the nuts and BOLTS of it all

weirdness

2011-12-29T23:15:00.001-05:00

there's a lot of sketchy, craziness going on in the baby blog world, so i just made

email me if you'd like to be added to the readers list!!! i promise i wont think you're a creeper... the more the merrier... just dont want any weirdos!!

my email is brittneykbolt@gmail.com

stayin alive

2011-10-02T15:46:00.004-04:00

i was thinking... i need to keep this blog alive.. bc there are so many memories of our first few years of marriage on it, i don't want to just neglect. so ill start with a short and simple post on whats been going on lately.

matt went to San Francisco last week on a business trip. While he was gone, my lovely friends came over one night, we ordered pizza, and had a nursery painting party!! We didn't finish it all, but made a lot of progress so that Matt wouldn't have TONS to do to finish it when he got back. He's actually in there right now finishing up the "cutting in" and the corners. I love the color and I can't wait to get baby girl all set up in there!!! We are hoping to get hardwood floors and crown molding installed after Christmas, but for the time being we are going to set everything up in there as if its permanent. This is the room I chose for her nursery inspiration..

I can't wait to see how it turns out at the end! :)

Next, I am SO happy the fall weather is here!!!!! I feel like I'm finally back in a routine of some sorts. Today was the first day since, maybe April (??? yikes!) that I have sat down and made out a "menu" for the week, then gone to the grocery store and picked up all my

ingredients. A few things on this weeks menu: Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Stuffing, Bowtie Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli, Homemade Chicken and Wild Rice Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Lasagna and Garlic Bread. Yum. I'm so happy I'm able to eat again!!!! So is baby girl :) We've gained 5 lbs now!!

Cheerleading is going pretty well! Last week we had our first competition and we won!! Yesterday we had our 2nd competition and we got 5th out of 5. It's hard in competitive cheer because each set of judges have the same score sheets every week but maybe have totally different judging styles. We have a lot to work on before the next competition, but boy have they come a long way since last year!! :) Here's what they did the first week.... (the video is crooked at first but it'll straighten out! also the music is off with the action at the end of the film but you get the picture)...

As you can tell, Matt is becoming a "cheer dad" already. Yes, that's him at the beginning of the video, ARGUING with a woman who kept telling him to sit down. Haha. Gotta love him!!

Finally, Clemson is GOOD y'all!!!!!!! I haven't been this excited about Clemson Football in a long time. It kind of stinks that this is the first year we've been awesome and is also the first year that I am not able to go to every home game bc of cheer competitions, but still, i am thrilled!!! I told Matt if we go to the Orange Bowl, or heck, possibly the National Championship, I don't care how large and in charge this mama is, IM GOIN! SO SO Proud of my tigers!!!!!

I can't wait to go the the mtns. in two weekends to celebrate our 4 year anniversary and come home with some pumpkins and mums for the front porch!! Hope everyone is having a fantastic FALL!!! The holiday season will be here before we know it!!!!! I LOVE it : )

-B

new fans??

2011-09-05T12:57:00.003-04:00

hello out there!!

just making sure all you folks have been following me on our new blog!!

sixlittletoes.blogspot.com

im not doing away with this one all together, but for now, im enjoying blogging about baby bolt :)

the longest hiatus ever is due to....

2011-07-29T12:01:00.002-04:00

http://sixlittletoes.blogspot.com/

We're going to be parents!!!!!!!!!! I've been blogging HERE for the past 2 months!!! So excited to FINALLY share the news with everyone!!! We're thrilled!!! Baby Bolt is due February 29th (leap day) 2012! :)

I AM blog series

2011-07-21T13:34:00.001-04:00

Whitney tagged me in this lovely blog series and I promise to do it as soon as I get around to it... hopefully it'll be up by Saturday!! :)

wordless wednesday

2011-06-22T23:41:00.002-04:00

sorry for being MIA. lots going on lately! here are just a couple pics from the beach last week :) will post soon!

the longest post ever... new york trip

2011-06-07T18:23:00.023-04:00

i've been cleaning all day and when i clean i take frequent breaks (when i finish a room). everytime i get on i keep checking my blog list to see if anyone's updated recently and keep getting annoyed because no one has!!!! so i decided to quit getting aggravated at all you slacking bloggers and do something about my own slacking blog. finally... here's New York trip.

Wednesday night Jordan and I headed off to Charlotte.
We went to The Cowfish (an AMAZING restaurant in Charlotte, you have to check it out next time you're there!) with Ash and Katie and had a great dinner and great conversation. We made it back to Ashley and Matt's house, watched Modern Family, and headed to bed since we had to be up at 4:30 am the next morning.

THURSDAY:
We woke up at 4:30... and shimmied out the door around 5:00 am. Made it to the check in at the US Air desk around 5:35 am. They told us we were 6 minutes too late to check baggage on the flight (which was supposed to board at 6:15) and that we were gonna have to wait for the 8am flight. BOO!!!!!! we were SO TIRED!! But we trekked over to our gate and painted our nails while we waited on the restaurants to open. We were starving by the time 7:00 am rolled around. We hustled over to the Sbarro where jordan had pizza for breakfast and I got nasty biscuits and gravy...from an airport sbarro (which is ITALIAN) at 7am. Desperate much?? We boarded and were on our way to NYC!

We landed in Laguardia around 10am and made it to a cab. Destination W79th and New York Avenue. (aka: Upper East Side) The blocks around where we were staying is actually the third richest neighborhood in the US. There were Range Rovers EVERYWHERE!!!! Nannys pushing more strollers than we'd seen in our lives and cute moms with yoga mats. it was beautiful weather... but everyone was wearing black?? Jordan and I were stuck out on a street corner waiting on Brantley to get there with the keys... picture this: .. two blonde girls (in a brunette town) with GIANT suitcases...vera bradley bags... a pillow...and i HAD to be wearing a bright yellow rain jacked on that morning and both wearing rainbows. I dont think New Yorkers know what Rainbows are. We stuck out like two sore thumbs! Then Brantley met us and we got to where we were staying.... w B's friend Jonathan... thank goodness he's so hospitable!! We walk into his building and come to find that it's actually being turned into a Synagogue and everyone has been evicted... except Jonathan and the super. We walk up a teeny tiny curving staircase to the 5th floor (EXHAUSTING with all that luggage, thanks brantley for the help) into a tiny tiny apartment. This is where we stayed... i sent this to my mom:

We didn't skip a beat and headed out to the street to catch a cab with Brant. We went straight to NBC Studios at Rockafellar Center to try to get Jimmy Fallon tickets... We ended up with this:

A Standby ticket. They said to come back at 3:30 pm and see if we were going to make it to taping that day. By this time we were staving and Brantley thought it would be nice to take us on a walking tour of NYC on our way to lunch. we walked a very long...long...long way. about 3 miles!!!!! To the Upper West Side where we had lunch at a lovely little sidewalk cafe of a pub. We were SO TIRED... besides getting up at 4:30 am that morning...and walking 3 miles...and only eating a nasty sbarro breakfast that morning....and sweating our butts off...and our feet bleeding with blisters... we were having fun!! Just glad to finally be there. We let Brantley know we weren't avid walkers and we were gonna need to take cabs/trains/buses from now on! here we are at lunch:

Then we parted way with Brantley (he had to get to acting class) and were on our own in the big city. We headed to Times Square and shopped for a hot minute in Forever 21, then it was time to get back to 30 Rock to see if we were gonna get to see Late Night. We walked around for what seemed like an eternity. Finally we were in line and they let us know that numbers 1-60 were getting in!! We were numbers 67 and 68! Are you kidding me?! Dang it!!! I love Jimmy Fallon!! I watch every night. Oh well, let's go take a nap before heading back out tonight! We went out to the street to get a cab and NO ONE would pick us up. It was about 5:00 (rush hour) and everyone was off duty!!! Ughhh.. At this point we were nearly in tears and Jordan was telling me here shins were breaking in half. We got one of those little bike taxis to take us as far as he could... which ended up being Madison Ave... which is the financial district. Jordan and I are sweating and crying (basically) and are sticking out like sore thumbs (AGAIN) in the midst of all the Armani Suit wearing business men on Madison Ave. FINALLY we found a cab to take us back home.... I called Mom, had a mental breakdown, then tried to get some sleep. We woke up... got ready..and met meredith in Times Square:

We walked to a place called Rudy's in Hell's Kitchen which was offering free hot dogs and $6 beer pitchers! Perfect! It was also amazing bc Justin Timberlake's restaurant was RIGHT ACROSS the street and I really wanted to see him.. I mean, IT. Here are Mim and Jordan at Rudy's w hot dogs and beer:

We got a cab home around 1am and went straight to sleep!

FRIDAY:

We slept LATE, as you can imagine. We were zonked. It was raining so we put on bummy clothes and caught the bus to the Mueseum of Natural History where our friends, Brantley and Jonathan were. We found things super cool things like a giant oyster and a replica of a blue whale:

Then we went to a place called Shake Shack in Hell's Kitchen which was like NYC's version of Fuddruckers then we shopped til we dropped. Urban Outfitters, a few weird shoe stores, Trader Joe's, American Apparel, the Apple Store, Zara, etc. Then we went a really cool movie theater in Times Square to see Bridesmaids which was HYSTERICAL. After the movie we headed down to Lower Eastside to meet Mim and her boyfriend, Enri at a quaint little Italian restaurant. We had to walk down St. Mark's street which is like the College Avenue of Clemson, in NY. Its where all the coked out NYU students are and there is just bar after bar after bar.... pencil thin college girls in solid black.. ripped panty hose, sky high heels, painted on skirts, long black hair, everywhere. And here come Jordan and I... in our jeans and old navy t-shirts with tennis shoes. YIKES!!!! We were so embarassed. But it was worth it when we finally made it to Mim. We ordered dinner (at midnight) and I swear the restaurant was as crowded as the Ale House in Greenville at 7pm on a Friday. Had the BEST PASTA i've EVER had!!! At only $9 for a giant bowl of it, it can't be beat!!!! We got Pasta Carbonara, omg. my mouth is watering as i type. We sat in once of the window seats... it was a restaurant like you'd see only in the movies. amazing. if you're ever in the east village you MUST go there!!!

We caught a cab home around 1:30 and went straight to sleep!

SATURDAY:
We woke up and got ready and headed off to the Staten Island Ferry to ride by the Statue of Liberty. It took us a while to find exactly where we were supposed to be going. We also made a pit stop at a nearby drug store and picked up some materials to make a poster for Callie's class in Australia! The Statue of Liberty to them, is like the Sydney Opera House to us. a landmark they know the US by. Here we are in the middle of the port working on the poster:

And here we are holding it in front of the Statue:

After that little venture we took it back to the "house" and got ready for a night out. We headed back out and went to Brantley's friend's improv show where we met up with my friends Hoyt and Meredith from Clemson. After the show we went to a little pub and had drinks with even more friends :) Then we went down the street and ate at Brother Jimmy's a southern type place in NYC ... with the best mac n cheese ever!! I also rekindled my love for Natty Light.. I usually dink a Blue Moon or a Shock Top so I forgot how light Natty tastes :) Heres a clan of my Clemson friends that all live in NYC now:

Also, I literally bumped into Hoyt on a street corner walking to the train one day!! CRAZY! Hoyt was one of my best guy friends in college.. I haven't seen him in 2 years, at least! He ended up hanging out with us the rest of the weekend!! Good times :) Later after Brother Jimmys we all bar hopped around and ended up at a place in the East Village called The Dark Room:

We made our way home around 2 am, got some quesadillas from the deli next to our apt then headed inside and went to bed.

SUNDAY:
We packed everything up and had it waiting at the door then headed down to Union Square to do some last minute shopping and grab brunch with our friends. We were in H&M for about 2 hours, it was awesome! Then we went and got brunch at a little place called the coffee shop bar. it was a perfect little diner style brunch restaurant with sophistication. again, i felt like i was in a movie! check it out here: http://thecoffeeshopnyc.com here are some friends at brunch:

We hustled back to the apt and got our suitcases and taxied off the the airport. no delays this time. we flew back into charlotte and drove our EXHAUSTED selves back home :)

and that, my friends, was mine and jordy's trip to new york citayyyyy! Hopefully, I will be going back with Matt this fall/winter. I've always wanted to see NYC at Christmastime and Matt's never been, I really want to go! We'll see :)

next stop Isle of Palms on Friday with Matt, Grandy & Mimi, Dad & Susie, Sam & Twila, Ashley & Matt, Tyler and his friend Ryan (wish you were here Janey!)

I <3 Summer!!

NYC coming soon!

2011-05-25T14:17:00.002-04:00

I will blog about NYC as soon as I get caught up on rest, sleep, my tv that i missed, and all this cheerleading stuff :)

Until then, I was just browsing around at recipes and trying to make my grocery list/dinner agenda for this week and realized I dont have Noble Pig on my blog list!!! I am adding it right now. I get recipes from here ALL THE TIME and I've never made one that was bad!!!

Some of my favorites: Maple Mustard Glazed Chicken, Cheesy Shell-Stuffed Shells, Potato, Bacon, and Sour Cream Frittata , Baby Bow-Ties with Peas and Ham , and many many more!!!!!

Check it out!! :)

http://noblepig.com/

i still got it?

2011-05-17T00:32:00.002-04:00

i can't believe im actually putting this up for the world to see .. but i guess im a little proud of myself for still being able to "move" :) we did this dance our senior year at a pep rally and LOVED it and sweet Katie gave me the music for it last week so I am teaching it to the girls this year for them to do at the homecoming pep rally. filmed myself doing it at practice to put it online for the girls to use as a resource... they still dont have it down yet, so dont judge. it's gonna be great! :)

in other news... jordan and i are leaving for new york thursday morning at 6 am!!! its only my 2nd time going... things im looking forward to:
-going to late night with jimmy fallon (i watch it EVERY NIGHT) so i cant wait to be there!
- staten island ferry to see the statue of liberty
- visiting the Top of the standard hotel (aka the boom boom room where celebrities are spotted)
- shopping!!!!
- going to southern hospitality (jt's restaurant)
- meeting all of my great friend, Brantley's friends
- visiting the MOMA, the met, and the museum of natural history
- running around times square

and last but not least.... for all of you who've known me since middle school, you understand how huge this is...

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is hosting SNL this weekend with musical guest Lady Gaga... that means they will BOTH be in town. I am GOING to find him, I just know it :) We may get into the SNL After Party Saturday night (brantley used to work for SNL) AND we're going to justin's restaurant one night... i think my chances are pretty good, folks!!

anyone have any other suggestions of MUST-GO/MUST-SEE places or things to do in NYC?? Cant wait!!!

-b

teaser

2011-05-15T00:55:00.003-04:00

sorry for the hiatus, people! i havent even come up for air this week. i have some fun pics to post... along with some cheer videos...and some stories to tell.. but right now im going to sleep!

i just got home from Augusta. i was down there with my friend Lauren, who is a photographer, helping her shoot a wedding (more on that later) and i am so sleepy!!!! hopefully i can get on here and catch you up before I leave for NEW YORK CITY on Wednesday night!! :)

i hope you all had a great week!!

thought of the week - -
* before you speak ask yourself three things: is it true? is it kind? is it necessary?

-B

first week...over!

2011-05-06T00:38:00.006-04:00

first week of practice is complete.

PHEW!!!!

i can BARELY hold my eyes open as im typing, i am so exhausted. but i am happy to share a couple pictures with you and let you know... i am really excited for this year!! We're already making leaps and bounds from the horror stories i've head about last year and i am so excited for these girls. i dont even know them all that well (yet) but i can tell you that the passion is there. they are pumped! it's great to see :)

here's our first team picture:

here's little C and me after a LONG three days of tryouts and the "you made it!" party:

here's after the first practice:

can you tell thats the only shirt we have right now? dont worry. i didnt make them wear it every day this week. only monday and thursday :) the rest of the shirts are ordered and should be in next week! cant wait for yall to see them! they are fun. Cathleen and I have been having the best time picking out everything. We're getting TWO new uniforms this year (which is incredible) we got to pick those out tonight and the girls had their fitting. We're super excited about the uniforms.. one is bringing back old school Eastside like we're trying to do! woot! We've also been having a hay day picking out shoes, poms, bloomers, warmups, and everything in between!

OUTSIDE OF CHEERLEADING:
You long time followers will be happy (and proud of me, i hope) to learn that i have been SLOWLY but SURELY weening off the ambien! it has been a long and difficult process but for two weeks i managed to take only half a pill. Then Saturday night I didn't take one at all, and since then I've only taken 1/4 of a pill, which is a teeny tiny nibble of a pill. Go Me!!! I will feel so relieved to rid that of my lifeeeee! speaking of... maybe right now i will close my computer, and not take one at all, bc i can feel my eyes closing on their own! i'll let you know if i succeeded tomorrow!

<3 and cheer! :) (im so clever)

b

your daily cheer video

2011-05-02T23:47:00.003-04:00

they're learning !!

this was only the SECOND time they did this.. EVER! :)

random and funny videos from my phone

2011-04-27T00:02:00.003-04:00

i LOVE this video of matt trying to play "Minute to Win It" on Wii at Christmastime...

My tiny she... in bed... being spoiled..

Jordan blowing out her bday candles..to early :) at our monday night dinner celebration...

coming along

2011-04-26T01:12:00.001-04:00

they're learning people... they're learning :)

marital exchange of the day

2011-04-24T00:35:00.004-04:00

im SO glad Cathleen is blogging yall! :) im stealing all her ideas.

Me: (sitting in the car in the driveway) Lamb, what if i just got out of the car right now and squatted on that bush and peed?
Matt: silence. smiles. bursts into laughter. Hahahaha! That's why I love you so much, baby. Because i think the SAME things all the time! Like, earlier at the restaurant I was thinking like "what if that waiter just came over here and put his butt on the table and farted? Like, right at our food??"
Me: haha!! that's weird!

i cant wait til we have children. they will probably be the quietest. shyest. sweetest. most modest little things on earth, with parents like us, who they will be TOTALLY embarrassed of! *ps i just had to google how to spell embarrass*

one of the best purchases ive ever made

2011-04-21T23:57:00.010-04:00

for the love of cotton candy.. PLEASE go buy this baby from your local bath and body works. you will not be sorry!! i have been drooling all night! it smells AMAZING!!!!

i also got three super cute shirts from free people @ belk. they are having a sale that starts next wednesday so they let me shop the "presale" and i got the 20% off!! the catch: i have to pick up my purchases next thursday. so i couldnt come home and show matt my pretty things right away. but for the extra 20% off its worth the weeklong wait!

also!!! i went to the new Sephora that we FINALLY got!!!! it's inside JC Penny (how funny) but it is divine! I stayed in there for an hour sampling the perfumes and make up and left with a new NARS blush and a mini perfume from philosophy for my purse.

i hadn't smelled perfumes since christmas ya'll!! that is a long time for me!!!! some of my new faves are listed below.

