beauty #9: dave & brit plus one

and so...the reason i ever began blogging is here: meet dave and brit plus one :)

daveandbritplusone.blogspot.com

i idolize the woman that writes this blog. she is a mirror image of the way i want to live my life...her love for Christ, her husband, and especially her beautiful child just blows my mind. i love reading her blog to gain insight into wife-life and motherhood...she makes everything about it seem so much fun...ive learned so much already! and i especially value her devotion to God. definitely an inspirational woman! and i recommend her blog to everyone...and just wait until you see kennedy (or baby k). i can only pray that my child is half as adorable as that precious little girl! get ready...she will take your breath away!


and this week....brit is hosting a giveaway from thirty-one gifts (mythirtyonelife.com)! i went and checked out the website and their stuff is TOO cute. perfect for sorority girls transitioning into marriage/work/mommy life! i absolutely adore the utility bag...it would be a perfect little therapy bag for when i start grad school! (for those that don't know...i am a speech-language pathology major) it's a fancy name for speech therapy but i LOVE it. i want to go into early intervention and do at-home therapy with babies and toddlers...so this bag would be great to travel around with! :) and i've always been a huge fan of monogramming so i should definitely be getting one soon!

hope you are all having a fantastic monday and i hope you get the chance to check out dave and brit plus one...there is more beauty in that blog than words can describe!

beauty #8: lazy sundays

so i have been the laziest person ever today and it has been great! because of my class schedule this semester, i don't get to do a lot of sleeping in. so it was absolutely glorious to lay in bed until 10:30 this morning. i watched a lifetime movie with whit....went to zaxbys to get lunch...and now im watching the braves game in the living room. the weather outside is cloudy and rainy and gray so its been nice to curl up on the aXid couch and just chill with my best friend. everyone needs chill days just to relax and do nothing...especially since the world is constantly telling us to go, go, go! (and because i have flag football practice and recruitment practice tonight.) one productive thing we did to today was shop for fall dresses. i am a HUGE fan of dresses...especially dresses i can afford on my poor college student budget. so while we are watching the wonderful braves, we looked at forever21 online to get excited for fall! here are some of our top choices...and the TRUE beauty of these beauties? all of them are less than $30.00!! hope yall enjoy!

and for a total steal...

something a little different....(i think this is just a top...i hope!)

and my abosolute favorite that is getting ordered asap??

hope you are having a beautifully blessed sunday :)

beauty #7: sorority recruitment!

so i know i have been a bloggie slacker...my poor blog has been super neglected. but thats only because the BEST time of the year is here. that's right...RECRUITMENT! i have loved rush since i was a freshman in college. and the more i think about it, the more my heart aches that this is my last recruitment ever. so here is my sorority story that i love telling....this is how i found the loves of my life...my alpha xi deltas.

inspring women to realize their potential. TFJ

i came to uwg knowing that i wanted to rush and be in a sorority. so i went through recruitment...i knew i loved every single girl i met on the alpha xi delta hall. they were all wonderful and beautiful...everything i knew i wanted. and then i fell in love with one girl in a different chapter. she was so sweet...she made sure to come find me every party. she told me she wanted me in her letters and she wanted me to be her little....i couldnt help but think in my head...if she wants me so badly, maybe i should go there. well i am the type of girl that hates to hurt people's feelings. i knew if i went to one chapter...i would hurt someone in the other, and vice versa. so my simple solution to that problem? i called my rho gamma (my recruitment leader for those non-greeks out there) the morning of preference..and i dropped out. it seemed easier to me. i immediately regretted it. i spent the afternoon crying and that night wishing and wondering what i wouldve done after i went to the ceremonies. and so i spent fall semester going through the motions and going home on the weekend. some college life huh? spring semester rolled around and i was finally getting into the swing of things. i had given up on the idea of being a pretty in pearls sorority girl and settled for being a simple college student. to my surprise one day, i received an invitation to hang out with the alpha xi's. back then, it didnt click that spring recruitment was going on. i reconnected with a lot of the girls i met through recruitment and to my biggest surprise, they offered me a bid a few days later. it was the greatest day of my life. how lucky am i to have found such wonderful women...sisters...who never gave up on me, even though i had given up on them so long ago? i have been blessed beyond measure to be a sister of alpha xi delta. my spring pledge class was awesome...all three of us! and we are currently the only entire pledge class to still be here :) love them!

