Happy, Happy, Happy

     Is it cheating if I only use the Blog Every Day in May Challenge when I’m at a loss for what to write about?  Oh well…

Ten Things that Make You Really Happy

1.  This guy.  Cliché to start my list this way…don’t care.

2.  5 o’clock (or whenever I get home from work)…also known as my Coke drinking time.

3.  The prayer series that my church is doing.  We’re getting married in 39 days, and I think this is going to be such a great way to prepare our hearts.

Click the picture for a link to the literature we’re using.

4.  My new (semi-furnished) home!  I am still so excited to be moving things into the new apartment.  I am going to have to show you the kitchen…after this weekend when it actually has a table.

5.  No explanation needed.

6.  The wedding countdown to your immediate left.  I just can’t wait!

7.  The iiincredible weather we’ve had this week.  In a shocking weather twist, we actually got a spring this year, and even though it’s thrown me for a loop, I am loving it!  Flip flops are out to stay!

8.  Honeymoon plans!  I’m going to keep these under my hat for a little while longer, but I am really, really, really looking forward to it!

9.  The 1990s sitcom reruns that are on every day – Frasier, Friends, Golden Girls.

10.  This girl…

This Post is More Exciting Than the Title

     Instead of the blasé, gratuitous post vacation photo dump, I thought I would take you sweeties on a little timeline recap.  Let me start by saying that I love the beach probably more than anyone else in the whole world…I’m a vocabulary person, and I don’t even have enough words to tell you what a great time I had. 

Day 1

Mostly driving.  Eating some incredible peach cobbler on the way at Burris Farm Market.  Learning that Della loves sand…a lot. 

Day 2

Pictures (in sunglasses because it was way too bright for anything else).  Dinner at King Neptune…so eating way more than I care to admit here.  Just a little glimpse of what it was like – I had bacon-wrapped-crabmeat-stuffed-shrimp.  Yum.  Also, that shirt I’m wearing in the last picture is my new favorite thing!

Day 3


Snacks on the beach.  Let’s be honest, this was every day.  It was also the end of the snap pea crisps…

Day 4

Low. Country. Boil.  That’s really all that needs to be said.  (P.S. That’s alligator sausage…just learned that this year.)

Day 5

The day Della and I went “boating.”  The day my brother-in-law flipped over the boat (with me in it) and we all laughed.

Day 6

This is by far my favorite restaurant.  They have live music (who play us “Rocky Top” every year) every weekend.  Della was obsessed with the girl playing the bass fiddle…I kind of was too.  How cool is that?

Day 7

With the exception of the last one, these pictures are too sad to enlarge.  After a week of beautiful weather, a freak storm blew through and totally destroyed our canopies (tent city).  We left them in a mangled heap at the end of the driveway.  On the plus side, Della is clearly a future blogger, and we had great weather for the rest of the day to make up for not having shade.

     Sorry if it took thirty minutes for this page to load!  I couldn’t pare it down anymore, and I love all of these pictures.  Other notes about the week:
          - We saw so many dolphins!  I even saw a cute, little baby one jump all the way out of the water!
          - This was the year of the sand bar.  Every afternoon there were these huge sand bars all up and down the beach that went out really far with water barely up to our ankles.  It was beautiful.
          - It was also the year of the seashell.  I filled up the rest of my shell jar and got seven giant shells!
          - I finally had a chance to wear my neon orange flip flops!  I’m going to have to show them to you very, very soon.

     Now that summer is officially over, I have got to get into school mode quick.  I start student teaching orientation tomorrow!  I’m definitely going to miss summer, but I am so ready for fall (and everything that follows).  Student teaching > graduation > job (hopefully) > wedding planning > WEDDING! 

Pre-Cap

     I’m baaaaaack!  I hope y’all enjoyed my sweet guest posters from last week – so fun.  I more than enjoyed the beach, and will definitely be recapping this week.  Before I do that, I just wanted to say a big fat thank you to all you sweeties! 
     I went totally unplugged for vacation (…is there any other way?), and I was surprised to see so many new faces around here when I got back.  Talk about encouragement!  I have got about a million things going on right now, and I can’t wait to share with all my new friends.  I’m starting my last semester of college this week…and I can’t believe it!  In a few months I’m going to be looking for a real live grown up job, and I still feel like I’m 15.  Wow.  I’m pretty excited though.
     How about a pre-cap?

*sigh*

Two. Weeks.

     I have two weeks of work left.  This is blowing my mind.  Following that there is one week off and then the beach!  I enjoy my job, but with the sand and water thiiiis close, I’m just about ready to be done.  I can’t complain really.  I only work four days a week, and the way I created my schedule my schedule is set up, I don’t have to do too much after lunch. So nice.
     If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – I. Love. The. Beach.  From now until we strike out for Ft. Morgan, I will be in beach mode 100%.  I’m working on lining up some lovely ladies to guest post while I’m gone, so I hope you’ll stop by to hang out with them! 
     I’m hoping that in the next two weeks I’ll also get my student teaching assignments.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the school already knows and is just choosing not to write the email…which is sort of a bother for me.  I’ve gotten some great teacher clothes recently, and I keep thinking of fun classroom and lesson ideas, but I can’t use any of this stuff until I know which grades I’m going to be with!  I can’t wait to find out, and I am just on pins and needles over here.
     Aaaaand in two weeks I will (hopefully) probably have a wedding photographer.
     In two weeks, it will be August, and I’ll have a whole new round of sponsors (shoot me an email to get in on the sponsor star treatment).

