Blogger Intro's of sorts

The sweetest gal in all the land (hi Em!) eagerly approached me and a few other amazing girls to compile our lives together with the intentions of introducing or re-introducing ourselves to our fabulous readers. So let's see, a little bit about me...

 

I'm a late-twenties, southern-living gal who simply cannot get enough sunshine, husband-lovin, pup kisses, and some good Gospel. This little blog of mine has been around for give or take 3 years and I love it! My mother does too and I'm pretty sure she's my biggest fan (hey mom!). I've been happily married to this hunk of a man for 1.5 years and he is literally my better half.

 

 

 God knew what He was doing when he lumped us together to do this wild thing called life. Our pups are some of the goofiest fur-babes around and as much as they drive me crazy, I couldn't imagine our home without them.

 

 

 I love the Gospel with all my sinful, human heart and I legit can't get enough of His good word. I thank God every day for the arduous and glorious sanctification process that I go through, and I fully believe in loving others like Jesus does. You can find me sipping on sweet tea or coffee (with wayyy too much sugar) any given day #needtodrinkmorewater. I'm convinced that chips and salsa are a must-have staple in every home and I'll tell you that you can't find true, southern cooking anywhere else but in the south. Sorry northern folks, you really just can't compete with all our lard and sugar.

 

I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Florida and it's where I call home. I crave the sand and waves, but love a good mountain view. So that's just a snippet into my exciting life!

 

A few more randoms about me:

 

Where was the last place you traveled to?  Let's see - this past Saturday I traveled just a jump, hop, and a skip to a small town west of us to check out a neat festival. As far as further than that goes, Atlanta would have to be the last place. Lucky for us, we'll be traveling just a couple of hours down to the coast for a vacation in the near future!

 

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you'd want with you?  Oh my. Underwear because uhm, hello. Deodorant because the smell of me after a few days alone would kill me. And my bible. Might as well pull a John and get really in tune with God because bless my heart, I'll need something to keep me sane.

 

When was the last time you tried something new, and what was it?  Hmmm... I'm always trying new recipes so I would say that. It was a couple of days ago. Ya'll are going to gasp but I cooked country fried steak, but not fried. I know, I know. My southern ancestors are rolling in their graves.

 

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?  Pshhh why wait for tomorrow when I could use today to try flying. Not in an airplane, no. More like bird-style because hey, I can't fail ;)

 

What is your earliest memory?  Well, considering I can't remember anything to save my life, I would have to say all the Disney trips I took with my family. When one lives in Florida, one has annual passes and visits Disney an unnatural amount of times.

 

If you could only eat one thing the rest of your life, what would it be?  Chick-fil-A. Plain and simple. Or chips and salsa.

 

Do you like your first name and why? If not, what would you change it to?  I actually really do like my first name. I even like my second name and kept it when I got married.

 

If you could give yourself one gift, what would it be?  Transparent moment - the gift of being debt-free. I cannot wait for the day!

Would you rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation or the person answering them?  How ironic I'm answering questions here because I'd rather be the one asking them. I love getting to know more about people, their life stories, etc.

If you had to live in a place where only one season existed year-round, what would that season be?  Well considering I live in Florida and we really only have two temps here (slightly warm versus hot as crap), I would have to say spring time. I absolutely LOVE how everything is so green and bright and pretty and allergy-filled. Totes makes my eyes water. Ha!

If money was no object, what would you do all day?  Since it's summerish time here and I've been bitten by the beach bug, I'd spend my days on the coast. Preferably the Gulf of Mexico coast because #whitesand.

One of the greatest things with blogging are the friendships that are formed. It's so awesome when you have gals that are rooting for you, praying over you, and just sweet as can be. Be sure to check out these gals!

CASSIE: Sage the Blog

Would you rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation or the person answering them?

I’m a complete introvert and have been told that I don’t talk about myself very often, so I guess that implies I would rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation.

 

ANNE: Love the Here and Now

If you could give yourself one gift, what would it be?  

Without fail, it would be self-confidence.  I constantly second guess decisions and choices and don’t attempt new things because of a fear of failing or judgement.  Truth be told, I could fail and be judged and I would be ok.  Self-confidence would give me the edge I need not to care about those things and would enable to me to live free of doubt, fear, and feelings of inadequacy.

 

AMANDA: Knock on Wood

If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I would totally be cool with eating pizza for the rest of my life. You can switch up the toppings and essentially have something different each day. Plus you still get all of the food groups!

 

 

EMELIA: Dream Big and Buy the Shoes

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?

I’ve always had the dream to be a wedding planner, but I would love to work with all types of events. I have a love of details and creating beautiful memories, so I would give it all to be an Event Planner and have the opportunity to make special moments for other people.

MEAGAN: All the Joys

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you’d want with you?  

