A true southern date

Last night my husband comes home from work and says to me "we are going out tonight....."

"Hooray!!! This is exactly what we need after a week of 15 hours a day of work", I thought to myself.

My excitement left quickly with the second part of the sentence.

"..... for catfish."

Catfish?! What?! Seriously?!

Well a date is a date so I got ready.

We went to a restaurant called Top O The River. This was our second time there (I had my first sweet tea experience there).

We ordered turnip greens, pickled onions, fried dill pickles, broiled catfish, and fried catfish. Our dinner also came with cole slaw, fries, hush puppies, and corn bread.

We had so much fun!!! Surprisingly I liked it all!

I don't think I will order catfish again... but I didn't hate it.

It was so fun doing something for the first time with my husband!

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

New memories, baby cast iron skillets of cornbread, and love. - Monica

♥ . ♥ . ♥

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Our first Alabama date

After settling into our home in Alabama and Martin working a whole week we needed a date! Although I flirt with Martin and send him little encouraging/love notes we needed some date time.

We decided to go out to dinner and catch a movie.

It was our first official date in Alabama. (:

We went to a restaurant called Struts down the street from our house. They have such a huge menu! Martin had medium lemon pepper wings and I had a chicken sandwich.

Martin tried to surprise me and get tickets to see The Lucky One but they sold out while we were in line. We decided to watch The Hunger Games instead.

Its so amazing to just hang out with him and have fun. To have one another's undivided attention. Not talk about bills, money, schedules, or any other responsibilities and just enjoy each other.

Much needed dates and love. - Monica

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being silly

Last night i had a wonderful conversation with my husband. Part of the conversation was that, for some reason, i have forgotten to be silly in our relationship. 

Bills, life, relationships, and work have stolen my joy. My true joy. I don't know how this happens either. ha.

I need to be FULL of the Lord's joy. A joy that is contagious. A joy that will bring others joy. A joy that is undeniable in my life. That is what i want in my life. 

So i will find that joy in my life again. The joy that the Lord has placed in my life. I will be silly again! Dance around. Sing. Laugh. Be free.

"These things i have spoken to you, that My joy will remain in you, and that your joy may be full"
John 15:11 (NKJV)

Sometimes we need to have heart to heart conversations, talk about feelings, and express ourselves... & other times we need to get out our nerf guns and have a shoot out! hehe. 

Laughing is the best medicine! 

So... turn off your cell phones, dont talk about money, leave the heart to hearts on the back burner and be silly! laugh. do something adventurous. enjoy life! There is always another time to talk about how to improve your relationship (i am not disregarding that at all.. there are times when those conversations need to said... but have a balance). :)

Also, i participated in the The Lovely Perk-up Challenge the other day after work. Boots and a cute zip-up sweater works wonders for errand day! haha. 

silliness, new joy every morning, and love. - Monica

♥ . ♥ . ♥ 

our road trip as Mr. & Mrs.

Martin and i had a lovely New Years Eve. We decided it was FINALLY time to take our first road trip as husband and wife and make the looonnngg (a whole 2 hours) trip to visit my sister. (which we realized when we got there that Martin hasn't been there since BEFORE he left for school in So Cal).

Saturday we woke up with NOTHING ready to go. We weren't packed. We didn't even have clean laundry. I told my sister we would be there AT noon.... needless to say that did not happen.
Martin got up and had to start a load of laundry (which quickly turned into two loads) and get a haircut. I jumped, sprung, slowly got up and started to clean the kitchen so it wasn't a MESS when we returned. After that i hopped in the shower while Martin finished our dirty wet laundry. I had to time to straighten my  hair and do makeup! Its amazing how sslllooowww laundry can take!

Martin bought me this new shirt... i wasn't too sure about it.. but now i think i am in love! I thought i looked like a farmer... but at least i look like a cute farmer! hehe

He actually bought my entire outfit. hehe. He's good. :)

But.. i can give myself credit for my oh-so-simple hairstyle. hehe. :)

After laundry was all finished and tummies were full of food, we headed off.

