miscellany monday

Jumping on the bandwagon and linking up with Carissa for my first-time ever!

{catch up}
Between going home for Easter and our anniversary trip, I'm still in catch-up mode. Thank goodness I'm home again this week and not traveling for work. Still haven't uploaded any trip pictures yet. Hold yer horsies people- hopefully soon.


{easter}

The extended family dressed up in various spring hues and paraded off to church and a big lunch afterwards. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any snapshots of us in all of our pastel glory. Speaking of Easter pictures, I love Easter for many reasons (celebration of the Resurrection at the top of the list of course), but I've also decided that not far down that list is my love for the virtual explosion of cute photos of children. Yesterday, and in the days leading up to Easter, my Newsfeed (Facebook lingo for anyone still living in the Stone Age) seemed to vomit up another 100 adorable baby pictures every time I checked it. And I. Love. It. Like can't get enough of it. Easter egg hunts, Easter Bunny visits, smocked outfits, dyed eggs, Easter basket treats, babies with bunnies- it's ALL precious! Anyway, before I sound any more like a child stalker creep, I digress.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend chock full of family, friends, food and fun. Even just a two hour drive away, we don't get "home" nearly as much as we used to, so we always really enjoy going to visit. As you know, Easter also brings the end of Lenten sacrifice. Woohoo! Let me just be real- I kinda cheated on the no fried food thing a little. Okay, a lot. But I'm still going strong on my bible study. It's an 11 week program, so I've still got a ways to go. However, I did NOT cheat on my beauty product committment. I can't tell you how many times I picked up some lip gloss or nail polish or eye shadow in Target, walked around with it in the buggy for a while, and ultimately put it back. I did not even allow myself a trip to Ulta or Sephora. The temptation would have been too much. So now that I'm officially allowed- I'm practically chomping at the bit to purchase some new summery nail polish. Anyone have some color suggestions since I've been living in a cosmetic drought lately??

These are some pretties I've swooned over on Pinterest.

{organizing}
Despite getting home pretty late Sunday afternoon, I squeezed in a few little chores. Going back to the above Easter topic, I'll admit that I'm an old-fashioned Southern lady who still follows the ancient "no white before Easter" rule of thumb. So yesterday, I moved lots of winter clothes upstairs and brought down all of my summer whites. Something about pulling out those crisp, white summer pants, skirts and shorts always makes me happy.


Mr. M kept busy by finally putting together a new outdoor table and chairs. They have been sitting in our garage for a while now, and he couldn't take it any longer. The set-up was easy-peasy, and now we have a few more places to sit out back.

{birthday}



We all know I'm not the most prompt blogger, and while this is a day late- I still wanted to wish one of my best friends Candace a very Happy Birthday! I don't think she will mind my tardiness since it's a common known fact that she celebrates the entire month, rather than just one day! I hated not to be with her on her actual birthday, but Mr. M and I are looking forward to celebrating with her later. We love you Can!

wednesday love

A more appropriate question might be- what am I NOT loving this week?



{hunger games}
Not surprisingly, I LOVED "The Hunger Games" last Thursday night. I LOVE midnight premieres and I LOVE girls' nights!

{spring foliage}
I'm loving my little hand-potted flowers. In fact, I'm loving any yardwork or any excuse to be outside right now. The weather has been so fantastic, that even weed-pulling has become a welcome chore lately. I know this nice weather will be gone all too soon, and before we know it, it'll be so hot you could fry an egg on the patio.

{egg hunt}
The Stricklands, Mr. M, and I made a quick trip south this past Sunday for my friend Katharine's annual Easter egg hunt. Obviously the kids loved it, but it was also a good chance for me to visit with Kat on her VERY short visit home from NYC. Of course, I didn't remember a camera, so I swiped a few from Candace. I loved getting to watch all of the kids have so much fun; I loved getting to catch up with Katharine (albeit briefly); I loved spending more time with my favorite "niece" and "nephew"; and I loved just another excuse to be outdoors.

{anniversary}
I LOVED every part of celebrating one year of wedded bliss with Mr. M. Not only was he wonderfully sweet, but so many friends and family were also kind enough to send us good wishes and congratulations. March 26, 2011 will always be a date that I cherish- not only as the day I married my best friend, but also as a day when so many people that we love came together and helped make the event such a special memory for us.