so eventually...sophomore year rolled around and recruitment as a sorority girl started. i LOVED it..and i was good at it. i remember our current president LAH telling me how proud she was of me...and i just knew nothing could top it. then junior year rolled around...and i was on panhellenic executive council. i had to be away from my sweet sisters and it was one of the hardest things ive had to do. i would stand outside listening to them chant and cheer and i did nothing but cry. bid night of junior year was one of the greatest memories i will ever possess. after all the recruitees receive their bids, it has become tradition at uwg for all the new babies, rho gams, and panhellenic to RUN back to their house. and i was at a full on sprint. i ran faster than ive ever run in my entire life...and when i finally reached MY house with MY sisters...i dove into their arms and love like it had been ages since i had seen them. being away from your own sisters during recruitment is definitely an eye opener to just how wonderul they are...and how truly lucky you are to have them.

and so now here i am...in my senior year. at my last recruitment. i cant believe just how wonderful these women have made my life. nothing compares to the love i have for them...for alpha xi delta and everything it represents. for my (faded) light blue jersey with navy blue letters. for this beautiful sorority house that i have had the honor of living in for two amazing years. for my best friends that ive found. my hope and wish for everyone i ever meet is to know this kind of love...the beauty of this love that binds me to these women forever. what a lucky woman i am.

**on a side note...because i have been SO busy with recruitment lately...and since there is NO sign of relief...this blog is super special with a fun little questionnaire i filled out...(earlier this week...whoops! but i did say i was busy! lol) enjoy!

30 questions stolem from KLH

1. Do you plan outfits?


rarely. if you know anything about me, you know i am a procrastinator. plus i love waking up and feeling out my mood to figure out where i want to fall on the scale of cuteness for the day :) today's outfit? black top with a pretty little bow on the front. tan pencil skirt. black high heels. and pearls of course!

2. What is the closest thing to you that is red?

a heart keychain that my momma gave me...it's the kind you hang on your purse and works like a key finder! so clever!

3. What are you craving right now?

just ate some sushi so now i want a nice long nap!...and maybe some dark chocolate dove haha!

4. Do you bite into your ice cream or lick it?

definitely lick...you get to enjoy it so much longer

5. Have you ever met a celebrity?

several.


sugarland...jennifer nettles specifically!...when i was 16. and re-met her again when i was 18. i just love her!

i will always think she is just beautiful.

colbie caillait...the year she performed at jingle jam in atlanta, my daddy won tickets and passes to meet her so he gave them to me and my best. we got to go on her tour bus! so smitten :)

she had the sweetest personality. she was so soft spoken...and so beautiful. just loved her!

zac brown...he played at rumrunners my freshman year and afterwards he partied with everyone that was at his concert (this was way before he was famous or course) but he was SO much fun!

loved when her performed in carrollton...and gotta love his tobaggon.

and of course....cj. he has my heart.

calvin johnson.

6. Do you like cottage cheese?

i can stand to eat it...and could probably stand to eat more of it (and a lot less of other stuff!)

7. What are you listening to right now?

emily talking about recruitment. love sorority life

8. Were your parents strict?

strict enough to keep me on the right path. easy-going enough to let me enjoy life and have fun. they were wonderful.

9. Would you go to dinner with George W. Bush?

absolutely...i have so many questions for him! haha

10. What are your plans this weekend?

athens bound! and even though im a tech fan...im still pumped about it!

11. Are you clumsy?

absolutely. my poor leg is still recovering from falling trying to get in the shower yesterday

12. Favorite time of the year?

FALL....hands down. and for so many reasons.


recruitment.


football season.


you get to wear the CUTEST clothes.

wonderful weather that makes the outdoors just look breathtaking.

fall roadtrips will always be a favorite of mine.

