Things No One Told You....

Well hello there, how nice of you to join me on this lovely Sunday afternoon!

As I sit in my living room with the sounds of my washer and dryer in the background, along with Grey's Anatomy playing (I just bought season 10.... This is probably where I will be sitting for the next few weeks in all of my spare time), I thought that this would be a perfect time to write a little blog.

Here are my boring life updates;

1. Workouts - how it's going, what we're doing.
2. Fall is in the air!
3. I made a pie.
4. Some photo stuff.


Let's talk about workingggg outtttt.

I started working out a little over 2 weeks ago with one of my gal pals. We had planned on going to the gym 5 times a week, but life is proving to make that a little more difficult than I had first anticipated. With work, school, and daily life routines, it makes it hard to fit in that many workouts. I'm still trying though! I have to be honest, I did not workout even close to 5 times this past week. But I plan to start back in tomorrow afternoon!

For anyone that has asked what kind of workout we are doing, these are a few of our workouts lately.

Let's talk about Jilly. Jilly is short for Jillian Michaels. If you don't know who that is, consider yourself lucky. She is the toughest lady in the wild wild west. We nicknamed her Jilly so that we can yell at her during her 20 minutes of torture and it makes us feel a little better about ourselves. We're on the first circuit of her 30 days shred! (Trust me, it's as terrible as it sounds.)

We are also making sure that we do 20 minutes of cardio on top of the 30 day shred. Lately, we have been using the treadmill, but we're thinking about switching it up to the elliptical or the bicycle.

We lift some weights, do some box jumps, and a killer ab workout that I found on Pinterest and that about sums up our workouts for the moment. (Note to self: 3 planks in 1 workout are WAY to many...)


Has anyone noticed how we went from Summer to Fall in a matter of like 2 days?? Not that I'm complaining, this is my favorite time of year! The only hard part: I'm already fighting the urge to put up my Christmas tree. Is September to to early for Christmas decorations? :)


I got my September Ipsy bag this week! Here's what was in it!
Eye liner, lipstick, face cream, eye shadow, and an eye shadow brush!

The eye liner was brown, I usually don't use brown... But it was a nice pencil eye liner!
The lipstick was a super cute color! A dark red, with almost a purple tint to it. Loved the look, hated the texture.
I haven't tried the face cream yet... I'm always afraid to try face creams that I don't know about because I have sensitive skin, but it looks all fancy in it's little container! :)
The eye shadow and brush were wonderful! It was NYX brand eye shadow in a super pretty nude-pink color. The brush was very soft and perfect for blending. It was double sided and at the other end was the perfect size for outlining smokey eye shadow. LOVE it!

And last but not least, the cosmetic bag! It was pretty cute this month! A little edgy with silver studs on it!
These bags are so much fun and they are extremely affordable. If you haven't looked into Ipsy yet, you absolutely should!

I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE! ATTENTION PLEASE!













This is SUSPENSE...
































Still suspenseful...








Are you ready yet?





I don't think you're ready for this....









I. Made. A. PIE!

I know! It's crazy! I made a pumpkin pie, from scratch, and it was delicious. Okay... You got me... It wasn't REALLY from scratch.. I got the pumpkin pie filling from wal mart... And the crust from Aldi's.... But I added all the spices and all that good stuff and baked it all by my little self!

That's not that impressive you say? What was all the suspense for you ask?

Have you ever ate a meal cooked by me? Then you would know how big of a deal this pie is! I think I can check another spot off of my new-wife checklist. :)




 Speaking of new wife checklist, I was thinking about things people don't tell you about when you get married and I thought of a few things that I thought I would share!

Things No One Tells You When You Get Married:

1. The term "husband" doesn't change the fact that they leave the toilet seat up. I went into this thing thinking that he would magically have perfect bathroom etiquette. That's not true, in fact, it might be worse! Not only is the toilet seat left up, but the toilet paper roll is empty almost every time I take a seat. Nothing worse than falling in the toilet because the seat is up and then looking over to find a brown roll with a half an inch sliver of white toilet paper hanging by a thread.

2. Your arguments are big girl arguments. You no longer have those petty fights of he said, she said and suddenly you're thrown into a life of bills and budgeting. These arguments are definitely a little harder to get through, but once you get to the other side, it's smooooooth sailing. :)

3. Remember that episode of Friends when Chandler is moving in with Monica and she breaks down crying and says, in the saddest voice ever, "And now I have to live with a boy!" Well that's pretty much how it is. Living with a boy is a whole lot different then I ever imagined. For example, there are deer antlers hanging in my living room. DEER ANTLERS. My living space is now half consumed by boy things. Goodbye glitter, lace, and chevron.

4. These are the best days of your life. After getting married, my life changed drastically. It became more stressful, a whole lot busier, and my living space went from girly to guns. But I wouldn't change one minute of the past 10 months for anything in the world. Being with Thayer every day brings out the best in me. He's my other half, my better half, and the half that makes me whole. :) I'm so proud of him and I'm so thankful for everything we have been blessed with in the past 10 months. Married life is awesome, and I'm so glad we started our lives together.



So earlier this week I took some photos that were very near and dear to me. My oldest little brother, Allen, will be graduating high school this year and we took his senior photos this week! Here are a few of my favorites!

Allen grew up all of a sudden! I can't believe he is old enough to be graduating high school! I'm so proud of him for pushing through when things get hard and for finishing what he started! He is one tough cookie and I'm SO proud that he is my brother. Congratulations Allen! I love you! :) 

While taking Allen's photos, we drove through a field of some super pretty flowers! Okay, they're actually weeds, but still look pretty in a picture! I thought I would share :)

Okay, let's wrap this up!

Words from Jesus!

