The one time I got dressed up

I realized something major yesterday as I was writing about all my trips. I forgot one major one! The trip to my friend’s to celebrate her 40th birthday. She wanted to bring in her 40th year with a bang and threw a Roaring 20’s themed party. I scoured the interwebs for well over a month determined to find an authentic dress. I find (and found) it interesting that the majority that I found were the rather skimpy ‘flapper’ dresses that were incredibly low cut on top and incredibly high down low.

I finally came across a great website that had authentic style dresses to the 20’s and had mine arrive just days before the party. I had grand plans to attempt the finger waves in my hair, but with time pressed, I kept it straight. Good thing I cut my hair a week before, everyone thought I did to fill the role for the party, so it worked out perfectly.

The birthday girl and I got ready together. This was probably the most makeup I have worn in a long time. It felt like so much.

The party was at one of her friend’s house and it was a nice low key event with a fun corner for photos, though of course I stopped for the selfie…as I do.

It was fun getting to see everyone in their dresses and the men having fun with their suits. We ate, we talked, we posed for pictures and had a great time getting to see everyone again after having moved away.

We found out we bought the exact same feather clip from Hobby Lobby. We were meant to be friends.

This is what happens when two people hand me their iphones and ask me to take a picture of them, and take a long time positioning themselves. I took selfies on both their phones for them to find. I’m sure they appreciated it.
More than midway through the party, I couldn’t feel my body slip. It was a snug one, used to keep everything in nice and tight, but it wasn’t down by my thigh like it should have been. I nervously sat down to ‘hunt’ for it, and lo and behold, it shimmed (unbeknownst to me) all the way up above my hips! Talk about shocked! Thank goodness it wasn’t that bright and the beads acted as coverage as I raced to the bathroom.

The party was great, the dress was perfect and the trip was much needed, getting to spend time together with friends and their families. I doubt I’ll ever get another chance to go (let alone be invited) to a themed party, so it was one I’ll always remember and so thankful I got to be a part of it. Pin It Now!

It’s a basic routine

Monday is here again..

I’m kind of shocked its November. I  expected so much from this year, and so much of it didn’t happen, yet so many things I didn’t know would happen, happened. Ever have that? Big things you thought would occur, don’t; but then equally big things do?

I cope with this on a daily basis. Some days I let it all sink in and pull me down, and others, I marvel and enjoy the things that happened and it keeps my spirits up. It’s quite the roller coaster of emotions for me.

I got a little bit sicker over the weekend, but thankfully my mommy was here to thoughtfully tend to me. A perk to being back home. When I was living alone, no one was there or even cared if I was sick. So it’s nice to have some love given my way.

Some great things that did happen over the weekend was seeing my dear friend Angie open up her Etsy shop. There are so many great things in there. I love the verses and island colors. These two are some of my favorites

via Angie's Etsy

So simple yet beautiful. It’s a verse I say in my head over and over sometimes. If you remember, Angie lives in Maui and I got to meet her back in 2012, when G-man and I did a little island hopping. It was so great to hug her.

Another friend of mine is having quite the big birthday and is wanting to do a roaring 20’s theme! I can’t tell you how excited I am for this. This will be my first ever themed party I’ll be attending. Heck, I’m pretty sure it’ll be the first adult birthday party I’ll have ever attended in general!

I’ve been scouring the interwebs for the perfect authentic  20’s style dress. I’ve been looking for days now and it seems the majority believe the ridiculously short flapper dresses are “it”, but I wouldn’t give up and finally stumbled upon a fabulous website. Here are a few that I’m going to look over.

Aren’t they beautiful??

You’ll have to weigh in and say which one you like the most. I’d love to get all your input. I have about a month to choose one and find some feathers and pearls. I can’t even tell you how excited I am for this! Unique Vintage really has some great dresses to choose from.

Today I get to take my very first big exam and its for Chemistry no less, so this should be quite fun. I’m hoping everyone got to enjoy their fall weather over the weekend.

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Squishy baby alert

How can anyone stay in a funk when they get around babies? They just can’t, I tell you. They just can’t. In the afternoon, I went over to my friend’s who’s birth I photographed…that I promise will show soon, to take some shots of her now 4 week old for announcements. Better late than never, I say.

We had a lot of fun, though challenging. It. was. challenging. She didn’t care to sleep and when she would fall asleep, she would come awake and laugh at us for attempting to do anything in the 60 seconds she was out. Ok so she didn’t laugh on the outside, but we felt on the inside she was.