Our radio doesn't usually work (i think we need new speakers) but for some odd amazing reason it worked the majority of the ride there. So my hubby and i grooved, sang, and were silly for 2 hours.
Being a girl.. i tried to start serious conversations... but he asked if we could just have fun. hehe. :) I agreed and joined him in singing and dancing to the radio. I am glad i have him to remind me to be silly. ;) Although this is him being serious driving..because the roads were starting to get icy.

When we arrived in the mountains the temperature DROPPED! And we were surrounded by beautiful pine trees!

Do you like the crack in my windshield? hehe.. i really need to get that fixed.

When we got to my sister's house my nephew ran as fast as he could to.... Martin. Yup, my husband is apparently his new favorite. hehe. But i still got some hugs and kisses.

But he quickly returned to "Mar-TIN". (he pronounces the 'tin' part very distinctive.. it is soo stinking cute!)

Then he, of course, had to show off all of his new stuff he got from Santa.

He really loved this watch he got. It had a little light and would shine different little aliens on the wall. He would NOT take it off! hehe. And every picture he took he wanted to show it off. lol. He took it off to play with Martin some more and had me wear it. He was all kinds of excited when it fit me. hehe. He made sure to tell everyone around him that his watch "fit Auntie too"!

My sister cooked an amazing meal of tri-tip and crab! Sooo good! and then we had cheesecake and carrot cake for dessert.
My nephew and husband played the (old school) Super Mario Bros game on AJ's gameboy. hehe. My nephew cant really play.. but was amazed when Mar-TIN "beat the game" (he only beat one level.. but AJ was soo happy!)

At about 9:30pm we all headed out to my sister's friends house for a New Year's Eve party. Although stuff like that isn't really my thing... it was still pretty fun.
Of course i probably looked silly with my giant Hello Kitty purse (which Martin eventually put it in the car.. because i kept it on all night lol) and my red cup of the kid's punch. hehe. No shame though. lol. :)
At 11pm we went home because my brother-in-law had to work early the next morning.
At home we watched Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve and drank some DELICIOUS Starbucks peppermint hot cocoa with my sister's homemade marshmallow.

That was probably the highlight of New years Eve. I love just snuggling on the couch with hot cocoa! I don't really enjoy "going out". I'd rather hang out and play board games, sipping hot chocolate, listening to music with my loved ones. i know.. i am probably boring. hehe. but i like it.

At midnight we said our happy new years.. and after Martin stopped coughing (he got a tickle in his throat RIGHT at midnight haha) i had my FIRST ever New Years kiss! :) 

It was a really great first New Years as a new wife. :) 

The next morning was the 49er game and so my sister made her brother-in-law an amazing football meal!

She is such a wonderful cook!!! :)

After the game we talked for a little while and packed up and headed back home. :)
Arriving to town the sky was sooo beautiful!!!

We had SUCH a fun road trip together. :)

I am sooo excited for the new 2012 year! My resolution is to continue to get closer to the Lord, be love everywhere i go, and cherish my marriage.

new years, short road trips, and love. - M
♥  . ♥ . ♥

relaxing with my curly hair.

Well it has been a week since the Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge started. I know i didnt do a great job with the whole pictures thing. Its hard when i am working... hehe... since i am just in my uniform. i promise to get better.

Yesterday was church and my handsome hubby and i decided to dress up a little. He wore slacks, a nice shirt, and a sweater... and i wore a dress with some leggings (since it is FREEZING! ).

Church was really great and i feel like everytime we go..i love it more! :) With Christmas only a week away they talked about the spirit and meaning of Christmas. I loved it!

We can tend to forget the TRUE meaning of Christmas when we are running around, shopping, preparing to cook, trying to get together with family, and working to get all the extra holiday cash. There are parties, cards, gifts, long lines, wrapping, busy stores and everything else that can get in the way of us remembering the meaning of Christmas in the first place - Our Savior's birth. So the pastor had us remember to take joy in the birth of Christ and all that it means. Our salvation. Our entire faith is based upon the birth of Jesus. (: So.. remember that when you are running around with the holiday fever! Remember to take a moment and give praise to God for sending His son.

