Happy Birthday, Ryan!

To My Husband,

Nothing in life makes me prouder than having a man as wonderful as you for my husband. In honor of your twenty-fifth birthday, here is a list of twenty-five reasons why I love you. (In no particular order):

1. Knowing just what I need even when I didn't make it clear for you to see.
2. The way you play and joke with me like we're little kids.
3. For being the only thing that never changes in my life.
4. You're my best friend.
5. For making me feel better about myself and always telling me how you think I'm beautiful.
6. For your honesty.
7. For being my reality check.
8. For letting me rant about anything and everything and not taking it personal.
9. For being such a hard worker and never complaining about it.
10. The way you are so proud of yourself when you do the dishes or the laundry without me asking because you know it will make my crazy to do list just a little less crazy.
11. The way I still get butterflies when I think of how much I love you.
12. For never thinking twice when it comes to helping others.
13. For making it so easy to trust you.
14. For bragging about me to your guy friends when they’re talking about annoying things their wives do.
15. For being the husband every girl wishes she could have.
16. For not referring to me as ‘my old lady’ and instead as ‘my wife’.
17. For chasing mice in your underwear at two in the morning and then discreetly getting rid of them.
18. For putting up with all of my OCD-ness and doing your best to fold towels exactly like I do.
19. How when we fight we always end up laughing at each other because we realize how ridiculous it is.
20. How when I seriously try to be angry at you, you give me that look that you've perfected and I melt.
21. Your ornery smile/smirk.
22. The way you claim to hate all of my TV shows but you know the names of all the characters.
23. You make me want to be the best possible version of myself.
24. You push me towards my goals and give me the confidence I need.
25. And finally, I love you because you're you.

I love you for all of these reasons and more. I could go on and on. I hope you have a wonderful birthday! :)

Not so little anymore...

This is my only sister, Chelsea. My baby sister. Only she isn't a baby anymore. I can't wrap my mind around that. She is seven years younger than me. And while we fought like enemies at times and never at any point were interested in the same things at the same time, I love her more than she knows.

That little girl you saw up there turns 18 today.

18!!

Where has the time gone?

Shes all grown up. I feel like I blinked and missed out on cherishing as much of her childhood as I could. As much of a happy day as this is, I can't help but be a little sad. And if I'm feeling this way, I can only imagine how my parents must feel!

Dear Chelsea,

I know you don't need your big sister like you used to but I want you to know that no matter how old you get, you will always be my baby sister. I am proud of you and the young woman you have become. You have the biggest heart for the Lord and for others. People should take note. I may not tell you that enough but I mean it. I hope this birthday is everything you hope it to be and more. I love you, sissy.

P.S.

The older you get,

the older you are making the rest of us.

So quit it!!

Origami Owl

Every Living Locket is custom designed with charms that tell the story of your life and represent the things you love.
Every locket tells a story...whats yours?

Here are the charms I chose for my locket and why:

• Cross: For my love of the Lord, first and foremost.
• R: My husband's name is Ryan.
• Ring: Represents the promise my husband and I made to each other.
• Family Heart: My family means the world to me.
• Rose: My favorite flower, the flowers at my wedding, and the only flowers my husband ever buys for me.
• Turtle: Me and my husband's relationship theme animal. For some reason, turtles have been involved in every part of our relationship. Its a long story but it really became our 'theme' when we honeymooned at a place called Turtle Hill Cabins and ours had turtles everywhere.
• Shoe: My obsession.
• Purse: My other obsession.
   

Its a little pricey, but I love them. I have people asking about it every time I wear it. It looks simple, but its truly a statement piece. Out of all of my jewelry, I wear this the most now. Do you have any jewelry from Origami Owl?
Which charms do you love the most?

P.S. I think I might to do a future post on some of my favorite jewelry!

Jewelry Box Makeover

 I've had this old jewelry box since I was in high school. It hasn't been used for jewelry since, just held a bunch of random things. In my effort to rid myself of things that I don't use, I gave this to a friend. But first I wanted to make it special for her.

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 Before, it was pretty plain-jane. And wouldn't have matched her furniture in her room being the wrong colored wood.

 So I purchased some paint from Home Depot that had both primer and paint in one. It took two coats of paint and a few touch ups here and there.

Finally, I stenciled on a design I found at Crafts 2000, let it dry and then painted Shellac clear coat all over. While it says clear, it left the box looking a little more antique by giving the off-white paint an older look. I think it turned out wonderfully and I think my friend loved it. :)