retreating to monthly updates...

Sometimes I am just too busy to blog, and other times I just don't want to. Then I think, "you're gonna wish you could remember the details about these days," so here I sit. 

For starters, I got a haircut! Well, I got bangs. I had no length cut off {because I am convinced that my hairdresser has put a -wonderful- spell on it that's causing it to GROW} and she always does exactly what I want! This was the first real "dramatic" difference that I have had done while going to her, but I love it. Bangs make me feel fun. 

Two weekends ago, Daddy set up a rabbit hunt because he wanted David to be able to go. Well, of course I tagged along! I was anxious to shoot my "new" gun. You see, my uncle inherited all of my Pawpaw's guns when he passed, but he recently told us that he wanted all of the grands to have one. So, I got my very favorite - a 20 gauge Benelli. 

The gun is a treasure, and I am grateful for it, but I will always wish I could have had the opportunity to go on at least one hunt with Pawpaw.

Matt also went, and he killed the only rabbit that was seen while we were there! 

On that same weekend, Matt wanted to try out his boat, so David & I made the run with him. The weather was nice and we enjoyed being on the water! It definitely felt like Spring.

During the week, I had to drive myself to class without Marty because she was running late, so I decided to do some thrifting, and I found this precious little gem! OH MY GAH, I can hardly contain my excitement over putting this baby in our own home one day! It's in minty condition, and I AM IN LOVE!! 

On February 7th, David & I shared 28 months together, and Mom & Dad shared 33 years! I hope David and I are allowed that many years together, and I know we will be just as happy and in love as these two are! 

I also think that cutting my hair has made me think I have a free pass to dressing like a boy and wearing Kourtney Kardashian sunglasses.. so! I guess the myth to "new hair new you" is somewhat true? Except not really because I was unsure of this the whole time I had it on! 

And next, how could we forget Valentines Day?

I sketched this Chalkboard Wednesday night and finished it Thursday evening before David came on Friday! 

I like doing little personal things for him.

For his gift, I gave him a knife he had been wanting. I also gave him lots of candy. I did the cheesiest thing and labeled them all with cute printables: 

gum: "I chews you"

Sour worms: "Love bugs" 

Jolly Ranchers: "Have a Jolly Valentines" 

Warheads: "Pucker up, it's Valentines Day!" 

Blow Pops: "Sucker for Love!" 

And I gave him the "One Date a Month for a Year." I am SO SO excited about this!! I am a firm believer in David being made to feel special and loved just as I should be made to feel that way. So, I created 11 preplanned, prepaid dates for us to enjoy, and at the beginning of each month, he gets to open the one for that month & it's his choice of when we use it! Some dates are free, and others are ones that require a small fee. I plan to blog about each month's date. Crossing my fingers that happens!

Earlier on Friday I went to Columbus to try and find a decent outfit for our date, and when I came home these were waiting on me! 

"I love you so much, Julie Bug!"

He's into calling me that lately, and I happen to think it's mighty cute!

He also got me a pair of hunting boots I've been eyeing for awhile! He listens so well, and he did way too much for me. 

Oh! And did I mention the tear-jerking card and cute little cow tin full of reese's? The guy knows the way to my heart! Sweet words, chocolate, and COWS!

We waited until Saturday to go on a date since he gets here late on Friday, and we enjoyed some japanese food, Lone Survivor {yep, I went to the theatre} and he even decided to use his February Date and we grabbed coffee at our favorite coffee shop before coming home. 

It was nice to celebrate our love, even though we try to do that every time we are together.

annnnnd on Sunday we did this!

This pew sat at David's MeMaw's house for awhile, and I have always loved it. His mom told him recently that he should go get it and bring it home, and once he did she asked where I was going to put it! So, David brought it to me this past weekend and we spent the afternoon sanding, cleaning, staining and waxing this beauty, and I will cherish it forever. It is such a sentimental piece for David, and I plan to give it lots of love in that future home that we don't have yet! :) 

Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday to you people! If you're visiting from Sami's Shenanigans, I am so glad you're here! Welcome to my little diary! 

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This weekend was pretty laid back, but those are my favorite! 

Matt & I packed up and crossed state lines around 1:00 Friday after SUCH a long week! 

Our teachers cross scheduled two tests on one day, so needless to say Thursday was stressful! 

I was ready for the weekend by 11:00 Friday! 

Once we made it there, David, Matt & I loaded up on the golf cart to go set out some beaver traps. 

(do ya'll think that we are the biggest hicks in the world? 

Because I guess to some we kind of are. 

I'm okay with that!)

Matt's really gotten into this beaver huntin' lately, and he's been pretty successful! 

David's family has three different ponds on their land, and one has a four foot tall beaver dam around a culvert, so Matt decided to try out some new trapping rigs to see if he could catch some! 

He set the traps and we left the premises. 

I was thrilled! I couldn't wait to check them the next day. 

Mrs. Angela had cooked some stew with potatos, carrots, and roast, so we ate supper pretty early and caught two of Gabrielle's horses. 

Gabrielle is David's sister, and she's a year younger than me. 

She barrel races nearly every weekend, so we caught them so that she could practice once she got home from work. 

In the midst of us going to watch her across the road, Matt found some face paint from deer season that he had left in his truck, so naturally I put some on when David wasn't around. 

...and got a pretty interesting look from him when he did see :) 

We spent the rest of the night hanging around some backroads around David's house, and we caught up with a few people David graduated with and they road with us. 

