Top Ten Tuesday: Guiltiest of Pleasures

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is your 

Guiltiest of Pleasures!

No matter how much you might be ashamed to share, 

you know that you're not going to stop enjoying them. 

I know it's a little bit late, I totally apologize, 

I've sort of fell off the face of the blogging planet, but I'm back!

1. Microwave popcorn. 

2. The Real Housewives of Orange County. 

(so stupid, so stupid, yet faithfully DVRed)

3. Thick-cut French Fries. 

4. Sleeping in. 

5. Any Seth Rogan movie. 

6. Bud Light Lime.

(Yep, I'm a really cheap date!)

7. A good police show. 

(Cops, Jail, Lock-up, I don't discriminate)

8. Skyburger, my favorite iPhone app. 

9. A juicy issue of People, Star, or Us Magazine.

10. A good chocolate chip cookie. Or two. Or three. 

Now it's your turn to share!

What are your ten guiltiest pleasures? 

Absolutely Honored!

Yesterday was one of those days where I was just in a funk... I couldn't seem to be able to shake it. Last night I got home to be greeted with two awards from two blogs that I absolutely adore! Compliments are always so sweet, but when they come from someone you truly appreciate and admire they mean so much to me!

First, one of my favorite Mama bloggers, Brandi of My Amazing Life as a Mommy and Wife, gave me the versatile blogger award. Brandi finds a way to blog consistently, stay at home with her kiddos, and take pictures of all that comes with life along the way! She always has a kind word to leave in comments... So go show her all the love she deserves!

The way the Versatile Blogger Award works: 

1. Link back to the blogged who awarded you with much thanks! 

2. Share seven (versatile) things about yourself. 

3. Award five versatile bloggers you love. 

4. Contact your winners and share!

Without much further ado, here's seven versatile (maybe I mean more like random!) facts about me: 

1. If I was going to be a singer, I'd want to be a country girl with major spunk just like Miranda Lambert!

2. I desperately want to write a book that people actually read.

3. I'm a running addict. No joke, it makes me crazy to see runners and not be participating.

4. I have a little red glass rooster (or as my mom and I affectionately call him, The Cock) that I take places and take pictures of him, then send to my mom... For example: 

5. I'm a sucker for anything that needs organizing... as in, I love to clean and organize. 

(Weird? I know.)

6. I like my girly writing. J hates it. 

(He says it's impossible to read... At least I don't write like a five year old. My writing is like fine wine, an acquired taste!)

7. I grew up around construction... And can't imagine life without the smell of dirt, tractors, and hard hats. 

And my big versatile blogging buddies: 

1. Angie at Oh, How Delightful

2. Bonnie from My Whim Wham Life

3. Leigh at Very LoveLeigh

4. Mackenzie at Design Darling

5. Sarah at Cubicle Sanity

6. Megan at Loving the Little Things

Yay for versatile bloggers! 

And from a very dear foodie friend of mine, Zoe over at Runny Yokes are Better shared the Sisterhood of the World of Blogger Award with me! Zoe is sharing her laid back approach to the cooking and the simply, but so savory, dishes that she's making daily in her kitchen! I can't tell you how many of her dishes are on my To Cook list! And check out her stellar recipe for the Simply Sweet Ingredient Challenge!

And here are the rules for the Sisterhood Award: 

1. Link back to the blogged who awarded you with much thanks! 

2. Share seven things about yourself. 

3. Award five new bloggers you have recently discovered. 

4. Contact your winners and share!

So, seven more things about me: 

1. The first night J and I hung out I truly thought he was interested in my best friend... 

Thankfully, he later made it obvious he wanted to date me! 

2. I am the queen of underestimating myself... But this leads me to always be impressed by my strength!

3. I'm allergic to milk, but haven't always been. I contracted a nasty stomach virus in high school... 

4. The idea of spending the rest of my life with J makes me nothing but joyful. 

I hate when people ask if I'm nervous, then say I'm being insane when I say no. 

5. I have a staring problem. When someone is acting odd, I can't help but stare. J often has to call me on it... Maybe one day I'll be ok to take out in public. 

6. Adopting Baby Bear made my family complete. Life wouldn't be life without him. 

7. This is Pennie Pickle. I adore everything about her ridiculous self. 

And my new blogging friends in the Sisterhood of Blogging!

1. Fran at Free Borboleta

2. Megan at Mackey Madness

3. Em at Today's Letters

4. Jocelyn at True Life: We're Married

5. Bo-Nan at Cape Cod Collegiate

6. Lauren at Believe, Dream, Achieve

Stylish Sister Over Here!

