Happy Birthday Sweet Mama!

Happy Birthday! You are so beautiful and strong, and I am beyond thankful that you are my mama. I am excited what the next year of life holds for you!

a few of our february adventures

Up until yesterday I had neglected this little blog in a huge way! Life just got too busy.

But we are back in Virginia for a few weeks and I wanted to share a few of the pictures from our Wyoming / Yellowstone Adventure! We traveled to Jackson Hole Wyoming for a few days and it was a wonderful winter get-away. Yellowstone in the winter is a little crazy I know, but it was on our "before kids" bucket list. {yes we have a "before kids" to do list... its just how we roll}

It snowed every instant of our time in Wyoming and it was quite chilly, but so much fun and lots of awesome new experiences! 

Like driving a dog sled

 And swimming in natural hot springs in the snow

 And literally wearing five pairs of pants at the same time

And going snowmobiling! It was SO much fun... if you have never been you need to. period. 

We saw lots of Bison. It was neat to be so close to such HUGE wild animals.

Old Faithful was really amazing, but not very photograph friendly in the winter against a white sky... so, that means we just have to go back :) 

We got to go on a sleigh ride through thousands of Elk on the national elk reservation. 

It was a great trip and a much needed time of rest and adventure together. 

it's a marriage monday.

Jay and I heard this quote over the weekend and both said "Oh! SO True!"

"A great marriage is the union of two forgivers."
- Ruth Graham

So simple and so very true.

Be encouraged friends. Forgive your husband for leaving his wet towel on the floor in the bathroom and then go make him this for dinner. We made it with Chicken instead of shrimp because I loath shrimp. And Jay forgives me for this.

Master Bedroom Updates

Since we have been married we have rented and moved and rented and moved and rented and moved again. Its been fun. For real... an adventure and a test of our faith in God's perfect provision.

And God provided Waynesboro, Virginia. And we are still renting. ha.

We are starting to look for a house in our new home, and while that is a frustrating process I am reminding myself that God knows what kind of little house will make my heart smile, and provide a canvas for some creativity.

In the meantime I have been searching for some much needed furniture for our neglected Master Bedroom. Since we have been married I have focused more resources on the rooms that most people see when visiting our rental spaces.

I finally found an iron bed frame that I love. And I found a quilt that is simple and lightweight and washable {Miss B. like to climb up into our bed to wake us up in the mornings}

I loved the way they came all tied up in white ribbon!

I found this quilt from West Elm. My dear bff kate's mama gave her a duvet cover from here for her last wedding shower. I had originally found a different green quilt from Tuesday Morning online, but when I went to order they were out of green and only had pink, and let me tell you that Jay LOVED loathed the idea of a pink bedroom. So I kept looking and really love what I found. 

 It is far from a finished project... mainly because I am still waiting for a bedroom I can paint, but also because I need a bed skirt, and I want three white square euro shams, and some fun white and mustard yellow decorative pillows. I have seen a few that I will post later for some decorative feedback! The white pillows are from my guest bedroom and aren't planning to stick around. They aren't quite what I have in mind, but the search is part of the fun right?

Hope you have a wonderful week! We are headed to the very snowy, and freezing Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a mini winter vacation and on to texas for the annual Chick-fil-A Seminar. Prayers for my poorly circulated toes are more than welcomed :) 

Happy Valentines!

I love my Valentine.
We had our first "official" date on Valentines day 7 years ago! He surprised me with flowers on the table that night

... and on our kitchen table today when I got home from work :)

"We love because He first loved us."

- 1 John 4:19

I am so thankful for my sweet husband, and for so many people in my life that I get to daily love on {and be loved by!}... but most importantly I am thankful for true, eternal, forever kind of love, from my Father who continually teaches me what it means to Love that real kind of Love that isn't always easy or full of flowers but is real and genuine and worth it. 

Happy Valentines!