Here is a Bible verse that stood out to me recently:

Proverbs 3:11-12
My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline, and don't be upset when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

What does this say to me:
Well, first of all, Proverbs always has a way of humbling me. I think that the book of Proverbs can really make you wake up and smell the roses. Just like this verse. God looks at us as His children, so why wouldn't He correct us when we do wrong? When you were little, you're mom probably corrected you when you did wrong, and you were better for it. Hopefully you learned your lesson and did better the next time. God does the same thing to us. He will discipline us, just like our parents did when we were young. Unfortunately, God's discipline can make you feel 10 times worse than any other kind of discipline. But if you are truly trying to live your life for Christ, then you will take His discipline and learn from it. I call those spiritual whippings! They definitely stop you in your tracks and make you look at what you did wrong. So I challenge you to look at something you know you're doing wrong, and think about how God is trying to correct you for it. It really puts things into perspective. Then you can learn and grow from it. That's what living a Christian life is all about. Learning, living, loving, and praise. :)

Have a wonderful week everyone. Love you all, Steph :)

Fall is coming. Hallelujah!

Good Evening ladies and gents! It's a wonderful night for a blog!

Yes, I know, it's been forever. I don't know how I've survived the past few weeks without one single blog!

Sooooo here is what I have been up to lately!

• My new dog, Neeko.... Well... She thinks her cage is a bathroom. So it never fails for us to have to clean her cage. Every. Single. Day. It's terrible, really.
• I have been a crafty lady these past few weeks! Crafts for days!
• Started college for the semester. It stinks as usual.
• Started thinking about my 1 year anniversary and things to do for that special day! (suggestions are accepted as always!)
• Newwwwwwwww furniture! Well, new to me. But I LOVE it! It completely changed the look of my living room! 
• Work is great! I love the people I work with and I wouldn't trade a single one of them! 
• Starting a new workout schedule with one of my best buddies! (She's gonna kick my butt at this.) #outofshape
• New delicious recipes! (seriously, try them. You'll be glad you did.)
• In short, life is good, God is good, and food is good. 

Okay, so lets start with this dog of mine. She's rowdy, she's rough, (she lost a tooth yesterday.. I didn't even know dogs did that?!?), and she eats all of my socks. She has literally swallowed like 6 of my socks. WHOLE. 

Shes's pretty darn cute, but whoever said that Huskies were different types of dogs were ABSOLUTELY correct! She has a different attitude from any other dog I have ever had. But here's a picture of her from last week watching the TV. (She loves Boy Meets World... But who am I kidding, everyone loves a little Cory and Topanga.) 

I complain about her a lot, but I love this pup. She's definitely made her way into our hearts and is a member of the family. :) 

I have also been a crafting fool lately! (No really, it's foolish how much money I've spent on crafting stuff this past week. -See what I did there?) :) 

I decided to do something with the extra 50 pounds of burlap that is left over from my wedding, and I made a cute little wreath! I got the wicker part at a yard sale for 50cents, so really, this project wasn't all that expensive. And it's pretty darn cute if I do say so myself! 

I looked up pinterest ideas (of course) and they had a few tutorials for how to make a burlap wreath. Here's what I found! 

This was a good tutorial to make burlap bows! I did mine a little different though. I just cut two different strips of burlap and laid them on top of each other. Then, I pulled the middle together and wrapped the thin strip around the middle and then sewed it all together in the back. I thought it turned out pretty good, and it was fast and easy! 

Then I made THESE!

Obviously, these are not mine. But that's what they looked like! I took a strip of burlap, folded it in half, and coiled it like the picture about. Then I glued down the edge and VOILA! Coiled, burlap flowers! I made 3 of them in different sizes, sewed them together and attached them to my wicker wreath! 

After that, I took my burlap bow and attached it to the wreath as well. It looked a little empty to me so I added a strip of burlap and just wrapped it around the empty side a couple of times, sewed it in the back, and there ya go! A cute, fall, burlap wreath! ( I completely forgot to take a picture of this for my blog, so I'll try to remember to post it soon)

I love fall. Like LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. It's great for tons of reasons! The leaves are changing, it's my birthday, my allergies get better, it's my birthday, it gets cool enough for scarves, jeans, hoodies, and boots, it's my birthday, annnnnnnd it's my birthday. Did I mention it's my birthday? 

Just kidding, that sounded quite conceited. 

But I am excited! I will be a whopping 20 years old! No more teen years for this chickie. Because that's a huge deal if you guys didn't already know! LOL!

I'm pretty excited about these fall months to come. Pictures always pick up in the fall! Everyone loves pictures with the leaves changing and it's cool enough that the kiddos aren't too cranky. It's a beautiful time of year and an excellent opportunity to snap some awesome photos! I'm pretty excited for October! (Because it's my birthday...) :)

In other news, I'M PREGNANT. Just kidding. I'm totally not. And no, I don't plan on getting preggo anytime soon. That seems to be the question of the year with everyone. I think after you get married people think you're gonna get pregnant like the next day. I'd like to get through some college junk first. But thank you all for being concerned with my empty womb. It's pretty content for the moment. :) Plus, I can't even keep a plant alive so..... Maybe babies should wait. ;)

P.S. that was not meant to sound snotty, that's just me trying to lighten the mood and make a joke. Bahahah! (You're laughing, right? Okay, good.)

Thayer and I have been looking at buying our first home! It's pretty exciting, ya know, besides the whole going thousands of dollars into debt thing. That bites. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is being able to PAINT. My apartment has white walls. White EVERYWHERE. I hate white walls. So the first thing I will do when we move out of here is paint my new little home! And maybe try round two on the whole plant thing. (It really didn't work out this year.. Dead plants everywhere. It was a massacre.)

I have been having SO much fun planning my 1 year anniversary with the coolest husband ever! I can't believe we've almost been married a year! I have to agree when people say that the first year of marriage is the hardest. We had to get used to living together, doing everything on our own, paying the bills and budgeting, and we have to compromise on everything. It's a pretty big change when you're used to getting your own way on everything. But I'm learning! And I'm pretty lucky to have this guy that has stood by me through everything! 

So, since my anniversary is two days before Thayer's 21st birthday, I have been trying to think of cool things to do for him! Thayer and I have never spent a weekend alone at a hotel or bed and breakfast or anything like that. So I'm thinking that we might have a weekend getaway! A nice romantic weekend with my hubby sounds like a wonderful plan to me! So if you know of any awesome places we should go, please let me know! Like I said, we've never went anywhere so I want to do something special! :) 

I've also been looking for 1 year anniversary gifts and birthday gifts for my honey. I can't say what I have in mind because Mr. Thayer will read this blog and know exactly what I'm gonna do! But I can tell you that Etsy has some wonderful ideas! Tons of custom, vintage, super sweet, keepsakes! It's so cool! And they have things that every guy would love. Definitely check it out. I'll post what I did for his as soon as our weekend is over! :) 

My house has definitely seen some changes lately! Thayer and I got some super cute furniture last week and it COMPLETELY changed the look of my house! It took a little rearranging, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I'll have to get some pictures to show you on my next blog! We took our old furniture upstairs into our extra room and it made for a super cute office and sitting area. LOVE it! 

