She's Feelin' 21

My amazing, kindhearted, hilarious, beautiful little sister turned 21 today! TWENTY ONE. How on earth does that even happen? She's supposed to still be my little baby sister. In honor of this amazing day, I'm writing 21 things I love/just need to brag about Lindsey. Be sure to leave her some birthday love at the end! :)

1. She's always generous. When my laptop got stolen she immediately ran downstairs to grab hers to let me use. She didn't spend a second thinking about herself. She always manages to buy me little presents and surprises. She is always thinking of others!

2. She can forgive quicker than anyone I know. She always teaches me to forgive others that have wronged us. She has a really hard time holding a grudge.

3. She always sees the good in people. Lindsey is constantly building people up. She always knows how to spin the circumstance to see the other person's side, and always helps me to see past others' flaws.

4. She has the best sense of humor! Linds can ALWAYS make me laugh. She's witty, sarcastic, and can quote old movies with the best of them.

5. She is organized. I love this about her. Seriously. My little sister is definitely blessed in the ways of organization (she gets that from our Momma!).

6. She has a heart for Jesus. She loves Jesus with her whole heart. I love watching her strive to serve him and to grow closer to him.

7. She is incredibly smart. I'm talking currently has a 4.0 smart. It's kind of ridiculous, really.

8. She has a gorgeous sense of style. She always looks so pulled together and pretty. She is one of those people who is 100% pure gorgeousness and doesn't even realize it.

9. She doesn't waste her time dating around. She doesn't date just to date. If she doesn't like a guy with her whole heart, she doesn't lead them on. She has such an honest heart.

10. She knows when to put me in my place. The kid isn't afraid to stand up to me. She isn't ever going to hold back when she knows I need to hear something. I'm thankful for that.

11. She's the little sister, but somehow ended up being my role model. How did she manage to spin that? I look up to her in so many things!

12. She loves Disney just as much as I do.

13. She would always let me be the princess... or maybe I just made her let me? When we were little we'd always make believe. Somehow I always talked her into letting me be Ariel and she got to be flounder. Poor kid.

14. She lets me steal her clothes.

15. She is my best friend. They always say a sister is your first best friend, and that's definitely true for us.

16. She loves serving others. She works at a camp, so definitely gets to use this talent a lot.

17. She goes where God leads her to go. In fact, that kiddo is moving back to camp tomorrow. I have a hard time with her being so far away. It's hard not to be able to see her as often. I'm thankful that she doesn't strive to make me happy, though. She is always following whatever path God lays out for her.

18. She has an incredible singing voice. It literally stops me in my tracks every time I hear her sing. That kid is so talented!

19. She knows when to listen and when to give advice. It's hard to find people that will listen so willingly!

20. She always reminds me to update my blog. If I get behind, I can assure you a text or phone call will be coming my way from my little sister. Ha!

21. She's just plain lovable. She takes a little time to get to know, but she is so, so worth it. I honestly feel for those who haven't been able to get to know her, because she is such a blessing in my life. 



I love you, Lindsey! Thank you for being you. God gave me the ultimate gift when he gave me you as a little sister!

A Little Throwback

Here's a little bit of old school for ya,That goes a little something like this...

 I've always tried to be the flyest kid on the block... 

The popular one with the rising stock

So that's when I had this bright ideaThrow the party of the monthNo, the party of the year

... I'm just going to quit quoting Aaron Carter while I'm ahead. But really. What's a real throwback Thursday without that? It doesn't exist, I tell you. Does. Not. Exist. 

I hope you all have a fabulous Thursday. Or as Aaron would say "Beep Beep! Have a good time!" 

Oh, Aaron. 

WILW

Here's a few of the things I'm loving this Wednesday!

This adorable clutch- gold glitter and chevron? Perfection.
These awesome leopard print Sperrys.
Coffee Koozies!
Anchor shorts- I mean... my blog name has anchors in it. Clearly I need these.
The awesome striped clutch. That pink bow is just darling!
The quatrefoil navy button down from Target. How cute would this be for layering?
Monogrammed bows from Shop Crystal Faye. She makes the cutest bows!


Happy Wednesday! 

The Spring Wish List

Hello, Spring! (Hello, Anna!) Spring is oh, so beautiful. I've been out running (who am I kidding... maybe a fast walk at best) with my husband and taking in this beautiful sunshine. Spring makes me want pretty things (uh oh, wallet.)  So, that's why I've decided to ramble on and on about some of the pretty things I'm dying to get my freshly painted fingernails on. Here we gooooo!

