What's Up Wednesday

Wednesday is here! 

Today (& every last Wednesday of the month) I am linking up with other bloggers Shay, Mel & Sheaffer to answer theses questions: 

1. What I'm Eating This Week...

This week I had brunch instead of lunch a couple times, I guess I've been in a breakfast food mood recently. I mean pancakes are always a good choice, right?

2. What I'm Reminiscing About...

With college move in happening this week, I've definitely been reminiscing about some of the best years of my life as a student at the University of Wisconsin! This is a picture of my dorm freshman year of college!

3. What I'm Loving...

It feels like fall in Wisconsin this week & I'm  loving wearing long sleeves & jeans! Pretty soon it will be time for scarves & boots! 

4. What I've Been Up To...

Normal life...working, spending time with family, enjoying the last days of summer. 

5. What I'm Dreading...

This one is always hard for me, because I don't dread things very often. 

6. What I'm Working On...

This week I made this "Inside Out" feelings sign for my mom's office (she is an elementary school social worker.) I followed a Pinterest tutorial & it turned out pretty cute! 

7. What I'm Excited About...

I get to hang with these ladies this weekend & I can't wait! 

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

Last night I watched Zach & Tori Roloff's wedding on "Little People, Big World." Weddings are always great, but even better when the bride & groom love Jesus! #tearsofjoy

9. What I'm Listening To...

Click here to read the recent playlist I shared last week. 

10. What I'm Wearing...

This was my outfit yesterday -- my comfy Cru long sleeve.  I've been rocking long sleeves the last few days. #fallweather

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend...

Going to the Twin Cities to visit friends & go to the Minnesota State Fair -- it will be my first time going! #WisconsinIsBetter ;)

12. What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month...

  

All things Fall: FOOTBALL, apple picking, boots, you name it! 

13. What Else Is New...

Ugh, I'm always bad at this one too. I can't think of anything that's new! :) 

Happy Wednesday loves! Enjoy the day! 

The New Bachelor!

Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday! 

If you know me, you know my favorite TV show is The Bachelor. It's just so entertaining! And...the hopeless romantic in me loves watching people fall in love. Now, I know that there are people out there with very mixed feelings on the show, but for me I take the show with a grain of salt. It's just fun to watch & tweet about! 

Sooooooo last night they announced the new Bachelor!

The new Bachelor is....

BEN HIGGINS

(que a million swoons :))

Okay, I love Ben! He was super sweet on Kaitlyn's season & I mean, look at that smile!

Last night, when Chris Harrison talked with Ben on After Paradise, his answers totally reminded me of Sean Lowe's answers when he became the Bachelor. Sean is now happily married & is one of the success stories from the show. I hope Ben is another success story. 

//Sean & his wife Catherine on their wedding day//

Ben has another thing in common with Sean. He is a "Christian" Bachelor. Okay, so I don't know Ben personally. I don't know how strong his walk with the Lord is. All I know is what I read on his Twitter & on Twitter he often talks about his love for Jesus. He also posted an Instagram last night after being named the Bachelor that said, "Thanks to the Lord above for being faithful."

//Ben's Twitter -- notice the worship lyrics as his bio//

Now, I know that going on a TV show & dating 25 women at once isn't the most Christ honoring way of finding your wife, but I do believe that a Christian being on the show & acting differently than all the other "worldly" Bachelors can shed some light on what a Christian relationship can look like.

I don't know if Ben will make his faith clear on the show or not. I don't know if he will take several women into the fantasy suite or not. So basically, I don't know if Ben will be walking with the Lord the same way I believe Sean was when he was The Bachelor, but I'm hoping he does! (And believe me, when the season airs, I will totally tweet my thoughts about it!) 

Either way, I'm excited to watch his "journey." (total Bachelor lingo :)) I'm going to be counting down the days til the first week in January! (when the season finally airs) #TeamBen 

What do you think of Ben being the next Bachelor? Let me know in the comments below! 

Have a great day loves!

Weekend Recap

Monday is here! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Today, I'm recapping my weekend. 

Friday night I went to dinner with my mom, then we went for a walk by Lake Michigan. Isn't it a beautiful view?

We also walked by the Racine Zoo downtown (right by the lake) -- Another beautiful view!

My mom is getting better at taking selfies :)

Saturday, I spent the day adventuring with these two. I also taught them how to do the "nae nae." Crazy aunt Sarah strikes again ;)

It also happened to be a good hair day ;)

Even going to the grocery store with the fam is an adventure ;) Saturday night we ate ice cream & relaxed. 

Sunday we went to my mom's work picnic & these two looked as cute as can be! 

Being an auntie to these two is the best! We spend our "nap time" watching Dora & taking selfies! :)

What did you do this weekend? Let me know in the comments!

My Recent Playlist

It's Thursday! Hooray, the weekend is almost here!

Today I am sharing some of the music I've been listening to lately. 

I have Spotify premium, so I have tons of songs available to add to my playlists (excluding Taylor Swift, but whatever :) ) 

Gavin DeGraw

I've been listening to his first album "Chariot" a lot recently. This was my favorite album in 8th grade because the theme song from One Tree Hill came from this album. (Read more about my One Tree Hill love here.) I would sit on the bus every morning in 8th grade and listen to this on my iPod shuffle. I still love every single song on this album. What songs should you listen to? "Follow Through" & "More Than Anyone" are both good choices. 

