I'm Back!

I'm baaaack, but at a different spot, with a different twist!  Come check out The Ginger and the Blonde!

Happy First Day!

Year three of teaching is here!  Today was the first day of school, and it was a success!  Although it is exhausting and crazy getting back into the swing, I'm thankful to be back in a routine and working with my favorite people… fourth graders!  This year I have a motto that I want to focus on everyday as an educator…

"There are four steps to accomplishment: plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently."

I found this quote from a cheesy teacher inspiration book, but I love it!  With new challenges thrown at teachers each year, I don't know how I can possibly get through the school year without purposeful planning, strength from the Lord, positivity, and persistence!  Oh, and I have one more step to add to the quote: Peruse Pinterest!  Haha, I've gotten so many great ideas for the classroom on there!

Spicy Salmon & Brown Sugar Blondies

Last night I was feeling extremely domesticate and tried a new recipe for dinner and then a new recipe for dessert!  They were both so tasty, I just had to recommend them to you!  The first one was Spicy Baked Salmon with asparagus. (Warning: This is very spicy, so be prepared!)  Then for dessert,  we had Brown Sugar Blondies from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook, The Weeknight Cook.  This was a subtle and different dessert that Rob and I both would love to have again!  My favorite part of the blondies was the fact that I finally had a chance to use my new KitchenAid mixer!!!  I should also add, both of these recipes are very simple to make with minimal ingredients!

Thanks to Instagram, here a few photos of our cuisine…

Tied the Knot!

I'm baaaaaack… as a married woman!  Mr. R and I tied the knot on July 7th, the hottest day of the year.  Despite the excruciating 106 degree temp, it was an amazing day!  As cliche as it may sound, it was the best day of my life.  Rob and I also had an wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii.  It was glorious to have nothing to do (but relax) for a week in Maui!  I'm so excited for so many more special memories with my sweet husband!  From what I can gather so far, being married is pretty fabulous! :)

Here are a few of my favorite wedding photos and a honeymoon pic too.

18 More Days!

Where do I even begin?!  I think part of the reason I have been absent from blogging is because I found myself wanting to blog only about two things: my wedding and school-related topics, and I didn't want to over-do those topics!  But ya know what, it's my blog, so I suppose I will just blog about what I want...  After our wedding and honeymoon, I will try to make a strong effort to start blogging regularly again!  By the way, our big day is only 18 days away!!!!  Rob and I could not be more excited for our wedding, honeymoon, and marriage!  Throughout our engagement our friends have thrown several thoughtful showers for us and because I've been a lazy blogger, I'd thought I'd do a re-cap of our wedding events in pics!

My first shower was in my hometown thrown by some dear family friends.  It was adorable and matched our wedding colors perfectly!

Our couples shower was a Mexican Fiesta thrown by Rob's best man's mother!  The Mexican food and margarita machine were out of this world!

My bridesmaids threw my Bachelorette Party in Lawrence, Kansas.  I had a blast with my girlfriends romping around our old college stomping grounds!

The other 3rd and 4th grade teachers at my school threw a wonderful school shower.  I received an amazing red Kitchen-Aid mixer…. Time to do some baking!

Rob's sister-in-law and his mom's friend threw a fun shower.  They had a fruit pizza bar, super cute Pinterest idea come to life!

Maggie and her mom threw a lovely brunch shower at a fun French restaurant with the most amazing quiche on the planet!

The highlights from all of our wedding showers have been the fun people, fabulous gifts, and phenomenal food!  Thank you to all who have hosted and attended.  We have been spoiled silly lately.  You have truly made this time special and unforgettable!

And So It Begins...

Happy Wedding Season!  Being 25 (me) and 26 (Rob) and having had different groups of friends in college, this time of year (for the past 2 years and many to come) is the start to a busy wedding season!  For the next couple of months, my life will revolve around showers and weddings (others and mine!)  Last week was a friend of mine's wedding and next weekend is one of Rob's best bud's wedding!  And you don't want to know how many showers I am attending this weekend…  Ha!  Sooo fun! :)

 In honor of the start to this fun time of year, 

here is a pic of Rob and I last weekend 

gearing up for Meg and Jeff's fabulous wedding!

Bridal Party

In honor of today being our 3 month mark, I thought I'd do a wedding post!  I feel like 3 months is the mark of "IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY CLOSE!"  Woohoo!  


Back in the fall, I asked four special friends to stand with me on my wedding day.  Here is how I asked them…

How could I not include a lemon cupcake to seal the deal?!