A camera with unlimited memory, chapstick and a Kindle preloaded with hundreds of books.  (too much?)

 

 

 

 

 

LINDSAY: Bourbon, Lipstick & Stilettos

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?

I would do web development/design. It is a dream of mine, but I'm struggling to find time to study and perfect it!

 

REBECCA: The Adventures of Bug and Boo

Where was the last place you traveled to?

San Francisco! In February I took a long weekend to visit my BFF from middle school, and meet her new baby. It was my first time on the west coast and I fell in love! San Francisco is so different from NYC and London (both cities I lived in for a while) but it’s an awesome city in its own right. And the FOOD….I will definitely be back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRISTINE: Christine Everyday

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?

I would go skydiving! That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and if I knew for sure that I wouldn’t crash-land, I’d totally sign up.

EMILY: Ember Grey

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you'd want with you?

A notebook, pen, and Sun-In. (Obviously.)

 

Share the love

Oh happy Friday! There's just something about Friday's that make me so excited I could nearly wet my pants. Kidding on the total pant wetting deal! Anywho, it's going to be a quiet Friday down yonder and that is not a bad thing in my opinion.

 

As ya'll go throughout your days, be sure to check out some of these good reads:

 

+ Emily talks about the beauty in simple things like the vast array of colors in a southern night sky.

 

+ Did ya'll know that Kelli and her husband traveled to Honduras?! Considering the fact that half of my heart is currently in Honduras, this just made me smile so, so much.

 

+ Nina's heart is so kind and her post to follow-up on one of the hardest posts she's ever written is unbelievably brave and humbling. It's refreshing to know that you're not alone in your walks of life.

 

+ I'm always stressing to my youth girls: Your worth is not in others, how many like your pictures, etc. Your worth is found always in Jesus. My girl, Maegan, does a fabulous job in reiterating this to her readers!

 

Happy Friday friends! Here's a challenge for ya'll as you go throughout the weekend: compliment at least one person each day. It can be on their hair, clothes, shoes, tan, personality, I don't care. Compliment somebody. What does it cost you to be kind? (The answer is nothing)

Just because they're cute

February Favorites.... Yes, I'm late to the party

So there's this thing called life. I tend to live mine quite busily and honestly, things slip my mind on the regular. Like this wonderful link-up that thankfully, goes all month long! Thank you, Kelli and Mia, for providing such a fun link-up!

 

As I said earlier, my mind tends to just forget things so I had to really think back and look through pictures of what all happened in February. Isn't that sad?! My friends... The favies:

 

 

one// These boys have my heart. Each morning, I get to wake up to these sweet faces.

 

two// This DIY wooden wall art that I did all by myself with the help of Hunter!

 

 

three// Hunter and I celebrated Valentine's Day in style at a gala for his alma mater.

 

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four// I purchased this little beauty from Ulta last month and so far, I'm loving it! I'll have a review on it in the next few weeks. No, I was not paid to say that.

 

five// And finally, some great things have happened this month in terms of ministry. Hunter and I joined a small, country church in Wetumpka, FL (yes, that is a real place) and humbly accepted the offer to be youth leaders there. Also, I started up the women's ministry in February and it's been absolutely wonderful to spend time with some awesome women and planning ways to give back to our communities. God is always good!

 



You + Me -- We go together like peas and carrots

It's clearly no secret - I'm crazy for my husband. He is my best friend, my biggest supporter and cheerleader, and can brighten my day just with one look. Of course, we have our similarities in nature and personalities. But we also have differences about us that help make our relationship so unique for us.

When I saw this fun post on Amanda's blog a couple of weeks ago, I just had to copy her wonderful idea. Thanks Amanda for the inspiration! So friends, I give to you... The top 5 differences between Hunter and I -- and why I just absolutely love it!

 ONE// I am more Type A when it comes to plans and schedules, where Hunter is more Type B and can go with the flow. I want to know what is happening when, where, for how long, and with as much time in advance. I love that Hunter can just go with the flow - it constantly reminds me to slow down, enjoy each moment as they come, and to live a little on the Type B wild side.

TWO// I cannot look at odd-end objects and create something out of it off the top of my head. I need Pinterest, inspirations, visuals, something! Hunter can take weird pieces that you would never think about to make something useful with. For example, (all my hunters and hunters' widows will appreciate this) he made a deer feeder out of a piece of plywood, racket straps, and PVC piping. I mean... who does that?!

THREE// I am a very speak-my-mind kind of person. I'm notorious for word vomit and can unfortunately, lead to hurt feelings for some people. Hunter is much more reserved, can think things through, and is okay with not sharing all of the wonderful things on his mind (except with me of course). He has taught me so much in just our 4 years together, and I have learned a heck of a lot with how to say things, when to say things, and if to say things. I'm still a work in progress but I've become much more RESERVED in what I say to people.

