Siesta Key Wrap-Up

Our vacation to the Siesta Key's was so wonderful and relaxing! I loved how chill and casual it was. We would wake up and throw on our swimsuits while Mom cooked a yummy breakfast. We'd go down to the beach, eat lunch in the condo or out at a restaurant somewhere, then Scott and I would go to Daiquiri Deck and load up on pina coladas (we're spoiled by the all-inclusives. We're unaware of how to beach-it without our fruity drinks). After more lounging on the beach and searching in the ocean for seashells with Landon, we'd go in, get dressed, eat dinner somewhere, come in, watch Modern Family DVD's then hop in bed. It was the same routine every day and I wouldn't have had it any other way! While we were there, Siesta Key was voted the best beach in the US!! It truly is a beautiful white beach with clear blue waters. If you're looking for a great Florida vacation then I would highly recommend Siesta Key. It's my family's favorite!

Here's a few photos from the night we popped open some champagne on the beach and watched the sun set. I was really bad about photo taking on this trip. I'm always so good about it when I go with Scott on a vacation because I know I'll need a lot for my shutterfly books. I was a little lazy during this vaca. Not my usual picture nazi self..... Oh well.

We'll start with this. Don't you love the 'I'm not ready yet picture?' Those are always my fav! Haha!!

I'm ready to go back. Anyone want to rent a little condo with me and chill on the beach this summer?

yesterday...

After lounging on the beach until 6, we got dressed and drank some Mumm while we watched the sun set. A few beach photos and dinner later, we went to bed to get ready for another exciting day in the sun and sand!

Sarasota

Got my toes in the water....


Rear in the sand....


Not a worry in the world but this in my hand....


Life was good today....


Life was good today....


--Toes, Zac Brown Band. My anthem this weekend.

Airplane Wifi--A True Gift From God

How lucky do you feel when you get on a plane and discover is offers wifi? Real.


It's just entirely too exciting...


Something Scott believes is entirely too exciting...


My Dads free drink coupons....even though it just turned noon. Something about Scott + Beach + Adult Beverages always manage to go hand and hand. He's crazy!!


My birthday went exactly as planned! I did everything I said I was going to do. Scott & I arrived in Little Rock in time for dinner and we went with my parents to Ferneau. Umm, yum! Hello! I almost licked my plate but decided it would be entirely too inappropriate. Darn manners.


We woke up at 5am and have been living the airport life ever sense. Once we land in Tampa, we're hopping in the mini van and heading to Maggianos for a late lunch/early dinner. Scott is insistent that we eat at Maggianos. He's obsessed and frankly that's fine with me because I am too.
Alright. This plane lands in 41 minutes and you know they're going to start buggin soon about turning off mobile devices so I better get moving.
PS: I have no idea where my sidebar went. It just magically disappeared. Blogger has been having some serious issues lately. I know a lot of y'all read other blogs via mine (those bloggers have informed me they get a crazy amount of traffic through my blog) but I dunno what to tell ya. Hopefully it'll be up and running soon. If not you know I'm okay with making a phone call to the folks at Blogspot.
Until tomorrow....maybe!!

Twenty Six

Another year older. Twenty Six.....

I'm going to spend my birthday by indulging in a spa manicure and pedicure, a yummy lunch (probably at McAlisters) followed by a fun shopping trip to Masons. Then I'm packing up my suitcase and driving down to Little Rock with my sweet hubby because I'm headed to the beach tomorrow with my family! A delicious dinner tonight and yummy glass of wine and this should turn out to be a pretty fabulous day.

Off I go!

Top 25 List

Today is my last day to be 25. For those of you have been reading this for 1+ years now, you know I made a Top 25 Things To Do While I was 25 List. Here's the results.

1. Taste wine at a vineyard in Napa--(Nope--Didn't Do That--October Though. Almost made it!!!)

2. Go to a concert--Yes. Jerry Lee Lewis

3. Take Landon to Silver Dollar City-- Sad times...didn't get to do this.

4. Try to remember to take my contacts out when I sleep at night--Never gonna happen...I'm way to lazy for that.

5. Hit up Vegas for a long weekend--Try a week, HOLLA!!

6. Read a book--or a zillion. Check.

7. Bump into an A-list celebrity--Uh, Regis and Kelly, hello

8. Try a banana split for the first time ever--Fail

9. Go to Memphis in May--done

10. Try yoga--Negative. Still want to though

11. Travel with Scott to Chicago when he has to go for work--I hate to say I did not get to do this.

12. Figure out what Britney Spears is saying in her song, 3--I'm working on it

13. Watch a broadway show--Vegas! The show--check

14. Spend more time in the morning looking better hair/make-up/clothing wise for work--ehh, some days..

15. Obtain more shoes--By this I mean something Carrie would wear. I did buy some Tory boots. Scott failed me otherwise though

