May 2, 2015

The day our life changed forever.

It really was just another normal 9 months pregnant type of day. It was a Saturday. We slept in some, had breakfast burritos (duh). Joel had this compelling urge to tackle lots of household chores/duties like yard work, cleaning, oil changes, etc. I was happy to stand by and watch :) we knew we had limited days off together before the babies came, but no way did we ever think this was THE last day. 

Around lunch time we ran a few errands. All day I had felt nothing but just SUPER pregnant, a little uncomfortable at times and the heat seemed to be bothering me more than usual, but other than that I felt completely fine and normal all day. We had somewhere to be that evening so around 3:30pm we crawled into bed for a little afternoon nap. Around 4:45pm I woke up to start getting ready for dinner, went to the bathroom, and then just like that my water broke right on the bathroom floor (convenient). They say it'll be obvious and boy was it obvious, although I still found myself questioning whether or not that was actually IT. I remember this crazy/calm feeling all at once, on one hand being totally shocked and caught off gaurd and the other feeling like this just made perfect sense to be happening right then. I called for Joel and he hopped right up and into action, of course. While my hospital bag was mostly packed and ready, his wasn't even started. So he began putting together a bag as I called my doctors office and mom (to verify this actually WAS my water breaking). I was so concerned with trying to avoid an unnecessary trip to Triage, so I gave it some time to truly be sure I knew this was it. We slowly/quickly continued to get ready and be sure we had everything and left for the hospital around 5:30pm.  We got to the hospital and were checked in around 5:45pm and by 6:00pm they had confirmed I was in labor and had scheduled us in the OR for 8:00pm.

Just like that, we were going to meet our boys. The next couple of hours were a blur with doctors and nurses coming in and out, paperwork, and even some very mild labor contractions beginning. I remember feeling like waiting 2 hours for 8:00 would never get here, and then next thing you know it we're being wheeled over to the OR. It wasn't until that moment they separated Joel and I to take me in for prep when it all became real. As I was wheeled into the OR a flood of emotions and feelings came over me. It was a little of everything... some panic, lots of excitement, mostly just "this is real, this is happening, they're about to hand me two babies, whoa whoa whoa".

We did all the surgery prep and the lovely spinal block, which they had trouble getting in the right spot and KILLED like a  beast. I remember a sweet nurse telling me to hug onto her as they had me bent over the table, I'm so thankful for that nurse. In a whirlwind of scary operating room stuff going on and that awful spinal block not going well, she was such a sense of peace and comfort that I desperately needed. Next they began monitoring the babies heartbeats as a standard procedure before beginning the surgery. All the sudden I remember hearing my doctor quickly and firmly saying "Those are decelerations. Everybody scrub up, we're taking them NOW." The team instantly dispersed throughout the room and I felt the intensity pick up. All the while I'm sitting there wondering when they're going to bring Joel in!! I'd gotten to the point where I could clearly tell they were beginning the surgery and was about to ask where my husband was when I heard a nurse say "has anyone brought DAD in yet?!" Thank the Lord because Joel walked in right as my doctor had begun pushing down on Baby A to get him into position for delivery. I'll never forget that feeling of peace the second I heard his voice and saw his face standing beside me. Even though they'd already begun and were well underway, I felt like "ok NOW they can start, NOW it's gonna be ok.".

It felt like only a matter of seconds before I heard my sweet first born son's cry. There is absolutely nothing in the world like that feeling. Every fear, doubt, worry went away the second I heard that healthy boy screaming out his first breaths of life. Looking up and finally seeing one of those little tiny humans that we had waited all this time to meet. There's just nothing like that, an emotion and feeling I wish we could bottle up and save to experience over and over again. Not long after (about a minute to be exact) I got to experience that feeling one more time when Baby B made his entrance into the world, screaming just like his brother. Instantly I felt so lucky, as if hearing and seeing that first baby wasn't enough here I was with TWO of them. I've felt the same every day since.