FOUR// I'm an over-thinker. Sometimes I'll read wayyy too much into something when it's really nothing at all. Hunter just takes everything for face-value and moves on. Teach me your ways oh-wise-one!

FIVE// I will trust you from the get-go. No questions asked. So when a person breaks that trust, it's very, very hard for me to ever really be on the same level again with that person. Hunter learns to trust people over time. He waits to see how you will respond in certain situations. And, for the most part, he's pretty quick to forgive. This is a balance we are both working on together. I love that him and I have a trust bond that is so strong - we both feel entirely confident in our trust levels with each other. We're learning together how to trust people in due time, and how to learn to love those who have broken the trust either with us individually or as a couple.

So there ya have it, a few differences between him and I. Of course, we have so many more but these are the ones that really keep us on our toes and continuously teach us new things each day. I hope each of ya'll have a wonderful weekend!
 

Let's sing our ABC's

I've seen this little gem floating around the blog world and love the idea of it. What better way for people to get to know you a little better! So without further ado...

 

a | animal// My sweet boys

 

 

b | beauty product// It's A 10 hair products. They make my hair so easy to manage when I need to brush it or style it. Also, dry shampoo is my jam. Did ya'll see Cassie's post about different dry shampoos?

 

c | color// Hmm... what color am I coveting right now? Right now I'm loving anything minty green. Maybe I'm just trying to channel the Spring season.

 

d | drink// Ya'll should know the answer to this. I'll give you a minute to guess... Sweet tea!

 

e | exercise// HA! Ya'll are so funny! Okay okay, I'm trying (read: failing) to get back into running. I swear my life moves a million miles a minute so I'm having a bit of a struggle trying to find the time to do said running. Pray for me.

 

f | flower// Sunflowers

 

 

g | game// I like Catch Phrase or Bananograms.

 

h | human// Jesus. Then Hunter. But mostly Jesus.

 

i | instrument// I wish! Learning how to play the piano is on my bucket list to do before I die.

 

Here's a major flashback of Hunter playing the guitar

 

j | job// What can I say, I love my job!

 

k | karaoke song// Ha! I don't do karaoke. I wouldn't want people's ears to bleed.

 

l | lunch// Is it lunch time yet?! I love me some good ole Chick-Fil-A - yummy!

 

m | movie// I have lots of favorites! I love a good action movie or comedy or RomCom. Every now and then I can watch war movies (they're just so sad to me) but I absolutely cannot do scary movies. I will have nightmares for days people!

 

n | number// I'm going to go with number 77 because I'm special like that.

 

o | object// Would this be my favorite object? Can I pick 2? I would say my bible and my wedding rings. Both mean so much to me and are items that I treasure daily.

 

p | picture// I would say this describes me perfectly...

 

 

 q | quote// "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalms 139:14

 

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r | restaurant// I'm a lover of anything Italian so I would have to say our local Italian restaurant, Village Pizza.

s | season// I used to be all about that summer. Then I became all about that fall/winter. Now I'm all about that spring. So I think it's safe to say, I like them all for their different reasons!

t | trend// I'm not a huge trend follower - I'm all about being comfortable in my own style. I will have to say, I love a good pair of jeans and cowboy boots with a ball cap. That's my go-to comfortable outfit.

u | underwear// That's for my husband to know and for ya'll to never find out...

v | vacation// Right now we're saving up for a couple of things - this summer we'll be traveling with our youth students to a camp retreat. Then later in the year, we're going to Disney World with another couple. I'm honestly so excited I could just pee my underwear that ya'll will never know about (see letter "u" if you're confused)!

w | writer// Mmmm now that is tough. I have a lot of favorite writers in all different genres.

x | x-tra favorite// Anything dipped in chocolate - bananas, strawberries, marshmallows, my fingers....

y | year// This year! I'm trying to live in the present and enjoy each moment as they come.

z | zodiac sign// I'll give you a couple of hints: My sign lives in the ocean, is the fourth astrological sign, and unfortunately, a disease.

I hope ya'll have a fun, warm weekend!

Share the LOVE

I always love hearing and seeing good things happen to people. It makes my heart warm knowing that their lives are changing, big things are happening, and the good Lord is seeing it through. It's also fun to share that good news with others because why not??

 

Some of our closest friends are expecting! We could not be more excited for them and I personally cannot wait to spoil the crap out of that child. Sorry Mike and SB, it's just part of it. Is that not the cutest announcement ever?!

 

 

A very near and dear friend to my heart has taken a leap of faith into photography and ya'll, she is awesome. I'm not just saying that because she's my fraaaannnddd but because she is legit awesome. Her focus is on sports and yea... Ya'll will just have to check out her Instagram and show her some love!

 

 

 

My pups really are best friends... And that is good news right there because it makes our lives that much easier.

 

That's the look of, "Seriously mom. The sun's not even out."