Also, I included the "note pyramid" of each fragrance. It's always interesting to hear what they are and then start comparing your favorites. they usually have similar base notes. you can look up your perfume on fragrantica.com and it will tell you the notes! :)

Ange ou Demon by Givenchy ...Jamie Ball!! thanks for trying to get this to me.. i now know why you were so set on it! I hope you're still mailing me the sample bc i loved it!

top notes: mandarin, saffron, thyme
middle notes: lily, orchid, ylang-ylang
base notes: tonka bean, vanilla, brazilian rosewood, oakmoss

Vanilla Grapefruit by Lavanila for Sephora - delicious!

notes: vanilla, patchouli, lime, grapefruit, heliotrope, bergamot

Eternal Grace by Philosophy. This is the one I got the "mini" of. My sister gave me the shampoo/body wash for my bday last year and I LOVE it so I had to get the cute little mini for my purse. If i love the perfume enough, I think this will be my "go to" summer fragrance. It's fresh, light, and feminine.

notes: bergamot, citrus, neroli, geranium, lavender, violet, passionfruit, sandalwood, musk, amber

I've never posted my favorite men's cologne for yall... so here are my favorites, get one for your man:

Lacoste Challenge - this is their newer fragrance. love it.

top notes: tangerine, amalfi lemon, bergamot
middle notes: ginger, lavender, violet leaf
base notes: ebony wood, teak wood

Lacoste Red. I love this one, too! It's similar to the Challenge but a little more bold.

notes: patchouli, apple, cedar

Curve by Liz Claiborne. Ok ok ok I know im going back to 7th grade with this one, but everytime I smell this I swoon like a teenage girl. A classic :)

Top Notes: lavender, juniper berries, pineapple, neroli, and lemon
Middle notes: coriander, ginger, violet, cactus, sage, bergamot, cardamom
Base notes: sandalwood, amber, musk, vetiver, cedar, mahogany, pepper

Hugo Boss in Motion- Dear Lord. this is my absolute favorite. This is what Matt wears (because I bought it for him..he doesn't care at all what he smells like, haha) I LOVE this! Just typing this right now made me get up and go in the bathroom and get it out of his dopp kit to smell it. ahhh

Top notes: Orange, Basil, Bergamot, Violet Leaf
Middle notes: nutmeg, cinnamon, pink pepper, cardamom
Base notes: Sandalwood, Musk, Woodsy Notes, Vetiver

sunday hymns

2011-04-17T01:34:00.003-04:00

im copying cathleen today.

here are some of my FAVORITE hymns :) and by favorite i dont just mean i like them at church... i have each one of these on my iPod and listen to them, frequently :)

first up, River in Judea, good time in concert choir at Eastside. this is literally the exact same rendition and sheet music we performed. im sitting here singing along to my alto parts ...

next.. "My Jesus I Love Thee." my best friend, Megan, walked down the aisle to this song. i still cry everytime i listen to it. it's so beautiful. Also, when I was eight years old, my Papa died. Although I don't remember everything about him, I do remember how much he loved Jesus towards the end of his life. He was a diabetic and amputee (when he passed away he only had one leg) and right after he died, I always pictured him having his "glorified body" in Heaven. I had this image in my mind of him being so perfect and happy in the presence of God and the last verse in this song just reminds me of him so much. I can't wait to see you again one day, Papa! :)

"In mansions of glory and endless delight
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright
I'll sing with a glittering crown upon my brow
If ever I love thee, my Jesus 'tis now"

followed by my favorite from my whole life... "Come Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing"

This one is my current favorite, played on His radio all the time and we sing it at Newspring a lot... "Our God." All the time, in my head, i repeat "And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God with with us, then what can stand against?"

last but not least (and not the only one.. i have a lot more favorite hymns) but i love "In Christ Alone." and i can't listen to it without getting emotional.

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday!! :)

B

lose it

2011-04-12T23:29:00.007-04:00

So, there's this app on my iPhone called Lose It! I used it for a while when we were in Raleigh and it really worked. Last week I went to dinner with my mom and Travis and they were telling me how they were following a similar app called "My Fitness Pal" available on andriod phones. Trav has lost something like 27 lbs. following it and I think my mom's lost 4. So, I started it yesterday and I'll keep you informed on my progress.

Basically, it's a calorie counter. You enter your current weight, your goal weight, and how soon you want to reach your goal weight. You can do "I want to lose: 1/2 lb a week, 1 lb a week, 1 1/2 lbs a week, 2 lbs a week." or "I want to maintain my current weight." I started off trying to do the 2 lbs a week but its WAY too little calories/day for me to start out with.

Here's what you do: You LOG what you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and exercise. You simply "search foods" and usually the nutrition facts are in there. they even have brand names, under the "supermarket foods" tab and also a "restaurant foods" tab.. so i can enter a "chicfila sandwich." if the food isnt in there, you just look at the nutrition label and enter in the calories. You also can "browse exercises" and choose what exercise you did that day. It then adds back the calories you burned off that day. (in other words, you can eat more if you're working out). by the end of the day, your log looks something like this:

Anyway, try it out if you have the iPhone ... or get my fitness pal if you have an andriod :)

in other news, today was the parent meeting for cheerleading. anyone who wants to try out had to have a parent there. we had 50!! that was a great turnout compared to last years 20-something. It went really well! :) i was a lot better at "public speaking" than i thought i'd be. i'll credit that solely to my "how to avoid a shark attack" speech from public speaking ( COMM 250) @ Clemson :)

Also. last night matt went downstairs to feed the dogs and Annie wasn't coming in the dining room. Which is VERY VERY strange bc she is a food monster and she's always hungry and jumping up and down in the room when we're about to feed her. Matt went in and noticed that she looked like a whale. It took him a while to figure it out, but I'd just bought a new big bag of dog food earlier and he put it in the floor instead of up in the chair. Needless to say, my she had chewed a hole in the bottom of the bag and ate to her hearts content. So wonder she didn't blow up and die. she was HUGE!!!!!! she's in BIG trouble bc she's been on a diet and had lost 3 whole lbs (which is like me losing 20) so we were proud of her.. and now it looks like we're back at square one. here is the miserable bean...

happy humpday!

-b

delicious turkey wraps

2011-04-06T01:23:00.004-04:00

i wish i would have taken a picture!!!

i am trying to eat healthier before our family beach trip coming up in june!! after all, all this working out and personal trainer stuff isnt going to work if im not following a good diet.

so i bought lean ground turkey instead of ground beef with the intentions of making turkey tacos. while the meat was "browning" (it should be called "whitening" when its lean turkey) i changed my mind midway through.

being a STRICT recipe follower, i was a little nervous. i always have a recipe and usually follow it to a T (or tee, or tea, what is it??) lately, i've been a little more adventurous and branched off from the original recipes, but tonight was a total WHIM.

instead of taco seasonings, i added a little bit of "i can't believe its not butter," some salt and coarse black pepper, and my two favorite seasoning blends, Cavender's and Montreal Steak Seasoning. made sure the seasonings had enough time to marinate the turkey and then made wraps. On fat free tortillas (that were for the tacos), shredded cheddar, spicy ranch, and lettuce.

oh, my word. they were SO GOOD! and i was so proud of myself for making it up on a whim. quick and easy. i think i'll make them more often. if i'd have used fat free cheese and fat free ranch, each wrap would have been about 2 grams of fat, total!! however, the ones i made were only about 6 grams of fat a piece. NOT TOO SHABBY at all! :)

whip 'em up! you wont regret it!

and if you don't know what Cavender's is... i recommend you find out. I put it on everything!! chicken... vegetables (like when i make zucchini and squash), ground turkey (obviously), red potatoes that i bake in the oven, green beans! everything! it's awesome.

-B

our weekend and yogurt mountain

2011-04-04T23:48:00.006-04:00

in the words of nimbus meade, "hai guyz!"

i dont even know what to write about tonight. hmm. how about just an update..

friday night, mom and i went to the stein mart 12 hr sale and i got my sweet little hubby two really nice spring shirts :) a long sleeved button down to wear for Easter and a short sleeved golf polo. then we went to this new restaurant in greenville, Harry & Jean's. It was pretty delish!! matt had to work late so i brought him home something from there. then we watched Dateline from last week that we'd tivo'd.

Saturday I had to work and then came home and took a cat nap... then Matt and I went on a date night to Adam's Bistro and Yogurt Mountain!

PS- have you BEEN to Yogurt Mountain yet???! Now i know why I see so many cars with YM stickers! OH. MY. GOSH. It is probably the best thing i've ever tasted and 90% of the frozen yogurts are fat free! I encourage you to click on the link i just posted and then check out the MENU tab. Holy toldeo.

You walk into Yogurt Mountain and get your own cup.

then you fill it up with whatever your heart desires... since it was my first time, i wanted to try a few different flavors... so i got Cake Batter, Orange Sorbet, Blue Cotton Candy, and German Chocolate Cake... i know that sounds gross, dont worry, i did NOT mix them all together! the cup was big enough to get little spurts of each. they were all AMAZING and tasted so good!!! ... so there's a whole wall of THIS ...

then toppings...

then you take your cup up to the register.. where they WEIGH it at $0.45/once. Ours cost $13 and mine was only $5... that tells you how crazy matt went. he got peanut butter and cheesecake! :) and his looked heavy! i can tell you one thing... YM is making a lot of money! Heaven knows how many kids we saw going through the line without parent supervision and PILING their cups up with all KINDS of stuff! :)

anyway, it's amazing.

then sunday we went by starbucks to get matt a coffee because he was out at home, headed to church @ newspring, stopped by costco to pick up a few things, went to subway for lunch, came home and took the dogs on a walk, watched the college basketball slam dunk contest, took a nap, did some laundry and cleaned the bathroom, and then met matt's mom at California Dreamin' for dinner. They have the BEST entree salads! Yum! We ended up staying for two hours just having great conversation. Then came home and I watched Army Wives... WHICH by the way was a great episode last night! I'm so glad I finally got on the army wives train, great show!

So we had a really fun and happy weekend!! This week i have a lot of cheerleading stuff going on. Wohoo!! Gettin' closer to tryouts people!! can't wait for cathleen and i to pick our team and get these girls to work! Have a great week!

-B

indecisive because i can be

2011-04-01T00:19:00.003-04:00

if you haven't noticed... every night this week, i've revamped my blog. i dont know why. i have been really indecisive lately. im fine with it. :)

also, way back when i was changing our blog name, 4 or 5 different people told me my blog should be called "the nuts and bolts" ... so i am trying it out for a few days, or permanently. it kind of make sense considering my blog is pretty "nutty" and im talking about how our life works.. the nuts and bolts of it all.

i was just talking to my sister about how i feel like my blog isn't as "serious" or "deep" or "intuitive" or "well written" as a lot of you guys' are! i was feeling inadequate until she assured me that it was very entertaining and she loved that i write things exactly how i would speak them. i love reading yall's though!! suzy, i can never imagine being as eloquent as you! everything i read, that you write, i am just like... wow. its beautiful! and SO well put. im so happy for baby dover to arrive. :)

a lot of you others out there are such an encouragement to me with your posts and insights. thanks for that! i know my blog is probably not doing the same for you, but i hope that it at least adds some cheer to your day :)

this video DEFINITELY will... one of matt coworkers sent it to him the other day with the caption "this reminds me of my mother-in-law" ... i cannot stop laughing when i watch it and think of the poor guys crazy mother-in-law at thanksgiving dinner.(sidenote: thank goodness i was blessed with an AMAZING mother-in-law)

happy friday boys and girls! :)

-b

just where she wants to be

2011-03-30T00:45:00.004-04:00

matt sent me this today and said "how am i supposed to work all day with this thing lurking under my desk..."

ohhhhh my she! she likes it under there bc that's where matt's PC is and its all warm down their by the cords :)

cheerleading and a very small amount of other things

2011-03-29T00:37:00.008-04:00

i have been eating, sleeping, dreaming, and breathing cheerleading every since i was thrown into this whirlwind a couple of weeks ago. and i love it!! it is a lot of hard work but i have had fun working!!! between planning, scheduling, registering for coaching and rules clinics for SCHSL, creating a facebook group for tryouts, recruiting (including heading to a girls soccer game and begging them to try out bc we need athletes & facebook messaging middle schoolers), writing out a cheerleading constitution, practice rules and guidelines, try out score sheets, parents meeting info, flyers to go out to the middle schools, and a conditioning workout regimen for the next several weeks, i HAVE had a tiny bit of extra time to go out and do some fun things :)

matt and i went to myabi on friday night for date night. that's always fun. we love us some japanese food ! the saturday i went to work, then headed out for girls night dinner! :) we went to liberty taproom (who actually revamped their menu and got a new head chef and had some amazing food!) then headed to the ale house for a beer, and then finished up at Corner Pocket and had a lot of fun..

and the rain didn't stop us!! thank goodness for valet parking :)

i love my friends! :)

tomorrow is the first day of CONDITIONING for anyone who is interested in trying out for the squad the last week of april... i plan on them being able to stretch like THIS by the time i'm through with them :)

then HOPEFULLY in a few years time.. win state like we did in this video (this is Eastside in 2004-2005, the year after cathleen and i graduated... we drove down to columbia from clemson to watch and they won.. ahhh the good ol days. i'd show you our video from winning state but it was in 2002-2003 and youtube was nonexistant)

no barking

2011-03-20T20:01:00.006-04:00

my mom always tells about how when i was a baby she had the hardest time learning to let me cry myself to sleep. she says the pediatrician told her that it would be hard at first and she would feel terrible, but ultimately it was the best way to get me to start sleeping through the night and discipline me. she says for those first two nights she just sat outside my nursery door, crying just has hard as i was, and feeling like the worst mom ever letting her baby scream bloody murder for up to an hour after she put me down. but finally, after a few nights, my tiny human self realized it was time for sleep and wouldn't cry when she left.

today, i feel my moms pain.

our dogs are our children. we love them more than anything. we would do anything for them. including disciplining them :( they are terrible barkers. they bark when they see someone in the cul-de-sac, they bark when they hear a neighbor rolling their trash can down to the street, they bark when the doorbell rings, they bark when matt is on important business calls, etc. So the other day, when Whitney talked about her boy, Nimbus, having a bark collar. I thought, maybe we should try it?? So I texted Whit about it and she said that it was great! They got it for when Baby L was sleeping and Nim was barking and that it has worked! So today I ventured out and bought these..

oh my gosh. i swear, me and matt were breaking out into a nervous sweat as we opened the packaging and read the instructions. i've always been totally against them, thinking they weer "inhumane" but after researching them all day yesterday i realized, it really isnt. it's not a "shock" like a lot of people think, it's just an intense vibration. still, we were sad to put them on our dogs bc they were sitting there so sweetly looking at us.. not even barking. then two seconds after we had that thought, they were darted out the doggie door barking at the neighbor's kids. so we called them back inside and put them on. Cooper was ok, he went back out in the yard, barked a few times, and then suddenly stopped. Annie got hers on, barked once, and turned around real quick and looked at us like we'd just spanked her or something... then she barked again. and let out a squeal (she's a bit over dramatic) but the poor little thing broke my heart!!! she looked so confused and sad!! Like, "how could you let someone hurt me like that, mommy??" i felt SO BAD, but i can tell it's working!!! there's a dog barking outside right this second and my babies would normally be at the door barking but my house is as quiet as can be. It was sad a few minutes ago, when Annie woke up, she heard something and barked, then immediately yelped again! Poooooooor angel!!! I went up and loved on her and said "It's ok my sheeee, you are being SO GOOD! You're gonna learn not to bark!! Good girl!!" She doesnt seem sad or upset so I hope she's ok. pooooooor sheeee!! :(

Cooper hasn't had another encounter, yet. But at least if he barks, he doesnt cry after the jolt, he just stops. Annie shrieks like a tiny human "Brittney" in her crib..and I act like my mother, crying along with her and hoping she learns. Thanks for doing that Mom, it sure is hard!

here's to hoping the house stays quiet. the collars of course, will be taken off at night, and we will not make them wear them all the time, every day... they will learn after just a few weeks of wearing the collar not to bark and hopefully won't have to wear it as much. but i do think it's important to let them be dogs and go outside and bark sometimes!

a post a long time in the making!!!! (and it's actually long)

2011-03-15T00:09:00.011-04:00

as most of you know ... i was a cheerleader in highschool. and not just any cheerleader, a State Champion cheerleader at a 5 time state winning school to be exact. see below:

Eastside meant so much to me, and it still does. I might be the only person I know who frequently says "I would love to go back to high school.. even if it was just for a week or two." I literally had the BEST time in high school. I loved every minute of it, and most of every minute was spent doing something related to cheerleading. Despite being state champions, we loved cheering for sports. football and basketball. and we had more school spirit than we knew what to do with. making banners, sponsoring football players, making them "signs," decorating locker rooms, performing at pep rallies, i lived for it all! cathleen and i would even go back to cheerleading competitions throughout our time in college. who am i kidding? we went back to one last october. we love it.

ANYWAY. you get the point, i think. so over the past few years i've been hearing that eastside's cheerleading program has been going down the tube. ever since my former coach, Kelley Robinson and my great friend and fellow cheerleader, Katie Ross Aughtry resigned three years ago from coaching, the program has been on the decline. I've felt so bad for the team. After you work so hard to build and keep traditions, it's really sad to hear about them being totally trashed. and it's not the teams fault really. its probably just been the fact that they havent had a coach who went to eastside, and knows the "standard." after all, Kelley came in and "saved" us after having a bad coaching experience. they hired her because she was a former Eagle and had won the state championship when she went there in 1998 and knew what it took to get there. She brought back "old school eastside" and took us back to where we needed to be.

