Things I Love Part 3

I know my other posts have been new loves, but this post is about a long wonderful relationship with... Lilly Pulitzer.

If you have known me for any about of time you know that I love love Lilly. The colors and beautiful patterns send me to heaven. Of course I donned a flamingo print classic shift for Easter, and the skirts and dresses are being sported each week from now until Labor Day! I now have an adorable straw clutch to carry as well, curtsey of my sweet mom (one of my birthday presents).

My obession is only getting worse because a Lilly boutique, Palm Avenue is with in walking distance from my office! I am exercising my major self control these days. I have decided eating out is way over rated and I would much rather have brightly colored clothes in amazing fabrics!

To top it all off Palm Avenue has expanded there store into a Lilly Lifestyle store. Yes, Lilly now makes furniture and home accessories. If only I was a millionaire, our whole house would be filer with pink and floral printed furniture. I think Thomas would totally love it!

One of my favorite things about Lilly is the way it makes you feel. I believe that it is impossible to be ad or in a bad mood when wearing one of their lovely designs!

I suggest you treat yourself to an adorable confections! I know I will! :)

Recap of my wonderful trip home will be coming later this week! Had such a great time, it needs it's own post!

New Love: Part 2

It has been very hard for me to decide which "Love" to tell you about next.

As I stated in an earlier post, Thomas and I gave up eating out for Lent. This gently forced me into cooking more. I enjoy being in the kitchen, but I just work so much it is hard to make time to cook.

Lauren, a girl I work with, told me about an amazing website.

"Skinny Taste" is officially the best thing since sliced bread. Gina updates the food blog several times a week with healthy low fat recipes. She features everything from dips/appetizers to main dishes and desserts. Something I really appreciate is that there are pictures of all the dishes. I am very visual so it is great to be able to see what my finished product should look like. Thomas and I absolutely love her "Chicken Taco Chili"! You make in the in crock pot, so it is amazingly easy. We were able to eat it all week for dinner. I am looking forward to trying some of her sweet treat next!

I promise this will not disappoint!

Well, I must get back to packing for my trip back home!! I am beyond excited! Lake Martin and sunshine here I come.

My next "Love" is going to be involving lovely Spring color. :)

New Love: Part 1

Feel free to thank me later. I am going to share a few of the things that I am loving in life lately.

For the first installment I am sharing the wonderful world of gel nail polish!

A friend of mine introduced me to gel polish in January. It has to be one of the most amazing things on the planet currently. I absolutely love having my nails polished, but it always seems they chip so quickly. One of the many amazing things about this miracle polish is that is does not chip EVER! I can do anything with this polish on my nails. It also dries instantly, the polish dries by UV light. However this means you can only get it done at nail salons. My nail salon has OPI products, so I get all the wonderful colors. The cost is only about $5 more than a regular manicure. You can expect the polish to last at least 2 weeks. You have a couple of options for removing you polish: go to the nail salon and have them soak the polish off, soak off at your house using nail polish remover, or peel off after about 3 weeks. I like the last option for some childish reason, if peels off in sheets (very fun).

I met some friends this evening to get our nails done. Two chose fun blues, one "cajun shrimp", and more me "aphrodite's pink nightie." That is what I love about OPI, all the fun names to go with the great colors.

If you are in the mood to treat yourself I would definitely recommend a gel manicure!

I am trying to stay true to my promise to blog more!

Keep your eyes peels for my next love:)

Still Here

So I am making a Mid-Spring Resolution... I am going to become a regular blogger. I love our blog and being able to share the happenings of life with our friends and family. Needless to say the business of life has gotten the best of me.

Since my last post life has been wonderfully crazy. I will fill you in quickly!

Thomas has been accepted into the PhD program at Southeastern! How crazy is not?! I am very proud of him.

Thomas preached at our church one Sunday morning in January. Check out the church's website: www.capitalcommunitychurch.com

Once again very proud.

Work has been crazy busy, with one project after another.