Next I remember hearing and seeing the boys over to my left, where they were taken into another part of the room with the NICU team to be evaluated, weighed, cleaned up, etc. Joel was over with them and was able to cut their umbilical cords and take lots of pictures of their first few minutes of life. I heard lots of updates and commentary from Joel and the doctors and nurses, "healthy babies!" "Good size!" "Doing great!". They quickly brought each baby over to me for skin-to-skin time, my absolute favorite memory of the whole experience. The babies hadn't stopped screaming since coming out, but the second they were placed on my chest they went instantly quiet as they melted into me. They stole my heart right then and there. I watched their little faces and tiny bodies move in perfect unison with my breathing and I just remember telling each of them over and over again "you're my baby boy, you're my baby boy". I'll never forget those first few moments holding my boys. Being a c section delivery this skin-to-skin time was super important to me, and I was so thankful the hospital and team of nurses/doctors make it a priority for c section deliveries, as that's not the case with every hospital. They brought Baby A over first and I remember Joel telling me "this is definitely August". We already had a feeling who was who based on their little personalities in the womb, so we had the doctors be sure to tell us which they pulled out in which order so we could see if their names matched what they looked like (just to be safe). We both knew right away who was who, Baby A was Auggie and B was Sawyer.

 After I got plenty of time snuggling my boys, they went with Joel to the recovery room where I would soon meet back up with them after finishing up in the OR. What was surely only a matter of minutes felt like an eternity being away from them. But as I was wheeled into the recovery room I remember seeing Joel holding both of our boys waiting for me, what a sight to see. The recovery room felt like it was a half hour at the most, little did we know we'd actually been in there for over an hour... And it had already been about 2 hours since the boys were even born! Time passed SO quickly. Our poor families and some friends had been waiting all that time. We were finally moved to our stay room and able to start introducing the boys to everyone.

I really can't say enough positive things about our c section experience. I feel so fortunate to have had such a great experience from the surgery to recovery. The decision to have a c section was not one that we took lightly and it was not easy. From the beginning of this pregnancy we'd talked with my doctor about the extra risks and complications of delivering twins/multiples naturally, and it was never something we had a peace about, like ever. Which seemed odd at the time but now we look back and so clearly see the hand of God guiding us through every step of this decision. Remember those decelerations in the OR right before they started the surgery? Turns out both of the babies had their cords wrapped around their necks. Meaning even if we would have tried a natural delivery it most likely would have ended up in a c section, and an emergency one at that. We now know why we never really had a peace about trying a natural birth, and always seemed to have a peace with c section. Ultimately every part of our pregnancy/delivery journey came down to trusting God first, and trusting our doctor second. Ohhhh our doctor... Is it normal to get emotional and teary eyed when one speaks about their doctor? Even the process of how we found and chose her was completely orchestrated by God. Another piece of this whole puzzle that we are so thankful for and could not have planned more perfectly. To say this pregnancy and delivery increased our faith would be a massive understatement. I love when God gifts us the ability to walk away from experiences clearly knowing and seeing where He was present and how He worked. And we've seen that throughout every step of bringing our babies into the world.

We thank God, the giver of all good things, for our precious boys and our health/safety throughout pregnancy and delivery. We're undeserving of it all, but thankful to know The God who graciously blesses His people far beyond what we could ever imagine.

To My Babies,

October 10, 2014

We just found out you're here, you're BOTH here, and you're already a part of our family before we even know you. We've always talked about the day we would find out you're joining our family, but never in our wildest dreams did we ever think there would be two of you at once! How lucky and undeserving we feel to be your parents. Once again we are reminded of God's miraculous grace and love through His loaning you to us. Our world changed forever when we heard your hearts beat for the very first time. We pray for those hearts! We pray they would continue to grow strong and healthy, that God and His Holy Spirit would come to dwell in them one day, that they would learn to love and care and feel deeply. Babies it's actually unbelievable how much we already love you, we've only seen blurry pictures of your tiny faces but we couldn't love you more. It's hard to imagine that we will, once we meet you and hold you, love you more in ways we never thought possible. How can this be when we are already so obsessed with you? We can't wait for the day we find out what that feels like. But for now we'll continue loving you the best ways we know how on the outside. We love you babies, more than you'll ever know.