It never fails, when I get an award I'm so pleasantly surprised... Especially when it's the Stylish Blogger Award because anyone that sees me on a regular basis knows that style isn't really something I can brag about having! Thank you to my dear new friend Mrs. G from My Amazing Life as a Mommy and Wife.

The rules of the awards are as follows: 

1. Link back and thank the person who gave it to you. 

2. Share 7 things about yourself. 

3. Award 5 stylish blogs you read. 

4. Contact them and tell them about their award! 

And my seven facts:

(I'm trying my darndest to make them new and exciting!) 

1. I run like mad in order to keep myself sane. 

2.  Grocery lists and shopping are one of my favorite things to do. I know, insane. 

3. I want to have a house full of chaotic kids. It's been a life long dream!

4. I drive a stick-shift. My dad taught me on a hill and I thought we were going to die. 

5. I truly love a good afternoon nap. 

(although I hardly ever have the chance to take them anymore)

6. I am dying for a puppy. I literally am brooding over a puppy.

(J says I have to wait for us to have a house)

7. I truly believe flats are more becoming than heels. And more comfortable too!

And my blogging friends who I'm honoring with this award: 

1. fairy tales are true.

2. A Sweet Simple Southern Life

3. The Vintage Apple

4. The Twitty Kitchen

5. The Adventures of Josh and Britt

6. Scribble Smudge

Top Ten Tuesday #2: Summer Fun Edition

This week's Top Ten Tuesday asked for your top ten

favorite summer activities.

With all the summer weather in spring, this seemed so appropriate.

1. Watermelon galore.

2. Swimming in the pool to escape the heat.

3. Visiting the water park with my family.

4. The Temecula Fourth of July Parade

(I love everything about July 4th,

but there is something about being in the parade that makes the day magical!)

5. Tan lines.

6. Eating dinner outside on the shaded patio while the sun is still up.

7. Starbucks Venti Passion Teas.

8. Early, early morning runs to beat the heat followed by an afternoon nap.

9. Sandy, salty beach days.

(I love the shower afterwards equally as much!)

10. Hamburgers hot off the grill.

(you're going to be seeing LOTS of hamburger recipes this summer, I just LOVE them!)

What are you Top Ten Summer Favorites?

Top Ten Tuesday: My Life Essentials

I know my list of things I couldn't live without is ridiculously longer than ten... But for the sake of Top Ten Tuesday I have to settle! Here goes nothing! Please enjoy!

1. A blanket. 

I sleep with my ears covered at night and without a blanket I wouldn't be able to cover my ears... Plus, I LOVE blankets and seriously have a half a dozen of them in my bed at a time. Yep, it drives J nuts and we aren't even sleeping in the same bed yet!

2. My NIV and Message Bible. 

Both translations are next to each other... It's amazing! If I read the NIV and don't get it (which happens more often than not, the Message is there to make it all clear... But I can still follow along easily at church when the pastor is reading from the NIV version!

3. Mascara. 

Yes, shallow. But of all beauty essentials, this is essential. Even J notices when I don't wear it. In fact, he always says, "Where's that black stuff that makes your eyes all big and pretty?"

4. A good run. 

I run for fun. But not just for fun. I run to clear my head and work out my heart. My best thinking happens along the roads my feet graze as I move through my neighborhood.

5. My family. 

Oh the joy this group of people brings me. If you haven't read enough already, you will soon realize they make my world go round... And for good reason!

6. A good read. 

I have been a bookworm from a very young age... In fact, it all started before I could read! I would go to bed with a pile of books just so I could go through all the pictures... To this day, I sleep with one or two books in my bed nightly. Guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

7. My iPhone. 

Not because I think iPhones make the world go round and are the best thing ever, but because I love my phone. I love having a phone that calls and texts and gets voicemails (and Twitter!). I truly love to be able to text my Mama Bird or J whenever I want and as frequently as I want (as much as they might get sick of me!) 

8. My computer. My new MacBook Pro. 

For my 22nd birthday-college graduation celebration, I got a new computer. But not just any new computer, I got my dream computer, a MacBook Pro! It really revolutionizes my blogging, photo editing, writing, cooking, working experience. I love being able to do all of the things that I love on the computer which can easily perform all that I need of it.

9. My blog. 

I write like a mad woman. But this sweet little spot is all mine and allows me to be held accountable for my words, for my thoughts, for my passion. I know people are expecting to see writing and I want to be dependable. Without you, my dear readers, this puppy wouldn't be working out the way it is. So essentially, number 9 is you.

