Spring 2011 Trends:

I recently visited this site and read up on the Spring 2011 trends article. Here are some of the Spring trends I adore:

60's coat:

These are sketches of pretty coats from etsy.

Printed dresses:

This cutesy is from J.Crew.

High waisted pants:

You kind find similar pairs here.

Damask scarf:

I'm totally into damask right now. This one is on etsy!

Chunky brown sandals:

These could be worn with so much! Find them here.

Hope you had a very productive Monday! Bring on the rest of the week.

xox

Our Proposal Story.

At last, here is our proposal story with minute details!

The story truly began a few weeks before Valentine's Day. My boyfriend, Bart, kept this constant anticipation growing in me about our upcoming Valentine's date. He assured me that it would be a surprise. The only hints he would give me were: 1) I should dress fancy because we were going to a nice place, and 2) His gift would be small, but it had a lot of sentimental meaning. The weeks leading up to Valentine's Day were the toughest! I love surprises. It's pretty hilarious because most people would think that I'd despise them. I love planning and get nervous when I don't know where I'm going. My typical mindset was aside for this date though- I left it all up to him!

Finally, Valentine's Day arrived and I was headed to get primped up before I knew it. Bart knew I wasn't feeling very well ( not unusual for me) and told me that we didn't have to go if I felt too bad. I decided to push through ( I mean look at all the surprises he planned, I couldn't miss it!) and go on the special date, even though I was a little sluggish.

When we got to the restaurant is was totally packed. Bart informed me that we were twenty minutes late! We made our way up to the door, told them our name, and miraculously in about 6 minutes we were seated. Yes! We ate at The Peddler: a super tasty steakhouse, where I ate grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and Bart enjoyed a nice filet. Bart insisted that we order cheesecake for dessert- it was incredible! Funny side note about the restaurant: our table was huge! It looked tiny, but huge distance between bart and me + loud, noisy customers = difficult to hear conversations!

During dinner, Bart asked if I would like to go downtown and walk around. We drove downtown after dinner and this time Bart let me bring me gift with me! It was a pretty large bag, and heavy enough, so I was very anxious to see what was inside. I had given Bart his gift the week before ( Cause I hate waiting to give gifts!). Mine was pretty crafty ( not as crafty as his) , but slightly less expensive! We started walking by the shops, and shivering because the temperature was starting to drop. We walked across the bridge at Falls Park, over Reedy River.

When we got to the end of the bridge, Bart jumped down off of it and climbed underneath! He told me to follow- but I was a tad skeptical. The rocky, unpaved terrain and my skirt and dress shoes weren't going to mix! Unfortunately, a couple had already taken our spot. darn. So we carried on walking and ended up at the Wyche Pavilion:

It was beautiful! We sat in one of the open-window spaces and looked at the river for a while. After we talked for a few minutes, Bart instructed me that I could open my gift! I slowly opened the gift and found this:

I looove chocolate, so opening a box of chocolates was no surprise to me. I opened up the box of chocolates to find a hole cut out of the center, and a tiny box placed inside!

A picture of my man's crafty skills:

How adorable!

I glanced up at him in awe ( unsure that it was a ring... it could have been a necklace!) and pause before opening it. Before I get the ring box open, He gets to his feet, takes the box from my hands and asks me to stand up. I stand up and watch him giddily. He can see the anticipation roaring in my eyes and he chuckles and kisses my forehead. He holds my hands for a moment and then takes a step back. He bends down onto one knee and says, " Will you marry me?". At that particular moment, I was filled with so many unexplainable emotions. Of course, I was thrilled, I was also shocked, proud and overwhelmed. I started crying. Not little tears. Big ones. Borderline bawling! I'm not sure what came over me, but I couldn't say anything. I just cried in happiness. I was pondering how on earth I could have been blessed enough to have such a sweet, perfect man ask me of all people to be HIS wife! He hugged me and rocked me while I cried. After he placed the ring on my finger, I realized that I hadn't said yes! So then, I said, " yes, yes, yes!!" . We walked around downtown and asked a sweet couple to take our picture after the proposal:

here is a picture taken before we went to eat. We were both exhausted! Our eyes definitely show it. When arrived back at his house to find his mom videotaping our entry! She asked us about our night and we re-told the story :).

It was the sweetest proposal imaginable and I couldn't be a luckier girl!

I can't wait to marry you, dear fiance!

xoxo

Bicycling.

I love bicycling. Lately the weather has been perfect for it! I love that bicycling is so fresh and new- it doesn't even feel like exercise to me. Unfortunately, I sold my bike a few months back (bleh). But I'm hoping to purchase another one in the future. I had a mountain bike, which was necessary because whenever I rode it was on pretty rugged terrain. When I move to Greenville there will be miles of flat, ideal-riding streets! Here are some inspiring photos to brighten your day, and perhaps motivate you to get back on the bike:

Hope you are having a light and breezy Saturday!

xoxo

First Eclectic outfit:

First Eclectic outfit: by Kathryn Elise featuring long sleeve tops

eating healthy.

Yesterday I decided to go sugar-free ( or mostly sugar-free at least). In spite of my always feeling "bleh", slowly rising weight, quickly escalating snack bill, and always appearing blemishes, I've decided that going sugar-free will help me in more ways than one. I've seriously been considering going gluten-free, since I think I might have a touch of celiac disease, but since I'm not for certain about it, I think I'll experiment by cutting the sugar from my diet. Note: I'm not going to freak out if something has a little sugar in it, but excess sugars in candies, cereals and beverages need to be cut.

