Happy Valentines Day.

Happy Valentines Day loves! I hope whether you think this is a lame hallmark holiday or not - you feel loved today and everyday.

I was feeling extra festive this year so I bought myself this shirt on Groupon (yes, groupon):

The words say 'get in here'.

I also made cupcakes for my neighbors, who I adore:

I was incredibly proud of them since the cupcakes were dark chocolate made from scratch with and Oreo baked into them AND the icing was homemade as well. They were of course topped with half an oreo. Yum! They were a huge hit and my neighbors were so grateful for my special Valentines Day delivery!

This week is going to fly by in prep for this weekends yard sale but I wanted to pause today to tell you all how grateful I am for your friendships and that I hope you celebrate all the people in your life you love today.

Love,

B

Valentines Weekend.

Saturday Night. Bern's foyer - it feels like a palace.

Aubs and I with our desserts.

Friday Night.

Tiffany, Auburn, and I.

This is the face I made when we decided to take the night off from fasting.

It was a great night to take off because there was quite a spread of food:

After gabbing and grubbing we finally sat down and watched 'You've Got Mail'.

Overall it was a fabulous weekend full of food, friends, and fun. No complaints here. Hope you all had an equally great Valentines weekend.

All You Need Is Love - The Finale.

Whether in love or out, on Valentine's Day I LOVE to...

Hmm, well the answer that popped into my head first is make the people I love feel special. I work hard to do this year round with cards, letters, calls, texts, tweets, facebooks, etc. BUT Valentines is a great excuse to send an extra card or a couple goodies in the direction of those who are on my mind most.

Another honest answer would be that I LOVE to be spoiled rotten by my guy friends on Valentine's Day. My absolute favorite Valentine's Day ever was when I was single and I spent the night out with Casey and Jeff - two of my best guy friends from college. That would be these guys:

I made them let me take a Valentine's pic that night too. Ha ha, it's better than the ones with me in them. But these guys are the best. So much fun, who wouldn't want to spend Valentines with them? But we went out for a very romantic dinner of 10 cent wings (we were in college, duh). And I'm not really sure where we aquired them but Casey wore balloons tied to his pants for most of the night.

I think it's interesting that Valentine's always seems to be this big ugly holiday for singles. I've had some of my BEST Valentine's days while single but then again, I've got some great men in my life to make me feel special either way.

Get a pedicure. That's on the list as well. I got a Valentines themed pedi last year that was pretty fabulous.

Get cute text messages from friends also makes the list.

I'm pretty pleased with Valentines right now. I had the girls over Saturday night for a little Valentine's celebration and a 90s chick-flick. A great way to celebrate love.

Love,

B

Valentines Day Video Blog.

All You Need Is Love - #7

I LOVE when I feel beautiful/sexy/pretty! This happens when I...

...I get to wear a new dress. I love dresses. I never feel as excited about the way I look as when I'm sporting a new frock. Thanks to Nordstrom Rack moving 2 miles away from me, this happens more often than you'd imagine.

...wear just a tiny bit of makeup. That sounds weird but I feel fresher and as a result prettier when I'm barely wearing any makeup. Just enough to highlight a few of my features but not enough to cover me up. I love that feeling.

Set Up & Gifts I Treasure.

I was cleaning on Sunday afternoon and it was time to clean up my table, which I leave set all the time (since I never eat at it). I took everything off and wiped down the table and decided to reset the table with new place settings comprised of gifts my sisters gave me. My sisters, Rachel and Ruthie are amazing girls. I talk about them from time to time here because they are a huge part of my life. I love having things around the house to remind me of them. An oven mit, a food processor, a cookbook that collects more dust than anything since I don't actually cook.

I closed on the my pad only days before Christmas (the 22nd). Rachel gave me red napkins and pearl napkin rings that first Christmas and I loved them. This Christmas Ruthie gave me dessert plates for when I have people over and black napkins for my table. So I decided to set the table with a combo of the gifts so the table would radiate both my sisters beautiful back to me. So ta da....

The place mats I bought with a gift card I won on Tara's blog a while back. Aren't they darling? If you're new here you may not know that my entire house is done in zebra print and accent colors. I love zebra. So the places pretty much stay as is.

I've been cleaning in prep to have a few ladies over for a dessert night since it's Valentine's weekend. We're going to do a dessert night and watch a chick flick of some sort (still working on which one). I love, love, love to have people over. I treat prepping to entertain like all things and I bask in the set up. When I have somewhere fun to go, like on a date, I spend all week thinking about what I'm going to wear, how I'll do my hair, what shoes...ok, sometimes buying new stuff (don't tell). For entertaining I set up a little everyday so the excitement can mount...

