Project 31. A Letter.

As you can tell, I have been sporadically participating in Project 31, as well as skipping around some days. Anyways, today is the perfect day to continue with Day 21. Day 21 just happens to be writing a letter to your husband (or future husband if you are single) to encourage him. My fiance and I actually got to have an awesome date day/night today. It was so awesome because it was the perfect end to a stressful week for me, and due to our work schedules, we haven't got to see each other as often as we'd like the last month! Doing this project 31 assignment is exciting to me as my future husband will actually BE my husband in just 50 days. YAY!

My Dearest Ryan,

I wanted to write you a quick letter just to make sure you are fully aware of how amazingly awesome I think you are. I truly feel that you are God's provision for me and I love how we compliment each others weaknesses in so many ways. I prayed long and hard before we started dating, and got many signs along the way, all of them pointed straight to you, my best friend (even though I said I'd never be able to date my best friend). This is one of those (rare) instances where I will proudly say I WAS SO WRONG. And I am so happy that I was wrong. We've been best friends for almost 3 years now, and dating 2 of those years. You've touched my life in ways I can not describe, and have taught me many lessons. I can not wait to embark on this next chapter of our lives together. I have no doubt that it will be one wild ride but so worth it. No relationship, let alone marriage is perfect, and we are no different. I want to thank you for everything you have done for us, and continue to do for us. I am so proud of the true man of God that you are becoming. I love you! <3

PROJECT 31 

THE LIST:


Day 1.  What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2.  What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3.  Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4.  Style 31.  Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.
Day 5.  Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6.  Jaded beauty.  Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7.  Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8.  Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)?  Share, please!
Day 9.  What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10.  What is Jesus teaching you as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just woman in general?)
Day 11.  Post a recipe.  Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about how it turned out (pictures please!).
Day 12.  Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13.  Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14.  Style 31.  Post an outfit pic!
Day 15.  Write to encourage a friend.  Inspire her beauty.
Day 16.  Write a letter to your daughter, or a young girl in your life.  Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17.  Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18.  Describe your personality.
Day 19.  Write about your favorite comfort food (we are women- we ALL have comfort food!)
Day 20.  Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.  
Day 21.  Write a letter to your husband to encourage him (or if you are single- your future husband.)
Day 22.  What are some needs that need to be met in your community?  Blog about how to extend your hand to those who need you.
Day 23.  What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?
Day 24.  What is Jesus teaching you presently?
Day 25.  Style 31.  Post a pic of your favorite comfy clothes.
Day 26.  What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday when you are gone?
Day 27.  Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!
Day 28.  Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29.  Write about "a day in the life of me."  (Pics are great!)
Day 30.  Who is your role model as a woman?
Day 31.  Write about your dreams and goals as a beautiful woman!

XOXO

Rockin' Stiletto's... NOT.

The point of today's blog is just to say I have MUCH respect for the women that can rock stiletto's. No Joke. Shoes can make any outfit. I rarely wear heels for two reasons: 1. my back problem, I've actually been told NOT to wear heels by doctors. 2. I never really wore them as I grew up (was diagnosed with said back problem at age 15) so I have no practice and have a good chance of spraining my ankle when I do attempt to wear them. Every so often I find a pair of heels that I just HAVE to have. I don't know what compels me to buy them, knowing I won't be able to wear them, but once in awhile it happens (only if it's a good sale of course). I am writing this blog today because yesterday was one of those days...where I had the perfect outfit, and wanted to rock a pair of my stiletto's that I recently bought when I was vintage thrift shopping last week. You see, we had an out of state client paying a visit to my work, so I figured I'd impress them with awesome shoes. Hah. Well, I popped on the shoes, wore them as I finished getting ready, walked around the house in them, make a quick run by my fiances house, and a stop by Publix on the way to work to grab some lunch/dinner. As I walked into Publix I was thinking "Ohmigosh, this SUCKS. I know I am walking awkward. I don't know if I will make it back to my car" I ALMOST turned around then and went back to the car to change shoes (I was smart, brought my back up shoes) but I trekked into Publix, got my sub, and left. The walk back to the car was miserable and a bit uphill. As soon as I got in the car I switched into comfy shoes, and gave praise to the women who can stand wearing heels all day. I admire you ladies. You are definitely stronger than I!