Here’s just a little sneak iPhone style.
I’m a little obsessed with these in black and white, but I’ll mix it up at the end with one in color…just for you.

*I promise I have 5 fingers on my left hand. It looks quite claw like.

Babies. They’re just so darn cute.

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I went back for seconds

Happy Friday! I can’t believe its Friday already.

Given that my car was stuck on the coast for repair, I had to go back to get it. I think it planned for it to break down over there. Just so I could return and enjoy myself. I must say, before anything more that God is unbelievably good. The total cost of the repairs were $5,000 and I only paid $18.31. I wouldn’t have paid anything had it not broke down on an empty tank. So all I had to pay for was the $18 in gas they put in.

Amazing.

I feel so blessed. He even said, 'I don’t know how much you paid for that extended warranty, but it definitely paid off right here.’ Oh how right he was. In the past 2 months, its needed $7,000 total worth of repairs and it was all covered under warranty.

I didn’t want to make the trip alone, so I called out to my dear friend to make a day trip with me. This was no small feat as she has 4 kids, but she got the clear to go, and off we went. We picked up my car, and headed to Natural Café in San Luis Obispo for lunch. If you’re ever in the area, on Higuera is this café. Its so good! hippy-ish, but the food is delicious and fresh!

I had to take her to Bali’s frozen yogurt, where we loaded up on the treats and sat in the little pavilion, people watching. Completely relaxing, with a slight breeze and cool temps. Eventually, we made our way to Pismo Beach to walk around and enjoy the sea air. It was chillier there, as it always is, but we sat down on a bench and watched the ocean and time pass. No rush. No agenda. Just us and the beach and a breeze.


She caught me in the act {of shooting}.

It’s a tradition for just about everyone who loves clam chowder, that they have to stop at Splash Café in Pismo. If you ever go, you must get yourself in that line and order you some clam chowder! Its delicious. Hands down the best clam chowder around….just don’t look up the calories, and enjoy it for what it is. And of course, get the loaf of bread with it. Might as well, right?

We finally had to call it a day and made our long way back home. It was a great girls road trip. Spontaneous and free. 2 things we are not normally. But its always good to be what you’re not, even for just a day.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends. Until next week!

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To the dark side

It wasn’t until I had photos taken last week that I knew just how bad my roots were. I was in shock and felt all sorts of gross that I went so long without taking care of the stark contrast of my roots to my hair color, so I called upon my friend to come over and color my hair.

She’s a box color pro, having done it for many years on her own hair, I knew I was in good hands, though I was a little nervous because I don’t think I’ve done box color in over 10 years. As you may remember, I’m more than willing to spend $250 on a color (provided they do it right)…and yes yes, it didn’t go quite right, but that’s beside the point. Given that I quit my job, I don’t exactly have $250 sitting around..not to mention the $400 flight THERE to get it done, so a box was the next best option.

I trusted the Ulta girl’s recommendation and picked up the color. Last night my friend came over and after some girl time, we went to work. The before:

Its light, with a hint of red (a lot when out in the sun) and the roots are a darker gray/brown. Not exactly the look I’m going for.

Mid-way through, after my friend commented on how much hair I had again and again, I remembered how all the stylists would say the same thing. How halfway through they run out of color and have to go make more. This didn’t cross my mind when I bought the box, and true to my hair, my dear friend had to run to the store to buy a 2nd box of color.

You think it’s thin. You think there’s not a lot there, but the moment you touch it and handle it, you’d be amazed at the amount. Its very deceiving.

On a side note, I think this is why I’ve had some headaches and sensitive scalp, its so heavy it weighs my head down.

Any way, she finished up and while the color was brewing on my head, I made the chocolate sandwiches for her. I’m pretty sure its going to be a staple in my family. And naturally, she loved them.

I showered and I have to say, the color {wet} looks pretty good. Now given that we finished very late, I wasn't really inclined to dry and style my hair, but if you follow me on Instagram, I can say with confidence, I’ll show it there first. If not, check back here tomorrow. I’ll take care of you.

I also wanted to say a big thank you to all who prayed for me for the testing yesterday. It wasn’t at all what I thought it would be and it threw me a for a bit a loop, but I’m doing everything in my power to trust God with the outcome and not let the answers I know I got wrong get me down. That’s one thing I’m really working hard on doing, not focusing on the negative of things, rather the positive, even if they’re small. It’s a work in progress to say the least. Pin It Now!

Shocked

I’m shocked my $2 didn’t produce $600,000,000 for me.