Needless to say, I was sad to hear about their recent struggles. Cathleen and I went to the State Championship in November and Eastside hadn't even made it. A few weeks later I ran into some of my former teachers at a wedding. I talked to them and they told me more about what's been going on and I felt really bad.. so i drafted this email:

"Dear Mr. Feltz,

My name is Brittney *****. I was a part of the State Champion Cheerleading squad in 2002 and cheered under Coach Kelley Wilson Robinson from 2002 until I graduated in 2004. I was, and still am, very passionate about Eastside, and cheerleading. Kelley instilled in us the values of teamwork, reputation, and prestige.

Since I've graduated I've kept up with both, EHS and Cheerleading. With my younger brother and sister attending from 2004-2008, I've had a lot of inside connections with the squad, and remained close with Kelley and Katie up through their resignation. Recently, it's broken my heart to hear about the struggles the squad has gone through in the past few years.

I know you currently have a coach, and I certainly don't want to step on anyones toes, but I just wanted to let you know that I would love to do anything I can to help; be it, helping out with Varsity, a JV Squad, football only, basketball only, etc. If anything ever comes up, I would love to meet with you and discuss this further. Coach Susan Meadows and Coach Scott Erwin are good friends of mine, if you'd like to speak with them about me.

Also, my best friend, Cathleen *****, who cheered with me as well, would love to help. She is a first grade teacher in Greenville. She cheered at Clemson University, where we were roommates, and we still attend a bunch of local cheer competitions during the fall.

My email is ****and my phone number is ****. I live less than a mile from the school and could come meet with you whenever, if need be. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Brittney"

i drafted that in december. sent it to my mom for proofreading. she was like "thats good, send it!" but i never did. it was sitting in my draft box for two months. just kind of iffy about it. Then a random night, about 3 weeks ago, Scott Foster (our competition coach) who now owns and operates the VERY VERY successful Rockstar Cheer in greenville... facebook messaged me "call me." which was pretty random. so i called him and he's like "what are you doing now days? eastside needs a new coach. im close with the A.D. over there and he called to ask my opinion and I really think it needs to be someone who went to Eastside.. that Kelley and I coached...who knows what needs to happen. Bring tradition back. I was like, so caught off guard. I think i said "That sounds amazing, but I dont know how to be a coach??" He's like "I'll help you, you have so many resources, they need you, you can help bring them back, come on!" I said, "Ill at least meet with the AD I guess. Scott, this is SO WEIRD bc I wrote this email to him a few months ago but I never sent it!" He was like send it to him now, I'll let him know it's coming! So I did...

I went in for an interview, 2 weeks ago. I met with the new principal, the athletic director, and his assistant, who also happens to have a daughter on the squad. They told me everything. the good the bad and the ugly and we talked for over an hour. i left feeling pretty confident and they said they'd be in touch.

oh i almost forgot, after Scott called me. I immediately called Cathleen, who is my tiny bff and college roommate... did i mention she is awesome... look at the beauty ...

anyway, i coerced her into being my assistant coach. probably end up being more like co-coaches :) hip hip, hooray!! that is, if i got the job.

so tonight... after a LONG and stressful two week wait.. i got the call. and i got the job.

I'm the new Varsity Cheerleading Coach at Eastside :)

i know it's going to take a LOT of work. blood, sweat, and tears. time. dedication. heart. you name it... but i think this is a fantastic opportunity and i cant wait to get my hands on this team (not literally) but you know, i cant wait to help bring back tradition. try outs are in april. i cant believe I am in charge of picking a team!?! whoop whoop!!

Go Eagles! <3

5 minutes inside my head

2011-03-10T01:10:00.003-05:00

i am yet AGAIN copying my best friend, megan. her blog is just so lovely i cant help myself. if you read hers, too, this is going to sound VERY familiar, because best friends have very similar thoughts. when i read hers i was cracking up because we literally think all the same things, mostly. but megan, at least you CAN fall asleep so easily and you do. yall, she's out like a light in the drop of a hat. i think she fell asleep in mid-sentence at Valentine's Weekend in Highlands, haha! iiiiii, on the other hand. am still struggling with discontinuing my ambien use. WHICH BY THE WAY is so dumb bc i have to take it now, but it doesnt help me fall asleep at all? last night i went to bed at 4:15 am. arghhh! my doc just put me on some magnesium glycinate and i am switching it out with the ambien and HOPING to wean off. *fingers crossed*

anyway... this is my TRUE timeline of thoughts from last night when i was trying to go to sleep...

"
uggh i really wish matt was awake bc this sheet is ALL messed up under my foot and i would love to fix it, but he's too heavy

who cares im going to try anyway...

wont budge, so ill just push all these wrinkles under his feet. problem solved.

i need a pedicure

i wonder what the latest spring colors are? for nail polish? i kind of want yellow. my feet are too white for that...

i wonder what the weather is for tomorrow

*look up weather on my iPhone*

shoot, rain.

i mean, yes! rain! i have nowhere to be in the morning and i can sleep in to the sound of rain. but im mad bc saturday is supposed to be beautiful and i have to work.

work. i wonder what kinds of brides im going to be dealing with this week

i wonder who my next friend to get engaged will be

i hope they get a designer dress

i hope i get to pick it

ooh im going to nyc in may, maybe i will go see kleinfeld

YESSSSS brilliant idea!!!!

why does annie sleep in the bed with us but cooper's on the floor? does he love me? i wish he'd snuggle with me

maybe ill go see mimi in clemson tomorrow

maybe next week

i wonder exactly what matt and i will be doing one year from tonight. and how different our lives will be

im gonna start a journal

wait, my blog is like my journal and im way better at typing than writing

what if i was a writer for my job

i won a poetry contest once in 7th grade

it was called stars of lace

i wonder how my 7th grade mind thought of that name..and that poem

i love the smell of this lotion on my hands (Archipelago Botanicals MILK..amazing!) i think i'd bathe in this lotion

i wish i had a really big soaker tub .. i wonder how long we'll live in this house

i wish megan would move to greenville, for real.

we could do "wife" things every day and act like children-less stay at home mom's ..

matt said if i scratch his back every night for 100 nights straight he will ENTERTAIN the POSSIBILITY of the IDEA of MABYE having a baby ..

tonight made night 4..

he said if i miss one night, it resets.

shoot. my wrist hurts...i think i have carpal tunnel from back scratching. maybe annie will alternate nights with me, she's a good scratcher..

ambien is kicking in.

what if matt told me tomorrow he was ready for a baby?

i would probably be like wait wait wait wait i dont know yet . even though i ask for one a lot. am i really ready? is anyone ever ready? what about emily on the bachelor, she definitely wasnt ready for little ricky

ricky.. terrible baby name...

baby names.. .ooh ooh! let me check on my baby names list

ok good, they're all still intact and no one, so far, has stolen one. should i blog about my top baby names?

no way! what are you thinking? someone will get preggo before you and use it, and although you'd be flattered that you helped them think of a name, now you cant use it on your own child!!

future child..

yikes.

i really really want to make some banana bread tomorrow.

i think i will

why do people put nuts in things like banana bread and cookies? nuts aren't that great

im gonna go to the car wash tomorrow

its SO HOT in here... WHYYY? *immediate FURY of throwing off the covers and turning the fan on high... sometimes stomping to the thermostat and turning it OFF*

maybe if i concentrate really super hard on what i want to dream about it, then i will .. "

then i fall asleep. and dream about something TOTALLY bonkers and crazy and nothing to do with what i wanted to dream about. and wake up to matt's robot alarm clock going off, but in my dream its like .. an alien spaceship coming down to try to pick up cooper with a red laser beam and im screaming trying to get him not to go but they have a giant pack of twizzlers trying to lure him in. he loves twizzlers. that was a REAL dream i had by the way. ohhhhh brothers. that was so random but all of it. true. happy thursday yall, one more day til your weekend!!

<3

B

an adult decision

2011-03-06T23:58:00.004-05:00

so. matt and i are terrible savers. we both have pretty much the same financial brain ..if we have money, we spend it. i really do feel like, i dont want to be "cheap" we are not promised tomorrow and we want to have fun and do things we enjoy while we have the money to do it. WITH THAT BEING SAID ... we have to be smart. ugh. im the money manager in our family, and i'm a little better than matt is as far as knowing what we have to start with, what he have to pay, what we have left, etc. heaven forbid i send him to the grocery store. he goes with a list of 4 things i need and he comes back after spending $200 and is like "look! i found gushers!" ...a long with about a million other unnecessary items:) he's like "it'l'l be fiiiiine! we really neeeeded this magic button fixer and grill scrubbing brush" haha

anyway, we want to have a family, eventually, and we need to have money in the bannnnk! SO i am putting on my big girl panties and saying "nevermind" to our 3 year anniversary "extravaganza." i think i posted on here a while back about how we were hoping to go on a cruise, or maybe even to mexico to the same resort where we honeymooned, this october for our 3 yr anniversary. we planned on paying for this cruise with tax return $$. however i think it is the smart thing to do, to put all the tax return money in a savings account and take our usual anniversary trip to Highlands this year. which there is NOTHING wrong with because we loving going up there, especially in the fall ! and we get to stay there for free because i have the best grandparents ever :)

heres our first anniversary in highlands..

and our second... which we only took about 2 pictures total all weekend bc we both got TERRIBLE stomach viruses, definitely an unforgettable anni...

so.. we get to go on a really fun, week long, family vacay to Isle of Palms this June, and probably a quick beach trip in July as well, so dont worry, we will get in our beach time.

i know i dont personally know a lot of you readers, and i guess this post is more so a "brag board" to all my family and friends that KNOW ME, to say "Aren't you proud of my adult decision?" it's very "un-brittney" of me.

how surprised are you, dad?? :)

love you blog world. i promise to have a better post later this week.

-b

lady gaga

2011-03-02T02:00:00.002-05:00

i love lady gaga. but have you SEEN the new born this way video???! i was going to post in on my blog. but it was way too much. i love this song and the lyrics to the song and the meaning behind the song!! so i'll just leave you with the cover that this little girl did. beautiful!! she was on ellen last week and lady gaga invited her to perform at one of her concerts in canada next month :)

time flies.

2011-02-25T01:20:00.003-05:00

i can't BELIEVE it's going to be MARCH next week. raise your hand if you feel like new years eve was last night??! omggg it's crazy. but i absolutely love that times flies now. i remember feeling like time went by SO SLOW in highschool. one instance, in particular, comes to mind. i literally remember EVERYTHING about the last minute of the last day of school my junior year. i was sitting in betty howard's math class. NO ONE was paying an ounce of attention. a few girls were coloring "signs" with their markers... one i remember said "COLLEGE HERE WE COME!!" with a tiger paw on it ... a senior girl was coloring it. the bell rang and i was frozen. everyone started cheering and darted out of the class room. and i sat there thinking "there is no way that i have a WHOLE nother year left. there is NO way!" i felt so ready for college. which is weird bc i LOVED high school. i would go back in a heartbeat. but i remember like .. loose papers floating to the ground around me and being the only one left in my desk, thinking. time is SO SLOW!

even though i wish i could go back sometimes, i love that time goes by quickly right now. there are so many fun things i have to look forward to this year. and i RECOGNIZE that once i get a little bit older, "time flying" will make me sad. my babies will grow up before my eyes and i'll be getting AARP membership letters in the mail. woof. but RIGHT NOW. i like it moving fast.

coming up on the bolt agenda:

March: St. Patty's Day and March Madness
April: umm warm, fun things. like Clemson Baseball and spring cookouts
May: NYC for Britt :)
June: Family vacay in Isle of Palms
July: taylor swift in atlanta... another short beach trip..my birthday!!!

i cant wait!! good thing time's flying

b

ohhh no no

2011-02-22T23:10:00.002-05:00

precious!!

my apologies

2011-02-21T23:28:00.000-05:00

i started trying to redesign/update my blog, but i can barely hold my eyes open in the middle of the process. sorry charlies! i promise to update soon. hope everyone's having a great week!

B

cleaning.

2011-02-16T00:05:00.004-05:00

I think the day that 2011 came, was the day I developed a clean gene. I have NEVER cared what a mess I made, or left, or lived in for that matter. When I was in high school I would frequently come home to a note on my door that said something like this...

"Britt. If you don't clean this room up before the weekend. You WILL be on restrictions!!!!! That doesn't mean putting everything under your bed!!! I want clothes picked up off the floor, trash thrown in the trash can, towels in the hamper, and bed made up!!! Consider this your last warning!!! -Dad"

Ha. Seriously, I really did get notes like that, written on that yellow notebook paper and taped on my door, just about every weekend. My sweet Dad was trying to prepare me for the future. Then I got to college and lived with THE MOST ORGANIZED friend that I have ever had, Cathleen. Her side of the room was IMMACULATE right down to her color coded notebooks neatly organized on the shelf and her perfectly folded blanket on the end her bed. My side looked like a tornado had just rushed through.

Then, Matt and I got married and I realized I needed to step up my game. I made an effort to keep the sink cleared out and pick up towels of the floor, but 10 empty water bottles beside the bed and a dust pile on the floor didn't phase me. And it STILL didnt phase me, oh, 2 months ago!! But all of the sudden, bam! I can't STAND clutter and mess!! I want everything clean. Im not like an OCD neat freak, about germs and dirt, etc. I am just getting annoyed with CLUTTER. I hate opening the cabinet under the sink in my bathroom and stuff just scattered all in there. (note to self: clean all cabinets before the end of this week!)

I think it all has to do with one little tip I saw on "Enough Already!" last week. You know, that show on Oprah's new network, OWN, that is comparable to Hoarders, but not as extreme. Just the guy goes in there and helps them get organized. The one thing that's stuck out in my mind since I saw the show is when he said .... "All flat surfaces should be clean. That means, floors, countertops, nightstands, dressers, etc. Nothing with a flat surface should have things on it" I.E. Clothes on the floor!! Water bottles on the night stand!! Mail piled on the counter!! Only things that belong there, like picture frames, lamps, etc. should be on the flat surfaces.

Now EVERY flat surface I see with something that doesn't belong makes me go crazy! Today I cleaned everything .. like dusted, pledged, windexed, etc. and tomorrow and thursday i am going to ORGANIZE and declutter flat surfaces. and i KNOW i will feel so awesome when im done.

So any of you messies out there, that think you'll be like that forever, no fear. you will like everything neat, eventually. Did any of you experience this change?? oh and what are you favorite cleaning products?? I have to know, now! So far I only have one... Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Window Spray in Basil...aaaaaah! I think I want all Meyers stuff.

Happy Cleaning and De-Cluttering

-B

Valentine's Weekend

2011-02-14T01:12:00.004-05:00

We had SUCH a fun weekend at the mountain house! Nothing better than being at my favorite house on earth with some of my favorite people :) We had a very relaxing and fun time cooking, shopping, painting nails, watching 20/20 like old people, sitting by the fire, riding the golf cart, drinking wine, etc.

I absolutely LOVE Valentines Day. (probably has something to do with of my obsession with hearts) I made sure to wear pink the entire weekend and a heart necklace :) I know Megan will have a much more detailed post here.

I'm so excited to go to High Cotton with Matt tonight! :) Happy Valentine's Day to all my fellow bloggers. Love to you, all!

<3 B

the one product you must have

2011-02-09T00:37:00.003-05:00

i've blogged about this before in my favorite items post, but i just have to talk about it again.

i am minorly obsessed with brushing my teeth, and my teeth and mouth feeling clean. i'd been using Crest with Scope Outlast for a while, and I remember the first time I used it, I couldn't believe how long I had a "clean teeth" feeling. I am not a creature of habit, I am a creature of "sale items" at the store and trying to new things. So last time I was at BiLo and needed toothpaste, I ended up getting some sort of colgate stuff that was 2 for 1.

BIG MISTAKE. Once you go to this stuff, you can never go back. I used the Colgate for about 3 days, and one night in the middle of getting ready, I literally couldn't take it anymore. I felt like my teeth hadn't been truly clean in 3 days. So I go get in my car, half make-up done. Hair not straightened. And make a trip to bilo to get my prized possession.

I will NEVER use another toothpaste. this stuff is AMAZING. you HAVE to at least try it. i promise you wont regret.

-b

ps- i realize this is a strange post, but when i believe in a product that i love, i want everyone else to try it and love it, too! :)

P90 What??

2011-02-05T00:43:00.003-05:00

O.M.G. .... so i went to my personal trainer today. and we, excuse me, I did a new workout. Anyone heard of TRX bands?? If not, just take a look at this video.

at first, i was like.. cool, these are like "rings" in gymnastics. and i felt like, cool. then after seriously doing 10 "crunches" i thought i was going to die. the proof is in the pudding. it's only been 8 hrs since my workout, and already I am having to pull at things around me to help me sit up. Tomorrow and Sunday are going to be hilarious.

This put P90X to SHAME!!!!!! I like being sore, I feel like I've accomplished something. And I really am excited to keep going to my trainer, Durek. He's hardcore, but I like it :) Beach Body 2011, here I come~!!

-B

my favorite guy on american idol...

2011-02-04T01:17:00.001-05:00

i love this kid!!!!

Polyvore Fun!

2011-01-31T00:52:00.002-05:00

I'd like this for our Valentines Day Date ...

Valentine's Date by brittneykbolt featuring heart earrings

Pink Asymmterical Short Sleeve Tee by DKNY
85 GBP - my-wardrobe.com
Pink tops »

7 For All Mankind The Skinny Jeans
$149 - piperlime.gap.com
Skinny leg jeans »

Badgley Mischka 'Humbie II' Pump
$200 - nordstrom.com
Glitter peep toe pumps »

Silver heart hoop earrings
40 GBP - debenhams.com
Heart earrings »

Tinley Road Braided Cuff Bracelet
$36 - piperlime.gap.com
Metal bangles »

NARS Duo Eyeshadow
$32 - nordstrom.com

benetint
$28 - benefitcosmetics.com

Dior Miss Dior Cherie 6.8 oz Perfumed Body Moisturizer
$46 - sephora.com

OPI Nail Lacquer- Bubble Bath
$8.49 - haircarechoices.com

I'd like this for spring please...

