taking stock || part 2

i enjoyed this so much the first time, i thought i'd give it one more go...

also, this picture has nothing to do with it, donuts are just too fun to photograph... + eat

Making : plans + decorations for abel's birthday party

Cooking : apple cinnamon scones according to husband

Drinking : ginger ale, yumm
Reading: i'm currently in the middle of about 5 different books... one day though

Wanting: the weekend
Looking: forward to a facial on saturday, thank you sister
Playing: around with my new camera
Wasting: time on my phone
Sewing: again, i say ha
Wishing: for either snow so we can make muddy buddies or warmer weather so we can get out of the house!
Enjoying: chris, he's the best
Waiting: for chris to get home... he just left
Liking: when abel share's his snacks
Wondering: how many more babies we will be blessed with + what genders they will be
Loving: my family, always
Hoping: for good things to come
Marvelling: at how much abel has learned in one year + still being blown away that i made him from scratch
Needing: a cookie

Smelling: a sleepy abel

Wearing: a sweatshirt + yoga pants... so fancy

Following: such pretty feeds on instagram

Noticing: that it's time to deep clean the whole house... womp womp

Knowing: everything will be okay somehow

Thinking: about how much i'm wanting that cookie ^^^

Bookmarking: every memory that i can

Opening: up to the people who really care about me + still ask how i'm doing, while actually wanting a true response, even if it's sad

Giggling: at abel being silly lately... he is actually meaning to be silly these days + i am loving it

Feeling: hungry

taking stock...

hump day! (you know... like the camels) hello september 25, where did this month go? today i officially have an 8 month old & i'm just not sure how that happened. within a week of learning to crawl he has made the switch from gimpy to super speed, and he's really not even interested in the crawling part, but more the getting to whatever is around & immediately pulling up on it & then walking from side to side... i'm pretty sure crawling isn't going to last very long. the past week or so he has certainly been rocking my world. no more sitting around doing this or that or leaving the room for one second, i'm on my toes for good now. all this exploring is exciting for him however, after the excitement wears off he really only wants to be held, and by me... his top four teeth are coming in (front two are almost there) and if you saw the size of those things, you'd want your mom too! seriously, kid's got his mama's teeth... we're just praying they finish the job & soon! he's adopted a new shriek, he loves it. he does it all the time, happy or sad... depending on what follows it, and you'll know. we're teaching him high fives, patty cake & blowing kisses. he is the greatest blessing we've ever known. the sweetest slice of pie. i love him to the moon, back & around the block a couple (million) times. happy 8 months abel maddox, thanks for changing my name & forever changing my heart!

on a different note, i saw this over on the daybook, originally from here... & enjoyed reading it too much not to join in! i hope you're all having a wonderful week so far! our bed is currently dressed in the cozy cream & white that i often use for photo shoots, & it's just so pretty & all too tempting not to snuggle up with abel & not leave it until the weekend!

a happy little list...
Making : the switch from summer to fall in our closets, home & hearts

Cooking : cookies... surprised?

Drinking : too much iced vanilla chai, could be time again to give it up for a while (not)

Reading: boundaries by henry cloud & john townsend, SUCH a great read so far & so helpful in learning how to set boundaries for your self & for your family, why we should & why it's 100% okay to do so.

Wanting: chris to come home

Looking: forward to the holidays

Playing: patty cake, buckin' bronco, & ride a horsey with abel.

Wasting: time on pinterest... it's just the best this time of year, & the babies? i want a million & 3

Sewing: ha.

Wishing: for time to slow down so that abel could be little forever

Enjoying: cooler weather & a change in wardrobe, i was born for boots, hats + layering

Waiting: to become an auntie! hurry up arrow, we want to meet you!

Liking: when i wake up early enough that chris's cologne is still lingering in the house, i love him

Wondering: what abel's next milestone will be & when it will happen, probably tomorrow at the rate he's currently going

Loving: my family + the look exchanged between chris & i when we watch abel sleep, play, or generally do anything

Hoping: for a miracle

Marvelling: at God's beauty in every thing around us. sunsets over our lake, mornings with abel, walks, love...

Needing: to rid our life of drama, negativity & unloving thoughts & actions, even if it's at the expense of my own pride. "life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got" ... you can't change people, but you shouldn't let the bad behavior of others change who YOU truly are.

Smelling: warm, peanut butter + chocolate chip cookies

Wearing: leggings & a sweatshirt, you know... since it's chillier these past few days & we are officially AC window unit free!

Following: everyone i know, doesn't matter how long i live in a place... i still rely on the tail end of a friends car

Noticing: that it's time to deep clean the bathroom again... ugh

Knowing: that i am loved

Thinking: about throwing a halloween shindig, you all know how i love those

Bookmarking: every single moment spent with my family

Opening: a kit kat wrapper, the last one in the house... muahaha

Giggling: as much as humanly possible

Feeling: hungry

if you really knew me...

you'd know that...

