almost!

Here's a sneak peak of my new room! It's not quite but almost done so here's just a itsy bitsy little picture.

Let your imaginations roam :) la la la  

big smile. happy. love my new house. 

home for the weekend! 

happy happy happy friday with my siblings! <3 

it's a coral lipstick kind of friday :) 

moving. moving. moving.

Hey friends! Sorry I've been m.i.a. for the past week or so! My lack of posting is becoming a problem but I'm proud to announce that the stressful, no sleep, no posting, fast food, and fatigue has come to an end!!!

Moving is over!!!

Everything is almost organized and it's place. Just a few more things in my bedroom and living room! wooooo!

I have to brag on myself a bit.

I had to.....
1.) pack my whole house (which got done in 10 hours! yay!)
2.) get stuff done for my church
3.) go to summer school
4.) errands
5.) clean my old house spotless & turn in my key
6.) move all my furniture and boxes (all got done in 3 hours time!! another yay!!)
7.) unpack everything & organize
8.) still go to summer school

I got 93.46% of my house organized and put together in less than 24 hours. Yes I skipped one day of school but who cares! I'm practically done!!

As for now, I'm crashing. Yes, you heard me, I'm going to sleep at 7:56 on a Thursday night.

I'm getting old. 

I'll post pictures of my new place soon! 

stupid early monday mornings.

There is something terribly wrong about it being summer and having to get up early every week day.
I guess that's what you get for taking summer school, right? right.

This weekend, I had a 3 day weekend! wooooo! And it was the greatest most adventurous weekend I've had since 4th of July!

Friday - Frontier City Amusement Park, Oklahoma City. Yes, not the best park but hey - a roller coaster is a roller coaster.

Saturday - up at 5 am to road trip to east Texas to visit a friend for the day

Sunday - pit stop in Louisiana for lunch, then shopping at Northpark Dallas and Allen Premium Outlets

& now, here I am monday morning wishing I could start the weekend over, and wishing I didnt take summer school, and mostly wishing I could go on a real vacation.

ohhh well. I'll be spending the rest of my week dreaming of my favorite ride of all time.

a ferris wheel of course. 

packing starts tonight! I'll post pics of my empty house tomorrow for a little before shot. 

& I'm also going to spend the day begging my dad to take me to the beach. 

Happy monday friends! 

braided bun.

It's my perfect messy, easy, cute, "wow how did she do that?" hair do.. when I dont have time to do anything else! With summer's as hot as they are here, cute hair styles that keeps your hair out of your face and off your neck is a winner in my book. I sported this look yesterday while running errands, going to class and meetings, dinner with friends, and a latte decorating event at our favorite coffee shop. Yes, it requires a lot of bobby pins but I did not have to mess with it, fix it again, or touch it up once (which is always a plus). Not to mention it's a versatile way to wear your hair. It transitioned effortlessly from nike shorts and a t-shirt during class, to looking adorable with a sundress while running errands and going to meetings, to finally looking like romantic wispy hair into the evening. Needless to say.. I love it.

It's so quick and easy to do! Just follow these steps! 

1.) Separate hair into 2 even sections. 

2.) Braid both sections far back on your head. (as close to where a low pony tail would be.) 

3.) Make sure the braids don't have a lot of extra hair coming out the ends (thats just more to hide). 

4.) Twist and wrap both braids around each other making a bun shape

5.) & start bobby pinning! (it takes a lot) 

I bobby pin it loosely at first so I have room to tuck my extra pieces in

6.) Tuck the ends and extra strands into the back where they are hidden

7.) Finally, go around the messy braid bun and bobby pin it tight! 

(I used regular bobby pins and the mini ones) 

8.) loosely add hair spray
(yesterday, I added a small brightly colored headband for a little extra somethin' somethin')

&& you're done! easy peasy .. right? right. 

Happy Friday. 

Happy weekend. 

Do something adventurous! :) 

midway.

one of the best parts about living in a small town in oklahoma is classic, vintage, hidden little spots like this favorite of mine. 

it's one of those, everybody knows everybody and not saying hi to every single person when you walk in is considered rude.

& one of those, you have to know where it is to get there- type places. 

giving someone directions is an unwritten no-no. 

it's places like this us locals like to keep a secret! 

with all the people that come into Norman for games, events, and the university.. the town can get a bit hectic and busy. 

All the unique bars, adorable boutiques, and amazing local restaurants get swamped with visitors more than us locals would prefer. 

which only makes places like midway taste better, look cuter, and more treasured.

This little jem is Midway. 

Midway is an old grocery store and market turned sandwich shop and connivence store. 

perfectly hidden on the intersection of 2 confusing side streets, midway is the ideal place for the best sandwich for lunch, a snack midday or yummy homemade freshly baked treats.

dont mind my friend's arm :) 

 The best part about Midway is that it is true to it's original form. inside and out! 

there is still the old fashioned refrigerators, shelves, and feel. 

this sandwich station is home to the best owner and sandwich ingredients in Norman. 

Everything about Midway has more character than you could possibly imagine. 

Yes, somedays small town life gets boring and uneventful

but then, there are places with character, neighborly feel and love that a city doesnt have.

even if I move to a big city for a bit after I graduate.. 

it's places like this that reassure me this is the life I want and this is the life I want for my kids and family. 

the countdown has begun.

