fourteen days of love. 08.

08. snow!

this winter we have seen more snow than we have in many years. there was the wonderful white christmas we had. a couple of weeks ago we had another beautiful snow, and i was able to capture the pictures above.

today, it's snowing again! i couldn't be more thrilled. it's a gorgeous snow, too. the kind with big, fat snowflakes. they're lovely. i have a few pictures that i've taken today with my iphone that i'm trying to post below ... but at this time, they're not cooperating. if they ever come through, i'll post them here as well.

okay, they worked! the first picture below is my favorite. it's my parents' magnolia tree and i think it's gorgeous. certainly not anywhere near what jen could do, but beautiful still. =) in the last three pictures i was trying to capture just how big and fluffy these flakes are ... but i don't think the phone camera did them any kind of justice.

happy winter!!!

fourteen days of love. 07.

07. redbox


travis and i discovered redbox when we were still living in tulsa. muskogee now has these bad boys in several locations. if you've not been introduced to the redbox, you are missing out. redbox is a stand-alone kiosk found in grocery stores, outside of fast food restaurants & phrarmacies, and even gas stations. they offer newly released [and lately even classic] movies. since we've been working so diligently toward having the freedom of being debt-free, this puppies are terrific. it gets pretty difficult to never go do anything and with some movies costing $5.00 a day, we can pat ourselves on the back when getting two movies for only $2.00. sure a savings of $3 doesn't seem like much, but it keeps us on track and still lets us enjoy an at-home date night.

i've heard a few bad reviews of the redbox [you can't ever get the movie you want, etc], but we have rarely had any trouble.

fourteen days of love. 06.

06. pencil skirts

i'm actually a little surprised at myself. while i enjoy pretty dresses and getting dolled up on occasion, i've never just loved wearing skirts for work ... much to my mother's chagrin. every time i put on a suit, she asks why do i always wear pants; why don't i wear skirts more.

lately, however, i've been in such a mood to wear skirts. especially cute pencil skirts like these, and i don't even have an office to go into! unfortunately, due to my lack of ever wanting to wear skirts in a professional environment ... i own only one. i've worn it several times, but it has lost it's appeal and i'm ready for a new one.

oh! and i also don't usually like to wear nylons {again my mother and i go 'round and 'round on this one} but i've really been leaning toward fishnet stockings {with the tiniest holes; those with larger netting are definitely not appropriate} and herringbone stockings.

what do you think, though? are nylons or stockings a must? stacy london and katie couric don't think so, but i never know.

fourteen days of love. day 05.

05. remote control access

okay, as i type today's favorite, i have to laugh just a little bit. it's definitely travis's tech-y side rubbing off on me. i absolutely love remote control access to my desktop from anywhere in the world.

as you know, this past year has been a little crazy for us. on top of notably noted, i also work for sixbyte + i still consult with companies regarding their client appreciation & retention programs. i am back and forth between tulsa a lot, plus with my family owning the pool hall and spending most of their time there, i'm away from my computer in the evenings a lot too.

since my laptop died, i do all of my designing + bookkeeping on the desktop at the house. not very portable. when i had the laptop i could bring it with me to tulsa. to the pool hall. to friends' homes. to trunk shows. just about anywhere i needed to be, i could bring the laptop.

now, i still have to go each of those places (or spend all my days locked up in the upstairs office secluded like rapunzel in her tower).

travis showed me the delightful tool that is mstscn and i able to access my desktop from any other computer. fabulous! it looks as if i am sitting at my own computer when i remote in, but i can be hundreds of miles away. a little geeky that this is one of my favorite things? sure. but it has been a lifesaver.

it's times like this i'm so grateful for technology!

fourteen days of love. day 04.

04. jane austen

so i'm not quite sure how this happened, but i had never read any of jane austen's books. it's really quite surprising, especially with all the reading i used to do.

when we got our iphones, i immediately started checking out all the apps available and came across books. i rarely get to read {i think the last time i read an actual book was when travis and i went on vacation to tennessee last summer and i read the little lady agency books!}; i thought it might be fun to download a book to read whenever i'm sitting around waiting {because that happens so often} instead of incessantly blogstalking waiting for the authors to update {now that really does happen often. pathetic. i know}.

the first book i downloaded was pride & prejudice. i. loved. it. again, surprising that i had never read it before. i had watched the miniseries several years ago and liked it okay. and then more recently i had seen the movie a few times. i loved the movie. in this instance, i'm actually a little glad that i had seen the movie before reading the book {usually i do it the other way around}. i was able to better visualize the story {sometimes the reading is a little different from novels written today}. i was able to keep up with who was speaking. funny enough, however, i did not picture any of the actors as i was reading the book.

i finished pride and prejudice in a few days and have now started on sense and sensibility. i've not had the opportunity to read through this one as quickly, but am still enjoying it.

i think after i read it i will check out the movie that came out a few years ago. i never did see it and am looking forward to it.

fourteen days of love. day 03.