I'm so excited for my big day, and these four girls have been so supportive and have made wedding planning so fun.

  Here is my fabulous bridal party…

Courtney, maid of honor

Little sister.  Baby girl.  Hard-working.  Hilarious.  Quirky.

Emily, matron of honor

Older sister.  Best mother ever.  Bleeding heart.  Persevering.  Faithful. 

Maggie, bridesmaid

College bestie.  World's most amazing nurse.  Thoughtful.  Fun.  Feisty. 

Ally, bridesmaid

Lifelong friend.  Humble.  Adventurous.  Down-to-earth.  Intelligent.

Rock Chalk!

I'm the world's worst blogger, I realize that, but I could not let today pass by without posting this video of my boys!  In these parts, we eat, sleep, and breath Kansas basketball.  I was actually a junior at KU in 2008 when we won the National Championship.  This season Kansas basketball has proved everyone wrong…  They said it was a "rebuilding year" and, here we are, getting ready to fight for the national title.  I couldn't be more proud to be a Jayhawk.  I cannot wait to watch the two most winning schools in college basketball play each other tomorrow night!  Rock Chalk!!!

Good Reads

Believe it or not, summer is right around the corner, which means reading for enjoyment season for this teacher!    I have started jotting down books I'd like to read this summer and on the Honeymoon!  (Beach reading is the best!)  Here are a few on my to-read list.

     I love Sophie Kinsella's light, fun books.  This is her latest one.

I have yet to read the last of the Millennium trilogy…   Which by the way, who saw the movie The Girl With the Drago Tattoo?  Rob and I both really enjoyed it!  So intense, but a great adaptation of the book!

I need more ideas for my summer/honeymoon reading list!  Any suggestions???

Hawaiian Honeymoon Must-Haves

     I have to apologize for being the world's worst blogger.  The fact of the matter is, when I have downtime, I'd rather watch Friday Night Lights on Netflix than blog.  :)  I know I am a few years behind on this show, but it is literally the best show I've ever watched- I'm completely obsessed.
     Also, I'm so excited to announce our wedding is less than 4 months away!!!  I'm sure the next 4 months will fly by!  Another exciting piece of news is we just booked our honeymoon to Maui!!!  Rob was in charge of planning the honeymoon, and he did such an amazing job- I could not be more excited!  In honor of my anticipation for our wedding and honeymoon, I thought I'd do my Hawaiian honeymoon must-have list…

I'm really digging one-pieces this year, but it's hard to find the right fit. I think I may try the "festival green" ruched banded bandeau tank from J.Crew.

Tunics are great to wear as beach cover ups or with shorts or white pants. I especially like the Fanfare tunic.

I bought the Madi Ruffle Stripe suit from Victoria's Secret in blue legend and really like it. I generally think VS's suits have too much padding, but there are actually some good subtle suits this year.

The Sasha maxidress is flattering and perfect for lounging in MAUI. I'll pair it with a fun necklace or belt.

These are on my DREAM list… I LOVE these Kate Spade Camel Tortoise Cat Eye Sunglasses.

Recipe Pins

Thanks to Pinterest, I have two new delicious recipes that I absolutely love!  First of all, this is the BEST chicken salad I have ever had.  This chicken salad has granny smith apples, pecans, craisins, and some other delish stuff!  I will make this again and again!

image via Pinterest

The other recipe is Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Chicken.  Yummo!  Such a good flavorful chicken dish!  I love anything Ina makes!

image via Pinterest

What good Pinterest recipes have you found lately?  The next one I am dying to try is Monster Cookie Dough Dip!  Just looking at this picture makes me salivate… 

image via Pinterest

Little White Dress

Remember how I blogged a little while back about LulaKate for my bridesmaid dresses?!  (Which, by the way, came in, and my bridesmaids and I LOVE them!)  Well, I have more fun news regarding that wonderful brand!  Rob won a contest on Facebook from LulaKate... With prompting from his mom, Rob sent in our proposal story, which resulted in him winning one of their "little white dresses" for me!  Rob's and another proposal story won the contest.  (Click here to read the two winning submissions.)  Rob is a great writer (slightly cheesy at times) and he did a wonderful job sharing our story.  


Because I obviously can't share what my actual wedding dress looks like, I thought I'd share with you which little white dress I chose.  LK let me custom design pretty much any dress I wanted.  (Katey, at LulaKate in Charleston is simply wonderful!)  I decided to choose one of their bridesmaids dress styles and tweak it to make it the perfect rehearsal dinner dress!

