. i know she wishes she would have held on to stuff for me. i for sure do!

free people is a great place to find 70's inspired clothes. or just inspiration period. i can't afford anything there but i love perusing their site and their catalogue. and i love finding their stuff at tj maxx. usually can't afford it at tj either. oh well...



my dream 70's outfit...via polyvore.

that's so 70s by kbhigh2u featuring wedge shoes

what is your favorite style decade?!

we have got one busy weekend. lots and lots going on. barbeque tonight. dance recitals and bridal showers saturday and sunday. its just that jam-packed-weekend-every-weekend time of year!

happy friday!

that mom

never in a million years would i ever have thought i would give my child a sucker to shut her up.

but, i did. and i felt defeated.



we went to the grocery store as a family. after dinner on sunday night. usually when daddy is along for the trip we can team up, and between the two of us, keep elle louise in line. sunday night was a different story.

she was over tired. and mad to be confined to that shopping cart.
she screamed. she cried. she hit me. she hit her father.

i gave her the sucker. and ya know it...she was happy. sucked on that sucker for the rest of our trip. it was from jason's deli. hoping it was at least organic.



what do you do with your 15-month old when they are acting out? throwing fits? in public?

there was no other solution. i was unprepared and the sucker did the trick. i'm on the lookout for healthy suckers now. i'm going to stock my purse with them. or we are not going anywhere.

i am that mom. that mom who gives their child sugary goodness to keep them quiet. and ya know what? there's nothing wrong with it. one thing i'm learning about myself through this whole parenting process is that things never go as planned. never. ever. there have been so many times that i've watched a friend/family member/etc. "parent" and thought i will never do that. well i ate my words sunday. and i know it won't be the last time. and i'm okay with that. i'm going to quit judging. because that gets me nowhere. we must encourage one other. what works for one person doesn't always work for another.

another thing i've learned is that i have a very strong-willed child. most of the time she's compliant, but if its something she wants, really wants, watch out world.

my prayer...we (aaron and i) will parent with wisdom, patience and grace. i need all 3.

pray for me!

be forwarned...picture overload

yesterday afternoon at work was d-e-a-d. dead. i decided to clean out some of the folders on my computer and came across some old pictures. old as in before aaron and i got married old. its nuts.

before we got married, i didn't have a home computer (what in the world did i do? how boring? probably got stuff done and kept a clean house.). back then i uploaded all my pictures to my work computer so that i could then put them on facebook or get developed.

here are some oldies but, in my humble opinion, goodies...


spring 2007. memphis weekend with friends for tara's bachelorette party.


this just cracks me up.


loved this picture. still do.
i think because i am super vain and look stylish, cool and skinny.
stupid illusions.


may 2007. tara's wedding. gosh. we were young.


ak's first birthday. no way. no how. she starts kindergarten in the fall.


i'm not really sure when this was...sometime after my bff moved to little rock (2006-2007). but i do remember it was after i got my tattoo. and i told krystal to take my picture and i posed like this so you could see my tattoo. then i probably put it on facebook. i was cool like that. now i wouldn't be so subtle. ha! if i got a new tattoo, i would take a picture and show you.
hey, look, i got a new tattoo!


same night in the rock. i look 12. hideous shirt.
glad i have the blue tank top on. geez.


can't even tell you when this was. it was long ago. i just love this picture.


christmas 2006 maybe. regan and riley would have been 2 1/2.
they are now 6. going on 15.


december 17, 2006. the night we got engaged. hilarious. 
 i will never dye my hair blonde again. who told me it looked good?



my bachelorette party. oh lawd.


halloween 2006. loving my red hair. pin up girl + sock monkey. great duo?

here are some oldies right after we got married. guess i was still uploading pics to my work computer? aaron brought a mac into my life. i was a little intimidated at first.


honeymoon. never been so in shape.
probably will never be this in shape again.
proud of this body. i jazzercised myself into oblivion.


honeymoon. ready to go back. take me back.


honeymoon. again...so young. wow.












zits and all. chicago in the fall. 2007.
my wedding gift from my new husband. amy winehouse concert in chicago.
she was in rehab or something. so we just aimlessly roamed the streets of chicago.
and saw wicked. it was so much fun!

these pictures take me way back. i was such a different person then. seems a lifetime ago. happy to be where i am now. wouldn't pay any amount of money to go back. but so glad i have pictures. sweet sweet memories.

happy day.