After church we rushed home and i got RIGHT into comfy, warm clothes! It was been sooo cold lately. Sunny... but cold. So i looked like this:

It was kinda funny with my fancy curly hair... in my fuzzy hello kitty pj pants and a loose sweatshirt. 

curly hair, wearing dresses for an hour, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

facials and fun

Well today is day 4 of the Lovely Perk-up. Yesterday was my day off.... and truthfully.... i did not participate. I spend the day with my hubby laughing and relaxing and doing this.

yup, facials!!! hehe. We did not watch this movie tho... although we intended too.

He is such a trooper and did this facial with me. It was fun. We made silly faces and laughed and laughed until i cried. We had delicious chicken tacos for dinner and watched a movie. (:

Today i had the day off and perked-up my loveliness. hehe. I had the day off... and he worked.. so my sister-in-law came over as i cleaned the kitchen. (: Good day overall.

Now i am about to make some dinner. (:

I know the coloring is different... but it was hard to show what my hair looked like. I just did a simple side bride. (:

facials, giggles, and love - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

The Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge

So... my beautiful friend, Shawna and i were talking the other day about life, confidence, busyness, and ourselves.  We were saying that we often look at other girls  women around us and think how cute they look! Then we take a look back in the mirror and feel disappointed.

Now i know that there is soooo much more to us then our outward appearance.

Beauty is fleeting and charm is deceptive but a woman who fears the Lord deserves to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

But i think there is something to that inner confidence that shines outward. That feeling of beauty. Of course it is more then jewelry, hairstyles, and clothes. It is more then expensive make-up or high heels. 

It is that inner, quiet peace inside all of us as a women that speaks to our hearts and says "you are lovely." I do not use things (makeup, clothes, jewelry) to cover anything up (except maybe a blemish or dark circles hehe). I use it to enhance what God has already made beautiful. It is good to feel good about yourself. It is uplifting to yourself to feel cute. 

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom (like my friend), a new bride, a single woman, a full-time student, a career woman, or still discovering who you are - take some time for yourself to enjoy your loveliness. (: 

I ALWAYS feel cuter when I try just a little bit harder. Style my hair. Put on a cute outfit. Have a pretty accessory on. When you have found that inner confidence inside of you.... it is easy to manifest it on the outside. Don't make it all about the "stuff"... but find a good balance. It is okay to feel lovely. 

When i truly FEEL lovely... i just feel good! My heart is warm. I am happy. I feel confident. Feeling lovely and feeling "hot" are two different things to me. I think feeling lovely comes from both the inner and the outward. Where hot just seems.... shallow. Based upon JUST the looks. Loveliness comes from within and pours out. 

Now back to Shawna and I.  Currently Shawna is about 17 weeks pregnant with her 4th little bundle of joy and definitely needs a confidence booster! Her body is changing with every passing week as her little baby grows and she is running after her other little ones. I am a new bride.. working and learning to cook clean and basically how to be a wife. We are on different parts of life... but one thing still remains with us... the longing for that feeling of loveliness. Things feel good when WE feel good. 

So we have come up with this little challenge - The Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge. (Shawna's is called the Pregnancy Perk-up Challenge). The challenge for ourselves is to find that little bit of loveliness in us every day.  I am not sure when it will end... or if it will become a lifestyle. But we are going to embrace the lovely bodies (even while they grow) that we have. We will find that true loveliness inside of us and have it pour out. 

We will document daily us trying to "perk-up" our days a little with a splash of our loveliness. Wear cute outfits. Do our hair. Cute accessories. Just adding a little extra everyday. After all it takes the same amount of time to put on jeans and a nice top as it does yoga pants and sweatshirt. And i know i feel way lovelier with jeans then i do with yoga pants. hehe.
Feel free to join the challenge too! It starts tomorrow!

little lovelies, confidence booster, and love. - M

♥ .  ♥ . ♥