We saw a ton of deer and rabbits, made a drive by the paper mill (which I love to see in the dark), and got home fairly late!

Saturday morning, Matt got up to check the traps, confident that we would have a beaver, and.....

nothing! No beavers, no dam built back. Matt thought they had built their dam and moved out!

We spent the day outside, and I was in the process of losing my voice! 

Good times, ya'll! 

David fertilized a field,

and we sat by the pond talking for awhile! 

(Matt's on the bank on the left.)

Matt caught several fish, and David caught a few but wound up aggravated. 

Nothing was going right for him!

But he suuure did look cute while he tried! ;)

We spent some time visiting by the pond bank before we all loaded up in David's little ranger and made a run to the store for a Dr. Pepper and some Sunflower seeds.

(per my request!)

Basically, we just spent the day enjoying no responsibilities and each other's company!

Those are my favorite weekends after a long week!

Once the sun settled down, we ate a delicious supper from the grill!

Grilled chicken, sausage, and shrimp! 

Then we decided to set a pile on fire and have a few friends over!

Gabrielle was gone Saturday night, but we made due! :)

By this point, my voice was basically down to a whisper!

Yesterday, David and I went to Meridian for a little date! 

Matt got up early to check the traps and.....

sticks were in each one and the dam was built back! 

:( 

Mom had given David a gift card to Olive Garden (our favorite date spot), and we intended to use it yesterday. 

We slept pretty late, (it rained here, so the weather was perfect), and we got to Meridian around 1:00. 

The place was packed, but they seated us immediately!

We left without using the card because we forgot.

Oops.

Better luck next time!

We enjoyed our usual entrée's, 

(mine: Ravioli with Meat Sauce and a Salad, David: Chicken Alfredo with Zuppa Soup)

and braved the weather back home.

I made this chalkboard once we got back from an idea I saw on Pinterest. I really love how it turned out, but I am disappointed in the chalk stain left from TWO sketches ago. 

I guess I will have to paint another coat of chalkboard paint on soon. 

Today I headed back to class, and when David woke up he headed back home.

(note: How sweet of him to come stay for one night! That's what you call making the most out of the weekend. That's also what you call "ATTACHED!")

Mom had a delicious Taco Soup for supper last night, and I had it for lunch again today. It's low in calories and perfect for a rainy day! 

Let me know if you'd like the recipe!

I also "cooked" up that little gem above. I saw it on pinterest, and if "healthy" and "cookie dough" are in the same sentence, you can COUNT ME IN! 

It was definitely different, and it didn't have the same consistency as the photo above, but I had to use Dannon 110 Calorie Vanilla yogurt instead of Greek Yogurt. 

I didn't add the sweetner (it was sweet enough without it), and I didn't add vanilla (because the yogurt was already flavored vanilla). I also had to use regular peanut butter (because I didn't have nut butter.)

Those adjustments probably upped the calories a little, but I put the recipe into My Fitness Pal, and it totalled it as 138 calories which isn't bad for a snack! 

It was actually pretty filling too!! 

ps. didn't tast anything like cookie dough, but meh - oh well!

What did you do this weekend?

DIY "Love" Banner!

I am a huge Pinterest fan, and I have to say that it has interfered with my personal creativity because I no longer have to come up with things on my own. I can just browse Pinterest for an idea, and within seconds I have found something I love! 

With that being said, I have been seeing some super cute banners that people string across their mantle, chalkboard, mirror, door, etc. and I thought it would be fun to recreate my own!

Here's some things you will need: 

(plus tape and some thread - not pictured)

1. Glitter Tulip Paint
2. White Tulip Paint
3. Hemp String
4. Burlap (this just so happen to be on a roll!)
5. Pink Construction Paper
6. Snissers :)

1. CUT OUT a heart to use as your pattern, and then proceed to cut out four more. (I only made four, but once I got it on the string & looked at it for awhile, I added another. Plus, when decorating, I've found it's always to use odd numbers!)

2. CUT OUT four (guesstimated) 2 inch strips of paper, and fold them in half. After that, cut an angle at the bottom. You could do any shape you like, but I liked the way this looked! 

3. PLACE your string across the area where you plan to hang it. Cut it, and lay flat. Once you've done that, arrange your hearts and paper the way you want them to be. I taped my hearts in place temporarily. 

4. FOLD your pink paper over the Hemp string and tape the insides to each other. 

5. THREAD your burlap hearts near the bow in the middle, and tie them to the string. They will move around when you are transferring it, but you can adjust them easily.

5. PAINT your construction paper with whatever word you like! I think it would be cute to do "XOXO" too, but if you have a bigger place you'd like to put the banner, you could even do something as large as "HAPPY VALENTINES"!

6. PAINT any sort of detailing onto the burlap hearts. I chose to do a few lines of the glitter on each of the hearts, or you can leave them plain. Either will look great!

I hung mine on my mirror over my desk. 

(this was before I decided to add another heart!)

You can barely see it in this photo (thanks to the iPhone camera), but I love how festive it is for Valentines Day! 

I mentioned in last year's post on Valentine's Day that I wasn't a big fan of the "holiday", but apparently I have caved. Plus, let's admit that it's fun to celebrate it when you're in love :)

I will leave you with my most recent chalkboard design, also inspired by Pinterest:  

"Love is a many splendored thing." 

I like it, but after reading about its origin I think I may change it before Valentines Day. 

Also, when did arrows come back in style? I dig!

If you tweet or instagram, tag me in your post of where you made your own banner, and share this post with your friends!

(jp_thatsMe)

Love!