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

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.

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 - #3.

If I could travel anywhere this snowy February, I would LOVE to go...

Well, being from Florida myself, it's not actually snowy here. But if I could go anywhere in general but especially right now for a week away from work and some fun in the sun I would head to...

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Who's with me?

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.

Appreciate.

2010 has been a year of realizing how blessed I really am. There has been much to appreciate and be grateful for this year. I could make you a whole huge long list but wait, I already did that for thanksgiving. So I'll stick with the one big thing that stands out most for this year over and above any others... my home.

Home has always been an unattainable goal for me. My childhood was full of uprooting, moving, new houses, more boxes, and new sets of friends. I dreamed that someday when I moved away from home this would all change and I could pick for myself where I wanted to live and stay there forever. In hindsight, it seems a little silly to think you'd buy your first home right after college and literally never leave it. I will more than likely outgrow 'the batch pad' at some point, like say, when I'm not a 'batch' anymore.

When I bought the batch pad last December and moved in the first week of January I thought, 'this is it! I finally have a real home'. Home base. A place to land. A structure to call home that doesn't have to change til I decide. That was a really exciting time for me. Throughout this year I've continued to fill it with memories, love, and zebra-striped-decor. But for me having a real home, of my own, was a huge dream come true. It was a desire of my heart the Lord granted for me in 2010 and I cherish it.

It was also a pretty serious undertaking for me without my parents help! I shouldn't say without their help, because they gave me a lot of great advice along the way. But Nancy and I did all the looking, all the research, all the decision making, and pulled the trigger without my parents ever coming to see it. You know you're an adult when...

This year truly has been a year full of thanksgiving for me. I could go on and on forever about what I appreciate in 2010. I won't do that again though. I know you have lives to get back too.

Love,
B