21 Whimsical DIY Herringbone Plate

I love painting pottery. I wish I could afford my own studio. I would just paint all day! But in the meantime, there's this great little place in Mt Juliet called Fired Up where you can paint your own pottery. Last week I went with a couple girlfriends for my birthday, and I painted this plate:

The best part? It was really easy. And I love the way it turned out. In fact, I'd like to make another one so that Josh and I could have a set for special occasions! 

Have you painted or created anything lately that you just love? Tell me about it! (And if there's a picture or blog post, leave me the link!)

Linking Up with 5 Days 5 Ways

14 Twenty Three

Last Wednesday was my birthday! I can't believe I'm 23. That's, like, almost grown up. 

I've always thought of 24 as the magic age. You know, "all grown up!" and everything? Twenty-four is when a person is supposed to have all their ducks in a row. Now that I'm only a year away from having-it-all-together, I'm thinking of all the things I need to learn in order to be a successful twenty-four year old in exactly 356 days. I have so much to learn! 

Obviously, this is all very tongue-in-cheek.. If it really worked like that, life would be kind of boring after 24. I'd miss out on all the great adventures (and admittedly, mishaps) that occur from not having everything figured out! I wouldn't change that.

OKAY I promised you guys pictures, but I'm late on the delivery. Let's jump right into that, shall we?

I accidentally left the real camera at home and our iPod wasn't charged, so all I have to share with you guys are a few Instax photos. (Josh gave me a bunch of film for my b'day!)

To celebrate my big day, Josh and I ate lunch at our favorite burger joint, Gabby's Burgers & Fries. We had a great time goofing off together (as always), and the burgers were amazing (as always). If you're ever in Nashville, make sure you find this place and partake in the goodness!

 

Now... I don't usually eat beef, because it messes with my stomach. But I will compromise every time for Gabby's. EVERY TIME. Plus, they use local, grass-fed beef, which is a little easier for me to digest. Not to mention their AMAZING fries and sweet potato fries are always so fresh and delicious. 

After Gabby's, we went and saw The Vow. I know some people didn't like the way it ended, but I thought it was very well done. I really liked it. "Wife-loses-her-memory-so-husband-has-to-make-her-fall-in-love-with-him-again" is such a romantic premise. And it's based on a true story! I know I'm a sucker for letting that influence my view of a movie... But how can you blame me?  

Our two families don't get to hang out very often, but when they do, it makes my heart so happy. That's the reason I requested a big family dinner for my birthday this year, and my parents graciously agreed to host everyone. My dad even grilled our salmon in the rain! I am so loved. 

Aren't my parents cute? I'd say they're the best lookin' parents in all the world. (That one's for you, Dad!)

Momma Laurie made me a Healthy Deep Dish Cookie Pie that was so good even my no-desserts dad liked it! I can always count on Momma Laurie to make me yummy sweets and snacks I can eat without regret.

So that was my 23rd birthday. It was perfect. Thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday on Twitter and Facebook last week! You guys made me feel so special.

Here's to another year of adventure (and mishaps)!

Which age do you consider to be "all grown up?"

13 Right Now...

...I'm sorry for how quiet I've been this week. I planned to put up a couple posts between VDay and now, but I got The Hunger Games series for my birthday.. and I completely zoned out over the last three days to read them. Oh my goodness. Those books are amazing. I just finished the last book a few hours ago, and I already want to read them again. 

...Josh and Jordan are filming tomorrow's Messy Monday video in the back room. I like that I can hear both the yelling and the laughter. Makes me smile. 

...I'm making a list of things I need to get done around the house tomorrow. I didn't do any chores on Valentine's Day or my birthday (on principle!), then I got sucked into The Hunger Games and couldn't put the books down. Now I've got to get back into the swing of things.

...my heart is a little heavy and I could use a friend. I'm looking forward to girl time tomorrow night!

...I'd like to go home. I'm ready for sleep. I can tell that I'm pushing the envelope in relation to my health. 

...no pictures today. But I have a few from the ol' birthday to share with y'all! They'll probably be up by Wednesday. 

