I haven't done this since January

Before

After

Much improved, no?

Hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend! I'll be at my college Homecoming, celebrating with these two gorgeous girls, among others.

Also, thank you for your kind words on my post on Monday. My week has greatly improved since then. I appreciate your understanding of my "off" week!

I'll be back next week with pictures of what is sure to be an incredibly fun weekend!

Happy October! Happy Weekend!

Southern Sirens: Pass the Sass!

I'm so excited today I can't hardly stand it! The Southern Sirens are officially making our debut!

Grab the button and pass the sass!





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Please head on over and check it out. You're going to love it!! While you're there, click to follow!

A colorful vaycay

Tomorrow morning I'm hopping on a charter bus with 26 high schoolers, six other adults and one bus driver. And we're going to take this state by storm:

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(Doesn't that just make you hungry? Yumm!)

It's choir tour time, and this will be my first year chaperoning the trip. I went all 4 years of high school--and no, I can't sing a lick, but the choir was much bigger back then, and I could blend in no problem--and it was always one of my favorite parts of summer. My senior year we took Texas by storm, so I know it will be a lot fun to go back!

We'll visit Dallas, Georgetown, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Houston. We'll also stop in Memphis and Mobile on either end of the trip. The youth choir will sing in rescue missions, nursing homes, and downtown ministries in various cities. They'll get the chance to serve meals and to minister to folks who are, for one reason or another, in these various situations. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do in the next week!

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And, even though it's been a little quiet around here lately, I at least had the forethought to ask three lovely ladies if they would stop by next week to keep you all company, and they graciously accepted! It will be a week of colorful vacation, and if you don't already know the three girls who will be hanging out here, I just know it will be love at first sight! They'll be sharing their favorite colors with you, and it's sure to be a fun week!

I'll start things off on Monday morning, then turn it over to my gracious guest-posters for the rest of the week! I Want One! Friday will go on as planned.

Have a great weekend, and get excited for a colorful vaycay next week!

She's Here!!

Sorry I've been MIA this week. This little gem joined our family on Tuesday morning at 5:45 a.m. Central time. Hannah Grace weighs 6 pounds 1.5 ounces and is 16 inches long. She's a petite little thing that joined us 4 weeks early, but she's healthy and happy! Momma's doing well, too.

Try not to die of the cuteness!

{all photos by me, except for that one I'm in. my mom took that one.}

More baby shower goodness

On Saturday, one of my BFFs, Melissa and her mom (one of my mom's BFFs) hosted a baby shower for my sister. Yes, my sister is incredibly loved and this baby will be ridiculously spoiled, as this was her FOURTH baby shower! It was so much fun! Please enjoy the pictures and commentary.

Mom made Erin put a name tag on the baby. It was pretty cute :)

Hannah's nursery will be all about animals, and Melissa found the cutest decorations on this website.

She took one of the plates to the Kroger bakery, and they made this cake. It was adorable AND delicious!

 For favors, Melissa found a template to make baby booties out of scrapbook paper. She, her mom and her grandmother spent quite a bit of time Easter weekend crafting these cuties. They filled them with Sour Patch Kids, one of Erin's favorite candies. 

 Some of the guests (top) and my Mom's "Ya-Yas" and Erin (bottom). All of these ladies graduated from high school together! My mom is the one on the far right that is standing up.

Gifts! My aunt brought the one in the owl wrapping paper. The paper came from Borders and was even sparkly! This totally screamed "JULIE!" to me.

Speaking of Julie, she couldn't come to the shower, but she sent the CUTEST gift. It started with the adorable envelope she mailed it in! 

Erin's reaction when she saw the gift. You see, it's SO JULIE, that she couldn't help but laugh. 

Yup, it's a little baby Polo outfit and Laura Ashley shoes. Hannah is officially better dressed than I am! SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!!

And, of course, the obligatory "wrap momma-to-be in toilet paper" shot. It took 11 sheets to go around her belly, but she's probably up to 12 or 13 today--She's growing A LOT!

Words cannot express...

...how much I love the new Vera Bradley Patterns...

Especially Makes Me Blush....

And Night and Day? SWOON.

Can I have one of each?

OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!!!!!

Ok, so all that venting about my loud neighbor is SO not bothering me any more...you see, sweet Hilary just posted that I won the camera strap cozy!!!!

This adorable camera strap cover from HolyMacro is headed my way!

My hubby is working overnight tonight (that's what happens when you marry a youth pastor!), so I was just laying on my couch, watching a rerun of last night's Project Runway and reading the first Harry Potter book (yes, I'm 24. yes, this will be the 5th time I've read it, at least.) when I got a text from real life (and blogger) BFF Julie. She told me I'd won! I don't think I've ever moved so fast! I shot up, grabbed my laptop and grinned from ear to ear! I told Julie that maybe I'm a little too excited about winning this giveaway, but, really, I just think these strap covers are so STINKIN' cute! It makes me want to stalk the new camera I am getting even more passionately to find out when it's in stock! (For some reason, I just don't see my husband getting excited about putting this strap on his DSLR...)

Anyway, enough blabbering from me, THANK YOU HILARY! I'll be sure to post pictures of the camera strap in action once I receive it!

Happy Friday, indeed!

xoxo,

Auntie Ash to-be

This is my sister.

This is my brother-in-law.

They're having one of these.

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And yes, it is a GIRL! 

You can expect to see my own photos of stuff like this, to come.

 

 

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I recently learned how to crochet and "Little Miss T" (or "Misty," as my mom's coworkers are calling her!) is the perfect excuse to perfect my skills. (Had to throw in a little love for the craziness that is the English language. If you didn't already know, I'm a word-nerd...)

Any tips for me as a first-time aunt? And do you pronounce it "Ant" or "Ont"?