Locke: A Photo Essay

Locke loves to lay on dad, talk, dream, watch squirrels, find interesting places to sleep and to snuggle with blankets. 

NOW TRENDY: Super Creative Party Themes

OK ya'll, I am beyond excited about this post! As you all know by now, I love a good celebration/party, so I am currently loving that people are going all out for their parties these days! Themes are on a whole new level and it just makes my heart happy.

One of the main reasons I am so excited about this post is because I have a real life example to share! A friend of mine recently had a baby shower and when I saw the pictures I almost cried it was so perfect. 

The theme was children's books and everyone really went above and beyond to make the books come to life through creative refreshments and clever decorations. The result was just adorable and perfect for a baby shower! 

Here are a few of the details!

pictures via Sarah C

I just can't get over it. So great! I especially love the added touch of using those library card labels! (not sure what the technical name for those is, but if you've ever been to elementary school surely you know what I'm talking about)

DO YOU LIKE IT?

Nope. I looooove it. I have some experience in event planning/management, and seeing people get excited about planning parties and creating themes makes me overjoyed!

WILL IT LAST?

Oh man, I think so (and rrreeaally hope so!). I think that the sense of community that comes with planning a well thought out get together will help keep this trend going strong!

OTHER COMMENTS .....

I'm not saying that there haven't been good parties out there until now, I just think that the desire to throw one is more apparent. I mean, my parents planned and threw some amazing birthday parties for me and my sister, and I think that's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about it. 

Plan on, my dears, plan on! 

BONUS:
Click the link to see where the hostesses got their inspiration to create a children's book theme!

Thanks for reading.

Bye friends.

8 Cups. Every Day.

Since I've moved almost a mile into the sky, it's been even more apparent to me that I do not drink near enough water. Occasionally I will wake up feeling sick to my stomach and light headed. I'm no stranger to the feelings of dehydration, and it's something I'm trying to work on. 

So recently my husband came across an app called Waterin. It is a super simple tool that helps you keep track of your water intake and sends you alerts throughout the day letting you know that it's time for more water! 

source

At first I was annoyed because I wasn't  doing a very good job and it was simply serving as a reminder that I am terrible at drinking water. However, slowly but surely, it has made me much more aware of how much water I'm drinking, and although I still struggle to hit the daily recommended amount, this app has definitely helped me make water a more constant thing to have around. 

So if you're having a hard time hitting that 8 glasses a day quota, I encourage you to download this FREE app, Waterin. (available on the iPhone, iPad, Android and possibly other stuff, idk)

BONUS:

If it's a really hot day (shout out, Texas) or you are a more active person (working on iiiit .....) then you do have the option of changing the amount of water you would like to consume every day! 8 glasses is just the suggested minimum. 

BONUS BONUS:

I think it's also helpful to have a reusable water bottle that holds at least a liter. It serves as an additional reminder to carry with you at all times and is another way to visualize how much water you are drinking/need to drink. 

Cheers to staying hydrated!

Thanks for reading!

Bye friends. 

A Little Something For Friday

I wish I had the energy/brain capacity to write a really awesome post today, but I don't. I decided to clean the living room today, in detail, and now it smells really good in here and I just want to sit and smell it and watch HGTV while I await some news on the job front.

So here is my Friday post. Just a few links that I've come across and want to share. I hope you find something that strikes your fancy!

- Some super charming illustrations that reflect my life pretty accurately.

- This is me, openly admitting that I do not like sweet potato fries, and I want to try these butternut squash fries as an alternative. (see pictures 4 & 5)

- An amazing tunic from Curator

- These pointed toe flats from Victoria Secret (I forget that they sell amazing basic wardrobe essentials.)

- A hand bound address book from Etsy.

BONUS:
I had a moment while writing this where I questioned whether or not it was Friday. This week went by so fast!

Thanks for reading.
Bye Friends!

Festive-al Weekend

Don't you just love a good festival?? That has definitely been one of my favorite things about our recent move to Denver. So. Many. Festivals. I'm a big fan, and thankfully so is Jonathan. So this past Saturday he had plans for us to attend TWO festivals (whaaaat. dream day.).

