Goodbye 2010: A Year in Review

Wow, can you believe this year is over already?

Its been a good year for the Oakes family this year. After all, we started our family in April of this year.

We welcomed a new member to the family in June:

Started looking for a new home in July, only to decide to stay in our current home. Yes we are full of drama around here.

In October we did a major decluttering of our home in our (then) effort to sell our house. We might have decided to call the whole thing off, but let me tell you, decluttering is something you will never regret.

And then before we knew it Christmas was here! Our first married Christmas, and let me tell you, hubs blew it out of the park in the present department:

Sorry bad quality. Its actually my right hand I wear it on, my Mac flipped it backwards when I took the pic

He knew I loved the Princess Diana/Kate ring and I'm in love with this princess inspired ring.

And so tonight we will watch our Gamecocks play in the Chick-Fil-A bowl and then ring in 2011 with the family. Can't wait!

What was the best part about your 2010??

See you next year!

Quote of the Day

Last night, among my other usual internet surfing, I ended up doing a little New Year's Resolutions research. My "research" consisted of going to good-ole-google and typing in "how to find something you're passionate about." Yes, I'm clearly having a little trouble dealing with my resolutions this year.

But I found this great quote:

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it" -Julia Child

So I've determined that finding a passion can be as easy (or not) as choosing a topic, activity, whatever, and becoming interested in it. Learn all you can about it, become a self professed amateur-professional.

Sounds easy, right? I'm telling myself that anyway.

What are you passionate about? How did you become so?

Top Two Tuesday: New Year's Resolutions

These resolutions have been something I've been giving a lot of thought to. Its the same every year for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone); you have these great ideas and plans that sound so wonderful but are just downright hard to pull off and stick to. This year I'm hoping to complete a few goals that are on a bigger scale and more of a "whole year" goal, rather than a "right now" goal.


1. Find something I'm passionate about

For years I've always struggled with never really having a hobby. There are things I like to do of course, but I've always put more of my time and energy into my friends, school, work, whatever; and less time on something that I enjoy just for me. I'm thinking it maybe could be photography (I've been eying all of the DSLR cameras out there) or who knows what else. I've always been so jealous of my husband -his "thing" is fishing. He goes to the lake whenever he can and he will tell you he isn't the best at it but it just makes him happy. Its my goal to try some new things this year and find something that I can do every once and awhile that will bring me joy.

2. Making a point of remembering birthdays

This past year was a doozie in this department for me. I've got 8 new nieces and nephews, and countless new in-laws whose birthdays passed without me having any clue. Its not such a big deal for the adults, but I would really like to remember to send a card or small gift anytime one of the kids has a birthday.

What are your resolutions this year? Go on over to Taylor's blog to share your top two!

Unto Us a Child is Born...

Well, our first Christmas as husband and wife is down in the books, and it was extra special this year getting to spend the whole day with my husband and both of our families. And to top off our special day, the southeast was hit with a "snow storm." I say "snow storm" because of course the maybe inch of snow we got doesn't begin to compare to other areas of the country that will be hit with snow in the next few days, but being from the south, it was definitely a storm for us. I think I heard that it has been 50 years since our area has had a white Christmas.

Call me a scrooge, but I would be just fine if it hadn't snowed. I don't exactly like being cooped up inside the house because no one in SC knows how to drive in snow and ice, and I wasn't about to be another bad driver out on the roads. But the snowfall is slowly stopping and its already melting off of the ground, so I hope we will be snow/ice free in a day or so.

Its that time of year again, thinking of New Year's resolutions I might actually be able to stick to. Doesn't like 4 out of 5 resolutions fail by February (I may or may not have just made that statistic up)? I'm trying to think of things that are actually do-able.

Anyone else have trouble sticking with New Year's resolutions? Do you even bother trying them in the first place?

Thursday Five

So its been a looong,  long time since I've blogged. Life has taken over the past few weeks, and we have been keeping busy. Who isn't busy this time of year anyway?

But anyway, onto Thursday Five! Its something I'm doing for the first time.







1. I'm excited for my Christmas present from hubs to finally be here. It won't be here until after Christmas, but it will totally be worth the wait!

2. I am joyful about this time of year. I wasn't so into the Christmas spirit for a few reasons, but I think I've finally come around.

