Show & Tell Tuesday : Gift List

Hello and happy Tuesday! I'm linking up with Momfessionals today with a Christmas gift list following the lines of "Want, Need, Wear & Read".

Friday Favorites

Another Friday Favorites joining the link-up on Erika's blog! I missed a few of these but I love recording my random favorites.

Life Lately

Our life lately has been very full, all very good things, but I have felt like our weeks have been filled to the brim.

What I'm Reading : October

I have been on a serious reading streak recently. Although after looking at my October reads I think it really hit towards the end of the month. In November I've already read 3 books, but I only read two in October.

A Trip to New York City : Part 2

There is Jesse in the neon green shoes!

Sunday morning we woke up and began our journey of finding Jesse and cheering him on as much as possible. The marathon had an amazing app where you could track the runners as they ran. It was an approximation based on their more recent pace, but they recorded their time almost every mile. We travelled down to Queens to see him at mile 8. I got emotional when the first runners rounded the bend. We eventually saw Jesse and he was looking great! We all went crazy when we saw him.

A Trip to New York City : Part 1

The other weekend we traveled to New York City to cheer Jesse on when he ran the New York City Marathon. He ran the LA marathon two years ago and when he entered for NYC he assumed he wouldn't get in because it's a lottery system. Well he won entry and was a little nervous because he wasn't able to train as much as he hoped but he did great! We were able to see him at 3 different locations and we had a great time cheering him on!

A Trip to Boston : Part 2 + A Linkup

ceiling of the Old South Meeting House || the top of Bunker Hill

I am continuing our Boston recap from when left the Union Oyster House. After our late lunch we finished the Freedom Trail in Bunker Hill which is about a mile away from the stop before it. We also walked to the top of the monument, around 300 steps. It was a lot of walking, but I wouldn't have it any other way because I love walking! The neighborhoods around Bunker Hill (Back Bay maybe?) are beautiful as well. I would love to live in Boston all the houses are beautiful and quaint! The other stop we actually toured was Paul Revere's house. It's a quick tour but definitely worth seeing! It's crazy how many people used to live in very small houses.

A Trip to Boston : Part 1

the (current) state house

Well it seems I have fallen off the grid a bit. Y'all traveling for the entire weekend is beautiful and rewarding but it can also make you fall a bit behind! Last week felt very busy and full but full of great things and quality time with people we love. I have so much to write about with two weekends traveling! First up - Boston!

Friday Favorites

Another Friday Favorites joining the link-up on Erika's blog! Let's go!

5 Reasons I Love Baltimore

I have lived in Baltimore my whole life aside from my four years at Virginia Tech. I will be honest, I haven't always loved my hometown. But ever since going away to college and spending some time outside of Baltimore, I can honestly say I, quite passionately, love it here! I think Baltimore is wonderful for more than five reasons, but currently these are my top five.

What's Up Wednesday

Happy What's Up Wednesday! I love reading everyone's What's Up Wednesday and I am excited to post my own (and reflect on past Wednesdays in the future). Without further adieu... 

My Morning Routine

I have shared before about a day in my life but I wanted to share my morning routine. I love seeing other's daily routines and I am pretty happy with mine currently, aside from the fact that I can never seem to get to work by 7am. I love finding new efficiencies but I also love not being rushed in the morning! I don't like going to work stressed so I definitely "piddle" (Sam's word haha) in the morning, but I am okay with that!

The Weekender + What We Ate

my beautiful family

This weekend was hard but also wonderful. We travelled to the small town in Virginia where my Dad grew up to celebrate the life of my great uncle. 

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

Another Friday Favorites joining the link-up on Erika's blog! Let's go!

Lessons I've Learned

Lessons I've Learned

Once a month I wanted to recap lessons I have learned. I want to be intentional about learning more about God and life in general. I don't want to forget the things I have been learning. I learn so much from other bloggers and I hope this can be the start of us learning from each other!

Show & Tell Tuesday: What Makes Me "Me"

Show & Tell Tuesday: What Makes Me "Me"

one of my favorite pictures of me!

Today I'm linking up with Momfessionals for Show & Tell Tuesday! I am excited about today's prompt because my blog is still pretty new and I want to introduce myself more to you! I also want to know what makes you "you"!

The Weekender + What We Ate

The Weekender + What We Ate

the King Crab crew

This weekend was the Baltimore Running Festival! This was our final half marathon of the year (out of 3 plus a 10 miler) and I was very happy to be done. Honestly this whole year hasn't been a great year for running. I haven't put much effort into running. Now that wedding festivities are done and we have settled into our home I am determined to up my weekly mileage and get a PR next year!

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

Another Friday Favorites joining the link-up on Erika's blog! Let's go!

Our Dating Story

Our Dating Story

the night we met. we went to a bar with friends celebrating our birthdays with shots.

I wanted to share some highlights from our story with y'all so first - our dating story. I shared some on my introduction about how we met. We started dating about three months after we met and dated for just under three years before we got married. Our individual stories leading up to when we started dating are full of very similar timings (started dating other people around the same time, dated them for similar lengths of time, broke up around the same time, etc.) that I see how God was bringing our stories together. 

