The Wedding Day: A Snapshot of our Day

 

Our wedding photographer, Chris Zachary Photography, has some of our wedding photos up on his blog!

 

 

Click^ Here^ To^ View^ Photos^

Free Redbox Code

Need a cheap date night?  Redbox has a code out for this weekend for $1 off any rental.  (If you just get the regular DVDs and not the Blue Ray, that means it's free!)  It is valid anytime Friday through Sunday at midnight.

They have sent out coupon codes the last 3 or 4 weekends through their e-mail!  If you're not already on their mailing list, you may want to sign up! (You get a free code for signing up as well)

The Code is: 773725K

Here are some additional codes that are always valid if you have not already used them (valid once per debit/credit card)

DVDONME
DVDKROG   (valid only at Kroger locations)
BREAKROOM
DVDATWAG (valid only at Walgreen locations)

Thank You Notes

 

Day 3 of my Productive Week includes finally finishing up and sending out the remainder of the thank you notes from our wedding.  I finished the majority of them the week after we got back from our honeymoon, but there were still a few I needed to write.  I’m waiting to get a couple of addresses and then I’ll be all finished! 

I am loving the new Love stamps the Post Office has out right now.  I’m tempted to go buy a lot of them so I can use them for a long time!

Great Groupon Alert

Groupon has a great nation wide deal today...
You can get 2 regular sized subs for $6 at Quiznos!  (That's more than 1/2 off the regular price)

Click here to get yours (enter your email address, your city, and then click "more deals" at the top of the page if the Quiznos Groupon doesn't show up at first)

But hurry, you only have a day to get it!

Tips for Organizing Your Car

Day two of my “productive week” includes cleaning out and organizing our car!  We have driven almost 1,000 miles in the last 3 weeks, and our car is in need of organizing! 

Step #1

First and foremost, clear out all the trash.  You know, the fast food cups, gas receipts, food wrappers, any trash that has somehow ended up in the floor of your car.  (I know we can’t be the only ones who let our car get like that )  We try and keep a grocery bag in the car for trash.  If you do this as well, throw away the bag and get a new one.  

I love this idea for car trash that has been floating around Pinterest for a while.  It’s a plastic cereal dispenser used a trash can.  How clever!

For the back seat you could create something like this

(Tutorial found here)

Step #2

Now clear out any other random items that you keep in your car (umbrellas, books, sports equipment, fold up chairs, reusable grocery bags, etc.) We will deal with them later, but for now clear them out so that you can move on to the next step. 

Step #3

Next, Vacuum out your car with a shop vac, hand held vacuum, or just go to a local car wash or gas station that has vacuums.  I ALWAYS feel better when the car if vacuumed out!  Don’t forget to take out your mats and clean them. 

If you’re feeling ultra motivated, why not shampoo your carpets?  Not that I’m going to do that, but hey, it’s a good thought  

Step #4

Now get a nice and clean rag and start cleaning off the dashboard, controls, steering wheel, center console, etc.  Break out the Armor All or your favorite car cleaner and get it looking nice and shiny!

Step #5

Clean the inside windows and windshield using Windex or your favorite glass cleaner and newspaper.

Step #6

Now on to the random stuff.  This is my favorite part because I love having a space for everything and seeing my things organized. 

In the back of your car (or trunk) you can use a collapsible tote to store your random car items.  Thirty-One has some awesome utility totes that are perfect for this. 

It folds down when you’re not using it and stands up when you are. 

Fill the tote with your extra car blanket, sports equipment, or whatever else you have lying around.  This way it doesn’t slide around everywhere and you can easily find it when you need them!  My aunt gave us one of these totes for a wedding shower gift, and I love it!  It is big and fits lots of things inside.

Other organizers would work just as well.  Think of under the bed organizers, drawer organizers, and other bins that you see in the home organization aisle and consider if they could work for your car.

Here are some other great car organizing ideas…

Clean out your glove compartment and use an organizer to keep up with you car registration, insurance information, tire gauge, flash light, etc.The one below is available from QVC for around $5.  You could probably find one in a local Auto Zone, or other car store.

Another idea is to use a simple paper organizer to hold your registration and other important documents you keep in your car. You can pick these up at Wal Mart or Staples for a couple of bucks.

Step #7

Last but not least, give the outside a good wash! 

 

Hope I’ve inspired you to be productive today!

Cleaning out your Inbox

I’m starting to feel a little crazy.  Do you ever feel as though you just haven’t really done anything productive in a while?  We’ve been playing the waiting game for Jeremy’s job for over a month now, and I’m beginning to feel a little lazy and defiantly unproductive.  This week I’m focusing on completing at least one productive task a day.  Would you like to join me?

Today I took the time to clean out my email inbox.  How long has it been since you’ve done that?  I think it’s probably been at least 6 months since I took the time to delete old messages, move important messages, and overall clean up my e-mail.  I usually have around 100-150 emails sitting in my inbox all the time, and I’ve cleaned it up to just six! 


I created labels in my Gmail account and moved any messages I wanted to save to their correct label, and only left important messages that need attention in my inbox.

I’m going to attempt to keep it looking nice and clean! 

