I know I'm going crazy now, blogging twice in one night after going silent for a few months but I couldn't go to bed without sharing that it is Houston's and my nine month wedding anniversary today!!
Oh, how time has flown already so quickly! We just got our full wedding video (on Christmas morning, and what an amazing Christmas gift that was!) from our wonderful videographers, Imprint Cinema and I just had to share our wedding video teaser with you!
Thank you Imprint Cinema for making such a beautiful teaser and feature film for us! Thank you to our Dream Team of vendors, which you'll see their fantastic work throughout the video, and the one and only Brandee Gaar of Blush by Brandee for your vision, and going above and beyond anything we ever imagined for our special day!
xoxo,
A
Spring Break Cruisin'
It is hard to believe that I haven't posted in a month! I guess life gets busy senior year and the whole "trying to find a job" (and a place to live) has temporarily distracted me...
But, I just got back from one of my greatest weeks of college and senior memories I've experienced. I had the privilege of going on my first cruise ever, with a group of friends for my senior spring break! We took the 7-day Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Sea ship to Cozumel, the Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica and it was so much fun and relaxing!
We even had a list of things we weren't allowed to talk about, including: school, graduating, homework, plans after graduation, jobs and basically anything that could potentially stress us out! So wonderful to just relax and shut our phones off for 7 days! (Although thankfully I could get a few texts and FaceTimes in with Houston and my family via wifi!)
I wanted to share a few pictures with you from this week and give some tips for traveling!
-1 straighter was plenty
-I don't need to bring my own beach towels, they have plenty on the ship (thankfully Juliann gave me a heads up on that one!)
-I would have brought another pair of cute shoes for dinners, probably wedges
-I also would have brought tennis shoes and workout clothes, with all of that constant eating I would have enjoyed a few workouts at the gym!
-The excursions can be pricey but really worth it! Just be sure to budget money for them when planning your trip!
Have you taken a cruise before? What would be some advice you would give to someone who is a new cruiser?
But, I just got back from one of my greatest weeks of college and senior memories I've experienced. I had the privilege of going on my first cruise ever, with a group of friends for my senior spring break! We took the 7-day Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Sea ship to Cozumel, the Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica and it was so much fun and relaxing!
We even had a list of things we weren't allowed to talk about, including: school, graduating, homework, plans after graduation, jobs and basically anything that could potentially stress us out! So wonderful to just relax and shut our phones off for 7 days! (Although thankfully I could get a few texts and FaceTimes in with Houston and my family via wifi!)
I wanted to share a few pictures with you from this week and give some tips for traveling!
The photo below was us girls before Formal Night in the dining room.
Our first stop on our cruise was to Cozumel, Mexico. We found this awesome excursion to Nachi Cocom, a private beach that cost us $50 for the entire day with a beach chair, umbrella, lunch and beverages included. I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Cozumel!
Here is one of my only group photos with all of us - Whitney, me, Kristin, Courtney, Maddie, Kate, Juliann, Jaime, Scott, Cam, Daniel and Austin
Adios Cozumel!
After dinner one night, missing Maddie!
Juliann, Daniel and I took an excursion in Grand Cayman to swim with stingrays, pet dolphins and a private Tiki Beach for $109. Definitely worth it for a once in a lifetime experience! They also took care of your transportation to and from the ship and the 3 different locations of activities.
I got to kiss Galileo, our dolphin!
Fancy night with my girls:)
Had such a fun week with this group! Thank you for the unforgettable memories and putting up with my 600 pictures I took:)
Being my first cruise, I didn't know what to expect but I loved it and thought it was such a fun way to travel! Royal Caribbean was a wonderful cruise line and the rooms were great and food was delicious!
A few things I forgot and would be sure to bring/not bring next time would be:
-We only needed 1 blow dryer for the 4 of us girls, I could have left mine at home-1 straighter was plenty
-I don't need to bring my own beach towels, they have plenty on the ship (thankfully Juliann gave me a heads up on that one!)
-I would have brought another pair of cute shoes for dinners, probably wedges
-I also would have brought tennis shoes and workout clothes, with all of that constant eating I would have enjoyed a few workouts at the gym!
-The excursions can be pricey but really worth it! Just be sure to budget money for them when planning your trip!
Have you taken a cruise before? What would be some advice you would give to someone who is a new cruiser?
