Joy The Baker

I just need to share this with you all.

Joy The Baker

Does everyone already love her?

If you don't currently love her, you need to love her. Her blog is hilariously real.

Trust me you will love it, but you have to read every word. She's a crack up.

Happy Monday!

Its beautiful (but freeeeezing) outside my window.

Here is a little question game to start off the week. It'll be a busy one for me!

six names you go by:

.Amanda.

....

.Hey.

....

."ding"(the bell ringing at the desk at my work).

....

."what's your name again?".

....

...i can only think of four.

three things you're wearing right now:

.navy/white striped sailor tank (F21)

....

.new mustard short sleeved cartigan (Target)

....

.turquoise jingley necklace (F21)

....

notice a theme?

Cheap

four things you want at this exact moment:

.sun.

....

.hardwood floors.
....

.a well behaved dog.

....

.a vacation.

two things you did last night:

.ate mahi-mahi and corn on the cob.

....

.hung out with my fam.

two people you last talked to on the phone:

.mom.

....

.ben.

two things you're going to do tomorrow:

.help out in NE.

....

.celebrate Father's Day again.

three favorite drinks:

.iced vanilla dopio with cream.

....

.iced soy green tea latte.

....

.plain ol' french press with

reallyreallybadforyoubecauseithashighfructosecornsyrupinit

vanilla creamer.

Play along if you'd like,

and have a delightful Monday!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I Declare Today.....

Pet Peeves anyone? In the hopes of not sounding like a Negative Nancy, but in the hope of also finding some common ground and some laughs on things that just BUG people other than myself...I declare today...

*things that bug the poop out of me*

and

*things that make me so happy i could pee*

...Day.

(potty talk still makes me laugh, OK?)

k here we go:

Things that Bug the Poop Out of Me:

1: loud chewing. I want to throw up when I hear people
chewing their food. Really any noises that come from the head. Chewing,
sniffing, snorting, hacking, smacking...and the like.

....

2: being hot while getting ready in the morning. I FREAK
out in the summer when I'm trying to get dressed and my hair is sticking to my
face, or my clothes stick to me when i'm trying to get dressed...kinda like when you
have just put lotion on and you try and put on jeans. i HATE
that!

....

3: waking up twenty minutes before your alarm is going to
go off and having no choice but to get out of bed because otherwise you will pee
your pants.

....

4: bending over with your purse on your shoulder and it
flopping down and hitting you in the head and taking all your hair with it. Then
standing up and looking like you just ran a marathon, sweating and panting and
hair all stuck to your lip gloss.

....

5: getting home from the grocery store and realizing you
forgot to buy the one thing you went to pick up.

....

6: fake English accents. AAH!

....

7: going to the bathroom at a restaurant or store, and
washing your hands, leaning up against the counter and having a huge water spot
right on your crotch so it looks like you didn't make it to the potty in
time.

....

8: people giving you a hard time about not hanging out with
them enough when they never call you or make an effort either...they are just
mad because you don't spend your whole life thinking about them. That bugs
me.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Okay i think that's enough for the day. Now on to things that make me smile no matter whats going on.

1: babies laughing and head bobbing.

....

2: frozen yogurt.

....

3: talking in funny voices with Ben in the
car.

....

4: walking into a clean house.

....

5: being able to find both shoes right when i need
them.

....

6: getting to the gym at 5:04pm and there actually being a
treadmill open with a little light from heaven shining down on it just for
me.

....

7: making dinner and hearing Ben audibly applaud it with oooos and aaaws with his mouth
full.

....

8: A tried puppy dog laying on my lap.

....

9: kissing my hubby. (aaaaw)

....

10: hand sanitizer.

....

11: freshly shaved legs. (once in a blue
moon)

....

12: my hair stylist Bekah's head massages with tea tree oil. instant relaxation.

....

13: a whole night of fun and mischief with my bestie, Miss Annalore.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

So, i hope you're not depressed from reading about all the things that bug me. Now that i think of it, its probably a little silly to think you want to know all that. But maybe you can relate to either the pet peeves or the happy things?

Have a great Thursday!

One more day and its Friday!

Obessesed with the Sweetness.

Valentine's Day

=

Sweet.

(see)

I love valentines day.

yes its cheesy.

yes its silly.

yes its an excuse for girls to get presents.

yes its pink and red and white everywhere.

so?

To be honest, this year Ben and I are not doing any gifts at all. We are going away for the weekend. Finally. sigh. Its much needed. Some friends of ours are lending us their lodge on the river. I can't think of anything I would rather do on Valentines Day then wake up in the morning and have a cup of joe with Ben in our slippers and sit on the porch and watch the rain. Then go make breakfast and do nothing all day. We will be there Friday-Sunday and there really is nothing to do besides fish (its not fishing season). So he is bringing a book and I'm bringing....crafts! I have a couple in mind, which i will share once completed when I get home...but THIS, I fell in love with this morning. I will attempt it over the weekend.

SO sweet and lovely.

(see)

Any plans for Valentine's Day?

Have you seen any cute lovey-dovey projects that you want to try?

Fill in The Blank Friday

Its Friday!...you know what that means!

(see)

Friday Donut Day!

