Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Navy Ladies Giveaway Winner!!

Thats right...today is the day ladies! I am happy to announce the winner of the "Navy Ladies Giveaway" and the lucky recipient of this gorgeous necklace made by Pumpkin Pie Designs, is Delainey from "Life as I know It." I chose the winner using the random number generator from random.org, so it was completely fair.
 
I hope you enjoy your lovely necklace Ms. Delainey!! :) Send me an email with your mailing info so I can get it to you as soon as possible!! Thank you to everyone who entered and a special thanks to Kalen from Pumpkin Pie Designs for providing the giveaway prize! 




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Monday, August 30, 2010

Random Thoughts, Josh Turner and an Anniversary Weekend :)

This weekend was a blast and it seems like the weekends always FLY by way too fast! My hubby had duty on Friday so I spent the day cleaning and doing about a million loads of laundry. Then Mrs. G stopped by with her pups and we had a doggy play date at my house. :) Tulip loves when Flower and Mojo come over to play so she was very excited...it was too cute! ♥ Mrs. G and I decided to head out in search of a lamp and some pillows to go on my new couches. We ended up at Marshalls where I found an awesome blue retro lamp and some amazing blue and brown pillows to go on my couches...they are fab! I will post some pictures this week...I PROMISE! I know I have been saying so for a month now, but I really wanted my house to look more like a HOME before I posted any, so I'm really excited to reveal the results, although I wanna add more decorations once we aren't so broke. I would definitely say I inherited the "decorating bug" from my mom and grammi!! :) Both my bathrooms have a theme as does my living room, kitchen and dining room! I am loving how its turned out so far!!
Anyway Saturday Mrs. G brought her pups back over and we all headed to the Josh Turner concert on base right by my house. She snapped this photo of my hubby and I while we were walking to the gates...I love it! ♥

I seriously LOVE the USO! Its awesome that they have free concerts for military and family members. It was an fantastic show and Good Lord....Josh is even more handsome in real life! Don't believe me? Here...see for yourself... :)
I don't know how...but this man managed to make jeans and a t-shirt look pretty damn good! wink*
This ones a little blurry, but check out that smile! :)
He certainly knows how to make a girl swoon...♥
And last but not least, I love this one! He looks so into it! ;)

Here are a few snap shots of us enjoying the concert. 
We had an awesome time!
Me and Mrs. G :)
I got a delicious peach daiquiri but I was bummed cause it was non-alcoholic! Boo! lol
Its ok though..I had fun pretending, and the way my eye looks in this picture you'd think I really was drunk! 
At least I got to keep the cutesy cup they gave me! ;)
 
After the concert Mrs. G and her pups headed home and my hubby and I settled into our pjs with a movie and a huge bowl of popcorn. We decided to watch "Why did I get married" cause I absolutely love it, and he had never seen it. Its such a good movie, if you haven't seen it, you should go rent it now! After we watched the movie he was being all lovey dovey and apologized for some things that have happened since he's been home. Nothing major, its just been a big adjustment for us both to have him home again. We both have to get used to feeling like we are ACTUALLY married and working as a team to get through the tough times the navy and life in general throws our way. It really melted my heart to hear him say those things and know that he is trying. Like any marriage, ours isn't perfect...but we do love each other very much, so I am leaning on God and praying for him to help make things easier for us. I know like all things it will take time before things can really go back to normal or as "normal" as they can be when your a military family.
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary and it started off as a bumpy day, but got much better as the day went on. I am a slacker and of course waited til the last minute to get my hubbs a present, so they didn't end up having what I wanted to get him. I was bummed but got him a kung fu movie and he was excited about that so it turned out ok. :) My hubby bought me some beautiful pearl earrings and some roses which I loved...not to mention he brought me a starbucks in the morning and a delicious coffee cake for breakfast! It was so sweet!! :)
 He had also gotten me a pearl bracelet but my wrists are so tiny it was way too big, and I had to return it. :((( I was bummed and hubby was peeved...I think his feelings were more hurt than anything because he worked so hard to pick out a nice gift for me and then it was ruined...but we got over it and had a good evening. :)
Once we made up I was a happy girl! And we headed out to dinner for some delicious Mexican Food! We went to a restaurant called Plaza Azteca and the food was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Not to mention it was very inexpensive, so I was impressed. I have heard horror stories about the Mexican food out here, but I was very happy to find such a good place. It definitely lived up to my high Cali standards for authentic and delicious Mexican food! :)
Check out our dessert! Those Churros were to die for!! Mmmmmm...I can't wait to go back! ♥
All in all we had a great weekend and a special anniversary. I feel so blessed to have such good friends like Mrs. G and a wonderful husband who spoils me to death and always tries to make me happy. Life isn't always easy or perfect, but the way I see it, there is always beauty somewhere amongst the chaos.

