Be Mine

Happy Lover's Day to you lovely peeps!! Whether you're married, have a boo, or single and ready to mingle... everyone can show some la la love in the world! I hope that's just what you do today! Love everyone and anyone around you, whether you know them or not! Say HELLO to someone as you walk past them... offer to hold the door open at the grocery store... buy someone's coffee while you're getting your Starbucks fix! Be kind and loving to one another!

Here's a cutie patootie banner I put together to add some love around our house! And you know I had to hang it right by our wine so I can see it every day since I love to pay visits to that section of our home!

The rest of the steps is simple enough, I felt the pics weren't necessary! Cut, glue, string and hang! I even added a few more fancy pants decor like the glitter heart in the middle of the two words... and bows at each end of the lover banner!

Now if you'll excuse me while I'm off to show some love to my wonderful and handsome hubby!

XO

Happy Monday FUNday peeps! Best week evahhhh because it's the week of Valentine's Day! Love giving love... to my hubs... my family... friends... and to anyone else I can give it to!

Taking part in more Valentine's Day arts & craft, here's some XO for ya! Inspired by my bestie, Lauren Conrad, you can find the original DIY posting here. So simple dimple, all you have to do is paint, glue, and hang!

Pinky promise...every time I walk up to my door, I gasp in excitement at my XO's!

My LLL's of the week...

LOVE

I loved every single performance at the Grammy Awards last night!! My fave's were Miguel, JT, Carrie Underwood and the Bob Marley Tribute! ANDDDD I loveeeee all thew new Fall 2013 fashion that's been happening in MBFW! I swooned to every headpiece that walked down the runway... and Kate Spade's fun colors adorable shoes and purses.... whaaa whaaaa?!?!

LEARN

I learned that great advice and courage can come from anyone who has it... older and YOUNGER!! Shout out to my courageous younger (sometimes wiser) cousin Kyle for tweeting me some positivity this week!

LAUGH

Hubs and I had a cat-walk-off in the grocery store and it made me chuckle sooo hard! I was rambling on and on about Fashion Week since I've been watching it live every day, and I was showing him my cat-walk. Which then encouraged him to do HIS cat-walk since he's always trying to one up me (he's so manly that this is totes not feminine for him!)! I soooo wish I had it on camera to share with you all!!

More Birthday la la LOVE

Happy Tuesday to all you lovely peeps!! Hope you had a fatabulous weekend, especially if you had yesterday off for Veteran's Day! Our weekend was superb even though Hubs had to work on his birthday yesterday, but it still turned out a success. Mondays are his busiest day, so we didn't get to hang at all. BUT I did get to see his face a few times yesterday. In the morning, he woke up to a room full of balloons...

I took him a pick-me-up from Starbucks and a box of cake pops I made (which were delish I must say!). I made 30 funfetti cake pops with white and dark chocolate and sprinkles...

And we ended the night with din din after he got off from work, which wasn't until 8pm. But HEY! Time I get to see his face is time I cherish, so it was superb!

All the celebrating got me thinking... who makes up the rules as to which birthday years are the "big" ones?? Each year should be a big one, don't you think? Each year is another blessing of life... another chance to make a difference in our world... another opportunity to be in the presence of our families and loved ones. Each birthday is a special and BIG one in my opinion! So celebrate like there's no tomorrow each and every year! Which leads me to another birthday shout out... 

Happy birthday to my sweet sister Nadine who has the most honest, true, funny, and caring characteristics than any other woman I know! 

How do you celebrate birthdays? Any fun DIY's? Any baking?

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Wanna know the best part of waking up at 5am every morning (after a splash of coffee of course)? Knowing that it's the beginning of a brand new day! Anything that happened yesterday stays in yesterday. Each morning, I have a chance to make today better than yesterday... and that's motivating enough for me to make the most of each and every day!

• Don't like a decision you made?
• Hate what you wore the other day to work/school?
• Upset that you didn't meet a deadline?
• Feel bad about saying something you didn't mean to someone?

Don't freight my friends... every day that we are blessed to open up our eyes is a new opportunity to make yourself over however you wish to! I'm not saying to completely disregard the past... it's actually made us stronger in one form or another. What I'm saying is that there is a clear path ahead of you in this road of life... leave the past as a blur. It's not as crystal clear as the here and now, but without it, the picture wouldn't be complete!

I just wanted to share this with you all since I find such comfort, especially lately, in knowing that each day brings new beginnings. So cheers to new beginnings to us all... to graduating, to our relationships, to the new career we begin or the one we already have, and to LIFE!

Fall Love

What I love about fall...

I love the various colors or orange, red, green, and yellow I witness on the streets
I love the Halloween decorations on each house with completely different styled porches
I love that it's okay to drink hot chocolate at any point in the day
I love that the leaves on the ground make a gorg flooring, and...
I love that I don't own my own home yet which means that I don't have to rake any of em up!
I love that everything is pumpkin... coffee, ice cream, pie, candles... errrrrythang pumpkin!
I love that we even have a fall in this state... being from Cali we only have summers with occasional days of rain

When the rain clears, and the sky turns blue with big fluffy white clouds, Oregon isn't so bad after all!

There's plenty I can complain about the fall, but today I choose to love and be grateful for this life I live in!

Wedding Bells Were Ringing

Wedding bells were ring a dinging last week! My Bestayyyy got murrrrried to her prince charming, a one of a kind groom, Edgahhhh (aka Edgar). It was S T U N N I N G! They had a burlesque themed wedding which made the night fantab full of feathers and more!

