Sleepover Blate

So that first blate...was amaaaaazing. 

Y'all know how people say "when you know, you know" about finding your true love? Well, at the risk of sounding nuts, that's totally how I felt about my blog friend-turned real life friend. 

I was fortunate to be able to meet Julie from The Smitten Mintons as her and her husband were driving through town. Julie and I clicked as soon as we started following each other's blog and have been dying to meet each other. We actually had a sleepover first blate and after calling our husbands to assure them that "she's not an 80 year old man, she really is who she says she is," we were off to dinner and nonstop chatter. 

I really don't have any words to describe it other than perfection. We literally never ran out of things to say and it was a feeling of instant comfort and friendship. It was definitely that cliche "I feel like I've known you for years." There's something about bloggers that we just "get" about each other. 

Julie brought her dog, Maisy. After a little bit of nerves on both sides, we finally allowed Maisy and my THREE dogs to play. And play they did. They definitely slept like babies after that. 

Cashmere and Maisy checking each other out. 

Finally REAL LIFE friends!

I kinda wanted to cry when we were saying goodbye...totally not fair that we live so far apart. We definitely made a promise to meet up again at some point in our lives. It's a must. Especially when we have babies. 

Can y'all believe that is all the pictures that I took? #horribleblogger Julie got some really great ones of the pups, so definitely head to her blog and check them out.

Kudos to our husbands for trusting our decision to meet! 

Love, love!

PS: I'm guest posting over at Liv's blog for her Girlfriend Guide series, talking about what I look for in a bestie!

Saying Goodbye with Food

This past Friday, one of my best friends in the whole world, Shannon, moved away to start grad school. 

While I am obviously SUPER thrilled for her and proud of her, I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty sad. 

Instead of only being 1.5 hours away, she is now 3.5 hours away.

We had a last little get together Thursday night with some absolutely delicious food!

Chicken to make chicken tacos. Divine. 

Oreo cheesecake bites. Recipe here. These were the most amazing things ever.

Little brother. 

Husband making my baby fever worse. 

Somehow I didn't get any pictures of us girls, just the food. #fatty

It was such a great night...and we all gained 5 pounds. That's how I know it was a success. 

Love, love!!

PS: You can find me over at Becky's blog today, talking about ways to keep a marriage happy!

That Beautiful Day Has Come

So one time, at school, I peed my pants. 

Like, completely peed them, full bladder and all. 

Then I tried (and failed) to cover it up. 

But that's a story for another day. 

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What's going on today is that I am having my FIRST ever blate! (Blate = blogger date) I have whined politely incessantly about never being able to meet another blogger...and today is the day that finally changes! 

Hip hip hooray!!

I am meeting Julie from The Smitten Mintons. I'm a little bit nervous about the blate in general, but not nervous at all about whether we will click. I absolutely know that we will have tons to talk about!

Have y'all had a blate yet? How did it go?

Wish me luck! 

Love, love!!

These Three Things - The Whim Wham Life

Ahhhhh, I have the cutest little pregnant doll-face here today to guest post for my "These Three Things" series! It's Bonnie from The Whim Wham Life! This girl is one of my blogging soulmates...we just clicked right from the start and we haven't looked back since! : ) Not only is Bon Bon super gorgeous (she used to model) and amazingly hilarious, she is also a world traveler, a super precious wifey, and she frequently draws cartoons for her blog posts. And the cartoons are the most hilarious things y'all will ever see. Promise. I'm totally gaga girl crush over her and I guess I'll just have to keep stalking her online until we can meet in person. Cool. 

Oh, and she had the most amazing wedding ever. The pictures make me swoon. K, I'm done.

Here she is, sharing three things that define her. : )  

So, I'm kind of excited to be guest postin' it up on Megan's blog today. 

Like, really excited. 

Almost pee-my-pants excited.

Which happens a little too often these days when I laugh. or sneeze.

Thank you pregnancy. No, really. Thank you.

Oh, and hello. I'm Bon Bon, from The Whim Wham Life. 

Am I usually this sporadic? Yes. 

Am I totally in love with my Southern-belle bestie, Megan? Yes. 

Am I getting awkward yet? Probably. 

But I don't care! The sun is shining and today I get to share with *you all Three Things that make me, "me." 

*or should I say, "y'all"-in honor of a certain someone 

1. Laughter

One morning, many years ago, I woke up and realized that God had given me an interesting life. Or, maybe it was that I had been gifted the "interesting" gene, to live out in said life. 

Meaning, I am weird, so, naturally, weird things happen to me. 