 

There are so many great things going on around us that sometimes we forget to take notice. Sometimes, it's so easy to fall into the trap of repetition and take for granted the little wonderful things happening in our lives, and others. Today, take time to notice not only the good in your life but in your friends' and family members' lives. And give them a big hug!



These are a few of my favorite things

It's Friday and I'm in a chipper mood because duh, it's Friday. Because of said chipper mood, I'm wanting to share all things that are making me smile...

 

one:: This guy. His heart for the Lord, his patience with me, and his passion for people. I just can't get enough of him.

 

 

 

two:: We have been invited to attend a gala fundraiser tomorrow evening for Hunter's alumni and I'm just uber excited to have an excuse to get dolled up!

 

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three:: For those who don't know, I'm a bit of a MoFro lover. Never heard of them? For Hunter's birthday last month, I bought tickets to go see them in concert on Sunday. We're excited to be going with some friends and my awesome FIL!

 

With the crazed madness that's been going around in regards to the release of the scandalous movie 50 Shades of Grey (I'm not even linking this because it already has enough attention), I've read different articles and posts regarding this event. I personally have never read the books (there's more than 1 right??), don't plan on reading the books, and most certainly don't plan on seeing the movie because let's just be honest, I've got a husband that can make me feel a bajillion times more loved and sexy and respected than that loony bird of a man in that book. Elizabeth did a fantastic job summing up the reasons why we should skip out on this movie.

 

Kind of going off of this 50 Shades of Grey tangent, I read a wonderful post this week by my girl Renee about finding your identity in Christ. Ya'll, go read it. My dear friend Sara Beth also wrote a post on being created in God's image... Love this!

 

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Linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love

 

I hope each and every one of ya'll have a great weekend! We certainly have a super busy one ahead of us, but full of wonderful things. Feel free to keep up with us and our adventures via Instagram!

 

**Update: Friends, last night Hunter and I received some heartbreaking news. I cannot go into details here at the moment but please please PLEASE be in prayer for a beautiful, young woman.**



I'm sexaayyy and I know it...

Have ya'll noticed anything different 'round these parts? No, you haven't? Have you considered getting glasses?

 

Just kidding... Maybe. But! SoKo Blog has gotten a facelift by none other than yours truly! Isn't it great? I just love the vintage look. So my style, ya'll.

 

I've added some new categories to the right hand side of your screen so feel free to check those out. The Welborn's is anything and everything that has to do with us whether it's wedding, relationship stuff, whatevs. Our Home will be anything from DIY's to (hopefully) the journey of us moving out to Quincy and establishing our new home there. And finally, Faith is all about my awesome Jesus.

 

Feel free to click around, check it out, go see Ashley and request to have your blog redesigned. It's uber fun I tell ya!

 

On a different note, is it feeling like Fall weather where ya'll are at? Please tell me it is because it definitely is not feeling like scarves, boots, leggings, and PSL's down here. My deoderant has packed its bags and left for cooler weather because it's so dang tired of trying to keep my sweating to a minimum.

 

Was that TMI? Oh well...

 

I was listening to the radio this morning and the radio DJ's were commenting how excited they were that today is only a high of.... 88!! And I'm sitting there all like...

 

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I just can't help but feel sorry for some people. You're excited that the high today is only going to be 88 degrees and you're carrying on about Fall weather and how it's here? Bless....

 

Hope ya'll have a fabulous Tuesday!

Kate's Lattice & Ivy - Oh how I love thee!

 

and I just love that they are encouraging of women's desires to be business-minded.

I literally had to pull myself away from the website in order to write this post - which, by the way, I'm doing out of complete and total love for Kate and these adorable products. I did not receive any compensation by doing this post. I just love my friend and support her 110% in all her endeavours!

Let me just share with ya'll some of the things I'm currently swooning over:

This cutting board is to die for!

 

What about this Lucite tray - uh hello party guests!

I need dis....

 

What I need is another birthday. Ha! But seriously, there are so many adorable things on the website. Hop on over, shop, and give my Kate some love. You won't be disappointed. Now I just need to go find Hunter's wallet to start my shopping spree....

 

 

 

Oh My Gosh... It's Friday

some decisions that were made without our knowledge, we feel it is the best thing to do. More on that next week!!

3: One of my most favoritest (is that grammatically correct??) bloggers and friend ever had me laughing and smiling in the midst of all the chaos this week. Thank you Em!

4: I'm beyond excited to be having a girls dinner tomorrow night with some of the greatest friends of mine. These gals are the ones I call or text when life is great, bad, or ugly. They are my rocks of faith in my darkest moments. They are the gals that I will be partnering with to spread the gospel in Quincy with, and all over!

And finally...

5: I managed to remember to eat, sleep, and perform bathroom bodily functions throughout this week. This, by far, is the greatest thing that has happened all week.

Enjoy your weekend folks!