Work is going great! I work with an AMAZING group of ladies! I was feeling pretty sick these past few days and today they really showed me how much they care. It made me feel so at home! I love each and every one of them and I am so glad I get to work with them at Mercy! It's a fabulous place to work. :) 

Tomorrow, my friend Miss Chasiti Baker and myself are going to start working out together! We were going to start on Monday, but I was feeling sickly, so hopefully tomorrow we will start a routine! I'm not gonna lie, she's probably gonna kick my butt at this. She is extremely strong and I think she will be a wonderful motivator! I can't wait! I think we will have a fun time suffering together. :)

I think I'm going to start back on my weight watchers stuff. I really did lose weight on that program and I think it's time I get back on the weight loss train. So wish me luck! :)

Okay, let's talk Jesus. My favorite part of every blog! :)

I have been working on building a stronger relationship with God. I looked on Pinterest for some fun things to do for Bible study and how to make reading the Bible more fun. I found these examples and thought it was an awesome idea! 

I thought these were pretty cool! You could start a journal and include fun colors, your own thoughts, and little doodles to help you remember scripture. Pretty nifty if you ask me! 

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes reading the Bible is hard for me. I have a hard time keeping my train of thought when I first start reading. So I thought these would be some cool ways to make it more fun and interesting. Definitely gonna give this a try! 

So here's a Bible verse that really spoke to me lately! 

Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."

What does this say to me:

Sometimes when you get in a routine at work, or in anything you do, you feel like your doing it just to keep everyone happy. (You're being a people pleaser... My biggest weakness.) You start to develop a bad attitude and begin to hate what you do. But lately I just think of it this way: What if God was my boss, and what if I was doing this to please Him. Would my attitude be different? Would I work harder? The answer is absolutely. Who doesn't want to please God?! Of course we would do the very best we can and we would do it with a happy heart. So my goal lately has been to be happy in my work. Because God watches everything we do. He knows when we are doing things with a good attitude, and when we do things just because we have to. 

So here is my challenge to you, go into everything you do, for the next few days, and see if you can get through it with a better attitude and a happier outlook. I think you'll find that your days go better and everyone around you will benefit too. :)

Well, I've got to get some sleep. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Love, Steph. :) 

A Tuesday Blog.

Afternoon ladies and gents. I sit here on my Tuesday evening watching "Up" and finishing a delicious pork chop, when I decide it's been a while since my last blog. Thus, I created this one. :)

Holy canoli it's been a while since I last made a blog. I don't know why I wait so long between posts. It's just too fun.

So lately, in the life of Mrs. Justice, I've had some fun stuff happen!

First, let me introduce to you the newest member of the Justice family!

Meet little Neeko! She is a super cute Siberian Husky with a huge attitude and a big heart. She plays rough, eats a lot, and howls like there's no tomorrow. We're definitely in puppy stage, and this is the first dog I've ever had that I don't want to stay a puppy. I can't wait until she's full grown! She will be B-E-A-utiful :)

Needless to say, We love her. She is the perfect addition to our little family. 

In other news, Thayer got me a ukulele! Woohoo! I am a uke playing machine these days, and I'm quite excited about it. I named my cute little, yellow, ukulele Pa-Tune-ia..... Get it pa-TUNE-ia? (So clever.)

She's fantastic. The sound of a ukulele just makes me smile. If you don't play, you should. You most definitely should! 

Okay, let's move on... Again. 

I am getting re-baptized! I'm super excited about it and I can't wait to get in that freezing cold water! Okay, I know what you're thinking.. RE-baptized? Why would you get baptized for the second time? 

So let me explain,

Let's go back to the day I got saved when I was 8 years old. It was a warm summer evening, and I had just asked Christ to come into my heart forever. Unfortuntely, at 8 years old, I didn't quite know what all that meant and how precious that really was. 

I was baptized that summer and life went on as it always did.

Fast forward 8 years:

It's a Wednesday night at youth group and the Pastor says, "If you die today, do you know, that you know, that you know, that you would go to Heaven? Or do you just HOPE you would go to Heaven?"

Pretty powerful words if you ask me.

So I felt that tug on my heart and found the pastor after service. He prayed with me and I got saved that night. Pretty cool day in the life of Miss Stephanie. 

Only one thing was missing, I didn't get baptized. I honestly didn't think much of it. It wasn't something I felt like I HAD to do, so I pushed it to the side and went on with my new life. 

About a month ago, I felt that familiar tug on my heart. We had been talking about water and it's importance and symbolism in the Bible. Water washes away dirt, and supplies life all over this planet. I mean seriously, most of our body is made up of water, so apparently it's pretty important. So, we got to talking, and if water is that important, it must be pretty important to get your sins washed away. Go down into the water a sinner, and come out cleansed and ready to serve God. 

That was really bugging me. So I decided it was time for me to dedicate my life to God again and get baptized. I'm pretty excited about it. :)

I have had a rough time lately though. I'm having one of those weeks where it just feels like I pray and it goes straight into the clouds and goes no further. That's a pretty lonely feeling. So I've been trying to read my Bible every day (at least my scripture of the day), and spend at least 10 minutes praying and showing God that I'm trying. That's probably the bare minimum that I can do, but sometimes it's hard to find the time even to do that. (Pathetic, I know)

In short, I could use some advice. I don't know what I need to do to feel that closeness with God again. I need a spiritual awakening. Help please! :) 

So this past week I got my first Ipsy bag! If you don't know what that is, it's a bag full of makeup that they send you once a month and it cost a whopping $10. I was pretty darn excited about it! This month my bag included:

Mascara, Perfume (sample size), sea salt spray (for your hair), lip gloss, an eye brow pencil, and an adorable little cosmetic bag! :) 

You should absolutely sign up for Ipsy. You can't get that amount of stuff for less than $10, quite a bargain. :) 

I've been doing quite a crazy amount of photo stuff lately. My newest project is a vintage pin-up shoot! I'm still working out the details, but I am so excited to get my ladies together for a wonderful day of hair, makeup, and high heel shoes. I decided a little bit last minute that I want to do a little bit of a hippie-vibe shoot too. While I was looking for ideas, I saw this super cute tutorial for a fringe t-shirt. Here's the tutorial! :) 

Would I wear this shirt every day? No. But would it be a super fun shirt for the weekend (or a super nifty hippie photo shoot) yes! I think I need to make one for myself, real soon. 