Then I laugh about it. 

If it's really funny, I will laugh and snort. and pee.

My poor poor husband. 

2. Adventure

I was born in Colorado, grew up in Oregon, lived in Hawaii and Rwanda, and have made memories in Canada, Mexico, England, the Dominican Republic, and almost all 50 states. 

Planes, trains, and automobiles, my friends. 

My adventurous goal in life: 

Visit every continent in the world

OR

Tie a bunch of balloons on my house and float away to the top of Paradise Falls when I'm 83. 

I'm fine with either one, really. 

3. Love

It's the central theme of everything. Read a book. Listen to a song. Watch a movie. Love is constantly being celebrated or yearned for. 

My own love story has been 23 years in the making, and full of hope and grace. 

Because I am able to be loved, I am able to love. 

I love love. 

I'm a big fan of love. 

and kissing. as portrayed by the pictures above. 

hubba hubba. 

Well, there you go. That's me in a nutshell! 

Megan, thanks again for letting me invade your space. I heart you!

Wishing you all plenty of laughter, adventure, and love today and every day! 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

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Oh, my little Bon Bon, my little sweet candy covered in chocolate (that's the definition of a bon bon), you always know the way straight to my heart: beautiful pictures, love, and absolute hilarity. I personally think that you seem born to say "y'all," so pack up that baby bump and move on down here to the dirty south. Change your pee pants first, please. 

Thanks for posting for me today, Bon! 

Head over to The Whim Wham Life and leave my girl some love!

Love, love!!

A Fave

Can someone please tell me why I stay up until 1 am, knowing that I have to get up at 5:30 am? Three nights in a row!

I'm crazy I tell y'all, crazy. 

Since I'm super exhausted and extremely delirious, an organized and coherent blog post was just not gonna happen for me today. Instead, I decided I'd share one of my new favorite blogs:

Courtney from Women Living Well. 

She is a Christian woman who shares ways for women to abide and live in the Bible, to develop and grow their marriages, and to create the happiest of homes. I leave her blog feeling convicted, strengthened, encouraged, and determined. She makes me realize how much more I could live my life and exemplify Christ every single day. Y'all know those people who just seem to have the perfect words to describe/explain everything? That's her...I truly believe that the Lord is speaking through her! Check her blog out...y'all will NOT be disappointed. 

Any other amazing blogs out there?

I'm at work today...then definitely hopefully going to bed early tonight!!

Love, love!!

PS: No picture today. It takes too much effort. : )

Rehearsal Dinner

So it's been awhile (like 2 months) since I blogged about our wedding. Our anniversary is coming up and my goal is to have it finished by then...so let's get started!

Our rehearsal dinner was held at a place that is part farm/part venue and full on country adorableness. It's on the outskirts of town, surrounded by farms, old houses, and green grass. It's literally such a beautiful place that we honestly didn't do any decorations for the rehearsal dinner...at all. Is that weird? It was just perfect as is. 

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We chose to have a really laid back dinner, complete with fried catfish, french fries, hush puppies, chicken tenders, jambalaya, spinach and artichoke dip, cookies, and cheesecake bites...just to name a few things. The food was literally THE most delicious morsels that I have ever eaten. I'm not sure if it was the excitement I was feeling, the love, or just plain old good food, but we all ate until we couldn't breathe anymore. #thebestwaytodoit

We did the traditional task of giving our wedding party their gifts. The husband's dad also made the most beautiful speech that I've ever heard...leaving us all with tears in our eyes. It was so nice to have such a casual atmosphere to spend time with our family and celebrate our last few moments of being single. 

Walking in. 

My baby sister and my mom...both so stunning. 

Flower girl. 

Bridesmaids acting silly. 

After dinner, husband and I both went our separate ways. His friends headed out to do some glow in the dark bowling...and we headed home to veg out and act silly. Call us dorks, but it was SO much fun. 

Bathing precious baby the night before my wedding = priceless!

We have almost made it to the actual wedding day!! WOOHOO!! Thanks for reading along!

Love, love!

First Time for Everything

Well, ladies and that one gentleman (my husband), it has been done. 

I have officially worn my first maxi dress. And I'm in love. : )

I'll be the first to admit that I am not super stylish and I rarely love a "new" trend. I have looked at maxi dresses with the evil eye for awhile now, but I finally caved in and got my first one from Old Navy. 

I felt fully covered, but also still super girly. 

Maxi dresses are definitely winners in my book...and I'm ready to hunt for more. 

