my niece, the iphone pro

It took my niece, Adelynn, all of 5.5 seconds to figure out how to scroll through pictures on my iphone.  After another 10 seconds, she was zooming and unzooming and figuring out how to get to the menu screen.  I was amazed at how quickly she figured out this technology.

It is just so crazy to me how the times have changed.  I don't even think I had a toy phone when I was little; it was all barbies and stuffed animals.  

We did have the original Nintendo and Gameboy though.  I don't know if you've ever seen an original Gameboy, but they were like the size of a small laptop.  My video game skills stopped at Mario Cart. 

Jason and I often wonder how much more technology will be advanced when we have kids.  I can only imagine!

ninety for ninety

top and skirt-h&m, shoes-aldo

I have to say, this whole no buying clothes business has really been awesome for me.  It has forced me to look at my closet a whole new way and really use what I have.  I mean, I have tried to be creative with my closet before, but I usually always started with one or two new items and then use what I already had.  Although I have not participated in the 30 for 30 yet, I feel like I have been doing a 60 for 60 or by the end of summer it will be a 90 for 90 (not sure if I have 90 pieces, but I wouldn't be surprised). 

Either way, I am glad that we have been able to stick to our budget and I am pleasantly surprised that by doing so, I have begun to appreciate even more the things we have.

 

a trip to the zoo

the end.

friday's five favorites: chatty crafty

I am always looking for new and interesting things to do in my town.  This weekend there will be an indie craft show here in Chattanooga called Chatty Crafty.  I am really excited to check it out and see what unique things I can find.  We have had threats of thunderstorms pretty much everyday, so I am hoping the weather will hold up for this event.  I checked out some of the vendors that are going to be there and I wanted to share with you five of my favorite things that I found.

 I just love this vintage brass owl.  I think it would fit perfectly in either our living room or office.

 A chalkboard pendant is such an awesome idea.  I would love personalizing it for each occasion.

This print is a great reminder of all the things I have in my life to be thankful for.

 Lately I have really been loving the look of leather bracelets.  This one would be perfect for everyday wear.

I love the look of this fabric wall art.  It would look so adorable in a girls nursery/bedroom.

date lunch with my love

One of the nice perks about hubby being in school, is that his school is just up the road from my work.   Right now there is one day a week that he is downtown all day and our lunch times coincide.  Thus making lunch dates super convenient.  This week I had a major craving for some sushi, so we headed over to Greenlife and grabbed a bite.  yum.

hello there summer

top-gap, vest-urban original (also seen here), shorts-express, shoes-aldo, necklace-f21

I wore this outfit over the weekend to go see the fireworks.  Originally I had something completely different in mind, but then we got a pretty good rain that day and it dropped the temperature.  So I decided to wear something a bit warmer, yet still summerish.  Here is what I came up with.

On another note, today is the first official day of summer.  I don't know about where you live, but here it feels like summer has already been here for about a month.  I'm not complaining because I like the warmer weather, but I just wish Spring had more of a chance to shine.

baby, you're a firework

This weekend the hubs and I went to our friends condo to watch the Riverbend fireworks front and center.  It was an awesome show that could easily compete with the Fourth of July.  

It's crazy how happy fireworks can make me.  The show didn't start until 11pm and I was getting pretty tired (yes, I am a grandma), but as soon as the fireworks started, my face lit up and I was wide awake.  I just find them so amazing and mysterious.  It's crazy how they mix things together and it creates such a huge, loud and beautiful explosion.  

I think every celebration should have fireworks. 

Or maybe just every Tuesday.  

Whichever.  

i'm excited for the weekend, how bout you?

I am going to spend my weekend having fun with these folks.  

Who knows, maybe we'll have another popsicle party!

Oh and hubby and I will enjoy the last night of Riverbend with a view of some awesome fireworks.

I can't wait to share it all with you next week!

What do you all have planned?

budget

I have mentioned before that we were trying to work on our budget since hubby is now a full time student and does not work.  We are continuing to use Mint to help see where we spend too much and where we have wiggle room.  It has helped out tremendously!  

I was so proud at the end of May when my our clothing section remained at $0.  This is a huge step for me and helped me prove to myself that I really do have self control when it comes to buying clothing items (which includes shoes, purses, accessories, etc.).  It has also forced me to really use the items in my closet and get creative.  

Every time I have been tempted to purchase something, I ask myself "do I need this?" And usually the answer is no.  So after a few moments of sadness, I move on and forget about what ever the item was.  I am not going to say that it is always easy, trust me, I have struggled at times.