Who else fell in love with The Hunger Games and forgot about the rest of their lives while they read them?

7 25 Love Songs: A V-Day Gift From Noisetrade

Happy Valentine's Day!

Josh and I are celebrating with flowers, chocolate, Carrot Cake Waffles, two-player board games, and a little bit of web-design! How are you celebrating this year?

Moments ago, I came across this great freebie and I just had to share it with you:

Noisetrade is offering a free download of 25 Love Songs from a very talented group of independent artists. I was especially excited to hear Brooke Waggoner's "Baby Shake-em" (she created one of my favorite CDs ever, Go Easy Little Doves) but I'm really enjoying the rest of the songs, too. This is a great collection of love songs - a perfect addition to our Valentine's Day!

So how do I get the album? All you have to do to is "like" Noisetrade.com on Facebook, then you can download the entire album for free. There's no catch. You don't have to give them any information. You could even "unlike" noisetrade when you're done if you don't like to clutter up your newsfeed. But don't tell them I said that ;)

And while we're talking about love songs, I'll share my personal favorite: "My Love for You is Real" by Ryan Adams. So pretty.

What is your all-time favorite love song? 

21 Celebrating the Day We Met

Our friends and family poke fun at us for celebrating every little special day: the day we met, the day we started dating, the first time we said "I love you," etc. What can I say, Josh is good with dates. And we enjoy acknowledging each of these special days every year. Sometime it's as simple as a quick, "Hey! We held hands for the first time on this date!" but other times we go out of our way to celebrate a date - especially the big ones like our engagement (Nov 15), or when we met (Jan 28).  

You have to know that Josh and I were good friends, and then best friends for a few years before we started dating, so we've celebrated January 28 as the day we met for at least four years. Now that we're married, we make an even bigger deal about special dates and anniversaries. This year was our seventh "frienniversary." Seven years! That's a long time! Especially for two kids in their early twenties. We knew we wanted to do something special to celebrate on January 28, but we weren't sure what. Then I got the idea to surprise Josh with a date day (he was a great sport; he even allowed me to blindfold him on the drive over). As I thought about how long seven years seems, I realized that if our friendship were a person, that kid would already be in first grade! So I planned our date day around a fictional school schedule, and I made this card to explain the day's theme: 

Pretty convincing first-grader handwriting, eh? I walked away from this project with a cramp and marker all over my hands, but it was worth it. I like the way it turned out!

Sample Schedule:

1st period: Storytime

"Pick your favorite book for the class to read!"

We started the day inside Books A Million, where we each found a little-kid book and read them to each other. My pick was a Pride and Prejudice themed counting book, and Josh chose a rhyming story about a little boy who had misplaced his teddy bear. We had so much fun, and it made us excited about reading to our own children one day :)

2nd period: P.E.

"Race your classmates to the roundabout!"

I had planned to use a bandana to tie our legs together for a three legged "race," but I accidentally left it in the car. When I explained this to Josh, he said, "We can do it anyway!" So we walked down the sidewalk with our arms around each other and tried to keep our middle legs together as we walked. I'm sure we looked pretty silly, but we had a blast!  

3rd period: Lunch

"Yummy packed lunches in the 'cafeteria'" 

The "cafeteria" was actually a big patch of grass in the center of a roundabout, so I guess it was technically a picnic. I packed heart-shaped pb&j sandwiches, potato chip baggies, juice boxes, and strips of fruit leather into Josh's old lunch box. Thankfully, it was a warm day so we didn't freeze our tushies off.

4th period: Recess

"Play time with your friends"

Our theater has a few arcade games in the lobby, so I thought it would be fun to play a round or two of Time Crisis together. (I totally made it farther than he did!) 

5th period: History

"(Teacher's sick today so we get to watch a movie!)"

When I originally hatched this plan, I thought we'd be watching Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, Josh wanted to see it earlier in the week and I wasn't about to say no to, "There-goes-the-bak-er-with-his-trayy liike aalwayys! The-same-old-bread-and-rolls-to sellllllllllllllll!" But anyway, I digress. We watched Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close instead, and both enjoyed it. And technically, it IS based on history, so it fit our sample schedule better in the end! The movie was good. I cried. Josh thought the kid was kind of annoying (and I couldn't really disagree). But we do agree that it was worth seeing.