Step Sing Results [A little delayed]
My apologies for the delay but life has been a little crazy the last two weeks with recovering from Step Sing and visiting Atlanta this past weekend for a PRSA Real World Conference and got to celebrate Valentine's Day with Houston! But I did not want to overlook Chi Omega's Step Sing show that I am so very proud to have been able to participate in! Our theme was "Deliver Us" and we were prisoners. Below are two different angles of the show we performed two weekends ago:
Samford provided a live stream of Saturday night's performance online, I like this one because you can see everyone's faces up close.
Samford provided a live stream of Saturday night's performance online, I like this one because you can see everyone's faces up close.
Here is a balcony view which lets you get to see all of our formations and the feel of the whole show.
A huge thank you to our amazing directors Grace Kimrey and Augusta Clark, as well as our choreographer Mary Claire Fuqua and music director Lauren Barry. Thank you for putting together such a remarkable show and unforgettable senior performance for me, personally.
Chi O brunch at Brio with Houston
My parents, Michael, Betsy, Houston and his parents joined me for the Chi O brunch! It was so special to all get to be together in Birmingham.
Oh Marie, and Destiny's Child was born!
Seniors
Best friends since 5th West: Me, Jenna, Lauren, Tatum & Jessie
Just getting in character:) A prisoner, 3 orphans and a bride!
It is certainly weird that this was my last Step Sing as an undergrad, hope I get to come back in the years to come! You can see our shows from the last 3 years here. Congratulations to the top 3 finishers: 1. Pi Kappa Phi, 2. Dudes-A-Plenty and 3. IGnite
I'll be back soon,
A
Fitness Update:
Been able to go to Pure Barre about 3 days a week, trying to add in some cardio this week too!
Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Valentine's Day means a lot of different things to different people - some people like to call it Single Awareness Day, some people in relationships don't even like the holiday, and others like myself are hopeless romantics and love holidays in general so single or taken I've always loved this day! (But I've gotta admit, having the most wonderful guy as your Valentine has made these past three so wonderful and I look forward to many more together!)
From growing up, Mom used to dye all our breakfast food pink! (I will totally do this as a wife and mom one day!) Complete with pink milk, cinnamon rolls with pink icing and strawberries! She has given me a love for holidays because she has always made them so special for us!
So here are a few Valentine's Day suggestions for you, for either a girl's night or date night!
-Girl's Night - One of my favorite blogs, The Everygirl posted these cute ideas for a fun girl's night Valentine party! Including ideas for decor, drinks, food and don't forget about dessert!
-Date Night - Last year for Valentine's Day, my parents had a progressive dinner around the house for Valentine's Day and I thought this was such a precious and fun idea! It was such a hit, they did it again this year! My parents have been married for 32 1/2 years and I admire them so much. They have such a biblically-based marriage filled with love, fun, and 3 (pretty cool, if you ask me!) kids. They had appetizers out on the dock, then dinner at the kitchen table, and my mom's famous chocolate cake, heart-shaped of course, at the high-top counter in the kitchen. So cute:) Dad brought mom beautiful flowers and they exchanged their Valentine's Day cards. Sounds like a pretty awesome date if you ask me!
Last year, Houston drove all the way from Atlanta on a Wednesday night and surprised me at my apartment by knocking on the door! I could NOT believe it! We picked up dinner and had a candlelight dinner together and just relaxed and watched a movie - one of our very favorite things to do!
And I just got a phone call that I have a "Valentine's present waiting for me at the apartment office!" Eeeek he's just the sweetest! Can't wait to see what it is:) My family, Houston, and his parents are all coming in town this weekend for Samford's infamous Step Sing weekend and I can't wait to all be together!
No matter your opinion of Valentine's Day, I hope it's special! Let me know if you have any other great ideas for this fun holiday!
xoxo,
A
Fitness Update:
Went to pure barre 3 times last week and 3 times this week so far! Woohoo! Just gotta start working on my food habits a little better!
Valentine's Day means a lot of different things to different people - some people like to call it Single Awareness Day, some people in relationships don't even like the holiday, and others like myself are hopeless romantics and love holidays in general so single or taken I've always loved this day! (But I've gotta admit, having the most wonderful guy as your Valentine has made these past three so wonderful and I look forward to many more together!)
From growing up, Mom used to dye all our breakfast food pink! (I will totally do this as a wife and mom one day!) Complete with pink milk, cinnamon rolls with pink icing and strawberries! She has given me a love for holidays because she has always made them so special for us!
