Happy Labor Day, everyone! The day we celebrate hard work by doing as little work as possible! I love it! Labor Day usually falls extremely close to my best friend’s birthday, so we have a standing excuse to visit the beach this time of year. Resting from our labors is always more satisfying when we have put in tons of effort. Do you ever go to bed at night after lazing around all day and feel like you do not even deserve rest? I certainly do, sometimes! But, after long days of toiling over a project or training for a physical contest, we fall into bed feeling satisfied and accomplished – … [Read more...]

Summer wedding season may be behind us, but the Autumn wedding season is just around the corner! Never underestimate the beauty of an autumn wedding with colorful leaves on the ground. Think of the gorgeous pictures! If you do not feel the need for a traditional June wedding, then do not have one! Pick a season you both love and have the wedding of your dreams. ~smile~ You and your special someone may attend several weddings before you have your own, so here are a few wedding gift ideas to get your mind thinking. If you are saving for your own wedding, going through college, or just … [Read more...]

What do you want others to say about you and your sweetheart as a couple? Do you want to be known as the fun couple? The exciting couple? The well-travelled couple? The hospitable couple? We all have an ideal picture of how we want our relationship to appear to others. When people look at Eric and me, I would love for them to see a couple who loves God and each other, who is committed to each other, who enjoys being together, and (perhaps most importantly) a couple who is... content. Contentment may not sound very exciting, but it is one of the greatest emotional places a couple can be. … [Read more...]

Yesterday, I celebrated my thirty-third birthday. There was a time I simply could not imagine being in my thirties, but they came – and the years keep zooming along... each one faster than the last. I Love My BEACH DAYS!!! Though I am not as excited about the number of trips around the sun as I used to be, I still look forward to birthdays. One reason being that birthdays usually mean BEACH DAYS! God gave me a good friend who shares the same birthday week and we share a deeply held love of the ocean. Personally, I see no better way to celebrate than by spending hours bobbing up and down with … [Read more...]

T-minus four days until I hit my thirty-third birthday! My party hat is practically on and I am ready for action. Action means a funnel cake cheeseburger from RA Bistro and some fancy dessert. Followed by a trip to North Carolina to see my parents and to enjoy a beach day with a few of my favorite ladies! I get a kick out of thinking of past birthdays. How I could not wait to be the next year older since all my friends had already made it. Then, I would finally make team seven-year-old, team eight-year old, and team nine-year-old just in time for my friends to jump a year higher. It was … [Read more...]