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

These are some of our favorite because they are different {and they are super simple to make!}

3/4 cup Four

1 cup old Fashion Rolled Oats

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Butter, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

1 large Egg

1/3 cup Toffee Bits {or crushed Heath Bar}

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, & salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place sugar & butter in a large bowl and beat with mixer at medium speed about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and egg. Beat well. Add flour mixture. Beat just until combined. Stir in toffee bits. Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet {baking stone} and Bake 12 minutes-ish. 

Makes about 2 dozen. 

 Hope you enjoy! Happy Weekend! 

a party for miss katherine anne

This is my dear, dear, friend kate. Her real name is katherine, and when we were little we loved that we had the same "real name". It is one of the many things about us that is the same. One time, we tried to make a list of all the things we have in common, but we were too little and too easily distracted by dividing up Barbie doll clothes or some other important 10 year old task at the time. So one day I will have to blog about all our similarities :)

Aren't Kate and her sweet Mama beautiful!?

 Kate is marrying Jeff Lang in less than 2 months (yay) and we had such a wonderful girls afternoon celebrating miss katherine anne! Here are a few of the pictures from the shower...

Friends since we were 5 years old! Such a blessing to continue to celebrate life together. 

With our Mamas

Kate and her college roomie... how cute are they!?

They wore the same dress and it was a perfect kate dress :) She has such wonderful style. 

Kate's High School friends

a few notes to myself about snow

Tt snowed up here in Virginia yesterday, a whole stinkin lot. I was skeptical, or maybe just optimistic that it was going to pass by good old waynesboro, but I was wrong. 12 inches wrong. I know thats nothing compared to Boston or DC, but to me it was quite a bit.

I was in quite a predicament due the snow because I had to be a nurse in the ER this morning at 6:30 AM. So while I was shoveling a foot of snow off my driveway, borrowed snow shovel, at 8:30 at night, when it had finally stopped pouring snow, I made a little mental list of things about snow.

1. Buy my own dang snow shovel {instead of begging one off my neighbor down the street who I met for the first time last night}

2. That I picked the dead wrong profession for getting snow days.

3. Why can't people automatically not get sick when there is snow on the ground?

4. Never, ever, ever let my husband go out of town for the week to sunny Atlanta, with our only 4 wheel drive.

5. That I happened to be the only female out shoveling their snow last night {there were plenty of husbands and sons.... I was the only one representing the girls}

6. That my husband is going to think I am a beast when he gets home and sees our sparkly clean driveway, that I shoveled all by myself. {my neighbor offered to help but I finished our driveway before he did... hence I am a beast :) }

sorry for the bad photos but it was late, I was tired, and I simply had to quickly document my shoveling skills and figure out a way to get Bella back inside. To say she was loving the whole foot of snow craziness is putting it mildly. 

Happy snow day! 

... And for the record I made it to the ER in my little honda this morning :) 

A Photo Shoot with Miss B

oh man... come on now, why must you always use the flash!?

I'm getting angry. This seriously is not a way to spend my sunday... I might be persuaded with a treat?

Ok, fine... I'm looking right at you... are you satisfied? Now for that treat...

All these pictures are making me sleepy

I've been more than cooperative, maybe if I just pretend to ignore you, you'll stop....

a yummy oatmeal recipe from my mama

My mom sent me this delicious, easy, and healthy, baked oatmeal recipe a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share. Jay even has enjoyed it for breakfast a few mornings (despite the fact he initially thought it was a girly food) 

Baked Oatmeal

1 1/2 C. Old Fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk

1/2 C unsweetened applesauce

1/4 C chopped dried apricots

1/4 C chopped dates or raisins

1/4 C chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Transfer to 8x8 baking dish that has been lightly rubbed w/ olive oil. Pour oatmeal mixture into the dish and bake 45-50 min. or until slightly browned and crispy on top.  Yield 6 servings (serving size 2 sq.) You can spread a little honey on each serving if you want. This recipe can be doubled and bake in a 9x13 casserole dish. 

I also think it would be really good to try with dried cherries, or golden raisins. 

Happy Sunday!