45. 45. 45... days!

the countdown to college football has officially started! 

I don't know about where you live, but football is the biggest most exciting thing in Oklahoma. 
Especially OU football. 

(& I'm not being biased because it's where I go to school ha)

Everything from the.. all day before and after tailgates, to the band and cheerleaders, to the tradition, to the cute red and white outfits, and the good rivalries and most of all the unity of the Sooner community that takes place this time of year.. thinking about it gives me just as many chills today as it does every game day. 

This preseason; we are predicted to do very well.

I'm thinkin' National Championship. 

Fingers Crossed! :) 

Boomer Sooner Baby! 

happy monday

class was good. test thursday :/ eek!

met with my pastor today about future plans to Africa! 

yes, I'm wanting to go back! I love it. I'm being called there. I cant see myself not going back. 

took a nap. 

now, harry potter marathon at my house :) 

lazy monday. 

 but whose complaining? not this girl!

bittersweet.

As I'm sure everyone knows.. it all ends tonight. 
Harry Potter that is, what else would I have been referring to?! 


I'm a Harry Potter fan. I wouldn't say I'm the craziest fan.. but I'm on the crazy scale for sure. 
As excited as I am to see this movie tonight at 12:01am I sort of want to cry at the same time. I dont want this era to be over. What will I look forward to movie wise the REST OF MY LIFE?? (yes I wanted that to be extremely dramatic.)


I'm having a constant battle in my head on whether or not I should actually go see the movie. The sooner I see it, the sooner it's over.. BUT I HAVE TO SEE IT!!!!! 


Ahhhh constant inner self battles are the absolute worst. 

hump day.

Every week my best friend from high school comes over and him and I make dinner together. Well, more I make him dinner. 

He likes to call it: wife-ing me. 

aka.. getting me ready to be a wife! 

He is bringing over tuna steaks to make sashimi as an appetizer and I'm in charge of coming on with a main course and side dishes. 

I. have. no. idea. what. I'm. going. to. cook. 

Any suggestions?

weekend favorites

butter dish: anthropologie 

belt: target 

phone case: dillards

5 finger shoes: sun & ski 

home grown cucumbers from a dear friend

delicious snack 

new maxi dress: anthropologie 

This weekend, I went shopping! It was much needed retail therapy and I could not be happier with my new snags! :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

fifteen.

 
Today, is my sisters birthday! She is turning 15 and growing up so fast! We are pretty far about, 6 years. But we are freakishly close. We have never fought a day in our lives and are best friends! She is one of the biggest blessings in my life. We have always been attached at the hip and I pray every day nothing would ever come between us. She is amazingly smart, funny, witty, caring, big hearted, and beautiful on the inside out (as you can see!). I'm so excited to drive home today to spend the evening with her in celebration! 

Cheraden: 2. Me: 8.

Happy Birthday Cheraden, 

I love you to the moon and back! 

blue green algae

there was a blue green algae scare this weekend at the lake.

but it was blown out of proportion.

& we wanted to play anyway.

so we did!

we're not scared of blue green algae! 

red white & blue

red white & blue 

strawberries white chocolate & blue sprinkles 

I wanted to make my family and friends a fun little treat for the long weekend. 

we spent it at the lake so it was important for me to make a finger food treat! 

& of course who doesnt love chocolate covered strawberries

... this is just the remix! :) 

bag o' strawberries 

dip in 1 bag of melted white chocolate

directly dip the strawberry into the sprinkles while chocolate is still moist.

& voi la!

dunzo! 

quick. easy. delicious! 

the fourth.

I will warn you now.. the next week all my posts will be about 4th of July. 

I love 4th of July. 

love it. 

This fourth of July felt different to me. I appreciated it more. It was more real; what our men and women have done for us seemed more real. 

I was sitting there 2 nights in a row, watching fireworks listening to America themed music in a free country that men and women fight for everyday with my family and best friend. 

I've always understood what Independence Day meant. I promise I do. But for the first time in my life I felt like I understood what life would be like if we weren't free and what those men and women are like.

I give credit to 2 things: 1.) Africa 2.) my navy friends

As you all know, I just got back from 3 weeks in South Africa. What I probably havent mentioned is that I'm going back for 3 months next year and plan to move there when I graduate. 

I miss it so much.

Even though I miss it and want to go back. I understand now what a privilege it is to live in America. 

I just got back from a place where crime is inevitable and corruption is guaranteed. 

I just got back from a place with men holding machine guns and machetes ready to use them on anyone. 

And this weekend I was home. home. 

I was in the home of the free. 

home of the brave. 

Brave. 

Brave brings me to my next point. This year I met, dated, fell in love, and broke up with a man in the Navy. 

But I also fell in love with his friends. 

I still speak with all of them [including him] weekly. 

And for the first time in my life, I am close with people in the military. 

During the fireworks all I could see in my head was their faces and I realized the reality of war and men and women in the military. 

They, my friends, are the ones who are fighting. 

my friends are the ones keeping us free and safe.

As Americans, we take a lot for granted. Including our freedom. 

That is one thing I will never take for granted again. 

It took me 20 years, but I think I finally grasp the reality and magnitude of how amazing and blessed our country is as well as all the men in women who have ever been, are, or will be in the military. 

So thank you. 

Thank you very much. 

God Bless you ALL!!