On Doing What YOU Do

Photo & Lettering by Autumn Farrell Matney

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. How I don't want to try and be someone that I am not. I don't want to try and DO things that I am not good at. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with trying. Trying new things, trying to better yourself, trying to be different. But I think where we get into trouble is when we feel a sense of entitlement or ownership over something that we're just simply not meant to be or do. But I should be able to do this, I can do this, I AM good at this. But… SHOULD you? CAN you? ARE you? Why do we try and force ourselves into being good or better at something and in the process lose what we really ARE skilled at or meant to be doing. As an artist (and a business owner) I want to focus on the things I (we) can do. Trying new things and exploring new opportunities, yes, but ultimately in the end having enough humility and honesty to step back and say "you know what, THIS is what I'm good at, so THIS is what I'm going to do." It's not about staying away from risk or change or new, but rather staying true to who you know you are.

In a way I think we cheapen ourselves and others when we go about living life thinking we are or can be great at everything. Because the truth is we're not meant to be. Even scripture clearly talks about this, 1 Corinthians 12, one body with many parts. Imagine us ALL walking around thinking we have the gift of prophesy, or healing, or even speaking in tongues. Yikes. God intentionally did not make us to be super men and women. We have strengths, we have weaknesses, we suck at some stuff and excel at others. THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF BEING HUMAN. I would like to see us tap into this a little bit more. Let's celebrate the strengths and weaknesses that make us different from each other. I don't know about you but I celebrate the fact that there's someone out there who knows how to fix my car, or someone who's better at cooking than I am, or people who enjoy doing taxes. There is a difference between just being able to do something and actually doing it well. Anyone can just do something. But not just anyone can do it well.

One Year in Our Home

Today marks exactly one year of owning our first home. Is it weird that the date April 26th is forever burned into our minds? Probably because it was ALL we could talk about this time last year. April 26th, the day this house became our home. We have lots of thoughts as we hit this milestone of home ownership, and I think I'll share a few below:

1. We still 120,000% love this house. We love what we've been able to do to it, we love the layout, we love the lot size, we love the possibilities and potential, we love the current upgrades, we love the high ceilings, we even love most of the things we plan on changing one day. We just love it.

2. We are hands down in the absolute perfect location for us and our lifestyle. Aside from the literal geographic centrality of where we're at in the valley, we're so close and convenient to most of what we personally need/want/know/love. The culture that the Old Town Scottsdale area brings to our neighborhood while still maintaining a safe, family friendly, and inviting atmosphere is unbeatable. There are always, at all times, at least 20+ restaurants to choose from on any given day or night of the week, and most are within a 3-5 minute drive if that. We've never once felt even a hint of unsafe or like we couldn't go for a bike ride/walk any time of day or night.

3. We truly believe we could be in this house for the rest of our lives. This is something Joel has said since before we even found this house, that he wants a house we can raise a family and grow old in. I always give him a hard time when he talks about having this baby paid off by the time we retire, and having our grand kids come visit us here one day, seems a tad bit exaggerated if you ask me. And of course in all honesty, what do we know? We have no idea what direction our lives could take or what circumstances may come up that involve us moving, we are in no way saying we WILL be here forever. But the catch is we believe we could be, and actually wouldn't mind it at this point. With how big of a lot size we have and with all of the potential for adding on in various ways we could easily create enough space and additions to accommodate a growing family. So whether this ends up being the case or not even close, it's nice to know we at least have that option.

