A day late - favorite posts thus far.

I'm a day behind with this "Blog Every Day in May" challenge, but that's okay....  it would be so unlike me to be ahead of schedule! ;)

So, today's topic is "A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives".  I'm actually pretty excited about this because hands down, one of my very favorite things and reasons for blogging is the ability to look back and remember all of the little details of our lives at different stages.  Things that I might forget as the seasons and years pass.  Truth be told, I go back to some of my favorite posts a few times a year and often they make me grin from ear to ear.... and sometimes cry.  I'm so glad I've kept up with blogging over the past 6 years.  I really, really am.  Side note:  if you weren't already aware, you can catch up and search old posts via the "blog archives" dropdown over there on the right side. :)

- MY FAVORITE POSTS -

"COME RUNNING", which I wrote this year on a complete whim, is probably my all time favorite.  I just started typing one day and absolutely poured out my heart.  I shed a lot of tears when I wrote this post.

This post from three years ago titled "OUR FUTURE CHILDREN" is really special to me... I wrote it late one night after Cason and I had been laying in bed watching tv and chatting about what we thought our kids would be like.... who they would favor --- that kind of thing.  It's the biggest miracle in all this world to see your child for the first time and then watch them grow and their little personalities develop.... to see who they are truly becoming.  I love looking back on it now that I have the mini in tow.  This one line still cracks me up.  "Will they have brown hair [they better, or something's up]?"

I guess "something's up" because our sweet boy is blonde-headed!  Ha!

I also really love all of the "HOME HOLIDAY TOUR" posts I've done [here's a link to *all* "home tour" posts].  Mainly because it helps me each year as the next holiday approaches by giving me something to look back on and remember exactly what I did / what things I put where!  Ha!  I try to change things up a little every year and make it fun and cheery!

Although THIS POST is really hard for me to read and again, is a post that can make me bawl in about .02 seconds, I am so glad I wrote this and put together all of these photos to remember my very best girl.  I miss her so much.  Every day of the week.

Jackson's "FIRST FIESTA" was just too much fun and truly a labor of love.  We celebrated his first birthday in a BIG way.  Of course, this is an all-time favorite because it was just so much stinking fun!

And there you have it - MY favorite posts to date!  There are others that have been far more popular with you guys (mainly DIY things, Jackson's nursery, etc.), but these that I've shared above are near and dear to my heart!  Hope you enjoy catching up on these if you haven't seem them already!  Happy Wednesday, friends!

Favorite Photo and {Ten} Things

Friends.  No clue what is going on with my little self this morning {and I say "little" mainly referring to my 5'1" stature and not my Beyonce-sized thighs}.  Here's the deal ::: I've been up since 2:30 a.m.  What?!  Crazy, and so not okay.  I normally wake up around 6:45 or 7, so this is so not the norm for me.  But, I woke up and couldn't sleep, so I read my devotional, made some coffee and then sat down to catch up on  blog reading.  So, here I am in all my pajama clad, zit cream dotted face glory, blogging at 5 in the morning.  Sounds so glamorous, right? ;)

On to where this is headed today ----  I'm sure you've seen the fun "Blog Every Day in May" link-up series that several of my blog-world bff's are doing.  If not, here's a rundown of what it is if you want to be in the know! :)  I decided to jump on board because some of the topics are really fun and things I wouldn't think to share otherwise.  Obviously, I'm a little bit late [per my usual] to jump on this bandwagon, but it's not like anyone cares!  So, I picked out a few of my favorite topics to write about today and plan on joining in through the rest of the month!

Here.We.Go.

DAY 17:  A FAVORITE PHOTO OF YOURSELF AND WHY

Two photos actually come to mind right away.  This one, first....and here's why:

-  We had just gotten home from lunch in "town" with my brother and sister-in-law and the hubs took this photo after a quick diaper change in our bedroom.  I say this only to point out that it's so every day.  It's not a professional photo session that I'd booked where I'd typically spend a week trying to find the "perfect" outfits. This was just me.  Me and my precious mini.  Me as a new momma and really, really, REALLY with every ounce of my being LOVING IT.  I can see it in my eyes.

-   The mini was 2.5 months old here and just a chunky butterball of perfection!  Check out those arm rolls!

-   I had a few months of mommyhood under my belt and felt like I really knew what I was doing.... not to mention Jackson was sleeping through the night, which made everything a lot easier!