Back to this year- my morning started off with a smile when I discovered on my way to work that Mr. M had tucked a very sweet and thoughtful card inside of my purse for me to find. The day also resulted in a beautiful flower arrangement and dinner at the restaurant where we ate the night we got engaged. My favorite part of the day, I must say, was coming home to have cake and champagne and to reminisce about our special day. I'll admit- I was a little skeptical about the cake, but it was just as delicious as it was a year ago!

Headed to dinner!

Package from outer space or our wedding cake topper? You decide.

A perfectly preserved flower that was still inside the cake box.

Thumbs up on the cake- even 1 year later!

Cheers to many more wonderful years together!

{funny}
I am loving this image because it makes me laugh and reminds me of a certain guy I know.

Mr. M loves him some bacon.

{saban}
I'm loving confirmation of something I have believed and hoped for all along.

Happy Wednesday pals!!!

miscellaneous monday

~crawdads~
The weather was absolutely gorgeous this past Saturday. Mr. M and I decided to meet some friends for lunch at Papa Saia's in Helena. They were having a huge crawfish boil in honor of their grand opening. Even after we finished lunch, we continued to hang out on the patio near the tiki bar overlooking the dam. Crawfish boils are just one of many things that I love about the spring season, and my first taste this year did not disappoint. Beautiful weather, accoustic tunes, spicy crawfish, and cold beverages are always a winning recipe.

~st. patty's day~
We met up with another group of friends Saturday evening at Blackwell's Pub to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Without a doubt, the green beer was flowing and everyone had lots of Irish fun!

~spring cleaning~
We also spent some time this weekend doing some spring cleaning, packing away heavy winter clothes, and doing yard work. It was a very productive weekend at the Miller High Life Casa.

I don't think I ever posted any pictures of my craft from the last Craft Party at Candace's house. I mentioned it here, but never got around to posting pictures. Anyway, here's my craft the night of the Pinterest Party.



Not too impressive, huh? In a nutshell, I modge podged Easter eggs with old book pages(tutorial). I used an old Guinnness Book of Records from the early 80s- the older and yellower the pages, the better. I used this super-cool technique to allow my modge podged eggs to dry- that Martha is a genius.

My initial idea was too glue the modge podged eggs onto a moss-covered wreath. My goal was to create an Easter wreath with a vintage, Pottery Barn feel. I ultimately decided against doing the wreath because I already have a really pretty hydrangea spring/summer wreath. Actually, let's just be real- I got lazy and never finished the wreath. So this weekend, after all the spring cleaning was done, I pulled out my eggs and threw together this little centerpiece. It's definitely not my best Pinterest project but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

miscellaneous monday

1. Weekend
Mr. M and I spent the weekend in our hometown, our first visit "home" since Christmas. It was a good weekend- we both really enjoy spending time with family. And since we both hail from essentially the same place, the added bonus on any trip home is that we usually get to catch up with some old friends.



2. The Funk

The good news is that I've made a 98% recovery (just a few lingering sniffles). The bad news is that Mr. M is now down-for-the-count. He went to the doctor today and got two shots. Poor thing!


3. Telly
Since practically all my shows are on hiatus until April, I'm even more thankful for these little gems in the meantime.

{Bethenny Ever After}

{Once Upon a Time}

{Smash}

I've also picked up the new show "GCB" on Sunday nights. As a fan of musicals and of "Glee", I'm pretty much an automatic Kristin Chenowith fan. While she is what initially attracted me to the show, the entire cast seems pretty funny. We're still in the "test-drive phase". I'll let you know after a few episodes if I'm sold.

And if those aren't enough, I've also got Season 2 of "Modern Family" on DVD to fill the void. TV addict? Yeah, maybe a little.

4. Bible Study
Remember the individual bible study that I mentioned that I was doing? Well, I'm in week 3 and loving every minute of it. I can't recommend it enough. I've still got a ways to go, but I'm already accepting recommendations for any others that you found especially good.

5. Spring
As always, it takes me a little while to adjust to the seasonal time change. It was a little difficult dragging myself out of bed this morning while it was still pitch-black outside, but I'm sure I will come to love having more daylight in the evenings. One thing is for sure- this warm weather has me longing for afternoon beers on the patio and spring flowers. I saw this on Pinterest and I think it says it all:

{Via}