Those are the dessert plates Ruthie got me which I will be using for the first time this weekend, aren't they precious? Every other plate has a red or white background.

Mom made the table as well. She sent me paper napkins with bible verses a while ago and I thought this would be a cute time to use them. There's also black and white ones on the other half of the table. Thanks Ma.

I had to close by showing you this picture because it just shows you a little more of my personality. I have a surprisingly girlie house but somehow football has intertwined itself into my whole home as well. I was giggling about that as I drank from one of my favorite football glasses (I have 8) in front of the TV the other night.

Wish you could all come sample some goodies and hangout with me for a night.

Love,
B

All You Need is Love - #6.

I LOVE to blog because...

Whew, where to begin? I started this blog after moving to Tampa thinking it would be a great way for my friends all over the states (and world) to read about my life and stay up to do date. So really this was supposed to be a 'this is what I'm up to' blog. It has morphed into so much more than that. Yes, I still share what's going on in my life - especially when it's fun, funny, or fabulous. But this blog is more than just a 'dear diary'.

I have shared my hopes, fears, struggles, health issues, weight loss successes, biblical insights, fashion wins and loses, and a whole lot more with you all here. More than that, this blog has become more about new friends than old. I've met some amazing people through blogging and learned about their lives and shared with them in all that they're going through. That's been a pleasant surprise. I thought I'd write here and people would read, or not. But who's reading, that's what's been the most exciting too me. I meet people out and about who have read my blog even though they haven't met me until then and we instantly bond. Or someone follows who's in a similar place in life to me and we start reading and commenting with each other until the feel like an old friend.

I love everything about blogging (except maybe the days I feel uninspired to write). I love all of you that I've come to know through the blog or old friends who have stayed in touch. I so appreciate each of you.

Love & Blog Posts,

B

All You Need Is Love - #5.

What I LOVE about my friends is...

Well I should start by saying my sisters are my best friends of all.


Me & Rachel at the Super Bowl.
Ruthie and I before one of Dad's game in Indy.

Cookie. So thankful for this guy - what a great friend and man of God. : ]

Jon & I after seeing Wicked - God brought this guy into my life at just the right time.

E! Love love love this guy more than I can put into words.

Adam and I at a Colts game. : ]


My first Grace small group at one of our reunion dinners.
Some of my best girls out for my birthday this year.
Nancy & Bryn, my Tampa family.

Um, is everything an option? Look at these fabulous people, who wouldn't want them as friends? These right here, readers, are the people that make my life full of laughter (mostly), fun, adventures, play dates and occasionally - mayhem. I love them. But I guess you already knew that. I'm supposed to tell you why...

How much time do you have? I love each of my friends for unique reasons and each of them has come into my life in a season that they fit perfectly. I'm amazed at how perfect the Lord's timing from providing me my 'Tampa family' to bringing people like Jon into my life when we were going through such similar things that only we could understand and talk about. I'm incredibly blessed in the friendship department and I don't take that for granted because there have been very empty seasons of my life in which I didn't have people I love and trust like I do these guys.

Love, love, and more love,
B

Ps: Sorry to the friends that weren't pictured - yes, you were included in all the nice things I said and I love you dearly. xo.

All You Need Is Love - #4.

For Valentine's Day I LOVE to bake/cook.... (share a recipe)

If you want to have your life changed by chocolate this Valentine's season I have just the ticket. Try these lovelies (full recipe found here):

Brownie bites are brownie, dipped in chocolate, and you can decorate the tops however you like. I make them for tons of occasions but with pink and red toppers, they're the perfect Valentine's treat. I promise they're life-changing, you won't regret it.

Love & Chocolate,

B

All You Need Is Love - #2.

When I'm down, to cheer myself up I LOVE to...

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Workout. Working out has come to be much more than a way to keep my weight loss going and my muscles toning. It has become my outlet. It's how I work through a cluttered head, how I cheer myself up after a long day, how I get out any anger or frustration, and how I perk up from a funk. Whenever I'm down, I hit the gym until I'm back to feeling like myself. I've grown to love this. I feel like a million bucks after a great workout, it literally always does the trick.

So working out isn't my only outlet. I also like to take a drive with music that matches my mood and let myself brood for a bit before leaving my problem behind and focusing on all the good in my life. If I need to vent I call Candy, she's always good for a vent session and by the end of it I'm usually laughing. I've been known to drive out and sit on the beach when I need to overcome a downer. And occasionally I hit the fro yo, hard, and that always seems to bounce me back either by pure joy at how good it is or a sugar rush, I'm not positive.

