My Piggy Bank is Hungry

I've been on this "How can I save money?" kick recently, because this year is going to be a bit packed with fun. FUN=MONEY SPENT. I'm in a Wedding in May & will also be doing a bit of traveling this year. Since I don't have a ton of bills, saving money should be super easy for me, right? Not so much. It's easy to make "not having a ton of bills" your excuse to spend money on something you may not necessarily spend it on otherwise. I thought my first step should be figuring out where I'm spending my money.

Food

[restaurant, fast, snacks, grocery]

Gifts
[birthday, wedding, christmas, shower, etc]

Gas
[whatcha gonna do?]

Shopping
[I don't shop excessively & when I do I am super thrifty... but it's still where I'm spendin' bucks]Fabric
[For work. I need to start keeping my work and personal finances separate. I am going to start paying myself & leaving money to run the business off of. I'm a big girl & I need to do it.]

You know what's not fun? Figuring out where you're spending all of your money. It makes you feel foolish. Like, i just realized how often I hit up the drive-thru for a drink when I'm running errands & that's basically $2 down the drain. $2, 3 times a week(for 3 drinks) is $6. I can get 24 Cokes for that at the grocery & still have a dollar to spare. Or I can make tea (1 gallon would give me about 10 drinks for less than a dollar) & bring it with me on my errands in a thermos.

I just blew my own mind.
That'll be my cut out for this week... baby steps, people!

How do you save money?

Thoughts on August 29th

I tried to find a picture to post that would convey what happened here 5 years ago.
I searched videos on Youtube.
I dug down deep in my heart to find the words to explain it to you.
What I've realized is that unless you saw it with your own two eyes and it smacked you in the face & threatened to tear your heart out, it's something you just can't fully comprehend.
There was a lot that went unseen on the news, towns that were ignored in the media spotlight &
people that were forgotten. Instead of preaching about what was lost & what was forgotten though, I'd like to tell you what I learned.

I learned that it's never too hot to get down on your knees and pray.
& if my knees got stuck in the 5 inches of mud that covered the floor, well...
I just took that as a sign that I needed to pray a little longer.

I learned that laughter is indeed the best medicine.
If my sister & I had to wear high pony tails, breathing masks, rubber gloves, no make up, jean shorts & shrimp boots every day to make my Mom giggle... we would have done it.

I learned that hot food is good. Really, really good. If you have a hot meal on your plate,
you better be thanking God or SOMEONE for it.

I learned that MRE's are kind of gross... but the M&M's they included as "dessert" weren't gross at all.

I learned that my brother isn't(or at least he wasn't on that particular day) at all embarrassed to have his little sister & Mom running through the firehouse searching for him. & When we found him, boy, did we hang on tight.

I learned that saying "We're safe. We're alive. We're the lucky ones."
to angry family and friends, could calm and soothe them.
Even if you had to say it 5 times a day.

I learned a lot of funny little lessons. A lot of not so funny little lessons.
But above all, I learned that Corinthians13 had it right all along.
All we needed was one another to get through.
All we needed was the love we shared.

'It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....'

Void of a cute title

My Birthday was great! I spent time with family[mine & Mr's], time with friends & of course time with the Mr. I got plenty of hugs and kisses and gifts & felt oh so loved.
Here are some of my gift-a-roos ... I got a few comments/emails asking what my hottie boyfriend got me. He got me the ring I liked that I posted a while back :)
I love it way more on my finger than on the internet.[birthday goodies]
Now that my birthday is over, my amazon list is looking a little sad and empty.
We can't have that, now can we?
Let's fill 'er up!

I'm wanting, needing, loving:

Yes, please!
[walmart]

& one of these is a must!
[walmart]
[Wahh, if someone can tell me where I found this, I'll love you forever][a book store, duh]Ah, perfection It's what my Mom said to me every morning she woke me up :) Oh, okay... sometimes she still does!
[urban]
& Helllooooooo! Gotta have these puppies.
[greatglam]

AHEM, I'm joking about that last one. That website has maybe 10 dresses that wouldn't make your grandma faint & some pretty okay shoes. The rest is for hookers... or JWoww.

