Fall Treats

I love carmel apples this time of year! My sister and I got the craving one day so we made some! We did not have any nuts so we put halloween sprinkles on them :) super fun and yummy!! I am not for sure if the monkey's enjoyed them more than us or not?! :) I'll let you be the judge...

Hope everyone is enjoying fall treats as much as we are ;).....

Friendship Blessing

Once upon a time I was trying on a homcoming dress in Ann's Bridal in Searcy. In walks a girl trying on her wedding dress... we looked familar to each other and passed along a couple of awkward hello's and went on about our dresses......little did I know a year or so down the road she would be one of my very best friends! I can't explain how blessed Candace and my friendship is but I will try! :) She married a guy where I am from and that is more or less how we came in contact. The next year after the dress visit..haha.. I still did not really know her and I was working in a resturaunt in town where we all lived and her and her husband came in to eat. I remember them carrying in the tiniest sweetest little baby. I think she still had a monitor on if I am not mistaken. I remember looking at her tiny little head and sweet face. A few months later Candace started working at the same resturaunt. God placed us there at the same time and I am so thankful! And so it begun :)... We hit it off right away.. I am not sure we were ever not laughing or not talking when we worked together. From then on we had a friendship so precious and God formed! We spent many nights after work talking, laughing, crying, walking, going to some movies, Ihop, and so many other fun times from the work place! We just fit together simple as that! She was God sent and I love having her as my best bud! Candace sent me an email a little while back thanking me for our friendship and it was so weird because it had been on my heart to do the same. So candace if you read this here is your response :).. I just wanted to blog it! I have started to enjoy blogging and thought this would be a perfect post! I like writing about stuff on my mind and heart so here we go ;) although I can't put all of our friendship in words or all the stories because that would take years I think I'll just try and hit some high points! That is another thing we do.. we read each other.. it is kind almost crazy weird! We have seriously sent the exact same messages or had the same thoughts at the same time.. and I know that people do that but we do it all the time! haha.. It doesn't surprise us any more though we just look at each other and are like here we go again! We have had so many ups, downs, and turn arounds! God has put us together and pulled us apart in so many ways and we have such a special bond because of everything we have gone through. I can confide in her, talk, cry, pray, laugh, and sometimes all of those things at one time! I feel like God has used us and the friendship we share to help so many people and to be a light! We are both just as goofy as the other and when we are together people say we tend to bring more of that out! haha :) Yes we have our disagreements, we have had fights, but through it all God has shown us reasons and made us that much closer and a much stronger friendship! HE is just so amazing like that! Through our friendship we have grown so much not only as individuals but also as christians! I love that about us.. God has put us in each others path I think to give us someone to go through things with.. to do life with. Candace was in my wedding.. I was there for the delivery of her precious 2nd child Camp.. not only the big things but also the small things too.. once Candace called me to her house late late because her husband was gone and their house had a hole in it where it was being worked on with a tarp over the hole.. she was frantic and just knew someone was in the house.. so here I come.. and I am the biggest chicken ever... but here I come.. I got in the house and she had a gun sitting out in a case thing and I was like do you even know how to use that thing.. she was like no Corey told me once but I forgot! Oh great! haha! Needless to say there wasn't anyone in the house but we had a good laugh! We have so many great memories from trips to little rock! For a long time we had a Olive Garden/Blue Cake Company ritual! haha! So much that we taught her little girl to say she wanted to eat at Olive Garden as soon as she started talking I think! ;) From our shopping trips, talks, laughs, my wedding, her difficult pregnancy, the birth of her child, prayers, arguments, and all the other times we have had God has blessed my life in so many ways having a friendship like ours! We can talk about God and what He is doing in our lives, our families, our finances, hopes, fears, dreams, and just anything! I think that is one of my favorite things about our friendship. It's just a wonderful blessing on so many levels to have what I have in a best friend! Thanks for being so great Candace! Love ya!