Stranded Island - Halloween Candy

Stranded Island - Halloween Candy

Today I am joining the link up with Shay and Erika for their monthly "stranded island" post. Today's prompt - if I was stranded on an island what three kinds of Halloween candy would I want with me?

The Weekender + What We Cooked

This week was so full and so beautiful! We celebrated the final #sweet16 wedding (2 of my best friends and bridesmaids and I all got married this year!) this weekend and it was wonderful! We celebrated MaryBeth and gosh she and Chris are so loved! They are two people who are full of joy and always serving and loving their friends, family and community. It was so great to celebrate them with so many people whose lives they've impacted in beautiful ways! Also, isn't my wedding date just the most handsome guy?!

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

Another Friday Favorites joining the link-up on Erika's blog! Let's go!

What I'm Reading : September

Looking back at my Goodreads account it took me two months to read Voyager. Yikes! But since finishing Voyager the last week of September I've read two more books! I have 18 of my 25 books read for the year so I am just about on track to meet my goal! 

Our New Fall Traditions

Our New Fall Traditions

This fall will be our first full season as husband and wife and I definitely want holiday and seasonal traditions to be a priority in our family! Fall always make me a little sad because I love summer and I do not enjoy the cold(er) weather, but fall also has my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving), shoes (riding boots), drink (red wine) and decor (Christmas!). 

The Weekender + What We Cooked

In addition to a summary of my weekend I also want to include new recipes we ate the week before. I want to remember what we are eating and I would love to share recipes we have enjoyed with y'all.

This weekend Sam went to a friend's wedding in Mississippi and I went to Ocean City with two friends. The weather wasn't sunny but at least it was warm!

October Goals

October Goals

I love goals, I love everyone's goal posts, I love PowerSheets (the 2017 set is going to be released November 1st, I cannot wait!). I cannot believe it's already October! I have been slacking on my PowerSheets the last few months with the wedding, honeymoon and moving but I am determined to finish the year strong! 

Let's do this! I want to encourage each other throughout the month. 

Blog-tember Day 30 - Friday Favorites

Blog-tember Day 30 - Friday Favorites

Happy Friday y'all! I have loved following the Blog-tember prompts this month, they have seriously given me the push to get this blog up and running. At the same time, I'm excited to start next month with my own post ideas! Hopefully you all will love them too and it will give us all an opportunity to get to know each other better!

Now, onto my current favorites ...

Blog-tember Day 29 - Five Favorite Blogs

Blog-tember Day 29 - Five Favorite Blogs

I, obviously, love reading blogs! There are a lot of blogs I read but these are my top 5 that I look at every day and get super excited when I see updates! Two of them are the same as my favorite instagrammers but their blogs are also so good that they have to be mentioned! You cannot only follow them on Insta! 

Blog-tember Day 28 - Five Pictures that Describe My Year

Blog-tember Day 28 - Five Pictures that Describe My Year

our wedding / #sweet16 / moving / work life / nephews

Blog-tember Day 27 - Cries & Laughs

Blog-tember Day 27 - Something That Made Me Laugh & Cry

So I remember until college I never cried, then I guess I got some emotions and now I cry all the time! haha Not literally all the time but I cry at commercials, TV shows I've only watched once, movie trailers ... I cry pretty easily! Most recently I cried while watching the pilot of "This Is Us".

Blog-tember Day 26 - Guest Post Lara Casey

Blog-tember Day 26 - Guest Post (Lara Casey)

I am really excited about today's post! When I read Bailey's Blog-tember prompts today's post stood out to me. I just started blogging this month and I don't really have any blogger friends yet. Then I started thinking about my favorite bloggers and if I could ask anyone to write a guest post who would I choose? Without a doubt the blogger who has had the biggest impact on my life and whose posts I've reread the most is Lara Casey. She is encouraging, challenging and authentic on her blog. I knew there was no way she'd say yes if I asked her to guest blog but what did I have to lose!? She is all about believing in what you can accomplish. So I sent her an e-mail and guess what!?! She said yes! I was floored by her generosity in writing this post and I couldn't believe she said yes!

Thank you Lara! You are such an encouragement to me! Thank you for taking the time to write this post! I asked her to share her top blogging tips. I found them very valuable and I hope you will too!

Blog-tember Day 23 - Family Recipe

Blog-tember Day 23 - Family Recipes

my mama is the sweetest

I all honesty I have never made this recipe before, but I am very excited to make it once the cold weather hits. My mom makes this at least once a winter and I looove it! The flavor is great and it's so good leftover too! I'm not sure where the original recipe is from because I don't think it's our families. It may be McCormick? I promise it will not disappoint!

My Mom's Beef Stew Recipe ...

Blog-tember Day 22 - Fall Favorites

Blog-tember Day 22 - Fall Favorites

Starbucks

Blog-tember Day 21 - Why I Started a Blog

Blog-tember Day 21 - Why I Started a Blog

I started my blog this month and I have been thinking Why. Why did I start this blog? What am I hoping to get out of it? I wanted to get some thoughts out here and hopefully this initial brain dump will help give me more direction with the blog.

