2 years in a row.

Something has surprised me about my blogging so far. The "most read" posts are about Mitchell & I. Maybe my readers are extremely love sick, or maybe M is just better than I ever asked for. (I apologize ahead of time for the cheesy-ness. It's my specialty... And here we are less than 12 hours from the most lovey dovey day of the year, forgive me.)

Mitchell & Lauren, Fall 2010
The Best bestfriends a girl could dream of!

February 14, 2011, I was in some sort of dilemma, state of being unsettled, etc etc etc.
The morning started out pretty lonely... I hosted on Collierville AM where I wore a blue and green dress for the whole school to see. Each Valentines at CHS, we have "stoplight day" where the students wear red for "taken," yellow for "talking," and green for "single." Now, if we are being completely honest, I wasn't single. I was in fact "talking." This where it gets hard to explain.... Mitchell (who I fell in love with in December and ended things with later in the month) was my best friend. We could hardly be found without the other by our side. But there was still another person I was spending time with. This was on the weekend, because he was in college and rarely home... And he hardly knew of Mitchell as anything more than my best friend who called/texted constantly.

At about 10:15 a.m. on Valentines Day, I sat in class with my close friend, Jessica. I was going on and on about not hearing from let's call him "Mr. Unnameable"... yet, Mitchell had been communicating with me all day, as usual, like I loved :) I said, half jokingly, to Jess, "Whoever gets to me with a dozen roses first, wins."

2:00 came, time to dismiss, no Valentines for me. I went about my day, setting off to Fresh Market, the place of the best & cheapest flowers! Little did I know, someone else was also purchasing V-day paraphernalia...
I was at Fresh Market buying sunflowers for my other best friend, Lauren. Because "Every girl deserves flowers on Valentines". She was, along with me, lovesick. She and Skiler were "off again" at the time and we planned to spend the evening watching "The Bachelor", wallowing in self pity, and nursing our wounds ;)

After purchasing flowers & a card for Mitchell (now that I think back on it, I am unsure why I bought the card at the time. M was headed to soccer practice and had no plans of seeing me on that day... God had different plans, and oh was I glad!!), I headed to All American Swim where Lauren was working to deliver a little surprise happy. (Yes, M ruined my surprise for Lauren by surprising me!!) She rushed me to the back as soon as I got there and I saw 3 things.

1. A dozen roses

2. A box of chocolates

3. A handwritten letter

Before any thoughts at all could rush through my brain, I bawled. I knew Mitchell had done this and I knew then that I never should have let myself get scared in December. I loved him.
And I still do. More today than yesterday, but less than tomorrow.
I am oh so thankful that I get to have the same Valentine two years in a row!

I hope you guys enjoy these pieces of our story, and build yours tomorrow (& everyday) too!

Love for Love.

When talking to my Dad a few weeks ago, we determined something. Not that it hasn't been determined by anyone else before, but to us it was somewhat of an epiphany. We realized something about our human nature.
My (our) sweet dog, Pheobe Gabrielle, passed away December 28, 2011. To say she was loved is an understatement. I'd dare to say our love was one of the deepest I've ever felt. And the love between she and dad dug even deeper. If you don't know her, this may sound silly. But she was more than a dog to us. 
Pheobe was "the only sister I ever had" and "the best girl in the world" and we reminded her of these things daily, if not hourly. She was a friend, and a confidant. A singer, even.. She never told my secrets I sneakily whispered in her ears when no one was looking. She caught every tear from every heart break throughout my middle school and high school years. I miss her & I couldn't be more thankful for those times. 

 I love you baby.

 Oh the way she put up with the cats. What a doll. Marley needs lessons.

The world's greatest foot warmer.

But what Dad and I talked about was the way you can't cure heart break with new shoes. Or a chocolate craving with a banana. A popsicle would never work for a broken leg (unless you're age 5;)
After we lost Pheobe, our hearts were reaching for that same kind of love she gave us for 9 fulfilling years.. That's when Mom and Dad found Marley... (or nameless puppy for the first about 2 weeks... we couldn't agree on a name!!)