I guess I’ll have to go on my with daily life. My yard sale also did not yield me $600,000,000, which almost disappointed me more than the actual lottery. In fact, it was a downright bust that left me quite defeated, and a little guilty for taking up my friend’s weekend since I borrowed her front yard to have it.

When I say it was a bust, I mean it couldn’t have gone any worse than it did. I take that back! no one showing up would have been worse, rather than the 10 {maybe} that did who bought things over the 2 days. It was weird, and unusual and discouraging taking almost all of my stuff back home with me.

When I said I was ‘afraid’ to have it Friday, it was because I was afraid of the hassle to price everything that night, but that was a breeze compared to the crickets I heard for 2 days straight. On the plus side, it allowed me to spend time with my friend that I never get to see and sit outside on a porch to enjoy the 2 beautiful days that we had and finally picking up a book to read. I can’t tell you the last time I read a book. It was so enjoyable, friends.

So though I didn’t make bank like I was really hoping for, it got me outside, with friends, enjoying the cool breeze and a good book. Nothing wrong with that.

Saturday, after packing up early, I raced to a baby shower, a baby shower for Callie, if you remember, I helped shoot her wedding last year.

My ‘table’ of friends.

If all goes right and I can make it, I’ll also be photographing her birth. That’s right! I finally found someone who’ll let me.. and is eager to let me no less!! I’ve very excited.

I had to cut the shower a little short so I could make my hair appointment and I was excited and nervous for this one. Its been an ongoing battle to find a stylist who I think is a good fit here and I was giving yet another girl a chance. Even though she beat up my head with the roller brush and attempted to rip out every single strand of hair while brushing and drying it, she gave a pretty darn good cut and this girl is pleased.

a moment in between the pain


Can you really tell I got a cut? No, but it feels lighter, softer and healthier and that’s all I needed.

I hope all of you had a nice enjoyable weekend…and perhaps one that was a little more lucrative than mine.

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Mexico part 4

and the last of my little Mexico series.. I’m pretty sure. Nope just kidding, I have one more post for you.

The 2nd night we were there, lia sophia hosted a reception. Over 700 lia sophia advisors who had earned the trip, were there and it was so exciting being among them. We went up the 2nd floor where the reception was being held and were immediately greeted by waiters with drinks for us. Then there were tables on each end full of appetizers.

The place was jam packed with people mingling and G-man and I walked around until we found a quiet area to snack on the food and have our drinks. There were a few who were there that had been enjoying their drinks for a long time before we arrived and while I was playing with my camera, one of them insisted she take a photo of us. For being as ‘enjoyable’ aka drunk as she was she took a pretty good photo of us.

Just imagine you see a cute one below of G-man and I..

I met up with my long time friend and we waited to go inside. We’ve been friends for almost 19 years. That’s crazy to think about. As I like to tell the story, and it’s a true story at that, we’re only friend’s because she was dating the boy I had a major crush on in the 7th grade and I wanted to get the ‘in’ on him, so I befriended her even though I pretty much hated her.

And I may or may not have laughed when I watched him break up with her down the hall.. 7th grade, people.. I was in the 7th grade.. Through it and so much more, we’ve remained best closest life long friends. (that’s all for you, Jos.)

We hadn’t planned out matching, but I think it just goes to show how much style we have that we wore very similar dresses. I get so much use out of this maxi dress, I just love it!

We finally were able to go inside for a big buffet waiting for us and a show.

This was probably one of the few times it was lacking. The food… it just wasn’t good at all. And the show… if you’ve been to a Hawaiian luau, well, nothing will compare to the extravagance of their shows. We weren’t entirely feeling the Mayan/Mexican version so we ended up leaving early and called it a night.

After having a welcome breakfast, enjoying a couples relaxing massage and the reception dinner, we agreed it was the perfect start to our vacation.

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I propose…

to have Megan tell you the cutest proposal story around. Because it’s just that. the cutest! Megan, if you don’t know her..and seriously, how do you not know her!? is the sweetest, kindest, cutest thing you ever did see. She’s southern.. so there it is there. And what’s even greater about her is she just had their first baby girl, Emory. Who is adorable in every way.

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Hi there Amazing Grapes readers! My name is Megan and my little space on the internet is Mackey Madness. I was excited when Emily told me the "theme" of these guest posts was love because I'm a major girly cheeseball and I love talking about love, especially my love.

