Friday Favs + Valentine's Goodies Swap!

Holla back if you're glad it's Friday! Woop woop!

Just picture me doing this dance and if you weren't smiling already, you will be.

OH! Before you do another thing, go wish Amanda a happy wedding day!!! Go on, I'll wait. 

...

I'm so excited for her and I know she will be the most gorgeous bride! Congrats and best wishes Amanda! 

This week was...long. Really really long. But here are the things that made me smile:

Favorite song: 

Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud

I've been jammin' to this Ed Sheeran song this week, I LOVE it! Such a sweet song, and I could listen to his voice all day, erry day. 

Favorite new food: 

OMG you guys. This new Ben and Jerry's flavor, dough (Get it?? Dough?? Hahaha, I slay me).

Shut. Up. 

Oh Ben and Jerry, how I love you. But why do you do this to me?? Do you want me to be fat?? Also, Jimmy Fallon you are killing it right now. Killing. it. I haven't tried this flavor yet but it is on the list! 

Favorite workout: 

I would follow that up with my favorite workout. But as I like to say, no pain, no cake (or other delicious dessert of any kind)! 

21 Day Fix Extreme: Plyo Fix, you guys. Straight up ridiculous, in a good way. But I may or may not feel like I'm going to die multiple times during this workout. The only thing that makes me feel better 'bout it is that the extremely ripped and fit people on the video are also sweating buckets and having to stop and breathe every now and then so they don't pass out. I thought the regular 21 Day Fix workouts were intense. HAHAHA, yeah no.

Favorite Posts: 

This post by Kristen of See You In A Porridge- Where I thought I'd be by now- I think this is something we can all identify with am I right? 

This one about Athleisure Wear by B Loved Boston inspired me to try those joggers again! Are they not so cute when they're styled right? And who would say no to looking super cute and stylish in what is basically sweatpants?? 

Emelia of Dream Big & Buy The Shoes- I LOVE what she says in this post called You Are Beautiful/Love More. Judge Less. Just read it. 

Favorite Mail: 

Ok, I actually got this last week but it totally counts- I participated in a Valentine's Goodies Swap hosted by Bella of Bella and the City and Carly of Musings of a Wanderer! 

I was matched up with Lauren of Genuinely Lauren and I was so happy to meet her and discover her blog! Getting a package in the mail is always fun and even more so when it's a package of surprises! I was SO excited when I opened the box to see this: 

Is this not the cutest mug ever?? I'm such a coffee mug addict, and this is a perfect addition to my collection! Plus the coffee she sent is SO good, no joke Hazelnut is my favorite flavored coffee. And I LOVE the washi tape, can you believe I have never had washi tape before?? Serious blogger fail right? But now I do have some and I can't wait to use it! 

Thank you so much Lauren, I love it all and I am so excited to continue to read your blog and get to know you better! 

Even though this post is already way too long, I gotta include some Favorite Funnies: 

Well that's all I've got today lovelies! Have a truly fabulous weekend, whether you're schedule is full or you're basically binge-watching TV and eating pizza all weekend, make it a great one! 

Weekend Recap: Valentine's Edition

Happy Monday lovelies!

It was a wonderful weekend! I got to spend lots of quality time with my sweetie, including all day Saturday for Valentine's!

On Friday I brought these Red Velvet Oreo Truffles from Eat, Drink, and Be Mary to work. They were a HUGE hit! Of course I had to sample some myself, and I concur with my coworkers, OM NOM NOM.

Friday night we spent at home, eating yummy steak for dinner and binge-watching our latest show, Eureka. It's extremely campy Sci-Fi, and we love it! We're on the last season though so we're going to have to find a new show to watch soon.

Saturday morning we slept in and then headed out to brunch at Cracker Barrel because we're apparently 80 years old. 

I was loving my new boyfriend jeans from Target with my nude flats (also from Target!)

After stuffing our faces with all kinds of yumminess we went over to the Riverside area of town to look in the antique shops. We stopped for a cup of coffee at a place called Cool Moose Café. 

Yes, that is a gator head and feet in a turtle shell. The things you find in antique shops...

I was looking for an antique wire basket to put cookbooks in, like this one: 

Source

But I couldn't find one this time. I'm still on the lookout, I really want it as decor for our coffee bar/hutch in the dining room. 

On the way home we stopped by Sonic for Happy Hour drinks! The Vanilla Dr. Pepper was calling my name. 

When we got home these were waiting for me: 

Aren't they beautiful?? White daisies and red alstroemeria, some of my favorite flowers! He did good. 

Sunday was a lazy day as usual, we chilled at home most of the day. I did get to make the blueberry muffins for Adam as his Valentine's treat: 

So I was going to do this ON Valentine's but I wasn't able to figure out how to make the muffins without Adam knowing (plus we had decided to go out for brunch anyway), so I settled for getting him a card and candy and gave that to him on Saturday. Then Sunday morning I was like well I might as well still make him muffins and then just put them in a box with the cute tag. Then I couldn't get to the boxes we had (they were stored) and he came up behind me while I was cutting out the tag, so it was kind of a fail. The struggle is real, y'all. 

But he still enjoyed the muffins! So that's something! Right??