3. I am thankful for my gracious and loving husband who never gives up on me, no matter how crazy I can be!

4. I am happy to see my wonderful step-sons next week and have them stay for Christmas.

5. I'm pumped that it is almost the weekend!

Top Two Tuesday: Cleaning Tips

Hmmm.... I'm nowhere near qualified to be telling anyone else how to clean (not being so great at it myself) but I have picked up a few tidbits of info, especially after living on my own for the first time in college.


1. Baking Soda

Not Hub's Tub. Just an example. The style of the tub looks the exact same though, must have been the norm for houses built around the 40's.

Its non-toxic and scrubs like a dream. When I first started dating hubs, I came to his house and immediately noticed his bathtub made me want to gag was gross. So naturally I got down on my knees and began scrubbing. Bleach, Kaboom, some "As Seen on TV" product...

Nothing. Would. Clean. This. Tub.

But then (cue angel chorus)..... I discovered baking soda. I got the tub wet, sprinkled it on, let it soak a little while, and then with a scrub brush, the tub came clean! I've since learned that baking soda is great for all kinds of things. My great-grandparents even brushed their teeth with it. Who knew!

2. Microwave De-Gunker

Mom showed me this trick. In a microwave safe container, mix water with a teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves (or your favorite spice), and heat for 2-3 minutes or until water boils. It will help loosen all the gunky stuff that always gets all up in your microwave, and as a bonus, it makes your kitchen smell fab!


Go on over to Taylor's to see all the great cleaning tips!

Potter and the Ring

Its been an exciting week!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 debuted in theaters. I dragged hubs with me to see it, and now he says he wants to see all of them (success!).

 

Overall, I was very happy with the movie. Splitting it up into two parts has enabled the film makers to stick more closely to plot lines from the books. But there were still a few key things missing. The story of Dumbledore's past was really absent. Nothing about his family, sister, brother, etc. nor his relationship with Grindewald. I love the way the story of the three brothers and the deathly hallows was illustrated on screen as Hermione read it aloud. The saddest moment of all the films had to be when Dobby died. (I think hubs was pretty close to tears at this point haha- just kidding babe!)

All in all a great movie though!

Now on to the best part of the week.....

I literally shrieked like a little girl, jumped out of my seat and sat crossed legged in front of the TV when the story of their engagement came on the news. Yes, my husband finally knew for sure at that moment that I was crazy. But I just can't help being so excited about this. Its every little girl's dream to marry a prince and William and Kate's love story is somewhat of a fairy tale. 

And the RING! Omg the RING! 

An 18 carat sapphire sourrounded by 14 diamonds. Of course you probably know that it was William's mother Diana's engagement ring. Given Diana and Charles' unhappy marriage and divorce, I was kind of surprised that William gave Kate his mother's ring. But it was so sweet that William said this was his way of making sure his mom didn't miss out on the excitement. A GORGEOUS ring, wouldn't you agree?

Top Two Tuesday: Favorite Jobs

 

Over at Taylor's blog this week is top two favorite jobs you've ever had. The problem for me is that I've worked for the same company since I started working at age 14. So I guess I will choose my two by telling about my two favorite positions I've been given at work.

Well, my husband and I work for Sonic Drive-In. That's where we met about 8 years ago and hubs is now a successful partner in his store here in our hometown. So I will go on to describe my two favorite things I've done for Sonic and try as hard as possible to make this not sound like my resume :)

1. Assistant Manager

I was promoted to assistant manager when I was 16, the youngest manager I've ever heard of at that time and since then. I was a carhop before then. Basically I ran shifts, counted money, and sent upset customers home happy. Anyone who has worked in the food industry can attest to the fact that to work in any kind of restaurant is a different world from retail or any other environment and no two days are the same. Its crazy, stressful, but mostly fun and I can honestly say I have loved almost every minute of my time with Sonic.

2. Local Store Marketing

I've been promoted very recently to the area of marketing for my husband's store. I will go door to door to businesses, talk to people about Sonic, and foster relationships with schools' academic and athletic programs. Its very exciting because I get to take all the things I know and use them to build relationships with the community to help grow their programs while growing our family business.

Go to Taylor's blog to take part in the fun!

All Quiet on the Blogging Front...