Happy Saturday!
Be cool my babies ;)

Swinging for The Bumpkin

Trish is carrying on with Wordless Wednesday for Lisa.
Link yours up. I'm sure they have WIFI in heaven & you know she's reading :)

Style Watch: Florals

It looks like we won't be waving goodbye to the floral trend anytime soon & I couldn't be happier about it! It will follow us right on over to fall! I love the sweet feminine feel of the basic itty bitty flower prints & the glamorous old Hollywood feel of the bigger bolder florals. If you feel a little too sweet in a floral dress or top, throw a bit of floral in using accessories. There are a ton out this season! Here are a few of my fav. floral picks for the fall. (You're almost here, right Fall?)

Urban Outfitters

Mod ClothSock Dreams

F21Brydferth

Charlotte Russe

Anthro

How are you guys feeling about fall florals? Any good items to point me towards?

The Better to See You With My Dear

In a rush to get to my house one night, my cute boyfriend accidentally broke his glasses. When he told me this, I first thought "Ha, dork.", because he pretty much rammed them into his face and snapped them. & Then I thought, "Woah, woah, woah, I might be able to fix this!" No, I'm not a master at fixing eyeglasses... I had just recently been contacted by Glasses USA to see if I'd like to do a review on a pair of glasses! I emailed them back and asked if it would be alright if I used The MR. as my reviewer & they happily agreed! Sweet.

I sent the link over to The Mr. & told him to choose a pair of eyeglasses. He chose a really cute(handsome, manly, macho) pair. (& By that, I mean he chose the pair that I would have chosen for him!) Since he wears prescription glasses, we gave his eye doctor a call and got the info we needed(literally, 2 numbers) and sent all of his info over to Glasses USA. Easy peasy.

For a few days, while we waited for his new glasses to come in, he settled for the broken ones & looked like this. Sexxxxy, am I right?

When his new ones came in, I asked if I could take a few pictures of him so I could show y'all & he enthusiastically agreed. Maybe a little TOO enthusiastically.

The boy just cannot be serious. He did a few "school picture" poses, a "glamour shot" & of course... the inappropriate "animal planet" photo. ::Sigh:: I decided to just wait and catch him in his natural element.

[playing at the park with my niece & at home watching the kiddos play in the back yard]

He looks so cute in them :) I (who has never bought prescription glasses before... much less bought glasses online) would seriously recommend Glasses USA. They have tons of affordable & cute frames to choose from & the ordering process could not have been any easier.

[I did not get paid by Glasses USA to write a good review, however we were given the glasses to review & give our honest opinions on. Our honest opinions just happened to be good ones :)]

Glasses USA also gave me a code for y'all to use to get 10% off your entire purchase if you're in the market for new glasses! Lucky ducks! & Did I mention the the code never expires? Like... NEVER.
Code: Blog10

Twenty whaaaaaat?

Update on my age:
I'm 26 now.
(for those of you who are younger than me and wondering...
it feels just like 25)
I'm not sure what today has in store for me... but I'm about to crawl out of bed and embrace it!
Thanks for the comments, emails & facebook messages!
I am so lucky to have you all!
xo

Life's like an hourglass glued to the table

...Today is my last day being 25...
My 25th year was one of transition. This year I made no moves that I questioned. I felt very sure of myself in all of my decisions... it was REALLY nice. I truly got to know myself this year... I truly learned to love myself this year. I grew closer to God this year. He held my hand and led me in the right direction. He answered a big prayer. It was as if the moment I threw my hands up and told God to take control, MR. walked into my life and changed me forever. I learned that the man I'd always dreamed of not only existed... but had been living right down the street from me. God also welcomed my sweet Granddaddy into His Kingdom this year. My heart was broken, my life was changed & a piece of my innocence left me the night he went away. I laughed A LOT ... with friends, with strangers, with family, with the Mr., but mostly with my nieces and nephew. They grew a ton this year & learned so much. I am still in awe of their beauty & love them more than life. They remind me to be young, laugh, play, see the wonder in nature, and most importantly... they've taught me how to love unconditionally.
25 flew by! I kind of knew it would. It has been quite a year for me! Some really big things happened this year... some that make me happy & some that make me sad, but all of them make me, ME. Here it is... a flashback of my year.

[rang in 25 by floating down the river with friends]

[dated "Mr. Right Now"]

[laughed with friends]

[Spent afternoons playing princess with my princess]

[cheered on the Tigers]

[Loved this little monkey with my whole heart]

[partied with the best of them]

[celebrated a Super Bowl win with kisses from my little doppelganger]

[learned that some things are best left in the past]

[fell in a big deep mega kinda love]

[danced & laughed the night away with my bestie of 21 years]

[had a sleepover with my women... you're never too old for a sleepover!]