 

the scene pictured above, is one of my favorite scenes of every day.

 

my closet & drawers are organized for about 24 hours every couple months. the remainder of the time it looks like a tornado went off in there. excuse me if i think it's easier to find stuff when you just rummage through. i mean, folded looks nice, but every time you pull something out. the thing above & below it get a little wonky, and these days, fixing it just isn't in the cards. chris's clothing storage is the exact opposite, he doesn't understand my methods. shrug.

i'd choose dessert over dinner any day + breakfast is my favorite meal.

i love my people with every bit of my being. i love so hard that it is not uncommon for me to cry at any moment just because i love them so much & that rush of emotion overtakes me.

my phobia of hair being around has only worsened since having abel & a house of all wood floors. dog hair? eww. post-partum hair loss? gosh, i wouldn't have believed you if you told me that i was capable of shedding this much hair. it's everywhere, despite my constant cleaning & sweeping 3 times a day. craziest part of it all? i still have the most hair of any person i know. sheesh.

i've hugged taylor swift. backstage at america's got talent. she's sweet, & TALL!

i love blogging + i love taking pictures + i love celebrating. these three go hand in hand & i'm so happy that in spite of the busyness of every day, i still do all three. i will never regret taking too many pictures, celebrating too much, capturing & documenting each moment of our lives, even the little ones like what we ate that day. i could never love too much or spend too much time with loved ones. this blog, is my favorite way to wrap all of this good stuff into one little package.

i gave up starbucks for the month of july.

i might have fallen out of love with cupcakes. gasp. i know... truth is, i haven't had a good cupcake since we left charlotte & left cupcrazed behind. womp womp. i have tried the ones in town & even made some at home & it just isn't the same. i'm wondering if it's the quality of cupcakes or if my taste has changed since being pregnant with abel... ashton & i made a batch last week in hopes to reignite the flame & they were pretty good... but i only had one & that's saying something.

i am obsessed with crispy white & pops of color.

the extent of my make up is blush, mascara & bright lips.

polka dots & stripes. all day, every day.

i do not like to paint, but continue signing myself up for around the house painting projects... who am i?

i believe garnish is half of what makes food "good"... i mean cupcakes without sprinkles? deviled eggs without paprika? pasta without parmesan? ... you get where i'm coming from right?

i am abel's biggest fan, chris's too. i love my boys. they are the joy in my days, the reason behind every smile. i would do anything for them. to protect them. i love them, they are rockstars.

five or eleven things you might not know...

1) the picture above gives me a check mark on my mini-bucket list of wonderful littles to experience in this lifetime... foam art in my cozy drink, thank you very much.

 

2) i'm a list maker.

 

3) i spend 80% of my days in cozy clothes... this is not since becoming a mom, this is a way of life for a dancer, turned chorographer, turned dance teacher, turned clothing designer/blogger/wifey/mommy (yea it's a real thing)... who now has an even better reason TO stay in comfy clothes all day. not ashamed.

 

4) i cry at the drop of a dime.

 

5) i am married to the best man out there, am surrounded by the most wonderful family, gave birth to the most precious little babekin there ever was, and am not afraid to say that life is pretty great right now.

 

6) in the same sentence, i am scared of loss. deeply. i can't imagine living in a world where my dad doesn't, and am praying desperately that i don't have to find out what it's like. (your prayers are greatly appreciated too.)

 

7) i have a peanut butter obsession.

 

8) i am the grammar police. you know the e-card.. "i am silently correcting your grammar as we speak." ... yea that's me. NOT so much in the punctuation & correct writing department though. i'm a biiiig fan of the run on sentence with 8 million commas, lowercase letters always, dotdotdots & whatever else it takes to get my thoughts across the way i want them. 

 

 

9) i have experienced some pretty crazy, cool things in my life. through dancing, i met major celebrities, performed on tv, traveled, taught huuuge classrooms full of kids, and more. i have never been one to talk about it because i always felt like it was bragging & i'm not into that, and that in the GRAND scheme of things it's importance is smaller than one of my dotdotdots... but lately i think it's pretty cool too, & a part of me so it made this list atleast.

 

 

10) i'm indecisive.

 

 

11) i think this mommy thing looks good on me. i've never felt more beautiful & confident than i do now. it's sort of the greatest thing ever & i am thanking God daily that not only has He blessed me with the most beautiful son, but also, through this journey, has given me His eyes for myself, which i never had before.

22 things you might not know...

1) she is currently watching the grinch.

2) he will eat just about anything.

3) we hope our baby is born on the 7th, so we will all be 7th babies.
4) her favorite colors are teal, mint, yellow & purple.

5) his favorite christmas song is 'sleigh ride' by fun.