Been awhile since I've been on here. We've been busy for sure. Quarterly meeting on Thursday. Then we left for Florida on Friday for the Carolina vs Florida game. We had a great time. Met some awesome people. Its very unusual to be welcomed with open arms by fans of the opposing team. We pulled up to our tailgating spot and immediately people from nearby spots were coming over to introduce themselves, offer us food or drinks, and just chat. Well, if you watched the game, you know that USC dominated, but all the Florida fans we crossed paths with after the game were congratulating us on our win.

And now Thanksgiving in drawing nearer, I'm trying to decide if we will have our own thing at home or go to my mom's house. And I'm starting to get stressed about Christmas shopping. So many things coming and so much to do.

And to top the weekend off, we were given some bad news while in Florida. One of hubs high school friends passed away on Saturday. It was very sudden and unexpected. He was buried today and it has been a hard day to say the least. Hard to say goodbye and just hard to understand why this happened. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers.

Rest in peace, Matt.

For Maddie

All week, I've had this little girl on my mind.

Her name is Madeline. This week would have been her 3rd birthday. Sadly, she was only able to celebrate her first. She passed away as a result of complications from being born prematurely. Her mother, Heather, writes the blog The Spohrs are Multiplying. It was one of the first blogs I began to read daily when I first "joined" the blog world. She is one of the funniest and wittiest bloggers and the videos she makes of her youngest daughter Annabel make me smile and laugh every week. She is a woman of many talents and much strength. It is needless to say that I don't know how I would cope with such a loss as the one Heather has endured. I have both laughed and cried reading her heartfelt blog.

Her foundation, Friends of Maddie, is a support for families of premature babies. Heather has made a DVD compilation of the videos she has made and 100% of the proceeds will go to Friends of Maddie. Check out her post on it here. Its a wonderful way to honor Maddie's third birthday and it would be a great Christmas gift for kids, these videos are HILARIOUS! :) 

Please check out Heather's blog, and if possible, donate to Friends of Maddie or to your local March of Dimes. And whether or not you are able to do this, join me in saying a little prayer for Heather and her family, and for all the premature babies and their families around the world.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 29

Day 29: Three wishes

Right now these are the things that are on my mind. They are more like dreams and hopes rather than wishes, but here they are:

1. I wish we were debt free.

2. I wish we could be living in our dream house right now.

3. I wish I could find a great job that pays well and will help #'s 1 & 2 come true more quickly.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Days 27 & 28

Once again, I'm late on these. Busy weekend. Hubs and I went fishing on Saturday morning. He had gone the day before and caught a lot of fish so we thought it would be fun to go together. Well, 6am came too early on Saturday and lets just say that catching no fish + 40 degree weather = unhappy me. Hubs caught fish, but I couldn't feel my fingers so I gave up pretty quickly. He told me to quit whining like a 12 year old, so naturally I just sat in the back of the boat with my arms crossed for awhile after that. haha :)

But anyway... on to the blog challenge! This has been a lot of fun and I have no clue what I will post about when its over! :)

Day 27: Pets

Cookie was my first very own dog. She is a black lab, dalmation mix. We got her when I was about 7 or 8. She has been the best dog. Always so sweet.

Here she is at Christmas a few years ago. She is going on 14 years old now and has a lot more gray on her little face, but she is still as sweet as ever. She lives with my mom and I miss her. But I have all of these other crazy fur babies keeping me busy here at home with hubs.

Jack is Brian's black lab. He and hubs were bachelors together before I came along :) He is the most gentle big baby ever. He loves playing with our dachshunds and is so sweet with them, although he does step on them everyonce and awhile, but hey, hes BIG!

He loves the water!

Beautiful boy.

And of course there are the two weenie babies.

This is Captain, the (former) miniature dachshund. I say former, because he now weighs too much to be considered "miniature." Hes about 15 lbs now. The biggest "mini" dachshund I've ever seen, but he's not fat, just all muscle. He is 15 lbs of pure force when he plays, it wears me out!

This is Chloe. She is a force to be reckoned with as well, except she was the runt of the litter, so she is half of what Captain weighs. She may gain a pound or two when she is full grown, but she will always be small.

Our weenie babies love each other! So cute!

and Day 28: What stresses you out?