My husband is a total "man's man." He likes to be outdoors, hunt, fish and fix things...basically anything dirty and active. Believe it or not, somewhere in there is a guy who likes to do sweet things and I really melt when that sweet side comes out. In our four years together, he has done so many things for me. Today I am sharing one of the most romantic things he's done: our proposal story!

One Friday, he came home and told me to pack a bag and whisked me off to a bed and breakfast in a nearby city. We spent the day strolling along the river and shopping at little boutiques downtown.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, he took me to a seafood restaurant on the river for dinner. The views were stunning! When we got back to the bed and breakfast, he covered my eyes for a few seconds...and when I opened them there was a horse drawn carriage waiting to take us around the city.

After the carriage ride, we were walking back upstairs to our room and he told me to cover my eyes. He opened the door and when I walked in I saw a huge silver box, roses, diet coke (my fave) and chocolate covered strawberries. He told me to open the silver box and when I did, there was a little bride teddy bear and a little groom teddy bear. I shrieked, of course, and turned around to find him down on one knee.

He spoke the most beautiful words...and I said yes!

Now we've been married for a 2 years and 5 months and marriage just couldn't be any sweeter!

Thanks for having me, Emily!

 

 

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Happy weekend to you all!! I’ll be returning full of stories and pictures, so prepare yourselves!

 

 

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Its ok to wait

You want a great story? Like a really great story? My sweet and darling friend, Angie of the heart of aloha is giving you just that. We had the pleasure of meeting when G-man and I went to Maui. All 4 of us met up for a double blate and had such a good time.

If you don’t know Angie yet, there’s 2 things you have to know about her. She’s the sweetest person ever and she has a beautiful way with words. Her writing is melodic, as you’ll see real quick.

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Their eyes met from across the room; there was an unmistakable, immediate attraction--a gravitational pull of sorts. The room went quiet as they made their way to one another, strangers at first, but by the end of the evening, soul-mates who would spend the rest of their lives creating their happily-ever-after.

Um...yeah. That love story doesn’t belong to us.

My husband and I will be celebrating our eleven year wedding anniversary this summer. We’ve been together the better part of twenty years (yes, two decades!) and to this day, when people ask how we met, we both still enjoy telling the story of what it took for us to get here.

There was no gaze from across the room that would have us bee-lining to one another and then down the aisle. In fact, my husband and I went to the same high-school but did not meet until shortly after graduation, when we both went to work for the same company. We were total and complete opposites and had very little in common, but we were cordial with one another simply because we shared a cubicle wall and the same boss.

It would be almost a year before his smiles and “hellos” would give me butterflies. It was the weekend of my birthday when he graciously offered his apartment as the location for my party (because he was the only cool kid with a place of his own) and at the end of the evening, like any good host of a party, he offered to drive me home. Pulling up in front of my parent’s house, he came around to my side of the truck, opened the door for me, handed me the balloons my friends had given me (seriously), gave me an awkward hug and mumbled a goodbye before driving off.

I was smitten.

On December 12^th, exactly twenty-seven days later, we went on our first “date”: Christmas shopping, a movie (oh, the innocence of youth!) and a goodnight kiss that left me punch-drunk. We spent the next few years breaking up, making up, growing up and ultimately falling in love.

It took us eight years to become engaged and almost ten years from our first date to finally tie the knot. We endured years of relentless“When are you getting married?!” badgering, while we watched our friends (some even younger than us) date, become engaged, get married and have babies in less time. But here’s our school of thought: What’s the rush? When you are young and fresh out of high school, you have no business thinking about marriage and babies. College life is a rite-of-passage that should be lived, experienced and enjoyed. It may have taken us ten years to finally make it official, but this summer, we will celebrate eleven years of marriage and twenty years of love.

During this time, we have witnessed our friend’s marriages unravel and sadly, end in divorce. And the very same friends who impatiently asked us “When are you getting married?!” now ask us what our secret is to staying together.

We neither consider ourselves experts, nor do we have a secret to longevity; our key to a happy marriage is simple: you love and respect one another from the deepest part of your beings and you never stop trying to make your partner laugh. Not only is laughter essential, but it keeps you young at heart. 

And I’m going to be honest here; even after all these years together, I love that my husband still does the little things he did early on in our relationship: simple things like opening the car door for me, pulling out my chair at a restaurant, guiding me into a room with his hand resting gently at the small of my back. Unabashed romance, silly little love-notes and fresh flowers...just because.

My husband and I may not have an impressive “How We Met” story, but the love we share? Yup...it’s the real deal.

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