4. We have loved the dreaming/ownership/planning/responsibility that comes along with owning our home. We love having ideas and watching them come to life. Joel enjoys doing yard work (well, most of the time at least), he values keeping a nice yard for people to enjoy. We love having people over, for anything, anytime. We've always said no matter where we live we want it to be a place where people enjoy coming to, where they feel at home, and a place that's peaceful. One day, with any lucky, we'll have screaming children running around going in and out and causing all sorts of chaos (fingers crossed). And we still hope to have this same type of home, one they enjoy being in and one that brings peace to our crazy life. No matter where that is when the time comes, we sure are happy it's here for now.

So what has our first year in our house brought us? Obviously we still haven't "finished" all of the spaces, and there is still plenty of stuff on our list, but there HAVE been many projects that were on our "do right away" list that we can happily say have been crossed off. These include:

1. Painting baseboards, trim, and doors white (since our entire house was sprayed tan during the flip)

2. Adding a mantle to the fireplace

3. Building a kitchen nook

4. Painting/restyling hall bathroom

5. Painting/restyling master bathroom

6. Adding cabinets to the laundry room (stay tuned)

7. Building Joel a shed in the backyard

8. Painting master bedroom

You'll remember this first post of the listing photos, our blank canvas as we liked to call it.

Dating Again

Sometimes I have to remind myself to DATE Joel. No I don't mean going on dates with him. I mean treating him like my boyfriend. Treating our relationship with that care and quality. Remembering what it was like to just be dating. No pressures of work, commitments, money or time. Just being together, needing to be home by 12, and soaking up every single second until then. The other night while driving home I asked Joel if we could go to a park and just... hang out. We somehow ended up at a park at the end of almost every date we ever went on before we were married. How refreshing it was to climb to the top of the playground, cozy up in a corner, and just BE. Talk, laugh, be still. Sure we do this at home but there's something about being somewhere with no distractions, no laundry or work to do or television to watch.

We used to go all week (or all month) just waiting to have that time together, seeking it out, not being able to stand waiting for it. And somehow within our marriages we get to the place of just settling for a few minutes here or there at the end of every day. I think it's about creating the time, reminding ourselves that we have to want it badly enough to just say "Hey, pull over, let's hang out."

Christmas Recap!

What a whirlwind the end of the year always seems to be. Christmas is wrapping up, friends and family are leaving town again, work schedules are all over the place. There's definitely not a lot of free time for blogging thrown in there, but let's be honest when is there EVER a lot of free time for blogging? I figured I'd jot down a few recaps of what we've been up to before I share a few fun projects I've been working on.

We had such a great Christmas season this year! Both of my sisters now live away so with both of them returning home there was always something to be doing. We spent a lot of time with our families and enjoyed all the usual get togethers and parties. I just love spending the holidays with Joel. We spent LOTS of time shopping for gifts, wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies, baking cookies, and snuggling up by the fireplace... yep that's right. Our FIREPLACE. For the first time in my whole life I finally have the wood burning fireplace, complete with mantle, to enjoy during the holidays. And it WAS everything I dreamed it would be.

We had a very Merry Christmas and we hope you did too!

"Black & Yellow Black & Yellow"

You know, like the song? Well, not quite. But black and gold are definitely the chosen Christmas colors for 2013 around our place. It all started when I spotted this awesome kraft/black wrapping paper and decided to go in that direction for my signature wrapping this year. You know, I have one every year. I bought 4 different types of kraft wrap that each have a different black or white design and decided to pair it with gold glittery ribbon. Meanwhile I was designing our Christmas card and went in the exact same direction, without really even thinking about it. So I guess that's a good indicator of where my creative mind is at these days... all things gold and black apparently.

 My #1 wrapping rule: when a box has a lid- WRAP THE LID. It makes it look like it's in the movies.
 And for our Christmas card this year... drumroll please... MINI CARDS! I was on a mission this year to send out the smallest cards possible. I literally googled "smallest possible size to send through US mail". And while the size of the card itself would have been impossible to mail, I ended up finding the smallest envelopes I could send through the mail and it worked perfectly. John 1:14 is on the back and it says "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." I love that theme of Christmas... Jesus becoming human to live among us. That's love.