6) hers is all of the 'home for christmas' amy grant cd.. (oh the nostalgia of my childhood)

7) she has long hair. 

8) we will have all of our belongings in one place for the FIRST time ever since we've been married (May 2010) come january 12th!

9) his "holiday" drink of choice is a gingeronno.

10) so is hers... (when not "with child" obviously)

11) we are celebrating our NINE year anniversary on january 9, 2013. whoa.

12) she thinks there is no better man than him.

13) he is good at everything he tries.

14) we love to laugh a lot.

15) she has two sisters.

16) he does too.

17) we are big fans of life around here. life is pretty wonderful.

18) she, in this exact moment, feels like her baby is trying to break out of her tummy from all directions! (thankful & ouch all at the same time)

19) we have love affairs with both five guys && smashburger... i mean a good burger really could be the key to happiness.

20) he is her forever.

 21) she is his too.

22) we think we've named our child... we think.

...happy saturday!

xoxo

other things you might not know HERE!

if you really knew me...

just a fun post idea from Jenni over at Story of My Life blog :)

when reading blogs, it really is important to remember that the writer gets to decide what parts of their  life will be publicized on here, and what parts will be kept private. i by no means have a perfect life, it is pretty great & i truly do feel blessed by it & all the parts that make it up, but it's not perfect. i try to keep my posts authentic & i try to share a little from every angle, BUT i also like this to be a positive place, so i try to keep the complaining posts to a minimum :)

this post idea is fun to me, because while it's true that if you're a regular around here, you know the characters in my life, you know i have a serious love for cupcakes... & really anything sweet for that matter, and you have probably given me a voice... you know what i'm talking about. it's the tone that you think i have, or the way you picture my voice to sound if you don't know me personally. we all do it. that's what makes this blogging world so fun :)

but...

if you really knew me...

*you'd know that i type on my iphone using only my right thumb. yea, it's strange i know! but thumb gets all the glory.

*you'd know that i can't stand to hear people chew. myself included. it's becoming a real phobia. i have to have the tv up or music on to buffer the sound.

*you'd know that i absolutely LOVE Christmas & that Halloween is a close second. fall & winter are just the best times of year.

*you'd know that i talk about my mimi a lot. 

*you'd know that it's not uncommon for me to stay up until 4 or 5 a.m.... by choice.

*you'd know that i'm a cryer. doesn't take much. sometimes i even just need to cry to release stress, and then get back to business like nothing happened. 

*you'd know that my nickname is hilla.

*you'd know that confrontation is NOT something i enjoy. i will avoid it at any cost & when it's not something i can avoid, anxiety consumes me.

*you'd know that pets are not just pets around here, they are family.

*you'd know that when husband is out of town, i sleep on his side of the bed, and harvey gets to join our little party on the bed instead of his usual sleeping arrangements (shhh don't tell chris :))

*you'd know that i love hard. which also makes it hurt worse when relationships have trials. but it's worth it. i'd rather have deep & meaningful friendships.

*you'd know that Walmart is my happy place. 

*you'd know that husband and i are still kind of sickening when it comes to being lovey dovey & pda even after all this time together.

that's all for now :) 

i hope you are having a wonderful week!

i am.

xoxo

11 things

11 Things

There are five rules:

1. Post these rules.

2. Post a picture of yourself and 11 random things.

3. Answer the questions set for the original post.

4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.

5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.

11 Random Things

1. I have the memory of an elephant. i remember the day, the year, location, the clothes we wore. i also relate smells, songs, etc. to past times. like.. 'oh my gosh, that smells like 2005' i kind of love it.

2. I love pizza. i could eat it everyday probably. that, along with yogurt&granola, brussel sprouts, flavor blasted goldfish, smoothies, and ice cream... are a few things that will NEVER be removed from my life :)

3. i can no longer say that i hate running.

4. i'm nostalgic almost to a fault. i lovelovelove reminiscing on different times & past events in my life. sometimes it makes me miss it so much! however, i love the time of life that i am currently in and also cannot wait for the future to continue unfolding.

5. i would much rather stay in than go out.. and by that i mean that i LOVE getting together with friends & playing games, eating, having a themed celebration... rather than going out on the town. although, i LOVE dancing & so going out to dance my face off is an occasional MUST.

6. When I was growing up i was convinced i would one day move from Colorado & go back to Texas where I was born. Now that i'm an adult and have lived a few different places, all i want is to be back in CO, my home sweet home.

7. I'm one of the few people i know that is just not into sports in any way. i love Chris & love that he plays soccer, and i love to go support & watch! but besides that... if i never saw or heard about another sport again in my life, i would be 100% content with that. ha!

8. I love soft, fluffy kitties. I wish we weren't allergic so that we could have another one.

9. I am married to my perfect other half. everything i am not good at, he is, and vice-versa. i love it.

10. I can't wait to have little babies & kiddos. i need ruffles & tutus & bows in my life. and a miniature chris is kiiiinda going to melt my heart.