We went to dinner with friends and then I ended the evening eating chocolate chip cookies and watching Downton and Grantchester.  

Link up with us and tell us all about your weekend! 

My Favorite Valentine's Memory

*This is sort of a continuation of our story, but more of just a little aside within the story, if you will. I will continue the main story next Thursday as promised*

As I have mentioned, Adam was my first and only boyfriend/dating relationship, so I spent A LOT of Valentine's Days as a single lady (all the single ladies), but it never really bothered me that much. Of course there were Valentine's Days I wished I had a boyfriend to send me flowers or bring me candy, but I never really just hated the day or anything.

It's kind of funny because my favorite Valentine's memory is actually of the Valentine's Day immediately before Adam and I were "official", when we were in the "we're just hanging out as friends" phase (like February 13th was literally our second time hanging out just the two of us). At this point we knew there was interest, but we were just getting to know each other. We planned to meet at Starbucks that afternoon to have coffee and chat. 

So I felt kind of awkward going on a "date" (we didn't call it a date at the time, but let's face it, that's what it was) with this guy I didn't know very well right before Valentine's Day. Isn't that like, a cardinal rule of dating or something? Don't plan a date with a guy you're not in an official relationship with on or right around Valentine's? Obviously I was clueless. I didn't know if he would feel like he should bring me some kind of gift and I didn't want him to feel like he had to. But what if he did?? And what if it was weird?? And what should I doooo and saaaaay??

Clearly I was overthinking things, as usual. Since it was all so new to me I was super afraid of doing something wrong or awkward or weird. 

When I arrived I noticed he didn't have candy or a card or anything so I was like "Ok, cool. Now I know" and we sat and talked for awhile. Then as we were getting ready to leave he goes "I have something in the car for you" and I was like "Oh snap."

So I walk to the car with him and he pulls out a card and a Guitar how-to book. We both played guitar and had talked about it and he knew I was just learning chords and stuff, so he thought I might like to read up on it. I was thinking "Well gosh darn it that's just the most adorable and thoughtful thing ever!" and I was impressed that he managed to come up with something thoughtful and sweet but not the kind of gift that says "Happy Valentine's Day, we are just getting to know each other but let's define the relationship right here and right now!"

Then I opened the card and it was a Valentine's greeting card with Barbie on it and said "For a Special Granddaughter" but "Granddaughter" was crossed out and he had written "Julie" in it's place (Julie is what my friends have always called me even though my real name is Julia). I cracked up and all of the nervousness left.

You would have to know Adam to know this perfectly embodies his quirky sense of humor and I absolutely loved it. Again I was impressed that he struck the perfect balance between sweet and funny and a little bit of sentimental as we were discovering how we felt about each other. I left that day thinking "This guy is something pretty special."

Of course we've had many wonderful Valentine's as a couple since then, but this one is my favorite because it was my first real glimpse into what a sweet, thoughtful, funny, and considerate guy Adam is, and though I didn't know it at the time, it was the start of something wonderful. 

What's your favorite Valentine's Day memory?

DANG I am wordy! And I tried to be more succinct with this one, really I did!

Valentine's Day Favorites

So we've got about a week until Valentine's Day! The day people either love, or love to hate. Even before I had a significant other (which was most of my life, Adam and I started dating when I was 22, and he was my first and only boyfriend. But that's a story for another day), I always just thought Valentine's Day was a lot of fun! All of the pink and red and candy and cute little cards passed out to classmates back in the day! Here are some of my favorite Valentine's themed goodies this year:

1. Starbucks Love Coffee Tumbler

I saw this in Starbucks the other day and I thought it was just so cute! It would be a perfect gift for a coffee lover! I couldn't find it to order on their website, but I know they have it in stores! Just, you know, if anyone wants to get it for me I wouldn't be sad about it...

2. Red Velvet Oreo Brownies

Sally's Baking Addiction

I made these for work on Valentine's Day last year and they were a huge hit! Layers of red velvet brownie, cookies and cream buttercream, and chocolate ganache topped with oreo pieces....ummm, what was I saying again??

3. Red Rose Dress

Ok, so I wouldn't like wearing it this short, I would prefer if it would come to my knees, but wouldn't this be SO cute for Valentine's Day?? Either for a date or a lunch with the girls! The red heels and cardigan just complete the look so perfectly, don't you think? 

4. Stud Muffin 

Is this not the cutest?? This would be a perfect, easy but thoughtful gift for the hubs! Bake up his favorite muffins, print out the tag, and voila! Grab the free printable for the tag here! She has some other really cute tags and gift ideas that any guy would love! 

5. Coffee Filter Heart Wreath

Tutorial here!

This is just SO pretty and fairly easy from the looks of the tutorial! (no I did not actually make this wreath, but I just like the idea of this wreath. That's pretty much how most of my Pinterest craft finds go) 

So there you have it! Some fun Valentine's goodies to get you in a Valentine's mood! Or not. Your call. 

What are your favorite Valentiney (totally just made that word up) finds? How do you feel about Valentine's Day? 

(I just realized I used the word "cute" or some variation thereof approximately eleventy times in this post. Oh well, not going back and changing it now) 

Linking up with Meet at the Barre, Momfessionals, The Grits Blog, The Farmer's Wife, and September Farm!