To be honest, not much stresses me out. That is a good thing because I think stress can really kill you if you're under it too long, but then again, stress can also be good for getting things done. I think when it came to studying for tests and writing papers in college, that stressed me out, but it was good that I felt the pressure to get things done (even though it was usually the last minute- procrastination is a whole different issue!).  I think I'm just more laid back. I've been with the same job for 8 years now. It is the kind of environment that some people can't handle, because the stress can really get bad at times, but I just take things as they come and at the end of the day, things are always ok, so I never let it get to me.

Lately money stresses me out, but I don't worry about it. I guess its a fine line between the two.

I'm having fun with this challenge!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 26

Day 26: Family Pictures


The most important thing in life is your family...

There are days you love them and others you don't...

 

But in the end, they're always the people you come home to....

Sometimes its the family you're born into...

 

And sometimes its the one you make for yourself <3

 

 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 23

Day 23: Favorite Vacation

I would have to say that my favorite vacation was our trip to Myrtle Beach in 2009. I had just finished my Junior year at USC and we had been dating about 6 months at this time. It wasn't the most scenic or expensive vacation but I wouldn't have traded those few days for anything. After coming back, we were engaged just a few days later.

Top Two Tuesday: Favorite Gifts

I have a lot of great gifts that I've been given, such as my salvation and my husband. But like Taylor said, I'll make this list a little bit more materialistic :)

1. MacBook Pro

I LOVE my MacBook Pro. It was a gift from hubs for my last birthday. I did need a new computer. My one from college was about to die and hubs knew I wanted a Mac so bad so we went to Atlanta to the Apple store and picked one out! He is the best!

2.  2010 Mustang GT

Hubs got this for me last year and it was the most fun I ever had driving a car. Sadly, we no longer have it. The boys barely fit in the back and we couldn't tow hub's boat with it so we traded it in for an SUV. Hubs says that everyone should own or drive a mustang at least once in their life and now that I had the opportunity I'm glad that I did. I got to learn to drive a manual with this car too and thats a good thing to know how to do. She sure is pretty.

Go join in the fun:

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 22

I've missed a few days again. Its been busy around here. We were busy watching the Gamecocks whoop up on Tennessee on Saturday (Go Cocks!)  and then Halloween night was very busy for hub's restaurant. But now the craziness is over for right now at least. My step-sons are here until tomorrow and we are just hanging out and trying to keep them from eating all of their Halloween candy!

But here's day 22: Favorite City

I haven't done as much traveling as I'd like. Most of the places I've seen have been to see family, and I've never left the country, and with the state of things these days, I don't know if I ever will, but there is one place that has my heart and is hands down my favorite city. New York, New York:

My last visit to the Big Apple, in 2008

I love everything about this city. I love the subway, the architecture, the food, the sights and smells. Its one of the only places I know that has a beautiful park in the middle of a bustling city. The people there are not rude like some may say, and I've always been able to find someone to lead me in the right direction or offer suggestions on somewhere cool to visit in the city. Hubs has never been there and I love this city so much that I can't wait until the day we can share in it together. From Little Italy to China town, to Central Park, and Times Square, I would give anything to be able to live there. Its one of those places that you visit and never want to leave.

With my mom and sisters in Central Park

November Warmer of the Month

To be honest, I'm happy Halloween is over. I've never really been too big on this holiday, and now I've got a bunch of left over candy that I'm going to have to try and not eat all at once. But I'm really just excited that it's over because that means that we are now in the real holiday season. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, and then Christmas!! I've already got Christmas on the brain, and I was so excited when I visited my personal website this morning and saw the new warmer of the month chosen by Scentsy:

And the scent of the month to go with "Prancer" is called Silver Bells. How festive! Contact me if you would like to get more information about ordering, or anything concerning Scentsy. Scentsy makes for great holiday gifts!

Or if you're interested in earning FREE Scentsy, you should consider a basket party. Even if you're far away from where I live, I can mail you everything you will need to have your party, and its at no cost to you. Plus you get an awesome free gift just for hosting! Contact me at aimeeoakes@gmail.com for more information!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 17

Day 17: What are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to...

• Eating the top layer of our wedding cake on our first wedding anniversary (4.11.11)

• Traveling to new places: Vegas with all the Oakes brothers and their wives (hopefully next summer) and visiting family in Utah (this winter if we can save up the money)

• Being a mommy

• Our first Thanksgiving and Christmas as as married couple

• Kissing my man at midnight on New Year's Eve :)

That's a very, very small list of the many things I'm looking forward to in the future. What are you looking forward to?

