Seize the Day

I've said it before.

We're in a season. Content, joyful. Enjoying the simple and the extravagant. Seizing the day.

Last weekend was stellar. The word "stellar" never sounds right coming out of my mouth, so I'm hesitant to use it, but there's really no better way to describe it.

We saw Jimmy Eat World at Cannery Ballroom on Friday night. Matt's world was rocked. In his words, "babe, this is my favorite night since we've been married."

Easy to please... I like it!

We had a box at the Preds game on Saturday with Matt's coworkers and their wives.

If only the Preds had come out on top! Great game... and wonderful fellowship with our little Nashville family...

We spent Sunday at the park, which is quickly becoming a favorite tradition of ours...

These little touches of Spring weather have me itching for the real thing. I planted a few herbs and am crossing my fingers that they bloom!
 

Do herbs even "bloom"? I am not a gardener.

We're trying to seize every last one of these beautiful days. 

xo,

Lauren

I Heart Faces

This week's challenge on I Heart Faces is cell phone pictures!


I may still be in the learning phase with my DSLR... But iPhone pictures? I've been practicing those for years!


After seeing the challenge at hand, my mind immediately went to a picture of our sweet nephew, Grady, when he was only a few days old.

It's impossible to ignore those plump little cheeks, his newborn lips, and the sweet wrinkles of his hands.


xo,
Lauren

Pattern Painting: chevron

Matt and I picked up this sweet magazine rack at our favorite consignment store a few weeks ago. It was a dark oak with some dents and dings. Apologies for no "before" photo... I need to get better about that. I'm normally just too anxious to get started! You've got a good imagination, though, right? Dark. Oak. Dusty. Boring.

All in all, it just needed a little love! This was my first time painting a pattern on a piece of furniture, but I feel that it is small enough to handle it and won't look out of place in our house. This piece did not want to stay plain-jane, believe. you. me.

I'm so happy with it! I took some 120-grit sandpaper to it afterwards to give it the weathered look that we love so much. And let's face it... also to make any imperfections look completely purposeful. :)


Now... on to the next order of business. What to put in it? Help!
I understand that it's a magazine rack, but I don't like the look of books or magazines in it. My (ever-so-creative) hubby suggested flowers.... maybe dried hydrangeas tucked into it?

I'm open to suggestions! I'm just concerned that if I don't find a "use" for it soon, it might turn into a shoe rack.
xo
Lauren

linking up here:

 

Thankful Thursday

This week, I'm thankful for:

1) Good music and live shows. Matt and I are seeing Jimmy Eat World tomorrow night... It's our first live show of the year but certainly not our last! We also have U2 (outdoors, mid-July, Vandy Stadium, heavenly) lined up as well as Katy Perry (guilty pleasure) in August. And yes, we've got eclectic taste. 

2) My BFF has a BLOG! Okay, it's really her third blog... but who's counting? I think it's for real this time... why? Because she and her husband just bought a one-hundred-and-some-odd-year farmhouse in the outskirts of Athens, Georgia and she's got some serious before and afters to share... plus her husband is one of the funniest men alive! (Besides mine of course) Maybe she'll start a weekly feature called "Michael-isms". It would be a big hit, I assure you.

And to be fair, here's a decent picture of us, too...

3) Our recent motivation. Matt and I are trying to get healthier by working out and eating better. I think it's important, as women, to take responsibility for the meals we prepare for our husbands (or families). Call me old-fashioned but I think it's our charge as women/wives/mothers.
On a less sombering note, check out my hot and handsome hubby working out on Monday night.... oh la la!

Linking up with Julia at BlackTag Diaries!

Thankful,
Lauren

Nostalgia: Embrace the Camera

I've been quite nostalgic lately, looking back at old photos and reminiscing... It's important to take a step back every once in a while, and remember where you came from. This photo is from a Georgia game my sophomore year at UGA, just a few short months after we began dating officially... look at these kids!

 

...And I feel obliged to tell you, for the sake of my marriage, that the popped collar was a joke...

 Head over to Emily's blog to check out her weekly "Embrace the Camera" series... Stepping out from behind the camera and making memories!

Love!

Lauren

 



L-O-V-E: Valentine's

There was something about this Valentine's day...

Maybe because it wasn't our "first married Valentine's" this time around, and we didn't feel pressured for it to be fancy and flawless...

There were no excessive expectations. Just a few lovey-dovey smooches, a lot of "real life", and plenty of special treats scattered throughout the entire weekend...

Like handmade Valentine's:

Homemade Red Velvet cupcakes with the most delicious cream cheese frosting you've ever tasted... (no, really) 

Chocolate-covered strawberries:

And some glitzy new Toms from my Valentine!

And let's not forget our Molly girl...

