curb appeal

we are really proud of ourselves... we actually did stuff to our flower bed out front. last year we didn't do anything, until my dad literally had to buy flowers and plant them for us last summer when he was on vacation up here. then we left all the dead plants in there over the winter. gardening just isn't really my thing, to be honest. which is funny, because i love plants. i wish i had taken a before picture, but just imagine a crusty light brown rectangle, and thats it (no rocks, no nice/dark topsoil, etc). and now, for the reveal.....(drum roll!):

ta daaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

doesn't the front of our house look all pretty now? and look how nice our lone maple tree looks! 

ps: i spy with my little eye, joshy in that last picture! hahaha. happy summer :)

money money money moneyyyy....money!

word to the wise...DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO NOT GET STUDENT LOANS!!! got it? good! student loans are the devil, and the bad thing is that they are way too easy to obtain. you have this mentality of "i'm going to college, i'm going to get a good job, and then i can pay these suckers off no problem." false. interest rates are crazy. if you just pay the minimum payments you could be paying on them for decades. also, it's no easy feat to get a job right after you graduate. especially a good job.

so yeah, moral of the story is: work your butt off, be dirt poor, apply for every scholarship you could possibly qualify for, harass financial aid counselors, and say no to student loans. i wish i could go back in time, shake myself, and change the way i did it all.

josh and i have been working very hard this year on paying off our loans/medical bills (remember that kidney stone from like 2 years ago? yeah, still paying on that...ugh!!). we are kicking ourselves for not being more dedicated last year, but you can't change the past. so this year my entire paycheck is going to childcare and loans, and we're only living off of josh's paycheck. so far its been really good as far as paying off more and more loans, but also really depressing at the same time. sometimes i think of all the things we could do with that money if we didn't have any student loans... shopping trips, vacations, plastic surgery (what?), a fence in our backyard, a dog, and most of all: staying home with my adorable child. sigh.

please don't get student loans, folks. and if you have gotten them in the past, work extra hard on paying them off when you actually have opportune fiscal situations to do so (like we did, last year). whenever josh and i get all depressed thinking about how we should have been doing this last year, i just have to remember that at least we are working really hard now, and we should have it all paid off within this next year. then our only debt will be our house.

...i can deal with that.

happy mothers day!

i remember last year on mothers day we stopped by josh's parents house to wish mary a happy mothers day. right before we left, sweet mary hugged me and told me i was going to be a great mother someday. we were going to wait to tell them i was pregnant until after i'd gone to the doctor for the first time, but i just broke down and started crying... i then managed to somehow squeak out that i was pregnant. she turned to look at josh as if to ask "is this for real?!"

fast forward a year, and it's my first mothers day as a mom. this morning as i was playing with henry i got a little emotional. i just felt so grateful and blessed to be a mother. i love henry so much!!

today we were able to visit josh's parents house again, and sarah and ryan and the kids were there too. which of course resulted in fun and mischief, as usual...

hanging out with mimi

griffin LOVES henry. it's pretty adorable.

he was loving mimi up!

and bear too :) they are so sweet together

henny loves his aunt sarah!

lila wanted a picture taken of her, and she is just too adorable to say no!

it was a very fun and enjoyable day. after i fed henny this morning, josh let me sleep in (w/henny cuddled up next to me), and when we woke up he brought me breakfast in bed. such a sweetheart. :)

happy day to all my female friends, mothers or not. and to those lucky enough to have chilluns, i hope you had a wonderful day celebrating with them. ♥

sarah got married!

on april 14, one of my best friends Sarah got married! her now-husband Jason is pretty cool, so i allowed it to happen ;) we went up to logan for the day to take place in all the celebrations! and sometimes i remembered to take pictures (and other times i stole pictures from my friend amy):

My bff Amy was able to come to the wedding, and meet Henny Benny!! This is at the luncheon

Henry was trying to look dapper. I was trying to make sure he didn't puke on her gorgeous dress.

Henry was SUCH a good baby (thank goodnes!!) Here he is having fun w/daddy

"I know, I'm the bomb!"

Ahhhh!!!! She's officially married!

We love you Sarah! (I felt way too tall next to these two so I was trying to be short. I later realized that this made me look constipated...awkward...)

Chillin' at the reception. Sarah made those bouquets for us bridesmaids, and then used them as centerpieces at the reception. So talented!

Can you guess what color their cake was?! haha

the happy couple, post cake-smushing.

it was a really beautiful day, and their wedding was lovely. i couldn't be happier for my dear friend, and i'm sad that now she's moved away to live with her lover... i guess i'll forgive you silly hooligans! CONGRATULATIONS and WE LOVE YOU!! ♥

blog sale!!