Blog-tember Day 20 - Something I Wish More People Believed

Blog-tember Day 20 - Something I Wish More People Believed

Blog-tember Day 19 - Weekend Wrap-up

Blog-tember Day 19 - Weekend Wrap-up

I have been blogging for less than a month so all my favorite blog posts you have read within the last few days. This past weekend was fun and full and I wanted to remember all the Baltimore-loving things we did! Summer don't leave!

All the crabs!

Blog-tember Day 18 - Products that Simplify My Life

Blog-tember Day 18 - Products that Simplify My Life

HelloWallet // Kindle // Curlers // Face Oil

My favorite part of my job is process improvements, that is taking current processes and simplifying them. I sometimes feel like I am constantly reorganizing my personal life and trying to figure out what systems work best for me (and now Sam and I). The top 4 products make my daily routines easier and I have been, mostly, using them for at least a few months if not year.

Blog-tember Day 17 - Vlog #1

Blog-tember Day 17 - Vlog #1

Blog-tember Day 16 - How Do I Relax

Blog-Tember Day 17 - How do I De-Stress?

I strongly dislike stress. I don't think anyone would say they like stress but I really don't like it. Granted, tight deadlines definitely help to get my butt moving, but I think generally I am good at making myself de-stress... Or maybe I am just a lazy person? Who knows!? Above I have gathered some Instagrams of my favorite ways to relax and say no to stress!

Blog-tember Day 14 - Mood Board

Blog-tember Day 14 - Mood Board

the highlands // our wedding party // coffee & fall // cozy bedroom //

gallery wall over TV // gallery wall with wooden headboard

Blog-tember Day 13 - If I Could Switch Lives with Anyone...

Blog-tember Day 13 - If I Could Switch Lives with Anyone...

This is a tie between two people and I do not think it will be much of a surprise...

Blog-tember Day 12 - Three Books

Blog-tember Day 12 - Three Books

Honeymooners & their Kindles

My 2016 goal is to read 25 books. This was my goal last year but I did not meet it. Last year I tried to push myself to read a variety of books, but this year I just want to read 25 books. Currently, I'm only at 15 so I am a little behind. A few years ago my parents gave me a Kindle, which at first I was not super excited about as I love buying and borrowing books and I was sad to no longer be holding a real book. But... the Kindle has changed my life. Seriously! That sounds dramatic but I read so much more with my Kindle! It is incredibly easy to borrow books from the library, you never accidentally pay overdue fees and you can bring numerous books with you on vacation without wasting space in your suitcase. I love my Kindle. Sam started reading the Harry Potter books on our Honeymoon (best Honeymoon "gift" ever) and we never put down our Kindles. I am hoping Amazon/Kindle will get wind of my Kindle obsession and I will become a Kindle model #dreamjob. Seriously I love Kindles just ask me so I can talk about it more! haha

Blog-tember Day 11 - Favorite Instagrammers

Blog-tember Day 11 - Favorite Instagrammers

I love Instagram! It is, without a doubt, my favorite social media platform. I am pretty sure it is the first thing I look at in the morning. #badhabits I love seeing pictures and I know it's why I don't really like twitter ... because pictures are so much more fun right!? I hope I am able to introduce y'all to some great people to follow!

Blog-tember Day 10 - A Day in the Life

Blog-tember Day 10 - A Day in the Life

I was so excited for today because this is one of my favorites types of posts to read from other bloggers. It is so interesting to see what someone's day actually looks like hour by hour. I think it builds bloggers' authenticity and shows that no one's life is perfect and glamorous, but instead most lives are pretty normal. My favorite posts like these are Shay's.

I took pictures on a Friday so my post would be ready for the 10th. I think it's a little boring because I spent 9 hours at the office but these posts will be so interesting to compare as the years go on! Today I literally set the timer on my phone for every hour so I would remember to take pictures! Is that too excessive!?

Blog-tember Day 9 - If I Could Travel Anywhere...

Blog-tember Day 9 - If I Could Travel Anywhere...

waiting for my train to Rome

I love to travel. I spend a lot of time thinking and planning theoretical trips that never happen. But I love all the excitement and anticipation around exploring new places and seeing new things. I really love my family and one thing that's made us so close is the trips we have gone on together. I want travel to be something I never stop doing!

Blog-tember Day 7 - 5 Joyful Things

Blog-tember Day 7 - Five Things of Joy

So. Much. Joy!!!

Blog-tember Day 6 - Create a Playlist

Blog-tember Day 6 - Create a Playlist

I honestly don't listen to music that often - except when I am driving. But when I'm at work, in long car rides or running I like to listen to podcasts or books on tape! Maybe that's weird but I get tired of music and podcasts and books keep me more interested. I especially love saving books I'm really enjoying for my runs. It makes the time go by so much faster!

Blog-tember Day 5 - Most Memorable Birthday

Blog-tember Day 5 - Most Memorable Birthday

our tour guide insisted on the peace signs. we could not stop laughing.