Praying for Brayden

Heather over at Live.Love.Laugh and her husband just welcomed their little boy Brayden into the world only a few days ago. He was born at only 28 weeks. He is doing great so far, but lets all keep him in our prayers as he overcomes the hurdles that lots of preemies will face.
I read Heather's blog everyday and I will continue to keep her and her husband and little Brayden in my thoughts and prayers.

Top Two Tuesday: Cities

This week's top two is favorite US cities. This one was EASY PEASY.

1. New York City

Just looking at this pic makes me want to be there!

There is no other city I would rather be in at any given time. I love everything about it. From the subway, to the security guards who take their jobs too seriously, to the sights and smells, everything. There is of course great shopping and lots of great attractions to see, but the feeling that NYC gives you I've never experienced anywhere else.

2. Columbia, SC

This city has been weighing on my mind constantly for the past few days. Why? Because football season is almost here!!! Columbia (Cola) is the home of the USC Gamecocks and I'm so ready to see them play. Hubs and I got all of our game day gear today and I'm so pumped. I also love Cola because its where I went to school, so it will always be a special place to me. But mostly because of football :)

Williams Brice and I have a date this Thursday :)

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Back to.....?

Its that time of year again. Yes, its back to school work. Wait, what? This is the first year in about 18 years that I'm not going back to school. Every store I go into is a reminder that I would rather be buying cute notebooks and pens instead of trying to remember that I have to do laundry or else I will  have nothing to wear to work tomorrow.

I officially have the back to school itch. I've been looking up different programs for online graduate degrees. Its kind of the "I miss school" thing, but mostly a "I can't find a good job" thing. I've never heard anything about any online degrees other than the commercials I see on tv. I am so tempted to sign up tomorrow. I truly love learning and would love to get a more advanced degree, but no one I know has ever done the online thing, so I have no one to ask about it.

3 hours of class beats 8 hours at work any day.

Top Two Tuesday: Biggest Indulgences

Its that time again! This weeks choices were pretty easy for me to come up with.

1. Coach Bags

For the past two years, hubs and I have taken a beach trip and we always come home with a beautiful new coach bag.  Hubs says I'm S. A. R. (spoiled ass rotten) and I guess it must be true.

2. Electronics

I like keeping up with new technology where I can. My old Gateway from college was getting a little dated (aka slow and full of viruses). My birthday is on Sunday and hubs got me my present a little bit early. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new MacBook Pro. It was definitely a big splurge for us, but hubs is the best and wanted to get me something I would actually use and love, and I do!

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Dreams of White

We officially made an offer last night on the home we wish to purchase, and our current home went on the market. We are currently in the process of spiffying the place up to look great for the pics that will be posted on the listing as well as for any visitors we may have tour the home. As I look forward to hearing a hopefully positive response from the sellers, I keep dreaming of what we will make of the new home and I don't see how I will be able to keep myself from painting everything white. I love the clean, crisp and airy feel that white brings to a room and to a home as a whole.

I am inspired by these photographs:

Country Living

Look how bright and open this kitchen seems. I love the accents of the exposed wooden beams as well as the rustic looking bar chairs.

Found Here

 I love the green accents here and there in this kitchen. Beautiful wood floors as well.

Found Here

I don't think I could ever have enough beautiful things to display on those shelves, but it is stunning nonetheless.

Keep your fingers crossed for an accepted offer and a home that will be quick to sell!

Top Two Tuesday: Characters

This week's Top Two is Characters you would want to play. This was pretty easy. I just thought of my two favorite characters from literature or film and two immediately popped into my head.

1. Elizabeth Bennet from "Pride and Prejudice"

Whether Keira Knightly in the most recent film adaptation or Jennifer Ehle in the classic BBC version, either Mr. Darcy would be quite alright with me, wouldn't you agree? :)
Elizabeth Bennet is such a strong female character and wasn't afraid to go against society's thoughts of what a lady should be. I think it would be a very fun role to play!

2. Bella from the "Twilight" series

Who wouldn't want to star opposite those hunks from the Twilight series? I love these books and wish that someone different had been cast as Bella in the movies. Not to say that I could do better than Kristen Stewart (I definitely couldn't), but I never felt like she was quite right for this role. It would be a fun role to be in because of the fantasy aspect of the series.


A close third was any of the ladies from Sex and the City. It was my favorite TV series of all time and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE all of the clothes, shoes, and accessories that they get to wear!

Can't wait to read your picks of the week!

Approved!

The bank FINALLY came through and we are making an offer on the home tomorrow! I am so excited and yet so nervous at the same time. I realize it will be awhile before we hear anything, probably, but it gives me butterflies at the thought that that wonderful house could be ours. I can't stop from daydreaming about how it will look once we've remodeled it. I shouldn't get my hopes up because who knows what will happen, but I can't help it. Blogs on inexpensive home decor have become my favorites recently. I will give a little shoutout to my two favorites because I have gotten so many good ideas from them: Thrifty Decor Chick and My Sweet Savannah. You can see both of them on my blog roll on the right side of the page. I've also been reading Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens and those types of magazines looking for inspiration. I'm hooked on decorating a home that isn't even ours yet!

Anyone have any good decor blogs they love to read? I would love to find some more to read everyday!

"Debt is Dumb"

I was just doing my daily reading of all my favorite blogs and I came across a post by Thrifty Decor Chick (which you can read here) about Dave Ramsey. She writes about how she and her family are paying off their debt using Dave Ramsey's plan. This got me wanting to write a post about it as well because just last night hubs and I were making our "snowball debt" list. If you follow Dave's plan, then you start with your smallest debt and pay it off first in order to have more money to put towards much bigger debts.

I will be honest here. It was disappointing, no rather, disheartening, once we put it all down on paper. I typed all the numbers into my calculator, hit equal, and the number on the tiny screen took my breath away. Not only did it make me sad in a way, that we had so far to go, it made me mad. I was angry that we have allowed ourselves to become slaves. Slaves to debt. We live to work and pay off our debt. When in reality we should be serving something (Someone) much more worthy. Dave says that in order for his plan to work you have to get mad. You have got to realize the crappy situation you are in and you have to be angry enough at your debt to want to banish it from your life and never let it return. And I truly believe we are at that point.

Just like the post linked to above says, we do not follow his plan word for word either. But we have a budget and we do our best to stick to it. It is awesome to be motivated to change our situation. It will be a lot better once we are able to sell Brian's car. That will take a huge chunk out of what we owe. We are so ready to be rid of our debt and have freedom from the chains that money can put on you.

Anyone else trying to get out of debt? What plan are you using?

Top Two Tuesday: Simple Pleasures

When I think "simple pleasures" the first things that pop into my mind are food and sleep. So I will have to try to widen my horizons for this post.

1. Reading

There is nothing I love more than to curl up in my favorite chair, or in bed, with a good book and let my mind escape the world for a few minutes. I always have, and always will love to read.

2. Double Dark Chocolate Ice cream from Marble Slab

Ok so I just had to have a food item on the list, and right now I have ice cream on the brain. This is one of my most favorite ice creams ever. And I love it so much more now that hubs and I can go enjoy ice cream together. He never used to be an ice cream lover but I've converted him :)

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