Time Up North

A few weekends ago we decided to get out of town and head up north to see some real Fall. Fortunately my grandpa has a beautiful home up there that's ready for us anytime so it's always the perfect excuse to get away. If there's one thing we love it's spending time up north... anywhere north. Whether we're up at camp, visiting old stomping grounds in Flagstaff, at my great grandparents house in Prescott, or up at my grandpa's house we LOVE getting away together and feeling refreshed by the forest. I look forward to MANY years of continuing this with our own family. As much as I love the greater Phoenix area, there's just nothing like heading north for a bit. This was a quick trip and we didn't do much but that's just what we loved about it. During the day we drove around the rim for literally 2 hours just looking at all of the changing colors and chatting. The trees were absolutely beautiful, full of orange and red and yellow and it was so nice just driving aimlessly. It happened to be squirrel season so of course Joel was itching to get one, not going to lie we stopped the truck a few times so he could try. My sisters and I LOVED squirrel hunting when we were kids so this definitely took me back. As much as I wish we lived closer to my Papa Ron I am so thankful he lives where he does and we get the chance to go up and spend time with him in such a beautiful place. I love even more that I married a man who loves my family just as much as I do, and they love him right back just the same. Joel is the grandson my Papa Ron never had and there's no better feeling than marrying someone who makes not only your life but the life of those you love 10x better.

It's Fall at the Hendi's!

I think we can officially say that fall is here in the great state of Arizona! It's around this time every year that something inside me says to myself "oh yeah, THIS is why you live here." It's gorgeous outside, we have the windows open and AC turned off more often than not, it's way too cold to have the AC in your car on, you can be outside for more than 5 seconds without melting... it's wonderful. And of course, fall outside means it's also fall INSIDE. A couple of weekends ago I asked Joel to get my tub labeled "fall decor" out of his shed and when I looked inside I was utterly disappointed. I had a couple fake pumpkins and a couple of tea towels... not gonna suffice. Last year when we were in a smaller space it was obviously important to keep holiday decor to a minimum, well not this year people. I quickly ran out in search of a few more things and this is what I came up with... enjoy!
One thing I love about decorating with pumpkins for fall is that there is so much you can do with them! Buy fake ones, buy real ones, paint them, add some glitter... you just can't go wrong. I love mixing the texture and look of real pumpkins with things like metallics and glitter... adds a little something extra that's for sure. That wicker pumpkin we found last year at Goodwill.

This real orange pumpkin you see here with glitter... that's a Hobby Lobby knock-off. I'm too cheap to justify spending $17.99 on the real thing from HL so I went and made my own. Pumpkin = $1.99 and glitter = free. Now, I WILL have to re-make this ever year so maybe buying the original is worth it? : ) Should I go back and get it? It's gorg. Ugh.

My GLASS pumpkin! I feel like Cinderella with a glass slipper, only it's my glass pumpkin. Hey, her carriage is a pumpkin, right? Anyway this thing is my prized possession. Found it at Walmart for 5 bucks... everybody go get one! Carried it so carefully to the car, buckled it in with a seat belt (maybe) and got it safely all the way home UNTIL... I tried to carry too many things at once and completely dropped the bag containing my glass pumpkin. Shattered into a million pieces in our carport. I can't say for certain but I'm pretty sure I used some choice language and shed some tears. I sent Joel an urgent text and he called me from work right away asking what was wrong. I said, "I bought this really cool glass pumpkin and dropped it and it shattered into a million pieces!" To which he responded "BABE are you serious? I thought something horrible happened!" Ummm..... "Something horrible DID happen!" I said. And then I think he hung up on me. But not before he told me I could go buy another one... that man knows what's important in life.

Ok and my prized possession sits on top of my other prized possession... a handmade felt runner with embroidered pumpkins on it!! Is that not the cutest thing? The Mitchell ladies picked it up for me (still don't know why- so nice!) at a little shop in their grandparents town... I love it. Did I mentioned the glass pumpkin is filled with fall scented pinecones?? Um.. amazing.

