two weeks of life through instagram

and here's the recap...

{two weekends ago was the last time the boy could come home until the end of this month...sad but counting our blessings he has been able to come home at all during this training}

that weekend i was sick :c so i spent much of the time laying on the hammock trying to recoup for the upcoming week | we've been eating outside A LOT and i love it | made roasted tomatoes with shrimp and feta for dinner, it was delish | early sunday morning he was out luster`ing his boots, how do i not take a picture when he leaves everything oh so picture perfect c; | my massive rose in a little mason, made me smile | and i MAY have been back in the hammock while the boy was bqq`ing some dinner sunday evening

{lynnee has had a rough couple weeks}

 pretty sure she caught my cold because last week she has a raspy little meow, sneezing like crazy and would just look at me with sad eyes :c here she is after sneezing in her sleep seven times | she cuddled in bed with me with me as i read, apparently psalm 35 puts her to sleep | and this is her politely refusing some medicine, our ferocious kitty got in her first cat brawl the other night...told you it's been a rough two weeks

{student teaching, school, work, assignments, eat, sleep = the life of little ole' me lately}

wore new shoes on a fifteen hour day and no blisters...success! | living off cookies and a little bit of vino to get through my late night studies | brainstorming ideas for nightstands...and i believe i found a winner c:

...and in a blink those two weeks were gone. onward forward to what this next week brings c: be blessed and don't forget to pause, soak in and take a picture of little things in life <3

as always, thank you thank you Taingamala for bringing us all together c:

insta`tuesday and weekend love

has school really started? answer is, yup. first week back was a tad overwhelming, but i survived and as my treat the boy came home for a three day weekend c: with him being back i was able to escape my color`coded schedule and ignore the text books arriving at my doorstep. we took full advantage of these past days getting all that stuff done around the house and taking time to be relax before life picks up again. 

starting out the semester strong with our tradition to swing by the bar after our first week of class. love the girls in my program <3

 we have lynnee's approval of our new rug | finished staining the crates for our future coffee table | boy is home so i tried a new recipe, beer chicken in the crock pot, intriguing yes? find it HERE  | off to visit a baby and his momma c:

a bbq with some dear friends | margaritas with limes from our yard c:

 my little sunday project after church c:

awwwe, after a few trips to home depot we finally got the hammock up and secure. lynnee and the husband are relaxing after the day's labor.

alright time to close the lap top and open those books. thank you for stopping by and extra thanks to miss Taingamala for hosting. happy tuesday c:

insta`tuesday

insta`tuesday round two {for me at least}. this week's instagram collection is a little less jam`packed when compared to my previous post. nonetheless still pictures that capture the prettiness in life and things that make me smile.

 putting memories on wood and in our room c: 

 somebody else in the house shares my passion for ikea...and it's not the husband c;

ribbon and fabric scraps organized. makes for a pretty display.

our new sheets from my ikea trip. in the middle of my attempt to make the bed, i left the room for no more than twenty seconds and came back to lynnee testing out the sheets. always helping.

hope you've enjoyed the little things that make my heart happy. thanks for the linkup!

summer. instagram. linkup.

alright, lots of firsts for this post. 

ONE. first time posting in over a month TWO. first time linking up with Taingamala THREE. first time using photoshop...hint the collage'ness and playing around with watermarks.

since i've been absent from blog'life and missed the past few link up's...i only thought it was fair i included the past month or so of our summer through instagram {and i became a little obsessed with making collages once i finally figured it out!} so here we go...enjoy c:

decorations for husband's bday | american flag in our hometown | the best traveler ever | new blinds for our bedroom | a birdie hang out 

husband bought me a hook to hang my wreath i made last summer  | mmmhhhmmm i love this bar. toby keith just opened down the highway from us | front yard fireworks | boys taking their time with the finale setup | some mason jar love 

traveling as a little family to stacey's wedding | <3 being a bridesmaid | back home being productive and getting a pedicure while editing husband's resume | spray paint and rubber bands 

aspiring photographer | with my bestest at natalie's rehearsal dinner | wedding makeup outside | bouquets in a sink | pretty dresses | dj husband whoop whoop!

