Idol

These girls had me in tears tonight. 

This was a year for the girls and I'm like 

a proud momma watching them. 

It's anyone's game. 

I just wish the judges weren't so ridiculous. Ugh. 

Cold Essentials

Every year the common cold sneaks into my

body and makes life miserable for a week or so.

It's inevitable. 

Over the years I have discovered these products that 

help me function normally and recover quickly,

so I thought I'd share them with you today!

Five Cold Essentials:

1. Ricola Lemon Herb with Echinacea

They taste great and instantly soothe your throat.

2. Emergen-C Immune + Blueberry Acai

Drink twice daily to get rid of that cold faster!

3.  Candy Cane Lane Tea

Delicious peppermint and vanilla tea

that feels wonderful on your scratchy throat.

(add some cream and agave nectar to make it absolutely delicious)

 4. Mucinex D

Buy behind the counter at the pharmacy. 

NOTHING clears your sinus like this does.

5. Smiths Lip Balm Minted Rose

Cools your chappy dry lips and smells fantastic.

Rebel

 Look into the lens. Get lost in it's beauty.

Jake and I have been talking about getting a new camera for years.

Well, I've been talking, Jake's been listening.

My dad's old Nikon is lovely but man is it fickle.

So today when we realized Jake had an empty schedule, 

we took off for the city and went a little crazy.

Nothing like an early birthday gift to turn a pity party upside down! 

It's black, it's beautiful, it's sleek, and I'm a little afraid of it. 

I've never bought anything this nice for myself.

Fantastic pictures coming soon!

Ahhh!

Fall Favorites

1. Sweaters and Tights. Too bad it's not nearly cold enough... a girl can dream. (via)

2. Carrot Cake ice cream. Tastes like Fall. You have to try it. 

3. Planning my birthday party... I'm a bit obsessed.  (via)

4. Polka Dots and Pumpkin.

Rainy Days

Ten Things to do on a Rainy Day

1. Buy a pair of rain boots.

2. Jump in puddles with your rain boots.

(or drive through them in your heated car)

3. Open up your windows so you can really hear the rain.

(do not do this in your car)

4. Light a candle or two. 

5. Drink some tea or hot cocoa. 

6. Turn off all the lights and look at lightning.

7. Read a book and curl up in your heated blanket.
(don't forget your fluffy puppy)

8. Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

9. Collect some rain water for your hair. 

(a soft water rinse makes your hair soft and shiny)

10. Watch one of the following movies: Somewhere in Time, 

Steel Magnolias or Step Mom.

Gold

 From This...

 To This...

These girls brought tears to my eyes as I watched them take home
the gold medal in women's gymnastics.
Especially after witnessing Jordyn Wieber's heartbreak on Sunday.
 They are so talented it blows my mind.

So proud to be an American!

Some Things

Oh hey...

How are you?
I'm good. Just applying for a dozen jobs without hearing anything.
Such is life.

Here are some things I'm loving.


1. Blue Bell Strawberries and Homemade Vanilla. Blue Bell is probably the best thing about living in OK.

2. They finally came and mowed my grass patch today! It's deliciously short and soft...

3. Hunger Games Soundtrack, especially this song by The Civil Wars

4. These Double Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy Bars. Oh yeah.

5. Heejun Han. Most adorable Asian ever.

6. Draw Something. This is the beauty I got from sister Lauren last night. We're not going to talk about what the candle looks like. Because this is a family blog.

7. Biggest Loser's Weight Loss Yoga. It's kicking my bottom.

8. Chats with old friends. Who I miss dearly.

9. Ali and Christina's new music video, featuring my adorable siblings Brielle (pictured below) and Kendall.

10. Amazingly hot weather. It's in the eighties people... and I'm loving the brown skin I'm getting. In March. That's fine.

Let The Games Begin.

One Week.

A few of my favorite things...

cuddling with pup

White Christmas

Hanging Snowflakes

Pero. Thanks mom!