And last but not least you know I love when holiday decor can be found around the whole house... so here's how it's representin' in the kitchen. The tea towel to the left is also a gift from the Mitchells... this was Jamie and Julie and Jenn's Grandmothers and it's also got some embroidery work and the towel on the right was a gift from Kristin last year.

Let's Hear It For The Boy! Part 2

Remember this blog post? It was just before we got married and Joel had just landed a great new job in the audio/visual field at a local country club. That job he had for a year and a half and WOW we had absolutely no idea what a blessing that job would be to us. Not only was it... a job, but it turned out to be a place where Joel would learn and grow tremendously and encounter all types of experiences. He met some wonderful people through that job, gained great respect and admiration, and learned more about himself and his passions. What more could we ask for?

Well the thing is we serve The God who wants to give us abundantly more than we could ever ask for or receive. SO... After that year and a half Joel was offered another great job, an even better job in the sense that this job would be 100% audio/visual, whereas this last job at the country club involved a little more banquet/event set-up rather than the audio work Joel craved. This job was an audio/visual technician for a company that contracts out their av work to various hotels and resorts around Arizona. Not only would a benefit be the heavier audio focus, but also that this job would open up a whole world of opportunity for Joel. Opportunity for growth, dynamic and changing positions, location changes, basically more of a lifelong career rather than just a job. Naturally wouldn't your first instinct be HECK YEAH!? Well, to be honest, mine wasn't.

Joel was only a year and a half into his current job, and we were barely 10 months into our marriage. Joel had a GREAT job, a job we knew would take care of him and us for a long time. Not to mention the fact that the particular location Joel was offered the starting position at was in Glendale, a pretty long ways away from home and where we hoped to live long term. SO we had some thinking to do. And think we did. Think and pray, pray and think, pray pray pray. That's how it went for a few days while we pondered questions and doubts like "is it smart to leave such a great job so early on?" And "is commuting to Glendale every day going to be doable?" Or "what if his new schedule sucks?" All valid questions and discussions. But ultimately we were led to a complete peace, a peace that only comes from The Lord, about this being the right move for us. The right career move for Joel, and what was necessary to get him in with the right company he could be with long term. This decision was only affirmed time and time again as God orchestrated everything perfectly from Joel leaving his other job on good terms even to us negotiating Joel's pay a bit to justify the extra gas expense. Isn't it amazing that when we're faced with hard decisions God doesn't just leave us hanging in the unknown as to whether or not we made the right one. He is right there with us affirming and guiding and showing us His will. That's grace! We accepted the job... Trusting and praying that one day God would provide a way to be closer to home, that Joel would ENJOY his job and that in the future he would have opportunities for advancement. All of this completely unknown, scary, and risky and yet completely peaceful and so right at the same time. That's faith!

So now here we are. 10 months into this new job and Joel has officially been offered a promotion at a location much closer to home! Like 20 minutes and 15 miles closer to be exact. God has literally answered two of our prayers at once, and we could not be more overwhelmed with thankfulness and excitement. Our prayer for the last... 10 months actually... Has been first and foremost that God would lead the way for Joel and this new company, whatever that may be. And that we'd be willing to follow, in whatever way for however long. We accepted this job without the guarantee of a closer location or higher position, but more importantly with the FAITH that God would provide both of those if this is where he wanted Joel to be. If I've learned one thing through this whole experience it's that God desperately wants to provide for and bless His people! Because when he does he gets the glory! God gets the glory for giving this to us, not Joel. And more importantly, Joel knows that. I could be writing a blog post about how hard of a worker Joel is and the many many things I've seen and heard him do at his new job that have led to this promotion. And believe me, I almost did. But the truth is that Joel's work ethic actually plays such a minimal and insignificant part of this. This is ALL about God, and the lessons we have learned in faith, prayer, and obedience that better enable us to serve Him and honor Him with our life. God blesses us to show His grace, His provision, His love. SO THAT WHEN HE DOES (here's the key) we turn right back around and give Him the praise, Him the glory, Him the honor. I am proud of Joel yes, unbelievably so, but I am more in awe of our God and the way He has held our hands and hearts through this whole journey. We continue to cling to these promises as Joel moves forward with his new position.