Welcome Home baby girl. Phe would've adored you & taken you in as her own

I quote: "I think she wants an iPhone" ...... -Michelle Shaul

 Mitchell & Marley Jane. They're buddies to say the least.

She spends over 50% of her time with her heels over her head.

The rest, I'd say, is history. That little stinker brings shine to our eyes & a jump in our steps (mostly Mom's as she lunges to keep potty time from happening on her oriental rugs!) We can't get enough of her.


We needed the love of a dog.. A dog like our girl. Marley hides her nose in warm spots the same way Pheobe did. She hates getting her nails clipped just like our best girl.
The other day as I goofily sang to Marley "You're the best girl in the world!" I thought, No, Pheobe is. Don't tell Marley she is... But then I knew, Pheobe's no longer in this grief stricken world. She's in Heaven. And it took a 3 year olds innocent words to remind me of that. (Thanks Knox!!)
God bless these 2 sweet girls who were placed in this crazy thing we call a family.


  I'm sorry for such a long post... but sometimes all my heart needs is a good blog post.
Thanks for reading. Really. 
Love, 

One Night of Incredibly Heavenly Indulgence.

After I tucked both Will and Walker into bed, I sneakily sliced one morsel having absolutely no idea the extravagance of what was about to come into contact with my tongue...


Some call it "Chocolate Chip Pound Cake," I, on the other hand, don't know what to call it, but it is so amazingly delicious...

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup sour crema

3 beaten eggs

1 small package of instant chocolate pudding

3/4 c oil

3/4 c water

1 tsp vanilla

1 small semi sweet chocolate morsels

Mix together first 7 ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour at three hundred and twenty five degrees!

Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe Mrs. Carol!!

If you dare, 




go. 


run. 


quick. 




to Kroger. 


(or Kay Roger, however you refer to that lovely place)


even Walgreens,




whichever is 








closer.


And once your slightly crispy-edged pan of heaven lets a toothpick escape clean, cut a slice, draw a bubble bath, pour some milk, and have what I would call One Night of Incredibly Heavenly Indulgence.


Not being much of a recipe blogger, you know this must be to die for,

Dreaming.

Oh, blogging.. I've fallen in love. 

I love reading, like for hours.

most blogs i read i feel like are so much better, more organized, more interesting than mine. but this only fuels my fire more. 

I love writing.. like really love...

And I loved the way this conversation with Mr. Lindsey (I like to call him this because it sounds classy, and manly, and it's part of our Daily LL emails... more on that later :) sounded.

Me: "I have go to figure out what to pack for Virginia... Like should I bring my laptop?"

M: "Yeah!"

Me: :"I do want to blog"

just sounds good. And i really like the fact that people take time to read about me. my life. my loves. and my dreams. (Thank you!!)

Dreaming is a big part of my life. I love to just imagine, and think!

Some of my dreams include:

-Running a half marathon (planned for Spring 2012)

+ running a full marathon sometime I'll find my lost motivation, right?

-Get married young I know, so many differing opinions on this, but we will trust God's plan, and do it if we are confident

-Teach Kindergarten Shelby County would be an answered prayer!!

-own my own business I dream of owning Em's Events, being the boss, and having employees!

-own my own house, in Collierville... & I wouldn't mind a wrap around porch, red door, and everything I find on Pinterest.. is that to much to ask?

-being completely comfortable in my body -- I CAN do this

-Being a mom. A loving, fun, playful mom of 5... haha the number may change

-drive a range rover it's called dreaming for  reason, right? ;) Its limitless!

BUT, aside from all the material things I dream of owning, the good deeds I dream of doing, the family I dream of producing, I want to live a life of peace and love and joy, a life that is pleasing to God. For this is why I was placed on this earth.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

+ Do something big, outside of myself, something unexpected, spontaneous, God ordained.. We shall see.

maybe I am crazy. and ahead of myself,

 but I love it &

As the love of my life taught me, Dream BIG!

What are your dreams? And what are you going to do today to get closer to them?

P.S. What do you want to see me blog about!? 

One year ago.

I made my debut as a singer... Totally kidding.

