Things That Make Me Happy

My husband. My life changed the day I met him (eight years ago!)

My dog, Boomer. 

The University of Oklahoma, my alma mater.

Food: cupcakes, Gooseberry Pie

Small towns. Like the one I grew up in.

Friends and family.

Shopping.

Church on Sunday.

Art.

Decorating. 

Traveling.

Books of all kind.

Animal prints.

Throwing parties.

Ballroom dancing.

Cruises.

Blogging.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Things I Collect

I tend to collect things. Not stamps or coins, but weird things like old suitcases and pillowcases. I'm always hunting for these things at flea markets and garage sales so I'm going to show them off! If you want to play along (who doesn't collect SOMETHING??), grab the image below and link us to your blog too!

One of the newest (well, not so much) things I've started picking up is old suitcases. The older and more broken down the better! I would love to someday have enough to make two "nightstands" in my bedroom, but right now I've got them stacked in the corner of my office.

Some of them have old monograms on them (love that!!). The top bag is an old doctor's bag that a physician actually used in the olden days. 

The olden days is my favorite era.

The best thing is, I didn't pay more than $20 for any of these pieces. And they make a BIG statement! 

 

Don't they make you want to go on vacation?? 

Inspiration pictures:

Letters to Juliet - Movie Review

Last weekend I went with a friend to see Letters to Juliet. So I thought I would review it for y'all!!

I don't know if you saw Dear John, but this is the same girl who plays the lead character in that movie. Remember her??

First of all, the Italian landscape was breathtaking in this movie. I was in Venice/Florence/Pisa in November and it totally brought me back!!! So pretty!

I thought the storyline was fairly (okay, REALLY) predictable. But acting was decent and it didn't really drag at all. I laughed out loud a couple of times. My girlfriend and I agreed that you will want to take a road trip after seeing this movie. :)

Also, not that this has much to do with the movie itself but I certainly couldn't take my mind off of how DELIGHTFUL Amanda's hair is.

And also, her love interest was this guy. I have one thing to say. British accent.

If you're looking for a feel-good, this is definitely a good movie to check out :)

My Dog. He Takes Xanax.

Several years ago we noticed a change in our home during storm season; Boomer developed storm anxiety. With every bolt of lightning there would be pacing, panting and whining. And Boomer was even worse.

So eventually, after many talks with the vet, we decided it was time to start giving him something to ease his fears (and allow me to sleep through the night). Doggie Xanax. It's not like we jumped right to it. We tried the standard tricks for relieving anxiety first. Taking a walk, counting to ten, journaling.

Oh I'm totally kidding.

Boomer can't count past five.

But in the end, it was the pills that did the trick. And I am convinced his health is better now that he's not wringing his paws over every raindrop.

How do your pets handle the spring storms?

Dinner and Dancing

On Saturday night Joe and I had a date of dinner and dancing. The studio where we take dance lessons has a monthly dance party where they do lots of different dance styles and serve food. It's a nice chance to practice what we learn in our private classes. Like, for instance, this move.

Don't try that at home. Ha!

Joe's not dancing with me here, he's dancing with our instructor. She's dressed up as Snow White because they had a Disney theme for the party (and they taught the Cinderella dance!). She is such a cute girl but she is tiny and I always feel like a clumsy giant against her!

When we left we went out for a really nice dinner at a fancy restaurant here in town. We usually eat at places like Five Guys Burgers, but Joe had a resident meeting here a couple months ago and he declared his life changed afterward. It was about ten at night so we got a really private table and had the restaurant to ourselves. Not that that would have stopped me from taking pictures of our food. Ha! We ate like little piggies.

That dessert may not look appealing but it was a warm brownie wrapped in phyllo dough. Mother, hold me. We licked that plate clean.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Versatile Blogger Award

I have never won a big hand at Black Jack. I never guessed the number of jelly beans in the jar correctly. I wasn't Homecoming Queen. I didn't win MVP of any athletic event. But I did win the Versatile Blogger Award from my friend, Brittany at Living in the Moment. Thank you so much!!!

By the way, I think this award is just a nice way of saying you have a problem sticking to one topic. Ha!

As part of the award, I'm supposed to list seven (versatile?) things about myself. I guess that's my acceptance speech.

1. I graduated high school with 42 kids in my class.
2. I seriously plan to take an around the world cruise someday.
3. I only eat french fries that are squared off at the ends. Did I just share too much? Let's just keep going.
4. I really, really, really want to have twins and everyone knows it.
5. I can not (CAN NOT) get through the Texas Chainsaw Massacre but otherwise I love scary movies.
6. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. So that's why I need to go back to school.
7. I believe having a pet is a good practice for having kids.

And now my favorite part. I get to pass this award on to some more versatile bloggers!

1. Mrs. Carioca @ My Life as a Carioca's Wife
2. Kristie @ Stilettos and Flip-Flops
3. Stephanie @ Geezees Custom Canvas Art

Happy Sunday!

Wednesday Night

Last night Joe and I had our weekly dance lesson. We are learning the Argentine Tango (I won't tell you how many times I've said to myself "it takes two to tango" during class! Ha!). Oh, did I ever show you my new professional dance shoes? Gold glitter shoes, I can't quit you.

We came home and look who was waiting for us at the door! I don't think he missed us at all!

I have been CRAVING a banana split so Joe went to the store to get all the fixin's. I ate a huge bowl and proceeded to get a huge stomach ache! Ha!

It's totally healthy though because of all the FRUIT.

Hope you had a happy hump day!

Dream Bedroom

I'm joining The Seattle Smiths today for Wishful Wednesday because I LOVE talking about rooms that inspire me! Joe and I recently redecorated our Master Bedroom and I still haven't shared the final pictures yet (I'm still finishing up sewing pillows! Ha!). However, I wanted to share a picture of a bedroom I've had saved on my computer for a long time because it screams COZY :)

 'I wish' .... I could come home to this 

________ bedroom every night!

Don't you just want to jump in bed? I love the calming colors, the rustic white furniture against the dark hardwood floors. The beautiful fabric that sets off the headboard and those mounted lamps! Oh, and if someone could deliver fresh flowers to my nightstand once a week that would be great! Ha!

Oh, and my OCD kicked in and I fully researched a way to re-create this look!

I love this white bedroom set from JCPenney:

And these Wal-mart lamps would certainly work:

Add a few beachy prints from Amazon:

Follow Martha's instructions for duplicating the pillows:

Throw a few cheap milk vases on the dresser:

And voila! You're in business!

By the way, our new Master Bedroom looks nothing like this picture but I'm really happy with how it turned out too! I can't wait to show you!