13. Favorite color?

well i have several. i am a HUGE fan of pink. i love all things pink...except i hate that i cant wear pink..it just doesnt do anything for me. so my favorite color to wear? blue and green.

14. Are you sarcastic?

absolutely. probably more than i need to be.

15. Do you sleep with the tv on?

me and roomie put the sleep timer on hgtv and fall asleep watching house hunters. its our nightly routine that i love so much....definitely something im going to miss next year.

16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday:

biology lab book....yuck.


long resistance workout band...again, yuck. but definitely needed.


went to the scrapbook store with em yesterday..and even though i didnt buy anything, i can feel it coming soon.

17. Could you ever forgive a cheater?

no way. my momma always told me...once a cheater, always a cheater. its a lesson i had to learn the hard way, but one i will never have to learn from again.

18. What are you wearing?

quill. for those that dont know my sorority lingo...quill is "pin attire." it requires dressing like you would for an interview....heels, make-up, the whole shebang. so like i said earlier...i have on a black top with a pretty ruffle around the neck and a bow in the front. tan pencil skirt that i love. black heels. and like a typical sorority girl...pearls :)

19. What is your favorite candy?

anything chocolate. it's so awful for me but i just cant help it. i will forever be a chocoholic.

20. Any particular candy you ate as a kid?

not really a candy you can buy..but when i was little, i always made my momma make me candied pecans. i love the cinnamon and sugar. SO good.

21. Sexiest part on a man's body is.....

smile. i love when guys take care of their teeth and have a pretty white smile. its just beautiful.

22. What is your favorite thing that is green?

football fields :)

bobby dodd stadium. nothing will ever beat that skyline.

23. What did your last text message say?

picture message from spence...the bravos are in colorado!

24. What is your middle name?

lauren...my parents thought calling me by my middle name would be cute. when it fact, all it is, is confusing.

25. What do you smell like?

hopefully still like the love spell i sprayed this morning.

26. What is the way to your heart?

If you play: football, baseball or the guitar…im sold :)

27. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre?

sex & the city 2 with the girls

satc 2. LOVED it...LOVE them all.

28. What words do you use when people pass gas?

green! (it’s a game that can turn out super funny if played correctly!)

29. Name a song you know all the words to:

something beautiful – needtobreathe…my blog title inspiration

30. What your favorite childhood show?

oh my goodness there are so many. i was an avid clarissa explains it all watcher..and a huge fan of the price is right!

so i hope yall enjoyed that...just a little more insight into the beauty in my life.

beauty #6: wedding weekends

so saturday was the BIG day for allie hannah!..and let me tell you, the entire weekend was CRAZY! i got out of class thursday morning at 11 and i immediately hit the road to head to auburn. i met allie and her momma (aunt k) at the barn and got to work...now i'll admit, i was not too keen on the idea of a reception in a barn. but boy was i wrong! we hung burlap over all the stalls and hung old window frames with inset pictures of allie & patrick down the walls. we hung a burlap at the end sign with a moss monogram (ASP). we found a lighting guy that hung white lights and beautiful black chandeliers! we woke up friday monring to head back to the barn to work work work some more. eventually, allie and i were sent back to her house to pack for grandmama's house that night and to get ready for the rehearsal and reahearsal dinner. we got back to the barn and rehearsed (since allie is only allowed to walk down the aisle once, i pretended to be the bride and i got to "marry" patrick twice!) allie asked him how it felt to marry me...his response? "well it wasnt you honey...but if you werent around, she would be my second choice!" hahaha...too sweet. the rehearsal dinner was hosted by patrick's mom, sister and brother in law. it was a country themed dinner with red bandanas and sweet-tea filled mason jars. it was precious! after dinner, we partied at uncle john's to hang out and chill...then allie and i said our goodbyes and headed to grandmama's for the night. we got in bed and just laid there...we couldnt believe she was getting married. we talked, we laughed, we cried..it was a wonderful moment that i will NEVER forget. and then...the BIG day was here! we got up to a home-cooked breakfast from grandmama and then headed out to get our nails done. we stopped back by the barn for some last minute touch-ups and drop-offs and then headed  back to grandmama's to get ready. the day was perfect! and even though it was incredibly hott, we were so blessed and thankful it didn't rain on us. God is good! and even though it was hard work, all our hard work was rewarded with fun, family, laughter and love. here are some pictures from a weekend that contained more beauty than some lifetimes even allow :)

