Beach Please.

1. Orange Beach for Sarah's Bachelorette Party and Mullet Toss.
2. Sarah's Crew.
3. Borrowed Andrea's snapshot.
4. Neon is in this season. 
5. No Chella.
6. Hanging out before hitting Flora-Bama.
7. Something was funny.
8. Peter. 
9. The Bride and her Mates.
10. Beach Games.
11. Showing off Sarah's pin.
12. Exploring.
13. Last photo on my camera.


One of my best friends is getting married soon so we all decided to celebrate her happiness by throwing a bachelorette party for her at Mullet Toss this year.  We used to go all the time in our 20's and let me tell you it's very different in your 30's, ha.  

Here's the deal: Mullet Toss is legendary.  It's one of the biggest beach parties on the Gulf Coast.  People dress up in silly outfits and I love to people watch. It's very entertaining... Whatever. I have (almost) no shame doing it. 

And SPOILER ALERT: We had a blast!  It was great getting everyone together since it's harder these days with everyone starting families and moving to different cities.  Besides the couple of panic attacks that snuck up on me, I had a wonderful weekend with these girls.  I spent yesterday trying to pinpoint what brought on my attacks and I think it was the large social setting.  So something to work on still.  

Looking forward to Sarah and Blake's big day in two weeks. So until next time... 

what's in the air?

1. Messy hair, don't care.
2. So sweet when he's sleeping.
3. My favorites.
4. "Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second." - Mattie Stepanek
5. Spring has sprung.
6. Taking the new boots out for a spin.
7. Downtown Ocean Springs is always so lovely.
8. Andrew's first green beer.
9. The flowers are beautiful, but slowly killing my sinuses.
10. Great quote.
11. Celebrating Sarah and Blake.
12. At the Mumford & Sons concert.
13. Pretty lights at the concert.
14. "That's beautiful" - yes, it was Gentleman of the Road.


Have you been in a funk the past few days? Weeks? It seems like everyone I've been talking to is in a transition, or fighting a rough time right now.  Myself included.  What's in the air?!  I think it helps to know we aren't alone in the feeling.

Even though work has been hectic in learning my new role (and I'm behind in my school work... EEKKKK) I have been lucky enough to have some down time to escape and cut loose.  Andrew and I had a great time celebrating St. Patrick's Day and an even better time at the Mumford & Sons concert last night.  I've seen the band three times (this was Andrew's second time) and it must be said they killed it yet again.  Hope they come back again soon.  My soul could use it.

Until next time...

Collecting moments, not things.

We finally broke down and cleaned out our storage unit (no, this picture was not our belongings but looked very similar).  We managed to fit all of our belongings into my brother's unit so we don't have to pay for storage anymore. YAY US!!! Allow me to elaborate on our task, please.

In our tiny unit, filled with knicks and knacks, was where our memories were contained.  We had old furniture given to us by our families, fake flowers that decorated my room in college, notes from friends, old home movies that contain ALL OF THE FEELINGS that I wasn't afraid to show in my younger days, Andrew's boxes (upon boxes) of childhood memorabilia, and post-it notes filled with my favorite quotes through the years.  

This might be "stuff" to you, but to me, it is a reminder... I DID THE DAMN THING. 

I wrote papers for school, I got my heart broken and survived, I moved back home from college, readjusted to living with my folks again, moved away from my folks (again) and fell in love with being alone, I discovered who I was and found love (lasting love) again along the way.

I look forward to the day when Andrew and I will have a place big enough to fit the rest of our possessions. Right now we live in a one bedroom apartment so we obviously do not have enough space for 2 bedroom sets. That being said... our goal during this clean out was getting in the mindset of trying to collect moments, not things going forward. I'm proud we were able to part with some of the belongings for our cleaning challenge and show ourselves we could "adult" if given the proper time and dedication.

Until next time...

simplify.

Simplify has been my word for 2016 and as peaceful as that may sound it's been a lot harder than I expected. Especially when I'm like "Give me all the things". I'm a collector by nature and not that there's anything wrong with it, but I'm trying to embrace the simple side of life.

THE DILEMMA:  We have too much stuff. I dread dusting and cleaning, because it takes forever to clear everything off shelves, dressers, tables, etc to clean. So it's time to organize the clutter and it's time to simplify our lives and excess. I have come up with a solution to the problem at hand (too much stuff), and once we face it and do something about it, our place will feel a little more pleasant.

THE RESOLUTION:  Take it one day at a time. When I try to purge our entire home of clutter it can become overwhelming.  By allotting a few minutes a day to this project, I will see a large difference without setting myself up for failure from the beginning. Then we will sell it at a garage sale and what we don't sell, we can donate to Goodwill. I'm attempting A Bowl of Lemons 31 Day Purge challenge in my effort to complete this task. So wish me luck. 

Until next time...

what the heck is she doing with her life?

 

1. rainy days.
2. girls night.
3. birthday celebrations.
4. family time in New Orleans.
5. birthday boy.
6. mardi gras shenanigans.
7. I love doing life with him.

I wanted to fill everyone in on what the heck I've been doing with my life.  I'm currently in school, just finished my final exam tonight for my Intro to Business class so that will leave me with 9 classes until I get my Bachelor's Degree in Marketing.  *virtual high five* 

I also interviewed and prepped like a mad woman for this position in my current department at work and actually killed the interview.  So I am now the new Customer Care Technology Analyst.  And let me tell you... it feels damn good all my hard work paid off. All the hours spent before and after work preparing made me feel at ease (for the first time ever) during the interview process. 

I look forward to the challenges ahead because for the past couple years of my life, I thought I was supposed to be many things, and I actually ended up not being a single one of them. I had plans and dreams and instead of growing and taking on new challenges and a new season of life (in the new ways I thought I would) I've been stuck spinning in circles trying to figure out who I want to be and who I need to be.

We live in a world where we are constantly told we have to be something or someone to be any good. To be worthy. To be nailing it at life. And what I'm learning, is that it doesn't even matter. Not even a second of it. I may not have tons of money, I may not drive what I want to be driving, I may not live where I want to live, and I may not have everything I've ever wanted, but what I do have at the end of the day; is joy. 

I have an amazing fiance who gets me.  He regularly pulls me in for a kiss, a butt squeeze, a long hug, a hair stroke or all the above for no apparent reason at all. When the garbage has reached capacity, he'll take it out and actually refill the trashcan with a fresh bag. When I've lost my patience, he'll help my parents out with their technology questions like how to set up wi-fi in their house. Those kind of things make me grateful to have such a great guy in my life. 

I have THE best parents. Talking about the kind that will stop what they're doing at the drop of a hat if I needed their help.  I thank God every day to be blessed for their love and guidance through this crazy world we live in.  I'm thankful for their time, diaper changes, singing (note: tone-deaf singing), home cooked meals, take out meals, the driving to and from, their sarcasm, their laughter, their joy, their encouragement, and their love.

I also have a great core group of friends.  The adopted family for myself.  Those I lean on and turn to as much as Andrew and my parents.  Truly blessed for each and every one of you.  


That's the stuff that really matters. Not who we are or the names we make for ourselves.


Until next time...