All You Need is Love Prompt One ...

Here we go again....

I found this on Meghan's blog and wanted to answer this one for myself. So here we go...

When I need 'me time' I like to:

Drive over the bay and back.


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One of my favorite things about the location of my 'batch pad' is that I'm blocks away from two bridges and sometimes when I need to clear my head and get back to feeling like myself I drive back and forth across the bay.

Go sale rack shopping.

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When I get down on my luck or down in the dumps I can always cheer myself up with a bargain version of 'retail therapy'. I love to shop the sale racks and find something fabulous for so cheap it makes me giddy. On one such recent adventure to Nordstrom rack I found an amazing Max & Cleo LBD (little black dress) for 15 bucks pictured below...

Get Out of Town.

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I love Tampa. It's why I live here. But sometimes when I just need to feel like me, I like to pack a bag and get out of town for the weekend. Make a mixed CD, roll the windows down, and let the breeze make my hair a tangle mess.

Read a Book. Sometimes I dedicate a whole day to being a bookworm.

Lay by my Beautiful Pool.

Write a Letter to a Friend.

or...

Get Dolled Up and Hit the Town.

A Return to Old Thoughts.

As I was packing up my Valentines cards and packages I needed to mail on lunch yesterday, it got me thinking about Valentines day and how passionately people seem to feel about it one way or another. I got to thinking, what'd I have to say about Valentines last year? After rereading this entry, it looks VERY similar to one I was planning to post next week but I actually like my thoughts from before better. Some of you may have read it a year ago but I hope each of you will go back and read it now.

A year later, I'm happy to report that much has changed in my own dating life, for the better. I'm keeping with my own rule that my dating life (except the rare really horrible date story) will not be on the blog, ever. Ok, maybe someday, like, when I'm married with no kids and no pets. But for now, suffice to say I'm pleased with this area of my life like all the others right now. My life has been even more full of love this year and next week on the day designed to pay attention to those we love most, I will be celebrating. Love is a beautiful thing, in all forms. I'm thankful for so many wonderful people in my life whom I love with all my heart.

Love, love, and more love,
B

Ps: Everyone please eat some chocolate for me because this fast is killing me. : ] February 21st I will be eating chocolate and drinking diet coke.

Love, actually.

(Image from: www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/220279254/)

Valentines got me thinking about love. Not love in the perfect sense. Not love in the Godly sense or even the movies sense of the word. Love the way it happens in real life. The good, the bad, the ugly of love in this imperfect world.

See, Valentines never makes me sad. I have so many people in my life I love and who love me. The years I've been in a relationship on Valentines haven't been all that different from the years I've been single. I think whether this was your year or not, we all find love at some point in our lives. Some of us find the love you get to keep, some of us don't. You can't always control the end result and I'd say most of us felt at some point like we couldn't (or wouldn't) control being in love either.

When I was younger I thought you only got one chance to be in love in life. I'm not sure where I got this notion exactly. But later, I determined I'd wasted my one chance. My first experience with being in love was a bit of a bust and I had this dread that since I couldn't make that work out, maybe I would never get to be in love again. Weird huh?

It's been a few years now. Being far enough removed from the situation to see several things more clearly than I did back then, I have a new perspective. First off, I realize that plenty of people don't 'get it right' the first go around. That falling in love more than once in your life doesn't necessarily cheapen the second time. Perhaps it does the opposite. Maybe failing at love makes the later success that much sweeter?

The thing those of us who had a botched first go around have to be the most aware of is containing our fears. As a social worker I've studied 'projecting' more than the average person. It's easy to project your fears and failures onto someone new. This is definitely a problem. But even worse than that perhaps, is the fear of trying at all. Not everyone has to try at love. Sometimes it finds you. When it does, you can't be afraid of failure at love anymore than in other aspects of your life. Fear is paralyzing.

Love is hard work but I don't think that failing in a relationship always means you didn't try hard enough. Somethings just weren't meant to be. I think I've been able to accept that about myself...that it isn't always my fault. You can only bend so far before you break.

Just some thoughts coming out of this weekend. My Valentines was filled with love, surprises, and people who mean the world to me. I hope yours was the same.

Love,
B

Valentines Pictures.

From our ladies night last night to dinner at Ceviche & movie at West shore...







Such a great Valentines weekend thus far. From a surprise field trip Friday at work to last nights festivities to brunch at Audra's today...great, great weekend. I'm about to disappear for the night. ; ] See you all tomorrow!

Love,
B