I went to the store yesterday and bought three boxes of tea. Tea is a great alternative to whatever unhealthy beverage you are addicted to. Hot teas are my favorites, and I occasionally like unsweetened iced tea and unsweetened lemonade. Here are the yummy ones I found for about $1.00 each:

Black tea is exceptionally healthy! I love the fact that this one contains caffeine, yet it's 100% natural. Great alternative to coffee.

I used to really be hooked on Arizona's iced sweet teas. They have flavors like peach- yum. The hot tea bags are awesome because they double as hot tea and cold tea( just add a cup of ice). Most hot teas taste horrible as cold teas.

I heart the Celestial Seasonings teas. They are so fruity and refreshing!

Guest Post: Green Energy!

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned When You Save On Home Energy

Author: Abdul Sanford

When winter is definitely on its way, getting the house ready is one of the most important things that you can do, to make sure that you get through the cold days ahead, relatively unscathed. Winter time cold weather can mean that your utility bills skyrocket, but that does not mean that you cannot do something to keep them as low as possible.

One thing that can be done to get ready for winter, is to make sure to caulk around the windows to cut down of infiltration of wind and cold air. Adding weather stripping to the doors and window will also do the trick. Installing a storm door is another idea if you don't already have one, or making sure that it is sealed may be all that is needed.

Other things that can be done to take full advantage of cost saving measures for the home are, checking the air ducts to make sure that they are sealed and not leaking those energy dollars. By the way, having the heating system serviced is another good idea.

I have definitely seen a difference in energy consumption when I follow the few steps above. We all know that a penny saved is a penny earned, so the more we can save, the more money we have to spend on the things that we want. Check out http://www.ENERGYSAVINGS.com for more information.

What I'm loving Wednesday.

This Wednesday:

I'm loving this yoga book I found at the library. It has so many poses and makes practicing yoga so easy! If you are a newbie, I'd definitely look into this book. It gives instructions for each pose from beginning to end, and even has a set of sequences from beginner to advanced.

I'm loving that my sister took amazing pictures of me and my fiance on Sunday!

I'm loving that God's plan will never fail- no matter how many of mine do!! He is so powerful and perfect. Planning a wedding has me so thankful that I don't have to plan my life; God already has. It's such a relief to know that when the day is done and I feel as though I have worked very hard and accomplished nothing, He is still great and He is still on His throne, loving and protecting me! What an awesome thing to love.

I'm loving that a group of us got to visit my sweet grandparents on Sunday! They hadn't seen Bart in a few months and it was nice to see everyone together :).

I'm loving the thoughts I've been having about becoming a wife! I can't wait to organize/ decorate/ celebrate my new home! I've been working on budgets and plans for a week now. I am so excited to see what God has planned for us!

I'm loving that my sweetie heart WON his championship game!! He played on Saturday morning. Despite my rough sleeping schedule, I decided to surprise him! He was very happy and I was so thrilled to support him in his athletic talents!

I'm loving that I finally get my spa day this Friday. I bought it so long ago, and my feet are aching! I'm so excited to get a foot massage I've been wanting for weeks.

I'm loving this study we are starting soon! It's full of so much helpful information! I can't wait to get started a learn more about how to be a good wife.

I've been listening to Focus on the Family and last week the show featured the authors of this book. The book sounded so amazing and I'm really looking forward to buying and reading it! Amazon prime benefits come in handy often with my reading habits!

Hope you are having a fabulous week!!

Weekend!

How was your weekend?

Here's a little preview of mine:

Today we went downtown and had my sister snap some shots of us together. I was really pleased with how they turned out!

I've almost completed our Wedding Website and cannot wait to share it with you guys! I've got the proposal story on it's way as well, unfortunately I still am lacking a few pictures but I may just go ahead without them.

Tomorrow starts bright at early for me with a full day's work! This weekend is booking up quickly and I can tell it's going to be a tiring one. Thank goodness for this spring-like weather we've been having that revives me.

Wall Stickers

Aside from framless paintings, I think wall stickers are just amazing. I'm a sucker for any art with words on it- so creating a sticker to say whatever I like is a dream come true! I really want to try some sweet love sayings in our home, and some Bible verses as well.

Isn't this pretty?

I'm also really intrigued by the larger wall stickers ( actual pictures and designs!) :

I really love this idea! Attaching a hook to the wall so it looks like an actual coat-hanger. And the cute little shoes on the closet door.

This one is probably the sticker that I would buy. It would be gorgeous in a tiny, quiet reading room.
I doubt I would ever actually buy this one, but I think he's pretty charming in this room!

This one is so brilliant for an office space. I doubt I would like it if it weren't black and white- but I think it's just nifty like this.

Have you ever done wall stickers? The only downside I can think of is that re-arranging would be pretty difficult, since the stickers are strategically placed and probably not reusable. I think I'd still like to try a few someday!

Happy Saturday! Today's weather is in the seventies and I'm going to surprise my sweetheart at his ping-pong championship game! My weekend is super busy consisting of teaching a devotional, running around to show off my ring, and planning for the upcoming week.

I hope your weekend is warm and sunny!!

xoxo

Friday Finds:

Here are some nifty things to peek at before your weekend begins:

This adorable site offers gorgeous sketches, and lets you create your own! I created a few:

so fun and creative!

This site for planning brides-to -be

They have such fresh looks for bridal/bridesmaid hair and makeup!

Design your own throw pillows here: i'm totally in love.

If you're horrible about constantly mis-placing things check out these sites:

Cozi- free calendar and mobile application

Springpad- syncs your notes to your life

Zoho- online planner and organizer

Scrybe- the ultimate online planner

Hope you are enjoying your friday evening!

xoxo