beach bound

Praise the Lord, it's finally Friday. Can I get an amen?!

And this Friday has been counted down even more than a usual weekend...

I'm headed to the beach in about 3 hours, hallelujah!

I've been dreaming of nothing but white sand beaches, a cold drink in my hand, the wind in my hair, and the sun on my skin...and the day has finally arrived.

If only these words could show my excitement to y'all...I could just cry, I'm so ready for a vacation. The beach is pretty much all I've talked about for weeks on end...

So, sweet friends, I hope you enjoy your Memorial Day weekends. I know I sure will. I'll think of you while I'm soaking up the sun with a fruity drink in my hand and not a care in the world! Ah, sweet vacation. Life is good.

Knee deep in the water somewhere

Got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind through my hair

Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair

Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky

never been so happy, never felt so high

and I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

When you lose yourself, you find a key to paradise!

-"Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band


Life doesn't get much better than this!
Happy Friday, y'all!

a tuesday funny

Funniest commercial ever. 

And guess who just had to show it to me? My father.

I wish I had videoed him imitating the dance, because I'm pretty sure that was even funnier than the actual commercial. 

Happy Tuesday, y'all. Hope this brought a little smile to your day!

Just your usual Monday afternoon brain dump...

You know what sucks more than a Monday? 

Being stuck in a blog rut. Writer's block. Whatever you want to call it.

That's right where I've been over the past few weeks.

I can't tell you how many times I've opened blogger wanting, needing, having to write...but coming up with nothing but a blank, empty white screen.

Frustrating, to say the least. I have approximately 12 drafts that have about 4 sentences in them. What's wrong with me, people?

And even more so, the last few weeks have been so great. I feel like I've had a million and one things to update y'all on, but yet nothing comes out. Nevertheless, I'm gonna open up this post and just write. I'm just going to type and see what happens...I'm needing some blog therapy!

Following in the footsteps of one of my favorite bloggers, sweet little Aly, I'm jumping headfirst back into the blog world with a few of my current favorites...here we go.

{current playlist}

-"Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffett (the current summer theme song)

-"Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

-"Good Life" by OneRepublic

-"Never Gonna Leave This Bed" by Maroon 5

-"Lost Without Each Other" by Hanson

{current nailpolish}

"Guy Meets Galveston" by OPI Texas Collection...the perfect summer color!

{current drink}

I'm super addicted to Crystal Light...but only the Wild Strawberry flavor. I literally go through 2 boxes a week. I may or may not be drinking one as I type. It's fabulous...and let's just say, it goes well with vodka, also :)

{current food}

Anything Mexican. Or Zaxby's. That's all I've been craving lately, but of course, I haven't even let myself within 5 miles of either of those places. Pure torture, I tell you! Why can't nachos and fried chicken be healthy for you? Ah, in a perfect world.

{current TV show}

Judge me all you want, but I'm currently watching "Why Not? with Shania Twain." She was always my favorite back in the day, so I'm loving this reality series. She's still fabulous and she's still got that voice. And that show is one of the only reasons I'll ever like Oprah...there, I said it. I don't like Oprah.

{current wishlist}

-an all-expenses-paid vacation to St. Thomas. Or the Bahamas. Or Tahiti. Take your pick of any tropical island and send me there, please!

-an extra 8 hours in just one day to catch up on sleep...that would be heaven

-Carrie Underwood's legs and Marissa Miller's abs

-a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes...oh, what I'd do for one of those right now!

{current triumphs}

I'm 8 days short of my 1-year-anniversary of starting my diet journey. 83 lbs lost, 365 days passed, so much confidence gained in myself...I'm happier now than I've ever been, and I know a lot has to do with me learning to love myself and who I am. I'm finally comfortable in my own skin, and it sure does feel good to be in this place!

{current celeb crush}

Hello, Chris Pine. Maybe it's that smile, maybe it's those eyes...but either way, holy moly. 

{current blessing}

God's so visible hand on my life right now...it's crazy to me how I can see Him working ever-so-diligently in my every day life and the things that are going on with me right now. He's opening one door after another and things are falling into place and I'm so thankful! He is faithful, that's for sure! 

{current outfit}

My usual outfit...Nike shorts and an XL Kappa Delta t-shirt, my most favorite and most comfortable clothes ever! And yes, I am still stuck in the college girl wardrobe...one day I'll stop wearing my sorority t-shirts...maybe.

{current indulgence}

There's a box of Snicker's 90-Calorie Ice Cream bars that the boy surprised me with in my freezer that are calling my name as we speak. I may need to make my roommate put a lock on the fridge sooner or later. Oh, and I just have to tell y'all this...I worked all 3 nights this weekend, but A (a.k.a. the boy) was in town visiting family and friends. I pulled up in my driveway Saturday morning and he's at my house waiting on me with flowers and breakfast from Chick-fil-A. I know, right! Am I a lucky girl or what?!

