Birthday Celebration

Hey y'all! Since my last post, I have been working like crazy, but I am loving it so far! Although my work schedule is a bit hectic, that doesn't mean I haven't had plenty of time to relax and visit friends and family. Recently we celebrated my friend Jill's birthday with dinner at Taste of Asia and a delicious cake. I always love getting to hang out with her and her husband Matt. We always have a good time together! My birthday was yesterday, and I have been celebrating it the last few days LOL I was supposed to have this past weekend off of work, but Friday the scheduler called to see if I could cover for someone on Saturday. I agreed to help out, but I still got Sunday off which was my actual birthday. On Friday, Tyler came in with presents and a huge chocolate cake. He sat everything up on our kitchen table and had the candles going. He yelled for me to come into the kitchen, and when I walked out of the bedroom I saw all of the surprises. I LOVE the gifts he got for me! I got some UK blue Kendra Scott jewelry, and my personal favorite, seasons 1-3 on DVD of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I can't wait to have a lazy day and binge watch those old shows! My sister also got me some beautiful pearl while Kendra Scott earrings. I love them! I also got to meet my mom, sister, and her boyfriend Tyler at Berry Hills for dinner on Friday. Saturday night, Tyler and I were supposed to eat at a restaurant in Charleston called Laury's, but after working all day, I decided I wanted to do a casual birthday dinner. We cancelled our reservations and headed to the local Mexican restaurant! I was so happy with my decision LOL I just didn't feel like getting all dressed up and going to a fancy restaurant that late in the evening. On Sunday, my mom had me a little get together at her house. We had a delicious dinner, and she cooked me my favorite chocolate cake. My grandparents visited for awhile after we ate, and they gave me cards and gifts. My maw maw and pawpaw gave me a camera, which I am SO excited about. I can't wait to use it to take pictures for the blog instead of my iPhone. My grandmother got me a Southern Living cookbook, and y'all know how much I love cookbooks. I enjoy looking through all the recipes and getting new dinner ideas! I had such a great weekend celebrating with everyone. 

Testing out the camera.. My cape makes this look a little awkward LOL but look at the beautiful necklace my mom got for me. It is gold, pearls, and rhinestones.. three of my favorite things! 

My cake at mom's house 

The cake Tyler got for me

As some of you may know, today was the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale. I told Tyler that it is no coincidence that this sale occurred the day after my birthday LOL I got so many cute things! I shopped on the Lilly website as well as a website called 6pm.com. I can't wait for my packages to arrive so I can see everything in person! I was really hoping to get some leggings, but they were only marked down a little bit. I just can't bring myself to pay that much for leggings that I'm going to be laying around the house in! I did get several dresses and some pants too. I absolutely love the palazzo and beach pants. They are so comfortable but still make you look "put together." 

Here are the items I got during the sale:

The After Party Sale is a wonderful event that always gets me so excited; however, I know that this sale also indicates the closing of summer. Labor Day will be here before we know it, and that means all of our darling white pants that pair perfectly with Lilly tops will have to go into retirement until Easter. I know some people say that old southern rule of no white after Labor Day is silly, but I just can't bring myself to break it. It always seems my Lilly sale order arrives just after Labor Day, so I am forced to save those beautiful dresses for the following spring. This is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I have all new clothes to wear for the following spring and summer, but it is so hard to not wear them when they first arrive. 

Speaking of summer ending, I made a quick stop in Hobby Lobby last week, and Oh. My. Goodness! They already have fall (Thanksgiving and Halloween) and Christmas decorations out. I absolutely LOVE fall and Christmastime, but I hate to see summer end. I took a few pictures of some of the seasonal pieces that I absolutely love! I am trying to refrain from buying any home decor until after Tyler and I settle down and buy a house of our own. I am typing this part of the post partly for you to check out the beautiful items they have at Hobby Lobby and partly for me to have record of things I want to buy in the future LOL

I love the color of this table runner.. It is sort of a sage green but also has a hint of a muted blue/grey

I'm really getting into the whites, greens, and blues for fall.