Valentine's Day in the Boyd household circa 1996.
(You can see the pink milk in Betsy's cup!)
So here are a few Valentine's Day suggestions for you, for either a girl's night or date night!
-Girl's Night - One of my favorite blogs, The Everygirl posted these cute ideas for a fun girl's night Valentine party! Including ideas for decor, drinks, food and don't forget about dessert!
-Date Night - Last year for Valentine's Day, my parents had a progressive dinner around the house for Valentine's Day and I thought this was such a precious and fun idea! It was such a hit, they did it again this year! My parents have been married for 32 1/2 years and I admire them so much. They have such a biblically-based marriage filled with love, fun, and 3 (pretty cool, if you ask me!) kids. They had appetizers out on the dock, then dinner at the kitchen table, and my mom's famous chocolate cake, heart-shaped of course, at the high-top counter in the kitchen. So cute:) Dad brought mom beautiful flowers and they exchanged their Valentine's Day cards. Sounds like a pretty awesome date if you ask me!
Last year, Houston drove all the way from Atlanta on a Wednesday night and surprised me at my apartment by knocking on the door! I could NOT believe it! We picked up dinner and had a candlelight dinner together and just relaxed and watched a movie - one of our very favorite things to do!
Here are some of my favorite pictures of Houston and I these past 2 1/2 years! The bottom, center one is from when he surprised me last year on Valentine's Day! You can still tell my eyes are puffy from tears of joy and surprise!!
And I just got a phone call that I have a "Valentine's present waiting for me at the apartment office!" Eeeek he's just the sweetest! Can't wait to see what it is:) My family, Houston, and his parents are all coming in town this weekend for Samford's infamous Step Sing weekend and I can't wait to all be together!
No matter your opinion of Valentine's Day, I hope it's special! Let me know if you have any other great ideas for this fun holiday!
xoxo,
A
Fitness Update:
Went to pure barre 3 times last week and 3 times this week so far! Woohoo! Just gotta start working on my food habits a little better!
Trust.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7
I'm sitting on the couch and just read today's devotional in one of my favorite devotional books Jesus Calling and came across this verse.
I love that part "my heart trusts in Him," like most college seniors I am constantly thinking about what will I be doing in this next stage of life? (You know the one after I graduate...) Thankfully I've got a city nailed down, Atlanta, which I am SO excited about because it means I can be closer to Houston (EEEK!), but I can't stop thinking about finding a job.
I've spent the last few months working on my resume on and off and having people look it over for me, and make more corrections, and I've finally started sending it to a few people the past week or two which is SO EXCITING to me, but also just makes me anxious. What happens now? Will anyone ever call me for an interview? Will I ever find a job?
And I've realized that this is the devil creating all these anxious thoughts in my head. Worry and anxiousness is something I've struggled with, especially in college. I'm such a planner and I like to have my days scheduled and with a To Do list carefully in my planner. So as you would imagine, graduating in May is a little terrifying for me to think about since I'm not sure where I'll be working or living yet... but I'm learning to trust God in everything and know He has it figured out - and it just isn't my time to find out what that is quite yet.
For those of you that worry like I do, here are a few other great verses from the devotional today.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15
I think this is something I will have to continue to work on - but for now I'm trying my best to enjoy my last semester and being proactive to find a job, while not letting it stress me out and trusting God to lead to me to where He wants me to be after college (yeah, that sounds like a good plan!)
-A
Went to pure barre 3 times this week so far and attempting to get to the gym sometime today for some cardio, but not sure if that'll happen with all the reading I have for homework and Step Sing practice. And super excited because last night was my first pure barre class I actually enjoyed because I can already tell I'm getting stronger and was able to do a lot more of the exercises! Woohoo:)
Gettin' Ready for Spring Break!
I know what you're thinking... 2 posts in 1 day?? Don't worry this probably won't happen very often.
I was just talking to Houston earlier today and told him that I really wanted to be more dedicated to healthier eating habits and workouts this semester. I want to have a healthier lifestyle and be more comfortable in my skin. He is amazing and tells me everyday that I am beautiful and is always so incredibly encouraging in my efforts to be healthy (when I try), but I am not thrilled with how I look and he is the BEST person to help me because he is so knowledgeable about health and fitness! So he told me that if I wanted him to, he would help me come up with a plan for my diet and fitness schedule! If you can't tell... I'm one very lucky gal:)
So after that great talk with Houston, my sweet friend Jaime had some of us girls over tonight to catch up now that we are all back in town (we start our final semester of college this Monday! Where has the time gone??) We were talking about how we all want to be in good shape for our Spring Break cruise, and decided we are all going to join our local Pure Barre, at least until Spring Break in March!!
