SLIDER

{featured friday} artifact uprising

6.28.2013

{featured friday} highlights some of my favorite blogs and websites that I want to share with all of you! These are blogs and websites that consistently blow me away with amazing content or products  I know you’ll fall in love with them too!



I knew I had found photo book perfection when I saw a friend post about Artifact Uprising. I think photo books are a great way to capture your favorite photographs or images in the "all-digital" age. However, I find creating a photo book to be extremely daunting. I always feel like there are SO many options and customizations that I get overwhelmed. I tend to gravitate towards simplicity which is exactly what I found from Artifact Uprising.


in which I act like a model who isn't incredibly awkward.

6.26.2013

Betcha didn't know I had a modeling career...well a short-lived one at least. Just before I left Dallas, I managed to squeeze in a hour with a college friend, Kayleigh, posing as her muse to help get her photography business up and running. 

Y'all I'm so awkward in front of a camera. It's hard to believe...I know, but it's the truth. What you aren't seeing below are the hundreds of "out takes" where I was making ridiculous faces and inappropriate poses. #awkward

Kayleigh did SUCH a good job with these. She's a pro with Photoshop and really lets her creativity run wild. She's been posting them over the course of a month and it's so exciting when a new picture pops up. 

If you're in the Dallas area and you're looking to have headshots, family shots, engagement pictures or any other pictures done, consider contacting Kayleigh


whoa three weeks.

6.23.2013

 The boxes may be unpacked but the list is still growing. It's amazing how many things are still outstanding for the wedding with only three weeks to go. 

After what proved to be an "interesting" moving debacle, our stuff finally arrived last Friday and we spent the entire weekend unpacking. It feels good to finally be settled in our new place. We've made 16 trips to Bed, Bath & Beyond, 7 to Target and one major trip to Stop&Shop. However, we didn't get internet/cable until a few days ago which is why you all were sans monday musings this past week. Sooorrryyyyyy. I'll make it up to you. 

In the meantime, the list of wedding "to-dos" is growing by the hour. Menus, programs, transportation, seating arrangements...insane. 

Today I was able to cross hair & make-up off the list which feels amazing. We're planning to get menus/programs printed any day now. So...we're making progress. 

For now, I'm leaving you with a photo montage of what's been going on around here. Trust me...it's not that thrilling. 

The movers are FINALLY here...oh and we have a new computer. YES!

our new place! this is mostly put together...


creeping on our venue!






monday musings.

6.10.2013

Holy cow, where do I even begin this post....

1. We arrived in Baltimore late last Wednesday night. It was great to be lazy and hang around Baltimore with C's parents on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday morning we headed down to Cambridge, MD for C's big race. We just got back from there this morning. 




2. The race was great, albeit, hot. C did a great job and we all had a blast cheering him on. 

3. Just a few hours ago, we got word that our moving truck would not be arriving to New Haven until...Friday (we were hoping it would be arriving tomorrow). Ugh. 

4. To cope with this new stressor, C went and got a massage and I got a facial (and some anti-anxiety meds). 

5. The new plan is to leave sometime on Wednesday and sleep on the aerobed we conveniently packed with us at our new place. We packed the car with enough necessities in case we ran into this situation. 

6. There is much to be done on the wedding to-do list as we're only 32 days out. Since we can't do much in the way of unpacking, I'll be spending the rest of the today tackling this list. 

7. I have LOVED having online RSVPs. It's so fun to get all the notifications from our family and friends. Instant gratification is awesome.

8. We desperately need a new computer (the one I'm currently typing on it about to celebrate it's 8th birthday) but C was holding out for Apple's conference today hoping they'd announce a new one. Not happening. Looks like we're heading to the Apple store soon!!!

I think that's good for now...

{race report} Playtri Festival Sprint Triathlon

6.04.2013

I can't believe this race marked my 5th triathlon in exactly one year. My how far I've come...



C and I planned on doing this race for awhile but we signed up super last minute. I did this same race one year ago and it was my first ever triathlon. I loved being able to do the same race again and really see how far I've come.

I hadn't really trained for this race at all. May was insane for us and I just didn't feel motivated. In fact, before this race, I hadn't ridden my bike in 1 month, since the last race we did at the beginning of May. But I figured I'd be able to get through it just fine.

And what would a race be without a little drama...somehow the alarm wasn't set Saturday night. That means when we finally woke up at 7:00am, transition had already been closed for 15 minutes. In a state of panic, we shoved waffles in our mouths and decided to head out to the race and beg the officials to let us in.

Well, it worked. After a quick reprimanding, we were allowed into transition to rack our bikes and get set up. Nothing like a hectic morning to get your heart rate going before a race.

Our waves didn't go off until after 8:00am so in the end we had time to get ourselves together. However, those waffles did not have enough time to digest, which proved to be a bit of an issue for both of us.

This race, miraculously, was wetsuit legal. I know, insane that the water temp was below 78 degrees in Dallas, in June. I love my wetsuit because it makes me feel fast and I'm super buoyant in it.

When it was time for my wave, I felt really good jumping in the water. I was able to keep my heart rate down before the start which was a huge change from last year. The horn went off and I started swimming with ease. Before I knew it, I was climbing the stairs out of the water. Supa fast.

I breezed through transition and was off on my bike. I figured since I hadn't been on my bike in a month that I would be struggling. I pushed myself to take advantage of every downhill and tried to tackle the hills as best I could. I was shocked to see that I averaged 16 mph which is over a full mph faster than all my previous races. Improvement!!

Heading out on the run, my legs were definitely feeling a little weird. After about a half a mile, I felt much better and started to get into a groove. About half of the run was shaded which was really nice. I also dumped a few cups of water on myself. I held a good pace but was a little disappointed to see the the run course measured short. Oh well.

Overall, it was a great race. I beat my previous year's time by over 10 minutes and the bike part was 3 miles longer than last year, that's a major improvement! It's also good to know that I don't lose that much fitness in 1 month :)


monday musings.

6.03.2013

1. It's almost moving day! Our place is in disarray with boxes everywhere. We're trying to strategically pack what we don't need for the movers to take and then take a bunch of stuff with us so that if our truck doesn't come on time, we'll have to stuff to make due with in the new apartment. 


2. A year ago, I did my first triathlon and this weekend I did the same race again! There will be a full race report coming soon which has an exciting twist! 



3. Our drive to CT is taking us through Baltimore where we'll stop to visit with C's parents and he'll complete the Eagleman Ironman 70.3! Yes, he IS nuts. 



4. Our nights have been filled with dinner dates and tearful goodbyes. It's a strange feeling leaving a place that I've called home for almost 8 years now. I'm so thankful that we'll get to see most of our friends very soon in July! 

5. The dress! I'm picking it up from the tailor today and I'm so relieved. Everything is coming together! 

6. We have a 19 hour drive ahead of us tomorrow and I'm on the hunt for a great audio book to keep us entertained for the ride. Any suggestions? 

7. I've already started previewing adorable moving announcements which I can't wait to send out. 

8. Additionally, I reserved my new email address with my new name. #priorities

9. We brunched at Oddfellows post race but I was starving when we arrived so we hunted for something to hold me over before our table was ready. I had heard a lot about Emporium Pies but didn't realize that it was in Bishop Arts! Perfection! I filled up on this enormous slice of apple pie and barely had room for brunch...oops. 



10. How amazing is this preview of a photo shoot I did with budding photographer and friend, Kayleigh!! Can't wait to see more of her work! 


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