Make It Work!

It's that time of year again..! PROJECT RUNWAY. Right in time too, I just finished Season 2 of Vampire Diaries and needed a new obsession. Man have I missed Heidi, Tim, and alllll of the drama!  That is drama in the name of Burt. I'm seriously disappointed Old Man... but Danielle and Anthony? I still have faith in you, and Oliver, he's cute in that awkward foreign way...

Just in case you were wondering, The Help was reeeally good.  I think the cast is perfection. They get you emotional on several occasions. I wish the movie would have followed the book more but, what can you do... It is definitely a must see. And a must read. Read first. Ohh Emma Stone, why can't we be besties?

She's bringing nerdy back.

Well..! Tomorrow we move out of the TLF and into a motel... hmmm. But not before we spend a night away in OKC at The Courtyard Marriott with a evening massage... Ahhhh... we totally need it.

Birdy

I'm in awe... oh, did I mention she's fifteen? It's like A Fine Frenzy and Adele had a lesbian love child.

credit: Lauren Morrison

Sunlit Serenity

I love, love, love Ruche boutique... 

it's like Anthropologie, but much more affordable.

 I want this necklace so badly...

And their lookbooks..? Breathtaking.

I want.

I love sales at Anthropologie. This dress was made for me I'm sure of it.... 

Oh how I wish there was a magical money fairy that would buy me this fantastic Graduation Dress. (ahem, dad its only 70 dollars and I'm a size 8)

I love Jacobs.

So last week I finished this heart wrenching series, and if you haven't read it... you must. I liked the Twilight series but this is sooo much better, and A LOT more realistic. Too realistic actually. 

Anyway, to help me recover from the Mockingjay tragedy (above is the newly selected cast, not sure how I feel about them) I decided to dive right into this...

Loving it. Cannot wait to see the movie. 

Cruisin...

Now that I know I will be here all summer long, I've decided that I'm in desperate need of a bicycle... 

 Another item to tack on to the graduation wish list... can't you see me cruising through Logan on this beauty?

The TRON Printer

Lovin my new printer.

Staples is having a "fifty dollars off printers" sale... so we decided that instead of spending up to fifty bucks getting new ink cartridges that might fix our broken computer or might not, we'd just spend an extra fifty to get a fantastic printer that has cartridges already with it. Worth it? I think so.... plus its so sexy.  It lights up, takes your printing commands wireless-ly and spits them out super fast. We love you TRON.

If I had money...

Now presenting... Courtney's ULTIMATE graduation Wish List!! These babies are what occupy my dreams at night :)

Feel free to contribute any of the above items.. totally realistic, right?

Pinterest and Curry

Alright people of the blogging nation... I have found my new favorite thing. It's a site that lets you catalog all of your favorite online finds. Doesn't seem that cool huh? Well it is, and you'd be foolish not to try it out. Go to pinterest.com and join! It's so much easier to keep track of all my obsessions now....

Now off to Tandoori Oven with husband. Yum.

Treasure Hunt

I've been blog and etsy crazy this weekend.... I just can't stop. Here are some adorable treasures I've found. 

This gorgeous necklace is at Papercut Art by Tina Tarnoff

Golden Bouquet by Twigs and Honey

This vintage 70's dress from Flourclothing

Cutesy hair clips from Wren handmade (determined to make these)

and some fun swimwear from none other than Anthropologie...

Sigh....

Love.

Ohh Valentines Day is almost here. I was never really a fan of it growing up, I think most teenage girls tend to despise the holiday. You sit around all day in class wondering if you were going to receive a Val-a-gram, or flowers, or anything. But during my freshman year of college, my friend Lauren and I became rather obsessed with making Valentines and eating Valentines candy... and it stuck. And now that I have sweetie, I love it even more :) So if you like making day of love crafts as much as me, here is a website that has some great ideas. Love the crayon hearts.