Perhaps you could be extra productive today and take an extra 15 minutes to do a clean sweep of your e-mail account!

Buckingham Fountain

We're still in Chicago visiting with Jeremy's family, and wanted to share one of my favorite things about downtown Chicago...Buckingham Fountain.  Jeremy and I have been together for 4 years and for 4 years I've wanted to see this thing!  The first time I came to Chicago with him we walked by it but it was winter and there wasn't any water in it.  Last year I was finally here in the summer and after a Cubs game last June we decided we would walk and see it.  BUT, we got lost and turned around and ended up right back at the train station to go home.  Oh well, there is always next time, and next time finally came!

While we were downtown the other day, we walked over the the lakefront to see Buckingham Fountain.  It is probably the biggest fountain I've ever seen!  I loved it!

Now I want to see it at night, I've seen pictures and it is stunning!



The top part shoots up even taller...

Someday I'll see it like that...

Happy Birthday Mama!

Thank you for being such a wonderful mom to me and Jared.  Wish I was there to celebrate with you today!  I love you!

Illinois Farmland

Jeremy's family only lives 40 miles west of Chicago, yet they are surrounded by beautiful farmland.  It is so pretty here, especially in the evening when the sun is beginning to set. Jeremy's family lives right beside a horse farm, and we were able to take a walk around it the other day and I snapped these photos.

What We Did Last Night

I'll give you a sneak preview into our Chicago trip...this is where we were last night :)

A Cubs game at Wrigley Field!  We had a great time in the city yesterday, can't wait to show you more pictures when I get my card reader for my camera!

Absolutely A-DOT-able

I want to introduce you to one of my best friend's businesses today...Absolutely A-DOT-able.  My friend Haley at Classy Southern Sweet and her sister and mom started this great key chain business and they are just too cute not to share. They are super affordable and make wonderful gifts.

Haley made me one with my new initials and I LOVE IT! (sorry for the blurry phone picture)

Here are some examples from their facebook page:

They make large keychains...

Small Keychains:

And even sports keychains!

The small keychains are $6 and the large ones are $11.  Personalized with your initials, etc. is a few extra dollars.  They will customize your colors and ribbons for you!

Visit their facebook page for more info or email absolutelyadotable@yahoo.com to place an order

What is God's Place in Your Life

Last Sunday Jeremy preached at a church in the mountains of NC where we are hoping he will be working as the  youth pastor soon.  We went to meet the congregation and for them to hear him preach, etc.   They will be voting on him in the next couple of weeks, we are so excited and hopeful!  We love the church and really hope everything works out for us to serve there.

Jeremy preached an awesome sermon.  It was probably the best one I have ever heard him preach.  It was titled, "What is God's Place in Your Life".  I'd like to give you a little snippet of his sermon.

He posed the question, "What is God's Place in Your Life" and then took us to 3 passages of Scripture to answer what place He should be.

Daniel 4:34-35

Psalm 23

Romans 5:6

Daniel 4:34-35 says, "But at the end of that period, I Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.  All inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'what have You done?'.


The basic meaning of this passage is that:
1} God CAN, HAS, and WILL DO whatever He wants and there is nothing we can do about it
2} We are WEAK as humans "all inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing..."
3} Because God is so POWERFUL and we are so WEAK, we are to fear the Lord.  Not be afraid, but be in awe, and hold in reverence.

Psalm 23 is a common passage that I'm sure you know.  I won't post the whole passage here but you can read it here:

For this passage Jeremy brought out that:
1}David is calling God his Shepard because He is providing all of his needs
2} In the ancient Near East, Shepard was a common term for a king.  If you think about it, a Shepard and a king share the same vital duties, and provide for their subjects in many of the same ways.  Not only is God David's Shepard, but also his King.
3} We, as the "sheep" are dumb, just as sheep are dumb.  We cannot take care of ourselves.
3} We must have the same dependence on God that a sheep does for its Shepard.

Romans 5:6 says, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly"

No matter how helpless and weak we are, God still loves us and in the midst of our helplessness, gave us the ultimate gift.  Christ's life for ours.

We know that Christ is the Good Shepard , and He is our Good King.

Jeremy used a great illustration using the games of chess.


In chess, the entire point of the game is to protect your King.  The pawns are there to protect the opponent from reaching your most vital piece, the King.

In contrast, Christ, our King, died for His pawns, us.  That is opposite of anything this world says.  The King doesn't die for the people, the people die for the King.  But our King is so great and so loving that He chose to empty himself for His people and give up His life for ours.  (Philippians 2:5-11)

Daniel said that He is all powerful and humans are nothing

Psalms says He is willing to lead us and feed us despite our weakness

Romans says that He doesn't just take care of us, but loves us.

Our all powerful God loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us.

So, in response, what is God's place in your life?

Our answer should be that we are desperately dependent on Him.  


He is our King, our Shepard, and without Him we have nothing. With Him we are fed, nurtured, and most of all loved... no matter what.

How great is our God!

Pinterest Inspiration

Loving pinterest lately, all kinds of beautiful inspiration.  Home inspiration, fashion inspiration, and more!

Want to see more?  Click below...