I feel like a broken record here, but life couldn't get much busier than it is now! I had a regional meeting in Ocala, FL on Monday. Had to meet the bosses at the office at 7:30 am and didn't get home until 9 pm. LONG day needless to say. And today wasn't much easier. Had to help train another office in our region on a few things so I went 80 mph ALL day....looked at my watch and it was 5:30. No lie.

I could have stayed another 3 hours AT LEAST but I opted to spend some special time with a cute boy at home :) .

We headed over to an old favorite of ours:

Ted's Mondana Grill! It was DELICIOUS!! Best hamburger I've ever had!!

And now i'm parked on the couch, in a trance listening to Eddie Ross's podcast with The Skirted Roundtable. Something very intoxicating about this guy...probably because he was once a Martha Stewart man. And we all know how I love Martha's style (despite her ethical problems).

Whatever, all that aside, its pretty interesting and I've become an even BIGGER fan!!

Speaking of being a big fan...

How awesome would it be to look out your breakfast room window and see that?? I mean seriously!! Its hot here and I could make great use of that space. I'm just saying.

And I'll say one more thing. I saw this picture on some decorating blog (surprise surprise) and fell in love. It will be years before the dream home becomes mine, but I can tell you this: when that day comes, I'm going to have LOTS and LOTS of ideas ready to put in action!!

That being said, I'm tired and I've got two little puppies begging for attention. See you soon:)

Hey its gonna be a random one!! Hold on tightly because I've got a few thoughts to share!!

So I have somewhat of a confession to make: I have become slightly obsessed with Decorating Blogs. I'm talking wake up in the morning, sign in and kinda get a rush to see if there's more goodness I can find-obsession. Yall its not healthy because, quite honestly, it just gives me a really bad case of the "I want's." I could list a thousand things that I want right now: a home like this...

A family to live in it. A lifestyle that comes with having a home this nice. A job that pays enough to provide this lifestyle (sidenote: I LOVE my job despite its pay). As I said, I could go on and on and on. But the truth is, for now, I'm learning to be content with what I DO have. My health, the freedom to pick up and go wherever I want, the future ahead of me, a rewarding job, an incredibly cute and sweet boyfriend :) , and the fact that I know that one day, my lists of dreams will be achieved. I'm sure one day, I'll live in a beautiful home just like this one and have one of those moments where I look around and see kids playing, phones ringing, tv's blasting, dogs barking, babies crying, dinner cooking, laundry going and at that point, I'll remember back to days like today when things were so much simpler. When life wasn't complex. And I'm sure I'ld for a split moment think to myself, "ahhh I wish I could go back." But isn't that what human nature does? Always wants what it can't have?

So there's my deep thought for the month. I try to keep it light on here, because lets all be honest, blogs aren't really the place to share your heartaches and disappointments. However, its been on my mind for quite a while, so there...I said it.

On a MUCH sillier note, look what else I found while in the blogosphere!!


Dear Audrey Hepburn and a sweet little yorkie!! I may have to email Ryan's sister and tell her if she wants me on a bike, it will be like this!! I could have little Hudson sitting up front and Maddie girl runnin on a leash beside me. :)

And if this post weren't random enough for you, look what I found!!!



Ok, so its 104 today and I don't foresee me needing these guys for a while, but my heart did a little pitter patter when I saw these on www.nordstrom.com. I believe this will be on my Christmas wish list. I'll email it to mom and they'll probably arrive in Montgomery next week. No joke, she is in PURE Christmas shopping mode. Seriously. Its July and she's half done!

Feast your eyes on these little beauties!!

I saw this on another blog I stop by every now and then and it was love at first site. PLUS I found a new blog to follow: http://smittenkitchen.com/

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour1 cup cold butter

(2 sticks or 8 ounces)

1 egg1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Looks like a trip to the grocery store is on the Weekend TO DO list now :)

To say that I've had a long week would be an understatement. While I'll spare you the details, I'll wrap it up pretty quick! VERY successful Fundraiser!!! (probably what the rest of the world refers to as a miracle!!! Lots and lots and lots of hard work and time spent raising $112,000. And now, I'm kicking back and enjoying one of these.

Not too sure if you guys have these, but us Floridians do and I'm LOVING it! I saw this a few weeks ago and couldnt help but be skeptical. Well, its TO DIE FOR!! Go get you one!!

Talked to a man at the Weather Center yesterday for work and had a nice little chit chat about how STINKIN HOT it is here!! No lie, we're in triple digits by around 9:30 am every day down here! Guess that's what I get for moving to swampland!! I don't even want to know what my power bill will be like the next few months. SHOOT ME!

All this heat has me dreaming of a nice vacation home. Key word: Dreaming! Thinking of a home with INCREDIBLE airconditioning. So cool you want to wrap up in soft blankets while curled up on the couch. Where everything feels fresh and clean and there's a constant breeze outside. Alright...time to wake up now! But seriously, this morning, as I was doing my usual morning routine (coffee and blogs), I stumbled across this goldmine: http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/. And oh did she deliver the good stuff!!

Master bedroom with a bed you just want to run and jump on!!

Could this guest bathroom be anymore inviting? I think not.

And the guest bedroom is awesome too! I really like that table with the 2 lamps.

Totally diging this setup. Love the seagrass rug, love the color of that distressed dresser and LOVE LOVE LOVE those lamps!

So, I'll keep dreaming.

UPDATE FROM LAST NIGHT: After dinner, Ryan turned on the tv when I was in the other room cleaning. I came back to the beginning of The Devil Wears Prada on the TV. Yall, I don't know how to say this better, but....I'm pretty much sold on this one:)

So today has been H-E-C-T-I-C!! But I have to say that I am truly blessed to have a VERY patient boyfriend who is more than helpful whenever I need him. We are short-staffed at the office and about to have one of our biggest fundraisers of the year this Thursday. Needless to say, its CRAZY around there and we need every spare hand we can find! Well, sweet Ryan decided to volunteer his time off today with MDA and went to WORK for us. Doing all kinds of things: computer work, moving heavy boxes, etc. It was nice to have him there. Every now and then, I'ld peak my head out and check on him and the diligence in his eyes was TO DIE FOR!!

I'm pooped, of course, so the thought of cooking just repulsed me. He left a few minutes early and I came home to this...

Ladies, he's off the market!!! He cooks, he cleans AND he is happy to help out an office of 6 SUPER stressed, hormonal, tired woman out for the afternoon!

Please be jealous! :)

Now he's enjoying his mega taco he made and zoned out to ESPN. Hey, I gotta give it to him...he earned it!!

I just whipped out my camera to upload some new pictures. And then I quickly realized my pictures are all under one of 3 categories: work, ryan, or dogs. Seriously! I've gotta learn to allow myself in the shots sometimes. Im a camera phob...dont like to see the end result of pictures since I am oh-so-unphotogenic!!

Anyway. I'll leave you with two that make me smile BIG TIME!

You know, before we got Hudson, Ryan was very anti-little dog. Madison was about as small as he would go. He would say, "I don't know what to do with a little dog." But as you can see, the little man has melted his heart. But don't be fooled, he and Madison are best of buds. They stick together most of the time and little man stays with me. It works.

And this one just makes me laugh. Basically this is just an excuse for Ryan to get to be a little boy and play with fire. One night last week, he randomly decided to burn some leftover wood from work. The night went something like this: cook dinner, cleanup, Ryan: "I think I want to go burn something." Seriously!