Spring Day by brittneykbolt featuring burberry sunglasses

Blu Moon Under The Tuscan Sun Top
$154 - piperlime.gap.com
Dressy tops »

7 For All Mankind Highwaist Slim Trouser Jeans
$158 - piperlime.gap.com
Slim fit jeans »

Givenchy Woven leather wedges
$1,190 - net-a-porter.com
High heel pumps »

7 Chi Kenzie Handbag
$158 - piperlime.gap.com
Leather handbags »

Hive and Honey Scale Chandelier Earrings
$22 - piperlime.gap.com
Hook earrings »

Sunglasses Sonnenbrille von BURBERRY ab 159,00 € im Impressionen...
159 EUR - impressionen.de
Burberry sunglasses »

MAC Lustre Lipstick - Lustering
allcosmeticswholesale.com

Aren't the Givenchy shoes, TO DIE! yeah, i know they are over $1,000. haha. I'm sure I could find something SIMILAR at Off Broadway :)

And I'd love this ensemble for a casual, outdoor dinner on our anniversary cruise in October..

Cruise Casual by brittneykbolt featuring mirrored sunglasses

Sequin Halter Bra Top Dress
$38 - victoriassecret.com
Victoria secret dresses »

China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini Nail Polish
$3.69 - luxuryparlor.com
Bikini bathing suits »

Very Volatile Habanero
$90 - piperlime.gap.com
Leather shoes »

Juicy Couture Gen Y Tote
$78 - piperlime.gap.com
Canvas handbags »

Rosanne Pugliese Lemon Citrine Earrings
$490 - barneys.com
Lemon citrine earrings »

Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses with Mirrored Lenses
$139 - bloomingdales.com
Mirrored sunglasses »

Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder
$28 - sephora.com

i LOVE polyvore.com! Thanks, Whitney for introducing me!! I'm going to make some more "ensembles" later :) Happy Monday!

-B

quoteworthy...

2011-01-28T23:53:00.005-05:00

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

I know that next year, next week, heck, even tomorrow, the words on this blog will be forgotten. and that no one, not even me, will remember what I did last Saturday, but feelings are deep. I'm sure you can all remember the first time your husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend/partner told you you were beautiful. The first time your parents told you how disappointed they were in you for finding out you stole that candy bar from the store. The first time your coach told you you were the best on the team that day, or your teacher said she was really proud of you for how hard you worked on an assignment. You remember the first time you saw your favorite artist in concert (i cried when i saw nsync. i couldnt BELIEVE i was in the same room as them, ha) Or perhaps the first time a puppy licked your face (unless you're my friend, Jordan, and you dont like animals, haha) Although I may not recall how it was said, how it was done, I remember, CLEARLY, how i FELT through all of these situations.

This quote goes hand in hand with my new years resolution. Keeping a positive attitude, no matter what. My book that goes with my resolution, talks about how we can think all the things we'd like to in our head. we can gossip to ourselves. we can think critically of others, to ourselves. we can complain all we want, to ourselves. but when we lash out at others, put others down, speak condescendingly to others, it's making them feel bad. and it's going to leave a lasting impression. However, the more we dont SPEAK that negativity, the less we think it! This resolution has been so hard, and so far, I have failed at it, miserably, (i mean, i watch the Bachelor and would can go that entire show without criticizing) but I have NOTICED myself noticing how much say that is a complaint/gossip/criticism . And just noticing it, makes me stop doing it so much. That sounds confusing i think, but it makes sense in my own head right now, and i write this blog not only for you to read, but for me to come back to as a reference.

Anyway, I write this with the hopes that next time you're about to say or do something, that may or may not be in character, think of how it's going to make the other person FEEL. the people around you feel. And, is it an important enough of an issue to make them feel that way? I also write this to keep myself in check. I find that if I take this long to write about something and think about how im going to write it, it's easier to remember for my own good.

Think before you speak. Think before you act. Because there is nothing worse, that I can think of, than someone recalling you for making them feel like less of a person, especially when it's unnecessary.

ps- i realize this post is WAY deep for my usual blogging style. this was just something that was weighing on me pretty heavy today. back to our regularly scheduled programming on sunday :)

since i just learned how to put videos on my blog...

2011-01-27T00:05:00.005-05:00

this is the most annoying video my husband has ever shown me... yet it manages to pop into my head ALL THE TIME and i can't get the catchy tune out of my head!!! so, now you must suffer in my misery...

the night of the possum

2011-01-25T00:42:00.006-05:00

so.

last night, matt and i were sitting on the couch in the living room. watching Nick Swardson's stand up on comedy central, which if you haven't seen it, you must. i was CRYING!!! so funny, i love him. ANYWAYS. we were glued into the tv and i realized Cooper and Annie were not in there snuggled up with us, which they usually are. I told Matt to go make sure they didn't escape from the backyard or something. I mean it was 9 pm and about 30 degrees outside, so it was odd for them to stay out long.

Matt decides he's gonna go up and play halo (go figure.) and calls them inside on his way upstairs. meanwhile, i am still zeroed in on nick swardson talking about how funny drunk girls are. about 5 min later i notice the dogs are inside, when Annie comes marching up by my head on the couch, smelling like straight up POOP!!! "My she!!! Oh my gahhh what did you track in here??" I shot straight up scanning the room for terds. She HAD to have stepped in something or gone potty inside. Well, I see no terds, but see Cooper, sitting up so tall and majestic, smiling, and looking down at the floor, back up at me, down at the floor, back up at me. And I knew right then, he was proud of something. There, beside him, i see something furry, that I first suspect is a stuffed hedgehog he plays with all the time. Realizing the hedgehog is green, and this thing is black and gray, i call for Matt. "Lamb!!! Come down here!! I think my boy brought in another animal!! Hurry!" I couldn't see bc the light was off and the flicker of the tv wasnt enough. Matt comes thundering down the stairs, with a happy voice saying "MY purrrdy, did you get another squirrr?!" (squirrel in our language) Flips on the light switch.

"OH, my god. It's a POSSUM!!!" Then darts out of the room. Leaving me STANDING On the couch repeating "oh my god oh my god oh my god!! what do we dooooo???? cooperrrrrr!!!!" Quickly realizing how funny it would have been to video the scene, last time cooper brought in a squirrel, i decided to run and get matts phone from the foyer. on my way to the foyer, i stop to get a better look at this thing. it is laying there... wet fur on its back where my boy had it in his mouth. and a little bit of blood coming from its nose/mouth. ugh. the scene is quiet, bc matt has gone to get a shovel. just me and the possum alone. i creep closer to it, trying to get a better, peek. and slowly as im bending down, POP!!!! it shoots is freakin head up and LOOKS AT ME!!! looks at me like "Ha! I'm alive! Gotcha!" I scream and BOLT (haha) out of the room and get matts phone, while he is simultaneously running into the room with a shovel.. and thats when i hit record.

oh. my. gosh. matt was SO scared. that thing was showing its teeth and staring at him! hahahahahaha this is so funny. i love that i captured the moment and nothing was planned and it was sheer chaos. please excuse all the LAUNDRY in the living room that i was working on and the pile of junk on the dining room that consists of all my christmas wrapping needs. im working on that :)

needless to say, we tossed the possum. blocked the doggy doors so the dogs couldnt get back out. and gave them baths. which took about an HOUR bc they try to escape the tub the whole time. i should have taken a picture of what we looked like by the end of the whole incident. soaking wet and in our underwear from the dogs soaking us throughout the bathtime process. with dog fur and suds all over us. then had to clean the small blood spot the POSSUM left on our RUG! ewww! i tip toed around all night hoping there wasnt another one in there. so creepy!

matt and i ventured back out into the yard around midnight with our flashlights and phone cameras in toe, to make sure the thing ran away. otherwise the dogs would sniff out the dead thing and bring it back inside. mr possum was no where to be found. so i guess he was alive and well the whole time. gross!!!

did you have as eventful of a sunday as we did?? :)

Good week wishes to all,

B

a MUST read for all bloggers

2011-01-21T00:20:00.002-05:00

so, my dear friend Megan O'Neill Witt showed me this blog the other day and i am obsessed. besides the amazing pictures and awesome writing, her story is an incredible one! When you get to the blog click "Start Here If You're New" under the "she's turning one" banner.

DISCLAIMER: Don't read this at work, or in front of people you dont want to see you crying, because it's a TEAR JERKER!!!

http://www.kellehampton.com/

ps- how freakin beautiful is her main blog picture?!

things im obsessed with .. this week

2011-01-18T23:09:00.010-05:00

best friends are so much alike :) ... i just read my BFF's blog and she wrote about things shes obsessed with at the moment. i decided to copy her, and while doing so, i realized we're obsessed with all the same types of things. i guess thats what being friends since age 8 does to a person :) i love you wells!

I can't stop eating gouda and crackers. not smoked gouda (that stuff tastes like ham or something) but regular ol gouda. yum!

a vacation!!!! in particularly, a cruise, that we MAY or may not be taking in October for our 3 year anniversary!! :)

THIS DRESS that Olivia Wilde wore to The Golden Globes this week!! ahhhhhh mazing

starbucks white chocolate mocha. it's felt SO good on my sore throat this past week! delishhhh

nicki minaj's song "Super Bass" from the Pink Friday album. Taylor Swift tweeted last week, "Driving back from rehearsals listening to Super Bass by @nickiminaj OVER and OVER. I'm so obsessed with this song!" So, of course I downloaded it, bc i pretty much am obsessed with taylor, too. and she was right, the song is awesome.

Neosporin Lip Health!!!!!! this is my #1 obsession of the week! I love it so much, I have been to three stores looking for the overnight one. I have the daily hydration and I swear it works!! It says on the package that it guarantee's to restore visibly healthier lips in 3 days. and it does. this stuff is amazing! The first time I put it on, it felt thin..compared to like Burt Bee's or chapstick. And I was like, great this stuff isn't going to work. but it does and i love it.

The Bachelor!!! I swear im not going to read realitysteve.com this year. so don't tell me if you know who wins!!! I think I'm going against the grain on this one, but I really like Brad. I liked him the first time, too. I thought not choosing DeAnna or Jenny too some gumption, and I respected that he didn't pick someone because he "had" to.

Barbie's Fashion Fairytale Glitterizer. omg. I babysat Gracie Carlton this past week and she got this thing for Christmas and it is SO FREAKIN COOL! You put glitter in the bottom ... put barbie in, complete with fashionable shaped stickers...close the door and lock it.. press the glitterize button, and a mini fan in the bottom blows the glitter up onto barbie and glitterizes the felt stickers you put on her!!! I wish I had a life-size glitterizer wardrobe for myself :)

annnnd that's about all im obsessed with this week. :) there will be bigger and better things next week.

happy more than halfway through january!!

-B

some inspirational quotes for your weekend

2011-01-14T23:53:00.001-05:00

instructions: lather. rinse. repeat.

Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out - it's the grain of sand in your shoe.
Robert Service

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. ~Francesca Reigler

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” - Herm Albright

Baked Spaghetti

2011-01-12T20:19:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted a recipe in like, a year. but this one was WAY TOO AMAZING not to share with yall. I made it last night. and had it for dinner tonight and last night. it is SO GOOD. especially reheated, because that's the way i love spaghetti most. This is definitely going to be my "go-to" dish when I need to take someone food next. So, whoever has baby next, gets some baked spaghetti!! Make is ASAP!

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg spaghetti noodles
2 lbs. ground beef (browned and drained)
2 jars of spaghetti sauce (24 oz each)
4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
4 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
12 oz can of evaporated milk
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS
Combine cooked spaghetti noodles, sauce and browned ground beef; set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; add flour, Parmesan cheese, salt and garlic powder. Stir constantly until smooth and bubbly. Add evaporated milk and one cup of cheddar cheese; stir until thoroughly melted.

Pour half of the spaghetti mixture into a 9X13 inch casserole dish and spread cheese mixture on top. Pour remaining spaghetti mixture over cheese mixture and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Makes 12-18 servings. This recipe can easily be divided in half.

THIS MAKES A LOT!!!! My 9x13 pan was overflowing and I could have probably made a small loaf pan's worth as well. Next time, I'll divide it in half. It's SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD !

Enjoy!

B

SNOW

2011-01-11T01:58:00.011-05:00

so .. my dad is basically a weather man and has been telling me for the past two weeks that this was going to be a "major storm." i think i believed him. i mean i know i believed him that it was going to be a good snow but i did not realize how much!!! when it started last night around 12:30 i got online and fiddled a bit, looked out the window only an hour later and there was already like an inch and a half. SO EXCITING !

what's better is my friends came over to get snowed in with me :) matt has to work, bc he works from home anyways and it'd be pretty hard to explain a "hazardous commute" to his boss, considering his "commute" is from the bedroom to the office about 5 ft down the hallway. haha. my friends didn't want to be snowed in and bored at their own homes so they came here!!

we woke up this morning and i did this...

cooked breakfast casserole and hashbrowns. it was pretty good, if i do say so myself. then we were sad because jordy still had to work.

but she ran out and took a picture in the winter wonderland first...

then sarah and i got prepared to brave the snow... in hopes of sledding .. good thing dad gave me my ski bib last week..

after we were all bundled up we were restless to get outside bc we were sweating in the warmth of the house!! haha

dont worry, i definitely tried to get a running start to dive onto my disk sled..and face planted!! the snow was WAY too soft and powdery. i am hoping for more sledding success tomorrow with the newly fallen ice layer on top! but here's me sitting on my sled with bilo bags over my shoes bc i didnt have any waterproof boots~ :)

then i made an AWESOME snow angel. this is what snow angels are SUPPOSED to look like!!

we came in.. had some lunch.. took naps.. and then were lazy all day until we got enough energy up to fix some dinner and watch the Bachelor like we do every Monday night anyway. Even now, Sarah and Jordan are asleep in the guest room, and have been for like, 2 hours. While I, the night owl, am up wide awake at 2:15 am.

Things im hopeful for, for tomorrow:
1. A good pancake brekky (the Australian term for breakfast, Callie taught me )
2. Sledding success
3. Matt to come outside and get to play for at least a LITTLE while
4. Some good pictures. I didn't even take my camera outside today, my hands were FROZEN without my gloves
5. To feel better. I am kind of sick. but that can't hold me down from going out in this snow!

Hope you all had a good day, too!!

-B

the gym..and the beach

2011-01-07T00:25:00.009-05:00

they go together kind of..no?

As I told you before, I joined the gym near my house, Pivotal Fitness and got a personal trainer. This is basically what it was like ..

haha, no but really. He told me he was going to have to "assess me" at our first meeting. I ended up doing a Marine Corps workout (wth??) maxing out at each one of these exercises...aka, do as many as you can in one minute

1. Push Ups
2. Squats
3. 3 min of elliptical
4. Shoulder press
5. Bicep curl
6. Lunges on each leg
7. 3 min of elliptical
8. Tricep extensions
9. Leg extensions
10. Leg curls
11. Sit ups
12. Crunches

Woooooooooooof!!!!! I haven't done a full body workout like that in I dont even know how long. I mean, P90X was certain muscle groups on certain days. Needless to say, the next three days were hilarious. I had to lift my leg and set it outside of the car to be able to get out. And lower myself onto the toilet by putting my hands between my legs. It probably took me 30 seconds to get up my 3 front porch steps. Haha! I like being sore though.. it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. Which I hope I accomplish A LOT by June 11th. Which is my good friend Chester's wedding AND the day I go on family vacation for a week at the beach.

Wanna know who/what my inspiration is for looking this way by that time??

No, no no, this isn't a professional model, but my friend Megan (aka dear baby e blogger..aka just had a baby...aka im sure she'll look like this again in like 2 weeks) See, within like, the next two years or so, I want to have a baby, too, like Megan. And before I do... I want to look like this, like Megan. She did not get this way by doing nothing. She loves working out. she did P90X Ab Ripper all the time, and oh, she's a Zumba instructor. I don't think I will ever look THAT good in a bathing suit, but im hoping with a lot of hard work, effort, perseverance, and my trainer, I'll get close.

Now, onto the beach news. From when I was born until I was about 4 years old my Mimi and Grandy had a beach condo in Destin, FL. I can't remember that much of it, but we all used to go as a family every year. Since they sold it, we have a mountain house in Highlands, NC where we congregate every July 4th and Thanksgiving, and sometimes in between. Last year I asked Mimi if we could PLEASE all go to the beach together, since I couldn't remember ever doing it before. She already had a few trips planned and we couldn't get a time together last year... but at Thanksgiving she announced to us that we could go in June .. that'd they'd pay for the house if I could find us a good one. I was so EXCITED and then realized I have a pretty picky family. We all know, beggars can't be choosers, but let's face it, we are. Haha.. These are the requirements I was given:

1. Sleeps at least 11 people
2. 3 couples must get their own rooms (aka no rooms with 2 queen beds, etc)
3. Within a block to the beach
4. Close to a golf course
5. Pet friendly
6. A living room and kitchen of substantial size
7. A living room with a "good tv setup" haha
8. Updated decor
9. A king size bed in the Master
10. A pool (this is the only one that could waiver, as long as it had all the other qualities

Holy Moly! I have been looking for a place, like, nonstop since Sunday and we FINALLY decided on one, today. I am SO excited I can barely contain myself. Usually, at this time of year, I am constantly checking to see when the next "Blizzard of '93" is going to hit Greenville, or supposedly going to hit Greenville (next week has some serious potential) but right now I can't help but stalk J.Crew to see when their 2011 Swim line is going to come out and I can start looking for a new bathing suit that will show off my "Megan Body" come June. :) Here are some pics of "my prize!"

located in the heart of Isle of Palms ... close to WILD DUNES golf course... in close proximity to The Windjammer Cafe... one block to the beach...updated decor...pool... etc....

i think this kitchen will suffice. I can't wait to look up recipes to make for the whole family. Low Country Boil anyone??

Sunny bright living room ...

room we'll get to share with THE KERNS :)

Rooftop Deck with Grill and Lounge Chairs...

Cast of Characters staying in this awesome place... Mimi and Grandy, their dog Cady, Dad and Susie, Sam and Twila, Matt and I, Matt and Ashley, Tyler..and a friend bc Janey will be in Spain. Ahhh. Sigh. I can't wait to be there. BUT .. I will hold my horses, because I am really excited about the potential Snow Storm coming Sunday-Tuesday to the upstate. There is just SO much to look forward to already and 2011 just started!!