So with all that being said, today I made my first online clothing purchase in a loooong time.  I bought a pair of Steve Madden sandals from DSW.  They were priced at $29.95 and I had a $15 off code, so after tax and shipping my total came to $25.02.  Not too bad, huh?  Hubby and I both agreed that I deserved a summer purchase :)

an afternoon at the playground

The other day we took the kiddos (my niece and nephew) to the park.  They had so much fun!  Adelynn's favorite by far was the swing.  I think she just loves having the wind blow in her hair, and who could blame her?  Kaleb, of course, had fun being king of the playground and saving us all from the bad guys; my hero!

I miss those days of playing on the playground when I was younger.  Not a care in the world but swinging the highest and racing to the slide!

some wrinkles and a new commandment

 top-gap, skirt-jcrew outlet, shoes-rocket dog via dsw, belt-thrifted, necklace-tiffany & co. (gift from jason)

I had hoped to take outfit photos in the morning before I went to work, but I was running late as usual and didn't quite get it done.  The difference between photos before and after work is the wrinkles.  So let me just say what we are all thinking; my skirt is uber wrinkly (you should have seen the back).  It crossed my mind to do a quick steam session, but I decided what the heck.  This blog is real life, and sometimes in real life we have wrinkles.  I'm just glad they aren't on my face (yet).

You know about the Ten Commandments, right?  You know, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal and so on.  Well I just wanted to make sure you were aware about the new 11th commandment; thou shalt not park here (well there, yes, right there).  Glad we are all now informed.

iphone photos of the kiddos

I have been non-stop busy all weekend long.  

Since the moment I picked up these cuties on Saturday, I have been soaking up all the auntie love I can get.  I get three whole weeks with these kiddos and it's gonna be awesome.  These are photos from the airport.  Just look at those gorgeous eyes and those adorable freckles. Love.

my bestie is back and my sissy is coming!

My bestie, Lindsay, is back in town.  I just love her to pieces and have missed her so much while she was living in California the past two years.  Although, I did love having an excuse to go out west to visit her.  

I can't wait to make great summer memories with her!

I hope you all have an awesome weekend!! I know I will, because I get to pick up my sister and the kids tomorrow.  I am so excited I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight! eeeeeeeeeee!!!!

do a little dance

top-f21, skirt-banana republic, belt-varga, shoes-aldo

Sometimes during an outfit shoot I get the urge to shake things up.  

And by shake things up, I mean do a little dance.  

When I was young I took dance lessons.  For about 2 or 3 years.  I am not sure the exact reason why I stopped though.  Maybe because we moved or something.  I think I could have greatly benefited from a few more years of dance class. ha! I actually have always wanted to be a dancer is some capacity and still think it would be really fun.  It's never too late, right?

its tough to beat the heat

 Lately one of my only favorite forms of exercise is going for walks.  I take Jack for a walk pretty much every day.  You might remember that I used to run; but after my big race I decided to take a short break from running, which turned into a long break.  Now it has gotten blazing hot here and the last couple times I tried to run, I thought I might pass out.
It's really disappointing because I miss running.  I am just having a hard time fitting it into my schedule right now because I would either have to go super early in the morning or late at night.  Neither of those  are really appealing to me right now.
I've decided I want to try out doing a workout video at home.  I am going to give the Body by Bethenny DVD a try.  I just hope it's not boring.  The last video I tried was a fail - I quit after 5 minutes because it was so boring.  I am also going to continue my walks with Jack; it's his favorite time of the day :)

What do you all do for fitness in the summer time?  Have any of you tried Bethenny's DVD?

check out my new location

dress-tj maxx, cardigan-charolette russe, shoes and ring-f21, belt-thrifted

The outfit photo locations around my house are less than ideal.  I figured I would attempt to give you a change in scenery from the front of my house and the back of my house.  Thus I bring you a parking lot.

On another note, my sister and the kiddos get here super soon.  They fly in this weekend and I am super duper excited.  They will be here for three whole weeks and I am going to soak up every last minute with them.  I've got some fun things planned and I can't wait to share all the fun-ness with you guys :)

amazing deal

Right now there is this really awesome deal going on at Kangaroo Express.

Buy a cup for $6.99 and get free drinks all. summer. long.

That's right folks, free.  Pretty much the best deal ever.

Just thought you should know.

sushi date night

Last night hubby and I had a much needed date night downtown.  I had a groupon for Sushi Nabe and we have been dying to use it.  If I could sum up our date in one word: yum!  I tried a Boston Roll for the first time and it was delicious.  Hubby had a rainbow roll and we also had edamame to start.  Our experience at Sushi Nabe was fantastic; everyone was friendly and did I mention that the sushi was delicious?!

After dinner we walked around a little downtown.  We just did a little window shopping and made a short list of restaurants we want to try out.  One of my favorite things about downtown are all the neat little details all around; like dance instructions on the sidewalk and colorful fire hydrants.  

And I think we can all say a big hurray because it's almost the weekend!!

What do you guys have planned??