[vacationed with my love & his sweet family]

[played in the pool all day with my women]

[lost a piece of my heart]

[laughed, cried, dreamed, hoped, wished, ran, crafted, worked, screamed, danced, shopped, enjoyed, dreaded, kissed, hugged, cursed, celebrated, lived & always, always, always above anything else...
I LOVED.

Goodbye 25. You were beautiful.

Want to see what 24 was like for me?
[Life at 24]

See you when I'm 26, my friends :)

I know that's where you'll be...

I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. My heart broke, tears fell. I thought of the exchanges we've shared and posts she published that made me smile. Ithought of her swinging & the wind blowing & her singing(she always told me she was singing a song for me). I know many of you share the same feelings I do about Lisa, and my heart is hurting for you today too. We'll be missing you, my sweet Bumpkin. I will always think of you fondly.


When I find myself on a swing or among wild flowers, I will tilt my head back and whisper hello... because I know that's where you'll be.

Please keep Captain John, Lisa's family & her dear friends in your thoughts and prayers.

My favorite Bumpkin comments:

"It's really really corny, but I have to say this. Lacey and New Man sitting in the swing. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Swings are great for this, trust The Bumpkin. Now I'm off to do another little happy dance for you. This time in 3 inch heels, could be a disaster waiting to happen!"

"Thank You Lord, for everything I asked for in a man for this beautiful girl.
Amen"

"I heart John Frieda, and without him I would be nappy headed!
That's never the fashion right?
Every time I see you in my reader, I sing out loud, Lacey's in Love, Lacey's in Love.
An answered prayer, and voodoo spells galore darling!"

"Told you he was out there, now snag em good girlfriend!
PS, you have always been a beautiful woman, just a little gun shy! It happens to the best of us, it's called life! Go for it, give it everything you have. Lacey is really in love!"

"I enjoyed your past thoughts, and I am thinking some of them are resurfacing for a reason.......I have prayed for this for you for so long! It's written all over your face."
[I think she knew he was the one before I did :)]

A message of Love

The MR. & I both giggle at this commercial when we see it. The things this kid loves are hilarious(and adorable).

So from time to time, we will come up with something silly we love one another more than. This morning was one of those times. I woke up to find this little piece of magic waiting for me...

"I love you so much. I am so lucky to have you in my life. You are so super perfect. You're better than dragons and race cars and pizza and fireworks. I love you."

Now, I don't know what kind of love notes you receive...
but I wouldn't trade mine for the world.

All by Myself

Saw this over at laceylike today and thought it just sweet enough to share with you.
Take a moment to watch it and be all alone.
There's a difference between being alone and being lonely :)

Because I got high

[off of cold medicine, of course... i'm a major light weight]

I'm sick today.
Let me just say, my throat has seen better days.
It's that "hurts just to swallow spit" kind of sick.
Wah, wah, wah... right? I know, sorry.
I tend to be a big ol' baby when I'm not feeling well.
Oh my goodness... speaking of babies, how cute is little Mr. Smith Lawlor, everyone?
Ahhhdorable. I'm so happy for the Klaws!
[this clearly is not Smith... but this is the perfect Halloween costume for him, right?!]

I hate waiting for packages to show in the mail, don't you?
[I'm getting impatient in my old age.]
I ordered some things from vistaprint for work & a little tank from F21 last week and am itching for them to get here. Honestly... I prob. won't even wear the tank until football season, but I still want it here! And P.S. I got free shipping by googling "F21 coupon codes" & found the code "Survey" to give me free shipping. Just like buying out of the store!(except they didn't have this shirt in the store near me.) So if you see something on a site that you want but dont' wanna pay that shipping fee... give googling a shot. You can usually find some sort of discount!

[See why I may hold off on wearing it? It's a little tailgating shirt :)]

Have I told you guys that my MR. is the cutest, sweetest, most amazing and caring person in the whole wide world recently? NO? Well, he is. I am in super mega love with him.
[that's right, I said super mega love... a cootie catcher couldn't even predict this one]

I've got a lot of orders to take care of today... that means dragging my high as a kite(again...on Dayquil) self out of bed and being a grown up. Echhh.
I want to get these orders done though so I can start making some Christmas stockings. I got some realllllly cute fabrics this year! Who needs Christmas stockings? Cause I got some adorable ones coming your way soon!

Happy Tuesday, people!
xo