Personal Pinterest Problems

Many of you know I am not the biggest fan of Pinterest. Ever since I had my epiphany regarding blog stalking and wrote this blog post about it I have tried hard to stick to my convictions, and avoid getting my inspiration solely from what other people are doing (which really isn't inspiration anyway). While this does contribute to my distaste for Pinterest it is not the #1 problem I have with the site.

My main problem with it is this: People create board after board after board and pin pin pin only to do what with it all...? Let it sit there and do nothing. I rarely find follow-through with what people pin on Pinterest. All the "home-made windex" this and "home-made lotion" that... come on, never gonna happen. The endless DIY projects you're "waiting" to do when you finally get that dream house, or better yet, the DIY projects you and I both know you will never do simply because reality, time, and energy will never permit. The clothes we will never be able to afford or more importantly justify. What future dream-world are we living in? I think that's just it... in some small subtle way Pinterest prevents us from living in the NOW. From having an idea, thinking of something, and actually DOING it. I have a feeling if people spent less time "pinning" and more time actually DOing, they wouldn't have anything left to pin! Because they would actually be living life rather than just "pinning" it.

I would much rather be out in the world letting inspiration naturally come to me than sitting in front of my computer "pinning" from the other people who already have. Where is the fun in that?? I don't maintain this imaginary online holding tank of everything I think of only for it to sit there and never be used. I make it happen. My problem with Pinterest is not only that it makes copying and unoriginality that much more accessible, but more importantly that it is a distraction from the real live creativity that is happening around us.

Many of you are probably reading this thinking to yourself (or yelling at me through the computer screen) "I'm a proud Pinterest Pinner gosh dangit!" And people please hear me, that is fiiiiiiine, I'm happy you've found Pinterest to be inspiring and fun- really I am! But I guess if you're going to remain a Proud Pinner, I challenge you to actually DO the things you pin. Like now, this week. Pick a project you've pinned and actually accomplish it. I promise you that when you do you will get 10x the satisfaction than if you just let it sit there on Pinterest. I also challenge you to take a break from being "inspired" by Pinterest, because I venture to say that true genuine raw inspiration does not exist in the collection of completed projects and concepts that fill the pages of Pinterest. Inspiration comes from the way that we organically interact with the world around us.

Listen, in no way shape or form am I telling any of you to stop pinning or enjoying Pinterest. Do what ya gotta do! It's just a common question I get asked, if I use Pinterest, and I figured it's about time I share my opinion. Do you agree? Disagree? I welcome your input and feedback in the comment section... but don't post anonymously just because you disagree : )

Little Things

One of the things I am most passionate about is

integrating creativity into every day life.

The beautiful thing about that is anyone can do it, it doesn't look any certain way, it's all about looking at your life and finding little (or big) ways to spice it up. Something as simple as hiding a note for your spouse, or stopping a moment to take a picture, eating with cloth napkins, or sending someone snail mail... These are small joys of life that we are going to completely miss out on if we don't stop and take a moment to DO them. Not so that we look cooler or impress people but so that we simply stop, slow down, and enjoy life. One day when I'm old and looking back on my life I don't just want to say that I lived it, I want to say that I enjoyed it. That I truly took the time to stop and savor moments, to make them happier, to help others enjoy life. This is what Joel and I desire for our life, and for our family.

What a sweet life it would be if we all chose to live a little more creatively each day.

The 2nd Annual Birthday Staycation!