Above is a video to help explain what a PB class looks like.
I am so excited because I love PB! It's so much fun and I love the workout, and I am also much more likely to go if I have a friend with me (social butterfly, right here).
PB really helps me to tone up, but I get faster results for my stomach if I'm running. So what I've decided to do is do my cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I don't have class on TTh this semester - hallelujah!) and then I can go to PB classes with my girlfriends whenever they're free!
Now I'm posting about this so I can have a little more accountability. I'm not sure how many people actually read this (besides my sweet family and supportive friends), but this way I feel like I'm posting it out there for the world to see and I (hopefully) will be more diligent with my healthy living!
We (Juliann, Jaime, Courtney, Kristin and myself) are going to start our memberships this weekend at PB and I am so excited to get back! I haven't been in "Pure Barre shape," as I like to call it, in awhile so it might take me a few weeks! But here we go:)
Last thing --- Have y'all heard of this phone app called GroupMe?? I'm obsessed. My friends just showed it to me tonight and it operates how text messaging should on the iPhone (sorry Apple)! It's similar to WhatsApp if you've had that, but you can turn on a setting where you can receive them as text messages if you want, and you can also turn notifications off and/or take yourself out of the group message if you want to stop getting buzzed every 5 seconds... GENIUS! I love group texting, but sometimes it can drive me crazy if I'm out of town and can't hang out with my friends trying to make plans in the group text or my family loves to group message but sometimes I'm in the middle of things and can't respond, so this gives you the option to turn on the notifications! A highly recommend it!
Okay, sleep time! I have a business meeting in the morning! Eek:) I'll keep you posted on my newest entrepreneurship idea as it evolves!
-A
Fitness Update:
Juliann and I went to the gym at school today and I did:
10 minutes on the elliptical
10 mins sprint/walking on the treadmill
4 planks 30 seconds each
each side plank 30 seconds each
2 sets of 10 squats
2 sets of 10 lunges
3 sets of 30 rep "back dancing" (as PB calls it)
and 20 reps captain's chair leg raises
I was just talking to Houston earlier today and told him that I really wanted to be more dedicated to healthier eating habits and workouts this semester. I want to have a healthier lifestyle and be more comfortable in my skin. He is amazing and tells me everyday that I am beautiful and is always so incredibly encouraging in my efforts to be healthy (when I try), but I am not thrilled with how I look and he is the BEST person to help me because he is so knowledgeable about health and fitness! So he told me that if I wanted him to, he would help me come up with a plan for my diet and fitness schedule! If you can't tell... I'm one very lucky gal:)
So after that great talk with Houston, my sweet friend Jaime had some of us girls over tonight to catch up now that we are all back in town (we start our final semester of college this Monday! Where has the time gone??) We were talking about how we all want to be in good shape for our Spring Break cruise, and decided we are all going to join our local Pure Barre, at least until Spring Break in March!!
Above is a video to help explain what a PB class looks like.
I am so excited because I love PB! It's so much fun and I love the workout, and I am also much more likely to go if I have a friend with me (social butterfly, right here).
PB really helps me to tone up, but I get faster results for my stomach if I'm running. So what I've decided to do is do my cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I don't have class on TTh this semester - hallelujah!) and then I can go to PB classes with my girlfriends whenever they're free!
Now I'm posting about this so I can have a little more accountability. I'm not sure how many people actually read this (besides my sweet family and supportive friends), but this way I feel like I'm posting it out there for the world to see and I (hopefully) will be more diligent with my healthy living!
We (Juliann, Jaime, Courtney, Kristin and myself) are going to start our memberships this weekend at PB and I am so excited to get back! I haven't been in "Pure Barre shape," as I like to call it, in awhile so it might take me a few weeks! But here we go:)
Last thing --- Have y'all heard of this phone app called GroupMe?? I'm obsessed. My friends just showed it to me tonight and it operates how text messaging should on the iPhone (sorry Apple)! It's similar to WhatsApp if you've had that, but you can turn on a setting where you can receive them as text messages if you want, and you can also turn notifications off and/or take yourself out of the group message if you want to stop getting buzzed every 5 seconds... GENIUS! I love group texting, but sometimes it can drive me crazy if I'm out of town and can't hang out with my friends trying to make plans in the group text or my family loves to group message but sometimes I'm in the middle of things and can't respond, so this gives you the option to turn on the notifications! A highly recommend it!