10. Last, but definitely not least, my dear J. 

Literally I don't know what life would be like without him. He has been here through the darkest and brightest times in my long (okay, not so much) 22 years. He puts a smile on my face every morning and every night even when I'm sure it's impossible to get any ounce of joy out of me!

Top Ten Tuesdays

I have never really watched the David Letterman show, mainly because staying up that late is just impossible for me, but I love lists. I mean I love lists! I write a to do list every day, many versions of the same list with different things every day. I write lists for now, for later, for when, for then... I truly love the order that lists provide.

Not only do I seem to love lists, but I have found lots of blogging friends who love them as well... So I decided to start a little Tuesday Link Up for every week. (If it gets too overwhelming, I'll move it to every other week!) but on Sundays I will post what the theme of top ten list is going to be for the following week. Then on Tuesday I'll do a link up post that will include my list as well as links to all of yours!

Hope you're all as excited as me! I'm going to go ahead and give you the theme for this week since it's just a day early!

Our theme for the week: 

Your top ten life essentials

We all have different things that make life possible for us... But think of it like this, you are going to be dropped on a deserted island, what ten things would you bring? I know, ten seems like not so much with all the things you love; I'm having the same problem. 

I Got Style, Yes I do, I Got Style, How About You?

Well, maybe I don't have so much style, but I do have spirit! My new sweet southern soul of a friend, Amber Ashleigh, (yep, she has the most beautiful, angelic, wonderful name ever!) gave me my second stylish blogger award! Turns out people actually think I have style... Good thing I don't post my hot mess of an outfit on here every morning or my honors would be relinquished in a snap!

The rules for the award go as follows: 

1. Link back and thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs.

4. Contact them and tell them about their award.

Seven more big things about me... 

1. My 22nd birthday is today... Somehow this sounds really mature to me. Like 21, you're young and dumb and can drink too much because you just don't get it. 22 sounds like you've got your life together and know what you're doing. Oh my! 

(AND doesn't that cake look like it's got a whole lot of candles on it!) 

2. Not only do I love A&E's show Storage Wars... But I live in the same town as Darrell Sheets (The Gambler) and his son Brandon (The Sidebet)! If you haven't watched the show you need to... The Sheet Boys are my absolute favorite and it was soooo exciting to run into their friendly selves at the local mall. 

3. I have a journal I carry in my purse to write down any big thoughts that come into my little mind. I'm forgetful if I don't write things down, so this is my way of keeping track of things... And I often use what's written in my blog. 

4. I literally melt thinking of anything Julia Child. I adore her. Her copper pots, her sweet accent, Meryl Streep playing her... Her ridiculously difficult to understand recipes, her silly little ways, the way that she is portrayed in Julie & Julia. That's when cooking took off for me! 

Meryl Streep couldn't have been more perfect for the role!

5. I am convinced that pink floral print can solve any problem...

See, don't you feel better already? 

6. I broke my first bone and had my first major surgery all in one week... Yep, shattered my nose and the surrounding bones. The only solution = reconstructive plastic surgery. 

My doctor and anesthesiologist at the doors to my operating room!

7. I played soccer for ten years. Taking the field still feels like home. I want to get involved in a league after J and I get married and settled down in our home together! 

Enough about me already... Here are my awardees!

1. Sarah at Savoring Sarah

2. Jamie at This Kind of Love

3. Alysa at InspiredRD

4. Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds

5. Ailinh at Memoirs of Mrs. Harris

6. Danielle at Positively Positive

7. Caley-Jade at Mrs. Rosie Posie

I know, I posted more than five... But I think you'll all be able to find it in your hearts to forgive me! 

Yay! I Got a Second Award!

Oh my goodness, you all know how loved I feel by my new blogging friends and I just can't begin to talk about the amazing support that has been poured out for me... And one of my new favorite blog obsessions Jesslyn Amber awarded me with my second ever blog award!

Yep, she awarded me with the 7 Facts Blog Award!

Here's how the rules go: 

1. List 7 facts about yourself. 

2. Give this puppy to four of your favorite bloggers! 

So, my seven facts: 

1. J and I are having a vintage, Southern wedding in my parents' southern California front yard... I can't tell you how excited I am and how perfectly things are coming together! 

2. I can't fall asleep without my own pillow and a blanket pulled over my ears... That means I usually bring my own blanket with me places. J thinks I'm a goof ball because I do this, but I don't care! 