P.S. Check out my guest post today over at Steph's blog "Watching Airplanes." You can find it by clicking HERE . I worked hard on it and I hope you all like it! :) Also don't forget to enter my contest to win some fabulous jewelry for navy wives and s/o's! Today is the last day to enter...so click HERE to enter! I will be announcing the winner tomorrow morning...you have until Midnight tonight to submit your entries...Good luck and thanks for reading! ♥


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Friday, August 27, 2010

Flashback Friday: Anniversary Edition

Its been awhile since I wrote a "Flashback Friday" post and I've missed it! Since our 1 year Wedding Anniversary is on Sunday I thought I'd share some wedding pics...take a peek. :) I can't believe its already been a year since I married the Love of my Life and the Sexiest Sailor I've ever seen...
Here's me being sassy...its what I do best! ;) 
Neither one of us could stop smiling...♥
Our First Kiss as Husband and Wife...♥
We did it! Yay!! :)
This has to be one of my FAVORITE photos from our special day. I loved that little chapel! ♥
Absolutely Love this one!♥
Our cake was seriously AMAZING! ♥
And our cake table was GORGEOUS! :)
The Mr. & Mrs. having our first dance as husband and wife...♥
The beginning of our fairy tale...♥
and the Happiest day of my life♥

I love you more than you could ever imagine, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life on this earth with you, my sexy chocolate! Muah!! I love you forever...♥
Love Always, 
Me



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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Navy Ladies Giveaway!

Hey all you Navy Wives, Fiances, & Girlfriends...yes...YOU! I have been asked by the Lovely Kalen of "Pumpkin Pie Designs" to host a giveaway especially for Navy Wives and S/O's! One lucky winner will receive this beautiful handmade necklace...here, take a peek!
It reads, "I ♥ My Sailor" and its so stinkin' cute! Kalen specializes in making hand made, hand stamped jewelry. She has some really awesome jewelry for sale and she can also customize it to say anything you want! :) Here are some of my favorite pieces she has made...
This necklace really stands out to me...I love the heart and pretty much everything about it! Its adorable!!♥
 You all know I'm a sucker for pearls...What vintage lover isn't? And I must say I ADORE this little pearl bracelet! You can also have one made with different colored pearls. Kalen offers this bracelet in white, grey, blue, pink, chocolate or mint. How fun!♥
 I also love this "Hope" necklace. Its very simple and cute. :) Don't forget that everything Kalen makes can be customized to fit your needs. She also makes anniversary necklaces, graduation, best friends...etc.

So now that I am done drooling over all this fabulous jewelry its time for the rules! I am going to make this VERY simple for everyone, cause I'd like to think simpler is better. All you have to do is leave me a comment on this blog post answering this question: What is your favorite thing about being a Navy Wife or S/O? I am so excited to hear all your answers and remember to spread the word to all your fellow Navy Wives and S/O's!


For extra entries you may:
You will receive one entry for each of the above things and one for answering the question. You must leave me a separate comment each time! The winner will be chosen randomly so the more entries you have the better chance you have to win! In exactly one week on  Tuesday August 31st I will announce the winner, so make sure you get your entries in before then! Also make sure you tell all your navy wife and s/o friends about this fabulous giveaway so they have a chance to win.  Make sure you check out Kalen's etsy shop, "Pumpkin Pie Designs" to see all the rest of her fabulous jewelry. Good Luck everyone!

P.S. For all my other LOVELY readers who aren't Navy Wives or S/O's I haven't forgotten about you! I will be hosting another giveaway soon and everyone will be eligible to enter! :)




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Monday, August 23, 2010

A Perfect Weekend

That's what the last few days were...Perfect! My husband got off work early on Friday and we had the whole weekend to spend some quality time together...it was Bliss!♥ Friday we had sort of a lazy day after hubbs got home from work. We rented some movies, (thank goodness for Redbox), ran a few errands and had lunch at Mickey Dee's (fancy, right?!). Then we headed home to relax on our new couches....Eeeeeeekkkk! Thats right folks, we don't have to sit on the floor anymore!!! Thank goodness for the Nex furniture store and the great deals they have. :) Later on we paid Mrs. Gambizzle a visit and my husband had WAY too much fun playing with her adorable doggies, Flower & Mojo. He loves dogs and pretty much spent the whole time entertaining them! I snapped a few photos so I could use them for blackmail later on...lol. He says he "doesn't like" small dogs, but as you can see from these photos, I would beg to differ! See for yourself....
Flower is the biggest ham! She loves to crawl right on your lap and get some lovin'. Too stinkin' cute!♥
This one's a tad blurry but I love it cause it shows how hyper they were...I think Mojo is my hubby's new best friend!! lol!
This shot CRACKS ME UP! Flower is on the attack and she was desperately trying to steal the toy carrot from my hubby...lol.