I think you could also make it a super cute swim suit cover up. Take a cheap, cotton sun dress, cut up the ends, throw it in the wash, and there ya go. You could even bleach the ends of the fringe and make it a little more grunge.

I also found this nifty tutorial on Pinterest! I thought it was adorable, and it looks pretty easy. 

Looks to me like you take an old wooden frame, buy  some of those hooks at wal-mart, and screw them into the wood. What a cute little key holder! Paint the frame any color you want to match your decor! :) 

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. 

Okay, so the beauty product that I want to share with you came from my Ipsy bag this week. 

It's the Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray! :)

I tried it out the first day I got it, and it didn't work out so well..... So looked up some tutorials on youtube and it gave some pointers. Here's what I did:

While your hair is still wet, divide it into layers (like you do when you flat iron your hair)

DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR

Spray the bottom layer and take small section and twirl them. Leave them all twirled up and move on to the next layer.

Once you have sprayed and twirled all of your hair, you can either let your hair air dry, or use a hair dryer. (Try using a defuser on your hair to get more curl.)

Once I blow dried my hair, it didn't have the kind of volume I wanted. So I grabbed my wand and curled pieces periodically. 

Again, DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR.

After I curled a few pieces, I flipped my hair over and shook it all out. It didn't look half bad! 

Great lazy, river day, hair for this hot summer season. :) 

Okay let's talk Jesus. Here is one of my favorite verses from this past week. 

"True humility, and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and a long life."

I love this because it sounds like a fortune cookie. 

I'm totally kidding. It's a pretty cool verse though when you really read it! :) 

What it says to me:

When you fear the Lord (believe in the Lord), and serve Him, it will lead to riches, honor, and a long life. I think this is referring to Heaven. I mean think about it, when we get to Heaven we will have our own mansion! That sounds like riches to me. And talk about a long life, eternity in Heaven is a pretty good length of time. :) So when you're struggling to find a purpose in your days, or just trying to get through the day at work, you're working toward a long life in Heaven with the Lord. So serve Him right and spread His word. You will  be greatly rewarded in His kingdom one day. :) 

Smile bright, pray often, spread a little joy. Have a wonderful everyone. 

Love, Steph :) 

Tattle Tale

I know, I know. I just posted a blog like 2 days ago.... I'm addicted....
I just got in the blog mode again and have so much to share! Too many nifty things going on and too many dandy things to tell you about! :)

So I started reading this book. And it's fantastic. And you should read it. And I'm going to tell you about it. And you're gonna read it. And you're gonna love it. And you're gonna tell everyone you know about it. Because it's THAT. GOOD.

Okay, here's the book. ;)



I don't know if you've ever heard that song (the title of the book), but it's pretty powerful. It really puts things into perspective. Here's a few of the lyrics!

"What if your blessings come through raindrops,
what if your healing comes through tears,
what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near,
and what if trials of this life, are your mercies in disguise."

When you really let those words sink in, it really shows how powerful God is even when His signs are so subtle.

Anyway, the book is basically what the title is! BLESSINGS. This book gave me a blessing every single time I read a chapter. It's a VERY fast read and one that is well worth it. It basically motivates you and let's you see how God is working in your life. It's almost like a devotional! But you can go at your own pace and take hold of God's blessings in your own time. :) So pick it up, read, and enjoy.


Okay...... Now I'm going to tell on myself. I was a little bit human today. (I'm able to do that sometimes, right?)

Let me just start at the beginning:

It was a lovely Tuesday afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and not a cloud in the sky could rain on my parade.

JUST KIDDING.

It was a crappy Tuesday when I wished it was Thursday. I was a grumpus, and the sky was freaking grey. Real grey. Needless to say, I needed a nap and a tub of ice cream.

I walk in the door and Mr. Justice is standing there all smiley and snuggly and I'm starting to act like the Grinch. I grumble (in my most grumbly voice), "I need gas. I'm like on empty."
My super sweet husband just says, "okay babe, we can go get you some gas." He was so nice. It almost killed me in my grumpy mood.

So we get in the car and make our way to the gas station. When we get there, Thayer even says, "I'll pump the gas if you wanna just go in and pay." so I said yes, went inside, grabbed some kazoozles (BEST candy on earth), walked back to the car and was INSTANTLY ticked and I mean instantly.

I look in the passenger seat and there sits Mr. Thayer. How dare he not drive home when I drove the whole 2 minutes to get to the gas station! I am just appalled! I get in the car, slam the door and in my even more grumbly voice say, "I thought you would drive home since I drove here!" Oh my lanta I was mad. (I know, it's stupid.)

So, the whole way home, I had an attitude. I had my best "angry face" on and didn't look anywhere but straight ahead.

And what does Thayer do? He apologizes.
And what do I do? Ignore him.

Okay, so I didn't tell you this so you would think that I'm the worst wife ever and I'm constantly mad about stupid things. I'm telling you this because of the next part...... :)

We go inside and Thayer is still apologizing. I go upstairs, turn on my Pandora music, and start listening to a little bit of Casting Crowns. Some songs start playing and I start realizing how stupid I'm acting. I mean seriously.... I'm this mad because he didn't drive home? Really? It was literally only 2 minutes from my house and I'm acting like it's the end of the world.

I do some thinking. I do some praying. I ask for forgiveness from God, but do I dare apologize to Thayer? I mean, can I suck in my pride for that? So I stall. I start picking up the bedroom, and thinking of everything I can do except go and apologize for my immature attitude. I go downstairs and Thayer is just sitting there. He shoots me with his sweetest little smile, and then I'm done for. I run and basically jump on the couch beside him and apologize for being a brat. And honestly, it felt pretty good. I thought that giving up and "letting him win" was enough to kill me, but honestly, it was nice to know that he knew he mattered enough to me for me to let it go.