Hope everyone has a good Friday!!

-B

ps- im still holding strong w/ my no complaining resolution. it is definitely difficult, esp starting with a trainer...and wanting to say "IM SOOOOO SORE" to matt all the time, but i'm really glad im doing it :)

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!

2011-01-05T22:06:00.004-05:00

For all of you who follow "Dear Baby E" on my blog list, my good friend, Megan HAD HER BABY!!!!!!

little Adelyn Harper arrived at 11:40 am this morning. Weighing in at 6 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 20 3/4 inches! Guess she took her "eviction notice" on yesterday's blog pretty seriously :)

SO EXCITED FOR ADAM AND MEGAN (and big brothers, Blaze and Indi)!!!! Welcome to the world baby Adelyn, you are just beautiful!! :)

Happy 2011!!!

2011-01-03T13:30:00.004-05:00

We had a great time ringing in the New Year!! we changed our plans about 40 bazillion times before we finally figured out what we were going to do... go downtown, just the two of us. eat a fun/nice dinner and then head over to whatever bar we felt like, watch the rest of the Chicfila Bowl and then ring in the new year. That's exactly what we did.

We drove downtown having no clue where we were going to go. Just one look at the new Ale house and matt wanted to eat there. (We used to go to original Carolina Ale House in Raleigh all the time and we loved it, and have been so excited about Greenville getting one.) We walked in to a packed house and they said it'd be a 2 hour wait for a table and we were starving! So we went across the street and up the block a little to Takosushi which I have been wanting Matt to try for a while, because I ate there with Cindy and I knew matt would love it! We walked right in and had a seat immediately and the food was delicious!! Matt got The Crazy Roll and I got the baha fish taco plate. They are SO SO good!!!! So here's Matt at takosushi ..

Then we went back to Ale House and waited in line for about 15 minutes before finally making it upstairs. It was so fun. We scrounged up a table and happened to run into Devon and Michael so they sat with us, then Jordan, Samantha, and Brooks showed up. We just sat at our table, talking, watching New Years Eve in New York, and laughing. Before we knew it, people were counting down!! Happppppppppy New Year!!! Our first picture together in 2011...

We stayed for a while, still talking, and then I found this hat...

haha. We headed home to get in bed because we had to be up pretty early the next morning to head to my Nanny's house in Summerville, GA. We got to my mom's and loaded up the car with luggage and presents and SEVEN people in one tahoe. Trav, Mom, Matt, Me, Janey, Tyler, and Lindsey all piled into the Tahoe and were on our way to GA. We were even crazy enough to stop at Starbucks in Commerece and EVERYONE in the car got a drink... might at add they were all caffeinated (except for mine) and it was a very eventful car ride, to say they least! :) WE made it to Nanny's and had a WONDERFUL christmas dinner.... Ham, creamed corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, crockpot mac n cheese, dressing, collard greens, black eyed peas, biscuits, and rolls. my mouth is watering just thinking of it. Matt and I made sure to load up on collards for money and black eyed peas for luck and we were stuffed!!! We opened some presents and went back to the other house to play Trivial Pursuit steal! fun game.

Sunday morning we woke up and went back over to Nanny's for a huge breakfast. So yummy! Hung out for a while, and headed back home.

It was a very fun and eventful way to bring in the new year and i am so excited for all of the changes 2011 is going to bring!

I start with my personal trainer today at pivotal. yikes!! but i am going to get in shape. I have a meeting with the nutritionist tomorrow and I've only got one more medication to wean off of.

Basically, i hope to be a complaint-free, medicine-free, fat-free person by the end of this year!! :)

Best,

B

Looking for a New Years Resolution??

2010-12-29T18:54:00.003-05:00

So, I can remember about a year or two ago hearing about these purple bracelets. Something about wearing them as part of a challenge to not complain. I didn't really hear the whole story, but I was intrigued, and then forgot about it.

The other day, I was trying to think of a New Years Resolution I could make that wouldn't only benefit myself (like "go to the gym four times a week" or "stop eating french fries"), but benefit those around me. Then I remembered a little bit about the "No complaining bracelets" so I started researching.

My research led me to finding out there is a book called "A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Living the Life You've Always Wanted." It sounded a little whack, then I remembered it was a pastor who started this whole thing, and it comes from a Bible verse..

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

I remember hearing that verse in 6th grade and thinking it was talking about cussing. Haha. ANYWAY...

I downloaded the book on my Kindle for iPhone app and started reading, and let me tell you, I am SO EXCITED about this challenge, my resolution.

Here's the jist of it..

How it all got started: Rev. Will Bowen of One Community Spiritual Center in Kansas City, MO was teaching a series on Prosperity. Part of this series was helping the congregation to form a habit of gratitude by going 21-days without complaining. Studies show it takes 21 days for people to start forming a new habit. In an effort to make the lesson practical, the church purchased purple bracelets and gave them away encouraging them to move the bracelet to the other arm if they caught themselves complaining.

How the bracelet thing works: Scientists believe it takes 21 days to form a new habit and complaining is habitual for most of us. The purple bracelet is a powerful tool to remind you of how well you are creating your life with positive intention. Here are the suggested rules:

Begin to wear the bracelet, on either wrist
When you catch yourself complaining, gossiping or criticizing (it’s ok, everyone does) move the bracelet to the other arm and begin again.
If you hear someone else who is wearing a bracelet complain, you may point out their need to switch the bracelet to the other arm; BUT if you’re going to do this, you must move your bracelet first, bc you are ultimately criticizing them for complaining :)
Stay with it. It may take many months but when you reach 21 days you will find that your entire life is happier, more loving and more enjoyable.

The book goes on to talk about what is a justified "complaint" and what is not. I was asking Matt last night .. "But what if you told me we were going to Joy of Tokyo and I'm not in the mood for that? Is it complaining to say 'I dont like Joy of Tokyo?'" I answered the question myself.. it'd probably be complaining to say "ughhh, i HATE joy of tokyo" but to say "ehh, im not really feeling that tonight, let's go to Monterrey's" would suffice. (ps. that exact conversation takes places at least once a week at our house)

Recently, I've found myself saying things that right when they come out of my mouth I think, why did i even just say that?? Like.. the other day I was watching 60 minutes with Matt and Andy Rooney has this thing that hangs off his lip.. and I was like "Gah, that thing on his lip drives me nuts!" Why did I have to say that out loud? It's ok if I thought it in my head, but it's just rude and critical to say, and I don't need to be critical.

I complain about things that are stupid.. like "Ughhh. I REALLY dont want to go to work tomorrow." or "my head is killllling me." I understand that I am going to think those thoughts in my head, and that's fine, but why burden other people with that? First of all, they dont really care whether or not I want to go to work tomorrow. Second of all, what can they do about it? It's not like I'm telling them so they can help me find a solution, I'm just complaining to complain. (that's another thing I asked matt about ... "Baby, what if I really am sick and need some medicine??" Matt's response, "Then you probably just say, 'Lamb, I have a bad headache, could you get me some advil?'" Then it's not a complaint, but a question seeking a solution. Not just "woeeee is meeeee i have the worsssst headache!")

The hardest part of this for me is going to be gossip. We all do it. It's so hard not to. But I am going to make a CONSCIOUS EFFORT not to say anything about someone that i wouldn't say to their face. I feel like thats how I know when it's gossip. I am married, I am happy, I live a good life, what business do I have talking about other people's dramas and issues? I love everyone I am friends with, and I wouldn't want them talking about me, so... I am going to KEEP IT TO MYSELF. That verse doesn't say "dont let any unwholesome thoughts enter your mind," we are all sinners. and that is going to happen, its just the words.. There have been a lot of verses on my blog lately but here's one that goes along with what I'm saying ..

Proverbs 12:18 - Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Even if I have those unwholesome thoughts, I do not have to speak them into words. Keep reminding me of this fellow bloggers, I need you to hold me accountable!

Ok, so the book said that the average person who attempts the challenge usually takes 4 to 10 months to go the entire 21 days without changing the bracelet to the other wrist! I know it will probably take me that long, but I think it's worth a shot.

I am going to finish reading the book tonight. I dont know for sure that I will order that exact bracelet. The book says if you want you can just start with a rubberband or use a bracelet you like (if you have little wrists like mine and none of those livestrong things fit you right!) I hope you will join me in this!!! I think it's such a wonderful challenge! Let me know if you do!!
B

Big News! :)

2010-12-28T21:52:00.004-05:00

So.. on Sunday the girls got together over at Jordan's for our annual Christmas Swap. We were all sitting around rambling about what we got etc etc. Meg starts telling how Brett gave her this photo album of all the pictures they've ever taken together and Jordy is chiming in "I really need a sentimental boyfriend." Wells is about to cry, "Awww!" and I am thinking "Man, I wish he would have given her a ring." Then she trails on, "...so at the end of it there was this note about our lives and picture of my DIAMOND!!!!" and she whips her hand out of her purse, where she had hidden her GORGEOUS ring and was secretly putting it on. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Wells screamed so loud, my ears were ringing for a few minutes! It was SO GREAT and so HAPPY!!!

We were so sad that Sarah couldn't be there, but dont worry we called and screamed the news to her! :) it was such a fun day! We spent the whole day and night celebrating, drinking champagne, and watching Brett's proposal on video, it was SO sweet!!!

Congrats, Meg! You're going to be the MOST beautiful bride, I am so happy for you and Brett!I love you!

B

Christmas Recap

2010-12-27T23:36:00.022-05:00

So here's what we did over Christmas... and a little taste of some things we gave and some things we got.. We are SO BLESSED, we had such an AMAZING, AMAZING Christmas and we couldn't be more thankful for all of our family and friends!

Wednesday night, December 22, 2010: Matt's Dad, Jim and his family came over :) I prepared like a crazy person for three days trying to clean and grocery shop and wrap presents perfectly. finally the day of, i gave up on the house and just cooked. The food was really good actually! I made pork tenderloin, crockpot mac n cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, and rolls. Sam and Perry played some Wii and then we opened presents. I cant BELIEVE amidst all the hustle and bustle I forgot to get out my camera... we didnt take ONE picture this year :( boo! We had so much fun, though!

We gave: A Ruth's Chris Gift Card, A donation to St. Jude
We got: Workout Clothes, A super-cute coat, Best Buy and Victoria's Secret gift cards :)

Thursday .. we ventured over to Clemson to Mimi and Grandy's house and had Christmas with The Kingsmore's. Always one of my fave parts of Christmas. We had a potluck dinner of sorts, has some drinks and crab dip, of course, had an in depth..too serious...discussion about Clemson athletics.. ugh! Then moved on to opening some fun presents. Then headed back home. Here's a picture of the beautiful tree and the ridiculous amount of presents!

We gave: A blanket, an iPad case, Clemson playing cards, A figurine of the Clemson Entrance
We got: Clothes, Gift Cards, Cash :)

Friday .. Christmas Eve... I had to work from 10 to 1. Sped home from work, took a shower, got ready faster than you can say "Rudolph!" then went to meet Dad, Susie, Mimi, Grandy, and Tyler at Newspring in Anderson for Christmas Eve service. It was such a good service!! I really think you should all watch it if you get a minute.. Newspring Christmas Eve Service. We rushed (all the way) back from Anderson .. and made it to Mom's just in time for dinner. We ate.. opened presents.. where the theme for the night was "cameras..."then went on our Christmas traditional trip to the movies to see "Little Fockers." It was really cute!!! Matt and I made it back to our house around midnight and made sure the stockings were hung by the chimney with care.. then made it to sleep around 2 am.

We gave: PFG shirts, Coach wristlet, Benefit best-sellers make up case
We got: a tempurpedic pillow, a point and shoot camera, a camera lens for my big camera, sheets!

Linds... do you have anymore pictures?? this is all i have... why dont we have any together on my camera??

Christmas Day ... I woke up around 8:30 am. **RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU KNOW HOW CRAZY THAT IS FOR BRITTNEY K BOLT** insanity! I was happy about it :) Then I went downstairs, started Matt's coffee, set out the presents, then ventured outside to take some "before" pictures of our house, since i KNEW it was going to snow :) Here's our house BEFORE the White Christmas ...

Then Matt and I opened our presents and stockings and we gave those pretties (aka: our dogs) some bones and treats and toys. They were thrilled!! Then we rushed to get dressed, so we could fly out the door and head to Easley for Christmas with Dad and Susie.

Some highlights of our THIRD christmas morning as The Bolts (also insane): A Keurig coffee maker, Brighton necklace and earrings, Slatkin & Co. candles from Bath and Body Works, a polo shirt, lottery tickets

Ok, so then we headed to Easley. Where we ate a little bit of breakfast (only because we were about to head to Matt's mom's afterwards where we were having more breakfast). Dad made eggs, bacon, and croissants. Then we opened presents while continuously checking out the window to see if the snow had started yet.

We gave: A Ruth's Chris giftcard, an iPad case, a coach wristlet
We got: UGG boots, Best Buy gift card, Dick's giftcard, a hairdryer, and the sweetest thing.. Dad and Susie gave me the first ring that Dad ever gave to Susie because she hardly wears it anymore and everytime I'm with them I talk about how much I love Susie's David Yurman things.. love it!

SO... after Dad's we packed up all our goodies and headed back to Greenville to go celebrate with Ciny and Kelleigh ! We had some delicious breakfast casserole in front of the fire and were glued to the weather channel since we were supposed to go to Bishopville, SC within the hour. The storm was looking worse and worse. We were really nervous about the roads, but decided to turn the tv off for a little while, open our presents, and see the latest updates afterwards. The pictures from Cindy's are on my little camera that I haven't uploaded yet! I will be sure to get on that asap.

We gave: Pinot Noir, wine glasses, Coach wristlets, a stocking full of goodies for Cindy
We got: An a/v receiver and blu ray player for our living room, Perfume, a jcrew bracelet, Scrabble!, a cookbook, a sewing kit

After going back and forth back and forth back and forth about whether or not to go to Bishopville, we had to decide against it, since we ran the risk of getting snowed in and matt and kelleigh having to be back on Sunday and since we thought the roads may be really bad. We were really sad to not get to go see everyone !! :( By the time we left Cindy's around 3, the snow was falling, and I was crying. I have been dreaming of a White Christmas since I can remember being alive. I LOVE snow and i LOVE christmas, and what better than to have them together?! It was truly magical... MAGICAL! I loved it!! Matt and I got home, and while he worked on setting up the a/v receiver for THREE HOURS in the living room, I sat on the couch and stared out the window at the snow. It was very relaxing. (minus the occasional cuss words flying out of my husbands mouth as he tried to wire everything up) :) He took a quick snooze and I went outside and snapped some "after" pics of the snow ...

THEN .. as if we hadn't traveled ENOUGH already. we decided to go over to mom's to hang out with the family and watch a movie. We ate leftovers from their big lunch earlier. and watched Transformers, which neither of us had ever seen. I actually liked it. After the movie, we went outside to admire the STILL FALLING snow and took a few pictures. I think Mom or Lindsey have those on their cameras so I'll have to post those later.

I can't tell you what happened on Sunday yet.. but it is exciting news for SURE and I'll be posting about it tomorrow night :) Needless to say, it was a very very busy, very very exhausting, very very AMAZING Christmas weekend.

John 1: 16 says this, "From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another." Is this the truth or WHAT?! Whether you did or didn't have the perfect Christmas this year, remember that no matter what the hardships, we have ALL received endless blessings from the Lord, and that is a gift that we can surely be thankful for!

I hope you all had a VERY MERRY Christmas and a safe and happy new year!!!

Love and Peace

B

tidings of comfort and joy

2010-12-20T23:51:00.002-05:00

giving.

it's what i love most about Christmas. although i love getting lovely gifts, i honestly would be happy to get none, as long as i was still allowed to give. i love thinking of people, what they may want..or need. what would make them happy. and most importantly, to see how well i know them. it's my favorite thing to give someone something THEY DIDNT ASK ME FOR ... you know.. for example..just guess that Cooper (my dog) would really love a new bed that has a leather cover...because he usually opts to sleep on the cold hardwood floor NEXT to the cozy fleece bed, because he gets too hot. he didnt ASK me for the leather bed..but i knew he would love it. get my drift?

anyway.. one of my favorite quotes on giving..

"you can give without loving, but you can't love without giving."

no matter how much i enjoy playing my little game.. of finding my friends and family something i know they would enjoy without them having to ask for it... that's not what it's really about. it's really about the love that giving brings to you. it feels SO good to give. whether it's giving: presents at christmas, a day of walking and petting and loving on homeless animals at the shelter, a "keep the change" to the sonic car hop, or even something as small as holding the door for someone or giving a compliment to my favorite grocery store worker, Jeffrey, who usually bags my groceries.

it's not necessarily about making me feel good about myself for doing a nice thing... it's knowing that someone else's day/month/year/life is going to be better. regardless of whether you are to blame.

i just was listening to "god, rest ye merry gentlemen" and i wish EVERYONE ... everyone.. tidings of comfort and joy. dont those two things just sound like the most lovely things you can have? comfort and joy. then i started thinking, the things that give me the most comfort and joy are my family (physically) and giving (mentally and emotionally) ... so i just wanted to share that. and if our bank account is drained at the end, i dont care. i just want everyone to be happy.

i just reread this and realize how random and sloppy and not very well spoken it is. haha. ohwell. just remember, Jesus is the reason for the season. he gave the ultimate gift.

merry christmas.

b

recipes

2010-12-17T11:48:00.002-05:00

just going through my "saved recipes" on my computer today and realized there are a few worth sharing. in keeping with the holiday theme... here are some that i think you MUST try as soon as possible:

Going to a party and need to take an appetizer?? Take these meatballs. They FLY out of the dish in about 10 minutes. Everyone LOVES them and since making them at my Halloween party, ive had about 7 people ask me if I'll be bringing them to my mom's christmas party this year. The answer is, "yes. and im making a double batch."

CROCK POT MERRY MEATBALLS

Ingredients

2 pounds fully cooked frozen meatballs (recommended: Armanino)
1 bottle (16-ounce) catalina salad dressing
1 cup orange marmalade
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Place frozen meatballs in the insert of a slow cooker. In a bowl, stir to combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over meatballs and stir to coat. Cook on high setting for 2 to 3 hours.