03. magazines

i don't often get to read magazines these days, but when i do, two of my favorites are southern living & real simple.
they inspire me to be suzy-homemaker. i especially love the recipes and meal-planning in southern living. the recipes change with the season {as do most magazines, i suppose}. they remind me of my mom and her southern hospitality and meals she made when we were growing up.

real simple is just all around wonderful. home decor. entertaining. meal planning. organization. fashion. everything a girl could need.

definitely guilty pleasures ... and i love every moment of them.

ha! i just thought of a funny trait about me ... i can't read a magazine out of order. even if there is an article i am particularly interested in. nope. i have to start from the beginning and read from cover to cover. weird, i know.

fourteen days of love. day 02.

02. blogging
okay. okay. so my first post for fourteen days of love was posted earlier today ... but i'm a day late, so i'm catching up.


you may find my next item funny ... because i have tended to neglect ours lately, but my number 02 favorite thing right now is the blog world. i have a couple of people that i stalk oh, a million times a day, at least.




thecollierfam: a private blog that tells the story of my sweet friend jen and her growing family. jen is the one who really introduced me and got me involved in the blogging community about a year and eight months ago.


talesofthetrees: i've decided that megan {the blog's author} needs to quit her job and do nothing but write new blogs. all. day. long. i'm not sure how i became so obsessed with her blog, but she always has the funniest stories and the greatest followers and blogs that she follows.


prlindsay: another private blog, my "twin" andy's website ... though like me she has begun to neglect her blog a bit, so i have to wait ages to read anything new.


justjennyproffitt: another one of the few friends from high school that i keep in touch with. i never get to see jenny. this way i still feel involved in her life and in the know.


hostess with the mostess: this site never gets old. i can sit and look at it for hours, though i never get to.


100 layer cake: oh. my. gosh. gorgeous. everyday. i am never disappointed by this site.


and last but not least ...


notablynoted: i finally got the notably noted blog up and running and while it still has a long way to go, i have big plans for this puppy! i hope that people start following and enjoy the posts that i publish.

fourteen days of love. day 01.

each year my dear, dear friend jen does "fourteen days of love" in february. i've decided to take a page out of her book {a screen out of her blog??} and do the same. i'm supposed to do one post each day for fourteen of my favorite things that i'm just loving right now. i think it will be a lot of fun and i encourage you to do the same.

01. iPhone
to start 2010, travis and i both got iPhones. i am surprised how much i really do love mine. i was never part of the iPhone craze, but when christopher {our boss at sixbyte} offered to buy them for us and do away with additional work cell phones, we said yes, please!



these are a few of the features i love the most:

email on my phone again. surfing the internet as if i were on a laptopdesktop. a phone camera that actually takes decent pictures. the loseit app that tracks my caloric intake and exercise. downloading books like pride & prejudice and sense & sensibility. (i had never read either). checking out the upcoming weather with the push of a button.

jude. chapter jude.

Tonight I was reminded how much I like the book of Jude. I've not ever
been one to struggle much with my faith but if I am truthful that has not
been the case lately.  I found myself unable to sleep tonight so I
turned on my lamp. Staring me in the face was The Total Money Makeover
and underneath it my Bible. Have you ever had one of this tines when
you didn't know what you were going to read so you flipped the pages
and let them fall where they may?  That's what you're supposed to
read, right?  I'll admit I may have doe that before ... And not really
read anything that spoke into my life at that time (not that it's
always like that). Tonight I felt lame doing that and I instead began
to read some of the verses I had written in the inside cover and
different pages of my Bible. I was encouraged and even found myself
with tears in my eyes (for about the fifth time tonight). I decided to
dig in. I started to open and the book fell open to Jude. There was a
bookmark there with a note from an old friend I had spent moat of the
evening thinking about. And there above the title page I had written
the theme of the book: he is the foundation of your faith. It was
exactly what I needed and I began to read.  It talks of men who have
slipped in among us and are godless, using the grace of God as a
license for immorality and I prayed I  was not one of those.  These
people are grumblers and faultfinders ... Things I have lately seen in
myself and not liked. Then came the absolutely wonderful part(s). I
was reminded that I should be building myself up in my faith and
praying. That I need to keep myself in Gods love as I wait for the
mercy of Christ. And then the best part: to him who is ABLE TO KEEP
YOU FROM FALLING and to present you before his glorious presence
WITHOUT FAULT and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be
glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord
before all ages now and forever. i AM his child and he is able to keep
me from falling AND present me without fault.  This was a great truth
to be reminded of and great verses to initiate a conversation tonight.
I pray that I would not follow my own ungodly ways or speak abusively
about things which I do not understand and also that I will not
grumble or find fault, especially with others. Help me also to be
merciful to others.

I hope you are as encouraged as I was.

Sweet dreams

notably noted blog.

goodness! i've neglected our personal blog, haven't i? i will have to post a better update soon ... but not today. i wanted to note, though, that the notably noted blog has gone live. technically it's been "live" for a while, but i've been trying to work out some kinks with formatting, etc. a few of the kinks are still there, but nothing so major as to interfere with the general use of the site. i hope to have a custom background designed in the future, but for now will stick with the fun girls from the cutest blog on the block.

when i return, i promise an update on:
new year's eve 2009
kicking off the new year in the caribbean
and the latest and greatest happenings with these two american kids.