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16

Day 16: Dream Home

Right now I am in love with Craftsman style homes. I love all the architectural details like the woodwork on the columns and such. I found this picture and loove this house:

With this staircase:

And it would have this kitchen:

A bathroom that looked something like this (I LOVE beadboard):

Oh and I forgot; there would be a super organized, blackboard door pantry like this one:

 

Dreaming of dream homes makes me so happy :)

Top Two Tuesday: Favorite Fall Decorating Ideas

Have I mentioned that I loooooove fall yet? This week's topic is so fun. These are my two favorite fall ideas that I've seen recently.

1. Fall Wreaths

I love this wreath from DIY Show Off. Such a cute summer wreath, and without the starfish, it would transition perfectly for fall! I've seen this wreath also made with different colored fabrics and it could be made specially for any season or holiday.

DIY Show Off

And how cute is this fall wreath made of magnolia leaves?

Centsational Girl

2. Halloween Decorated Staircase

If I had a staircase, I would love to do this. Thrifty Decor Chick's stairs are so spooky and fun :)

Thrifty Decor Chick

What are your favorite fall decor ideas?

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 15

Day 15: Favorite Bible Verse

I've been looking forward to this day's topic. I do have a bunch of verses that are very special to me and mean many different things to me.

Senior year in high school, we had to choose a "life verse" for the yearbook and all those other senior publications. This is the verse I chose then:

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the LORD, not men..."

Ephesians 6:7

I chose this verse back then for a few reasons. I was very active in my school's missions program. I went on mission trips every summer for about 6 years straight. This verse applies to that, but it can also apply to any area of your life. Whatever we do, whether it be our job, our relationships, we should do it as if we were doing it for the Lord: wholeheartedly.

One of my other favorite verses is something that I have lived and seen to be true in every area of my life. Money is something that most people stress out about at one time or another. I won't say it doesn't worry me occasionally, but overall, I don't let it get me down:

"...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them...Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ...and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:25-34 (emphasis added)

I can now honestly say that I know that the Lord always provides. It was one of the things on my "beliefs" list earlier in the week. There are always times when things are tight, but never have I been without something I needed, and there are even times that a check for something comes in the mail that we weren't expecting. I've seen it too many times to name, and I'm sure it will continue to amaze me how the Lord continues to provide, even though we are so unbelievably undeserving.

I can't wait to read everyone's favorite bible verses!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 14

Continuing on in the challenge (three days in a row for me, are you impressed??)...

Day 14: A Picture you love

I needed a good picture, so what else is there to do than go to facebook and look at every picture tagged of you to find a great one you had forgotten about? I had so much fun reliving all the memories from college and I came across this pic and knew I had to post it.

Me (left) and Ashley (BFF)

Me and my best friend, while we were in college, being silly like always before getting ready for a night out. I've been really missing college recently, just for all of the fun times and the lack of "real life" I seem to be experiencing now. Don't get me wrong, I love being married and getting to spend everyday with my man, but college was so fun and I don't think I will ever stop missing it.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 13

Day 13: Goals

-Become a better Chrstian

-Learn to be the best wife I can be

-Visit all 50 states

-Cook dinner at least 4 or 5 nights a week

-Be the best mom (when I have children) and step-mom I can be

-Get out of debt

-Redecorate our house

-Become better at remembering to do laundry (my poor hubs is always the one who suffers from my forgetfulness- sorry babe!)
-Get back to couponing on a regular basis

-Take more pictures

-Start blogging on a more regular basis

-Come up with a more concrete theme for my blog

-Make my Scentsy business successful

Oops: Blog Challenge Day 12

Wow, it turns out I'm horrible at this "remembering-to-blog-everyday" thing- like I didn't know that already! :)
Well instead of boring anyone with a horrible 10 day catch-up post, I will just join in where everyone else is at the moment. Go over to Katie's Journey to join the fun.


Day 12: Beliefs

I believe in the Creator of heaven and earth, His only Son, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
I believe in the power of prayer.
I believe there is good in each and every person on this planet.
I believe that true love does exist.
I believe that what my mother told me was true: "everyone comes into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."
I believe that the Lord always provides. Always.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 3

Your first love

When it comes to loving there have been a two firsts for me:

The first man I ever loved: Jesus. I became a Christian at a young age, but I don't think I was truly in love with Jesus until high school. I have never, even to this day, known such joy as the joy that I felt when I realized that the creator of the universe loves me, sins and all. Its the most awesome feeling and you've not truly lived unless you've experienced this yourself.