**I was VERY wary of the orange marmalade. esp while i was mixing it together, it looked like mush, but I promise promise promise it is worth it!!!!

Another good one for a Host or Hostess to put out as an hor'dourve before serving dinner:

Fried Ravioli

* Olive oil, for frying
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
* 1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan

Marinara Cream Sauce:

1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a large saucepan, combine sauce and cream. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Simply amazing.

Time for the main course... I have a bunch of entree dishes I'd love to share with you, but I am choosing the one my sister and I made for the family last Sunday night. It was sooo yummy and filling!!!!

Cheesy Shell Stuffed Shells (courtesy of noblepig.com)

24 dried jumbo shell macaroni
8 oz. dried tiny shell macaroni (2 cups)
2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded (8 oz.)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or pepper
1 24 oz. jar vodka sauce (Emeril is my favorite brand)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 350^o F. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer shells to a colander. Rinse with cold water; drain well and set aside. In same pan cook tiny shells according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, half-and-half and pepper. Heat over medium-low heat until cheese is melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Stir in tiny shells.

Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon cheese-shell mixture into drained jumbo shells; place stuffed shells in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh basil and serve.

**VARIATION** in order to satisfy the meat lovers of the family, I got a block of Neese's Sausage, browned it, drained it, and added it to the cheese shell stuffing mixture. It was delicious!!!

lastly, for all of your dessert needs...

Paula Deen's Monogrammed Christmas Cookies with Royal Icing

* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
* Granulated sugar
* Royal Icing, recipe follows

Directions

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tarter; mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide the chilled dough in half and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to a 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly grease some baking sheets. Cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter; sprinkle with sugar. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets and bake for 9 minutes.

Royal Icing:

* *3 egg whites
* 1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
* Food coloring, optional

In a medium bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tarter. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat 8 to 10 minutes, or until mixture holds a peak. Cover with a damp cloth when not in use. Separate into bowls and add food coloring, if desired.

annnnnnd

Pioneer Woman's Pie That'll Make You Cry (Pecan Pie)

Ingredients

1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust (I Use "sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust" Recipe
1 cup White Sugar
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Corn Syrup
¾ teaspoons Vanilla
⅓ cups Melted Butter (salted)
3 whole Eggs Beaten
1 cup (heaping) Chopped Pecans

Preparation Instructions

First, whip up your pie crust using “Sylvia’s Perfect Pie Crust” found on tastykitchen.com. OR use a store-bought shell.

Next, mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl.

Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.

Pour syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake pie at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.

NOTE: PIE SHOULD NOT BE OVERLY JIGGLY WHEN YOU REMOVE IT FROM THE OVEN. If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minute or until set. Required baking time seems to vary widely with this recipe.

Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I will be sure to take some as I make these more often. I posted these for a reason, they are all SO GOOD, and I want you to try them, immediately. Happy Cooking/Baking/Holidays!!!

bloggers block

2010-12-16T00:14:00.002-05:00

i cant think of anything to blog about. so i will share the eventfulness of my day ...

i did laundry.

i went to taco casa with jordy.

i went to the cardiologist and he gave me the go ahead to start weening off of my medicine!!! i am so ready to be free of pills!!! everyone say a quick prayer that i do alright without them and the process goes smoothly. maybe i'll have one good ambien story before im rid of it for good!! :)

i came home and did p90x. yikes! but with the good news of no meds, i decided, "hey, why not get healthy all around?" i did chest and back.. and ab ripper x. and i seriously am having a hard time sitting up in bed, typing this, right now. owww!! it hurts so good :)

then i made the mexican chicken casserole recipe... located on the right side of my blog under "from this kitchen." its so good! sarah and jordy came over and joined us for dinner. then we watched the sing off. i LOVE "committed" they are awesome!!! and then they left and matt and i watched survivor. we haven't missed a week! but my favorite, jane, went home tonight.

then i put all the laundry away. lit a candle. got ready for bed. perused facebook, and am now blogging before i pop my pill and go to sleep. waiting on matt to come to bed.. he is in his office playing halo online against my brother. ha.

tomorrow, friday, and saturday i have to work. and then im off for 2 WEEKS!!!! (besides the 3 hrs i have to work on christmas eve and 3 hrs on new years eve) i am sooooo excited!!!!

ok. i seriously..SERIOUSLY feel like this is a diary entry from 7th grade, so im going to quit while im ahead. happy 9 days til christmas!!!

b

lauren miller photography

2010-12-14T12:05:00.003-05:00

remember the other day when i was telling you about my friend lauren taking those pictures of us? well now, ill tell you a little bit more. she has successfully started her own photography business now and is looking for new clients!!! she is new to business, so she will give you really reasonable prices for a great shoot! she is specializing in family and children. she's done a lot of shoots with babies and little kids and they are so good!!! check her out at:

http://laurenmillerphotography.blogspot.com/

she's now added to my blog roll, so keep up with her and check for seasonal specials and discounts!

whether it's your child's birthday, a friend's engagement, or a new baby is born, Lauren would be there to capture a few memories!!

ps- did i mention she was my college roommate for 3 years and one of my best friends? :) so proud of you lm!

merry merry

2010-12-11T01:22:00.007-05:00

sorry ive been MIA!!! it's been a crazy week. i just got home from helping mom decorate all day and prepare for my brother and sister to get home from college. we made a "kids" tree up in our bonus room with bright colors and all the sentimental ornaments from when we were little. my personal fave is a reindeer "thumbprint" ornament i made in the 2nd grade. ill have to take a pic of it next time im over there. linds too this from her phone so its kind of dark but we had the room dimly lit for ambiance :)

now for a quick recap of this week ...

Sunday... lauren and tree came over and she took pictures of matt and i for our christmas cards this year. they turned out so cute!!! and then we went to fuddrucker's and then we went to Hollywild to see the lights and the animals. We had a lot of fun!! here are a few pics from the "shoot:"

Thanks Lauren!!

Monday: worked. went to Costco and got some essentials. Then to monday night dinner with the besties.

Tuesday: went to the mall with Lauren to finish up some christmas shopping. spent more money than i should have.

Wednesday: what did i do wednesday?? oh yeah! i went to Clemson and helped mimi wrap an ungodly amount of presents!!! we were literally sweating. it was so fun though, listening to frank sinatra christmas cd and drinking a big huge sprite. good times! then i stopped by dad's in easley and we decided to go meet Susie for dinner at Soby's in greenville. So yummy! I brought my poor, sweet, dedicated, hard working husband some shrimp and grits. He has been working SO HARD and so much this month to get this game finished. and he deserved a good meal :) thanks dad!! i really enjoyed that.

Thursday: I worked. went to cvs. came home and put on a bigger coat.. it was freeezing outside. then went to meet jordan, cindy, and sarah at tsunami for some girls night sushi. we had great food and great conversation. stayed for like, 3 hours. and then headed over to the new sports bar across from corner pocket, hoops and hops. it was fun! i love hanging out with jordy and sarah. and jordy bought my a hot dog from the stand outside and it made my night!

Today... i slept late... got up and dressed. headed over to Charlie's BBQ to meet mom for a quick lunch and then we went back to her house to finish decorating and get it all ready for her party next weekend...and for tyler and lindsey to get home from college. they both got home and we played wii for a little bit then made some christmas cookies :) then i got home just about an hour ago (its 1:40 am now)

i have missed matt these past few days!!! but when he has this much work to do, it almost makes it easier on him if im not at home. bc otherwise i beg and beg him to come hang out with me and then he feels sad that he can't. thanks goodness he loves his job and he is SO great at what he does or the long hours would be horrendous for him. right now, they have a huge project they are nearly finished with and if all goes as planned, the game will launch at the beginning of january and he'll get to cut out this "working til 2 am" nonsense. really though,i am so so proud of him!! i love you, lamb! :)

tomorrow we are going to my aunt and uncle's christmas party!! im excited about it!! we will get to spend some good time together and there's nothing i love more than being with family!!!

have a great weekend everyone!!

-B

ps- everyone wish Whitney Meade some baby dust... or should i say.. labor dust!! we are all ready to see/meet baby Livingston!! :) her due date is monday but i think she should come tomorrow and have a really cool birthday..12.11.10

SHUTTERFLY

2010-12-04T23:35:00.007-05:00

Hooooooray for Christmas Cards!!! I look forward to Christmas cards every year. I absolutely love them! And for the past two years, I've had my eye on the ones from shutterfly, they were just a little too expensive when compared to the cheapo walgreens ones. However... THIS YEAR, Shutterfly is giving you 50 free christmas cards when you advertise for them on your blog!!!

All you have to do is fill out this form! I am so thankful for shutterfly. they always have amazing deals and this is one of their best yet! these are a few i have my eye on..

Maybe you'll be seeing one of these very, very soon!!! :)

I also have my eye on these guys.. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars . What a great gift idea!!

If you haven't used shutterfly before.. here are some of my favorite things about:

1. They do not shrink your original high-resolution images—giving you the best professional-quality prints and products in the industry.

2. Turn your pictures into personalized gifts—we’re #1 in quality, having won awards for our photo books, cards, and editing tools.

3. They’ve got articles, videos and plenty of “How To” tips to support and inspire you.

They also keep all my pictures together in one place instead of having to dig through a million different facebook albums to find what im looking for.

thanks shutterfly! merry christmas to me! :)

phew!!!

2010-12-04T00:01:00.005-05:00

well, i finished most of my christmas shopping the week before thanksgiving. which is CRAZY! because i think the past ten years, i've finished my christmas shopping at like, midnight, on christmas eve. it feels so good to have it all (but like two things) bought... and wrapped!!!

every year (until this one) all the girls in my family head out shopping on black friday in highlands, nc. this year, i had to work. so i drove to Clemson and picked up my favorite person on earth (my mimi) this afternoon. and we shopped til we dropped!!! we hit up..

Also M.H. Frank in Clemson. it was a long day!!! but it's going to be a great christmas. and most importantly, i just love getting to spend that time with my grandmother. we have so much fun together! can't wait to share with you all the fun things we got for the family ... after Christmas, of course :)

I have to work tomorrow.. and then Sunday, Lauren and Tree are going to come over and lauren's going to take pictures of matt and i for our christmas cards this year! she is so good at photography, so i can't wait to show them to you!! Then we are going to go to Hollywild and see the lights and feed the animals. It should be a good weekend!! update you sunday night!

be of good cheer,
B

i forgot..

2010-12-02T01:21:00.006-05:00

remember a few weeks ago when we went to patrick and hayley's wedding?

well, even if you don't... i forgot... this picture got posted on facebook, and i thought it was hilarious and meant to blog about it.

its kind of small in the blog frame so click on it to make it bigger so you can see all the faces.

haha. i wasn't even BUZZED. prob only had one beer at this point. but there was a "dance circle" i got pushed in .. and this picture totally captures the moment. haha even the people in the background are looking at me like im crazy.

this is a shot in the dark .. but mark wells. this is all because of you. when i was in the 7th grade, you cracked us up showing us "the gay boy dance" where you start in the squatting position and bounce and swirl your arms over your head like a crazy person and cyclone your way up to the top.. you know what im talkng about. anyway... in college, that song "she moves her body like a cyclooooone" started playing one time, on a night where i WAS overserved... and everyone laughed hysterically at that dance i did, and started calling it "the brittney cyclone" .... well all of those same people were at this wedding and when the dance circle started they were chanting "brittney cyclone! brittney cyclone!" so .... although at this point im not doing that dance... i had done it right before... and i owe it all to you, mark wells. and the gay boy dance. :)

we gobbled til we wobbled

2010-11-28T22:04:00.010-05:00

phew! we had a very fun, very busy thanksgiving weekend!!! i had to work on Wednesday ... sold a debutant gown. went home to pack, waited on matt to finish working, and finally left for Highlands around 8:00 pm. After taking the dogs to Cindy's for the night, stopping at chicfila, and weaving up the mtn in the dark fog, we arrived to the mtn house around 10 and had a few beers with the family. It was a crazy dog party this year. Dad and Susie have two, Mimi and Grandy have one, Tyler has one, Aunt Twila and Uncle Sammy have one ... so that was 5 dogs .. if we'd have brought Cooper and Annie we'd have had SEVEN. It was really entertaining though.

Thursday: Matt and I slept until 11:15. missed the parade, but oh well. Had an amazing breakfast with everyone. Cleaned up, watched some home videos with the whole family, played cards, then went back to sleep (only because Mimi wouldn't let me touch anything in the kitchen) so we slept again from about 3 to 5 and then woke up to have a big ol dinner about 5:45. I had to work Friday, so after some long conversation and predictions on the upcoming Carolina vs. Clemson football game, Matt and I got back on the road and headed down the mountain. We made it to Greenville around 9:30 and went over to Cindy's to have a few drinks with her, Kelleigh, and Don. Took the dogs back home around 11:30. saw an INSANE line outside of toys-r-us. decided at this point we were starving again, so we made a new tradition and went to Waffle House. It was so fun. We've been with everyone, tons of people, every holiday since we've been married, and this December we'll go to six christmases in 7 days. So having a holiday night alone, with my sweet husband, at the dirty ol Waffle House, was SO goooooood! :)

Friday: Got up and went to work. Sold this pretty Debutant dress.

then rushed out of there around 5. Went to Bilo to pick up ping pong balls and solo cups for the Aurea Aquila Keg Party 2010. (for those of you who don't know, Aurea Aquila was Eastside High School's yearbook name, and thanksgiving is always a reunion so we decided to have it at my house this year). We had SO much fun catching up with everyone ! playing beer pong, gathering around the fire pit, watching football. I even got to see Emily... my long lost best friend from high school/college. she moved to seattle and i havent seen her since thanksgiving three years ago!!!!

matt and i did a little of this ..

it was too much of a good time for me and i ended up like this ...

Which brings us to Saturday: I woke up feeling awwwwwwwwwfulllllllllll! We had originally planned on going to Clemson as soon as Matt finished getting his haircut at 12. Screw that plan, I was in bed, still spinning. Took a shower... and laid back in bed again. Luckily, Matt brought me some Zaxby's on his way home and that was the next best thing to a cure that there was. I popped a few advil and we headed the the homeland. Tailgaited with some fun people. Got to sit in the warm trustee box with mimi and grandy, had some good food, and lost the game. it was all good though, we had a great weekend! how cute is my husband and his new haircut?

So TODAY we slept in. ate some thanksgiving leftovers. and i ventured out to target and got some fun new christmas decorations then went on my weekly trip to bilo. came and picked matt up and we went and picked out our christmas tree. done with the tree!! still have some more decorating outside to do, we had a great time tonight! i have the best life. i am so happy!! hopefully my doctor's appointment next week with the cardiologist will go as planned and i can get off all my meds for good and then everything will seriously be perfect! happy holidays everyone!! i love you all :) :)

-B

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

2010-11-23T11:31:00.002-05:00

Congratulations are in order to Megan and Scott!!! You may have been keeping up with them on by blog roll ... "Paging Dr. Witt." Anyway, they had the baby this morning and the gender has been a surprise this whole time. IT'S A BOY!! Waker Hebreth Witt was born this morning at 6:45am, 6lbs 4oz! Hooooray! Welcome to the world, baby Waker, future karate star!

Top 5 Perfumes on my 2010 Christmas List .. :)

2010-11-22T00:10:00.008-05:00

You know I collect them. You know I love them. Whether it's for their scent, their bottle/packaging, or their uniqueness (is that a word?), perfumes are always at the top of my wish lists. Here are the front runners this year in no particular order:

Coach "Poppy"

Coach Poppy opens with bright cucumber, juicy mandarin and freesia buds notes. Heart is filled with aroma of jasmine, pink water lily, Southern gardenia, red candied rose petals and crème brûlée accord. Base note is a mixture of cedar wood, sandalwood, vanilla and marshmallow.

Why I love it: scent!! This one smells so good. I kept walking past it at belk last week and smelling it every time. Finally, I had to spray it all over me, and was sad when I had to take a shower that night. Love it!

Guerlain Elixir Charne

In addition to stunning nuances provided by rose, this edition is rich with aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa and spices, such as hot pepper, and alcohol drops of rum and soft vanilla. This fragrant story is tinted with warm colors and spices that keep you warm, rejoiced, melting on the skin. The fragrance may be the perfect choice for lovers of gourmands that are not sticky sweet or aggressive, unpretentious but luxurious and erotic.

Why I love it: it's unique!!! Haven't smelled it, but it's not in every department store... and who doesn't love roses and chocolate?? Think I'd wear this one on Valentine's Day :)

Kate Spade "Twirl"

Twirl notes include pink watermelon, blackberry and red currant. A heart includes orange blossom, star jasmine, tiare flower and magnolia, resting on a base created of glittering musk and French cookies (Macaroon).

Why I love it: bottle!! I would love this sitting with the others in my collection. And it smells pretty good too! A little sweet for my style, but Matt like's the sweet ones (like "Viva La Juicy" by Juice Couture and Benefit's "So Hooked on Carmella") they're both a little too gourmand for me, but Matt likes them best!

"Flowerbomb Christmas 2010 Edition" by Viktor & Rolf

An ode to sensuality and dreams, Flowerbomb opens with notes of bergamot and tea before the explosion of glittering heart takes its place, composed of Sambac jasmine, orchid, freesia and Centifolia rose. Final notes of patchouli delicately highlight the nobility of this intoxicating bouquet.

Why I love it: OMG! This is the most adorable bottle I've ever seen. I MUST have it!! annnnd florals are my fave!! Haven't smelled this one, but ...i die.

Kenzo "Once Upon A Time"

Kenzo Pour Femme Once Upon A Time is an explosion of floral notes of magnolia, rose, peony and freesia, laid on the earthy base of amber, sandalwood and musk. The fragrance is packed in a colorful printed bottle of bright pink and light blue.

Why I love it: I have Flower by Kenzo and I LOVEEEE it!!! A lot of people think it smells like play dough. But I don't care. I love it :) And this is the newest Kenzo that came out. I think it'll smell amazing and I love the bottle. I'll go to ulta this week and confirm my suspicions.

fun night

2010-11-20T01:05:00.002-05:00

we had a great time at kelsey's wedding tonight! and it was also a major bonus that tsunami catered the hor'dourve & cocktail hour :) yumm. more pics on facebook, just wanted to write a quick something. have a good weekend everybody!!

a trip in the making...