3. I suffer from insomnia. This is very difficult because it comes in waves so I suffer from not sleeping for  days at a time... This leads to a zombie form of Amber. 

4. There are five kids in my family... I want to have at least five. Yep, I'm going to have my own little basketball team! (But J and I have a HUGE heart for adoption so I won't be delivering them all!) 

5. I prayed for a little brother or sister in middle school and my parents told me I had lost it... Three years later, Baby Bear came into our lives and they have not been the same since! 

6. Trash TV makes my bad days great! My DVR is full of trashy reality TV shows... Things like Real Housewives of Orange County and Miami, Jersey Shore, The Real World... Yep, pure trash in my brain, but one of my guiltiest pleasures!

7. Blogging has become my escape... Bad days, good days, in between, I just love to blog about anything me and am so lucky to have readers who think my little life is interesting!  

Now for my four award recipients! 

1. My dear Mama at Moments with Mama Bird

2. Creative Cole at Created by Cole

3. Katy Mary at Tangerine Hearts

4. Blair at Heir to Blair

Check these amazing ladies out... I truly am proud to call them my pals. 

Thank you again Jesslyn Amber, you're too kind and I truly cherish your sweet friendship!

Friday Feature, Friday Friends, Follow Friday

Call it what you want, but one of my favorite things about Friday (and there are SO many things to love about Friday!) is the #FF trend on Twitter. I love seeing who my friends love. I love interacting with amazing women (and men) about all of the things that I love.

God has encouraged me greatly through the sweet friends I have made online.

I have always struggled making friends. I have always been different in one way or another and that always sets me in a place where I'm apart, my difference is known.

Throughout my life I have been bullied. Not the physical kind, but the psychological, social kind. It started in elementary school when I moved to a new school. The "cool" girl at school hosted a sleepover and they picked on me there because I had boobs and no one else did. Boy, did I hate those things. Then on Monday at school she brought a pair of purple underwear, put them in the middle of the lunch table, and said, "Amber, you forgot these." They weren't mine and I knew that, so I denied owning them. She then admitted to taking them out of my backpack at the sleepover so she knew they were mine. If I knew then what I know now I would have put her on blast for stealing from me, but I was just mortified. And I went home and cried to my mom, that has always helped.

In middle school I found a new group of friends, one being my neighbor girl, and others at soccer. This really helped. The middle school years were more (not completely) drama-free. It was just awkward because of the time of life where your body is changing, your learning all the routine of hygiene and beauty, and you're just starting to notice the opposite sex.

High school brought an onslaught of mean girl attention. My family adopted our beautiful Baby Bear who transformed our sweet home into a cozy, lively, love-filled house! My love for my family, although strong to up to that point, was a whole different thing after Baby Bear. At the same time my best friend and I started to grow interest in one another... He wasn't white and in a high school where racial tensions were high, we began to receive lots of flack from peers. My senior year two of the popular cheerleaders decided to make me the butt of their jokes in the cheer locker room. A close friend on cheer told me what happened and I was beside myself. The girls made fun of Baby Bear (something I just couldn't stand for), for my relationship with a boy of a different race, and for the way that I truly love my family. While I realized that it reflected on the girls, I was really hurt by their words and the aspects of my life they chose to attack.

College didn't free me completely from bullying. The girls in my dorm didn't understand why I was going to college only so that I could work for a couple of years before I started having kids and would stay at home with them. They thought I was insane... In fact, some of my close friends now think I'm crazy, but are respectful instead of mean. My sophomore year, two of my roommates always stole food from me (which is such a big deal in college, of course!) after they would smoke weed in our on campus apartment. I spoke to them several times about it, but they continued to do it ignoring any conversation we had and adding slamming doors and defacing my door decor... I was beyond frustrated and needed a way to escape their rude behavior. Thankfully I had sorority sisters to help defuse all of my frustrations.

Then I got into blogging. Oh my, what a release. But, just months after I started, the cyber bullying began. I received emails from friends saying they didn't like what I was writing (which is entirely allowed, however, the emails also held lots of personal attacks)... In all of this, I shut down two blogs and started up this one, free from where others could find it. And thankfully, I have been free from any bullying that could rear its ugly head in my life again.

Why does this happen? Why are girls encouraged to be mean to one another instead of loving and supportive? How do girls that have been bullied change this course over time?

I remember as a child saying:

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." 

