Wordless Wednesdays

Favorite Black & White Movie

via

"Here's looking at you kid."

I just love the classic romance that unfolds throughout this film.
The old Hollywood feel of the soft black and white.
The forbidden love.
The adorable Humphrey Bogart.


via

Isn't he just dreamy?

Just added a couple classics to my Netflix instant queue.
Any more suggestions for me?

Mommy Monday!

I'm writing this to you as the scent of warm banana bread still lingers from my baking extravaganza tonight. I find baking to be a very therapeutic hobby and today was just one of those days where my hands yearned to crack eggs, smoosh bananas and create something beautiful.

Little Miss Alea Lou is teething... yet again. Those darn molars sure send her over the edge. I was the mom at the store today struggling to hold a screaming toddler while racing down the aisles, hunting down the infant ibuprofen and practically sprinting towards the checkout all while dodging disapproving and those "what a horrible mother" glances. Did you see me? ;)

We made it through it though and as soon as we got some ibuprofen in her system and some good old fashioned snuggles... while watching Horton Hears a Who... she started to feel a whole lot better.

I've been thinking a lot lately about parenting. When I say parenting, I mean something deeper than discipline, time outs, play dates, and providing for my little one. I've been thinking more about what values, morals, and principles I would like to instill in my daughter and our future children as well.



I want my daughter to have a yearning to learn and take in everything around her.
I want my daughter to have faith. -- I feel as though faith is so much more important than any religion. I want her to have faith in a higher power, but not be afraid to question her faith or to find the path of worship that suits her best.
I want my daughter to be kind, caring, & help others.
I want my daughter to be strong. To not give into temptation & follow her heart.
I want my daughter to be passionate.
I want my daughter to appreciate. Pleases and thank yous and for her to understand that she is truly blessed for everything that she will come to have in life.
I want my daughter to find love. Feel love, love someone with all her heart, and receive all the love she gives out.
I want my daughter to be determined. I want her to chase her dreams and live her life for all its worth.



via

These are all values I try and include in my everyday life. I know I can always improve, but I want so badly for my daughter to have this. Raising a child is more than I ever thought it would be. It's more than buying diapers and putting food in their mouths. It's up to Cory & I to raise a highly functioning, determined, loving, strong, appreciative, passionate, faithful member of society.

No pressure, right?

Photos from my Week

This week was quite the week. Lots of on-line work for myself, but lots of playtime in between with my princess. The week ended with a bang when my mom came to visit, took us out for dinner, and then a spur-of-the-moment Target run. (Don't you just love those?)

Here are some pictures from my week!

A delicious parfait to start the day off right.

My pretty little princess :)


Alea decided Dr. Suess needed to be read before she got out of bed

Being goofy!

My fabulous homemade chicken enchiladas.. drooool.

Anxiously waiting Grandma's arrival!


I hope you all had a fabulous week and have a great weekend as well. What are your plans?

Old Lady!

Oh. My. Word.

Hip mama no more.
Break out the mom jeans 

(& the knitting needles).

I just filed my very first noise complaint.

Embarrassing, right? I'm 21 years old here people.
I'm supposed to be making the noise that people complain about!

But in my defense, I probably saved a life or two.
There were literally motorcycles racing up and down the street behind my house, which by the way, is a two lane highway... and they were using BOTH lanes. And they were extremely loud. Like annoy the heck out of my dog loud. And I was scared to death they were going to wake Alea-bean up (after a verrrry difficult bedtime). So I'm justified... right?

I mean, I'll do the whole knitting thing... but mom jeans...
I don't think this warrants mom jeans...
Right?

A is for Alea: Wordless Wednesdays

Alea. Standing in, not on, her potty chair waiting for
her daddy to come home from work.

This little girl is my life.
Sure, cliche, but it's the truth.
She makes me laugh, she makes me cry
and sometimes her toddler ways drive me crazy.

