it's been too long, my friends.

YOU GUYS!

I remembered my password! Only took a handful of tries before I 'guessed' correctly! ;)

And that is why I haven't posted in well.. forrrrever.

Ok let's get down to business.. MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!
I know, exciting stuff! Beyond exciting stuff! (& she's a blogger too - check her out y'all!)

So what do all best friends do? They plan a party, of course :)
Waaaay back in May, I surprised my 'sidekick' Kristin and her fiancé Jeremy with a beach themed engagement party. Fun, right? The big engagement happened on the beach, so while I couldn't actually convince everyone to head to Florida just for an engagement party, I wanted to bring the beach to everyone here in Indiana, or at least try to. Okay. So let me just tell you - this theme was so easy.. bright colors, sand buckets, beach towels, shovels, sunscreen, beach balls.. let me repeat: so easy :)

And with any themed party, dressing up was a must.. I mean, right? {Although I'm still a little bitter that most didn't actually dress up - psh party poopers!} But me? I was all about it! I wore my bathing suit - Ok, I might have taken it a bit too far with that - but covered up with my favorite black beach dress, a fedora, and flip flops.

I was so comfortable. Cha-ching badda bing!

What's the best kind of party? In my opinion, A surprise party! 
{although I think someones mother (no names...mavis edison) spoiled that surprise haha!} 
The couple knew of the party but not of the theme or any details so in keeping them included in feeling like true Florida vacationers, I surprised Kristin and Jeremy with fun airbrush tshirts to wear. ;)

Aren't they so cute!
Remember going to Florida way back in the day and getting an airbrush tee with your name on it in front of a picture of a beach setting? no? well I did that every spring break, and then wore it to school that Monday after break. cool right! & since Kristin is my sidekick and often did it with me, I just haaad to get these made for this party. (which by the way, did you know no one does airbrush around here? must be out of style or something. who would have guessed! big thanks to a small company down in Greenwood for making these must-have tees!) 

With any beach party, you must serve easy beach style food right? The party goers stuffed their bellies (hopefully!) with mini cheeseburgers, potato chips (served in sand buckets of course), goldfish, veggie kabobs, flip flop cookies, fruit cups...

...Oh! And a yummy cocktail :)
(Can't wait till the warm weather returns so I can make this summer drink again!)

Lets talk decorations. My favorite might be the centerpiece. For the actual proposal, Jeremy wrote 'will you marry me?' in the sand during this memorable spring break trip. {And rumor has it, it took him a couple tries to get it just right. So cute!} So, while trying to bring the engagement back to Indiana, I got my creative juices flowing & wrote the big question in store-bought sand. :) My other favorites were the beach towels used as tablecloths, sand buckets used for snacks, sunscreen and floatation devices surrounding the food, beach balls hanging from the ceiling, and the list goes on...

A little fun fact - prior to the engagement, Jeremy teased poor Kristin with Ring Pops and insisted he would use those for the ring.. what a dude. so naturally, I had to have those around during the party. :)

I had so much fun planning this & I really appreciate everyone coming to support one of my favorite couples! I am soooo happy for Kirk & truly believe she has met her other half! Their big day is this June and I am beyond excited! Too soon to start counting the days? Nah! We're at 74 ;)

Now on to plan the bridal shower with Aly - the MOH! :)
XO

30 before 30.

Well, it is officially my last year in my 20's!

I honestly didn't imagine I would be single, living with my sister, and working as a nanny as I round out my 20's but I am happy with the way things are and okay with where I am. 100% okay with it! I am actually excited to start my 30's - most probably think I'm 100% weird for saying that!

So, I thought I would have some fun in this last year & make a list of 30 things I am to complete before I turn 30! I know, right?
{ok - one of my sisters good friends gave me the idea & I am in LOVE!}

Ready, Set, Rock & Roll...

