The Travel Itch

I have slightly settled my need to do some fun things itch... Pat and I are going on a day trip to Chattanooga on Saturday. We plan to walk around downtown, visit the shops, hang out at the park by the river, eat a good dinner, etc. I am excited! Any must sees, must eats, or must shops anyone?

Anyway, here are the places on my "before we have kids travel destinations: US edition"

I know, I know- I have never been to Vegas. Everyone has to go to Vegas at some point right?

Wine Country- Norther California. I can't imagine the beauty of strolling through vineyards...

Austin, TX- I have just heard that Austin is so much FUN

Cape Cod- looks so beautiful

Chicago, IL

Seattle, WA

It looks like we have a busy few years ahead of us doesn't it? Better start making some serious money lol. 

Anyone been to these places and have any recommendations?

From nannying to traveling to Fourth of July fashion

God is amazing. Let me just start out with that simple statement.

Next, this "summer off" where I would have so much free time to blog and play, has been SO busy! I am a nanny for some awesome girls 5 days a week and on top of that I am trying to get ready for MY OWN CLASSROOM!

You heard me ladies and gents, I will officially be a 5th grade teacher at a wonderful private school starting in August. I am so excited but I have so much work to do. I am going this weekend to start buying some things for my room. I will definitely put up pictures of the progress. I also have been studying the math and reading curriculum that I will be teaching- it is good stuff! I do have 30+ novels to read before I start teaching the reading series though. Haha, no biggie.

Anyway, one of the main things I am feeling right now is this itch to DO SOMETHING. I am not sure what and I am not sure why. I just feel like we need to go and see the world and live and experience things. I have been thinking so much about the monotony of life and the ruts that we get stuck in and how many experiences we pass up worrying about money and time and silly things that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Life is so short and I have really found myself thinking lately about how much I want to travel and have fun with my husband exploring God's beautiful creations.

Sorry, that was so random. Let's move onto more important things like Fourth of July fashion right?!

We will be spending the evening watching bands and fireworks in a park in the middle of July in HOT Alabama- so what in the world do I wear?! Here are some cute things I have found:

LOVING this look from Forever 21... just about exactly how casually I will be dressing for our blazing outdoor affair.

Who could resist this adorable outfit from H&M? Blue and white striped dress, red shoes, and a hat? Yes please. 

Love this casual skirt and tank combo topped off with red sunglasses. So cute. 

The look below is from Madewell- lace tank, shorts, and a red and white striped cardigan around the waist to give it a little flair. 

These last two outfits are from Nasty Gal. Im lovin the first look- I would feel super American. 

The red and white romper is pretty presh too... 

Which of these looks would you sport to celebrate the Fourth of July?

iPhone photo dump

My iPhone is filling up with fun photos that I have taken over the last month or so when I got it- I thought I would share a few of my favorites with ya'll =)

 Good times at tutoring

Me and Hubs at my sweet friend Natalie's rehearsal dinner 

Me and Nat at the bridesmaid luncheon, showing off the cute bag she gave us! 

Last day of tutoring... already miss them =( 

I finally beat my dad!! The one and only time haha

 Cute decor at my cousin's baby shower.. can't wait to meet baby Wes. 

 Centerpiece- it was so cute. 

Beautiful hydrangeas from my Aunt Jill's yard 

Ahhh this kitten! I wanna squeeze it it's so cute- at my Mimi's house.  

My little brother's awesome hair the other morning

Hubs at the beach... with his cousin's hair extensions in. Kinda scary.  

Beautiful sky that day...

Us at the beach =) 

The girls I nanny found these and we nursed them for a few days before their mom came back for them.

The girl's being nuts- this is the "Superman with a wave" 

You can't tell from this picture but they were coming full speed down a hill in this plastic wagon, lol 

My adorable new bike

Beautiful lilies in our backyard. Atleast, I think that's what they are. 

These are some of my faves... be back with another dump soon I'm sure. That sounded weird. Night!!

Trying to beat workout boredom...HELP!

Ok first off, has anyone seen Extreme Couponing? Holy Cow!  A marathon is on and a lady just had a 1,100 dollar purchase and with coupons spend $4.83. Really? She said it's her full time job and she spends 35 hours a week preparing, but has saved her family 60,000 dollars in the last year. New job idea anyone?