But I will always love her to no end.
It's moments like this (see above)
that make all the difficult days seem
totally and completely worth it.

Link up to Wordless Wednesday @ Minnesota Mama Must Haves

Workout in Style

Lately, it seems as though new workout gear is the only clothing purchase I've been making. I'm loving the bright, neon colors though, and SO loving my Asics :)


Workout in Style by chelsea.thom90 featuring puma handbags 

Friday Treat!

Alea and I woke up to thunderstorms and lots of rain and clouds and just plain gloomy weather this morning. Let's just say it did very little for my motivation... even though we have friends coming to stay with us tomorrow and our house is a disaster. (If you don't believe me, I have photographic evidence.) Most of our morning was spent lounging around, reading books, and even some Sesame Street. After our nap, we woke up to beautiful sunshine, but I couldn't seem to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

So, I figured I better treat myself to this:

 Almond Joey Mocha
from my new favorite coffee shop: Everyday Joe

Yellooooooow caffeine buzz!

Homemade Granola

This recipe includes all my favorites about granola.
The cripsy, crunchy, semi-sweet flakes
I love the extra crunch it adds to a bowl of yogurt
& best yet, I love the way this homemade granola 

smells while it's baking in the oven.

(You don't get that with the store bought variety my friends!)

So, without further ado...

Homemade Granola

3 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in honey and salt. Add oatmeal and stir well, making sure all the oatmeal is well coated. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet. Make sure to spread it out thin to ensure each flake gets that crispy golden brown color. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, and store in an airtight container.

 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! 

Thursday Latelies!

Whoop! My 1st Thursday Latelies :) Enjoy
Link yours up @ Bex... A Style Diary

 Don't judge ;) It was my first!
Here's the link I promised for the Couch to 5k program.
Cool Running: Couch to 5k
It's great, I hope you take a look and start to enjoy running as much as I've come to!

Happy Thursday!

Shoe Week @ Sometimes Sweet!

Sometimes Sweet has been hosting a fabulous shoe event all week: Shoe Week!
Today, she's offering followers a chance to win an adorable pair of Oxfords.
I think these would be the PERFECT gift for my darling friend over at Miss Bobee ;)

(And maybe she'd even let me borrow them!)

Adorable, right?

Journal Day! V.2

Today, I'm linking up to Sometimes Sweet
& responding to today's journal prompt.
You should do the same :)
Don't forget to link up on the blog above.

Today's Prompt: 

The older we get, the more certain we get about who we are and what our purpose is.  For me, a lot of it is still unknown, but as I make my way down my own path, I have begun to realize that there are indeed some inevitable truths that I know for sure. On your own blog, write a post that talks about "the one thing you know for sure."

 

I'd like to think that I've grown up a lot in the last couple of years. I went from going to school at Viterbo University, to moving in with my boyfriend in Hudson, WI, and then having my beautiful daughter on April 3rd, 2010, all in a matter of a couple years. Now, we've purchased our own home and I'm continuing my journey to obtain my Nursing degree. It's been a hectic couple of years and there's no sign of a slowdown anytime soon, but the one thing I know for sure, is I am happy and thankful for where I am at in my life. Some days are harder than others, of course, but there's no doubt that all this hard work WILL pay off. I've learned so much about myself, my beliefs, my values, in this time as well. I've begun this journey into myself a little sooner than some of my friends and others in my life, but that's just all part of the process. It's all apart of picking and choosing who fits into the jigsaw puzzle that is your life. Some people make the cut, and some don't. That's another very important lesson I've learned throughout these past couple of years. For those friends that have stuck around, I know that they will be around for even longer. They can't get rid of me now ;) All in all, I am happy.
I am thankful.
& I am blessed.
And this is something I need to remember on those tough, raw, days.

stitch 'n' bitch

I've been in this crazy crafting mood lately.

It all started when I bought a tie-dying kit... let me tell ya!

I'm really into knit bracelets and jewelry lately.
Simple, classic, so fun, and different.