The Margaret dress...

 In the Diamond Jacquard Fabric...

With a big bow on the back!

Thanks Rob and LulaKate for such a beautiful dress!  I cannot wait to see the finished product in a few months.  I'm so lucky to be marrying such an amazing guy and to wear such a gorgeous dress in less than 5 months!

Weekend Away

     We all deserve to treat ourself with a 3-day weekend from time to time, right?  Tomorrow my two roommates and I are going to Chicago to visit a gf!  Coincidentally, Rob is taking a 3-day weekend too, but to Phoenix with all his buddies… for his Bachelor Party!  Apparently there's some big golf tourney, so they decided to have his celebration a little early!  Cheers to weekends with the girls… and with the guys!!!

Shoes

Finding the perfect dress, that was the easy part.  Now I am on the hunt for the perfect wedding day shoes.  I did find one pair that I adore.  (Pictured below.)  I am in love with the navy and ivory stripes and the bow.  However, there is one minor issue… They are close to 4-inches tall.   I do not do tall heels.  I hardly do heels at all- I live in flats.

Requirements for my wedding day shoes:

Color: gold, ivory, or navy… maybe lemon yellow?

Height: No taller than 2 inches please

*Somewhat comfortable and not obscenely expensive

So, blogger world... Any ideas on some great shoes that maybe you wore for your wedding day or have seen that might fall into my criteria??? :)

Chick Flicks

I love a good chick flick.  Always have, always will.  And here are a few I am super excited to see in the near future...

The Lucky One

I am currently reading the book, The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks.  (Thanks for the recommendation, Ally!)  It has been probably eight years since I have read one of his books, but in high school, I was obsessed with all his sappy romance novels. (The Guardian, A Bend in the Road, & The Rescue were my faves!)  I am about 20% into this book, and I really like it!  Can't wait for the movie!

The Vow

Sometimes we all need a good cry, and this movie might be the perfect time for that.

Four that I Adore

Birchbox.  My older sister and her fam gave me such a creative and fun gift this year for Christmas, a 3-month subscription to Birchbox.  Birchbox is a cute box that comes each month with big samples of beauty products.  This was my box for December…  I cannot wait to get my January box!

The two December items I loved most were the lipgloss and dry shampoo!

Orange.  I have a feeling bright orange will be my go-to color this spring!  I already purchased these J.Crew Factory skimmer pants.  I can't wait to wear them with a chambray shirt or just a simple white tee in a few months.

Southwest Black Bean Salad/Dip.  This dip is so yummy and low-fat.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for a Pinterest Party I attended… (Yes, you make something from Pinterest and bring it- so fun!)  This dip was a hit, I highly recommend making it for your next get-together!

Umberto Blow Dry Lotion.  Thanks to Sarah I am now a fan of this amazing product.  Adding a little dab of this stuff to my hair after I towel dry it, adds shine and smoothness to my hair and seems to cut my blow-dry time a little shorter.  It also is a heat protectant.  Did I mention I got it for $10 at Target?!  Love it!  (Umberto  has tons of other products... I definitely plan on trying them eventually!)

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

Something you may not know about me is I love coffee table books, especially home decorating ones.  Back in October I blogged about Southern Living Style, and was so excited to get it for Christmas from my younger sister.  Thanks Court!  Another book I had been wanting was The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman, the editor of Domino mag (loved that magazine!!!)  Well, thanks to Rob, I now have this gorgeous book sitting on my bookshelf!  What a great gift!

"The point of decorating, as far as I can tell, is to

create the background for the best life you can have."

~From "The Perfectly Imperfect Home"

A Mrs. in 2012

image via

The big year is here… the year Rob and I are getting married!!!  Just a little over 6 months and I'll be a married lady! :)  (188 days to be exact!)


I haven't updated in a while about wedding plans, so I thought I'd fill you in!  We did in fact decide on the bridesmaids dresses- navy LulaKate dresses (with yellow heels with bows on them!)  My 'maids will definitely look fabulous!  We also booked our videographer, which I'm so excited about.  Another thing we did was cake tasting!  Rob really enjoyed caking tasting and for the first time, had some serious opinions. ha!  The last update I have is my dear fried, Sarah, recently designed our Save the Dates, which I love.  I will share them very soon!  So, there you have it, the latest with R & L's wedding plans.  AND just for fun, here are just a few of my "pins" from Pinterest that are inspiring me for the big day.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!