1. teach myself how to knit
2. visit casie in denver
3. mail five letters to five dear friends
4. visit a winery (can you believe I haven't been to oliver?) - done! visited oliver with my sister. :)
5. travel somewhere new
6. travel somewhere alone
7. sign up for a yoga class
8. continue to lose those ugly pounds
9. hike a mountain & take glorious pictures
10. start my own garden (haven't determined veggies yet!)
11. attend a music festival
12. cook a meal for friends
13. write a letter to myself to read in 10 years
14. learn something new (thinking a foreign language)
15. read five books
16. run three 5Ks (who wants to join?)
17. get another tattoo
18. treat myself to a full body massage
19. take a ballroom dance class
20. gamble at an actual table (slot machines are not allowed - ha!)
21. go deep sea fishing (must do this with my dad!)
22. parasail :)
23. weekend trip to canada
24. journal more often
25. attend an opera
26. teach myself to do a handstand
27. go to a shooting range
28. watch the sunrise and sunset on the same day
29. go an entire weekend with NO internet (I think I can, I think I can..)
30. learn the thriller dance

(and just because.. 31. update, change, and blog more!)

So, what do y'all think? Please share any other suggestions!

XO

plant love

well well.. here i am posting after a couple months. i'm confused too.

i think this summer weather has forced me to forget about bloggin' .. WHAT?
theres so much to catch you up on, but for now i'll post about decorating a plant container into something other than a plain plant container. & i will say it again.. plant container. {i agree, i wish this post was a little more exciting}

so here is a cactus plant my mom bought.. shes so nice isnt she?
{and by the way, if you aren't one to keep plants alive, or need something easy - buying a cactus planter is the way to do it! no need to water it, for obvious reasons ;) & no maintenance involved! i know right? who would have thought!}

so here we are again with the planter. price tag included. boring right?

i added some burlap...

annnnnd voilá...

its so easy - nothing fancy but i personally think it looks a lot better with a little burlap :) 

now, what will my next project be...

XO

office fixin'

i love anything that starts with re- {well maybe not everything} but reorganize, redecorate, remodel are good words. and i use a lot of those re- words.

so today, lets talk about my office. or should i say, lets reorganize my office. :)
originally my office looked like any normal office - a desk with loads of papers, a few organized holders, and a computer.
but really, it was just an unused office space.

yep, told you it needed some love & attention...

so in came one of the re- words.

reorganize.
i figured - why not make it into a craft room? cause we all know i love me some crafts!
first things first: get some inexpensive baskets and shelves for storage. i took a trip to ikea with my sister and momma & boy did we get some good finds. {if you haven't been to an ikea... you.must.go} we went to cincy and i would imagine it isn't as crowded as the one in chicago - highly recommended. 

side note: in planning for your first trip to ikea, i would focus on a certain room of your home. the place is a bit overwhelming so it helps to just focus on certain items at a time for your office, or bedroom, or whatever you desire.. make sense? just a little tip from me myself & i :)

ok back to my reorganized office.
so once i got home with all my new goodies {oh! some items were purchased at the container store.. also a favorite, but a little bit more pricey} i then organized all my craft things. in other words, i removed all my supplies from my rolling bag - yes, i have one of those. and i organized everything {i mean, everything - scrap paper, stickers, paint, stationary, string, ribbon, scissors, cutouts, etc} into clear jars or marked storage boxes.

i didn't realize i had half of the stuff because everything had been in an enclosed bag. it was like christmas morning. ...oh i didn't know i had one of those... or this crazy paper... how cool would this be on that... and on and on. i'm sure you can imagine.

so now no more enclosed bag. i can now see my options and know what i'm working with. score!

see, nothing a few new storage boxes and containers couldn't fix. i am in LOVE with my new office.

and i must apologize for the delay in posts.. it'll never happen again :)

XO

hump day. :)

howdy! happy hump day y'all :)
now if only the weather was the same as mondays..

i'm kinda over the dreary weather - actually not kinda, i definitely am. i like to keep myself busy so i don't have to think about it. {out of sight, out of mind} although its not completely out of sight, but you catch my drift.. so let's get to some of the fun things i've been doing shall we?