After last Christmas, I bought gold chargers and table runners to match my Christmas dishes. They were on sale at Kohl's. I love this little pumpkin plate because it would match some of the stuff I already have!

This plate would go perfectly with the table runner above and would be beautiful with those soft muted greens and blues I like. 

I absolutely love this nativity scene for Christmas. It has a white distressed look, and it even has hints of sparkle on it. I NEED this!

Currently, my Christmas decorations are traditional red and gold, and I add in a hint of leopard for some pizazz. I know this is hard to believe, but Tyler isn't a huge fan of the leopard LOL The next time I get new ornaments for our tree, I'm thinking of mixing gold, silver, and cream. I love this muted metallic color that would go perfectly with either gold or silver. 

How cute would these sleighs be if they were used as a vase. Add in some holly, pine, and poinsettias, and you would have a beautiful centerpiece for a Christmas dining table! The reindeer are cute too!

I hope y'all enjoyed this post! I am hoping to do some more cooking posts soon. Tyler and I have decided we need to do meal prep for the week from now on. I have been working a lot of evening shifts which means I'm gone from 1 or 2 in the day until 9 or 10 at night. Most of the time I don't even get to eat a meal while I'm at work, so I eat a large lunch and skip dinner completely. That isn't healthy, and Tyler hates eating out all week when I'm not home to cook. Usually I work a few days and then I have a few days off. We are hoping to prep meals for a couple of days at a time since I'm not a huge fan of "leftovers." Whenever we find time to meal prep, I'll make sure to take pictures for y'all! I'll have my new camera too, so the pictures will be much higher quality than what I've been posting! Until next time.. Take care y'all! 

Love Is In the Air

Hey y'all! I thought I would do a small but special post all about love. I don't know about you, but I associate the month of February with all things lovey dovey. I suppose it is because of Valentine's Day. A lot of people have a negative connotation with Valentine's Day because they feel you should celebrate the one you love every day. That is true, but it is fun to have a day designated to pampering each other. Tyler and I don't do lavish gifts or anything for this holiday. Instead, we spend time together and do things for each other to show how much we care. The Friday of Valentine's Day weekend, Ty and I were both exhausted from a busy work week. He surprised me by bringing home Qdoba and roses. He always plans our Valentine's Weekend, so I knew we were celebrating that Sunday at Bonefish. It was still so nice to not have to worry about dinner and for him to surprise me with flowers. I loved it! 

As for Tyler, I know the way to his heart is through his stomach LOL So the morning of Valentine's Day, I got up early and made us breakfast. I brought out the fine china (aka my Lilly Pulitzer dishes), and I tried to make it themed. I made French toast cut out into heart shapes, and I tried to make the bacon into heart shapes.. the key word being tried. I dipped fresh strawberries in white chocolate the day before, so we had some of those too. It was a great start to the day! We had a great weekend just spending time together. It was a great first married Valentine's Day!

My honey bringing me dinner and beautiful roses!

My grandmother got me this chocolate melter, and I love it! It has really come in handy when I bake holiday treats!!

Our breakfast spread for Valentine's Day morning.

Headed to dinner at Bonefish!

I love Valentine's Day because it gives you an opportunity to slow down and focus on what is important in life: the ones you love and care for the most. My whole family celebrates this special day. I woke up on Valentine's Day morning to text messages from my mom and grandmother telling me they love me. I have been my grandparents' valentine since I was born LOL It doesn't have to be celebrated with a significant other. I want to celebrate everyone that is special to me!

Which brings me to this...

On my and Tyler's wedding day, we knew we didn't want to see each other before the ceremony. I did, however, want my grandfather to pray with the two of us before we got married to bless our marriage and honor God before we said our vows. He spoke from the heart and the prayer was so special. It was the only time I cried on my wedding day. In all the craziness going on around me, in that moment I was able to stop and reflect on what was happening. I was about to marry the love of my life.. the man God hand picked for me to spend my life with. The night before we were married, my sister gave me a book of letters written by my friends and family to me. Of course, I cried my eyes out reading all of those. My pawpaw included a piece of his letter to me in the prayer, and that is when I got so emotional. I am so fortunate to have this special moment captured. I love my pawpaw so much and really look up to his marriage. My maw maw and pawpaw are a shining example of a happy, loving marriage. They are each other's best friends, and they have so much to be proud of. I hope they know how much I look up to them, and I know that Tyler and I can have the same successful marriage if we continue to keep God in the center of our lives. Our videographer sent me this clip of the prayer my grandfather did with Tyler and me just before we prepared for our ceremony. I hope you enjoy it! I'm also going to post a link to our wedding video. All of this love talk has me reminiscing on one of the most special days of my life so far! Until next time.. Take care!

