30 Days of Thankfulness - #17 - Making Memories

Today, I am Caribbean-bound with my BFF...

Our hubbies will be there too, of course. And I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to spend the week making memories with these people... living out the stories that we'll laugh about when we're 75. I'm giddy with excitement!

Thankful,
Lauren

30 Days of Thankfulness - #8 - Home Is Where The Heart Is

I was always a little restless in college... never feeling ready to settle down and plant my feet. I couldn't pinpoint it, but I knew something was missing. 

At the time, it puzzled me. All my "stuff" was there. I ate meals there and did laundry there and had a 10x10 room to call my very own. So why didn't it feel like home?

During college, I spent practically every weekend visiting either my family or Matt. During those visits, I realized that it was then that I felt content. I wasn't longing to be somewhere else. I was happy. I was "at home".

Fast forward four years. Matt and I get married and I move to the little-big city of Nashville. My family and friends know what an extreme home-body I am and constantly ask the question, "Are you homesick yet?"

Even I surprised myself. I wasn't. Not even a little bit. Although to be clear, I did miss my mom and my sister and my whole family... but I wasn't homesick. I was content. Happy.

I was at home.

And that's when it hit me. Home is not about zip codes and square footage. Home has nothing to do with the number of bedrooms or the size of your kitchen. Home is not contained in four walls.

For me, home is when I'm with people I love. Whether that be my husband, our family, or our friends... home is wherever you make it. 

Home is where the heart is. 

Thankful, 

Lauren

Chicago: the Windy City

Matt and I took a whirlwind trip to the lovely city of Chicago recently. We managed to stop in Louisville on the way and stuff ourselves with quesadillas and margaritas with these two lovelies...

Julia is my sweet real-life-bloggy-friend, and this is her husband, Lance. These two grew up as pals back in Georgia.

We woke up in Chicago the next morning to an impending rain storm (and lovely 75 degree weather)... We headed over to the two-story Home Goods (you read that right) a couple of blocks away and took refuge between aisles of drool-worthy goodness.

After the storm, we took the train to Lincoln Park to explore...

The zoo was spectacular and F-R-E-E...  I highly recommend it! In fact, we noticed so many free attractions in the city, we're already talking about taking a trip with our future munchkins! There's so much to do for little rug rats. 



One of my very favorite pictures...

Did I mention the phenomenal view of the city?!

We also enjoyed an architectural tour of the lake and Chicago River. Did you know they reversed the flow of the river to keep from polluting Lake Michigan? 

After resting up back at the hotel, we headed south to Millennium Park to check out the ever-famous Chicago bean!

My handsome man!

The Hancock Building.

Sweet Leah! She and I spent a summer in Southern California learning about missions back in 2006 and haven't seen each other since! She is such a joy. My heart was full after our visit!

We packed so much into a day! We left with love for a new city... and plans to return time and time again!

Lauren 

Visiting!

Happy Saturday!
Today you can find me over at Black Tag Diaries...

With a guest post about this project! 

If you don't know Julia already, you are missing out... she is one of the most well-rounded women I know. Her blog is chock full of inspiration... life, crafts, weddings, design, humor, photography... she's got it all. I'm honored that she asked me to guest post while she's having the time of her life on an Alaskan cruise! (jealous) She's got an awesome line-up in her absence. Check it out!

xo

Lauren

A package!

I received the sweetest package in the mail today...

Lindsay from Paint Me A Picture sent me a one of her State Love paintings and I am head over heels for it! You've got to check out her shop and these sweet paintings... she is a fellow Georgia Bulldog fan and therefore a truly a spectacular woman! :) Her blog is sweet and sincere and funny and her kids are baby dolls! 


Thanks again, Lindsay! You're an angel... go Dawgs! 


Lauren

Awarded!

Thanks to Kate at See Kate Blog for awarding me The Versatile Blogger Award! I'm flattered... not only for the honor, but also that anybody would even bother to read my ramblings! Thanks again, Kate! She's the cutest... and has a darling family. Check her out!

To "officially" accept this award, I'm supposed to write seven things about myself... here goes!


#1 - I have crooked pinkies... So does my paternal grandmother and my cousin. Thanks genes!

#2 - I have a crazy, insane fear of throwing up. When I begin to feel nauseated, I start to panic and cry hysterically. It usually goes something like this: "Sob sob sob sob... MATT! Sob sob sob sob sob... I think I'm going to... sob sob sob... THROW UP!!!" Nothing a little topical phenergan can't fix...


#3 - I have to have a drink with me at all times. Beside my bed. In the car. In my purse. At the movies. On a roller coaster. I hate to feel parched. And what if I spontaneously choke on something??? I mean, it's completely rational. 


#4 - I have a black thumb. Not literally (see previous photo)... But I usually manage to kill any plant that gets in my path. I can keep people alive all day long (I'm a nurse), but don't give me a plant that's only basic needs are sunlight and water. They're doomed. 


#5 - In my fifth grade yearbook, under each picture of the "graduating" students, we listed what we wanted to be when we grew up. (My idea... being yearbook "president" and all...) I listed "newscaster"... a more proper title would have been "news anchor", but I was 11... so shoot me. Instead, I grew up to be a registered nurse and deathly camera shy. 


#6 - I loathe cold weather... I've been known to wear leggings, long johns, and two pairs of double-layered socks and still shiver the day away... Lucky for me, Spring has sprung!!


#7 - I grew up having Sunday lunch at my grandmother's every single week. It might has well been thanksgiving, with the spread of food and the fellowship with my entire extended family... we're talking aunts, uncles, cousins... the whole nine yards. Even while living in Nashville, each time we go home, there's nothing better than sitting down with my family for Sunday lunch. My mammaw makes cornbread for Matt every time we're there. His favorite...


Thanks again for the award, Kate! I'm honored! And now I get to pass it on to a few of my favorite bloggers!


1) Whitney at The Youngs: Life on Peachtree Street (my bff and a new blogger!)
2) Julia at Black Tag Diaries  (my blogger bff and a previous recipient of this award... so what Julia! Give us seven more intriguing facts!)
3) Lindsey at Paint Me a Picture (the most generous blogger I know... I'm a proud owner of one of her paintings!)


Check each of these ladies out... they won't disappoint.


Lauren

The List

Matt and I both look forward to the day (quite far away from today, however) when we will be blessed with some little tikes to call our own. The idea of having children to love and raise together has never been a question for us... we love kids and we are excited to be parents (one day)!

In the meantime, we have taken the opportunity to learn a lot of lessons from the parents and children in our lives.

On a recent trip to Orlando, we spent some quality time with our dear friends and their three wonderful kids. We had a great time in the midst of... well, chaos! It was fun, exciting... BUSY! We said our goodbyes, boarded our plane home, and...


...immediately scrounged to find anything to write down a list of TO DO's before we have children! 


Things to do, places to see... all before our life changes completely, and skipping town for a spontaneous getaway is virtually out of the picture.


We call it our "B(efore) K(ids) List", and here it is!

In no particular order...


1. Visit NYC
2. Take a SoCal vacay
3. See the Rockies and Colorado
4. Experience Chicago
5. Go on a cruise together
6. Become debt-free!!

We're beginning to check a few of these off the list... cruise is booked... Grand Cayman and Cozumel here we come! We've paid off an extraordinary chunk of our debt since we became a two-income family in September. I think Spring of 2011 calls for a trip to NYC.

Agreed?
Lauren