Unfortunately, this is not so much the truth. In fact, words can be so hurtful. It's rather simple to heal from the physical wounds that comes from the scratches that sticks and stones create, but the words can resonate forever. The mean words can truly remain within one forever. It's funny how pictures or a sweatshirt I still have or hearing a phrase can take me back to that place of hurt and frustration.

Some days I wish I could tell those bullies how hurtful their words were, how long their mean "jokes" linger in the lives of their subjects, how it can be no big deal for them, but a big, big deal for me.

I'm so thankful for the support, friendship, and love from my sweet new friends who have been nothing but nice. Although I'm not always get at replying or saying thank you, my heart is truly encouraged. I hope I can provide little bits of sweetness in the comments and tweets that I share with others, just as it has been done for me.

Thank you my dear friends! You truly are amazing!

Daily Confession: I Got an Award!

Well, I am so proud to share with all of you that I received my FIRST blogging award EVER! I can't tell you how complimented I feel and what a lucky little lady I am to have received this honor from a sweet southern blogger I truly admire! Meet the oh-so-special Amber (what a great name too!) at her blog, Brunch with Amber... Prepare yourself for her amazing honesty, witty writing, and super stylish self!

Me, stylish? Woot woot!

Being this stylish really isn't easy... But here are four rules to make your style shine! 

1. Link back and thank the person that gave you the award. 

2. Share 7 things about yourself. 

3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs. 

4. Contact them and tell them about their sweet style! 

Seven Stylish Things About me: 

1. I have a scarf collection. It's ridiculous and it's color coordinated. They are just such a perfect addition to ANY outfit ANY time of year!

Yep! The rest of my apartment is this ridiculously organized. 

2. I love Target. They have everything I need in one place! Being on a budget doesn't hinder my style, because Target is so good at making cute, but so affordable clothes and accessories and shoes. (Guilty admission: I bought three pairs of flats from Target last weekend!)

Aren't they fun? And so affordable!

3. I am a major bookworm. I've always loved to read... And still do! (And in about a week I won't have any assigned reading left to get in the way of all the fun books I have waiting around!) 

These are all the books I have collected over the last couple of years
and the anticipation to read them all is just killing me!

4. I sew. Not clothes, just quilts and other fun household things. I don't really love the whole strict pattern thing... So I just sew freehand for fun. 

I made this blanket that J and I wrapped up in for our engagement pictures!

5. Being in a sorority has taught me to love over-the-top costumes and dress up. J and I have been absurd in our outfits! I always make some part of our outfits, if not the whole thing...

Thing 1 and Thing 2... With Taylor Swift and Kanye West!

Juno and Bleeker. And that belly is handmade because I'm not having a baby any time soon!

And you've got a friend in us... Jessie and Woody.
I homemade our outfits... or home-embellished them!

6. I second guess so many of my decisions. The only one I haven't ever thought twice about... Marrying my oh-so-sweet J.

The night, just minutes, after he proposed!

7. I have two tattoos. Both on my feet. Both scripture.

Now that I'm done talking about myself... 

Meet MY new favorite bloggers!

1. Travel Babbles

2. the little red house

3. A White Picket Fence

4. Three in the Nest

5. little girl in the big world

Check these ladies out... They're all sweet, hilarious, creative, and so stylish! 

From a New Friend: Project Do Me

In all of the blogging that I have been doing lately I have found plenty of time to troll through many blogs and check out what other amazing writers are doing. This morning I found Ky after she commented on one of my posts (so that means she actually found me!). Her blog is absolutely adorable... Her life as a traveling fan of her hockey hunk fiance. As she travels the world being his number one fan, she writes so honestly about her adventures, her homesickness, and her love for the man she is going to marry! 

Ky posted about her Project Do Me and I was immediately intrigued. She then closes the post challenging readers to take part in the Project... So, here I am to give it a good girl scout try! 

Daily: 

1. Read myself to sleep, instead of watching TV. 

2. Comment on several blogs a day to increase my online presence. 

3. Read my bible and do a bible study with J. 

This Week: 

1. Do a Mama Bird Feature on my blog. 

2. Move some of the millions of photos from my computer to my external hard drive. 

3. Follow up a run with abs and arms (despite how much I truly hate them!). 

This Month: 

1. Share my blog link with ten friends that I want to know about it, but am too shy to actually share. 

2. Graduate from college with Straight A's for the best grades in my college career. 

This Year: 

1. Start a Bi-Weekly feature of different bloggers that I truly love! 

2. Get toned on my own without a trainer. (I know I can do it, I just have to start)