A Special Prayer Video

Our Wedding Video

New Year Cheer

As most of you know, I love anything and everything Lilly Pulitzer. My friend Tamus said it best when she said it is more than just clothes - it is a lifestyle. A Lilly girl is fun-loving, considerate, generous, AND stylish. It is hard to not be happy in such bright and colorful clothes! I have been addicted ever since my first purchase - a pale pink Lilly dress with gold embroidery. Every year, they have two sales - The After Party Sale in August and The New Year Cheer Sale in January. This is serious business for Lilly Lovers everywhere. I'll explain...

Lilly announced via Instagram that the sale would be on Monday January 4th starting at 8:00AM. Sunday night my mom, sister, and I spent the evening preparing for the next morning when the sale would go live. We logged into our accounts, updated card information, and browsed the clothes making "wish lists." You might think this is crazy or a little excessive, but we are experienced veterans when it comes to shopping the Lilly sale. Nine times out of ten, the site crashes - oh shift - and you're left with the scraps by the time you can get access to the site again.  

Monday morning my alarm went off at 7:30AM. I made a cup of coffee, ate a quick breakfast, and woke my sister up for the sale. The two of us crawled into my bed with our laptops and cell phones logged onto the Lilly website/app. We patiently waited for it to go live and kept hitting the refresh button. I must have refreshed my computer as soon as it went live because my computer played a cute little song and a screen popped up saying I had 900ish people ahead of me in the virtual line. I was ecstatic. IT WAS LIVE! My excitement dwindled when I saw the small print that said your wait time is over an hour. My disappointment was quickly replaced with gratitude when my sister refreshed the website on her computer, and she had 6,000ish people ahead of her in the virtual line. Whew! 

We yelled for my mom to hurry and log onto the website before it was too late (not naming names, but a certain Lilly Lover prefers sleep over a good deal LOL). Mom grabbed her computer and phone and headed up to my room. We rearranged ourselves, and all three of us sat in my little bed waiting for me to get access to the website. We figured the best strategy would be to place one big order from my account and everyone pick out what they want at the same time. As soon as I gained access to the sale, it was like a game of supermarket sweep - only better because it was Lilly! 

Kelly, knowing the urgency of the situation, would quickly notify me when she saw something she wanted and shout out the size she needed. I would add it to the shopping cart and move on. Putting an item in your cart does not reserve it, so you have to check out quickly or you could lose the items you selected. This sale is so big that within minutes the most coveted items are sold out. My mom, unfortunately, didn't quite comprehend the need to be quick about selecting her merchandise. This was my mom during the sale: "Wait, go back up to that shirt." "Let me see that in the other color." "Do I already have that?!" "That isn't a very good deal!" "Click on it again so I can make sure." "Hmmm, nah I don't want it." 

She was driving us crazy! LOL The whole time she was so indecisive! We would be yelling, "DO YOU WANT IT OR NOT?" Then a countdown would begin... "5, 4, 3, 2, 1.. Mom, we have to move on!" After ten minutes of intense shopping, we checked out. Shew.. we did it! After the order was complete, we scrolled through our items to see everything each of us picked out. My poor mom only got one white v-neck shirt. WHITE. Not even a Lilly pattern. LOL We felt so bad for her! By this time, Kelly had moved up in the virtual line, and her computer was next in line to gain access to the website for round two. We had to make sure my mom got a few cute things! She was having a rough time with the sale. Remember when I mentioned I had 900 ahead of me and Kelly had 6,000 ahead of her? My mom had 20,000ish ahead of her! She didn't stand a chance! After you check out you are put back at the end of the line. After we completed our first order from my account, I went to the end of the virtual line and had 45,000 ahead of me. I told y'all this is serious business LOL Girls go crazy for this sale! 