The first earthly man I truly loved: My husband, Brian. I got lucky with this one, let me tell you. He is an awesome husband and the best friend I've ever had. When we met for the second time (about  6 years after the first time) something clicked and I knew he was it for me. We have our ups and downs every day, but I know at the end of the day he loves me more than anything, and I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 1&2

I heard about this challenge through one of my daily reads, Simply Smithwick, and she heard about it from Katie's Journey. I thought "hey why not!" So here I go with day one!

Introduce, post a recent pic, and tell 15 facts about yourself

Ok, I'm guilty. Not so recent (6months) but one of my favorite pics from our wedding.

I'm Aimee. I've been married to my wonderful husband for 6 months now. We had a beautiful outdoor wedding last April and its been a beautiful ride so far. I am a graduate of the University of South Carolina and one of the biggest Gamecock football fans you will ever meet. I have my Bachelor's degree in Psychology but I work with my husband at his restaurant. I am now officially addicted to blogging, and even though I don't post too often, I love reading all of the other great blogs out there. I have two wonderful step-sons, Tanner and Tucker. Hubs and I have 3 dogs: a black lab (Jack) and two miniature dachshunds (Captain and Chloe). That's a little bit about me. Now lets see if I can actually come up with 15 facts about myself that I haven't already said!

1. I LOVE ketchup. Seriously. I can eat it on just about anything.

2. I love baking. Funfetti cake is my favorite, followed by cheesecake.

3. I can balance a spoon, knife, and fork on my nose. At the same time. True story.

4. I played soccer and volleyball in high-school. I was also a cheerleader and I coached a squad my senior year of high school. It was the most fun but challenging thing I've ever done.

5. I was born in Connecticut but consider myself a true southern girl, having lived in South Carolina since I was about 3. There is nowhere else I would want to live (with one exception, see #6).

6. I love New York City. I haven't been too many places, but this one tops the list of favorite places ever. I love everything about it.

7. I went to a private school my whole life until I went to USC, but I was never one of the ones who went wild like many others did.

8. I enjoy a glass of wine in the evenings with my husband. We like to sit on the front porch in our rocking chairs.

9. One of my guilty pleasures is watching any of the Kardashian shows on E. They are so crazy but I can't help be enthralled by their lives.

10. I have two sisters. Both are younger than me by 11 and 8 years.

11. Tomorrow marked 6 months since we got married

12. My husband is 8 years older than me

13. We have football season tickets for the USC Gamecocks and we both love going to the games

14. Fall is my favorite season

15. I would rather be cold than hot (thus my love for fall and winter haha)

And Day 2:
What is the story behind your blog's name?

I guess there really isn't a story. I'm am an Oakes now, and this is my life. Sometimes life can stink, but most of the time it is amazing and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to live my life with Mr. Oakes by my side. Its the story of everyday life, fun events, and whatever else I have on my mind.

Top Two Tuesday: Dream Kitchens

Can I just first say how excited I got when I saw this week's topic. I am always dreaming about what my dream kitchen will look like and its something that I've been thinking about a lot recently since we've been on the search for another home.

1. Kitchen from "Something's Got to Give"






I know this must be on some other's list also. This kitchen is gorgeous! I am in love with the white cabinets and dark countertops. Another favorite from this kitchen is the square island. I love big islands that are truly functional, like the shelves for cookbooks on this one, as well as space for pretty decor and plenty of storage space.


2. Kraftmaid Kitchen



I love this kitchen from the Kraftmaid cabinetry catalog. I love the ceiling to floor pantry cabinets as well as the bar on the back of the kitchen island. I can't get away from white cabinet kitchens and I'm sure whatever home we choose, there will be white cabinets in my future.

Go join in the fun on Taylor's blog.

October is here!

I'm so excited about this fall season for more than a few reasons, and one of them is the new Scentsy. There is an awesome new warmer and scent of the month for October.

  

I'm really looking forward to doing my first Fall Festival on October 16th. I have a Scentsy booth there and I'm so excited to be able to share Scentsy with the people who come through. If you will be in the Greenville, SC area from 9am-noon on the 16th, stop by the fair. Lots of activities for kids and families and a great way to get a head start on your holiday shopping! Contact me if you would like more details.