This hilarious, tear-filled, roller coaster of a story began last November. My friends and I (about 11 of us girls who were inseperable in high school) found our newest addition to the group... Mitchell Lindsey. He was hilarious. Confident. Classy. A total gentleman. We all loved him.

One night, Mitchell invited us over to his house just to hang around and chill. When we got there, he had a guitar in his lap (...what girl doesn't LOVE that?!) and I had just heard a song on the radio (I think Andria may have even mass texted the lyrics to us) that I loved and wanted to hear again. I proceeded to type into YouTube.com "Never Alone- Lady Antebellum".. Mitchell quickly picked it up on the guitar and I began singing.. in a low, quiet voice so no one heard. My next silly, half joking comment is "We should totally do this in the talent show!" Mitchell replied (as he always does..) "ok!" 

This is something I adore about my boyfriend- he has never doubted me a day in his life. Something I cannot say about anyone else!

Little did he know what he was getting himself into...

A month or so went by. We attended practices at school, try outs, our own practices at my house into the wee hours of the morning... and before we knew it, we were on stage. Mitchell hosted so I had barely seen him before it was time. I was FREAKING OUT. Like- could. not. swallow. Luckily, The performance went by without a glitch (well, except for that one verse M forgot to play.. but I chose to forgive him;). As we exited the stage, Mitchell ran to get dressed so he could continue hosting and I, well, cried. A lot.

When everyone asked what was wrong, I replied, "We messed up!!" .... we did mess up. But who cares?! No one but the two of us noticed. At that moment, I honestly didn't know why I was crying.

I walked from outside the auditorium where I was talking to all my friends and family to back stage & asked Jessica and Brittany to come with me. As I leaned against the cinder block wall of my high school bawling, Jessica said, "It's Mitchell isn't it??" Between sobs, I had a realization/epiphany. I was in love with that boy. I fell in love with my best friend.

We always texted before bed so that night I said to him, like I always did & he to me, "Dream Big." But this night, I followed it with, "Let's talk tomorrow."

12-11-10

Mellow Mushroom for lunch. Mitchell kept the conversation going mostly, because I was deep, deep in thought. As we left in the rain, Mitchell kept saying, "Sooo.... What did you want to talk about?" And I replied, every time, "I forgot." (the usual for me.) I had absolutely no idea how to say it to him. Eventually, I got up enough courage to say, "M- listen to this." I plugged in my iPhone (in his car, might I say. He drove. and paid.... always!) My Best Friend- Tim McGraw was the song that played. Mitchell's reply, "Are you serious?" "yes." I said timidly but at the same time confidently.

Angel Tree Pep Rally- Dec 10, 2010

Me & Mitchell as Mr. & Mrs. Clause

His reply was, "Oh my gosh." And that was that until he dropped me off at my house and called to say "You never told me what you wanted to talk about" Oh, great!! I had been caught. Couldn't he just forget about it? 

He came back to my house to run an errand to Kroger with me. While driving down White Road, I handed him my phone with 10 pictures of texts between Lauren and I. I knew that if I described to him how I felt, I would cut corners and leave things out.. so I had him read the way a girl tells her best friend about a boy. Minutes later, Mitchell says "Wow." And puts the phone down. 

The next few hours were a blast!! I told him he didn't have to say anything back just as long as he knew how I felt. We were able to spend the rest of the day as usual, goofing off and always smiling!!

The following evening, (now we are at Sunday night 12-12-10) became what we lovingly call the "but.." night. Mitchell asked if we could talk and I vulnerably and hesitantly agreed.. The conversatin went something like this, although he probably remembers it differently: "Emily, I have loved you for so long and wanted to be with you since the Arlington vs CHS game.. But..." Then came, "I'm not breaking up with her." ( did I leave out the small detail that my best friend had a girl friend?! I in no way wanted to mess that up.. only to tell him my feeling and let him choose) Alright, thanks, great, TEARS. 

Long story short I left bawling to the Taylor Swift song that states "I can't breathe without you, but I have to.." and said to him, "If you let me drive away, I may never come back." Total girl move, huh?