Sometimes those stupid battles are the hardest ones to let go. Don't ask me why I held onto my little fit and wouldn't let it go, but I did. I'm only human, and sometimes things just rub us the wrong way.

So what was the point of that ridiculously long story? To tell you that we're ALL human. I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to get mad about something as stupid as driving home. But I'm also not the first person to have to suck it up and admit when I'm wrong. Thayer is WAY more important to me than driving home and I was going to make him feel like poo for something that he didn't even do wrong. So, I realize I screwed up, apologized and I'm working on it. Maybe you have something like this going on in your life. Maybe your holding something over someones head to get what you want. And maybe this is what you needed to realize you're doing something wrong. It doesn't make you a terrible person, it makes you HUMAN. So pray about it, talk about it, and fix it :) It definitely feels better than holding onto that searing stick of anger.


I am definitely not an expert on marriage or relationships, but I learn more and more everyday. I don't want you to think that I'm a terrible wife, but I do want to share with you that it's okay to make mistakes. Just learn from them and move on. :)



Mooooooooooving on,

I have recently become obsessed with makeup videos again. I used to watch them almost every morning before getting ready so I would have a fresh, new look to wear that day. (You wouldn't be able to tell lately.... I have been looking HOMELESS.)

So I got on Pinterest (surprise), and started looking up some new eye makeup looks. Here is one of my favorites that I found! I'll post the photo of the look and the video to go along with it. :)
I love this look because it's simple and a little more of a natural look. Plus, it's for brown eyed girls and I am ALWAYS looking for brown eye looks. :)





This girl is my FAVORITE beauty blogger.

You can find the video tutorial and the rest of her blog here! :)
MaskCara Beauty Blog


She is a wonderful person to learn new looks from! She has hair, makeup, and other tutorials. Definitely worth watching. :)


So my latest and most favorite beauty product is this dry shampoo!



I have this exact dry shampoo and I love it! A lady at work recommended it to me and it has been a life saver ever since I got it. You just spray it in your hair and massage it in. It gives you a little more volume and takes away that oily look from your hair. (please, don't substitute dry shampoo for actually washing your hair... you still need to do that.) Plus, it's pretty darn cheap! I think it was less than $5!
I give it a thumbs up! :)


I'm looking for new eye shadows that are good quality, but won't break your wallet. So if anyone has any suggestions, that would be wonderful! I love the Naked palettes, but gosh I just can't bring myself to spend $50 on eye shadow. So, if you find and dupes, I would love to know about them! :)

I am UNBELIEVABLY ready for summer. People, my legs need to see daylight. They look like glow sticks. I started going tanning recently (yes, I know it's terrible for you), and I'm so glad to see some color on my skin. But I'm thinking of slowly tapering off the tanning beds and adding in self tanning lotion. I've used it in the past but got lazy and quit using it. So, if you have any suggestions on the best brands, feel free to tell me about them. I would love to hear your suggestions!:)


Okay, I have another awesome DIY that I wanted to share with you!



We all know how much I love chalk board paint, so why not add a little of it to your plants! Paint the top ring of your pots with chalkboard paint and then write what each one is! Thayer and I planted a lot of flowers and vegetables in pots this year because we don't really have a yard to turn into a garden. I thought this was a super cute way to keep track of what-is-what. :) Add a little bit of color to it and you have a super cute outdoor accessory! :)



I think I have rambled enough for this evening.....

Last but not least, my Bible verse for this blog. :)

James 1:19
Wherefore, my beloved, brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."

Wow. That verse couldn't have slapped me in the face any harder than it did today. That goes right back to my little story earlier. "SLOW TO ANGER." Yeah.... I'm not good at that. My attitude can go from bad to worse in a split second and I have GOT to work on that. I must say, I am much better than I used to be. But this old gal still needs a spiritual whooping every now and then! I think God is trying to tell me something....Maybe I should open up and listen! I think God is also talking about gossip here as well. Slow to speak is probably referring to saying things when we really shouldn't. I'm sorry ladies. That means that those juicy stories that we are all dying to tell, are wrong. God doesn't want us to spread stories about others, He wants us to spread stories about Him! I know I'm guilty of having an opportunity to talk about God and passing it up for a good story on someone else. We've all been there and done that.

I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but God is dealing with me about this lately. And maybe He's trying to deal with you too. So don't be too hard on yourself. Just try to work on it. Ask God for help and I promise He will be there every time.

Well, I better stop with my rambling and tattling on myself. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week! Love, Steph :)

I'm a Little Rusty - Mother's Day Blog! (among other things)

Ahhh, it feels good to be back. To be honest, this is the first time I have had time to sit down and write a blog in MONTHS. But enough about that. Let's get to the goods.

So basically my life has done a complete 180. I started a new job, got an adorable little nephew, FINALLY got my house all decorated and looking snazzy, and started realizing some things about my relationship with Christ.

Okay, first things first. My new job!

I started a new joy last month at Mercy Hospital in Lebanon! It was VERY challenging for me at first. (Who am I kidding, it's still tough.) But I work with some AMAZING nurses! They are a fantastic group of ladies and they are always there to lend a hand when I feel like I'm in over my head. I probably ask at least 45 annoying and stupid questions a day and these ladies always help me out. In short, so far so good with the new job. :)

Let's get to the AMAZING part! I am officially an Auntie! Do you wanna see him? I bet you wanna see him. Okay, I'll let you see him.

Introducing, Mr. Cole Thomas Massey! Or in my house, we call him Colie. :)

These are a couple of my little nephews 1 week old photos that I took last month! (No, I don't think my nephew is a zero, he's zero months old here haha, get it?)

Anyway, it was absolutely one of the coolest things I've ever done to be there when this little guy was born! Hearing him cry for the first time brought tears to my eyes! It's pretty special when you become an aunt. You can spoil them and play with them all day, but at night, you still get a good nights sleep! :) Win, win.

My dancing Colie is pretty special.