Fun Questions For Fall

I have really been enjoying looking at different blogs in my free time here lately. I have had mine for a little while now but it has lied dormant for quite some time! ha! I was not into the blog world at first, but the more I get on here and go from blog to blog I have really started to enjoy this part of the cyber world! Haven't got the whole thing figured out yet but it is a work in progress! There are some amazing people with so many neat stories out there and I love reading about all kinds of things.. not to mention one blog I came accross that had oodles of coupons! Awesome! Never knew how much this type of networking could offer! I even printed off a coupon for Chili's(one of my hubby's fav)- it was for a free chips and queso and we always get that! Next time it will be free chips and queso ;) Yum! My husband started a new job and has been working late shifts and I have become nocturnal! ;) We are blessed and adjusting to this new adventure, but are praying for a better schedule! Until then I guess I will just keep on reading new blogs :) and loosing a few more hours of sleep and this girl loves her sleep! I am slowly adjusting... On to what I was originally going to post about though... as I was blog creepin ;) I noticed all these little questionnaires a lot of people do and thought this one would be fun! It reminded me of when everyone use to religiously be on myspace and send them through that.. So here is my first one in blog land :).........

1. Do you like Starbuck's? Are you a fan of their seasonal coffees?
That would be a big fat yes! haha! Looooove starbucks.. year round.. but especially their seasonal stuff! It's just so yummy! Although I will say $4-5 is expensive for some coffee but occasionally so worth it! I had a boss who when she pulled up to the drive-thru they knew her by name.. I never frequent starbucks that much to be on their A-list, but I do love it! Although there was one time I went through the drive-thru and they knew my name... only because it was my cousin working but nonetheless. ;) My favorite is their white mocha and during fall I like the pumpkin spice latte and during Christmas time I love a peppermint white mocha after a long day of shopping :).so ridiculous I know.. tasty goodness!

2. How do you decorate and prepare for fall?
I love love love decorating for holidays! Right now we are in between houses and renting an apartment, but hopefully by the end of the month we will be back in a house! YAY! I have a few things out for fall but nothing like I would usually do if we were in our house :( but by next month I will get to break out those mad holiday decor skills..haha! I love fall decor and colors! I also love pumpkins and mums.. a fall necessity :)..the last house we owned I always did a hay bale scene with the pumpkins, mums, cute little scarecrow looking people with sticks for legs, etc.. usually one on each side of the drive way or on the porch! I miss doing that! A pumpkin patch and baking day with my sister and her monkey's is usually squeezed in the mix of fall too! Fall is such a fun time!!

3. Will you participate in your college's homecoming activities?
No, but I will be heading to my little hometown this weekend for their festivities with friends.. if that counts?

4. What is your favorite fall clothing item or accessory?
Fall fashion is usually my favorite throughout the year. I would have to go with cute scarves and boots! I have a love for cardigans too but those would come in second! On a not so dressed up note.. I love pulling out a comfy hoodie and some blue jeans :)

5. What was your favorite halloween costume as a kid?
Is it awful that I don't really remember? I guess halloween was not the biggest highlight of my year as a child.. we usually went to the church annual hayride/weenie roast so maybe that is why. Although I do remember my grandmother making us costumes.. she passed away when I was young but I can remember that! So I'll just say those were my favs :)

6. Do you like halloween or horror movies? Do you have a favorite?
I am the biggest scardy cat you will ever meet so NO! Not real big on any horror movie unless my husband is snuggled up right beside me and even then I hide my face half the time! We will watch an occasional scary movie but I definately fit in more of the chick flick genre!

7. What is your favorite fall activity?
I love so many things about fall! Pumpkin patch, baking with my sister, family time, race for the cure, and razorback football being top of the list! Every fall my family on my moms side has a family reunion and it is an event in itself! I love catching up with my family and seeing everyone at that!

8. What is your favorite fall recipe?
Not sure I can pick a favorite.. humm...I love soups this time of year! I also love casseroles & sweet treats!

9. When do you start Christmas shopping?
Every year depends! I usually hit up the Holiday House that the junior league of little rock puts on every year in early november! It is alway a blast! Then the annual 'black friday' with a group of friends.. I always look forward to this! We wake up so early and by the end of the day we are laughing at everything .. not for sure if things are really that funny or the lack of sleep.. probably the later of the two ;)!

10. What do you miss about summer?
Nothing yet.. it has not been gone for long enough. I will change my tune by January/February! I always miss the sunshine, pool days, flip flops, green grass, flowers, and sno cones! Summer days are so much more laid back too!

11. What movie coming out soon are you most excited about?
Well I was just discussing this with a friend earlier, and we are possibly going to see 'Life or Something Like It' friday night! Looks like a cute movie!

Thanks for reading if you have and bear with me as I am learning the blog ropes ;) ... lots of fun so far!

a few fun days...