back at home, lynnee helping with my to do list | tanning and priming some of my favorite things | mantel still not finished...but cozy

seattle for jeremy's wedding, sipping on the best espresso ever | pike's place with my love | and the space needle of course

back home to see my roses still surviving | outdoor breakfast with the hubs | lynnee assisting with our dresser to entertainment center transformation

love last minute hosting | oops, i guess that mantel really wanted to make another appearance c; | lynnee refusing to let us work | lynnee not letting me finish my paint job | prettiness | happy three year anniversary, we got a new hose! | mom in town and taught me the family bleu cheese dressing recipe | it's official, we have a pomegranate tree c:

lake tahoe with my fam | mosaics with mom and sis | my favorite sister

 mosaic light switches done and up, husband helped with the one on the right | my dresser revamp is complete!

my happy place, on the lake with husband's fam | finally reading bloom <3

all the hot weather made for some pretty skies | came home from work and spotted my hose hanging thing up...thanks husband c:

you made it though! thanks for stopping by and letting me share some summer memories c:

thank you Taingamala!

birdie hangout

it's official, i've become a tad bird crazy {check out the obsession from my hummingbird and bird bath posts}. i got this idea from life on the balcony where they use lumber and washers and bolts and nails...which is a little too much work for me, especially when the boy is not home. instead i picked up a picture frame from the thrift store and the baby terra cotta pot from home depot. since i already had the hemp, bird seed and spray paint, this project cost me two dollars c:


here's how i did it: 
1. lightly spray painted the picture frame.
2. used a hot glue gun and attached hemp to either side of the frame. this allowed it hang and kept the front of the frame facing our kitchen window.
3. tied a little hemp around my terra cotta pot and hot glued the base of the pot to the picture frame.
4. then i hung it on a branch and filled it with bird seed.

i may have overfilled it...but i wanted the birds to know where the food was at c:

caught lynnee licking her lips...luckily the birdie hangout is out of her reach c:

how i met my neighbor

it was about midnight and i was getting ready for bed when i realized i hadn't seen our cat lynnee. i went to the back yard and whisper called her name {hoping to not wake the neighbors}. after a few seconds i heard her jingling bell coming in my direction. i repeated her name and she meowed back, sounding like she was in the neighbor's yard. i grabbed step stool and peered over the shared fence. sure enough, lynnee was on the other side trying to find her way back home. 

at this point i'm slightly hanging over the fence, given lynnee encouraging words and hoping she would just jump back over. then i heard this deep voice, 'who are you?'

not going to lie, i was startled...so i froze and didn't make a peep. 

five long seconds passed and i saw a head poke up in the neighbor's window, yell at me and then instantly duck back down. 

at that point i introduced myself as her new neighbor and apologized for my cat being stuck in her yard.

neighbor sue was relieved i wasn't a robber and we ended up having a decent conversation given that it was past midnight. she gave me the skinny on the neighborhood skunk, everyone's dogs and cats and the next door neighbor who likes to drum. she even turned on a light so lynnee could see and offered to help me get her back over the fence. sweet neighbor sue ended the conversation saying that lynnee was welcome in her yard anytime c:

thank you lynnee for choosing a nice neighbor's yard to get stuck in. 

the stool used for operation retrieve lynnee. 

well, hello.

happy beautiful sunday evening. yes, i'm very guilty of not blogging for over two months. life has been overwhelmingly crazy but amazing at the same time. any ounce of free time i've had is spent with that pretty cute husband of mine. here are a few updates from the past sixty~something days..

~1~ we bought a new vacuum. yes this is both BIG and exciting news. we have needed a new vacuum since pretty much the beginning of our marriage...and the boy did some  a ridiculous amount of research, i saved up the coupons and we purchased a beautiful little number called the shark.

~2~ i'm about a month away from completing my first year of grad school {yikes} and i've been swimming in homework this entire semester... hence the two month absence from blogging.

~3~ the boy has gone on a couple of drill weekends and an additional training that gave us more details on the deployment status and dates...yay {said very sarcastically}.

~4~ i've been only listening to gungor radio on pandora and soaking it up.