We got another new friend this past month! We found Jeffrey sitting outside our door one day. She was just sitting there looking at us with these big brown eyes that just screamed, "Please let me in! I'll love you forever!" So, we did. Now, if you're wondering why we named this female dog Jeffrey, it's because we started calling her Jeffrey before we realized that Jeffrey was a girl. And by that time, I couldn't call her anything else except for Jeffrey. Thus, Jeffrey became part of our little family. :)



Oh, I forgot to mention that she ran away the next day. (Depressing, I know.)


Moving onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn:

I FINALLY got my house done! Ya know, we've only lived here almost 6 months and I'm just now getting the finishing touches done on our little home. No shame here people, no shame. I'll hopefully get to do some DIY's on some of the stuff I did because it was really fun and it turned out super cute - if I do say so myself.
(Yes, my house is overloaded with chalk boards. I know, I'm obsessed with them.)


I do have some nifty stuff in honor of Mother's Day! Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, and we all know that my mommy is my best friend, I wanted to do something special in this blog just for those special ladies in all of our lives!

I understand that not everyone has a mom. Some people don't even have a grandma. But I'm sure that everyone has a special lady that they would like to recognize on this special day. So here are a few things you could do for that lady in YOUR life! :)


Okay, so we all know that Mom's are suckers for homemade, mushy, love filled gifts. So why not do exactly that on Mother's Day! :)

I found some super cute stuff that parents can do with their kids to give to grandma, but I don't have kids. So, I had to go a different route!



I saw this little thing on Pinterest and I thought it would be super cute to paint onto a canvas or something like that and give to your momma! You might even be able to incorporate some burlap into it! (I'm obsessed with burlap right now.)

If you need words for "Grandma" you could use this:

                Giving
            maRvelous
                Amazing
               iNspring
           kinD
            faMily
           beAutiful

You may not be able to see that...... But those words would work!

This one is pretty simple and a little on the generic side, but every mom needs to be pampered. You could do a super cute pamper basket! Put in things like, nail polish (my mom LOVES nail polish.), lotions, perfume, hair ties, soaps, makeup, a new hairbrush, cute accessories, and my favorite part....

Coupons! But not just your average -save a dollar on a gallon of milk coupons- coupons that really mean something! For example:

1 Free dinner! Will make dinner of your choice for one night. Dishes included.

I know, it's silly. But she will think it's super cute! And what mom doesn't want to get out of dishes for a night! :)


Honestly, this day is about showing your mom how much you love her. If you can't be with your mom tomorrow, give her a call and tell her how much she means to you. Write her a letter telling her about how much you look up to her and how special she is. She'll be crying by the end of it, guaranteed.




Thayer and I have been doing a lot of growing! And I'm not talking about my height. ;)

We have been going to Church on Sunday's and I can honestly say it has changed our relationship. I have watched that man go from being embarrassed to pray in front of people, to asking me to pray WITH him. Ladies, let me tell you, there is nothing in this world that brings you to tears faster than when the person you love more than anything comes to Christ. I've watched him turn into a Godly man that encourages me to just let God take care of things. He has become so optimistic, and honestly, just being around him for a little while makes me more optimistic too! I loved Thayer before, but seeing him like this now has made me fall even more in love with him. (If that's even possible :)  I'm a lucky lady, girls. I'm one lucky lady.

I realize that every relationship is different and everyone has their own beliefs and hang ups in life, but when you and the person you love most gets closer to God, it only brings you closer together. So ladies, encourage your man! Back him up and help him to know you're there for him! Let him know he matters too.

I'm really bad about talking about me, me, me, me, me, me, my dog that runs away, me, me, me, and a little more me. This past month, I have made it a point to try and actually listen to everything my husband tells me when he gets off work. Whether it be good or bad, I listen and acknowledge what he says. Life can get to moving pretty fast and sometimes I find myself cooking dinner and just answering every once in a while with an, "oh yeah. That sucks. That's cool babe. Yeah. Oh, yeah." and not actually listening to what he has to say. And we all know that if it were the other way around that I would be a you-know-what about it! ;) So I'm trying to do better. It's actually really nice to have those few minutes of getting to just chat about our day together.

He's a pretty special guy, and I DEFINITELY take him for granted.
I found this thing on Pinterest that was about things you can do with your husband to keep new things going in your relationship! It was almost like a bucket list for couples!

Here are a few things that were on it:

1. Go to a baseball game together.
2. Go on a walk together, hand in hand.
3. Take silly selfies at least once a month! (You'll enjoy looking back on them a year from now.)
4. Go to the zoo together.
5. Stargaze.
6. ROAD TRIPPPPPPPPP. (My personal favorite, :) I love traveling!)
7. Cook a meal TOGETHER.
8. Go fishing.
9. Teach each other something new.
10. Release floating lanterns. (I think this would be super cool!)

Some of them are silly, but they're special things that you can look back on someday and say, "remember the time we..." Cherish your special moments with your loved ones. You don't want to look back one day and say, "I wish...."


Okay, I have to get out of this mushy stuff.

Moving on, again! :)

Here's a nifty DIY! (of course, I found it on Pinterest.)

These are super cute to do for outdoor lighting this summer!





 
These are really cute and soooooo easy to do! Here's how you do it:

1. Wash out your mason jars and dry them completely.
2. Take some Elmer's glue and paint the inside of the jars with the glue.
3. Drop some glitter in the bottom and and roll it around all over the glue.
4. Let them sit over night and stick a little candle inside.
 Light them up and watch them sparkle and glow! :)

Pretty simple, and really cute :)

And for all you burlap lovers out there, you could ABSOLUTELY tie a burlap bow around them. :)



Okay, it's getting late and I'm growing quite sleepy. So let's wrap this up.

I need some words from God tonight!


John 11:25 and 26
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.