The past few days have been so much fun! Celebrated a great friend's birthday, spent the day with another friend + her new addition :), and attended a breast cancer awareness fundraiser in Conway! Lots of other things took place between now and them but these are the highlights of my week! Great time with amazing friends and family!

I am blessed with some of the most amazing friends and we love to get together, especially for birthdays ;)! They are one of my favorite things to celebrate! We all met for lunch at McAlister's for Leah's birthday, had lunch, laughed, visited, and enjoyed a crafty dessert! 

Leah , Me, Candace

Camparoo

Leah and her sweet boys!

Two of a kind... 

Crafty Dessert!

I must admit my imagination went a little wild with this birthday dessert, but it was so leah! I found this dessert online and changed it up a tidbit! Super easy and delicious! 

*marshmallows

  *white chocolate 

  *milk chocolate

    *graham crackers

                                                   *heath bar topping (the only ingrediant I added)

I heated my chocolates in my new pampered chef double boiler (makes melting easy and mess free)..dipped some marshmallows in white chocolate and some in milk chocolate...then rolled them in heath bar topping and crushed graham cracker..enjoy!

With my little apparatus I constructed to hold these treats, I had Leah in mind. I originally was going to poke marshmallows on wooden kabob sticks and put them in a flower vase, but that idea changed once I was in the store..I ended up with covering a floral/square oasis with burlap, picked up some actual floral sticks, dangeled some pearls on the wire part of the sticks, got some mini cupcake holders and went to town! Leah decorates weddings etc... and I thought it turned out pretty cute for a custom dessert! :-)

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I spent today with another fabulous friend and her new baby Titus! We always have a ball! Amanda is hilarious and I love her to pieces! It's always interesting & a good time when we hang out! We enjoyed lunch & brownies cooked by amanda's mom (i just love that sweet lady) then the 3 of us ventured out for a little shopping! We laughed all day long and just enjoyed Titus! :) He is absolutely adorable and I am a proud aunt ;)....

Hello from Titus :).. 

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And .... last but not least I met up with my sister and went to a breast cancer fundraiser! My heart goes out to any families that have endured or are enduring any type of cancer! We had dinner and enjoyed the evening! :)

My beautiful sister & one little monkey!

"loons"

 

FaLl FaVoRiTeS

When it comes to seasons I love everything in between :) Fall and spring time are always fabulous and never last nearly as long as they should..sooo..I love to soak up as much of these two seasons as I can! I LOVE them both! Well here it is again almost fall, and after some of the crazy hot temps mixed with all this humidity we had this summer.. I am ready! I get a little "fall fever" this time of year anticipating the season! There is just something about the newness in the air! Fall is just a necessary and beautiful time for the earth..The world seems to slow down and take a breather after the rush of summer :) Did I mention I LOVE fall!!! Here a few thing I am looking forward to as usual...

when God paints the leaves  ;D

fashion during this time of year is my favorite

boots 

falling leaves

scarves

hats

my husband's birthday

decor

painted/carved pumpkins

cool/crisp air that awaits you every time you step outside

crunching sound of leaves 

the color red 

starbucks tastes even better (so silly i know but it really does)

pumpkin spice lattes 

campfires

soup

football in the yard and on t.v.

baking

snuggling

sitting around listening to Dustin play guitar(well thats all the time)

mums 

hay-rides

going for a jog any time during the day

leaf piles

pumpkins

I wish I could make a combination scent for fall...if I could I would add a little dash of all the smells of the season--some pumpkin, apples, cloves, pinch of the new book smell, chapstick kisses and cinnamon gum :).. a little hot apple cider, dew covered fresh cut grass - the early in the morning kind, campfire, smores, nutmeg, wool sweaters, fresh baked pies and homemade yummies... ahh and this list could go on but who knows what kind of calamity of opposing smells it would create. I think it sounds lovely in theory...

COME ON FALL! ....:) 

when God made you He must have been thinking about me.. Happy 2 Years to us! :)

I am about to take a stroll down memory lane...

Recently we just celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Whoa..lol ;) I know I know just two years ...  &  I can't wait to be able to say 50 but 2 is the number for now!

It would take me years to type a story on how God made our paths cross and how we should have known each other most of our lives but somehow God managed to save that for one sweet september day :).. and how we fall in love.. so I will try to keep this short and sweet!