2010-11-15T21:59:00.003-05:00

If all things go as planned this Christmas, i will be ON MY WAY down under to visit my best friend ever, in her new home country. cross your fingers!!!!! April 16-30, 2011. i can't wait!! Here I come Lou!

just whip it..

2010-11-14T23:42:00.003-05:00

is anyone kidding me?! i discovered Willow Smith a few weeks ago, but since then, my affection for her has grown ten fold. i mean, the first time i saw her "Whip My Hair" video i was just ..BEYOND myself. She is freakin 9 YEARS OLD (well, 10 now, but 9 when the video was shot). The talent she posesses is out of this freakin' world...granted, her parents are Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and brother Jayden is a movie star now. She is like, better than Rhianna. yes, i went there. Her video is beautiful with all the paint colors and amazing styling, but what sent me over the edge was her performance on ellen last week. her first time, ever performing in front of a live audience, she sang the whole thing (which not even top artist do nowadays) and she was brilliant. i love her i love her i love her. i cant express it enough.... so im leaving you with her video annnnnnd her ellen performance!!! happy monday :)

dang it... i cant get the video to upload to my blog.. here are the links:

"Whip My Hair" video

Performance on Ellen

Happy Veterans Day!!!!!

2010-11-11T23:45:00.002-05:00

Can never find the right words to say how much I appreciate our veterans and active duty citizens! Thank you for giving us peace of mind and a safe place to call home!!

...did i mention how much i love fireworks?

hey santa (clothing addition...scent addition coming soon)

2010-11-10T13:58:00.011-05:00

here are some bright and beautiful things i wouldn't mind having this year :)

this bebe dress..

this DVF purse... Wells arent you proud?? :)

these way too expensive boots... i would settle for something similar :)

this free people dress.

and i must have THESE bcbg pumps. are you kidding me?!

LOVE this marc by marc jacobs sweater..

speaking of sweaters....

i probably couldn't pull this off, but i like to dream.. bcbg..

love these marc jacobs studs

and this bcbg gem

almost all of the items can be found on shopbop.com. and i could go on all day. but i am already working on my next "dear santa" post, containing all the new perfumes on my wish list this season :) *you know i collect them* happy wednesday!!

-B

im working on my christmas list...

2010-11-09T18:09:00.001-05:00

hopefully tomorrow i will have a post with some bright and beautiful things i want from santa :)

until then.. here is something to make your eyes twinkle ..

new title, new direction

2010-11-08T15:03:00.004-05:00

ok so i didn't get any responses yet from you guys on what my blog should be titled, but i thought of this on my own, and decided it is perfect for me.

"All Things Bright & Beautiful"

It's not just the name of my favorite hymn, it's also everything that i love. anything that sparkles, glitters, enchants. anything full of wonderment. anything seen and admired as beautiful with a child-like spirit. i love.

i have a quote on my facebook, and now under the title of my blog, that i like for people (including myself) to keep in mind...

"Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."

it reminds me to not take life super seriously and remember to see the beauty in everything. i think that's why i like Christmas so much. Everything is so magical. and sparkly :)

Beyond this, the words to "All Things Bright & Beautiful" are words to remember..

1. All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

2. Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

All things bright ...

3. The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them high and lowly,

And ordered their estate.

All things bright ...

4. The purple headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;−

All things bright ...

5. The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,−

He made them every one:

All things bright ...

6. The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

We gather every day;−

All things bright ...

7. He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

All things bright ...

(Amen)

I'm going to make a conscious effort to post "bright & beautful" things more often. and i hope you all enjoy it :)

-B

title

2010-11-07T23:37:00.001-05:00

i dont want to be "The Bolt's" anymore. that's boring. someone help me think of a clever blog title!!! you know like ... holly jones' "keeping up with the joneses" BRILLIANT :) and everyone else has really cute ones!!! i dont really care whether it incorporates "bolt" or not. but i just want it to be "me" ..... any ideas, all you creative minds out there?? helppp

-B

achoo

2010-11-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

dont you hate it when you just KNOW you're about to get sick. i started sneezing earlier and thought "ehh, no biggie. dust." then i was snuggled up on the couch and all i could think about was wanting to just so sit in a hot shower and let the water hit my head. NOW i just got in bed and it hurts pretty bad on the right side of my throat when i swallow and i am coughing and it sounds like a rattle. booooooooo!!!!!!! i always forget how bad it sucks to have a cold, until i have one. theraflu tonight and hoping that "falling back" with the extra hour of sleep tonight will help. i LOVE this cold weather, but it's no good for someone who's sweating their butt off putting wedding dresses on people all day then go immediately out into the cold.

ps- im not AS sleepy as i was. i had a good morning today, woke right up then didn't get tired at work. maybe bc i knew i was taking my left over Corona's with me for lunch *for those of you who dont know, Corona's is a local mexican restaurant, not beer*

i didn't get to watch or listen to one second of the Clemson game today which is SO unusual for my life. i got the update from some bridesmaids keeping track on their phones. didn't sell a dress today but had fun meeting the girls that i helped. thats one of my favorite things about my job. meeting the brides, hearing about their engagement stories, their fiances, their jobs, their lives :) it's so fun! and so me, i think, anyway.

alright. down the hatch we go....

sooooo sleepy

2010-11-05T16:21:00.000-04:00

i think i have narcolepsy. not as severe as when people just fall asleep standing up, but i mean, i am sleepy, ALL THE TIME. maybe it's just the rainy, cold weather this week. but literally. two nights ago, i slept until 1 pm .... did things like errands, then took a 3 hour nap... then went to bed like 2 hours later. that is just strange. i get home from work and come straight to bed. at work, i cant stop yawning and feel like i cant hold my eyes open! it's not like im tired, like physically, i am just sleeeepy! phew. anyway.

i am SO excited for the holidays coming up!! yesterday i switched out my "autumn leaves" plug-in to "cracking fire & winter spice," put the candy corn in a bag, and put Christmas M&M's in their place, and took down all the pumpkins off the front porch. I know i'm basically skipping thanksgiving, but no one comes to our house for thanksgiving, so I am going to enjoy Christmas for the next two months here at home :) i was really tempted to start stringing up some lights today but i decided, let's not go overboard..until next week anyway. :) i will post some pictures soon. this weekend ... im babysitting for sweetest little Brayden tonight and then tomorrow I have to work instead of going to the Clemson vs. NC State game. but THEN i have the FUN part of the weekend... attending Megan Ewolden's baby shower for little Adelyn. I am so excited to see her and to spend time with my best pal Wells :) happy weekend!

-B

BOO!

2010-10-31T22:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween from The Bolt's

As you can probably see, we had a great time at the party we hosted on Friday night. And we were pretty unrecognizable :) My mom took about a million pictures of the decorations and set up so as soon as she sends them to me, I'll post some more. It was a really good time!

Saturday night we went to Patrick and Hayley's wedding. It was so much fun! I love seeing all my best college friends and having us all be in the same place at the same time, and dancing to an awesome band was a bonus! Here are a few fun pictures from the wedding:

speak now

2010-10-27T23:12:00.001-04:00

So, i really didn't like Taylor Swift when she first came along. Over the years, she's grown on me. And now, I love her. I was counting down the days for her new album, "Speak Now" to come out, and it got here on Monday. You can bet that Sunday night at the stroke of midnight, I was on iTunes cursing them for not having it up IMMEDIATELY. I kept checking til about 1 and with still no luck I had to wait until Monday. Now, it's only Wednesday night and I'm pretty sure I know almost every word to every song on the CD. It is SO GOOD! She writes all of her own songs. Every word she sings, she was thinking or feeling at some point and I love that. Some of her lyrics are just brilliant. I know I sound like a proud parent or something, but if you haven't listened to Taylor, or you have but didn't care for her much in the past, give "Speak Now" a chance. It's magical brilliance! My fave songs: "Dear John" written about her brief love affair with John Mayer. "Enchanted," it's just magical. "Speak Now" its really catchy. and last but not least "Better Than Revenge" written about actress, Camilla Belle, who Taylor's ex, Joe Jonas, cheated on Taylor with. She holds nothing back. I also like "Back to December" about Taylor Lautner and "The Story of Us' about Joe Jonas. I think i just listed pretty much the whole CD. haha. anyway. just wanted to document this, and how awesome I think she is! ohhh oohhh I almost forgot... "Innocent" written about Kanye West and the MTV VMA incident. It's so pretty!!!

tick tock tick tock

2010-10-25T15:11:00.000-04:00

so. matt left for Los Angeles yesterday. I CLEANED like you've never seen me clean before yesterday. Stirring up dust, dirt, and dog hair. burying my face in places i shouldn't (ex: behind the washing machine and dryer..) i think i inhaled an entire dust bunny. anyway, i woke up with a fever, sore throat, itchy ears, and sneezing this morning. i hate allergies!!!! so i'm home from work. and finishing up the laundry i started yesterday. we're having a halloween party this weekend and im trying to get the house in order before matt gets back Wednesday night. Just so he doesnt have to help, haha he's not a big cleaning fan, and I figure it'll be a good surprise for him to come home to an immaculate house.

Anyway, that was just an update. now for the good stuff. if you read my blog, there's a pretty good chance you read "Peek Through Our Window" which is my bestest pal, Megan Wells Ayers. And a few weeks ago she posted a link for "GROUPON." ever since she did, i am loving life!!!! first thing i do when I wake up is check to see what the "deal of the day" is. i will most definitely be purchasing some gift certificates on there. What happens is, each day there will be a 24 hr "deal" like ... the other day it was get a $50 gift certificate to Chicora Alley for $25! Which is awesome! There will also be coupons for massages, tours, concerts, etc etc. I love it!!!

Sign up HERE for Groupon!!

Also another site, just like it, that I signed up for just yesterday is livingsocial.com . it's the same concept!!!! Happy Deal Hunting!!!

anniversary... and matt

2010-10-16T23:56:00.000-04:00

ok. we had a GREAT anniversary weekend. full of relaxing, shopping, football, beer, fires, and foot massages. UNTIL sunday night, when i got the worst stomach bug ive ever had and spent the night sleeping on the stone cold floor in the bathroom. it was AWFUL!!! i cant even post pictures right now bc i took pictures of what I cooked for dinner that night. which i never want to THINK ABOUT again, much less see, right now. I will post pictures a little later.

in better news... sort of related to anniversaries. my HUSBAND is amazing and got a promotion and raise. after just two and a half years at his company, this is his second promotion/raise and I am SO proud of him. in addition, the project he's been working on for the past year has been nominated for an Adobe Award (out of hundreds of thousands of other flash games) and he's being flown out to Los Angeles next Sunday to attend the Awards Conference!! yayy!! Neither of us have ever been to california. he is so excited!! and i am so excited for him! :) and proud.

with that being said.. i will now fill you in with a little "get to know my husband" questionnaire that was on Whitney's blog :)

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
The Amazing Race, Glee, or Survivor. That's about the only shows he watches with me and actually enjoys these days :)

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Tomatoes

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Water or Sweet tea. ON RARE OCCASION a Budweiser (this use to be an everytime thing, now that he's mr. workout man he doesnt drink)

5. Where did he go to high school?
JL Mann High School

6. What size shoe does he wear?
12

7. What is something he likes to do but never gets to do?
hmm. this took me a while to think of one. but im going to go with work on creating his own iPhone app or flash games. He's always doing things for work when he's on the computer. complains about not having time to "play" :)

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
well, he does eat waffles every day. and if he COULD he would want me to make buffalo chicken stromboli or order general tso's chicken

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch

11. What would he never wear?
he wears anything that i lay out for him. as long as he knows i approve of it, he doesn't care. at all. haha.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
The Clemson Tigers

13. Who did he vote for?
He didn't. Doesn't like politics.

14. Who is his best friend?
ME :) orrrr Tree ... or Clint . haha

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
He says I leave my "cords" everywhere, in his way. Meaning my hair dryer and straightener. and that he cant open "his" drawers. I am also infamous for giving him "looks" that i am unaware of. "Squirming" too much when he's trying to go to sleep. that was more than one thing, oops.

16. What is his heritage?
He will tell you "IM IRISH! I HAVE A RED BEARD!" ....its not even that red.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind?
German Chocolate.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
What didn't he play?? He .... ran track, swam, played football, basketball, tennis, and threw DISCUS. haaaaaa haha thats my fave.

19. What could he spend hours doing?
PLAYING GAMES ON HIS iPHONE> thats not a "could" thats a "DOES" :) :)

20. What is one unique talent/gift he has?
matt has six toes on his left foot. i think thats a GIFT! also. he is VERY VERY smart and driven.

love you, matt!! happy 2 year anniversary! :)

cant believe it

2010-10-06T12:54:00.000-04:00

so. we're leaving friday to head up to the mountains for our 2 annual "Anniversary Weekend!" I CANNOT believe we will have been married for 2 years on October 11th. Here are some things I cant wait for this weekend!!
my favorite place on earth... the mountain house :)

the AMAZING fall foilage! (this was taken during our golf cart ride)

RELAXING on the big comfy couch and watching some football :)

no cake to eat this year ... but plenty of kisses and QT with my hubby :)

annnnnnnnd our stop of the day... on monday... the farmers market in cashiers!

to pick out one of these..

hooray!!! can't wait to cuddle up by the fire and watch some football. do a little shopping. get some ice cream at sweetreats and pick out our PUMPKINS and a few apples and squash :) and matt and i took the day off on monday so we wont be back until monday night! ill post pictures when i get back. as for the rest of this week... i only have to work thursday and im just going to enjoy this fall weather!! happy october!!!!

B

shakeology update

2010-09-27T23:08:00.000-04:00

oh. em. gee. the chocolate shake this morning was AHMAZING!!!!! It didnt even taste like a health drink and I had a good day at work! Today I made this recipe:

Carl Daikeler Special

1-1/2 scoops Chocolate Shakeology
1 Tbsp. almond or peanut butter (or to taste)
1/2 banana
1 cup ice
8 oz. water

I placed my order 10 minutes ago. For a month supply. After a month we'll see how I feel about it. I think I'm in love. Here are a few recipes I cant WAIT to try!

Frappucino

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1 cup cold coffee (cool the brewed coffee over ice first) *ill use decaf
1/2 cup water; or nonfat milk; soy, rice, or almond milk
Ice to taste
Tip: Add cinnamon and nutmeg for a cappuccino-flavored shake!

Strawberry Peach Surprise

1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1 scoop Greenberry Shakeology
3/4 cup water
Ice to taste

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nonfat milk; or soy, rice, or almond milk
Ice to taste

Orange Julius
1 scoop GreenBerry
1 cup of water
1/2 cup almond milk
1 packet Crystal light Sugar free “Classic Orange” or “Sunrise”
Ice (I put in like 2 cups of ice)

yummy!

"insanity" insanity

2010-09-27T00:07:00.000-04:00

so. last monday, i had a major heart freak out at work. went to an emergency visit to the cardio. couldnt really find a sturdy explanation for what was going on, until matt mentioned that we'd been doing the work-out "insanity" the previous week. turns out when you have my condition and a doctor tells you to "exercise" they mean a brisk walk not a get-your-heartrate-up-to-200bpm-and-stay-there-for-crazy-amounts-of-time. SO i will not be doing insanity again.

needless to say. i do need some better nutrition in my life. and i am always low on energy due to low blood flow. ive been doing a lot of research on a program called "shakeology" which is advertised on the end of the insanity dvds. i got in contact with a guy who sent me some samples recently and i cant tell you how much it did for me at work the next day!!! it was AMAZING the difference in energy level i had. and not bad energy... for example... i cant drink caffeine, so if i had a coffee or something, i get that jittery, my hearts going to explode, nervous energy. but this was just as natural as can be, didnt feel anything except not tired like i usually am.

i had the "greenberry" shake before work that day. mixing it with blueberries, blackberries, strawberry yogurt, orange juice, and ice. it wasn't DELICIOUS but it wasnt enough to make me stop drinking it. (and im a gagger...that protein crap matt drinks makes me want to vomit). anyway, tomorrow morning i am trying to "chocolate" shake which i will mix with milk, banana, peanut butter, and ice. sounds good! i encourage you to read about it!!!! and i'll let you know if i end up ordering the whole system. if i can tell a noticeable different tomorrow morning, too, i will most definitely be doing just that.

here is what all you would have to eat to get the equivalent nutrition contained in ONE SHAKE with shakeology:

a bowl of exotic fruit
4 cups raw broccoli
7 carrots
10 cups raw cauliflower
3 cups romaine lettuce
4 cups uncooked mushrooms
3 raw onions
A cup of peas
4 cups radishes
4 cups nonfat yogurt
and 1 shot of wheatgrass

it's SO good for you and makes you feel great! check it out here: shakeology

happy monday! -b

go away!

2010-09-22T23:51:00.000-04:00

30 day blog journal is making me mad. i find myself avoiding blogging on purpose nowadays bc 30 day blog journal is ANNOYING ME!!!!!! so here's my last day of 30 day blog journal, even though its really only like, post 2o or something?

day "who cares" - what's in your purse?

literally.. i am sitting here with my purse, pulling stuff out to tell you..

- wallet
- iPhone
- keys
- lifesavers wintergreens
- Big Red gum
- random receipts (taco casa, petsmart, and homegoods to be exact)
- a bottled water
- MAC lipgloss
- black eyeliner
- one angel wing earring that i lost the other
- a coupon i got in the mail for a free pair of PINK panties from Victoria's Secret, wohoo!
- some bobbie pins
- parking passes to the garage i park in for work
- a greek "evil eye" and cross charm that is on a safety pin, pinned to the lining of my purse by my boss to keep bad spirits away from me :) (my bosses are greek)
- a tiny johnson and johnson's lotion
- a roll-on perfume called "CLEAN" love it.
- a milkbone. ????? hahaha how did that get in there?? i bet that pretty did it.
- a swatch from a bridesmaids dress that i meant to leave at work..its pretty.. "peacock"
- a used tiger paw sticker that was on my face at the last Clemson game
- a pack of sweetarts

haha. i think my purse describes me pretty well. happy thursday!