…this is the only thing in my brain right now.

     I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a busy/not busy/waiting/doing two weeks.  I can’t wait!  How do your next few weeks look?  Big plans?

It’s My Party

     Happy Tuesday, lovies!  I hope the week is off to a great start for each of you.  As far as Mondays go, mine wasn’t terrible…and we’re already one day closer to the weekend!  I have a full week of posting planned, and I am excited about all of them.  First things first -

Congratulations
to

Kathie McAuliffe
for winning Cupcakes and Candy Canes’ first giveaway!

     I’ve sent your contact info to Kelsey Bang, and I hope you enjoy your adorable elephant.  Big, big, big thanks to each of you who entered.  This was a huge step for my little slice of the blogosphere, and I am so pleased with how it went. Thank you!
     Onto the real reason for this post – Keith and I now have a fully formed wedding party!  This is not huge news to me as I always knew it would be a small group, but it’s so nice to have it all decided and share it with you.  Keith will have his brother as his best man and one of his fraternity brothers as a groomsman.
     I will have my sister as my maid of honor (technically matron of honor) and my super-bestie, Tiffany, as a bridesmaid.  Tiff and I have known each other since we were three, and even though we aren’t at school together anymore, she is still one of the first one’s I call/text/whatever with news.  Plus she’s the type of friend that I can just hang out with no matter how long it’s been (and isn’t that the best kind?).  I wanted to do something a little cute to ask, especially since I hadn’t seen her in forever.

     I decided a little notebook and a frame would be perfect.  Tiffany is a really great writer, and the notebook was just too cute for words!  I almost wrote “reserved for a picture of me and my bridesmaid” in the frame, but I figured this was pretty classic.  In case you’re wondering, the notebook and the frame came from TJ Maxx.  Get this…when she opened the gift bag, she said, “I thought you weren’t having any bridesmaids!”  We haven’t talked about that in a long time, and she remembered because she knows me.  That was almost my favorite part of all of it – aside from her saying yes.
     I cannot wait to go dress shopping for them now!  I’m definitely still thinking navy blue…possibly with a nude shoe.  I’m also having lots of thoughts about cute bridesmaids gifts, but I can’t tell those to you because my sister reads this.  We’re another step closer; so excited!  Next on my list is booking a photographer and then meeting with the flower guy to really get some concrete ideas about looks and colors.  

In unrelated news…I’m ready to go to the beach.

Distracted

Both via

     This is all I can think about today…and I still have to wait until August!  I can’t stand to wish my summer away, but I just want to hop in my car and drive have someone drive me until I see the beach.  I love where I live, and I think Tennessee is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, but the beach takes my breath away every single time I see it.

    
     They, too, observed the LORD's power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas.  Psalm 107:24 (New Living Translation)

101 in 1001

     Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you!  I am so thrilled with the sweet responses I got about my guest post yesterday!  You were all so kind, and I really appreciate every bit of it.  I’ll probably post the tutorial over here at some point, but for now I wanted to share with you the newest page here at Cupcakes and Candy Canes. 
     You may or may not have noticed that there is a fun, new addition in the sidebar to the right – 101 in 1001.  I don’t know if it’s the springy weather or what, but I’m feeling about zero stress these past few days, and it’s making me feel like I can do just about anything.  With that in mind, I’ve kind of been in a list-making, goal-setting mood.  I have seen a few other blogs doing this, and although I was a little wary at first, I have now fully jumped on the bandwagon!
     I never make New Year’s resolutions (at least not out loud) because they always get broken…they’re just kind of cliché now.  I do, however, make lists – a lot.  They generally not terribly organized; actually, they’re just written on scraps of paper and include things like “lunch,” “sleep,” and “there is no reason you can’t get this done today.” (Sometimes I require a little extra push.)  Given all of that, I love the idea of having some long-term goals.  I’m not the type to write out a five or ten-year plan, but 1001 days seemed like just the right amount of time to get some pretty major things done.
     I’ve tried to include some easier stuff and some more difficult stuff so that I don’t feel like I’m making myself do homework.  I also tried to have a good balance between goals that will end in a product and goals that are just good to do (and will hopefully turn into habits). 
     I’ll definitely be blogging about these as I do them (when it’s applicable), and I’m counting on all of you to keep me accountable.  I think this is going to be so fun, and I am really looking forward to it!  Also, be sure to check soon, I’m going to be posting about the iiiiincredible birthday feast we made for my dad last weekend!
     And because I haven’t left you with a picture in awhile, how about some oldies but goodies?  I am seriously desperate for the beach right now, and out of that – a couple of my favorites from last summer:

    
     I hope you’re all enjoying the incredible weather, and that you aren’t quite as crazed for the beach as I am…

Allyson

Pre-Beach Craftiness

So we just got back from the beach…it was incredible.

I was on an extreme craft kick right before we left.  In addition to the bazillion bows, I made the perfect “riding to the beach” outfit for Della.  Of course it was outrageously simple like all of the other things I make, but I’ve never thought that took away from the cute-ness.

No more waiting…I can’t wait to show you!

Adorable right?! Just wait!

I love rickrack!  Still not totally done though!

Matching bow! 

I think this is my favorite thing I have made so far!

So, not only did Della look adorable in her shirt, but she absolutely LOVED the beach!

I know this wasn’t the most literarily satisfying blog…but that last picture makes up for it in spades!

I hope you all had a spectacular summer.  Get ready for some serious fall crafting!

       Also, I’m on Pinterest now – follow me “Allyson Butler”