Originally they were both going to be a surprise (a continuation of birthday fun), however, he was really really excited about one of them so he went ahead and told me what it was. 

First we went to the Lafayette Peach Festival. This one was a complete surprise, and I was so pumped! I looove peaches. My family actually used to have a peach tree when I was little. We would pick peaches and my dad would make the most amazing peach cobbler. Ah, memories. 

After walking the whole length of the festival street lined with vendors selling everything from fresh picked vegetables to handmade soaps, we were a bit hungry and stopped at a fun little pizza place, Apiezza. We snagged a table by a window so that we could still enjoy the festival view. They had a special menu for the festival and I could not pass up a refreshing peach italian soda. It was amazing. The pizza was perfection and being able to watch the festival from a comfortable air conditioned area was simply ideal.

With almost full stomachs we were on a mission to get some peach cobbler on the way back to our car. Well, mission possible, because we snagged some from a booth that was completely out of their peach pies and almost out of their cobbler. People here love their peaches. And because of this we were unfortunately not able to get any actual fresh-from-the-farm peaches on our way out because they had all sold out! However, it was still so enjoyable and I can't wait for next year! 

After the peach festival we went home for a hot second to grab a few things and rest before heading to our second festival, Cultivate! This festival is presented by Chipotle (which started in Denver BTW) and is all about promoting sustainable, local, wholesome food. They strive to educate people on the importance of sustainability while entertaining them with all day live music (cold war kids headlined ..... I knew a song ..... ) and live cooking demonstrations from well known chefs. And obviously, they had some amazing food as well. 

We had a blast. There was so much good food and oh, did I mention that I met Blais from Top Chef? BECAUSE I SO DID. And he's really photogenic ..... 

BONUS:

We met this kid (teen) who helped out Blais during the cooking demo. He's apparently a prodigy chef that caught the eye of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban who is now making a documentary about him. (here's to hoping I make the cut, right?) Anyways, his name is Aaron Kirschner and you should look him up!

BONUS BONUS:
- We bought an amazing soy candle from Incendiary Scents at the peach festival.
- And we enjoyed a pecan pie doughnut from Glazed and Confused Doughnuts in the Artisans Hall at Cultivate!

We're always on the lookout for mention of other festivals in our area. There are quite a few coming up in these next few months before it gets too cold. And I say, bring it on. 

Well everyone, as always, thanks for reading!

Bye friends. 

A Grab Bag Of Sorts

Hey guys!

I want to start out by saying thank you to those of you who sent me little bits of encouragement yesterday after I posted "I just need to 'do me' for awhile." I'll be honest, it was a little embarrassing to post something like that, but it felt really good and yesterday being my first full day with out social media went really well. I'm looking forward to this time and what it is going to do for me. Now, I promise that I won't constantly post about this, but occasionally I will in order to hold myself accountable.

So, that being said, one of the (many) reasons that I am trying to rid my life of various distractions is so that I am able to do things that I truly love doing, or have wanted to try doing. Instead of grabbing my phone to mindlessly stare at it, I want to grab things (get the post title now?? heh) that will make me feel more productive. Things like .....

1. Craft Supplies
When I was little I was ...... adorable. And along with being adorable and a bit chunky, I was all about crafting. I still craft occasionally but not near as much as I would like to. So I want to channel my 10 year old self and craft my heart out.

BONUS: Some DIYs I am particularly excited about
- DIY Oversized "Gallery Prints" via little chief honey bee
- T-Shirt Headbands via Milo&Ben
- And I want to experiment with making homemade beauty products such as lip balm, deoderant and soap!

2. Tennis Shoes/Yoga Pants
So my husband and I have been trying to eat better lately. It's actually been going pretty well. We both feel good about it. But we cheat on the weekends, because we love food to much not too. Anyways, all that is great, but we have not been working out really at all, and that's just silly. So I am really wanting to try to make that a big part of this whoooole thing.

BONUS:
I'm particularly wanting to get into Hot Yoga. Have ya'll heard about this? It's also called Bikram Yoga and apparently It can change your life. It has SO many benefits, and if it becomes a regular thing for you than it will more than likely increase your daily water intake (which can't hurt!). Read this to learn more about all of the benefits!

