TGIF: Happy 4th of July!

Happy Friday, y'all! I thought this week was never going to end. I think knowing that  a long weekend is ahead makes for a longgggg week. 

Morning Brew 

I recently discovered Morning Brew and I love it! Morning Brew is a dpart of the business world, bur still would like to know what's going on. I think lately it has been a solid read and kept me well informed with the ups and owns of the market because of the Brexit Vote. (If you don't know what the Brexit Vote is, Morning Brew is definitely something you should read!) This quick morning read is definitely easier to follow than the front pages of the Wall Street Journal. Check it out and let me know what you think! 

aily (weekdays only) email that gets to your inbox around 630am and gives you the rundown on all things business going on in the world. Sounds similar to the Skimm, I know. But, the biggest difference is that the concentration is more business/finance geared than just a general news report. As someone who has always been interested in the business world, I think it is a great resource. However, I think it is also great for those not necessarily

Fourth of July

I just love the Fourth of July. Summer is one of my favorite seasons because I LOVE warm weather, and the fireworks, and all of the love for America. Okay. I know, you get it. I am just so excited about this weekend, and not just because it means an extra day off work! Plus, we're heading to the local Minor League Baseball game, which really just tops off the weekend! What plans do you have? 

New Planner 

I've recently been introduced to the term "planner peace," and I hope that one day I can get there. Sometimes I think I just need to design my own planner, until I realize that a. I don't have a lot of time for that and b. I'm still not sure I know what I want. I have really gone through the planners. I've tried Moleskin, Lilly, Emily Ley, and I've just ordered my first Plum Paper Planner. I cannot wait for it to arrive! Now that I'm not in school and work pretty much 8am-6/7pm every day, I don't need a ton of room for hourly events. However, I am still very much a planner and like to have plenty of space for my to-do lists. I am hopeful that the planner I order from Plum Paper will satisfy (almost) everything I am looking for. I will be sure to update y'all when it arrives! I've posted a few photos of my Emily Ley weekly layouts over on Instagram if you want to check those out. Do any of you have a planner that is tried and true? 

Orange is the New Black 

I finished Season Four and I am just so sad. I do not want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but holy cow. I do not know if I can wait another year for Season Five! 

Painting our Bedroom  

In addition to celebrating this great country we live in, we are also planning to paint our bedroom this weekend. We bough this house about 6 months ago and have s l o w l y been working on updating it to our tastes. The master bedroom has this weird light orangey/pink/peach color on the walls and I had finally had enough of it. It obviously doesn't match any of our stuff and I certainly wasn't interested in trying to match to it. [note - there are also a lot of patches and poor touch ups, so it needed a repainting, of any color] So last weekend we went to Lowes and chose a few paint samples - all shades of grey - put some of the swatches up on the wall, and have looked at them all week trying to decide which one we like the best, and I think we've made a decision. My mom loves to paint and at this point has probably painted every room in our house at least twice, so I feel like I know what I'm doing for the most part. However, I learned as we were choosing samples that my husband has never painted a room, so he was very hesitant to get the process started. We thought if we started with our bedroom and it went well we could tackle some of the other rooms in the house. If not, we'll get a few quotes from the pros. As much as I think I know what I'm doing, I am always open to suggestions if any of y'all have a story or tips to share! 

Have a great weekend y'all! Happy Fourth of July! 

xoxo

linking up with:

Oh Hey Friday | Five on Friday |  Casual I Friday | xoxo Rebecca | High Five for Friday | Friday Favorites 
The Wednesday Showcase

TGIF: Spring is almost here!

TGIF is no understatement. This has been a long week. That's how we all seem to feel on Fridays, right? This is our first weekend back in town as a MARRIED COUPLE! And I am so so so happy to not have anything really planned. I'm sure there will be a good deal of unpacking presents, and cleaning, but there will also be so much lounging and I cannot wait! Do y'all have any big weekend plans?