As for yesterday. Time for a visual. Imagine the outfit I have on below

+

=

total cuteness. That didn't work out. :( BUT, I tried. I may try again for my bridal shower.

On a happy shoe note, I have found a brand of heels that I CAN wear. I buy them at JCP and they are pretty friggin awesome because they have a THICK heel that gives me lots of support and balance. So far I have a pair in black, and red. I definitely am looking for more. 

Favorite Heels. See the thick heels? Lots of support!

Another pair of heels I wear just for photo's. Hah!

So yeah, while I love heels, and wish I could wear them, I will stick with being able to walk in a timely non tripping over my own feet manner. I will save my few pairs of pumps for special occasions :)

XOXO

PS - Yes, I know, I am behind on Project 31. I will resume tomorrow. Or at least that is the plan!

A Variety of Causes

If you haven't figure it out by now, non profit is a passion of mine. I love raising money for these causes. If I could find employment with one of my favorite causes, that would be SO awesome. I have three causes that are near and dear to me.

Relay for Life

SPCA, Inc 

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Typically I raise money from Jan 1st - mid April for the Relay for Life and the SPCA as they both have a huge event in April. It does make it kind of hard for me though as I am constantly asking for donations from friends, family, and strangers for not one but two events. A group of friends and I usually go all out with our efforts including: bake sales, car washes, yard sales, events we host, and online fund raising. I know we have raised over $10,000 for the SPCA. I have never tallied our totals for Relay for Life but we have been doing it since 2008 and I would estimate we've raised close to $5,000. This year is a bit bittersweet because while I am still raising money online, I am not able to go all out as usual. With my upcoming wedding (which happens to be the same weekend as the SPCA event) I don't have many free weekends. BUT, this won't stop me, I am going to raise as much as possible ONLINE. 

Currently I am raising money for the Relay for Life. You can click HERE to visit my fund raising site for that. I have raised $65 of my $250 goal. Care to help me out? :)

I would LIKE to be raising money for the SPCA event as it is LESS than two months away, but they have been a little slow with getting their online donations set up this year. Oh well, I will work with what I can, once it's live and ready to go.

I also have quite a few friends that are doing their own various fund raisers. Take a peek, maybe one of them is supporting a cause close to your heart. 

DaisyJo over at Daisy Petals is currently raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. You can help her find a cure by clicking HERE 

Another friend is also raising money for CF. It is VERY close to her heart as 3 of her 4 beautiful children have CF. Please help her find a cure. Click HERE

My friend over at Live, Laugh, Love is joining me raising money for the Relay for Life. This event is even closer to her heart as she IS a Leukemia Survivor. You can support her by clicking HERE.

I have another friend currently raising money for AIDS Awareness. You can help her by clicking HERE 

Another friend, who suffers from epilepsy, if raising money for the Epilepsy foundation. You can help her by clicking HERE.

And last but not least, I have a friend that is not raising money for this cause, but participates actively and it's awesome. She has adopted a soldier. You can do the same by clicking HERE. You can become pen pals with a soldier, send them care packages, and even meet up when they come home. You could really lift their spirits as they are over seas. Such a cool cause. :)

If you're a friend of mine raising money for something and I did not list you here, I apologize. Leave a comment with your fund raising link.

Good luck to all my friends raising money for causes near to their heart. I understand how hard it is to raise money, but don't give up, theses causes are all important. 

Hope everyone has a blessed Monday, and week ahead!

XOXO

Shoe Love & Thrifting

Okay, so here is the blog I wanted to write yesterday, but didn't have the time to compile.

I had the opportunity to hang out with my friend from Daisy Petals yesterday. I'm sure you all know how hard it can be to find time to just hang out with your friends between work, and life in general. I add wedding planning into that mix, and have even less free time. So, this was much needed and appreciated. We chose to spend our afternoon checking out some local vintage/antique/thrift shop type of places. We were quite overwhelmed at our finds. Who knew all this amazing stuff was out there? 