signs leading the guests to the wedding

me and allie taking a photo moment during the rehearsal

sweet, sweet story! once we got to gaga's house to get dressed and ready, patrick sent his nephew davis to allie to give her a present. davis had a little white box with a gold bow but wouldnt tell allie who it was from. when she finally guessed uncle patrick, he grinned from ear to ear and nodded yes! inside the box? a pandora bracelet with 5 charms...a wedding bell, her birthstone, a heart, his birthstone, and a horseshoe for their country wedding. absolutely precious! crying moment #1.

me and allie after we were both finally ready (crying moment #2...this picture was taken after we composed ourselves!)

putting on her garter...check out those cowgirl boots! :)

allie and her wonderful momma aunt k!

 

allie with the bridal party (left to right: uncle john (allies uncle & the reason patrick and allie met), seth (best man/patrick's brother-in-law), allison (mine and allie's cousin), me, allie (duh!), kacie (allison's sister), derek (patrick's childhood best friend) and mr. bobby (derek's dad)) whew!

bridesmaids!

sweet, sweet picture of allie & the groomsmen

on the way up the hill to the ceremony!! SO excited!!

beautiful ceremony...definitely southern living worthy!

another angle of the ceremony...the sunset was breathtaking! and i especially love this picture because you can see the back of my hair!! i loved it!

allie with her second family (a.k.a...my family!)

me and my sweet handsome brother :)

me and my wonderful family

monogrammed sign made of burlap and moss...so rustic!

bride's cake...allie wanted something different so the baker made the layers look lopsided! haha...so cute!

another sweet story! patrick swore up and down that he only wanted one cake...well allie surprised him with a camouflage grooms cake with hunting stuff around it! and he had NO idea! he got pretty teary eyed when he saw it...it meant alot to him that she would do that for him! too precious!

feeding her cake...we threatened his life if he shoved it on her face! haha

feeding patrick cake...she wouldnt shove it in his face since he couldnt shove it in her! haha

poppin champagne!

and the rest of the night was spent dancing the night away!!

and so...i leave you with this photo of a beautiful love to sum up a beautiful weekend :)

"i cross my heart, and promise to, give all i've got to give to make all your dreams come true, in all the world, you'll never find...a love as true a mine." -george strait - cross my heart, allie & patrick sullivan's first dance as husband and wife, partners in life

beauty #5: hair appointments :)

i had a WONDERFUL day today. first, me and roomie and jenna and bree got up bright and early and got to the gym around 7 this morning. awesome workout! but i am loving the fact that tomorrow is "rest your body day"! Haha...i think it's time to give my poor, unworked muscles a break. but come thursday morning, its back in the gym for us! :)

then after the gym today, i went to newnan (hometown shout-out!) to get my skank roots touched up. and yes, i refer to them as skank roots...i think the name explains it all. and i would love to say that i just LOVE going to get my hair done...as girly as that sounds. my hairdresser is wonderful (she owns steph & co. in newnan)...she is just fabulous! she has been doing my hair for years and she does an excellent job. and i just love talking to her and telling her all my secrets...total girl thing i know. but i went to get my hair touched up for the wedding this weekend! while i was there, i saw a magazine article with one of my favorite celebrities on the front..L.C....and i just LOVE that her name is lauren too :) so i got to thinking...that is exactly how i want my hair for the wedding...soooo....

this is what i want my hair to look like saturday :)

i think it would be perfect for an outdoor wedding and my hair has to be up since my dress is so detailed up top. i cant wait to share this beautiful weekend with everyone! i am so looking forward to it!