Droooool

i want:

maybe throw a boy in there too somewhere.

{but that's beside point}

Due to my current obsession with everything farm-like,

Farmhouse Wares

and

White Flower Farmhouse

feeding my love for updated rustic decor. I could spend hour on here! If only I had years to collect all these things from antique stores and flea markets. I would save a lot more money, that's for sure. Nonetheless, just looking is making me so excited to have a little house some day :-) enjoy, my friends.

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Yes please to all of these items.

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Fill In the Blank Friday

Hooray. Fill in the blanks. That's what we're doin' today. hey hey hey.

its a song.

If you feel so inclined, copy and paste the questions and your own answers on your blog and link it up to Lauren's heeeeere.

1. The strangest thing I've ever eaten is alligator jerky. sick.

2. I wouldn't be caught dead in public with pajama pants on. Not sweats...we're talkin' full on PJ's...with bananas or monkeys or something like that...know what I'm talkin' about? Come on folks...put some jeans on.

3. When I am 75 I will.... look back and say,

"well, that was fun".

4. If I had to be named after a place I would want to be named Carolina.

5. My name is "Amanda" - after a girl my dad new in high school who he said was "the sweetest, most kind person" he ever knew. I'm not sure if i totally live up to that but I hope I'm at least a little bit worthy of nice girl's name. - "Lee" - after General Robert E. Lee. Just kidding, I'm not sure if that's really true...I'm pretty sure its just Lee because it sounded cute with Amanda.

6. My all time favorite photo is a photo of mine and Ben's feet standing on a cute stone landing on a date. I love it because I remember taking it so vividly, and how much fun we were having. It was the night before we left each other for a whole month while we were dating (which is like torture when you're in l-o-v-e). It will always be one of my favorites.

(my friend put a little caption on it for me, kinda sweet)

7. If I could afford it I would quit work immediately So i could begin working on the following things I would then have time for:

.plant a garden.cabinet makeover.bedroom makeover.replace the carpet with hardwood.have a baby.take my dog to a Brittany trainer.buy my mom & dad a boat.fly to India.start a REAL recipe book.spend more time with family.work out more.

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.

party time

Lately I have been itching to throw a party or a small dinner to savor the last moments of summer while we still have it. Not that I'm sad. I love fall, but that's another post. Here are some lovely ideas I have been drooling over lately.

{All images found via Erin Ever After}

maybe a farmer's market inspired table of color

a frilly buffet of sweets

so girly. i need an occasion for this. A baby shower?

quick, someone get pregnant with a girl whose name starts with "R"

perhaps something along these beautiful lines.

"L is for Libations". i love it.

again with the paper bunting decorations




a colorful, whimsical, vignette



I'm gonna need a lake for this one. and only one guest.

so many romantic and woodsy details.

Now all I need is an occasion. Actually, scratch that, no occasion necessary.

life. life is the occasion.

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Things I Have Been Doing

really exciting post title. I wonder what it will be about?



Last week Ben was gone in Arizona for work all week, so I put myself to work a little bit, with the help of my bestest good friend Annalore, and gave him an office face-lift. I erased all my pictures of it because he was being sneaky and snooping through my phone. So I don't have any before and after photos. I'll take some more and put them up now that its not a surprise anymore. He was pretty excited though, he said "i want to sleep in here". I said "not ok".



This last weekend we had some good times relaxing and hanging out with the family. Since I'm lame and always forget to take pictures, I'll show you a few things that the last week/weekend have entailed...

Frozen yogurt for dinner 2 out of the 5 nights I was home alone. The other 3 nights included one night of happy hour, one night of cereal and a bag of kettle corn, and one night of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hello college student.

Hanging out with this little stinker. She is getting so big I can't even handle it. She was pretty hilarious at the farmers market and the fountain. Soooo much to look at. I freakin' love her!

We stocked up on veggies and fruit and BBQ sandwiches. Funny story of the day: Rachel (sister-in-law) got a thing of fries, and whilst standing in line, an elderly gentleman came up to her, tapped her on the shoulder, and the following transaction took place:

man: "are you gonna eat all those?"

Rachel: "no, I'm sharing them."

man: {reaches out and grabs a french fry off her plate and EEEAAATS IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER}

What the heck?

Anyway, here's the cute baby to look at...with my giant hand.

Since I was feeling project-happy while Ben was gone...I also rigged up this little guy here. I have been needing a place to display all the cute invitations, cards, and save-the-dates I have been getting and I got tired of a ream of paper being dumped on my kitchen floor every time I open the fridge...so I decided this was a better option. Look at the stinkin' truck one on the left. I guess you can't really see it, but it belongs to my friend sweet friend who just got married with a country wedding. Her pictures are adorable.

So there are a couple things i have been up to. Some of the other include delicious dinners with friends, visiting a new church downtown for the night, brunch with my parents, and work...which is unnecessary to blog about.

And now, go check out miss Lauren's giveaway!

15 things i ♥

about my dog

(because I'm mad at him for waking me up 4 times last night with his giant 60lb body sprawling all over the bed and kicking me in the face and barking at shadows and scaring the crap out of me at 4 AM).

1. the way the top of his head smells (it still smells like puppy)

2. he barks at strangers walking by, which used to annoy me, but now it makes me feel safe :-)

3. he is the cuddliest dog in the world.

4. he growls like he's so tough but his tail is wagging out of control

5. he can chase a bird all the way around the lake without getting tired

6. he eats his own poop. (ok i actually hate that)

7. he is always excited to see me

8. he loves to play in the baby pool

9. he's a champion hunter (in his own head)

10. he gives kids kisses but never bites them

11. he knows the best tricks

12. his little head tilts when he hears the words "bone, walk, run, park, camp, birdie, peanut butter, daddy, ride, and play."

13. he is friends with everyone, even shy, grumpy old dogs

14. he knows when i'm sad

15. he's not afraid of anything {except balloons}

There, I love him more now. Works everytime.

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Busy busy

Oops. I went to Ikea.

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Twice. Two days in a row. I am busy working on a very sneaky project.

more to come....

muwahaha