I will start with shoe love before ending with the more random compilation of pictures from the day.

I have such a love for shoes, and I always find heels that I ADORE but can't wear. I know many people say they can't wear heels because they just can't walk in them. There is that for me, but beyond that, I physically can't (or am not supposed) because of a Spondylolisthesis diagnosis. I have a bad enough pelvic tilt on my own that I definitely don't need any more of a tilt from heels. Hah! But anyways, here's some shoes for the other shoe lovers to enjoy :)

<3 all three of these. Especially the pink and black ones.

So cute. Too expensive for me. This was at an actual botique

Different but pretty awesome! *photo from DaisyJo*

ADORABLE. and not my size.

They had these in multiple colors.

* Shoe note: I actually went back to the thrift store today (twice actually, they were closed the 1st time I went) for the black and pink heels pictured in the 1st pic, I figured since I wouldn't be doing a lot of walking in them, I could wear them for my upcoming bridal shower. They were gone. It was quite upsetting, however, they obviously weren't meant for me. While I was there, I went ahead and bought the other pair of pink shoes I liked (the last ones pictured, with the holes and bow) for back up for the bridal shower. If I wear them, cool, if not, at least it was only $10. Not too bad for adorable shoes.

Here's some of the other pictures I took from the day.

three dresses that I adored

Display of shoes... and other randoms

Marilyn Monroe?

TONS of Owl stuff

Sparkly display of silver shoes mostly

<3 the wipe your paws leash hanger

This is LilyMae. She was free roaming and very playful

Raspberry walls. So pretty

Artsy wall. Simply stunning.

China

Raggedy Ann & Andy

Funny. I had been looking for veils, and voila!

This is Waldo. He scared me and my friend pretty bad. We thought we were alone upstairs until he SCREEECHED!

Wall of quotes

More sayings.

and a few pictures from my friend's POV. :)

Organized Chaos

Beautiful display of all things pink

Dressing room area

Ceiling of a dressing room

Organized glass.

That's all for now. Can't wait to do it again.

On a side note, my fiance and I finished our premarital counseling AND got our marriage license today. Eek! Less than two months now. <3

XOXO

Project 31: Fooooooood

Note: I had an exciting day that I wanted to write about today, but am so tired of being at the computer (after a few hours of working on a power point project for my roomie) so it will have to wait for tomorrow. This blog is actually getting posted because it's quicker to write as I already had half of it done :D I had started my "comfort food" post a few days ago and was just waiting to add the pics. Yum! So, here ya go.

 Project 31

Day 19. Write about your favorite comfort food. This is a piece of cake (or should I say Brownie) for me. Brownies are most definitely my comfort food of choice. I LOVE brownies. Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Brownies are my ALL TIME FAVORITE. I love brownies SO much, and my friends know me SO well, that two of them bought me the exact same perfect brownie pan for Christmas. Haha!

And while we are on the topic of food, I took a few pics of dinner tonight. Might as well post them.

Process of makin' chicken parm, the quick and easy way (with chicken nuggets)

My Dinner tonight :)

I'd like to make note that the chicken was breaded with whole grain (thanks Purdue) and the linguine was healthy harvest whole grain. Mhm!

XOXO

Ovvvverwhelmed. & Day 18

I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed this week. The funny thing is, I have no reason to be. Things are coming together fairly smoothly for the wedding. As crazy as this sounds, I honestly think it's because I feel like (even though I hate doing it) that I should be running around like a mad woman. It's because I am looking ahead instead of living in the present. Last weekend and this coming weekend have been pretty laid back, without a million things to do on the to do list. But after this weekend, everything is going to starting happening quickly and I think that's where the overwhelmed feeling is coming from. I don't wanna be overly stressed doing a ton of things and not be able to enjoy my bridal shower and bachelorette party. I realize most of these feelings are my own issues, I need to just enjoy the present because guess what? it is a gift.