We brought home Chinese take-out on the night of the fourteenth... romantic, yeah? I can honestly think of nothing else I would have rather done. (Except maybe NOT work out arms at the gym like we did. I still can't reach my hair to use a blow dryer... and thanks babe, for "setting the scene" below...)

I opened this same fortune exactly three months before my wedding. It was at dinner on March 20, 2009. My mom and sister will vouch for me! 

Valentine's Day seems to be more special when you just stop trying. When you let your adoration for the one you love take over and inspire your treats, sweets, and surprises. Instead of doing what the world expected of us... flowers and an expensive dinner and maybe a love song under the stars... we celebrated in a way that was much more "us". And exceedingly more special.

Here's to loving love!
Lauren

Snowpocalypse

I mentioned in my last post, that I would never again take for granted the luxury of simply pulling into my neighborhood... this is why: 


The snowstorm that had been threatening Nashville for days finally hit at 3:15 on Wednesday afternoon. My office closed at 3:30 so we could all get started on this afternoon commute that was sure to be straight from H-E-double hockey sticks. Little did I know... 


Matt had left early that morning for DC, so I was quite anxious to get home and to my sweet puppy who was surely about to bust. I checked traffic prior to leaving and decided on the best route home.

To spare you all the details (and panic attacks), by 6:40 on Wednesday evening, the snow had only continued to fall, the roads were gridlocked, and I was stuck 2.5 miles from home. I called Matt, weeping, and he broke the bad news to me... 


Him: "Babe, I need you to park the car somewhere safe. Get any valuables out and lock it up. I need you to walk home."


Me: "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sob) Nooooooooooooo! (sob sob sob)"


Maybe a tad dramatic. But, in my defense, I was an emotional wreck by this point. I had been sitting in my car for over three hours, hadn't moved in ages, and had no control over any part of it. Plus, this is my background on my iPhone:

To make a long story short, I walked home... 


In the snow.


Uphill, both ways.


Barefoot. 


-Lauren

Thankful Thursday: Valentine's Edition

Today I am thankful for...


a) My Valentine: the sweetest, most thoughtful man I've ever known. He loves me even at my worst... I always find it really hard to express how I feel about him through words. He is a constant source of encouragement, love, and LAUGHTER! He always seems to know exactly what I need when. I love my special valentine!

b) My home. I'll write more about this later... but let me tell you. I have a new appreciation for pulling into my neighborhood. And I just love our sweet little house. 

c) Birthday celebrations. I love remembering the glorious day that sweet little ones were born and rocked all of our worlds with their presence. This is sweet Addie and she turned 8 years old on the fourth! (I'm still in denial.) Our Mammaw's is the very best place for a birthday party... the homecooked meal, the laughter, the humble "Happy Birthday" song (none of us are singers except for my hubby). Birthdays are lovely. Here's to life!

Thanks for hosting, Mrs. Julia!!


-Lauren

Thankful Thursday

The lovely Julia (my new bloggy BFF) has started a Thankful Thursday party and you're all invited!

I love this idea! It's the perfect excuse to step away from the daily grind and focus on the sweet little blessings of daily life.

And without further ado:

Today, I am thankful for...

a) My sweet baby, Molly girl. Seriously, how cute is she? She is so cuddly and a total love-bug. I think we could learn a lot from puppies... they're the perfect example of true, unconditional love, y'all. :)

b) Sugar cookies. I've never liked sugar cookies before. But Matt and I have been on a serious kick and they do not disappoint.

c) My rockstar sister. She's a freshman, first-string, Varsity basketball player. And she rocks. Seriously... she's everything I wasn't in high school and I love every ounce of it! We are in Georgia to see her play two (count 'em. Two!) basketball games this weekend. I'm a little overzealous... May or may not be making a sign and painting my face. Is that overkill?

Loved this Julia! 
Thanks for the killer par-tay. Y'all head on over and join the fun. 


-Lauren

Copy Cat: Chicken and Wild Rice soup

I mentioned in my last post that we went to Demos' for lunch over the weekend, resulting in one of the most splendid dates imaginable. 


And while I've already mentioned that their sweet tea was oh.so.dreamy, their house soup was nothing short of uh-mazing. I did a little research, and with a little tweaking, made a deliciously spectacular (if I do say so myself) version of my own for a very rainy, dreary day.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 cup flour
2.5 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine
2 cups long grain (or wild) rice, cooked
1 packet dry italian dressing mix
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic, to taste
parsley, to taste


Directions:
Melt butter in large pot. Mix in flour till smooth. Stir in chicken broth until no lumps remain.
Add shredded chicken, salt, pepper, garlic, and italian dressing mix.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes.
Add milk, lemon juice, wine, and parsley. Reduce heat to low. Add cooked rice.
Let simmer, pair with a slice of baguette, and enjoy! 


Delicious, I tell you. I'm actually off to have leftovers of this with hubby as we speak. 


Lauren