Brett Eldredge 

Brett is one of my favorite country artists & he has a new album coming out next month. I love both of the singles that have been released from his new album -- "Lose My Mind" & "Fire." Check 'um out! Can't wait for the album to drop! #MidwestProud ;)

Run 51

This is one band most of you probably haven't heard of, but they are amazing! I first heard of them at Cru national staff conference, Cru15. They led worship for us during several sessions & it was the most fun I have ever had worshipping the Lord! If you know me, you know I love to bust a move & their songs really make you wanna dance for Jesus (sounds cheesy, I know!) Check out more about them & their music here. "God's Great Dance Floor" is my jam & "He is Yaweh" is amazing as well. Their not on Spotify at the moment, but hopefully it won't be too long before they are! 

Those are just some of the songs I've been jamming to recently. What's on your playlist at the moment? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Thursday!

Event Design: Bookclub

Happy Tuesday y'all! 

Sorry I have been m.i.a. from the blog for the last few days. I just wanted to take a little break from blogging, but I'm so happy to be back today!

Today, I'm going to share a little event I put together for my mom and her friends yesterday.

For years my mom has been part of a bookclub with some of her best friends. They switch off hosting each month & this month it was my mom's turn to host. My mom asked if I would help her put the lunch & details together & of course I'm game for anything that allows me to design an event! 

We set up the dining room table -- we don't eat here much, only on Christmas usually. :)

The china is my grandma's vintage china, but it totally looks like it could be sold today. The napkins were a good deal at Party City -- they come in several colors. 

I used a little twine to tie the napkins & it added a cute little touch. 

The book the bookclub read this month, "Leaving Time," has an elephant theme, so my mom bought these cute place card holders. I typed up the place cards using one of my favorite fonts. 

I bought the flowers at my local grocery store & arranged them all myself. They don't always have the best flower selection, but I was lucky enough to find these beauties! I love the way the arrangements turned out! 

This chalkboard was hand lettered by my sister, Amanda. 

The salad bar for lunch turned out great! It was delicious! 

It was so fun to design this little event! My mom & her friends had a great time!

Have a great Tuesday! 

Throwback Thursday: One Tree Hill Obsession

Hey, it's Thursday! Which means it's almost Friday! Woo hoo!

Today, I'm throwing it back to my middle & high school (& some college) days! 

This past weekend there was a convention and reunion (the 2nd one they've had) for one of my main obsessions during middle school -- the TV show One Tree Hill.

One Tree Hill was on for 9 seasons, and I watched almost every single episode the day it aired. That's 9 years of dedication to a show which spanned from 8th grade until my senior year of college! Over the last year I've gone back and watched the entire series on Netflix & I would say it is still my favorite tv series ever! 

Here's a picture from one of the reunions of the cast of One Tree Hill. Seeing this picture (& others on Instagram) had me feeling all kinds of nostalgic. 

The show came out in the fall of my 8th grade year. If I'm being honest with you I was literally obsessed with this show. Like crazy. So crazy that I'm almost embarrassed to share, but I'm gunna be real. I was so obsessed that I would go home almost every day & watch that week's episode of OTH on recorded VCR over & over again while I did my homework. Yes, I realize how crazy & how embarrassing that is now...eeeek. 

Another embarrassing 8th grade story... There was an assignment to write a poem to read in front of the class & I decided to write the poem about James Lafferty (who plays Nathan). I think about that right now & am SO embarrassed for myself, but I proudly stood in front go my 8th grade English class as I read a poem I wrote about an actor that I was "in love" with. I die laughing just thinking about it --- ugh so weird! Haha! 

One of the main reasons that I love the show so much is because of the best couple in the history of TV shows -- Nathan & Haley! (Any other Naley fans out there?!)

Yes, they got married in high school which is totally unrealistic, but the hopeless romantic in me loved it! I highly dislike all of the episodes that they are separated & I usually just skip past those ones. :) 

Other One Tree Hill memories include...

//Going to Chicago with my mom & sister to see the One Tree Hill Tour at the House of Blues//

//Having everything OTH including t-shirts, pillowcases, books & giant wall poster//

//Visiting the set of One Tree Hill in small town Wilmington, NC the summer before my junior year of college// 

Me on the famous OTH Rivercourt. All of the filming of the show was done in the small town of Wilmington, NC. This meant that fans could visit the set & filming locations all over the town. This is one reason the show had so many dedicated fans -- because you could interact with the stars & locations of the show, something that is impossible if a show is filmed on a sound stage in L.A. 

In front of "Karen's Cafe" & "Clothes Over Bros." Although my crazy crazy obsession with the show ended once I entered high school, I was still a huge fan of the show throughout high school and college (& now! :)) 

I hope you've enjoyed this Throwback Thursday look into the heart of crazy 8th grade me!

Are you a One Tree Hill fan? Let me know your favorite episode/scene in the comments below! I know I'm not the only fan out there :)

If you haven't seen the show, obviously I highly recommend watching it on Netflix. I warning you now, it's hard to stop watching once you start! 

Happy, happy Thursday!