LOVE that they had a photo booth set up for the guests! We went to town taking snap shots!!

I am so pleased and happy that their day went smooth and as planned. It was such an honor to witness these two say their vows and recite their words of love to each other in the house of God. Best wishes to you both my Bestie Best!

I'm going (went) back to Cali...Cali...Cali

Well hello there blogging world!! Yes, I've been MIA for quite some time... okay well 2 days in the blogging world seems forever to me! I'm sorry I haven't been making my usual commenting rounds with you gals... but absence does make the heart grow fonder! I'll be catching up with my blog reading and commenting starting today!

You may be asking where I have been... well around the world it seems like!! I went home to Cali for the week and have been here, there, everywhere in the matter of one week! Exhausting but FUN FUN FUN!! Thought I'd photo bomb you guys with some of the good fun times I had! 

Went to batting practice with my lil BFF cousin and lil' brother who insisted on snapping with Pokemon!

Can't leave home without a an In-N-Out party!

My Bestie's wedding was stunning (photo bombing tomorrow!)

Ended the weekend with another W baby!! OSU is now 4-0 WOOOOOP!!

Tomorrow, I'm excited to share the wedding photos with you all from my Bestie's wedding! The greatest was that I was able to share that night with my family since we rolled deep to her wedding! What have you all been up to? Can't wait to read and catch up with the happs!! 

College Life

Being a recent college graduate, I can totes understand the pressure and stress this time of year. Getting your schedule together... having to add/petition for classes if they're all full... paying an arm and leg for a book that you hardly utilize since the lecture notes cover everything word for word from the book... and on and on and on! BUT, I am glad to say all the sweat and tears of college and grad school have given me the opportunity to connect eye to eye with many other college peeps who are currently or who will be going through what I went through.... in particular my family!

I have so many cousins that are smart, talented, whitty, and full of life and pizzazz!! Some have taken the route of taking care of their family, others have taken the working route, and some of taken the college route. A group of my younger cousins started college around the same time!! I'm so proud of each of them for wanting to pursue their education, despite if it's close to home or not!! It takes a lot of strength and courage to continue your education, and I am DAYUMMM proud of these adults kiddos!

My lil' cousin, Ke'ea, recently moved up north about 6 hours away from the family for school, and it's her first time out on her own... anddd the first kid her parents have to let go (wahhhh). She had a hard time leaving home, but she DID, and that's more than a lot of people can say who never have the guts to leave home! I was so happy and excited for her, but I sooooo wish I can be there for her as she goes through her home-sickness. The next best thing?? A care package of course!! Started with some basics, but it was fun to shop for college (okay... someone else's college term)!!

1. A mini vintage-styled frame for my pic by her beside (SIKE .... I bet you anything it'll be a pic of her doggy!) // 2. Pink rose notecards to send notes to her family and friends back home in style! // 3. Sunflower journal to document the goods in her freshman year // 4. A cute floral pen to write notes in a chic manner

And of course, it wouldn't be a full care package for this girl without her sweets!!

Do you get care packages? Or is it your turn to send em?? Keep in touch with your college students and keep em' goin!

Life Goes On

Goodbye... Farewell... Ciao... Toodles... Aloha... Tofa Soifua

Words that aren't always easy to say to others. Whether you're moving, leaving home for school, changing jobs, departing with a loved one as they start their eternal life... whatever the situation may be, saying goodbye is hard. I recently had to say goodbye to some people in my life, and I was sad, overwhelmed with gratitude, excited and nervous all at once. I'm not ready to go into detail with what my farewell was for, but in due time friends, I'll spill the deets when I'm ready.

What I am ready to share with you all are the feelings that I had, and will always have when saying farewell. It's a sad time to leave friendships that you have established, but it's also a time to celebrate a new beginning! I've been feeling scared and excited lately... scared that what's going to happen is unknown, but excited for a new chapter to begin!

You ever feel that you just want to redefine yourself? Start fresh? Become someone new and improved? That's the great part of farewells my friends... it's a time to celebrate a new YOU! I'm gonna miss some people I had to say farewell to, but guess what? Goodbyes are not forever, and I will always cherish the relationships I have built along the way. I may be sad now, but as they say....

Situations that I go through in my life may be difficult, but I feel they all serve a purpose. My life continues to go on, and through my experiences and life lessons I have learned, I will help anyone who needs it along the way.

Now for my LLL's of the week... what I loved, learned, and laughed about:

LOVE

I la la LOVE the fact that we beat UCLA who was ranked number 19 in the top 25 this weekend!! The Beavs are now 2-0 and ranked number 19 in the AP Poll! WOOOOOOOP!

LEARN

I learned that when I'm dealing with things in life, I am never alone. I have very sweet dear people in my life, and I am so blessed for the relationships I have established. A phone call from a dear friend out of nowhere made the world of a difference in my week!

LAUGH

My Aunty called me and told me the funniest story about my little cousin... he's in 2nd grade, going on to graduating high school! This kiddo is quite a character. He's been coming home bragging about his friend at school, which is all my Aunty has been hearing of lately. When my Aunty asks him, "Does he play football?"... my little cousin says, "Hmmm.... how should I say this Mom??... He's.... well, he's fragile. He doesn't like getting hurt!" LOL... F R A G I L E ... Are you kidding me?!

How was your weekend friends? Any LLL's of the week you wanna share?