In the spirit of St.Valentine....

is all you need...

Although Valentine's day is a "holiday"

now celebrated solely for

for greeting card companies, flower shops, and chocolates, 

it is still nice to have a day dedicated to love...

and who doesn't love all of those things???

Whether you spent this holiday with 

family, friends, or your significant other....

 I hope you loved it!

(please excuse the cheesy-ness of this post)

xoxo, 

        Katie

Is it Spring yet???

While it is rare for us to have a snow/ice day...

2 days is 2 too many for me! 

I know I shouldn't be complaining...

and I am by no means acting like we have it bad. 

 However, that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Because I am inside blogging and 

wish I were laying a beach somewhere

I decided to virtually "escape"... 

Wanting to be here...

With all my beach gear in this Tory Burch bag...

Wearing this DVF cover up....

And these on my feet...

(Which are btw a Rachel Zoe pick on Piperlime)

Drinking this....

Yeah..that would be nice.

Hope this helps you to "escape" this icy/snowy weather! 

Ready for spring yet??

Stay warm!

xoxo,

      Katie

Birthday Bride

I apologize for the delay in this post...new job and the flu have made it tough to blog! I will try to be better in the future. 

December 31 is a celebratory day...

and it just happens to be this great girl's birthday... 

which makes it even more festive! 

Because I didn't celebrate with her this year...I wanted to share some pictures

of past birthday celebrations! We have had some great ones! 

Jamie is one of my best friends and 

I love that she loves her birthday.

I have a feeling we will be rocking the stage 

of the Flora-bama long after 

we should for her birthday celebrations and 

that is just fine by me! 

Not to place too much spotlight on you J...

we all know how much you hate it...(totally kidding.)

We also recently celebrated the engagement of J & Neal

(boyfriend of going on 7 years!) 

bride & her bridesmaids

Their adorable new niece, Catherine! 

I feel like Neal deserves more of a title than "J's boyfriend"

He is my hubby's bf and this couple is the reason Jeff & I are together. 

We are so blessed to have them as friends

and I absolutely 

Cannot wait for the big day!!! 

Here's to a great year, J! 

Happy Birthday 

& 

Happy Wedding Year!

Love you!

xoxo,

       Katie

Guilty Pleasures

For those of you who do not know....

Monday night TV is fabulous! 

Bachelor Brad returns after years of soul searching and intense therapy. And although he left Deanna standing alone with a broken heart not so long ago, he is a changed man and this time.....

He is ready for love (Imagine this in a reallllly dramatic voice)

Yes...I am well aware of the "junk" I am filling my mind with by watching Chris Harrison drag 30 minutes worth of "necessary" information into a 2 hour long saga week after week. Watching grown women throw themselves at a man they have "fallen in love" with in days...
 and even though he is making out  with 10+ women a week, every one of them believes he is their "soulmate".

What is not to love about that??? 

Its way dramatic, completely unrealistic, super scandalous and oh soo wonderful!

(One of my many guilty pleasures)

And with the return of Gossip Girl in just 3 short weeks, you will know where to find me on Monday evenings...glued to the television. 

. 

Will Brad find love this time around??? 

Can Blair & Chuck find a way to make it work? 

How can Serena ever really choose between Dan & Nate?? 

All that stands between me and the answers to these life altering questions

 are a few hours on Mondays nights.

I didn't forget that the National Championship game is tonight, why it has to be on Monday is beyond me? But...just because we have one of our own playing tonight I will DVR the Bachelor in order to make my husband happy...and possibly silently cheer on Auburn as much as in pains me to even type. 

Happy Monday! 

xoxo,

   Katie girl 

(Already gearing up for gossip girl)

Realistic Resolutions

Every year I struggle with the

pressure of New Year's Resolutions...

For this reason, my #1 resolution this year is to set realistic resolutions. 

So although this group may not be as ambitious as they have been in the past, they are somewhat attainable and this will make me feel much better about myself. 
Also, because you all know about them, it will hold me accountable. 
Please go easy on me! 

Here they are:

1. Set realistic resolutions

2. Do a Daily Devotional (hope to share some with you) 

3. Be all around healthier (vitamins, exercise, veggies..etc.)

4. Try new things (this includes foods & experiences)

5. GET ORGANIZED! 

6. More water....less Diet Coke 

Okay, so I know most of these are super cliche but I really think I can do these! 

I may need a bit of encouragement along the way! 

I promise to be honest when I report back on my progress.

My inspiration for resolution # 4:

Already I can predict my most difficult resolution to uphold will involve Diet coke vs. Water

Stay strong Katie, Stay strong. 

P.S. To be clear: I am by no means saying I want to cut out Diet Coke..just cut back

Would love to hear some of your resolutions if you are brave enough to share! 

xoxo,

    Katie

New Year's Eve

This NYE was quite uneventful...

 Jeff was of course perfectly content with the calm of the night 

while I was dramatically disappointed to not be in a fancy dress at some fancy party. 

I remember sitting at home on New Year’s Eve as a young girl and promising that when I was a “big girl” I would never stay at home on the most glamorous night of the year  
(as my parents often did...)
So how do we bring in our first New Year as a married couple?  

No fancy dress…no fancy party… 
Just my hubby and I sharing a bottle of champagne in our pj's. 

While the evening lacked the glamour I imagined...

it was pretty great!

Maybe Mom & Dad had it right all along. 

(Don't get too excited Dad, I said maybe)

Along with this relaxing evening came a weekend at home which we rarely are able to enjoy. We got a lot of things done around the house that I have been dying to do including...the office!! Since we moved in, this room has housed all of our unpacked boxes, wedding presents, hunting gear, and everything else that didn't have a place. After one late night of work, the office can begin to function as its intended purpose. I am so excited to share it with you soon! 

Hope all of you are busy making new resolutions!

I will be sharing mine later this week...

*Happy 2011!*

xoxo,

    Katie

"I'll be Home for Christmas..."

I know.....It has been way too long! 
I attribute this to the fact that I have been:
a) Overwhelmed with Christmas 

b) Fighting a yuck cold with absolutely no energy despite my long, ever-growing,  to-do list

c) Figuring out how to be in 2 places at once....found to be impossible
d) All of the above plus WAY more! 

This is the first Christmas Jeff and I will be able to spend together which I am SO SO SO excited about. However, this is the first Christmas that we will have to split family time and with that comes a little sadness. 
Although I feel like we have come up with the best possible solution with a strict time schedule to follow, it still is hard to not be in both places at once. We will spend the next few days traveling along I-10 and stopping in to celebrate along the way! I have decided to be okay with that as long as we get to see all of our families & hopefully a few friends. We may not be spending as much time as we would like at either place but we vow to do our best! We will get to see Noah, Ella, & Eli open Santa gifts and be there in time for Sanford lunch & presents. Can't complain too much... can we? Things could be worse! 

Jeff & I are exchanging gifts with each other in the morning (making our own Christmas) since we will be away from our house on Christmas morning. No, this is not ideal, but like I said earlier, we are making it the best we can!

Before I leave I wanted to share a sweet gift from 2 sweet friends: 

The candy is from a Sucre in New Orleans and it is almost too pretty to eat (although Jeff disagrees)! The bright colored box is all different flavored macaroons that are absolutely divine! They monogrammed the towels themselves and I LOVE them so much! They are hanging in the house as we speak. Thanks girls, you are just the best :) 

Wishing all of you happy & safe travels or non-travels (if you are lucky) this Christmas week!

xoxo, 

   Katie