Okay, sleep time! I have a business meeting in the morning! Eek:) I'll keep you posted on my newest entrepreneurship idea as it evolves!
-A
Fitness Update:
Juliann and I went to the gym at school today and I did:
10 minutes on the elliptical
10 mins sprint/walking on the treadmill
4 planks 30 seconds each
each side plank 30 seconds each
2 sets of 10 squats
2 sets of 10 lunges
3 sets of 30 rep "back dancing" (as PB calls it)
and 20 reps captain's chair leg raises
My Love Languages
So I thought I would help my readers get to know me
a little bit by listing just a few of the many things and people I love:
I LOVE...
my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ
my parents, and siblings Betsy and Michael
my boyfriend, Houston
my incredible friends God has blessed me with
throughout my 21 years
creating things - whether it is my newest
entrepreneurial idea, crafts or food, I love to create!
the sunshine (with that also comes laying out)
long talks with my best friend and roommate,
Juliann and discussing our newest life plans
the beach and the lake (still undecided as to which
I prefer)
traveling (I hope to go abroad again soon!!)
watching college football
Paris
polka dots
Lilly Pulitzer
sparklers
walks on the beach
cooking & baking
Penguins, only second to my favorite animal...
Dogs!
tomato and mozzarella salads
green smoothies - my Aunt Lori just got me hooked!
I'll write you the recipe soon!
New York City
@CuteEmergency - if you don't follow them on
Twitter, you need to! It can brighten ANY day!
Taylor Swift's music (my INCREDIBLE boyfriend is
taking me to see her in ATL in April!!!! Best boyfriend ever... YES!)
my mom's chocolate cake
the color yellow
driving with the windows down and blaring music
(preferably with friends in the car with me)
monograms
Pintrest
seersucker
seersucker
J.Crew
Atlanta (my future home --- EEEK!)
What are some of your favorite things?? Your
favorite city? Food? Place to shop? Or thing to do?
And if you like any of these things too and want me
to elaborate, let me know and I can dedicate a post to some of the things
listed above!
xoxo,
A
Snow Day!!
When I woke up this morning, I had the lovely surprise of SNOW falling outside my window! (Pretty exciting for a Florida girl!) I had heard rumor that there might be snow today, but the weatherman lied to me a few times last year so I didn't want to get my hopes up.
I was so excited and began taking pictures and videos and sending them to my boyfriend, Houston, and my family so I could have some people to share in my excitement (my roommate, Juliann, is home for a few days so I had the apartment all to myself).
I quickly made a bagel and my coffee and sat down on the floor to look in amazement at the snow falling out the window of our porch. Rare moments like these allow me to wonder in amazement at God's beautiful creation and how He dreamed this all up for us to enjoy. Here are a few pictures from my lonely, but still very exciting snow day!
Bagel, coffee, snow and my quiet time
What is this on my windshield??
I had to run an errand up to school and took a selfie to text around:) I was
obviously very exciting about the snow!
The "Mr. Beeson" statue at school is a famous landmark - captured him bearing the cold!
A little snow stuck on the ground outside my apartment.
The trees were covered after it snowed several hours, unfortunately it has stopped and
now all of the snow is gone. Hopefully we can get some more before winter
is over. My feelings are... if it's going to be this cold, it might
as well snow!
Have any of you had a snow day yet? What are some of your favorite activities to do in the snow?? I'm still a newbie at this stuff!
My parents flew in town tonight and my brother and I took them to dinner at a yummy place called Five in Lakeview area. They only serve 5 appetizers, 5 entrées, 5 drink specials, 5 white wines and 5 red wines... you get the picture. I had only been once before when they first opened and it had been very packed and loud, so I enjoyed it much more tonight when it was a smaller crowd and the food was
AH-mazing (as my sister, Betsy likes to say!) Can't wait to go back! You've gotta get the white chocolate bread pudding for dessert - it's their only dessert because no one would order the other 4, so you know it's good!
Goodnight everyone:)
-A
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