Got any good ones to show me?

Love, love!

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PS: I guest posted for Zara recently about living the American dream. I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts!

Happy and I Know It

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This is how I'm feeling lately...happy. 

Not looking at the negatives, not worrying about the future. Just happy. 

Life was made to be lived and enjoyed. 

Happy weekend!

These Three Things - fitness, food & faith

So today we basically have my total opposite blog bff guest posting today for "These Three Things." What do I mean by that? Well, she is a stunning brunette, loves to workout, and actually enjoys cooking up fabulous meals. Total opposites, right?! ; ) We are both Southern girls though, so we still manage to make this friendship work. : ) Sam is here today from fitness, food & faith and I am honored to have her here sharing three things that define her. She has this beautiful positive energy that I simply adore and her spirit is a shining light in this world. I just really can't say enough good things about her!  

Hi!! I’m Sam from fitness, food and faith.  Megan is such a doll, and I think we can all agree that she is the number one sweetheart in blogland.  I’m super pumped to be a part of her adorable series today.  I’ve loved reading the funny and meaningful “three things” from other bloggers over the last few weeks.  It’s been hard for me to narrow down what my three things could be, and after much thought, I think my blog title says it all!  After all, I wouldn’t be able to keep up the posts if I wasn’t writing about my passions!

 

Fitness

I feel most alive when I’m moving.  I love to run, cycle, lift weights, do yoga, etc.  Right now I teach 2-3 spin classes a week and love being surrounded by motivated people who are pumped up about healthy living.  I go a little crazy when I haven’t exercised, so you better believe fitness is something that keeps me happy, optimistic, and full of life!

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Food

A relaxed meal with delicious food shared with great friends is one of my favorite things in the world.  I love to cook and try to find ways to make meals healthy but still full of flavor.  I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t say that I have a monster sweet tooth and have to have a bite of chocolate every night!  My husband is constantly ravenous and is so grateful when I cook for him, so it makes it really fun (yes, we’re still newlyweds!!).  I truly believe food brings people together and allows for deeper community and intimacy. 

1, 2, 3, 4

Faith

Last of all, the most important thing in my life, my faith.  I’m constantly inspired by Megan’s humble and honest faith, and I love that we share a love for Jesus.  The way that I view my job and purpose in life, my relationships with family and friends, and how I spend my time and money are all greatly influenced by my belief in God’s redeeming work in the world.  Jesus’ love and grace has shaped my heart more than anything else.

faith = praying + dancing

I’d love to “meet” all of you fabulous Mackey fans, so swing by fitness, food and faith when you get the chance!  Thanks so much, Megan, for having me!

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So y'all know what's so cool to me? 

I wrote my introduction about Sam BEFORE I read her guest post. Then I read her words...and I felt like I really did know her and described her perfectly. I got this big giddy smile and I thought "see, blog friendships ARE real and genuine." Haha, I'm a total dork, I know. 

Sam, you are such an inspiration to me and I truly love how you openly share your heart and your love for the Lord with everyone. But enough is enough...we only live 6(ish) hours apart...it's time to blate. I won't take no for an answer. Bring that awesome dancing face. ; )

Love, love!!

Gator Chomp

I live about two hours away from where I went to college and where my best friends still live. 

The worst part about that is the distance. 

The best part about that is the town in between. It's small, quaint, and utterly adorable. 

This past weekend, my hubby and I drove and met my best friends in that little town...and went to the alligator farm! It sounds totally weird, I know, but it was SO much fun. I'm gonna have to recommend that everyone come and visit it. : )

The farm has alligators by the hundreds, along with a restaurant, a gift shop, and a petting zoo. 

And they recycle obviously. Another plus. : )

Watching the gators. 

#heiswatchingyou

Time for a feeding.

The petting zoo area...so cute!

He had a ball. Duh. 

Hubby was thrilled about this part. Thrilled. 

Cutest thing everrrrrrrr. 

My favorite picture. I wonder why. 

So the major attraction of the farm is the alligator feeding shows. They do it every few hours and it's amazing. We stayed for two. They start playing this creepy music and the alligators KNOW that it's dinner time and start swimming towards the boat. It's totally unreal. And a little bit scary. 

Here they come. 

Are y'all creeped out yet??

These men are taken. Be jealous. : )

All in all, it was SUCH an amazing time and a learning experience. We learned a lot of random facts about alligators, saw some crazy huge gators, and ate some gator bites. Yuuuummmyyy.

That's how we do it in Louisiana. Who wants to come and visit? 

Love, love!