Getting Inked

Yesterday I shared some photos from when my sister and I got our tattoos.  I've been wanting to get a tattoo for a while, but I wanted it to be something that had a good meaning.  Earlier this year my sister and I decided we would get one in memory of our father who passed away last August.  Our father was very proud of his Irish heritage, so we new a shamrock would be a perfect design.  Once we decided on the design we went to make an appointment with Jeremy, our tattoo artist (who we both love!).  We made the appointment weeks ago, and the first avaliable date...Father's day weekend!  Crazy coincidence. 

Jeremy doing my sister's tattoo

camera caught her at just the right moment...it really didn't hurt that bad. lol

I've got my game face on!

the final product.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!  

so I'm curious, how many of you have a tattoo? and what is it of?

Weekend Snapshots

1. Getting my first tattoo!

2. The tattoo my sister and I got in memory of our father ♥
3. Jamie and Casey finally tied the knot! 
4. My college best friends, we've stuck together since freshman year.
5. Having some fun in the sun with two of my favorite people :)

how was your weekend?    

Please do share! :)

 

Forever Friends

“The friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect- the ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time when nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home.” - Wonder Years

[16 years of friendship]

I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's!

Over the weekend I attended my fabulous cousin Stacey's bridal shower.  It was Breakfast at Tiffany's theme, perfect for my cousin, who always considered herself to be Holly Golightly.  It was a fabulous girls day, where everyone dressed up, drank champagne and mimosas, and just had a ton of fun!   

Channeling our inner Holly Golightly

 the soon to be Mrs. {on the right}

"Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot." Holly Golightly
 

"I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before.  With breakfast on several occasions, but never before before."  Paul Varjak

"If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name." Holly Golightly

{note to my future husband...I'd like a ring like this.  hehe}
 
"No longer will I play the field.  The field stinks, both economically and socially, and I'm giving it up." Holly Golightly 

"I'm always top banana in the shock department." Holly Golightly 

 {dessert table}

 "I'll never get used to anything. Anybody that does, they might as well be dead." Holly Golightly

 

 Pretty Princesses

 Momma and daughter love ♥


"Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness."

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and a great start to a new week! 

...and a heart don't forget something like that ♥

a while ago I did a post on my love for country music, and how I didn't always feel that way about the music genre.  It wasn't until college that I started to listen to country music, thanks to my roommates who LOVED it, and it quickly grew on me.  The first song I liked was "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw.  My friend Emily and I would call it our "good day song", and would listen to it on sunny days when the weather was nice.  

 Over the weekend I got to see Tim in concert and it was amazing!  The Band Perry opened, and my friends and I lucked out, getting seats right by the stage, so close I got to touch him! haha 

 

 

right by the stage! :)

so, how was your weekend?  do anything exciting?

[images taken on my iphone]

Keep on Believing

it always amazes me how when I'm feeling very low I can log onto blogger and there's always someone who posts the exact thing I need to read.  Yesterday, that blogger was Kandee.  

I was having a rough day.  I attended the funeral of my Godfather's mother.  My dad's best friend's mom.  The entire time I kept thinking about how much I wish my father could have been there with me.  and then I though about my "uncle" Ray and how he lost his best friend {my dad} and then 6 months later his mother.  I tried so hard, and did a decent job at keeping it together, though on the inside I was a mess.  Which is why when I came home I felt hopeless, like this sadness inside of me is never going to go away.  Then I read these words by Kandee:

My heart feels sad...and no one will ever know my hurts...or your hurts...except for God...but he's there to lift those burdens from your heart and fill the holes of hurt...with his perfect love. He know the plans he has for you...plans to give you hope and a prosperous future...
hold on...you have no idea what's around the corner in your future....
KEEP HOPE ALIVE....HOPE is what pulls us through....you need the seed of hope to grow that dream to become real!

BELIEVE it...that's the first step.

HOPE for it...and don't stop...second step.

KEEP ON BELIEVING....and never stop...the moment you stop believing...you end the oxygen to your dreams!

Thank you for your words of wisdom Kandee!   I will not stop believing. 

 

Sarah Turner Music

My best friend's younger sister is well on her way to pursuing a career in country music.  
She's been traveling back and forth to Nashville over the past several months, where she co-wrote and recorded the above song, Youngstown, named after our hometown.

In a recent interview with our local news station, she talked about how she grew up wanting to sing on stage with artists like Kenny Chesney. Well I happened to have attended those concerts with her when we were younger.

{at the Kenny Chesney concert in 2007}

I am beyond excited for her, and I really hope she makes it in that crazy business.
The next time she and her sister go to Nashville I demanded I come along! :)

Year in Review

"It's been a long December and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better then the last" -Counting Crows

It'd be a lie if I said I was sad to see 2010 end.  2010 was a rough year for me. It was a year full of great loss, and my entire world was turned upside down. but because of this I learned a great deal and became a stronger person, and all the bad made the good feel so much better.  I have faith that 2011 will be a better year for me.  and I think Sarah said it best, "please know that in Gods timing he restores everything in ways so good you could not dream them up yourself."

2010 in Review

This year proved the saying "only the good die young" is true. 

First in February with the sudden death of a friend and coworker.  It was a great loss not just for her family and us who worked beside her, but also for the entire school of students.

Then in August my father passed away.  This has been by far the hardest thing I've ever had to go through, and I'm still recovering from the grief of losing a loved one. But it does help me feel better knowing these two beautiful souls are now in heaven.   

but despite the pain from the loss of two great people, some good things did happen in 2010.

One of my good college friends, Nicky, got engaged, and we were all there for the surprise birthday/engagement party. I look forward to 2011 and celebrating this marriage, as well as our friend Jamie {she's standing right behind Nicky} who's marrying her high school sweetheart Casey. 

we also welcomed a new member into the family, Jayden Alexander.  

He has been the best thing that happened to our family this year, and I look forward to watching him grow. 

so as I say goodbye to one year, I look forward to the start of a new one!
I'm not going to make any grand plans, 2010 taught me that things never go as planned. How's the saying go... 'if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans'.  In 2011 I'm just going to focus on enjoying life, all the good and the bad that comes with it. 

how was your 2010, and what do you look forward to in 2011?

I Carry Your Heart

My mom, my sister and I each had a charm made from my father's thumb print. 

I've never had a piece of jewelry, besides my claddagh ring, that I would were on a daily bases.  

I'm happy to have this keepsake and something I can wear daily.  It makes me feel a little closer to my father, and of course the e.e.cummings quote came to mind when I saw the finished charm.  

Christmas Eve Sing-a-long

Every year on Christmas Eve my aunt gathers all the young kids to sing Christmas carols.  This year Izzy had her own little solo.  This isn't the best quality video, but it's cute nonetheless.  {and you can hear my cousin Stacey, Issabella's mom, being a stage mom. hehe}

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

New Arrival

 

Jayden Alexander

8lbs 7oz

21 inches long

We had a busy Sunday morning when my Aunt called to tell us that she was taking my cousin and his girlfriend to the hospital.  Almost 12 hours later and this bundle of joy came into the world.  {it was nice to finally go to the hospital for something good} I'm so excited for the newest addition to our family!  He's a perfect baby boy. :-)

.

An Autumn Afternoon Walk

 While I was watching my friend's son after school, I convinced him to go for a walk in the neighborhood instead of watching whatever was on the Disney channel {though I am beginning to find Phineas and Ferb and Suite Life on Deck entertaining}.

We're entering "peak color", where most of the trees have changed, or almost completely changed color.  I love this time of year and really try to soak in the beautiful scenery before a wind storm comes by and all the leaves are blown off the trees.

 

 

we found a secret walkway