Meal Planning

If you saw my post on Monday, you'd know I was trying out meal planning for the first time. It has been really nice to have a brand new dinners and recipes to try out every night. But, I think I will try a different approach next week. This week we had a few crock pot meals, but they all only took 4 hours, so we ended up starting them when we got home - which kind of defeats the purpose. We also had a few meals that just took an hour or less to prepare. While none of that is super time consuming, it is still just another task to have to complete every night. Another meal to prepare, and another kitchen to clean up. I know, life.
I think for this upcoming week I'm going to get the plans together at least by Saturday so that we can go to the grocery on Sunday morning and pre-prepare a lot of items during the day Sunday, even if it is just chopping onions or crushing garlic, that's still one less thing to do during the week. I think it is definitely a trial and error game, but I have been pleased so far! Do any of y'all meal plan? I am still seeking any and all advice on what you think works and what doesn't - please share!

The Bachelor

I'd like to say that this is my only guilty pleasure on TV, but I think the truth is that all reality TV is my guilty pleasure. Oops.
Anyways, this week's episode of the Bachelor was the famous "Fantasy Suite" episode, of which all of the girls took advantage. At the risk of approaching a touchy subject, I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation, as either the contestant or the Bachelorette. I think the bigger news on the episode this week however, was that Ben said "I love you" to TWO girls. That's right. TWO. I'd always assumed it was an unwritten, or actually written, rule that they were not allowed to say it back to the contestants because if it was clear to the fans and audience who was favored, then there was less incentive to continue watching. Well, I guess you get around that by saying it to BOTH of them. I mean JoJo was genuinely shocked, she's watched the show enough to know that normally they just dance around it. I can kind of see where he's coming from, but I feel so bad for both of the girls because the fact that he said it back, right now they both think that they'll get the final rose, and obviously that is not going to be the case. I'll be very interested to see "After the Final Rose" that airs after the finale and how the runner-up really felt about it all.
Unfortunately we have to wait two weeks - this upcoming week will be the "Tell All" episode, which is always full of drama. Y'all, I can't help it. It's like a train wreck that I can't look away from. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

DietBet (again)

Do you know what happens when you go to an all inclusive resort for 6 days? Let me tell you. You will gain at least five to eight pounds. Like a solid gain of five pounds, not just, "Oh, I think I gained five pounds at Thanksgiving dinner." Legit. So I am back on the DietBet train, well actually, I've been on it in a maintainer which requires that I stay within 2% of my starting weight - which I am currently over. For now I've also joined a Kickstarter which requires you to lose 4% of your current weight within 4 weeks. I have completed three of these before, and won two of them. I think my chances are pretty good on this one (knock on wood) because I am going from an almost stationary lifestyle of work and wedding planning to 5 days a week at the gym. Fingers crossed!
To find out a little more about DietBet and my first experience with it, check out this post.

Post Wedding Blues

I have officially been married for thirteen days and it has been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. We went on a honeymoon the Monday immediately following the wedding, so I am finishing up my first week back at work. I came across a lot of articles while I was planning the wedding that said after the wedding you will have "Post Wedding Blues" because it will all be over and you won't have any planning to do. Well, at least for now, that couldn't be further from the truth. I enjoyed planning my wedding, but it was A LOT of work, and took up A LOT of time. I am so happy to have more time to spend at home with my husband (!), and it's time that we can just hang out and eat dinner and watch TV instead of going to Michaels and Home Depot and making seating charts and painting candle holders and assembling signs and monogramming napkins. You get the picture. I'm sure I will feel a little sadness that it's all over, but it's only over because our marriage is starting, and isn't that what it's all about?

Orange is the New Black

Maybe I watched all three seasons within a week and a half, maybe I didn't. Spoiler: I totally did. And since there are only three seasons, I am desperately waiting until the summer for the new one to air. As with most shows like that, I'll probably forget about it, and rediscover it after it about a month after it's released. Have any of y'all watched it? What did you think? I am super interested in trying to find out how realistic some of the things that happen are, but I haven't had much luck on that research. Only a handful of articles with interviews by the producer and previous inmates.

Hope you've had a great week so far, let's get this weekend started!

Happy Friday!

xoxo 

linking up with:

Oh Hey Friday | Five on Friday |  Casual I Friday | xoxo Rebecca | High Five for Friday | Friday Favorites 
Wednesday Showcase