6th period: Art

"Today's subject: Photography"

I brought along an old disposable camera with a few exposures left on it, and our "assignment" was to take pictures on our way back to the car. I kinda cheated and broke it out early though; I wanted pictures of all our activities. (Btw, that's why there are no pictures from this outing. I'll be sure to post a follow-up when I get them developed!)

(SNACK)

"--> O'Charley's"

"Snack time" was actually an early dinner (we had a gift card to O'Charley's). We had so much fun reminiscing about the past seven years over dinner. He can make me laugh so easily. Josh is definitely my best friend!

7th period: Show and Tell

"Better head home for this one..."

Sorry you had to catch me flirting with my husband. You know, married-talk and all.

I had planned to have a blanket fort set up when we got home, but I ran out of time that morning. So instead, I piled up a bunch of blankets and a few of our favorite games in the middle of the living room and labeled the pile "SUPPLIES." I'm glad it worked out that I couldn't set it up that morning, because Josh was thrilled to build the thing. He was so cute! After Josh created the perfect blanket fort, we crawled inside to play a couple games and watch some Netflix together.

It was such a wonderful day. If this is what first grade is really like, I would go back in a heartbeat!

Does anyone else keep track of the "little" anniversaries? Tell me we're not the only ones..
Linking up with Let's Go on a Date

5 Favorite Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Happy Birthday to Abraham Lincoln!

Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday!  

Source.

Everything I read about Lincoln implies that he was a somber (almost depressed) man. That makes me sad, because I always thought Abraham Lincoln had a kind face. Which is, I think, the reason that I like the following quote - it makes me feel better to know that he had his happy moments: 

New York businessman and writer James R. Gilmore observed: “His deep-sunk, dark gray eye had a soft, kindly expression, and I never knew a smile so positively captivating. It transfigured his whole face, making his plain features actually good-looking, so that I could agree with Caroline M. Kirkland, who not long before had told me that he was the handsomest man she had ever seen.” Source.

Doesn't that sound like someone you'd like to be around?

And obviously, there are the words from Honest Abe himself. Such a wise man! My favorite quote of his helps me to not worry: "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Here are a couple more Lincoln quotes, all prettied up:

Source. ($12.50 from 3LambsGraphics on etsy) 

Source. ($25 from Mary Kate McDevitt on etsy)

What is your favorite Abe-related quote or fact?

23 Meeting Marshal Younger

Source.

Josh and I both grew up listening to a kid's radio program called Adventures in Odyssey from Focus on the Family. The show is meant for kids ages 8-12, but it holds up well for older audiences too. Josh and I still listen to them around the house and on long drives, and we're intent on our future children growing up with them as well! Josh even has a T-shirt that he wears often:

Both of us can point to specific AIO episodes that had a major part in making us who we are today. For me, I think of The Pushover, which is about being able to say, "no" and not changing who you are in order to make friends. (This episode is not available online, unfortunately) For Josh, it's an episode titled A Lesson From Mike, which is about a boy who tragically dies, leaving his classmates to realize that they never got to know him. The lesson is to reach out to the loners and the outcasts. Anyone who knows Josh can see how this episode impacted him; he is a master at engaging and encouraging the people he comes into contact with. (You can listen to A Lesson From Mike in its entirety here!)

Marshal Younger wrote both of these episodes. In fact, we learned that Mr. Younger wrote the majority of our favorite adventures in Odyssey! Josh got to the point where he could guess if an episode was written by Younger before the credits were read. Mr. Younger even created my favorite child character, Jared DeWhite (which is probably why I liked The Pushover so much - it's the episode that introduced us to Jared).

So when Josh learned that Marshal Younger lives in Middle Tennessee, Josh sent him a Facebook message letting him know how much his writing has impacted us over the years. Mr. Younger was so kind and suggested we meet halfway at Cool Springs Mall. That's how, earlier this week, Josh and I got to meet a favorite author. 