three words: island bar crawl.
i know right? who doesn't love a bar crawl, especially a just-cause-we-wanna-crawl type of crawl. some friends call downtown an island so we did a 'just cause' bar crawl around a new area downtown - fountain square. well, a new area to us. who knew there were so many cute little bars in fountain square? i sure didn't! so we threw on some leis and called it an... island bar crawl. 

the plan was to start at la margarita for margaritas then crawl into each establishment that serves alcohol and have one drink. after the restaurant bucket list book i made, i was all about trying these new places. and boy we had so much fun! :) speaking of the book, my sister and i decided to try one of the places on friday night - sushi house in geist. and i must say it was a success! definitely looking forward to trying more new restaurants in my book.

to round off my fun weekend, i took a trip down yonder to seymour ;) for amandas wedding shower.
i am so happy for that girlie. XO

and you better believe i was already thinking about the next weekend as i was laying in bed sunday night. just admit it, you probably were too.

and now its wednesday.. two days. twoooo-a!
and guess what? my very good friend kim is heading to the hospital friday am to get ready for her second little one. so pumped! can not wait to meet little corbin. :) another busy and fun weekend ahead! uh and sorry this post was nothing but my weekend and a few other random things. i'll call it an all about jenn rae news post. {so dorky}

oh! in other cleaning news, i did clean out my entire jeep this week.. such a good feeling.
alright. enough of the rambling. :)

have a good day y'all.
XO

easy breakfast

whew it's 10:30 and i'm finally able to sit down and relax. what a productive night!

but honestly, i'd rather have a super busy day than a relaxing one. {i always have a list, and i always check things off that list.} some nights, like tonight, i immediately start on my to do list as soon as i get home. 'cause once i sit on that couch.. oh there is no gettin' up. i google. i check facebook. i youtube {by the way, get on there & watch family feud pork loin on ellen - hilarious!}. i check facebook. i catch up on my dvr. i update twitter. i check facebook, again.. its a sad sad cycle. it's like pringles, once you pop you can't stop.

so my to do list for this evening:
eat dinner {yep it's on there}, clean the piles of things on my desk, put crafts away, and start cleaning out & organizing the closet in the office - turns out i didn't just start this..

yep, i got everything checked off & completed. score!

ok because i know you want more than just my evening recap, here is an easy & yummy oatmeal recipe i found on pinterest...

blueberry & raspberry baked oatmeal

recipe from sohowsittaste.com!

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup maple syrup   i used sugar free

1 cup milk   i used almond milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

1 cup blueberries or raspberries   i used both, frozen & a few extra

preheat oven to 375.
lightly grease 2 quart baking dish.
mix oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. stir to combine.
in a separate bowl, combine the syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.

spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. top with half of the berries. 
sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. 
pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats. 
sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. 
bake for about 35 minutes, or until the oats have set. 
let cool before serving.

before the oven, after the oven. they look the same huh?

next time, i may use a smaller dish or add in more berries - or both!

this recipe was yummy the entire week and made for easy mornings.

enjoy! XO

weekend & a craft.

hellooooo rain.

and boohoo to tuesday.


you are my least favorite day of the week. every week. and this week isn't any different. i'm blaming it on the rain. unless you're a fisherman or a puddle stomper, i'm assuming you would agree that rainy days aren't the best days. i am exhausted with a capital e. and the thing is, i didn't do much this weekend. whats up with that?

literally did nothing. {which was perfect considering the next month is busy busy busy!}
i relaxed and snacked. yep, did nothing. :)

i did, however, make a restaurant book of all sorts of places i have yet to dine at. {yes i have lived in the area my entire life. wish this idea came to me way back when} after each visit, i'll mark the page with a sticker. first outing is this friday - pretty excited to try these new places.

restaurants range from.. well anything & everything. and located anywhere & everywhere. well, in indy and the northside.

well y'all hope your tuesday is a bit more sunny than mine.

XO