Umm... I'm back... sort of?

Wow, guys. It's been since June that I last posted. I won't go into the nitty gritty details of why... let's just say: I (willingly) work way more hours than I used to and I've let some things slip. Example: my blog, my work out schedule, cleaning... yawn. :)

But here I am to say hello! What's new?

Earlier this month, I traveled to Destin to visit my dad and stepmom. My brother, his girlfriend and their son/my nephew (my munchkin and little love of my life) drove in from NOLA and I was thrilled because I hadn't seen them since last November. That's not acceptable, people.

While in Destin, we experienced bad weather, a.k.a. a hurricane, so after two days the beach was closed. I'm talking two red flags, sheriffs guarding the beach kind of closed. So I got to spend ample time with this guy. I love him. I leave you with two little videos of my favorite little guy. Keep in mind - we were on a four hour drive to NOLA during these.

Translation: "Bad Form" - what Gramps says if someone does something naughty

Translation: my nephew saying please = how do you say no?! He really wanted his garage here.

Things I Realized Today

Today was a day for realizations for me. I must have been feeling thoughtful...

• I love my job. I really do. I started in May and I couldn't be happier. If I wrote down everything I wanted and needed in a job, it would be the position I have now. I feel so blessed!
  


• I love my team. (It's crazy to say I have a team.) I took them to lunch and they are a great group of women whom I respect greatly.
  


• I've given out more business cards in the past four weeks than I did during my tenure at my previous job. (I went from development back to PR so I'm interacting with a lot of people again.)
  


• I realized my work is just down the street from the mall. Why it took me four weeks to realize this... I don't know. But this is bad news, people. Make me forget that I'm close enough to run to the mall on my lunch break! My pocketbook cannot handle that! ;)
  


• I am thinking about chopping my hair off. I love long hair but it's so dang hot, that I'm really, really tempted. Should I, should I?

What about YOU?! Anything on your mind lately?

crazyjoy: Fascinate

I am taking part in a photo a week challenge by Lesley and Anna. This week's challenge is fascinate so I looked through some photos I've taken (I sort of cheated) and the photos below make think these kiddos are "fascinated." There's less than 4 hours left in this week's challenge so hurry and link up if you want to participate!

Zoo Trip Recaps

This post is overdue, but you'll forgive me, right? I made two zoo trips in April - one with my little sister, Nae Nae, and the other with my niece, brother and sister-in-law. So here's another picture recap!




Cute family!


Rebecca and I


Nae Nae and I waiting to ride the train.

So much fun!

Rebecca Visits Tulsa

My niece, Rebecca, and my sister-in-law came to Tulsa two weeks ago so I wanted to share a few pictures from the visit. Let me tell you - I was so excited because I got to babysit my favorite 2 year old (almost 3!). I get to see Rebecca every few months and sometimes it's just not enough, so I treasure the time I get to spend with her.


Hamming it up at a local restaurant, Elote.


Dancing together at Elote


Arts & crafts at a local arts festival


Making my angels look pretty

Miss her already!

Love Me Some Clothing Swaps

I hosted my first clothing swap last week and it went great! All but two of the girls who came were swap newbies so it was fun to introduce a swap to them. I think they all enjoyed it and left with some "new" finds. Nothing better than getting new clothes for free!

Here's my tips for hosting a swap:

Invite a variety of girls - all shapes and sizes - and give them some advance notice so they can gather up items

Encourage them to bring more than clothes; jewelry and purses are a huge hit. Shoes aren't usually as popular due to size differences

Have lots of space for people to sprawl out and try on clothes

Encourage each other to try new things! (One reason I love swaps is because I always leave with something I would have never tried on at a store! Or learn that a color I never thought would look good on me does!)

Choose a nonprofit (or two) to donate leftover clothes to and have fun sorting through the items with your guests! (That's what I love even more about swaps - you get to donate to worthy causes!)

And lastly... just have fun and get ready for some cute clothes! :)

And for kicks: found these cute socks at Target, which I gave out as party favors during my clothing swap!

Latest Shoe Buys

When I was in Florida earlier this month, I fell in lust with two pairs of flats... and, of course, they came home with me! Flats are my new thing because I'm staying away from heels due to a knee issue. (This once brought me down but I'm over it because I now have an arsenal of super cute flats! Plus I'll wear those heels again soon.)

Here's the latest additions to the shoe collection (both were under $25)!


Digging those sparkles! You can find these shoes here.


So comfy and sassy! Check them out here!

Until next time, shoe lovers...