I recognized his voice as "Young Jack" from the episodes when Whit met Jenny (The Triangle, Part I and Part II). This is going to sound like I'm making this up to sound cool, but I always thought that Young Jack's voice sounded so kind, and totally unique. So it was neat to have actual conversations with that voice.

We mostly talked about what it's like writing for AIO, and we just ate that up. It was the coolest experience. But for those of you who aren't as invested in AIO as Josh and I, I'll move along now ;)

It was awesome to talk with Mr. Younger about what we're doing with Blimey Cow. He had actually seen our home school video and thought it was "really fun!" Josh asked his advice for next week's video, and Mr. Younger gave it freely. He was very encouraging, even calling our ideas "clever." He gave us an idea of the way AIO approached sensitive topics, offered advice, and even agreed to look over/critique the next script!

Source.

Right before we parted ways, Mr Younger pulled out a fresh copy of his new AIO book, "The Fight for Kidsboro" and signed it for us. It reads:

 Josh and Kelli, 

It was great to meet you. You've got some fantastic ideas and I can't wait to see them change the world. Keep Listening! 

Marshal Younger

How awesome is that??!!?! I am excited to read them (it's actually four books in one). I don't care that they're meant for kids ages 8-12, I'm curious! He's a great writer, so I'm sure that I'll wholeheartedly enjoy it.

All in all, it was an experience of a lifetime. He was so encouraging, and Josh and I left the mall with our heads in the clouds. If you ever read this, Mr. Younger, we appreciate everything you've done with Odyssey, and for taking the time to actually meet with us... from the bottom of our hearts. 

Have you ever had the chance to meet one of your "heroes?"

12 February 2012 Resolutions

This Month's Resolutions:

• Go through all of our clothes. Our drawers and closet are overflowing, but I know there are clothes we haven't even touched in the year and a half we've been married. My goal is to give at least two big trash bags to Goodwill by the end of the month. I'd like to organize our closet and bedroom in a way that works better for us; maybe I'll make a couple new laundry hampers for instant sorting (instead of leaving piles on the floor).

• Continue to meal plan every week, and keep track of our savings on paper. I know that seeing the numbers will help me stay motivated to stick with our cash budget. I also want to figure out a coupon system that works for me AND keeps the coffee table and bookshelves free of coupon clutter. 

Minor goals:

*Read 1 book this month.

*Post consistently on SLASG - at least three times per week.

Does anybody else set monthly resolutions for themselves? This is still very new to me, however, I hope to learn a lot through the process. Whether you set monthly objectives or not, what is your best strategy for meeting personal goals? 

9 Make it a Date 01/12: January

Josh was so sweet the morning of our January date (aka 01/12 in our Year of Dates). He woke me up that day already dressed up in a tie and everything! I think he was excited ;)

This month's surprise date packet:

"The Wild (Egyptian) Cow"

Our first surprise date packet took us into Downtown Nashville. We hit up The Turnip Truck for some fresh juice - Josh got The Marilyn Monroe and I got The Mr. Rogers! I thought that each juice being named after a celebrity was a cute detail. It made picking out our juices more exciting (At least for me! Though I think if Josh saw "strawberry," "banana," and "coconut" in the description, he'd order that smoothie even if it were called the Mitt Romney, haha). My drink was as good for you as you'd expect a juice named after Mr. Rogers to be, made with fresh carrots, apples, oranges, and celery. Sidenote, why do things taste so much better when you're not the one making them?!

Next we went to The Frist to see the Brooklyn Museum's traveling Egypt Exhibit. Josh loves Ancient Egypt, so when one of our best friends told me about the exhibit, I knew it had to be our first secret date. BONUS, this same friend gave us money for the tickets as a Christmas gift. What a blessing! Even though the tickets weren't THAT expensive, putting a whole year of dates together can add up quick. So I really appreciated her contribution - it was very sweet of her.