11. a room FULL of blankets & pillows is sort of my fantasy.

Questions from Katie:

1. Do you drink coffee and if you do, why did you start?

No i don't and am SO glad. not that it's a bad thing, but i am a creature of habit & don't need another habit haha!

2. What is the most important quality you look for in a friend?

loyalty & depth.

3. What was your #1 favorite toy when you were young (K-4th)?

hmmm.. i was a HUGE barbie fan.

4. Do you prefer sunshine or rain?

tough choice! i LOVE to cuddle & stay in when it's raining. but who doens't love the sunshine!?

5. What movie can you watch over and over and never get sick of?

how to lose a guy in 10 days

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

still madly in love with husband, hopefully with a little of our very own, and joyful.

7. Skype: is it more awesome or more awkward?

mostly just awesome.

8. Who is your favorite band and what were you doing when you discovered them?

death cab for cutie. i was driving with chris, who at the time was my boyfriend, visiting home from college :)

9. Cats or dogs? (and don't say one is dumb and the other is great)

gah! both! kitties are so soft and sweet, but dogs are awesome. they like to hang & be pals.

10. What's your favorite thing to collect?

wine bottles

11. What is your favorite breakfast food?

EVERY breakfast food is SO good. i love waffles//pancakes.

Questions for the ladies I will be tagging:

1)what's your favorite meal of the day?

2)what bible verse is speaking to your heart today?

3)what is your favorite sweet treat?

4)what's the most important quality you look for in a friend.

5)what's making your heart happy this week?

6)if you got to pick your own name, what would you name yourself?

7)what's your ideal poolside beverage?

8)is that your real hair color?

9)what's on your tivo schedule?

10)do you have a favorite flower?

11)what kind of music do you currently like?

20 things you might not know...

1. we spend 90% of our day in sweats, because we have

the coolest jobs & we 'have' to :)

2. everyday we cross the state line to go to work... bamfs.

3. she's had 7 cars in 7 years...

4. he misuses words.

5. she loves it.

6. our dogs are our babies.

7. we collect cool wine bottles.

8. && we scrapbook our corks by putting dates & events on them

9. he loves iphone games.

10. she doesn't play any.

11. we LOVE movies.

12. she LOVES hot yoga & owls.

13. our hearts are in colorado.

14. he's the middle child

15. she's the middle girl.

16. we like mitch & gaby :)

17. he drinks tea before bed.

18. she eats ice cream.

19. we enjoy watching tv series on netflix... currently watching: how i met your mother

20. our birthdays are in the spring.

more things you might now know can be found HERE and HERE :)
happy tuesday!

21 things you might not know...

1. we love to be homebodies.

2. he's brave & adventurous.

3. she loves it.

4. we love to go grocery shopping.

5. she doesn't eat pork.

6. he doesn't love ice cream.... [[crazy, i know]]

7. she's picked out names for their future littles...

8. he LOVES kids.

9. she cries alot. 

10. we currently have a love affair with pears, yumm.

11. he likes to freeze any and all candy.

12. she LOVES pictures. people, things, scenery... doesn't matter.

13. we both love ryan gosling, might have a few different reasons i'm sure :)

14. he falls asleep earrrrrlyyy.

15. she stays up laaaaate.

16. we want to visit seattle & italy.

17. she loves him.

18. he loves her.

19. we love colorado.

20. we are BLESSED.

21. we are THANKFUL.

see MORE things you might not know here!

30 Things You Might Not Know...

1. We have lived in four different states together.

2. She teaches him hip hop in the kitchen.

3. We were born exactly one year and one month apart.

4. She likes ketchup on her tacos.

5. He's been to Germany.

6. He designed her engagement/wedding ring all by himself.

7. She never takes it off.

8. We are both afraid of scary movies.

9. We don't have cable. It's actually kind of nice.

10. She makes him model for Project Love.

11. He secretly likes it.

12. We often talk about places we'd like to travel to.

13. She points her toes when she watches technical dance.

14. We are both allergic to cats, but we have one.

15. He wakes up early.

16. She wakes up late.

17. When they first met, he told her he didn't think blue eyes and brown hair would look good together... then he realized that's what she had.. it worked out.

18. We both have a major sweet tooth.

19. He proposed on the bottom of a Starbucks cup :)

20. She cried when it happened.

21. He likes any and all food, anytime.

22. She only likes foods she’s in the mood for at that very moment.

23. He was THE Chris Salvaggione...

24. SHE got him :)

25. She used to want to be a ballerina.. until she met hip hop.

26. He sleeps on the side close to the door.

27. She loves everything vintage and thrift.

28. He can do back flips off of walls.

29. She would wear a dress every day of her life.

30. We both love eachother more than anything else in this world & feel blessed by God that He created us perfectly for one another.