February Goals + January Goal Update

February is going to fly by considering we are more than a fourth of the way through.  Before I share February Goals, I want to give you an update on how I did in January.

1. Read Two Books - I only read one. I had plans to read the third book in the Red Rising series, Morning Star, but the release date was later than I thought.  This trilogy is so good!  February 9th could not come sooner.

2. Take the Pups on Walks At Least 3 times Per Week - This happened.  I have proof. Can we also talk about how challenging it is to walk TWO dogs?!

3. Try Two New Recipes - I tried this Kale/Lemon/Chicken casserole recipe.  It wasn't my favorite- too lemony.  I also bought the ingredients for this soup recipe.  I haven't made it yet, (because we had several 80 degree days) so I did not accomplish this goal.  I did however discover a new favorite drink, coconut water with a lemon squeezed in.  I drank SO much more water drinking this than regular water, so I consider this a win.

4. Host a Party - done! - We had some people over for New Year's Eve.  Do you think I managed to get a group photo?  No.  Of course not, but I did get a picture of some snacks that no one ate.

5. Organize the Garage Space - This was one of my goals?!

6. Post One Blog Per Week - Done in January.  I also updated the header and side bar.  It feels a little more fresh over here on the Great Goodness.

7. Prep our Guest Room for our New House Mate, Tanner! - Taylor's brother, Tanner, moved in the last week of January to live with us for a few months before starting his new job this Summer. We knocked this one out. I think this became our focus, so we forgot about the garage.  I plan to post a blog on the before and after.

8. Stretch Every Night Before Bed - This happened like 10 % of nights.  I need to find a better time to make this happen.

Other highlights this month included:

Meeting up with my sister, Noelle, and nephew, Haddon at The Magnolia Market.

Contributing to Noelle's awesome blog, Manuevering the Middle, on her new series Teachers Around the Globe.

Celebrating Taylor's birthday by going to Uchiko and Contigo (in the same night) which I didn't get a single picture of, but I did get a picture of him wearing his new birthday present.  It is a fancy work apron.

February Goals

1.  February is going to be our month of financial fasting.  We set a budget on February 1st, and we are sticking to it.  No impromptu money spending.  There is nothing we need this month.  We also finally set up automatic drafts for all of our bills and tithing.

2.  Plan and organize our New Orleans trip in March (woohoo!).  We have our hotel and flights booked.  Now we can plan the fun parts!

3. Blog weekly. 

4. Go on walks with Taylor everyday as a way for us to talk without any distractions and get a little exercise. And find a better time of day to stretch.

5. Create a few tutorials based on the Baby Shower I am hosting in April.

6. Read two books.  Any book recommendations out there?

7. Finish watching Survivor.  I am seriously hooked.  For all of the people out there who stopped watching back in Season 2, I encouraged you to jump on Hulu and start watching.  They have introduced some amazing twists.  Has anyone ever applied to be on the show?

Thanks for reading, friends!

Our Wedding: Decorations and Details

Taylor and I married in the summer of 2013. 

It was the best day. 

Last week, I went to friends' wedding, and I started to feel all of those wedding feelings that encouraged me to bust out my wedding album and relive a day I wish I could literally relive.  (Like if I had three wishes, I wish I could wake up again on that day and do it again the exact same way, but only if I had three wishes because... priorities)  What I find hard to believe is how much money we (and my parents) spent on a photographer and how little I see/look at those pictures.  We made a book using Artifact Uprising, and I printed a handful that live on my desk in my classroom, the fridge, and one frame in the living room.  I am disappointed that I don't admire the beautiful work of Clayton Austin more.  But it can feel a little... I don't know ... conceited.. to have all these frames photos of yourself all over your house.  So I am going to be less conceited and put them all over the internet for everyone to admire.

We got married on a cool (for Texas) summer evening in Fort Worth at a small venue called The Rose Chapel.  The building was super old and boasted a lush garden.

Before our ceremony, Taylor had sent me a message in a bottle.  Inside was the very best note and a wooden heart that he had whittled.

My bouquet came from this Etsy store.  It still lives (at my parents' house).  The handle is made out of birch and the flowers came dried which is why it will last forever.

My dear Aunt Sally has made a garter for all of her nieces.  It is beautiful and the picture doesn't do all the details justice.  I made the invitation by knocking off something I saw online.  I forgot to bring the envelope and all the paper goods that were included.  I guess I could print them again and try to photograph them, but I am exhausted just by thinking about it.

The painted candlesticks were an idea I stole from my bridesmaid, Mel's, wedding.  My center pieces needed one more thing, so when I saw those at her wedding, it was over.  They weren't lit because of fussy rules at our venue, but they sure looked neat.  Our table numbers got a second life after my wedding, at my bridesmaid, Mary's, wedding.  I am telling you, recycling wedding items is a lost art.  Taylor and I found these wooden disks while we were walking our dog.  We walked through this field and came upon hundreds of them.  We realized that the field is seasonally home to a Christmas tree farm.  Taylor wood burned and I painted them.  My bridesmaids and I arranged all of the flowers too.

During set up, my bridesmaids, my mom, my sister, my sister's mother in law, my future mother in law, my future sister in law (seriously, I had an army) and I were putting everything together.  Everything in this wedding was hand done, so I came with my hot glue gun and assortment of other tools. I wore a fanny pack during set up.  However, as prepared as I was, I felt overwhelmed with the onslaught of questions directed towards me.  This was my wedding, and I was the lady with the plan, so of course, my kind and generous friends wanted my feedback.  Regardless, I was like "why can't everyone just read my mind?"  Anyway, during set up a bulb on the string of lights broke.  Rather than telling me (and further stressing me out), my bridesmaid, Alexandria, drove to Target and bought another package and replaced it.  I had no idea that it had happened, much less that she had left, and took care of everything.  Thanks, Alexandria!

When I decided to have the oh-so-trendy giant balloons at my wedding, I failed to think about how balloons pop and how they float away without proper weight attached to them.  I promise I thought through most non-balloon related stuff.  Around 4 popped in transit, and then I realized I didn't have any weights.  My bridesmaid, Jeleah, went to the parking lot, found some bricks, threw them on the ground so they would break, and then tied some extra fabric around them.  I mean this is why you have friends that are smarter than you.

In lieu of cake, my family and friends provided cookies, tiny pies, and ice cream sandwiches.  My biggest wedding regret was not eating an ice cream sandwich.

We had a long engagement, so I was just filling that time with any small and inexpensive project I could think of.  Cue tiny place cards with peoples' faces on them!

I am grateful for all of the people who made all these little projects so memorable and worthwhile.  The couple that counseled us helped create those tiny little diamond cubies that hung from the balloons.  My roommates helped me collect paint stir sticks.  My mom and I hand painted all of the candle sticks and wooden pieces.  My friend, Micah, helped me make the decorative yarn garland.  It was such a group effort. Thank you to my family and friends for making my vision come to life!

Ceremony and Portraits Coming Soon

Dance Party USA Coming Soon

Pedro, our Boxer, at 7 months

Dear Pedro,

This month you grew taller than your older sister, Emery!  We knew you were going to be a big boy, but we didn't expect it to happen so quickly.  Which makes it hard to believe that you used to wait your turn to eat by laying underneath her.

You are patient, playful, and have no trouble finding people to lick.  You are starting to understand words like 'walk' and 'get down.'  You are sleeping around 16 hours a day and eating more food than our Amazon Prime subscription can provide.  We love that you fall asleep on our feet, and we hope that you will grow out of your incessant snoring.

We are grateful that you get along with everyone you meet, even the tiniest of humans.

We love you, Pedro!