The exhibit was so cool. The mummies were fascinating! The patterns and hieroglyphs on the sarcophagi were so intricate and detailed.. I'm just amazed at how much work they put into a dead body. They had so many specific rules about when and how to remove organs, preserve and wrap the body, build the sarcophagus, and decorate their final resting place so they'd get into the afterlife. It just blows my mind. And as for the paintings, I can't imagine how long it would take to cover those surfaces. Their primitive paints and paintbrushes couldn't've been easy to work with! Can you imagine making a mistake? Or running out of paint?! It wasn't as easy as a quick trip to Hobby Lobby. But they were so artistic and intricate. It was just really cool. 

We rounded out the evening with a trip to our favorite vegetarian restaurant, The Wild Cow. We shared the vegan queso and chips appetizer, and agreed that we both like "real" cheese better. Josh got a Philly with a side of corn chips, and I got the Prince Fielder with a side of carrot hummus. It was delicious! I've enjoyed everything I ever gotten from TWC. They take good care of their vegetarians. We had such a good time dreaming, goofing off, and just being together. Josh kept throwing chips at me though. LIKE A CHILD. Don't worry, I flirted right back. ;) 

As we left Nashville, the interstate was packed so we took the long way home, leading us right past our favorite thrift store, Southern Thrift! This wasn't part of the original plan, but Josh suggested we go in for funsies. We found two super cheap board games for less than $5 total! You KNOW Josh was all over that. ;)

All in all, I'd say Date 01/12 was a success. It was just perfect. I'm so excited about the eleven additional surprise dates we have for the rest of the year; Josh is going to love them! 

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Next week, I'll share how we celebrated the 7th anniversary of when we met! 

2 Make it a Date: The 2012 Project

Some of you may already know that my 2011 Christmas gift to Josh was a year of pre-planned, pre-paid dates (one each month). Well, I got the idea from the lovely Shannon Brown at Find Joy in the Journey. I followed her presentation model pretty closely, using manilla envelopes and a basket I had on hand:

It seems a lot of women were inspired to do the same thing for their husbands this past Christmas, so Shannon is hosting a monthly link-party in 2012 for all of us to share our date ideas. I think it's going to be a lot of fun!

1 January 2012

Hey friends! Long time no see, am I right? 

It's been nice to take a month off from blogging after posting every day for a year. I had planned to jump right into She Learns As She Goes on January 1st, but I was so relieved to be free of that daily commitment that I just let myself take a break. But I've missed blogging! So here I am. Getting back into the swing of things.

January has been long and full. Josh and I have shared a bunch of fun adventures (including our first "surprise" date of 2012 and the 7th anniversary of when we met - I'll have posts about those up in the next few days). I don't really have a reason for summarizing January except to say, "This is where I've been." It feels wrong not to fill y'all in, even if it's only barely, haha. 

This year, Josh and I have decided to approach each month with a new resolution. The purpose of this is to be proactive in learning about the things I want to be better at (or understand better). It's part of "learning as I go."

January's resolution was to use only cash whenever we bought anything (our model is roughly based on Dave Ramsey's envelope system; also, we're still paying bills online). I'd say we did pretty well - we only ended up using the debit card once! Josh was unexpectedly stuck in the Hickory Hollow area, helping a friend with car troubles at the end of the month, and he didn't have any more cash and nothing to eat. So he called me to discuss his options, and (since he hadn't eaten all day) we agreed it would be okay for him to to buy an $8 gyro meal. We didn't want to be so legalistic about it that Josh was left without the nourishment he needed. We will simply take $8 less cash out for February to make up for it. 

A secondary resolution for January (that was a big part of the first), was to be more strict about meal planning, especially in accordance with the money we would save. I consulted my stack of coupons and weekly sales ads when I wrote our grocery lists, and was more disciplined in my grocery habits in general - not buying anything that wasn't on the list, going to two stores each week instead of only one, and working more with what I had in the freezer/pantry.

Grade for January: A-

We did really well but there were things we could've done better. We learned a lot this month about our typical spending habits that will really help us modify our cash budget to what we truly need. I'm proud of sticking to our cash budget so well! Even when there were a few small unexpected payments we needed to make, we made it work.