My mom ended up being able to leisurely shop from Kelly's account after we completed our first order from my account. After we finished shopping, I got on Instagram to see what other Lilly Lovers scored from the sale. I saw where Lilly posted a picture saying "DON'T THINK - JUST SHOP." I told my mom this is what Kelly and I had been trying to tell her all along. We just couldn't find the words to describe it. You don't have time to ponder on each item. If you like it and it is in your size, it goes in the cart! LOL I feel we had a very successful haul from the New Year Cheer sale. I received confirmation that the order will be here TOMORROW! I can't wait to try everything on! 

Here are the items I got from the sale:

I have these pants in white, solid navy, and the Lucky Charms print. I love them! They have a great fit, they're comfortable, and they last forever! I've worn the same three pairs of pants for YEARS!

Recently I developed an obsession with palazzo pants. They are so comfortable, but you still look put together when you wear them. I love the colors in this print!

I got this top because I can wear it with ANYTHING!

I love the print Blue Lagoon, so I made sure to snag a couple items in the print while they were on sale!

These racer tanks are so comfy and light in the summertime!

After the rush from the sale wore off, I decided to get back on the computer and browse a few online Lilly boutiques to see if they offered anything at a discounted price that wasn't on the Lilly website. Y'all, I struck gold. I have been wanting the Lilly one piece bathing suit since it first came out, but I could not bring myself to pay $128.00 for a bathing suit. I just couldn't do it. Of course, the bathing suit eventually sold out, and I couldn't find it anywhere. I tried all the major department stores that carry Lilly, Amazon, Ebay.. I looked everywhere. It was gone. Forever. LOL Okay, I'm being a little dramatic, but I was really sad that I had no hope of getting that bathing suit someday. To my surprise, when I logged on to The Pink Pelican's website, there was that bathing suit on the first page of items. I just about had a heart attack! My dad bought it for me after I explained to him how rare this item is and just how much I wanted it. Truly, I think he just liked the idea of a one piece instead of a bikini for his daughter LOL I cannot wait to wear it this summer!

To those that have never shopped a Lilly sale, it is unlike anything you've ever experienced before. Lilly clothes are stand out pieces that last a lifetime. People still collect vintage patterns from the 70s to this day. I look at purchasing Lilly as an investment. These clothes are going to look great for years! They are expensive, which is why I stock up during the sales. I rarely pay full price for something from Lilly. When these items are on sale, the prices are comparable to prices of brands people buy every day; however, the quality is so much greater. I always have and always will love Lilly Pulitzer! If you did shop the sale, I would LOVE to know what items you got! Until next time.. Take care y'all! 

Christmas Time Is Here

Christmas time is here 

Families drawing near 

Oh, that we could always see 

Such spirit through the year

Hey y'all! I hope everyone has been enjoying this Christmas season. I know I sure have! We have been keeping super busy here lately. I've been doing all things Christmas. I got gifts for friends and family purchased and wrapped. Our Christmas cards have been mailed out, and I baked holiday goodies for some of our friends in Lexington. I just love this time of year! What I love most about this time of year is all of the time you get to spend with friends and family, and I have been doing a lot of that lately! We recently celebrated my maw maw Ellen's birthday and my mom's birthday. I enjoyed that so much! This post is a bit of a long one (mainly pictures) of all the things I have been up to these last few weeks preparing for Christmas - my most favorite time of the year!

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We attended our first Christmas Party of the season last weekend with the firm Tyler works for. It was a great evening. We had a delicious meal, and I enjoyed meeting everyone Tyler works with. The event was held at a local country club, so everything was decorated so pretty and festive. I only got one picture that evening, but it turned out to be a good one! We really enjoyed ourselves!

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My maw maw Ellen celebrated her birthday on the 12th. She and my pawpaw have been very sick and are still trying to recover. Fortunately, she felt up to coming over to my mom's for some pizza, cake, and quality time with the family. She got lots of gift cards to her favorite restaurants, and she now has several Alex and Ani bracelets! I think she had a good day!!