What this says to me:

God is life! We've all heard the stories about how Jesus would raise people from the dead and they would live again. It's kind of like that for us as Christians. Before we were Christians we were, in a sense, dead. We had no hope, no future, no eternity planned with Christ. And then Jesus comes into your life and you are risen from the dead! You live again through Him! You let him into your heart and you feel so alive! It's like nothing you've ever felt, and like nothing you will ever feel again in this world. He also gives us hope in this verse. He says, Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. He's talking about Heaven right there! We will live with Him forever in Heaven if we just do the simple thing of giving our life to Him! I don't know about you, but I want to do everything I can to get to go to Heaven and be with Him forever. If that means I have to go through hardships right now, so be it. Jesus went through a lot worse when He died for you and me on the cross. So let this be your hope! When you're having a bad day, just think, "someday, I'm going to be living in paradise and worshiping my savior every day for the rest of eternity." It'll make your hard days seem not so bad when you look at the big picture of things. :)


So tell your mom you love her, encourage your man, keep your dog inside, and have hope for the future with Christ!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and remember that God loves you more than you can even imagine. Love, Steph. :)

Winter Flab and looking for Abs.

I'm having one of those, "I'm so tired I can't sleep, but I really should be sleeping nights." I laid here, finished my homework, laid here some more, watched some Grey's Anatomy, wanted to cry because George died, laid here some more, and decided to write a blog. So here is my late night, probably pointless blog.

Enjoy. :)

So this weekend was fantastic! Thayer and myself have been working six days a week for the past few weeks and needed a day off together. That's why we were super excited when Saturday rolled around and we both happened to be off work and got to spend, not one, but TWO days together! It made me miss the days of getting to spend more time with my amazing husband.

Life is just to fast my friends. It's just too darn fast.

Did anyone watch the Oscars? I sure did! And let me just say that Leo DiCaprio looked FINE. And not only that, he brought his mom to the Oscars with him. How sweet! He currently remains my dream man.
But I must say, Zac Efron was a close second. (No Judgement.)

So despite the fact that we have seemed to enter into another ice age here in Central Missouri, swimsuit season is coming up. (Yikes.) I don't know about you, but I sure didn't do much in the way of counting my calories this winter season and I'm beginning to resemble that of a bloated whale. So, it's time to start thinking about how this lady is going to look when it's time for those summer float trips, shorts, tank tops, flip flops, and cute little summer dresses.

I have to be honest, I'm completely unsatisfied with my body image right now. I mean, I'd totally love to have a jaw line instead of these 75 chins that I seem to have gained these past few months. But instead of playing in my mind over and over, "I have to be skinny, I have to lose weight, I have to do this," and blah blah blah, I decided that this time my goal is going to be:

Get healthy, Not skinny

Sure, I'd love to look like a Victoria Secret model and have the booty of Shakira, but that's just not in the cards for me. I've got a large rump, big thighs, and flabby arms. That's just the way it is. I'd be telling you lies if I said that I was comfortable in my own skin. But I'm not lying when I say that no matter what your body shape is, you are beautiful. I know I'll never be a fitness coach with a rocking bod that blows everyone away when they see my six pack abs, but I've accepted that. And honestly, I'm much happier now. God gave me a bigger body for a reason (don't know what that reason is yet, but I'm sure there is one seeing as God makes no mistakes.) So, instead of fighting my body shape and size, I'm going to embrace it!

It's time that I take back my HEALTH, not my weight. It's time I start FEELING better and in time, I'm sure I'll like the image in the mirror more.

I've been looking into gym memberships because I think that if I invest money into my health goals, I'll be more inclined to keep up with it. I can't wait to get started in the gym and to go grocery shopping for awesome, healthy foods. So yes, I will probably bombard my blogs, social networking, instagram, etc. with my health journey, but I'm really excited about it! And this is the first time I've been really pumped up about it! So, get ready to see some before and after pictures for the next few months because I am ready to see some results! And not to mention, FEEL the results. (I'd love to have more energy.)

If you have any tips for me, feel free to let me know. I need all the help I can get. :)


Okay, enough about that. Let's move on.


Well this week I have felt distant. I think it's been about a month since I've been to church with the weather junk cancelling service, on top of me being a lazy christian and wanting to sleep in on my Sundays. I've turned it into a habit and made excuses for my behavior. I've also noticed some major changes in my daily life.

I have a bad attitude.
I get angry MUCH faster.
I'm quick to judge.
I use the word "freaking" a lot. (yuck. it needs to leave my vocabulary)
And life just isn't going as smooth as it was.

I will be the first to say that when you fall away from Church and your church family, you definitely distance yourself from God and the people that support you in your Christian walk. Needless to say, I am VERY excited for Sunday to come around. I need a refresher.

So to all my Christian ladies, I know you've heard it a thousand times, but stay in church. It really does empower you for the week and get you ready for the weeks trials and annoyances. Also, encourage your husband/boyfriend/significant other to go too. One of the most amazing things in my life was on a recent Saturday night. Thayer and I were laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep. It was late and honestly, I was looking forward to sleeping in the next morning. Thayer rolled over and looked at me and said, "let's go to Church tomorrow." It was such a good feeling! My husband WANTED us to go to church the next day! Even after he had worked 6 days a week for the past 3 weeks. So I decided, if he was willing to get up and go to Church, I was willing to get up and go to Church. It's a pretty awesome feeling to see your husband excited about God and also pushing you to do better in your walk with Christ. It's totally awesome ladies. :) So get your butt in gear and head to church this Sunday morning! One thing about it, you definitely won't regret going. :)



Wanna hear about a beauty product I love?

Well I surely do have one!



These brushes are Ecotools. No, they're not the fanciest brushes ever, but I LOVE my ecotools! First off, they are SOFT. My favorite makeup brush that I use every, single, day is that biggest brush you see on the far left. It is sooooooo soft (sometimes I just rub it on my face cause it feels nice. Just kidding, that's creepy).
But really, I love these brushes! And they won't break your wallet! I got mine at wal-mart about a year ago and they are still fantastic today! :)


I also got my Mother-Daughter necklaces this week! I was so excited!



If you follow me on Instagram then I'm sorry, but you're seeing these babies again! I got the half-heart charm from Etsy and the Mother and Daughter hearts from wal-mart. They had these little Hallmark thingies that were so cute and VERY reasonably priced. Pretty sure they were like $13 if I remember correctly. I was planning on just getting chains for the half heart charms, but when I looked at the price for just ONE chain, I was shocked. It was at least double the price of BOTH of the heart necklaces together. So, I decided to get the heart necklaces and just put the little half heart charm on the chain as well. I think it's super cute! And my mommy loved it :) win-win.