 I had started my junior year in high school and I was just ready to start thinking about college and was not making any plans of finding my husband by any means... I sure wasn't but God was.. and boy am I glad he was! :) A friend of mine at that time was just begging me "there is this guy I want you talk to .. I just know yall will really like each other".. my response was nah .. no thanks.. I am good...lol.. so I guess in all reality it was sort of a blind date thing....but I just like to call it God's sweet little surprise for me ;) because I love them so much! haha!..It all started with a text message .. thank you Lord for technology ;) or I may not have my husband..jk.. anyway it was like a dustin :"hey" ginger:  "hey..what are you up to?" dustin: "just sitting around playing my guitar" to dustin: " this is so weird, can I just call you" and my response being "I was just thinking the same thing ... sure"..lol .. I mean yeah we were young but how did we really think we were going to get to know each other?... Those messages were in some sort of fashion that way.. and I still have that same cell phone with those messages saved on it :)... we ended up talking for like 5 hours and I was already so silly over this boy... we lived 20 min apart.. our families knew each other..and I never knew of him?! We ended up talking about our beliefs..our families..our lives.. such sweet conversation and I still love his voice to this day as much as I did then! Although I was still a little freaked out because I had never seen him... I know you are not suppose to judge a book by its cover and I was clearly falling for his personality buuuuuttt..my friend could have been setting me up with anyone knowing that girl..haha! The next day he came to town I lived in.. and back then when you rode around and wasted a bunch of gas you were also cool (seemed like that way to do things since we did not have any other form of entertainment than wave at your friends as you pass them on the street .. too funny right?) .. so we were just going to meet up with my friends and actually see each other in person for the very first time... we met down by the river(I guess that was a good place to meet & if you are from the wee little town I grew up in you will get it .. no I am not a country bumpkin off of the river although I love being barefoot..haha.) and it was awkward as most relationships are a little at first but I felt right at home and soon fell head over heels! He was a blonde hair, blue eyed,  muscly & handsome young man :).. and I was hooked ;-)..... maybe its a little selfish ;) but I thank God for creating him just for me! ... I love him with my whole heart! We dated for four years..engaged for one..and have now been married for two! We have been able to have so many neat experiances ..blessed beyond what we deserve.. and God has brought the both of us a very long way throughout our adventure as I like to think of it :)!!!

Our engagement was one of the most fun times in our life! It started with a happy birthday/engagement surprise celebration! We got to plan a whole year for the best day of our lives thus far (everyone says that turns into the 2nd best day after you have a baby) but for now it is our best day :)! That year was full of amazing adventures from trying on wedding dresses all over the state of Arkansas... checking out wedding venues..buying magazines-cutting pictures out of them..flowers...details details details...family...amazing wedding showers...a bridal luncheon that should have been in a magazine ;)...newspaper articles..picking a photographer..etc..etc..etc....tooooo

Rehearsal...
You always have to have a rehearsal before the real deal;) we had ours and then went on the arkansas queen with all of our family..wedding party..and friends! That night was so fun.. we had dinner on the Arkansas river and watched the sunset..then had some fun cutting a rug on the dance floor to the music the band was playing! It was an absolute blast! We laughed all night and just enjoyed our family and friends!

Our BIG DAY :)....
I got to have my fairytale wedding! It was more than I ever dreamed of! We choose Marlsgate Plantation as our wedding venue! It was a beautiful place with a mix of southern elegance & charm :).. and I added a pinch of my vintageness to the details ;)! We could not have picked a better site for our amazing day!  My wedding planner knew his stuff and made our special day one to remember! From the horse drawn carriage ride to the vows we shared... the whole day was simply exquisite! Our reception was outside under a big white tent (something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl :)... we had a live band and enjoyed the happiest day our life with our amazing family and friends!

So here we are two years down the road! I promise it has not all been cupcakes and candlelight, and we have been through bumps in our road and lots of lessons learned already but God has blessed us and covered us with his amazing love through our journey and we love growing and learning together .. even if it is the hard way sometimes :).. I have burned a lot of meals, rolls, and cookies and Dustin ate seconds to keep me from crying ;) ...God is good to us & we give him all the credit.. after all He created each of us for the other :) I can't wait to grow old with you Dustin Lynn King ;-)

Our Engagement Party...

A couple engagement pictures by the amazing Crystal Goss...

Showers...

Bridals by Crystal Goss--we just fell in love with her talent....

The neatest Bridal luncheon you ever did see ;)...

Rehearsal...

OUR BIG day :) by crystal goss once again....

Such sweet memories reliving these amazing moments...

Stay tuned for how we enjoyed the top layer of our wedding cake :)...