That totally had nothing to do with what I was gonna talk about today but I just can't stop watching!!

ANYWAY!

I have put on a few pounds since the wedding last year (more like a few times two). I am really not even concerned about the weight, more like being healthy and my clothes fitting how I like them =) So, I am doing a little research on different workout options to keep me from going into workout ruts like I have a tendency to do.

This week so far I have done two days of running from the Self running plan. Check it out here. Seriously it is great and anyone can do it- but before I have found myself doing it for about 6 weeks and then getting bored, so this time I am determined to switch up my other workouts enough to keep the boredom from creeping in.

This week for my cross training I did the Just Sweat program on the game Just Dance 2 for Wii. It was a blast!

For my strength training tomorrow I will be doing my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD.

Next week I will be on week 3 of the running plan and for my cross training I plan to hit up my local Zumba class.

For my strength training day I am going to go to Body Pump at my gym.

Any other ideas? I am trying to add to my repertoire... 


Do you experience workout boredom easily?

Paradise on a porch

Everyone has their own vision of paradise... Some people might picture a beautiful, serene house up in the mountains (NOT me). Some people picture a fun and beachy house on the coast of somewhere beautiful. I picture this:

And I'm not just talking about the gorgeous view of the ocean... I am DEFINITELY including the porch swing beds. I have been thinking about these things ever since I laid on one a couple of months ago. I am almost afraid to get one because I am not sure I would ever come inside again. Especially if it was on the beach =)

Since that is not so realistic anytime soon, here are some other porch swing beds I found that I like:

I love the neutral color because you could adorn it with some amazing pillows and even change them as the seasons turn. The one in the above picture is from Pottery Barn.

This one is a little more funky and I am not sure I am crazy about the pattern but I love the huge ropes that hold it up.

I can't think of much I would rather do right now than curl up on one of these with my book, Sarah's Key, and a cold drink. Maybe even hubs by my side? I think one of these might be in our future, I mean we are thinking of redoing our back porch. Perfect opportunity right?

What do you think of porch swing beds? Is it worth the splurge?

Computer Issues

So Pat's beloved laptop charger finally bit the dust the other day (the electrical tape finally failed) and the new charger is in the mail right now. Who knew those suckers are like 70 bucks?! I will be able to resume regular posting when it arrives. My old laptop just isn't cutting it. It has taken me 20 minutes to type these four sentences because it just randomly decides to erase everything I typed. Be back tomorrow hopefully =)

I LOVE MY LITLE BROTHER <3

And by the way... he wrote that when I was out of the room but I totally agree =)

Currently

I love doing Currently posts and I haven't done one in awhile sooo.... here goes my current faves:

Current nail polish:

Sally Hansen Blu

Current music:


Adele, Dave Barnes, Britney, Nicki Minaj, Biebs- hahaha all depending on the mood =)


Current book:


Decision Points

Current food:


Uhhh been on antibiotics so I have been eaten the heck outta some yogurt. My new favorite kind:

Light and Fit Toasted Coconut Vanilla... yummm

Current TV show:


We have already discussed my ridiculous obsession with reality TV show sooo The Bachelorette is it right now. Also love Locked Up Abroad.


Current joys:


Marriage, family, cousin having a baby in July that I am SO excited about, the sweet girls I babysit everyday in the summer, getting ready to have my own classroom in August, and so much more!


Current needs:

A new head. SO sick of daily headaches. 

Current outfit:


Well at the moment  Under Armour tank and shorts because I just worked out. This tank is AWESOME.

Current wishlist:


Oh gosh... I don't NEED much of anything right now except some new gold sandals because mine broke the other day on the way into church (yes I walked around barefoot, it was tragic)

LOVE THESE but they are definitely just a "wish":

Tory Burch 

Kate Spade

But I will get these from Target and they are JUST as cute and very similar to the KS ones:

I am hoping for a new beach bag too because mine broke when we were at the beach last week! I had wayyyy too much stuff in there! I like these:

Sailor inspired from Etsy-

Calypso for Target-

Artist's tote at Anthropologie-

Current internet pictures:

Uhhh adorable...

Beautiful... love the simplicity

Why have I never tried this before? 

All images from weheartit

Current blessing:


Life itself! I am so thankful for my life, my husband, my family, my friends, my faith, and you guys!

xo