1. iPad. Duh. Everyone seems to have one and I'm just sitting here like oh, hey... don't mind me typing on my old fashioned computer device. Don't mind me at all. But, in all seriousness, I'm totally waiting until the next model. Mostly because apple stuff gets replaced with a new model every other week and I want to stay on top of things.

2. Tory Burch shoes. Let's just get one thing straight. I'm pretty sure the most I've ever spent on shoes was $50... and that was for my wedding shoes. Apparently I need to step up my game. Those Tory Burch flats are just way too cute. I'm hoping that I will stumble upon a pair at Nordstrom Rack one of these days.

3. Michael Kors bag. I am in dire need of a structured bag. And by dire, I mean I WANT ONE. They are adorable! My goal is to buy a nice purse sometime this year. I've only owned Target purses in the past, and let's be honest... they don't hold up very long. I want an investment piece.

4. A hot pink cruiser bike! My bike broke. Literally. The handle bars pretty much are falling off. It's unfortunate (not really that unfortunate because I've had that same bike since I was 10 and really was praying for it to fall apart so I could get a pretty big girl one.)

5. Mint Candy Apple by Essie. This shade is just adorable. I love this color for spring!

6. Raspberry Kitchenaid. Let's just be honest here... this thing belongs in my life. I'm hoping after stalking my blog, my (super handsome, generous, kind, loving, good looking... are you getting this, honey?) husband will get the hint and buy it for me. It would look awesome in my kitchen!

What are you wishing for this spring?

A Little Throwback

Pretty sure I had that cute baby thing down to a T. My Mom's (super tiny) frames and my Dad's creeper stash crack me up every time I see this! 

MOM WHY? But really... these outfits might haunt me my entire life. Just kidding. I love them. Especially the hot bow tie... and the... nevermind. It's hard to find redeeming factors in this one. 

That leotard. It just brings out the 90's in me. 

SO it's finally Thursday! Which means tomorrow is Friday. So, I shall celebrate. It's getting up to a whopping 77 degrees in the mitten today. Mind you, we are under a tornado watch and some crazy thunderstorms have been happening, but I'll take what we can get. Who cares about tornados when I can take off my 10 layers of grandma sweaters? Not me. 

On a side note of nasty, the worms were out this morning in full force. Worms remind me of snakes aka I have a mini heart attack every time I see them. What I looked like walking to the car this morning looked like most people's vision of walking through a mine field. It's whatever. 

Today has been a little off for me. Have you ever had one of those dreams that felt so real that you wake up moody? Oh, my sweet husband was in for a great treat this morning when I woke up giving him angry looks. I watched a TV episode last night that had a cheating spouse, so of course my nightmares decided that would be the topic of the night. I had terrible dreams of catching my hubby with a different girl. Ummm. No thank you. Poor guy. He probably didn't expect the attitude this morning! ;) 

Have a fabulous Thursday, everyone! Let's just pray I don't pull a wizard of oz and get swept away by a tornado today! But really, even if I do at least the weather is nice. 

xoxo

Getting to Know You- Part Deux

My last getting to know you post was quite popular! I'm glad you guys can deal with my sassy-pants and could relate to me in all my creeper glory. I figured we could start this post off with an embarassing picture I was trying hard to save for throwback Thursday, but I just... can't... wait. I went to Bible college. I decided cheerleading would be fun. I was given this lovely frock to wear. No, your eyes are not fooling you. That is a one of a kind pair of culottes right there. Hot.

1. I get super bad anxiety in cars. It drives my husband crazy! Every time I don't think we aren't slowing down fast enough I let out a dramatic gasp and grab the door. Oh, yes- I'm that person. I'm a joy to drive with. Not to mention my constant string of comments. "Hey, babe... don't you think we should slow down? The speed limit is 55 here. You're going 57." I mean, we could possibly get a ticket...or die. One of the two. No big deal.

2. We're not planning on having a baby anytime soon, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I've stocked up on baby clothes. But really, no one's going to stop me from buying a super poofy baby dress when it's in the Target clearance section for $2. My future self will thank me, I'm sure. Now let's just hope I have a girl at some point. ;)

3. Back in my cheerleading camp days, they had a popular phrase: Fake it till' you make it. That phrase comes in handy every single day of my life. Pretty sure I have no idea what I'm doing 99% of the time in my job or life. That's cool, though. Just put a smile on that face and push through.

4. I am a full out Disney obsessed nerd. Like I'm talking let's walk through Disney World and I'll tell you the complete history of every attraction nerd. I follow the building permits to see their upcoming attractions. Try bringing that subject up on a first date. Haawwwkward.