B

whoops

2010-09-19T23:09:00.000-04:00

sorry! i skipped a LOT of days! we had a busy (but fun) week. now i am exhausted and about to go to bed but wanted to catch up on my 30 day blog journal that i've been neglecting... I'll pick up with today ... day 25. dont worry.. the one's i skipped were pretty boring anyway :)

Day 25 - My Day (in great detail)

8:15 - my alarm goes off and i hit snooze about a zillion times. that's how long i need to REALLY wake up

9:15 - get out of bed. put on my clothes for work. brush my teeth. go over my hair with the straightener a little and put on some make-up.

9:40 - stop by matt's office and give him a kiss (he works in the bedroom next to ours, haha) run downstairs. feed the dogs. give them a kiss. grab my sandwich that i made the night before. run out the door. eat my sandwich on the way to work.

10 - get to work. clean up the store (ex.: put dresses up from the day before, wipe mirrors, straighten the wedding room, etc.)

somewhere between 10 and 1 - chat with Anna (the italian seamstress at work who is basically like my 2nd mother) answer phones, file invoices, wait for the UPS man, when he gets there, open boxes, see the pretty dresses people ordered, call and tell people their dress is here, put them in dress bags, write an info card, and put their dress in the back. place orders, ship out of town bridesmaids dresses, cut lace, fax orders, answer not-so-smart questions on the phone (ex.: "hey, do you guys rent out wedding dresses?" or "hi, just wondering if you buy used wedding dresses?") umm sort hangers? work with brides, mothers, bridesmaids, etc. go get people lunch. or go to the post office and get stamps. you name it, i do it. (IT SAID DETAILS PEOPLE!)

1 pm - eat lunch with Paula, Vu, and Anna. everyday. if it's 1 pm. we are heating up our lunches, and whatever piece of fruit Anna brought (yes, she brings one every day) she gives me half. I really like it when she brings pears :) yumm. Anyway, they make fun of me bc i eat a turkey sandwich like, every day. and i make fun of them bc they eat the same things too... Anna- chicken, green beans and peppers, a piece of fruit. Vu- RICE! everyday!!!! sometimes soup or vietnamese noodles. but ALWAYS rice. Paula - a chicken leg. or a hard boiled egg. seriously.

1:30-5:30 - do everything I mentioned before.

5:30 - drive home. usually stopping at either the tanning bed. the grocery store. or maybe taco casa if im lucky :)

6 pm - get home. say hey to matt. sit on the floor and talk to Cooper. he misses me a lot when im gone so i have to give him special attention when i get home. then do randomness like clean up kitchen, play angry birds on my phone, sweep the porch, cut the dogs nails, haha . whatev

6:45 - cook some dinner if matt's lucky :)

7- we eat. i watch wheel of fortune and jeopardy !

8-11 .. do whatever. includes ... facebooking, blogging, watching reality tv, playing matt on wii, watching football, doing some laundry, etc etc.

11- make matt's coffee and set the maker for 8:30. and everynight think "man i wish i could have caffeine." i'd love to actually DRINK a cup of what i make every. single. night. (sidenote: i cant have any caffeine due to my heart condition) make my turkey sandwiches (if i have to work the next day) give cooper his medicines. give annie a treat, too. tell matt to get off his computer game and come get in bed with me to watch HGTV. then lay on my computer for about an hour before he actually comes to bed.

12- take my ambien. say weird things to matt sometimes. watch house hunters. literally, i watch hgtv, everynight. unless that stupid holmes on homes is on. then i watch bravo or tlc. :) turn off the tv once the sound gets annoying. turn on our sleep machine (cannot sleep without it!) and then a lot of times, do weird things like go on Baby Name forums on my iPhone and write things like this ....

September 17th, 1:32 am

"We want/need to incorporate my grandmothers name into our daughter's. Our first choice is "Marion Lynn" and calling her "Mayer!" we love Mayer! Maybe even just Mayer Lynn Bolt.

Other option is "Victoria Morgan Bolt" and call her "Corrigan"

What do yall think? I know Mayer is unique but I don't feel like it's tacky and redneck."

Corrigan????? First off, HOW DID I MAKE THAT UP out of Victoria Morgan. Second off...Matt knows none of this and I keep saying "we love." third of all... i really do love Mayer, but I act as if im pregnant AND I have never thought about naming her Marion and calling her Mayer?? ANYWAYS

Oh, and one day last week I get an email that says "Thank you for registering your baby with Viacord." and im like "what? hold on? that sounds familiar.....Viacord??" I look it up ... and suddenly feel like I'm remembering a dream I had... "ohhhhhh yeah! The cord blood registry! .... wait... I'm not pregnant. I registered not an unborn child, but an UNCONCEIVED child."

This is my life on ambien. makes for good entertainment, but I gotta get off that stuff!!!! haha :)

Ok, it asked for detail. and 12am is slowly creeping up, so im gonna go play some farkle on facebook and head to bed. happy monday!!!

B

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2010-09-16T22:44:00.000-04:00

sorry blog readers. i am too tired to blog. EXHAUSTED. i purposefully skipped yesterdays 30 day blog journal bc it was "a hobby of yours." i hate when people ask me what my hobbies are, bc i dont have any . haha and today's is "a recipe" so .. just go to thepioneerwoman.com and pick one. goodnight :)

nineteen

2010-09-14T17:05:00.000-04:00

Day 19 - A Talent of Mine

I like to think that I have a bunch of little talents :) But one talent I have thats kinda funny is... i can remember songs and lyrics really well. Some of my highschool friends call me "lyrics.com." People I havent talked to in a long time will call me and leave me messages and be like "Britt! Who sings that song ... blah blah" I don't know why I can remember weird things like that. I can remember inside jokes and little things written in yearbooks that people are saying "what the HECK does that mean?"

Also. I am really good at directions. I only have to go somewhere once and I can go there any time without my GPS. and I have a pretty good sense of which way is which.

Hmm. I also can do a bunch of stupid human tricks like dislocate my shoulder. put my fist in my mouth. pull my eyelids out really far. you know. im just weird. :)

until tomorrow.

B

18

2010-09-13T23:42:00.000-04:00

Day 18 - My Wedding Day

October 11, 2008.

I could go on and on and on about how perfect my wedding day was, but I think pictures are worth a thousand words. happiest day of my life so far :) i love being married and more importantly, i love being married to matt!!!

day 17

2010-09-12T17:54:00.000-04:00

day seventeen - an art piece

i dont really have a favorite artist. but i love so many different kinds of art! i could sit online all day and look at art.com. here are a few i've been eyeing from painter, Leonid Afremov.

love this stuff!

16

2010-09-10T17:31:00.001-04:00

Day 16 - A Song That Makes You Cry

Of course, I looked it up, so I could share it with you, and I am listening as I type with tears streaming down my face. I cannot listen to this song without crying, even if I listen to it 10 times in a row, I cry ten times.

Why? for one .. because its such a beautiful version!! who doesnt like mariah?? The entire arrangement is just moving! But I think the main reason is because it is my dad's favorite Christmas song. and every year, they sing it at church, and he cries. My dad is pretty emotional, I think that's where I get it from, but just something about holding a candle, on christmas eve, with dad's arm around me, and us both crying so much we can't even sing. oh gah, im crying now again. It is such a special song too, singing about what a glorious and rejoiceful moment that Jesus was born, and everything that means. phew. ok.. just listen and get in your best holiday mood!!

Hark! The Herald Angles Sing by Mariah Carey

Day Fifteen

2010-09-10T00:17:00.000-04:00

Day 15 - Your Dream House

are you freakin' kidding me? i just looked up real estate in the place i thought my dream house would be. and i thought right. i FOUND it. i wouldnt change anything about this. i love it and i want to move there tomorrow. only 10.5 mil? yeah, i'll get right on that.

VAIL, CO
8 bedrooms. 8 baths. 13,000 sq ft. Mountain view. 6 car garage.
description: This home's dramatic setting offers a comfortable living environment to a couple, as well as to a large group of family and friends. The floorplan, including a gourmet kitchen and great room, private master suite with adjoining office, media room, exercise room and a spacious entertainment area with access to the heated outdoor patios with heated pool and hot tub make this the perfect home for both summer and winter.

ummmmmmmmmmmm. ps- i am drooling as i upload these pics.

matt's birthday

2010-09-09T16:35:00.000-04:00

short and sweet. day 14-- a nonfiction book ? The Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz.

Ok, so we just got back from ATLANTA!! where i surprised matt by taking him to a John Mayer concert! :) His birthday isn't until Saturday but every year, so far, I've gotten him something he'd asked for, so this year I wanted to do something fun.

Wednesday morning he got up...went downstairs to make his coffee and found a card in the sugar cabinet that said something along the lines of ... "you do so much for me..so much for us, that it's time for me to do something for you.. get done any important things at work because we're leaving at 2! " I had already told his boss I was kidnapping him so he didn't have to worry about work. We got in the car and he still didnt know where he was going. I said "we have to go get something from your mom's" and then when we pulled up she was standing in the driveway with all her bags. We were picking HER up! :) Matt was excited...then on the way there guessed correctly that we were going to a concert in Atlanta. He just didn't know who was going! :) So we got to Kelleigh's (his sister) new apartment in Buckhead and had some drinks and then we all ventured to the concert. It was SO MUCH FUN! John was amazing. We had a great time and then we went to a local bar til about 12:30. More fun than Matt and I have had in a while! And we were feeling the effects this morning too!!! woo!!! we cannot drink like we used to, that's for sure :)

So we're home. and having a relaxing night tonight. Tomorrow we're going to the JL Mann vs. Greenville high school football game. and then saturday, on matt's real birthday, we're going to watch all the good football games all day and have a little cookout that night. If you're in town, come over!! We're gonna have cookie cake :)

Ok, later tonight I'll post Day 15.

Love!!!
B

day 13

2010-09-07T21:08:00.001-04:00

day 13 - a fiction book

this is easy. i already told you. the best fiction book there IS is Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. it is amazing it is amazing it is amazing. I may read it again just because.

fall fashion

2010-09-07T14:47:00.000-04:00

these are just a few of the things im lusting after this season...

i cant get the text right ... but the little black sweater number at the bottom is alittle treat that my fabulous mother-in-law bought me while shopping in highlands this past weekend. A BCBG treasure that was already on my wish list!

catch-up

2010-09-06T18:29:00.000-04:00

We're back from the mountains and we had a fabulous weekend!! Cindy and I went shopping on Sunday and I want to tell yall about something called, The Good Earth Pottery. (special thanks to megan ayers, for making it known to me.) Ok, so we went to this store in Highlands called The Hen House/The Speckled Hen, and they have this handmade pottery that is SO BEAUTIFUL! The brand is called The Good Earth Pottery and he is based out of Starkville, MS. Anyway, when Matt and I got married, we didn't pick out a china pattern because my grandmother has tons of sets to pass down to me eventually and we could think of other gifts we'd rather get. Long story short.. Cindy let me pick out a set of "patterns" that I love! I "registered" my name and pattern picks with them, and now my grandmother, mom, step mom, etc can get me a piece for christmas, my bday, etc. The website does NOT do justice to how beautiful these pieces look in person, but take a look and see if there's a location in your area!

The Good Earth Pottery

The patterns I picked (you can mix and match to make it more awesome, picking different patterns in the same type of colors) GINGER, AVALON, BIRCH, and SPARROW.

OK..so now on to 30 day Blog Journal days that i missed.

Day 10 - a photo of you taken more than 10 years ago...

this was at our condo in Destin, FL when I was 4 years old. :)

Day 11 - A recent photo taken of you

So, this was at work last week. I have been working there since April and never put a wedding dress on. *not that i havent been dying to* haha. sometimes we just get such BEAUTIFUL things that i want to put them on and try them out. anyway, we were taking pictures of the store and needed a photo of paula "doing alterations" for the website... the ones we're going to use on the website are far away, you cant see my face, but Pam took one of me, just playing around. This is my FAVORITE dress in the store. It's a Rivini. and it's magical !

Day 12- Something I'm OCD About

I'm OCD about a lot of litle things, but the one thing Matt can't stand, and calls me OCD about all the time, is ... the bed sheets. They have to be perfect before I can sleep in them. If they are kinking up under me and not pulled really tight i make us both get up and fix them. I also pretty much make the bed before i get in it, because i want them to be perfect.

to name a few more ...

if im ever going to the bathroom in a bathroom with a shower next to the toilet, i have to open the shower curtain.

i can't sleep facing the inside of the bed. have to face outside.

i CANNOT sleep if any door is open (closet, bathroom, etc...) all the doors in the room have to be closed.

there are some more but im tired of thinking and i have to go make dinner now. until tomorrow... :)

B

what's going on and day 9

2010-09-03T13:05:00.001-04:00

hey peeps! (havent used that word in ages) i have just been doing blog journal stuff so i thought i'd put a few thoughts and happenings.

Tomorrow is going to be a GREAT DAY! Clemson football starts :) and even though we're only playing a dinky team (North Texas) I am so exited. We're supposed to have great weather and as soon as I shut this mac, im going downstairs to make my huge batch of pimento cheese for the tailgate tomorrow :) After the game, we're going up to the mtn house in Highlands for Labor Day weekend with Matt's Mom, Cindy and her man, Don. It's supposed to be in the 60's on Sunday (shopping day for Cindy and I) and I am STOKED!!! I already picked out my jeans and cute sweater outfit for shopping day! Wohoo!!! So this weekend is going to be really fun!

Also, next week is Matt's 27th birthday, and I have a big surprise for him! Keep on the lookout for pictures and post about it, I can't reveal yet because I'm not telling him what it is until that day. But I'm SO SO SO excited about it! :) (no, im not pregnant, megans..haha!)

Anyway, since im going to be gone til Monday, I can't do my blog journal everyday. So lookout for 3 days in a row on Monday night ! Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC first weekend in September!

-B

Day 9 - A Photo You Took

I love this picture of Annie and Matt (well, his legs). This was right when it was turning spring, in our lovely back yard :) and there's no doubt that I took this picture, bc you can see my shadow :)

eight.

2010-09-02T14:48:00.001-04:00

Day 8 - A Photo That Makes You Sad

Ok, so this photo doesn't bring me to tears. But it is really bittersweet. This was taken at the Clemson vs. GA Tech game in September 2006, in the student section at Death Valley. We were drinking cherry snow cones that we poured smirnoff minibottles in. and the tigers were winning. Every game I go to, I miss being a student!! Having that ENTIRE BLOCK of friends in the frat section.. knowing everyone... being able to drink vodka during the game (i said able, not allowed). now days, i can barely drink a few beers before the game.. it makes me so tired! i miss singing the alma mater, as a student, and going to band parties at the ski lodge when it was all said and done. i miss everyone coming to my tailgate at halftime to drink crown drinks and eat fatz chicken fingers. and i miss being able to slog back to the dorm and rehash the day with cathleen, my little cheerleader roommate. i miss going up to loose change after a game and matt being the bartender. and playing touch screen until i fell asleep back there. and i miss the smell of grease, beer, trash, and dank dogs, downtown clemson at 3am after a game. i miss it all.

not that my life bad now! I am in a whole new phase of life and i love it and i know that one day i will look back and miss all that is going on now, and wish i could re-live the days of no kids.. staying up til 2 everynight ... playing mario with matt for 3 hours on a week night ... hauling off and going up to the mtns at the last minute for a getaway weekend... cooking dinners for the two of us...buying our first car... working in the yard. etc etc etc.

i love everything about right now. but that doesnt mean i can't at least miss what was... college.

... here's a pic taken right after the one above :) love it. it makes me REALLY excited that football starts SATURDAY!

30 Day Blog Journal.. Day 7

2010-09-01T17:11:00.001-04:00

Day 7 - A Photo That Makes You Happy

One of the first pictures matt and i ever took. that summer, i would go to loose change (the bar...) underage..and watch matt play music. it was SUCH a carefree and fun time and i love thinking about how young and crazy we were :) This picture makes me really happy.

Day 6

2010-08-31T23:04:00.000-04:00

Day 6 - 20 of My Favorite Things

1. Snow
2. Sour Worms
3. Wedding Dresses
4. The Clemson Tigers
5. Fall and everything that comes with it (sweaters, leaves, pumpkins, etc)
6. Candles of all sorts
7. The Clemson Tigers
8. My new car
9. Nail Polish
10. Music of every kind
11. Reality television
12. my macbook
13. ANIMALS but especially my dogs :)
14. new clothes. esp new clothes from jcrew
15. Potatoes..in any variety
16. Lazy Sundays ... lazy anydays.
17. Hearts. that sounds weird. Like the shape.. but I don't like cheesy looking heart stuff
18. MEXICAN FOOD.. duh
19. Photography
20. Babies! I love babies :)

i have a lot of other favorite things. being married to matt is a given :) he's the best!

the nuts and BOLTS of it all

weirdness

stayin alive

new fans??

the longest hiatus ever is due to....

I AM blog series

wordless wednesday

the longest post ever... new york trip

NYC coming soon!

i still got it?

teaser

first week...over!

your daily cheer video

random and funny videos from my phone

coming along

marital exchange of the day

one of the best purchases ive ever made

sunday hymns

lose it

delicious turkey wraps

our weekend and yogurt mountain

indecisive because i can be

just where she wants to be

cheerleading and a very small amount of other things

no barking

a post a long time in the making!!!! (and it's actually long)

5 minutes inside my head

an adult decision

lady gaga

time flies.

ohhh no no

my apologies

cleaning.

Valentine's Weekend

the one product you must have

P90 What??

my favorite guy on american idol...

Polyvore Fun!

quoteworthy...

since i just learned how to put videos on my blog...

the night of the possum

a MUST read for all bloggers

things im obsessed with .. this week

some inspirational quotes for your weekend

Baked Spaghetti

SNOW

the gym..and the beach

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!

Happy 2011!!!

Looking for a New Years Resolution??

Big News! :)

Christmas Recap

tidings of comfort and joy

recipes

Ingredients

Preparation Instructions

bloggers block

lauren miller photography

merry merry

SHUTTERFLY

phew!!!

i forgot..

we gobbled til we wobbled

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Top 5 Perfumes on my 2010 Christmas List .. :)

fun night

a trip in the making...

just whip it..

Happy Veterans Day!!!!!

hey santa (clothing addition...scent addition coming soon)

im working on my christmas list...

new title, new direction

title

*achoo*

sooooo sleepy

BOO!

speak now

tick tock tick tock

anniversary... and matt

cant believe it

achoo