Well, for me anyway. but more importantly, its Fill In The Blank Friday via Lauren over at The Little Things We do. Make sure you do your own and link up here.

Here are mine:

1. If I weren't sitting at my desk right now I'd love to be working on the spare bedroom/office in our house, trust me, it needs a lot of help .

2. When I'm super upset I cuddle with my doggy, unless its him i'm upset with .

3. My favorite thing about myself is my frequent creative whirlwinds: scraps of paper flying everywhere, hammer pounding and nails all over the floor, paint in my hair, but cute new things on the wall.

4. If I found a $100 in the pocket of last winter's coat I'd spend it on shoes and a cheap date .

5. Even though some people might consider this a flaw, I love my lack of need for order, i find so much joy in not worrying.

6. I love the way I feel when i wake up early on my own, curl up with coffee in bed and get into The Word before the rest of the world wakes up.

7. I love my hair most when it's a little dirty with a little texture. Not too straight.

and here are my own add on's...

8. The attribute I really admire in Sarah (here)is her love for life and for who she knows she is.


9. Next time I have 2 free hours I should probably have a good conversation with Benjamin about whatever he wants to talk about.


10. I feel really lucky to not be on the path i was headed down three years ago.

Join The Party!

Looking Forward To..

Its Thursday, and the work week is almost over. Its about that time when i start getting really excited and ready for some relaxing weekend plans. This is the first time since Ben and I have met that we have real weekends off together, and man..we're having fun! Starting at 5:00 tomorrow I will be nowhere near a counting tape or accounting software. I will be doing the following:

#1: Much needed girl time.

with these girls here:

.Echo and little Alomae.

and these girls here:

.Shannon and Melissa.

We'll be having some very much overdue girl time that will consist of:

*sushi.

*portland stroll.

*Almoae's bedtime.

*chat. chat. chat. chat.

*tea.

*chat.

*hugs.

*giggling.

sounds fun huh? I can't wait. I love these ladies.

#2: Somewhere warm, well, pretending anyway.

with these crazy people here:

.Katy and Jeremy.

We'll be havin' ourselves a little indoor mid-winter tropical party. I guess you can call it a party if its only four people, as long as it includes the following:

heat cranked.

tank tops and sunglasses on.

ridiculous tropical drinks with umbrellas.

with a little of this:

and probably some of this:

Should be a good time.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

do share!

killer. olympic style.

Ok, i normally would not feel that anything pertaining to me working out would be worth putting on here, but holy cow, these moves from olympic athletes..kill. seriously. in a good way.

if you're into that.

get the whole workout here.

lower back. butt. thighs.

abs. arms. thighs.

(photos via self.com)

If anyone tries it, let me know what you think!

and share your favorite moves too if you want!

we're all trying to get ready for swimsuits, right?

Forest Animals

Why?

Well, they're cute.

That's really all.

(see)

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Enjoy the little babies of the forest.

(or whatever else makes you giggle today.)

Saturday Morning Special..except its not morning, its 2pm..

Hi! Happy Saturday! Who's glad its the weekend?

I AM! I AM!

Today I am having my sweetest of all little friends (and kinda sister) Laura create a post for you! Here she is..

on the right, that's her! Ain't she cute?

A Saturday lazy day late breakfast morning at the Newell's. Ben and Amanda invited Tj and I over for scrambles, bacon, toast, and potatoes. It was a lovely time.

Toasty toast

Avocados for the scramblers

Piled high plates

Lodos and Teedles
being extra cheesy

Some good home cookin'

manly men cook for their ladies

Love birds

Amanda taught me how to blog for the first time today. I think I'll make one of my own someday. The day of fun then continued. Excited for tonight to worship Jesus, and have a ladies night at

Le Happy!


Have a wonderful Saturday :)

Love,
Laura

I Went Pretend Shopping

Its ok to pretend sometimes...

Today I pretended that in America instead of using money, we could barter with mismatched socks and partially chewed up dog toys (which is what i have a surpluss of in my house), and i went pretend shopping at my most favorite of all stores, anthropologie. I put all these things in my pretend shopping basket and then right before checking out, i emptied it looked in my real wallet and discovered that I sill had all my real money, and that i felt just as fulfilled and satisfied with my dreamy treasures.

*all pictures from (anthropologie.com)*

I bought this:

this:

this:


oooo, and this:

then, i bought this:

this here:

this too:

I needed a bed:

and I LOVED this:

this:

and then I had to get this too:

I heart pretending.

Where's your favorite place to shop?

The Most Wonderful Time...

Back To Reality

Hope everyone had the best and happiest Christmas. Sadness is setting in while Im back at work this morning, so I needed to indulge in some memories from the Christmas weekend. Sharing some of my favorite things about my favorite day of the year, hopefully it cheers everyone up who has to go back to reality today!

*Tangle's first stocking*

*morning walk*

*buying baby shoes*

*Christmas Morning Coffee

in my new pretty cup
from Ben (good job,right?)*

*a homemade clock for

our stylish brother*

*crafty gift wrap*

*dad's scary dress-up act*
(cousin Eddie)

*so cute...

homemade jewelry display

from Laura*

*perfect gift from hubby*

I feel better already!

I'm still kinda sad.

Maybe I should eat a Christmas Cookie?

Merry Monday after Christmas!!