5. I was in denial about my shoe size up until 10th grade. For some reason in those years it was cool to wear a size 8.5 like all the other girls (what???) so naturally I had to follow suit. I ended up with a whole closet of clown-looking shoes to put on my 6.5 feet. Speaking of that, my shoe size is inbetween a 6.5 and a 7. Most awkward feet ever. Why am I telling you this? I have no idea. Just sympathize with me for a second when I see a beautiful pair of pumps that are too small in a 6.5 and falling off in a 7. Sweet.

6. I found my livejournal the other day (good heavens.) I'm just going to let you read a little excerpt of that little gem: "Lol people think i look like Hilary Duff or Kaley Couco lol haha i dont think i do but a lot of people say it and itz sorta funny" Really, Anna? No one has ever, ever, ever even once related you to either one of those people in your life. And one of my personal favorites: "OMG i havent posted in this thing in like forever! WOW! Well 2day i went to dance class at Genesys with Sasha...It was funny. I was crazy through the whole thing. Today i have to go to my cousin Malindas Bday party (*happy 4th hunny!*) lol! She is absolutly adorable! Well newayz im still single haha ... gee what else is new. lol Well SSS but i g2g get ready and shower! LYL!!!!! BYEE!!!!!!!" Did I really just point out the inevitable fact that I was still single? I was 13. It's a shame they closed "greater journal" down as I remember switching to that to write the majority of my entries. After all, that was the mature thing to do.

7. I've been a dancer since I was 4. I will be performing in my home studios production of Tangled in a few months. The best part about being a ballerina for 19+ years? I still can't dance anything other than ballet to save my life. Fake it till ya' make it. I told you that saying would come in handy!

8. I'm a crier. You confront me? I cry. Talk about embarrassing. I got pulled over once for a tail light being out. A. Tail. Light. The officer came to my window and immediately the tears started welling up. So, so awkward.

9. I really want twins someday. Or triplets. I've officially lost my mind.

10. The only designer bag I've ever owned is Vera Bradley. I do have two coach wallets I was given as gifts, though! Someday I'll own a fancy, pretty bag.



 Happy Monday, loves!

That one time I went on vacation and fell off the planet

Guess who's back? Woah, woah, WOAH. It's been a while! I just got back from the most fabulous vacation to South Carolina. Seriously... so. much. fun.

Greenville

We traveled with my hubby's best friend Ben and his wife Brittany. Ben, Britt, and Joe all went to school together growing up. We got married within 2 weeks of each other, and Ben was Joe's best man. We ended up moving to the same city together where Joe and Britt teach at the same school! It's been nice to have such good friends in this area. We left around 9pm from Michigan to head to Greenville, SC where we all went to college. Driving through the night was not nearly as difficult as I would have thought. We arrived in Greenville around 9am Saturday morning. We split up that day so we could spend all day Saturday with my hubby's sister. It was so good to see her! We went on a super long hike through the town, and had such a blast.

She took us to some great local restaurants while we were there. Naturally we stopped at chick fil a! That place is SO yummy! Just a mere 30 hours in that town left me wishing I lived there again. I so miss the South! It was neat looking around Lydia's church on Sunday and seeing familiar faces and friends.

Myrtle Beach

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Myrtle Beach. We got there pretty late, so we checked into our hotel, went out to dinner, and walked along the beach. We were up bright and early the next morning, and we spent all morning and early afternoon pool/ocean side.

It was perfect outside. Every day was around 80 degrees! Definitely a nice change from the mitten state.

A sweet lady offered to take pictures of our group. Definitely getting a few of these framed!

I think 90% of our time on the beach was spent watching the boys play football. Precious.

The most hilarious part of our vacation? Joe is terrified of heights. Like straight up paralyzed when he looks off a balcony. Naturally, we were given a room on the 11th floor. SO FUNNY. It literally took 10 minutes of coaxing just to get him out there for the picture! Somehow we even convinced him to get on the skywheel. He was not impressed. ;) 

The highlight of the trip for me was Ripley's Aquarium. We weren't sure about the price, but it ended up being such a great time. The jellyfish were absolutely fascinating! 

We got to pet stingrays! Literally the coolest thing ever. They were a lot more slimy than I expected, and would lift their fins like a high five every time they came by. 

Posing with the creepy diver man. 

We walked along the boardwalk at night and took a million different pictures. 

Joe fist pumped this little guy and a big crowd of spring breaker girls squealed and giggled while watching. Thanks, ladies for making my husbands ego grow 10 million times that day. Ha! 

Yet another picture of that ferris wheel! 

Brittany has the most gorgeous hair ever! She has perfect ringlet curls. Very jealous! :) 

The trip was such an incredible time. We didn't want to leave! Very thankful for this group. Thank you for your patience while I was gone!

xoxo