A little vacation in Louisiana.

{Spanish moss at the St. Francisville Inn}

This past week, I went down to St. Francisville, Louisiana with Richard, which is where he will be working for the next two weeks. I'll be honest; I've never really been a fan of Louisiana. I'm not big on humidity, swamps, alligators, or land so flat that you can see for miles (gotta have my mountains in sight!). But this trip changed my mind a teeny, tiny bit. I'm definitely not considering relocating, but I kind of fell in love with the historical homes, Spanish moss, and soul food (fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, oh my). Plus, I'm all about a change of scenery from time to time.

{This is what happens on a Friday night in St. Francisville. In a town with 1,500 people, no Walmart, and only three restaurants, you kind of have to make your own fun.}

{We passed by this cute church on an evening walk through downtown Jackson.}

{My love at the Magnolia Cafe. We loved their crawfish salad and Mag special sandwich.}

{And guess what we did on Saturday night! Yep.}

{Beautiful Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge just before dusk.}

{That place is huuuuge.}

{Downtown Baton Rouge is lovely.}

{Byeee, Baton Rouge. Byeee, Richard.}

Is it really only Monday? It must be at least Thursday, right?

Today I am:

*thankful for hot tea with lemon and honey, Nyquil/Dayquil, Robitussin, Vick's Vapor Rub Patches (have you seen those? brilliant!), warm blankets. It's my third time being sick in a month, and I've got a serious smoker's cough (and I don't smoke).
*thankful for my love. This has been one bad month, and I'm not certain that I would still be sane without his love, support, and kind words.
*thankful that my love doesn't make fun of me for saying funny things in my sleep.
*thankful for soup, sweet tea (always), Wendy's Frosties, Momma's Mexican cornbread.
*thankful for the new Taylor Swift cd. Yes, I'm one of those people.
*thankful for the movie Elf. Sophomore year, I watched it every single day for about a month. While getting ready for school in the morning, after school, late at night, middle of the night...- oh yeah!
*thankful for my family. All of them. Momma, David, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. They are hilarious, supportive, honest, wise, caring, selfless, beautiful, and I love them very much.
*thankful for health insurance and Obamacare (on my parents' insurance until I'm 26? Thank you, sir).
*thankful for answered prayers. Nothing is more important or more amazing than that.

flowers from my dear

I kind of think gerber daisies are the loveliest things on this earth.

Thank you, darling. You're my favorite.

*And yes, that is a hamburger phone. It is maybe one of my most prized possessions.

a love letter

Dear Lover,

I love your back rubs. back scratches. back massages. and foot massages, too.
I love it when you wear that blue v-neck shirt I got for you. It is very sexy.
I love your bed time prayers and words.
I love that you never, ever complain about always being the big spoon.
I love your silly songs, and I love that you love my silly songs, too.
I love it when you play with my hair while I'm driving.
I love it when you load the dishwasher/take out the trash.
I love how much you love my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, etc.
I love how much they love you, too.
I love how excited you get about cooking on the grill.
I love that you know how to fix everything.
I love that you don't mind having tea parties with me.
I love that you talk British sometimes.
I love your gigantic shoe collection, even though they're huge (size 15) & take up too much space.
I love how you tell me that I'm a good singer, even when I try to sound bad.
I love that you are always up for a spontaneous road trip.
I love that you are big and manly and tall and tough and strong.

I love your faith. I love your sweet spirit. I love your weirdness.
I love your kisses. I love your face. I love your hands.

And really, Lover, I just love you.

my funny valentine

i love love. all kinds of it!
but i won't lie, i'm not too fond of valentine's day.
i'm all for continuously displaying affection 365 days a year rather than obnoxiously exploiting it on february 14th with over the top jewelry gifts, giant teddy bears, chocolate hearts, and especially roses.

my love and i are having a tiny celebration with my sisters, brother, and cousins. tonight we're going black-light bowling and to play laser tag.

richard DID buy me my dream yellow coat, though, and i'd love to get some pretty flowers. no roses though! seriously, no roses.

{photo via weheartit}

sunset point

I know I'm slacking on the summer posts,

but I promise they'll be up eventually.

This summer was too good not to share!

But first...

Yesterday Richard and I drove up to Mount Nebo,

and while the views from Sunset Point are always beautiful,

they are exceptionally breathtaking at this time of year.

P.S. I downloaded ShakeItPhoto for my iPhone not too long ago,
and if you have an iPhone, you must get it!

i'd just like to say that...

i am thankful for my family. for supporting me in all of my last minute decisions. for giving me financial help when i need it (which is a lot, trust me). for putting up with my weirdness, mood swings, and last minute crazy ideas.

i am thankful for the university of arkansas. the fact that they accepted me and helped me work things out just days before classes started is unbelievable.

i am thankful for missouri state university for all the memories, fun, and my best friend ashley.

i am thankful for knowing exactly what i want to do with my life. it eliminates so much stress, and believe me, i do not need anymore of that.

i am thankful for the beautiful weather. fall's on its way, folks! it's been perfect for riding my new bike.

i am thankful for the interesting people i have met and have grown to love.

i am thankful for my new car. it has cruise control and a working heater, both of which my old car didn't have. hooray!

i am thankful for my hilarious, beautiful, smart, sassy friends. every single one of them. and the unforgettable memories of them that i hold so close to my heart.

i am thankful for the silly things. like sweet tea/hot tea/coffee, my iphone, crunchy peanut butter on honey wheat bagels, tea parties, front yard camping "trips." the list goes on.

i am thankful for the numerous amazing memories that this summer brought. stay tuned for many of them in picture form.

and, i am thankful for this blog. i know i neglect it too often, but i promise i'm working on that!