I absolutely love this photo.

And this would have to be my second favorite photo. This was taken on our first trip to Rosemary Beach in 2009.  We were SO excited about this vacation and I'd just gotten my sweet new ride (the beach cruiser you see there, which I named Rosmeary)!  This was just a really perfect day. One I'll never forget.  I think I smiled all day long.

DAY 14:  TEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME REALLY HAPPY.

1. My guys.  No explanation needed.
2. Random trips to the park with my brother and Jackson.  Every few weeks we make this happen.  We'll grab lunch to go somewhere and meet at the park {and there's no "sitting down to eat"....we scarf it down all while trying to corral a squirrel chasing almost 2 year old!}.  Ha!
3. Fun mail days [because opening anything that isn't junk mail or a bill is reason to celebrate].
4. Making someone feel included.
5. Jackson's room. It's my very favorite room in the house and being in there still just makes me happy.  Such a cheery space.
6. Lazy Sundays.
7. The smell of lemon, which I talked about last week {after finding my new favorite all purpose kitchen cleaner that smells so stinking yummy, I swear I clean my kitchen counters 3 times a day}.  I'm an addict.
8. A really wonderful message at church... the kind where you just leave knowing that God wanted you to hear that very thing at that very moment.
9. Sweet emails from readers of this little blog.  I've received of handful of them in this past week and they have really made my day.  So thankful for this "space" that I call mine. :)
10. Cake.  Always cake.

Five on Friday + a link-up announcement!

Sweet, sweet, FRIDAY... so glad to see your face!  : )

After a handful of readers suggested a "Five on Friday" weekly link-up last Friday, I just almost got my act together and created a fun little logo and announced it days in advance.  Almost.  Instead, I think I'll kick-off the Five on Friday link-up this coming Friday, May 24th!!  I'd love for you to join and share your five things --- and I mean, how awesome is that to blog about on a Friday?  Just any five things from the week.... what you've seen around the blog world and loved, a new recipe that totally rocked your world, how your child is trying to say "yes, ma'am", but has decided to whisper "yes" and then yells "DAMN" (his version of ma'am... or maybe he's just really funny?) in public.  So really, it's that simple - any five things that your heart desires!  I'll have a little logo ready early next week along with a reminder about Friday!

- FIVE FOR FRIDAY -

1.)  A few people have asked me to do a "home tour" here on the blog.  So, let me present to you our guest bedroom / mini office.  Do you like what I've done with it?  How about all of the fun "pops" of color?  At first I thought it might be a tad too busy, but I'm trying to branch out and try new design styles.  And it was all my unique, non-Pinterest inspired, very own vision and design.  Pure talent, folks.....  ;)
It's beyond out of hand and I'm sure that the pest control guy that was here this week thought I was the strangest little white girl ever with Mexican sombreros spread across the bed.  Operation "your guest bedroom cannot become your junk drawer" is in full effect.  Tomorrow.  Not today.  Tomorrow.

2.)  Quarterback in the making.  ;)  That or it was all a ploy on my part to keep his hands full and busy for .02 seconds so I could get a photo.  He's figured me out.  That's what that look on his face means - "MOM!, I get it ---- enough with the damn football!"

3.)  See.  The football was immediately thrown down and lizard chasing commenced.  And I guess I should explan as this may just a hot / humid / South Texas thing (the lizards that is).....  once springtime hits, we get a lot of small lizards running around flowerbeds, the outside of the house.  It drives me crazy and freaks me out.  Of course, Jackson is all boy and LOVES IT.  In all honesty, I think his favorite thing right now is looking for lizards ["here, izard izard!" followed by him slapping his thigh and making a noise like he's calling a dog].  When we go to his favorite park, he now no longer wants to play, but chases squirrels (tons of squirrels there) for a solid hour.  It's hilarious.  And I'm baffled at his ability to see a squirrel (or a lizard) from forever away.  It's wild.  Notice here how the football was tossed right away ...... 

4.)  How about this amazing, so precious, so true chalkboard print?  I'm thinking this is next on my chalkboard design line-up.  My sweet friend Emily shared it along with some photos of her Mother's Day mimosa bar she put together this past weekend ---- so cute!!!