What do you think of these ideas?

via

via 

via 

via 

Fun right?

I think I might have my next project!
Any buyers? ;)

O is for Organization

I'll have to admit,
once we moved into our new house,
we still have yet to unpack a few boxes
& get truly organized.

And lately it's been driving me-- NUTS.

So, my goal is to get this place in tip top shape.
One. Day. At. A. Time.

How you ask? I've created the ABC's of Organization.
(Because I'm 5 years old and need a game to motivate me.)
The first thing I've started on is organizing our FOOD situation.
I got into cooking from scratch for a while, but have completely slacked off.It's time to make some delicious, CHEAP, home cooked meals!
(This is in no way part of A, but I needed to get a hold on our food budget first.)

A is for: Alea's Room.

Stay tuned for before & after pictures later today!

Pickle Wrap Dip

There is not one thing healthy about this recipe.

(Except maybe some calcium and protein!) 

Word of caution: be prepared to eat the entire batch...I'm not kidding.

Pickle Wrap Dip

Ingredients:
-Pickles
-Cream cheese
-Ham

Using a chopper or a food processor chop the pickles and the ham (separately) into small pieces. Then combine all together and mix with the cream cheese. Serve w/wheat thins or your favorite cracker.

Simple as that!

What simple recipes do you enjoy?

Little Bit of Lace

Little Bit of Lace by chelsea.thom90 featuring peep toe shoes

Lace dress
$45 - delias.com

Lace dress
£4.99 - dressrail.com

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent tank dress
$298 - barneys.com

Carvela peep toe shoes
£85 - harrods.com

Peep toe pumps
£4.99 - dressrail.com

I wouldn't call myself the most fashionable person
in     the    world. 

But! I have a wedding to attend the first weekend of August
and have begun looking for a cute dress to wear!

I'm really digging the lace dress and nude heal trend... like whoa.

What combo do you like best?

(I know I can't wear the white... but isn't it cute!)

Surprise :)

How do you
like the new & improved layout?

I think it's something kind of fabulous.

Hello sprinkles, now bring on the sunshine!

Come back tomorrow for my very first Thursday Latelies! Don't forget to link up to Bex... A Style Diary tomorrow too!

4th of July Weekend!

Well, I didn't get to all of the wonderful active adventures I planned on,
but I did have a great weekend with my family :)

Friday: Finished work & had a movie night w/Bubby
Saturday: Took Miss Alea on a wild crazy spending spree!
& went for my wonderful run that night.
Sunday: Lots of relaxing & delicious food.

Monday: Went crrrrrazy cleaning!
Flag T's-- even the Bubby agreed to wear one.
Alea's first (technically 2nd) time at fireworks!!

She loved them :)

Reading while Alea naps in her swing... so relaxing.

Bubby finished our kitchen!
Mind you, it's been in progress since October.

Coloring w/her new crayons we purchased
on said shopping spree.

The fam in our good ol' Old Navy Flag T's
(Confession: I have an Old Navy addiction)

Bubby & baby @ fireworks.

<3 Love this guy.

if you're happy & you know it, clap your hands

30

minutes
straight
of

running
!

I did it :) I pushed myself, let the runners high take hold and ran
two and a half miles in 30 minutes. 

<3

4th of July Weekend: Active Goals

My number one goal for this 4th of July weekend is to stay active!

My weeks = work, work, baby, cleaning, work. 

So, this weekend I have lots of on-the-go plans for my fam & I!

1. Do my W5D3 C25K run: 20min!!

2. Alea's 1st picnic & beach day
3. Tennis @ the park!
4. Rollerblading w/the jogging stroller
(say a prayer I don't fall on my face... even with something to hold onto)
5. Get my bike from Dad's house & take Alea for her first bike ride!
(w/said jogging stroller that doubles as a bike trailer)
6. Fireworks on Monday!

I love this weekend so much :)
Yay! America!