Happy Fall!

Kicked to the Curb

I am guilty of being a slave to stuff. I put too much stock in "things" and sometimes have a hard time throwing things away, for absolutely no good reason at all. This was more than apparent when I received a call last night that someone was coming in the morning to see our house (currently for sale). My first thought was oh my goodness how am I going to clean/declutter/beautify the house in one night. We certainly weren't expecting anyone to come see it. After all, we haven't had any interest in the weeks since we listed the house.

So hubs and I cleaned and cleaned and threw away junk and before we knew it, it was 4am. I am really proud of how much stuff we kicked to the curb (literally) and our home is so much more warm and inviting without all the unnecessary things.

So maybe the people who toured the home this morning will make an offer, and maybe they won't. Either way, I hope we were able to impress them. The search for our dream home continues. We may be relocating in the near future for work, so a lot of things are still up in the air. We will see how it all goes.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend :)

Atlantic City

Hubs and I got home around 1 last night from a trip to Atlantic City. It was a business trip, but it was a lot of fun. I didn't know what to expect, never having been anywhere like it, and it is definitely a different world there. The kind of place where nothing good happens after midnight, so you may as well just be in bed. :)

Not to knock Jersey, but I honestly wasn't impressed. From what I hear, Vegas is a lot nicer and more exclusive. I was especially not impressed with our hotel, Bally's. We changed rooms twice. The first time because there were ants and roaches in our room. The second time because they put us in a smoking room that absolutely reeked (we don't smoke and my sinuses were on fire the second we stepped foot in that room). And in the third room, I was still not impressed- dirty carpets, the ceiling paint was falling in one area, and there were hairs left over the sink from what I expect was the room's last guest. I was expecting a more swanky, elegant hotel, but I guess you get what you pay for and the trip was free. I am very grateful that we were offered a chance to go on this trip, so I don't want to sound like I'm complaining- just call me an amateur hotel rater!

All in all I discovered that I'm a closet gambling addict (just kidding, mom) and that 24 hour Happy Hour in the Wild, Wild West casino sounds like a good idea, but really turns out not to be in the end. I had so much fun playing the slot machines. We were given some spending money when we arrived and even though I left with very little of the money they gave us, at least nothing really came out of my pocket and it was sure fun. I want to go to another casino sometime and try my hand at a poker or blackjack table, something I wasn't brave enough to do this time around.

Atlantic City's best attraction (because I believe there are better casinos and hotels elsewhere) was the boardwalk.

Picture not taken by me. I'm the world's worst at remembering to take photographs of once in a lifetime moments. Oops.

Hubs and I had so much fun walking and walking, seeing all the crazy locals, and just spending much needed time together. I even heard there were some "ladies of the night" walking down the boardwalk, but we weren't out quite late enough for that!

Can't wait until our next vacation already!

Top Two Tuesday: Things I Would Like to Accomplish

1. Balance

Being a new wife, I am daily struggling to figure things out. How do I juggle keeping the house clean, as well as spending quality time with my husband? Or how do I find time to relax and work out to keep myself healthy? I am ashamed to say that many night we go out to eat because I'm tired from work, or the kitchen isn't clean, or any other variety of excuses. Whew, this wife thing is tough!  I'm doing my best to learn from my mistakes and find ways to balance things that I enjoy with the things that are not so enjoyable (vacuuming, scrubbing, and the like). I know I will never be perfect at this, and certainly by the end of the year, but I'm hoping that with time I will be able to learn to balance all the loves, pleasures, chores, and events in my life with ease and poise.

2.  Daily Quiet Time

This is something that would be easy to accomplish. I would love to set aside 15-30 minutes a day for some reflection. In Bible class in school (I went to a private school my whole life) the teacher would point us to a story, verse, or passage from the Bible and ask us to write a reflection on it. Our response could be anything at all. Similar to a daily devotion. I would love to take the time to do this everyday. At the beginning of the day would be the best, but I'm the worst morning person. But really anytime would be beneficial. Anyone have a good daily devotional they would recommend? I have gotten away from spending time with the Lord daily, and its the one thing that I should really be focused on getting back to.

What would you like to accomplish? Go on over to Taylor's blog to join in!