5.)  We're headed HERE to the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in a few weeks for a family vacation with Cason's parents and his sister's family!  We are SO, SO EXCITED!!!  And blessed to have such generous in-laws who booked the hotel for all of us!  Wow!!  I can't stop thinking about the fun that will be had on this lazy river................ cannot wait!!!!

And I've never turned down the opportunity for some porch sittin' {although you know there will be very little actual SITTING going on with my lizard and squirrel chaser in full force!}.  ;) ;)  He's going to have a ball!!

So there you have it - my FIVE ON FRIDAY.  See you here next Friday for the first link-up!!  :)  Would love for you to share your five random "things".... it'll be a fun way to get to know some new bloggers, too!

HAPPY WEEKEND, friends!

lemon & yellow obsessed.

If you've been reading along for awhile now, you're fully aware of my love affair with the color orange, chalkboards, coffee and mimosas.  Right?  Well, as of late, you can add "all things yellow" and "anything and everything lemon" to that list.  I don't know if it's because yellow is such a cheery color and goes hand in hand with summer or what?  As for the lemon love affair - it isn't particularly new, but just more pronounced as of late (seriously, I've been craving lemon flavored anything so much here lately that I wondered for a brief second if I could be pregnant).  Rest easy, friends.... no babe on the way.  So, since I've had my eye out for everything yellow and have been craving lemon something fierce, I thought I'd share a little round-up of both!

toddler girl jammies / frozen lemon custard bubble bath / lemon lip balm / all purpose lemon cleaning spray beach hat / necklace / striped baby boy trunks / lemon home fragrance oil /  banana yellow shorts

After looking back, I think my yellow craze started at Easter with these gorgeous rananculas.

And then the day before Easter Sunday, I stumbled upon this dress on sale at Loft and knew it had to be mine.

Then came Mother's Day and the "box of sunshine" gifts I sent to a few special ladies!  

This really sealed the deal for my new found obsession.

The yellow craze continued when I saw these adorable "Anna Banana" yellow shorts on sale at Old Navy.... best $15 I've ever spent there.  Then the stars aligned when I ran into Target the other day to buy some new {obviously super expensive and high quality.... only the finest around here} sunglasses and saw this bright statement necklace.  It's so cute and goes perfectly with my YELL-ow shorts!  It's the little things, friends... the little things.

And what's next, you ask?  Where do I even go from here after overdosing on all things yellow and LEMON?  

Well, the only sensible thing to do is THIS.  [Stay tuned next week!]

SO, WHO'S WITH ME AND LOVING ALL THINGS YELLOW {AND} LEMON?!

We can band together and support each other --- you don't have to do this alone! ;)

Mother's Day + Ryan Gosling.

No big deal or anything, but Ryan Gosling wished me a happy Mother's Day.  ;) ;) I'm quite the lucky momma, right?!

Here's a quick Mother's Day recap that was just so sweet I had to share! 

The hubs insisted on sleeping in the living room with Jackson's monitor so I could get a good night's rest on Saturday (Mother's Day eve - ha!).  He also made me swear to not come out of our room until he got me in the morning, so I knew he was up to something!  I woke up around 11:30 that night to what sounded like some serious construction work going on in our kitchen (sounded like a drill??).  I was totally puzzled as to what in the world he could be putting together...  I assumed it was a Mother's Day gift of some sort?  I was clueless.  So, the next morning, Cas and J came to "get me" around 8 a.m.  "They" had a cute little mini cake (a hand mixer was apparently the culprit behind the extremely loud construction sounds I heard at almost midnight - ha!!!), balloons, flowers and a personalized video from them and Ryan Gosling.  Be still my heart.  Haha!!!!  Here's the precious video and some photos of our day.  I couldn't be more blessed or thankful.  These two guys are my whole world [and no, I don't mean Ryan Gosling].  :)

Out the door to brunch at Tiny's No. 5!

Jackson was busy looking for lizards and had no desire for a quick photo.  Ha!  Total boy! :)

The cutest, sweetest boys in all of Texas!

And what's a day without a trip to the park to chase ducks and look for turtles!  :)

I hope those of you that are moms or mamas-to-be were celebrated BIG and spoiled this weekend!!

And to my sweet, husband - you never cease to amaze me.  Thank you for loving me like you do and knowing how to make such perfect and precious memories.  Jackson and I are so lucky to call you ours!