After lots of awkward situations, nightly "Dream Big. Wait for me, I promise It will be worth it" texts, coniving girl schemes and pros and cons lists, Mitchell was mine. 

And I would say the rest was happily ever after, except for that one hiccup/hesistation of mine. But let's save that long story for a rainy day... 3 exact months later, it became officially official. Happily ever after. I couldn't be happier.

Sorry this post is so long & detail filled! But its so fun to watch everything that changes in just one year!!

What is different for you this December compared to last?

You'll never find me without...

Every girl has those items she has used for ages (for whatever the reason) and wouldn't change... and I love to hear what they have found to be tried & true!

Hopefully you will enjoy seeing my favorites & a few ideas that I have narrowed down as much as possible:

Ponds Cold Cream, Original $4.69 at Target

This is a product one of my family friends, Shelby Patterson, has used for years (atleast 7!) and used to use on me every time she gave me a makeover (just about every weekend). Recently I was browsing Target and faintly remembered the smell of the face cream she used on me... I texted her to ask and she said Ponds, which I bought and loooove for taking off makeup and just feeling pampered! She also recommended Jergens face cream (from Walmart) which has a much more reasonable price tag!

Paul Mitchell Super Clean Hairspray $17-20

Another smell I have loved since childhood: Original Paul Mitchell. This hairspray works like magic, holding curls for days! And you even get a second whiff of the fabulous smell when you're washing it out! Although I know the price is a little high, it takes me forever to go through a bottle (I have had my current one since May) and is totally worth it!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip gloss, 070, Glossy Rose, about $6

This shine blasted color is a find I made on my mom's counter. It seemed she never used it, but I used it (and adored the color) every time I was home from college and finally she offered for me to take it!! It is not sticky at all, but gives enough of a color change and shine for date night! Sadly enough, my mom decided to conveniently share the piece of info a few weeks ago that they no longer make this particular color. I am currently scraping the sides of my tube for more!! Guess it's time for a Target trip to find a new color!
 ***UPDATE: After trial after trial, & error!, Mom and I found a comparable color. Also Revlon, it has a longer tube and a different applicator but the formula of the gloss seems very similar. Must try-- Revlon Rose Gold.

Shellac polish $20 each time

Absolute favorite for nails. Pricey- My dad's input was "No more shellac on the college budget..!" If only he knew.. They just started doing toes & I currently have french!! 

I highly recommend Byhalia Nails, Collierville, TN!!

Mary Kay blush, Strawberry Cream $10

My mom recently took up selling Mary Kay and I am soon to be right behind her. This pinky rose color provides just the right amount of color to my cheeks plus a little glimmer which I love!! Great for day or night!! 

Mary Kay love lash mascara $15

This is probably my most recent discovery! No clumps, chunks, or sticking together, only beautiful lashes all day long!! Every girl needs it :)

Original Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm 

I use this every single day, no exceptions. (I even have the boyfriend searching for it in my purse constantly!) It is a savior for dry, chapped, wintry lips. I cannot even count how many tubes I have gone through. I keep trying to find a cheaper alternative, but after years and years of trying everything available, I can't find anything even close!

Lancome Juicy Tube, Touched by Light $18

I discovered this June of 2010 while in Italy from my former English teacher. It looked so beautiful on and I went to purchase it straight from the airport. I adore the look of nude lips with some shine and glimmer and this gives exactly that. This is one thing definitely worth the splurge!!

I am planning to try:

Tea Tree Oil for on the spot acne treatment. Everyone raves about it!!

I currently use Mary Kay acne treatment gel but am not satisfied. Even proactive doesn't get rid of mine!


For the savvy money saving girls out there, A tip from Mom: When buying cosmetics you are unsure about, although Target is addicting, go for Walgreens! They will return any cosmetic. Even if it has been opened :)

A few days late... 11-11-11

November 11, 1989, 

my parents were married. 

I am ever so thankful that they have lasted 22 years (& have many more ahead of them!) 

That is such a rare family situation these days.

Thank u mom & dad!!

143

Happy Anniversary!!!