Thomas and I have given up eating out for Lent. It was very hard at first, but now it is not bad at all. Only one week to go. I will say this website is becoming my new best friend. Not to mention we are saving a fortune.

Two weeks ago Thomas and I headed to Augusta, GA for the Masters. We met Dad and Katherine there and had the best time. The weather was beautiful. It is amazing how just getting away for a couple of days can recharge you. I will post pictures later this week.

Now for the most exciting update. I am going to Montgomery for my birthday! I have not been back since New Year's. The countdown is officially on and I can not wait. William and Kate are getting married on my 25th birthday, so Mom and I will be in Royal wedding mode on Friday! Mom and Dad just got a lake house on Lake Martin, so we will be spending the rest of my visit there relaxing. I am sure you can't tell I am excited at all.

Well that in a small nut shell is our life right now! I promise you will be hearing from me more and more!

Home For the Holidays, Better Late than Never!

Our New Year's holiday was wonderful! Thomas and I were able to go to Montgomery to spend time with our families.
I was a bit nervous that we were not going to make it. Thursday afternoon I received an email from Delta saying that our flight had been canceled. As you can imagine I freaked out! I could not get Thomas to pick up his phone so I called my dad. He was able to snag the last two tickets on an earlier flight. I must say it got s bit hairy for s little while!
We made to Montgomery without a hitch. Thomas' parents picked up from the airport and vacation began. His brothers were home as well so we were able to spend a lot of time catching up. Friday, Thomas hit the golf course with his dad and brothers. I went to mom and Dad's house. I walked into the house, still decorated for Christmas, greeted by mom and Katherine. We all got ready and picked. Grand momma and grand daddy up for lunch at one of my favorite places, Sinclair's. It was such a great time to visit and catch up with my wonderful family.
Friday night we had dinner with Thomas' family and then headed out to celebrate New Year's Eve with our friends. We were able to see good friends we a had not seen in forever. We went to a new low key place at Hampstead where we took over their lounge area.
Saturday morning we woke to "Christmas morning" at the West house. Thomas's parents gave us IPads for Christmas! I am blogging on mine right now. It is absolutely one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Thomas' and I are both really enjoying them. But back to our holiday. Later in the afternoon Thomas' grandmother, aunt and some of his cousins came over. We played Dirty Santa and had Christmas dinner together. It was such a fun time of fellowship!
After dinner Thomas and I packed up and headed to my parents house to celebrate Christmas with them. I, of course, could not wait to open presents so we jumped right in to the Christmas celebration. Mom and Dad gave me a mink coat that is absolutely amazing! I have worn it everyday, even when it is not really cold enough to warrant a mink coat. Thomas received shirts and luggage, he was very excited! I know my family will not believe this, but being home with them was enough of a present for me!
We had Christmas morning breakfast on Sunday morning. Grand momma, Granddaddy, Sharon, David, Jennifer, Cindy, Pam and Taylor all came over to celebrate and spend time with us. We had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch and played dirty santa. This was the first time we had seen some of them since our wedding. We all picked up right where we left off. It was such a great day. We ended the day with just the five us, plus Penny of course.
Monday was another fun day. Thomas left to spend the day with his family, so mom, Katherine and I hit the streets to go shopping. We really did not find anything, but we had a blast just telling stories and laughing. Monday night dad grilled steaks for us, with were amazing. Thomas always saying he never gets enough red meat anymore, but he definitely got his fill while we were home. Mom made s great twice baked potato casserole that I can't wait to try sometime soon. I had the great idea that we should watch some old videos from when we were kids. Our new tv would not cooperate with me, so after much pain and suffering we all ended up in mom and Dad's room. Good times had by all!
We woke Tuesday morning sad because our wonderful trip was coming to an end. We ate breakfast and then packed our suitcases. Thoamas' parents picked us up for lunch at the club. After a long lunch we headed back to Mom and Dad's house. They drove us to the airport, I cried like a baby, and we were on our way back to Raleigh.
Such a great time with family and friends. Thomas and I are so thankful we come from such loving and gracious families. We are looking forward to our next visit back!