After an evening with Mrs. G and her pups we headed home and made a delicious dinner...Lemon Pepper baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy with a yummy red leaf salad. Yum! I have to say I am getting the hang of things in the kitchen more and more. I've had plenty of time to practice while my hubby was gone the last year and he keeps telling me that now I'm a better cook than him, which I never mind hearing!! :) Friday night we watched a movie after dinner and then went to bed early....I think we are getting old! lol, but waking up at 4 am everyday for work can do that to a person.

Saturday was a GORGEOUS day here in Virginia Beach and I could not WAIT to get down to the beach!! Us being the lazy bones we are, decided to head to the beach on base, seeing as its only about two minutes away from our house. We were bummed though cause when we arrived it was blocked off and there were tents everywhere and you couldn't drive up and park your car like you normally can. But I was DETERMINED to go to the beach, I mean this day was just too beautiful not to be sitting on the sand or wading around in the Atlantic...so we decided to head down to the Boardwalk and hang out at Neptune Park. We played in the water for a while, then laid out on the beach and ate cool ranch Doritos and grapes. It was awesome and I have missed the simple things like this for almost a year now. It feels so good to have my husband home and to share these happy moments together.♥ Here are a few photos from the day....
Heres us after playing in the water and getting soaked...please excuse my wild hair! lol
I can't put my finger on it, but I LOVE this photo! Maybe its the blue sky or the bright colored beach umbrellas...I think its BOTH! It really was a beautiful day...♥
Here's me smilin' for the camera...my husbands an awesome photographer...lol. ;)
So happy to finally have him home! I've missed days like these, more than you'll ever know.

After our beach day adventure we headed home to finish working on our house. I love having my husband around to help with putting stuff together, fixing things and just to help me decorate. Its been really fun doing all that stuff together. :) After we finished working on the house we got ready and headed to dinner with our good friend Jimmy. He so kindly treated us to dinner at Captian George's Seafood Restaurant and it was AMAZING!!

Now normally I don't eat seafood, but I am trying to branch out and try new things so I decided to go for it...and it was delicious! I had grilled flounder with some sort of yummy seasoning on it, and I also tried some clams. They had cheese and spices on top and were soooo delicious!! I wish I would have taken a picture but I was too busy stuffing my face...anyway it was great. I also had some chicken fettuccine, rolls, fried potatoes, salad and more! All the food was excellent and that place was busier than any restaurant I've ever seen...after I had a delicious dinner I couldn't help but go back for dessert. I think I got about six different kinds, all of which I sampled a few bites of. I tried the flan, peach cobbler, chocolate pudding, strawberry shortcake, banana pudding, and key lime pie. My favorite had to be the chocolate pudding with whip cream spread on top and some chocolate drizzled over it...I ate the most of that dessert! :) That night was pretty amazing and it was really fun to try some new things. I was so happy to be there with my hubbs and Jimmy, we all had a great time! After dinner we headed back to the house to hang out and relax. We ended up talking and laughing until 2 am and after that I was sooo tired!

Yesterday we slept in and I made us a yummy breakfast of cinnamon vanilla pancakes with bananas and whip cream on top. I love eating my pancakes with bananas on top...if you've never tried it, you're missing out! After being fat kids once again, we decided to clean the house and do a bunch of laundry, and put a few finishing touches on the house. My hubby finished organizing and arranging his work out room, or as I'd like to call it..."the man cave." I'm so glad the house is finally coming together and starting to look like a home. Now if only money grew on trees we could buy a coffee table, a rug and some lamps for downstairs...After we finished our "chores" and house stuff we hung out and watched a movie before bed. Tulip loves to snuggle with my husband and I, and it was so cute to see the three of us laying on the couch watching a movie. My Hubby is starting to like Tulip more and more and it warms my heart to see them get along. She loves to give him kisses! :)

Before we went to bed last night I was thinking about all my blessings. Sure we don't have a lot of money right now, and things aren't always perfect thanks to the navy...but we are truly blessed. I feel so lucky to have a roof over my head and food to eat, not to mention good friends and family, a sweet lil doggy and the love of my life home, sleeping next to me once more. Last night as my husband fell asleep and started to snore, I smiled to myself and thought about how lucky I really am. You have no idea how much I've missed the sound of my hubby snoring next to me over the last year....its funny how something that used to drive me nuts now makes me smile. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Although the last year was the hardest of my life, I am grateful to have gone through the struggles and trials. It was a test to my faith, my marriage and my sanity. I know the Lord had and continues to have a plan for my life and I am amazed at all the good he has done for us and the blessings we have received!  It reminds me of this verse from a Carrie Underwood song, "I just wanna tell ya, that my heart is bursting at the seams. I can't wait another minute...Oh life is SHORT, love is SWEET, aint' no time like THIS time baby...♥"



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