I went through my entire closet and got rid of stuff I haven't worn in a while, or doesn't fit me anymore. These are some pieces I really like, so rather than cart them to Plato's Closet, I will offer them up for sale to the bloggy world first.

Here's how this works: Shipping will be $2 per item. Payment will be accepted via Paypal, and after it is received the items will be shipped to you (probably Priority class). All sales are final. If you have any questions (or want to see more pictures, know more info, or have me model any of these items) please leave a comment or email me.  If you want an item, leave a comment and include your email address so I can get ahold of you :) Thanks, and happy shopping!

$7. Express skirt. Size Medium (fits more like a small). Layers wrap on the side, 2 inner layers (not seen on outside) have small tear hole. Otherwise, good condition.

$10. Gap wide-leg dress pants. Size 6, stretchy. Needs ironing, but excellent condition. (These are long, tall girls! Probably 34" inseam)

(To show pattern of pants)

$8. Shade bermuda shorts. Size 4. (Fit like a 4/6). Never been worn.

$10. Hollister jacket. Size Medium. Fits like a small. Needs ironing, but great condition.

SOLD!! $7. As U Wish dress. Size Medium.

$7. Forever 21 dress. Size Small. Great condition. (has pockets!)

SOLD!! $10. Vintage: Lanvin dress. Size 10. Fits like a medium. Excellent condition

$8. Vintage: Tess blouse. Size 8. Fits like a medium. Excellent condition. (has shoulder pads!)

$4. Christopher & Banks sweater. Size Small. Excellent vintage condition.

$7. H&M cardigan. Size XS. Fits like a small/medium. Excellent condition.

$8. Shade skirt. Size large. Never worn.

$7. ROXY skirt, size 5. Worn once. 

$7. Isaac Mizrahi skirt. Size 6. Worn once.

SOLD!! $7. Metro Wear skirt. Size Small. Worn once.

arizona

wow i'm behind on my blogging...oops! we've been keeping pretty busy lately. so, to catch up: over easter weekend we drove down to arizona to surprise my mom. if you haven't seen the video of this, you really need to watch it!!

the first night we got there we went out and ateat chili's.

henry was happy for about 10 minutes and then was super tired.

either that or he likes crying at chili's...

i had to take him outside and he ended up falling asleep.

thankfully we got these cute pictures before the cranky episode began:

they were (of course) thrilled to see Henry :)

Henry was so adorable and sweet (here's the evidence!)

h&m model, whaaat?

on saturday we went to wickenburg in the morning
for lunch we went to tastee freeze. henry had a swell time

henny and daddy :)

henny with rachel. his face is hilarious in this picture so i had to post it haha
don't worry, he also makes normal faces too:

sometimes henny wasnt quite sure of his surroundings...
but he still had fun and looked cute

he enjoyed chillin with grandma

and she even got to give him a bath to try and wash all the puke off
(in case you didnt know, henry's a barfer)

even though our trip was short, we still had a really good time. henry was an absolute champ on the road. he slept like an angel, and barely cried (just when he was hungry). it did extend the travel time to stop and feed him, but it was a lot more manageable than i thought it would be. thanks mom and dad for letting us stay with you! we had a lovely time ♥

henry surprises grandma

we left thursday night to drive to arizona and surprise my mom. it was awesome. we just got back, so i'll be posting more pictures and stuff later on. but for now, i'll leave you with this gem:

birthday fun

hi! this past weekend was really fun. it was my birthday on friday, and my mom came up to visit. yes, it was mostly to see henry, but she was nice enough to pretend it was kind of for my birthday too ;) we went to macaroni grill for my birthday dinner, where i stuffed myself with bread and cake! it was delicious.

saturday my mom and i went to a craft fair, and then we all went out to lunch with my grandma, aunt, and cousin. i forgot to take pictures...oops. basically all weekend long i was obsessed with playing with my new toy--josh got me an ipod touch for my birthday! i was not expecting it at all, and i was so excited! its basically like having a mini ipad :)

sunday we went to joshs parents to continue the birthday celebrations. this was the only time i remembered to take pictures...haha. our friends jeff and darci (and mona), and emily and dave were there too! it was a blast. :)

mona giving henry some love ♥

she wanted to get a better angle to see "baby henny"

they're pretty much bff

cuddle time with aunt dorris!

thanks emily for this pic. birthday cookieeee!

thank you to everyone for all the messages, texts, and love i received during my birthday weekend! i guess being 25 won't be too terrible haha. bring it on!!