Last year when my birthday rolled around we decided to celebrate with a little staycation at the JW Marriott. It worked out so well that we decided to make it an annual thing, as it falls right in the middle of summer AND right at our half anniversary... both the perfect excuses to treat ourselves a little bit. I must say the little "every 6 months" vacationing plan we've come up with has been working out rather well... the goal is to always do a little traveling for our anniversary in January and always staycay in July, we'll see if we can stick to that.

Anyway THIS year we booked our staycation at The Biltmore Resort & Spa and could not have been happier that's where we ended up. Growing up in Arcadia The Biltmore was always THE talked about place and where everybody always seemed to be going so it was time for me to see what all the fuss was about. And now I understand. That place is AMAZING, everything about it. What we loved most is how historical and old-school it is but at the same time how it remains updated and modern. The property was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who I have been obsessed with since a field trip to his house in elementary school. It was so fun seeing his style and all of the tributes to him throughout the property, again such history and meaning that you just don't get at newer hotel properties. Needless to say our stay there was flawless and we will definitely be returning in the future.

The weekend started off with a little homemade birthday breakfast courtesy of my favorite husband... M&M Pancakes of course. Not to mention served on our custom made special day plate.

Then it was off to The Biltmore for some much needed pool time. The package we bought included breakfast lunch and dinner at any of their dining choices so we opted for a little poolside lunch and enjoyed our refreshing drinks and meal while catching some sun. THE best.

Then this handsome guy took me out for a birthday dinner at one of their restaurants... I highly recommend booking these packages that include the meals with the stay. I realize some might do more harm than good to your final bill BUT if you can catch the right ones they are totally worth it. We just think it's so nice to book the whole package at once, and have just one charge rather than worrying about paying for each meal as you go. We did this at the JW Marriott last year and it worked out perfectly there too. 

After dinner we enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset out on our balcony, literally felt like the sky was pink and orange as far as we could see. We went and got some milkshakes to enjoy by the pool and ended up storm watching as the sky filled with lightning, no thunder or rain for a while, just lightning. It was awesome.

The next morning we leisurely woke up and roamed around the hotel before we sat down for breakfast. The Biltmore really is a gorgeous property with SO much to explore including a strip of little boutique shops, cafe/coffee shop, gorgeous gardens, games... the list goes on and on. Yes ALL on the hotel property. In our opinion a good hotel makes you feel like you've been temporarily transported to a totally new place/environment even if you're still actually in your home state.

We had the best time on our little getaway. The time by the pool, delicious meals, completely uninterrupted time together, even the rain/storm all made for the perfect staycation. We can't wait to go back to The Biltmore, maybe we'll find an excuse to make it back before next year : ) I am SO grateful and happy to be married to a man who enjoys little getaways like this, and who treats me so good beyond what I would ever deserve. We both realize that this is the time in our life to be doing things like this, truly just savoring and enjoying life together, sometimes in more extravagant ways than others : ) No matter what it is that we're doing we are always happy and thankful to be doing it together, and weekends like this remind me just how lucky I am to be married to my best friend.

Peanut Butter Milkshakes!

A few nights ago we were craving a little late night snack and decided to use up some of the ice cream we had leftover from a party. For some random reason peanut butter milkshakes popped into my head, and all Joel had to hear was "peanut butter" to get on board. So we busted out the blender, googled a quick and easy recipe, and there ya go... the most delicious peanut butter milkshake you will EVER have. Why is this blog-worthy you ask? Maybe because these milkshakes will literally change.your.life. So much so that I even included the SUPER simple and obvious recipe below. Is it embarrassing that I wanted to google this before we tried it? I mean you never can be too careful with milkshake ratios, right? And besides it's not like you can find a peanut butter milkshake recipe just anywhere!

As promised, here's the recipe:

1 cup milk

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoon sugar

A Golden Birthday Party!

On Tuesday my sister Kristin turned 25 on the 25th! Her golden birthday! To celebrate, her other sisters Julie, Jamie and myself threw her a golden party, all things gold & glitter. It was fab, how can anything involving gold and glitter be anything but fabulous??