While I was home visiting, I also got to see my cousin Taylor. She will be having her sweet baby Bo any time now. We are so excited! Also, my baby cousin Erick got saved at church on this weekend. We are all so happy and proud! What a blessing!

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After a weekend in my hometown, I came back to Lex with my sister. We really got into the Christmas spirit during her visit! I filled out and mailed our Christmas cards and baked lots of goodies for our friends here in Lex. Kelly kept me company while I did all of this LOL After baking all day, we headed to the Kentucky Horse Park to see the Southern Lights. It was awesome! 

Remember when I said I was going to learn how to write in calligraphy? Well, that didn't work out LOL I looked on Pinterest and found some ideas that inspired our cards this year. It wasn't what I intended to do, but they still turned out very cute!

Scruffy helped me put the finishing touches on our gifts. She stayed by my side the entire time I was wrapping gifts. I love this little thing so much!

When I was finishing up all of the wrapping, I noticed Scruffy's present from Santa had arrived. She got a little kitty bed that has a heated pad in the bottom of it that adjusts to be just a little warmer than her body temperature. I couldn't bring myself to wrap it. I had to give it to her right then and there. I told her she had been such a good girl that Santa said I could give it to her early. LOL Needless to say, she loves it! Actually, as I am currently writing this post, she is in her bed right now!

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Here are a few pictures of the baking I did for our friends. I didn't get many pictures while I was baking because I had so much going on at one time. I did get a few pictures of the finished product! I found these adorable little decorative boxes at Hobby Lobby that were perfect for putting all the treats in. I hope our friends enjoyed their goodies!

Here are the finished treat boxes. I made chocolate covered pretzels, gingerbread cookies with cream cheese icing, pecan tassies, and reese mini cookies. 

Here are all the boxes lined up waiting to be delivered. I baked ALL DAY LONG! 

In the car headed to see the lights!

These next few pictures are of a local home here in Lexington. During the day, you can take a tour of the inside. It was spectacular! 

This light display was actually on a little pond in the horse park.

What do you do when you see a sign advertising camel rides? You ride a camel. At least that is what you do when you are with Kelly Grimmett LOL This made me sad because I love animals and cannot stand to see them mistreated; however, I do have to say these animals looked like they were being properly cared for. They were giving them frequent breaks and loving on them the entire time we were there. I hope they take good care of them! My dad didn't believe this was me when we sent him the pictures. The more we looked at it, the harder we laughed. I look like a small child behind Kelly on that camel. My legs look so short! LOL Kelly rode shotgun while I took the backseat behind the hump. I never know what I'm going to get myself into when Kelly visits! LOL

After an eventful trip to the horse park, we came home, made hot chocolate, and watched Christmas Vacation. A perfect ending to a wonderful day!

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Yesterday we had an early birthday celebration for my mom. We all met in Huntington for dinner, to paint at Wine and Design, and to watch a movie. We had a wonderful time! We ate spaghetti and banana cream pie at our favorite restaurant, Jim's Steak and Spaghetti. Then we headed to our painting class. We had never done this before, and we absolutely loved it! It was so fun! After painting, we went to see the new movie Sisters. It was really cute. We got tickled because the personalities of the girls in the movie are strikingly similar to how me and my sister are. It was a great night spent with my favorite girls!

Kelly and me at Jim's waiting on the birthday girl to arrive!

She has wanted this Lilly cardigan for forever! It kept selling out online and was never in her size. We finally found one for her! Now she is all set for this spring and summer!

Inside Wine and Design in Huntington. The next few pictures are of all the paintings that have been done there. They were all so cute! I especially loved the MU, UK, and flamingo paintings!

Here is my painting before...

during...

and after.

The finished products:

We had such a great time!

In the theater ready to watch the movie! I have to tell y'all we saw the 10:00 movie, and this granny was able to stay awake during the entire thing! I was pretty proud of myself! 

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As you can see, I have been thoroughly enjoying my time off from rotations and have been making the most of this Christmas season! Until next time.. take care!