The above actually ties into todays Project 31 quite nicely.
Day 18: Describe your personality:
Over analyzer. I always over thing things, horribly. Worrier. I know I should trust that things will just work out, but I tend to worry, a lot. Anxious. Anxiousness causes anxiety. Yuck! Indecisive. I SUCK at making decisions. Probably as a lot to do with how much I analyze a situation before I make a decision. Hah. Overly sensitive. I get my feelings hurt pretty easy.

Now for some positives: Cheerful, Friendly, Generous, Loving, Forgiving,  Responsible, Quiet (but sometimes loud, depends how well you know me), Trusting. :)

Have a great night bloggers.


XOXO

Project 31: Happiness is

Today is a Project 31 kinda day :)

 

Day 17: Write about three things that make you happy.

 

My Fiance

My fiance can always turn around a not so happy day, into a happy one! He has an incredible way of putting my nerves at ease. I can be beyond stressed, and just see his smile, and have his arms wrap around me for a hug, and it makes everything 10x better! The picture above even makes me happy, it's kinda funny. It's him at work with a coworker, and another coworker took a picture of them because they thought it was funny that both of them were using their break time to call and check in with their women, LOL.

My Doggy :)

How can that precious doggy smile NOT make you happy? My dog can also turn around a bad day in a heartbeat. The minute I walk through the door, and he greets me with his tail a waggin', I melt. He is ALWAYS ready to play! Such a happy doggy.

AMI Girls Weekend

Me and some girlfriends take an annual trip to AMI every year. It's always a much needed getaway from our everyday lives. For the past two years we have made this trip on the weekend of the anniversary of my mother's death. It means so much to me that these girls are able to plan ahead financially and take time out of their BUSY schedules to get together in AMI. <3

Those are a few things that make me happy! :) I got off work early tonight and am settling down to catch up on The Biggest Loser with my roomie. THAT makes me happy as well. Good night all!

If you might be interested in joining Project 31, check out the link. You can join in at ANY TIME.

THE LIST:


Day 1.  What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2.  What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3.  Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4.  Style 31.  Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.
Day 5.  Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6.  Jaded beauty.  Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7.  Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8.  Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)?  Share, please!
Day 9.  What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10.  What is Jesus teaching you as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just woman in general?)
Day 11.  Post a recipe.  Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about how it turned out (pictures please!).
Day 12.  Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13.  Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14.  Style 31.  Post an outfit pic!
Day 15.  Write to encourage a friend.  Inspire her beauty.
Day 16.  Write a letter to your daughter, or a young girl in your life.  Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17.  Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18.  Describe your personality.
Day 19.  Write about your favorite comfort food (we are women- we ALL have comfort food!)
Day 20.  Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.  
Day 21.  Write a letter to your husband to encourage him (or if you are single- your future husband.)
Day 22.  What are some needs that need to be met in your community?  Blog about how to extend your hand to those who need you.
Day 23.  What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?
Day 24.  What is Jesus teaching you presently?
Day 25.  Style 31.  Post a pic of your favorite comfy clothes.
Day 26.  What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday when you are gone?
Day 27.  Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!
Day 28.  Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29.  Write about "a day in the life of me."  (Pics are great!)
Day 30.  Who is your role model as a woman?
Day 31.  Write about your dreams and goals as a beautiful woman!

On Year Ago Today, I said Yes.

It was a year ago today that my husband to be dropped on one knee and told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He asked me if I'd be his wife, and I said yes. He actually proposed to me at the top of the Sear's tower in Chicago, Illinois. I posted a blog with pictures and more details back in December. If you are interested, click here and read my "On top of the World" proposal story. I can't wait to marry my best friend! <3

I'll leave you with a picture from the proposal & some of my favorite engagement pictures from location 1. We had our engagement photos taken at two different locations. I don't wanna go extreme photo heavy, SO part 2 will come soon, promise. :)

*WARNING: Picture Heavy Blog

 

"Will you marry me?"

<3 that a donkey came up to us while shooting :)

& then a kitty, perfect because I love animals. :)

Yellow Butterflies have such meaning to me <3

And they lived happily ever after, the end.

Photography done by Miss Brielle Elizabeth who is pretty darn amazing if I do say so myself. Thanks again, Brielle.

XOXO