3. A Book
I have never been much of a reader. More so when I was little, I rrreeally loved (and still love) Roald Dahl. But through High School and college I only made it through the occasional book. But it's a goal of mine to make it through all of the Harry Potter series. I have had all of the books since they came out and have never made it through book 4. So wish me luck!

BONUS: Books I want to read after I make it though HP .....
- The Wild Wood Chronicles (written by the lead singer of the decemberists)
- Less Is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness
- Clean Gut: The Breakthrough Plan for Eliminating the Root Cause of Disease and Revolutionizing Your Health

OK, well, I don't know what has gotten into me with these super wordy posts but, I'm thinking tomorrow I will post about the festivals that Jonathan took me too for post-birthday weekend! (aka there will be pictures) So, that'll be fun.

Thanks for reading!
Bye friends.

"I just need to 'do me' for awhile."

So here's the thing ...

This Sunday, the preacher at one of the churches we have been trying out brought up a quote from Richard Beck's blog Experimental Theology. Richard was a professor of mine and is also a family friend. He and his wife helped serve cake/desserts at my wedding so, they're my heros.

Anyways, here's the quote ....


" ..... why do people want to inform everybody back home that they are going to a 'beautiful' place like Malibu? Do they have no shame? No social skills? Do they like making people envious?

Why would you want to let a person back home know, as he or she slogs through their mid-week work commute, that you are currently sitting at the beach? What sort of sick person Tweets about sitting on the beach while others are working?"


So this quote kind of struck a chord with me. 

I've been struggling with the concept of what social media used to be for me vs. what it is now. Social media sites (i'm specifically referring to facebook, twitter, and instagram) used to be a form of mindless entertainment for me, and a way to keep up with what was going on in peoples lives. I feel like that's what they are for most people. But within the past couple of years I have let it become too much of a necessity. On top of that, I have started relating to things like the above quote. (face meet palm)

I have allowed pictures of vacations (which I can't afford to take), status updates about jobs (which I don't currently have) and tweets about productive days cleaning the house and doing all of the laundry (I don't think I have ever in my life done "all of the laundry") to become legitimate reasons for me to judge myself, my priorities and my coolness. (smh) Not to mention the fact that I have also allowed my social media persona to become a photoshopped (or in this case instagram filtered) image of what my real life actually looks like. (rolls eyes)

And I'll tell you, it's not a good feeling when you realize how much of an affect these silly websites have on your life. I'm annoyed with myself for letting it get this bad. But I don't need anything else fueling my self judgement, so I'm attempting to find comfort in the possibility that I'm not the only person who has experienced this.

ANYWAYS, all of this to say that I have decided to step away from my personal social media profiles for awhile (facebook, twitter and instagram) in order to realign myself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually without the distraction of a daily battle between myself and said social media. It's simple really, I just need to "do me" for awhile. I just need to re-figure out who "me" really is. I think I deserve that.

At first I was hesitant to share this decision on my blog but then I realized that the title of my blog is "life as a blog" and that maybe I should live up to that title and be a bit more transparent and open. I'm thankful for bloggers like Kelle from enjoy the small things and this post from the blog Kendi Everyday because they encourage me to be OK with a post that isn't about something necessarily creative or exciting or happy, but simply about something real.

That being said, I do plan on continuing to post on my blog (fun things and real life things included), but I won't be sharing the posts on any form of social media so, if you would like to continue reading my posts then I encourage you to become a follower, bookmark this site, add me to your reader or follow the blog through email. (see right side of the screen)

DISCLAIMER:
I still see the value social media and am not at all bashing or criticizing what social media is (in fact I actually am exploring job opportunities in the realm of social media). This is a personal decision and a personal journey.

BONUS: 
I encourage you to visit Experimental Theology and read the "The Angel of the iPhone" series. I'm slowly reading through it because there are some big ol' words in there, but overall it is relevant to me, extremely well written and well thought out. 

Well, If you made it through this wordy mess than I truly appreciate your dedication, and thank you for reading!
Bye friends.