{current excitement}

In approximately 96 hours I will be on a mini-4 day vacay to the beach with A and his family! Counting down the hours until I am laying on the sand, drink in my hand, wind blowing my hair, soaking up the sun, without a care in the world. I have never been so ready for a getaway as I am right now...come on, Friday!

{current mood}

Blessed, happy, content, mildly exhausted, and hopeful. 

Happy Monday, y'all.

Fill me in on what's been going on with my favorites (you, duh!)  lately! 

BTW, I think you need to go check out Mingle Monday over at my girl Meg's amazing and wonderful blog. It's always a great time, and it's a fab way to meet some awesome new blog friends! 

days like these

Well hey there, blog world. How nice to see you again. It's been awhile, I know. You're probably mad at me, but I promise I'm back and I'm not going anywhere for a while. So let's just get over this little tiff in our relationship and go back to loving each other. Sound like a plan? Okay, good.

I posted earlier today, but Blogger decided to hate me and delete all of my hard work, so bear with me. I can't go with much longer without posting...I'm having withdrawals. And I've had some sweet bloggers/IRL friends question what in the world I've been doing (ahem, Shelby!) so here I am. Back in action.

It's been a busy few weeks. Busy, but good. Oh, so good. You know that point where you stop, take a deep breath, and realize that life is finally beginning to fall into place? Well I'm here. Right smack in the middle of that point, and I'm so happy. 

Let's see. Where to begin the recap?

{Oxford} I spent all of last weekend in my favorite town. Shocker, I know. I'm sure you all think I practically live there, which I do. And I'm totally okay with that. But if you've ever been to Oxford, you understand. And this past weekend was one of my favorite Oxford weekends of the year--Double Decker Arts and Music Festival. They shut down the square, put up huge stages for a ton of bands to play, and booths full of art, clothing, pottery, and etc take over any empty space they can find. So fun, one of my favorite traditions, and always a weekend to remember. It's pretty much just one big excuse for all of my favorite people to spend 3 days together in my favorite town. Good for the soul. And I've officially got a sweet guy in my life (for those of you that have been wondering so patiently)...that may be just part of the reason I'm happy. Here are a few pics from the weekend...

{Jason Aldean} If you know me well, you know that I'm usually not a big fan of country music. Any song that mentions honky tonk badonkadonks, Nascar racing, whiskey drankin', or redneck women makes me want to bang my head against a wall...to say the least. But, lucky for me, a few good friends have gotten me addicted to the new Jason Aldean CD, and lucky me--he just so happened to be in my city this past week for a concert. We went and enjoyed every second of it with a cold beer in our hands...such a fun night! And the company I was with made it all even better. Somehow I didn't even get a picture with the people I came with, but I did get a pic with a few of my favorite gals...

And just for good measure...my summer theme song. Someone give me some sunshine, a beer, a back road, and best friends. Hello, perfection.





{Water for Elephants} Okay, have y'all seen this movie? Did you love it?! I sure did. I was skeptical at first, I'll admit it, but when the credits at the end started rolling, all I wanted to do was watch it again. Granted, it's pretty much Titanic on a train...and you can't really go wrong when you put Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson on the screen together. But, nevertheless, I loved it. I cried, I'll admit it. I'll definitely be buying that one! Go see it, if you haven't already!





{Symphony} We sang this Chris Tomlin song at church on Sunday and it has been stuck in my head constantly since I heard it. Little did I know I already had the song on my iPod...shows how many songs I have. Listen to the beautiful lyrics of this song...makes my heart happy. Sometimes, when I finally sit, take a break from the world, and think about how much He loves me, it overwhelms me. He, the creator of the universe, who the rocks cry out to, loves me and wants my heart. Desires me to be His own. And I have done nothing to deserve this love, but He has done everything for me to serve Him. Beautiful, perfect love. I am so thankful for His mercies on days when I feel like I can do nothing right. Days when I feel as far away from grace as possible...I'm quickly reminded that nothing can separate me from His love. What a promise! 





That's the wrap up of life lately. I've spent the last few days off at the pool, working on my summer glow. So far, it's more of a summer burn, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Nothing like pool days with my friends to prepare me for the next two nights at work. I guess I can't complain, I see the pool about as much as I see the hospital these days, so life is pretty great. And I'm off work all weekend. Oxford, here I come! 


Days like these make me hopeful for the days to come...


Big things are happening in my life and I'm thankful for where I am. I'm really excited to see where God leads me in different areas over the next few months...should be a fun journey. God is good. Life is good. What more could I ask for? :)


"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, height nor depth, 
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love 
of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39