I don't know about you, but I could sure use some words from God.
Here's a verse I had on my Bible app this week that I totally loved and had to save for my blog!

Jeremiah 33:2-3
"Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

What this says to me:
First of all, how cool is it that we have a hot line straight to God?! He literally says, "call unto me and I will answer thee" ....That's pretty simple if you ask me! God knows exactly what He's doing so even when we ask Him for things, we may not get the answer we want right then. (this is a lesson I am SLOWLY learning)
You have to be patient, because chances are, His plan is much better than what we can see right in front of us. He sees the future and He has a plan. So call on him, ask His advice. Ask Him to lead you and show you the way. He's not going to desert you, that's for sure. He's always there. He's just a prayer away :)

So call on God. Have Him guide you and you'll have a better outcome. That's His job! He's here for us! :)

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and stays warm in this chilly weather. Love you all! Love, Steph.

Don't be a People Pleaser.

Well hello there! I do hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their week! :)


In case you didn't notice the title of this blog, it's "Don't be a People Pleaser."

What is a people pleaser?
Someone who would rather disregard his/her own plans, thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc. in order to make everyone else happy.

Story. Of. My. Life.


Do I feel a rant coming on? Okay, I feel a rant coming on.

I, for one, am sick and tired of making everyone else happy only to make myself miserable. I'm tired of saying yes to everything and doing things for people that do nothing for you in return. I wasn't put here to be used by people and I'm not gonna stand on the sidelines anymore!

That being said, from now on, I will be putting a special section in each of my blogs for some encouragement for Christian Women! We are supposed to be warriors for Christ but we stand aside and get pushed around, simply because we don't want to "make anyone mad" or "step on anyone's toes."

Now, I'm not saying go crazy, step out onto your front porch, screaming that the world owes you everything.

I'm saying, let's stand up ladies. Stick up for yourself. Say what you feel. Don't let people push you around and DON'T be a pushover.

Easier said than done. I need to listen to my own advice more often.


Okay, let's move on because that first section is really dragging me down.


 So a couple of my family members have the coolest necklaces ever. There are two parts to this necklace set and on one half, it says Mother and on the other half it says Daughter.

Everyone knows that my mom is my best friend, so I couldn't help myself. I got on Etsy and ordered the cutest little necklace set I ever did see!




Aren't they cute! I just love them! To be honest, I didn't want to spend a ton of money. So instead of the mother daughter one, I thought that our initials stamped into half a heart would be just as cute! (plus it was cheap. And I'm currently living the poor-girl-life LOL) I hope she loves it! I found them on Etsy.com from a shop called "2 tiny hearts." If you're looking for an awesome Mothers Day, birthday, or a "just because" gift, this is definitely a good idea!I can't wait to get them in the mail and surprise my mom with a sentimental gift that we can both wear everyday!

P.S. Don't tell my mom about this, I want to totally surprise her! 

(Is it cheesy that to find this, I typed in "mother daughter best friend jewelry"? Cause I think it's totally cool.)
Feel free to steal this idea. I know, it's adorable.



So, I have a DIY that is just fantastic.

I have about a million pounds of burlap left over from my wedding. (Okay, a little exaggeration. But really, it's a lot.) So I started thinking about things I could do with this burlap. I checked out Pinterest (of course) and found these awesome DIY that I just had to share! :) So, here ya go.

This first one is adorable, and EASY. This photo looks like it is on a canvas, but I think it would be just as cute, and a little more simple if you just too a piece of burlap and stenciled whatever words you wanted onto the burlap. Then, I would just take a black Sharpie marker and fill in the words. You could put it in a pretty picture frame and voila! Burlap art! :)












Next up, a super cute burlap bow frame! Here's what you do:
-take a strip of burlap and tie yourself a sweet little bow.
-Then, literally just hot glue that baby onto the top, bottom, side, or corner of the frame!
and BAM, super cute burlap bow frame!








 

Also, in my next blog I'm going to include some awesome stuff I'm making for my sisters baby shower! I can't wait to share! :)


Okay, let's talk beauty products.

I bought this last week and it is some nifty stuff!
 

This stuff is a new favorite. If you have a shiny face, this is the stuff for you. It takes away the shiny parts of your skin without adding darkness from other powders or bronzers. I bought it at wal-mart and it was under $10! You should probably jump in your car right now, drive to the store, pick it up, and pour it on your face. Okay, don't do that, but it is something to consider getting in the future!

Has anyone else noticed that wal-mart is now carrying elf products? I am glad to see wal-mart stocking it's shelves with a new brand! Woohoo!



Okay, let's talk about Jesus. :)

This past weekend, my cousin (and preacher) went to an amazing mens conference that he told us all about today! I wasn't even there, and it fired me up! They have a womens conference coming up and I'm thinking I definitely want to go! Plus, I know it must be a "God thing" that this came up because I think Thayer is wanting to go to the next mens conference! What an awesome opportunity for us both as a young married couple to get on fire about God and strengthen our relationship even more!
So, I'll definitely keep you posted on that and let you know what happens. :) I'm sure with God involved, it's going to be an awesome thing. :)

So here's the verse for today:

Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

What does this say to me?
It's pretty awesome to me that this verse came up right now. Lately, Thayer has been saying to me over and over again, "stop worrying about things. We're living for God. He is going to take care of us." And sure enough, every single time I think we're down to the last penny, God comes through. We live for a God that wants to take care of us. He wants us to be happy and He won't let his children perish. That doesn't mean that hard times won't come. I assure you they will come. It just means that God is going to take care of you, even in the hardest times. So trust in Him, LIVE FOR HIM, and never let life get you down. We live for a LIVING God, how awesome is that? He is here every single day and knows our exact struggles at this exact moment. So let him take care of it and everything will turn out the way it's supposed to.


Well, it's getting late and I'm getting sleepy. I better steal the covers before Thayer gets to them and I have no chance. So goodnight readers, I hope I haven't bored you to death.


P.S. I really do appreciate everyone that takes time to read my blog. Some people probably think it's stupid, but I really enjoy writing them!

I'm rambling.

Have a fantastic week! And don't forget to stop "people-pleasing" :)
Love, Steph


I do not own the images used in this blog. I got the photos used in this blog from Etsy, Google, and Pinterest.