Weekend To-Do: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Charisse on Pinterest

I am SO GLAD it's the weekend. With a two-hour drive each weekday, the weekends are even more precious to me. So much time to sleep in and take walks and chill out and not be in the car. The only thing on my to-do list this weekend? Baking those beautiful chocolate chip cookies you see up there. (I've had homemade chocolate chip cookies on the brain all week, and my stomach cannot wait to be stuffed.) I hope you've got some good eats on your weekend agenda! Until Monday...

Week in the Life - Day 2

Photos from day two of Week in the Life, and.... I think I'm done. Turns out, taking photos of my everyday life is really hard and I don't love it because my days are pretty much all the same (except for the ones that include a warmed up, double chocolate Starbucks brownie - THOSE are special days). So, if you'll forgive me, I'm going to forfeit the rest of the week and return to taking random photos of my cat and my food, thankyouverymuch.

Week in the Life - Day 1

This week started out nicely. Not too much traffic, sunny skies (if still a little chilly), leftovers for lunch, a midday walk, loaded nachos for dinner and a bowl of Lucky Charms for dessert. (Aaaand NONE of these are Instagram photos - aren't you proud of me? #slightlyaddicted)

Festival Weekend

Happy Monday! This weekend was a super lazy one. The weather was terrible (rain + freezing cold), but we braved it for the Rivers & Spires Festival and stuffed ourselves with fried catfish, funnel cake and fried Oreos - and boy, was it all delish! Then we hurried back home to get cozy and warm and spent the rest of the weekend lounging around the house and catching up on some TV shows (one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend).

Starting tomorrow and for the rest of this week, I'll be participating in Week In The Life 2012, which I'm super excited about. I won't be making all of my photos into a scrapbook, though - just documenting on the blog with a few words as a way of getting back into the habit of taking photos daily. (I feel like I've been slacking on documenting the little details of my days.) So, wish me luck!

Happiest Moments

Did you see the editorial Joanna mentioned last Friday about life's happy moments? You can read Abbey's take on it here and the original editorial here. I thought it was so neat, the idea that there could be only a few moments of complete and total happiness that define our lives. Then I got to thinking about what mine would be, and I thought I would share.

Like Abbey, the first moments that came to mind were kind of predictable. Laying poolside with my sister in Vegas (or anywhere), Christmas mornings (especially the year we got AOL - it was all oooh. eeem. geeee!), Easter mornings (when we were really little and woke up to baskets overflowing with goodies), the day I adopted Cajun from the shelter (and the moments of snuggling him in the car before I drove him to his new home in Santa Monica).

Then there were some that surprised me a little. The hour I spent in the airport on my way to Kentucky to visit Jon in January (the feeling of excitement about starting this new life was intoxicating), waking up to a cool morning at our lake house and eating banana bread on the porch in my pajamas (this one brings me so much peace just thinking about it), waiting outside in my bathrobe for the Uhaul to pull up to my Manhattan Beach apartment the day my sister moved to California, the summer after my sophomore year in college when the world revolved around jean skirts and tans and romance, sitting in my parent's kitchen with my mom and sister eating Casa Ole chili con queso and talking (one of my happiest moments had to include chili con queso, right?).

Anyway, those are just a few that came to mind right away. Thinking about them makes me smile. What would you consider your happiest moments?

P.S. - I'm SO EXCITED about the Rivers & Spires festival this weekend in Clarksville, TN. I've been looking forward to it ever since I moved up here. Cotton candy, funnel cake, sausage on a stick - watch out - you are MINE! (I hope your weekend is filled with fun treats, too. Have a good one!)

Vegas Wedding

When I said I have so much to tell you guys, I wasn't kidding! One of the things I've been waiting to share with all of you is my sister's wedding in Las Vegas. You may remember from this post that she was originally planning a backyard wedding at my parent's house, complete with food trucks, kegs of beer and dancing. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), some of the logistics for that celebration started falling through (canceling food trucks - boo!), so she decided to go with plan b - A Vegas Wedding - and boy, was it a blast.

The guest list was small (immediate family only), and we all arrived at various times during the week to spend some time with the bride and groom and soak up a little Vegas before the wedding.

The ceremony took place on a sunny, perfect Thursday afternoon. We all met outside of the Aria Hotel and took a white limo to The Graceland Wedding Chapel downtown, where all of the fun began (and pretty quickly, too - they have weddings lined up back-to-back all day long so they stick to a tight time schedule).

When we walked in, Brianne and Andy signed some papers, the family took our seats (in the ridiculously cheesy chapel) and Elvis showed up just in time to walk Brianne down the aisle, singing the whole way. Needless to say, it was hilarious and we were dying. The ceremony did get a little serious in the middle as they exchanged vows, but as soon as Andy kissed his bride, Elvis was there again with "Viva Las Vegas," which got everyone dancing (and skipping down the aisle!).

All in all, it was such a fun experience and SO Andy and Brianne. I'm so glad they ended up doing something that was totally them - and I know I'll definitely remember it forever.

Congrats again, Brianne and Andy! Wishing you many, many years of love and fun!

A quote for your Friday

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver

Sydney posted the above quote yesterday, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since I read it. Have you heard it before? This idea was something I thought about a lot through the end of last year and the beginning of this year - the idea that we only get one life and how very much I want to make it a wonderful one. (I'm totally going to buy this print and hang it somewhere I pass by everyday so I'll always remember it.)

Thanks so much to all of you who left comments on yesterday's post. I was very, very nervous putting that out there, and it means the world to me to have your support and understanding. I've replied in the comments to a few questions that were asked, so check back if you want some more of the details.

And in other news, I'm sure you've noticed that Oh Me, Oh My has gotten a little face-lift over the past few days. I thought it deserved a new start in honor of my new start. I hope you like it. (I sure do!)

Anyway, have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday (yay!).

Starting Over

Wow… It’s been a while – like a long, long while. Thanks so much to those of you who are still stopping by. I really do appreciate your readership, and it’s for you that I’m writing this post – quite possibly the hardest blog post I’ve ever written.

Back in January, when I said I was going through some not so fun stuff, I wasn’t joking. The first month of this year was probably the hardest month of my life so far, and because there’s no pretty or nice way to say it, I’m just going to be straightforward with all of you.

In December of last year, Mason and I decided to get a divorce. We agreed that we weren’t right for each other and felt it was best that we each go our separate ways. While great friends, our relationship was missing some of the key elements a marriage relationship needs, elements that we felt we had worked on with no progress over our years together. After some tough conversations, we agreed that we would separate in the new year.

During the last few months that Mason and I were together, I started spending time with someone I had known for a while, but had never really spent time with before. His name is Jon, and he quickly became very special to me. When Mason and I decided to separate, I made the decision to move to Kentucky where Jon is stationed in the Army at Fort Campbell to see where our relationship might go. I made the move in mid-February, and I am happy to say it was the absolute best decision I ever could have made. Even though it's only been a short period of time, I know without a doubt that Jon is the partner in life that I always wanted but never thought I’d have, and every single day that goes by, I feel so lucky to be with him.

I know that this is A LOT to take in. Believe me. It has been A LOT for me to work through, so I can only imagine how it feels to read about it all at once. If I have disappointed or upset any of you with this news, I sincerely apologize. Situations like these are never easy, but I am confident that I made the choices that are right for my life, and I hope that you will understand and trust my judgment. I look forward to getting back to regular blogging (I have so much to tell you all), and I hope that you’ll join me in reading. If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to ask them in the comments. I’d be happy to answer them and provide any additional info that you might like to know. You guys mean the world to me. You really, really do. And boy, have I misssed you!