~5~ instagram is now available for the android...about stinkin' time. so yes, please begin to enjoy my instagram pictures from now on :)

~6~ lastly...we are currently in escrow on a little house { :D } if all goes as planned we should be closing and starting the move a week from today. so needless to say, any spare moment we have has been packing up the apartment.

first insta ever..taking a picture of my boy and then my coffee and easter candy :)

the boy's trip to the grocery store..the essentials of course and my white lights in a vase, before i packed them.

my spring wreath..again before packing it and lynnee sandwiched between my shirts as i was folding laundry..always being a helper. 

lastly.. our guest bathroom is currently our storage unit..brilliant. the bathtub is full of boxes and now lynnee has her own jungle gym :)

happy rest of your week.

recovering from vacation

so i've kind of spent the entire morning in bed..getting up only twice
first time was to get the essentials: chocolate, lap top and a candle
second time to make something for the boy to eat on his lunch break
yup...i'm recovering from vacation.

the boy and i managed to get nine days off of work and obligations

then spent it traveling up and down california with the kitty

celebrating the season with our favorite friends and getting some much needed family time in.

it was absolutely amazing and absolutely exhausting
each day jam~packed with coffee dates and familiness
needless to say i stayed very caffeinated the entire 1500 plus miles we drove.

i spent this morning catching up on some much needed blog reading
and even spruced up mine a bit :)
but now its time to start some crazy laundry business and make a grocery list
just wanted to say stop by and say...
happy new year!

our little traveling fam :)
ha...and the husband refusing to take another smiling picture.

call me a crazy cat lady

I had mentioned to the boy about the possibility of bringing a kitty into our life, but with our apartment life style it just didn't look like it would be in the near future. THEN we learned Coast Guard was the route God's plan. 

About a few weeks after we had made decision, I had a minor meltdown. It was nearly midnight and I was just starting a paper (the joy of working full time and taking too many units). I put down my computer, dropped to the floor and said,

"I'm done, absolutely done. I'm tired, this assignment is pointless and I just want to spend time with you". 
The boy says, "Okay, I know. Take like a ten minute break and I'll work on it with you". 

He grabbed my computer and started dinking around. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed he wasn't joining my pity party on the kitchen floor but I was exhausted and enjoyed my little break.

Ten minutes had past and the boy asked me to join him at the computer. I whined and resisted a little, thinking it was paper writing time but when I plopped myself beside my boy I saw something much much different.

The screen was full of kitten pictures. My boy explains to me that he's been thinking. Thinking about him leaving and having to leave more in the future. He wanted me to have someone to come home to, talk to and just be with when he couldn't be. NOW THERE WERE TWO CONDITIONS...I had to finish my paper and we got the kitty soon, so boy wouldn't miss the "cute stage".

Well needless to say after my hugs and happy dance, I hopped back to that paper with a huge smile on my face. The soonest available day...okay half day...we both had off we drove to the local animal shelter and fell in love with Lynnee.

This was the first day we brought her home..poor thing we followed her around the little apartment..taking pictures every five seconds.

She always laid by my side when it was time to write the boy in boot camp. 

She tries to conversations with us...on a daily basis.
She LOVES banana peels. That's right, not the actually banana...only the peel.

She will watch the occasional tv show, thinks the dvd player lights are fascinating but her favorite is laying on my lap and watching the bubble screen saver on my computer.

She loves spooning and is a great traveler.

And she is amazing at finding verses...I was doing devotionals the other day and Lynnee started flipping through the pages of my Bible.

ALRIGHT now as you can probably guess I have MANY other pictures of her...so you're lucky I'm not sharing the whole family album :)

Now I hope I've illustrated how much that little girl means to me.

When the boy's gone, the days are a little harder to get through.

BUT when I pull into my parking spot Lynnee is up at the window waiting for me.

She follows me into every room of our little apartment. Even if I get up for a glass of chocolate milk...I have a little shadow following me for my three minute kitchen field trip.

She is always doing the most random things and making little messes...she keeps me amused and very busy. 

AND I always have someone to sleep with.

Now you can call  me a crazy cat lady...but I'm so thankful (yes and a little obsessed) for our Lynnee.