16. Run a 10K--Does a 5K count?

17. Be less sensitive--I'm much better with this. Grrr!!!

18. Make more dinners like Barefoot Contessa on a weekly basis--Weekly? Ehhh....maybe

19. Take an anniversary trip with Scott on our actual anniversary Bora Bora style--Crested Butte, Colorado style....

20. Continue my workout regime--yup

21. Give more compliments AND be more accepting when I receive one--Yes!

22. Get a picture made with Pork Chop, Sue E, Big Red, or Boss Hog--How did I not manage to do this?

23. Manage to get a family portrait made with me, Scott, Mom, Dad, Kyle, Landon & Holly--#fail

24. Enter the Regis & Kelly trivia contest so I can, A. talk to Regis & Kelly and B. win a trip--Does actually attending Regis and Kelly Live in NYC compensate? I think so.

25. Attend a black tie dinner--Done. Thank you Wade and Alissa.

Hmm....I guess I did just okay. I thought about it all year though.....Seriously.
25 was a good year. I'm sure 26 will be fine but I'm already getting sad about 'growing older.' I don't like it. Soon my skin will sag, I'll get gray hair and cellulite. I'll pee when I sneeze, get wrinkles and that random chin hair. Bleach my mustache, think pop stars are inapproporiate, grow out of a size 2 (sometimes a zero if Im lucky), start shopping at Chicos. OMG I'm literally frowning as I write this.
Okay let's just admit it. I'm not that excited about turning a year older. I like when it's my birthday but gah, it comes with consequences yall....I'll be taking Flomax before you know it.
Okay nevermind. I just googled what that is and discovered that's for an enlarged prostate and I definitely don't need to worry about ever having to take that. I saw it in It's Complicated (which I've seen probably 54 times) and it's what I immediatly thought of--when it comes to......aging. Sorry I didn't go into pharmacy.

Food & Fun Talk

I believe Holly is in a coma today. She will not wake up and I'm pretty sure I know why--sausage balls. Scotts Mom made some for us yesterday and Holly is obsessed with them. She DEMANDS them!! She probably had a total of 3 last night (which is a lot for a 7 pound person) and it's made her go into a food coma.
So I just got some disappointing news. Holly can't come to Florida with us. I guess it totally slipped my mind that we should check with the condo and make sure they allow dogs--which they don't. I'm so sad. I was so excited about Holly frolicking along the beach. Grammy will just have to come to Little Rock and stay with her. Sorry Hol!!! I'm just as sad about it as you are.
These storms have got to go.
I ate so much food yesterday. By the end of the night, one would have thought I was 6 months preggers. Scott and I have been doing all these birthday celebrations. Which as you know always include food....and dessert. I've been doing lots of running to try and compensate for it! My gym reopened today which thrills me to pieces. I'm going to go at 4 and watch Oprah that way I'll be forced to run for an hour because I won't want to miss any of the show!
Let's talk about how sad we are that it's ending. I've watched my whole life and have learned so many great lessons from her and have also been thoroughly entertained as well. I hate that it's over.
Let's also talk about how annoying it is when people have to get on their soap box and say things like "it's sad people keep talking about Oprahs show ending when we're fighting a war and a bad economy.' You know what? Some people don't want to focus on depressing issues all day long. We need a little Royal Wedding talk in our lives.....but you go ahead and be boring and think all high and mighty you warm and fuzzy ball of fun. It bugs me so bad...I just roll my eyes at people like that. There's absolutely nothing wrong with people wanting to talk about fun things. Gah!

Jax and Craig's Wedding Shower

Jax and Craig's wedding shower was a true success! We had a lot of people show up, the food was great, the atmosphere was fun, and the talking was endless! We played a fun game with them that was really cute and made us all laugh. They are truly a beautiful couple and I'm so happy for them. I brought my fancy camera and put it to use! Enjoy the pics!!

Dont Be a Drag, Just Be A Queen

It's the weekend and mine is packed. Scott and I just finished dinner with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate our birthdays. I love going to dinner with them. They insist on a 4 course meal and if your favorite wine doesn't come in a glass? Well then you of course just go ahead and order the bottle. Plus, the restaurants always know Grandma and Grandpa and give them the best waiter with impeccable service. As the Brits would say, dining with them is Brilliant!
So...Scott's 27th birthday update. His office takes people out to lunch for their birthdays so he did Abuelos for that. I feel as if everyone needs a cake on their birthday so I surprised Scott and delivered a cake to his office. He's so professional at work and I had a bit of anxiety about it. I was worried he'd be like 'please don't randomly show up at my office again without warning me first' but he loved it and so did everyone else. I really enjoy 'his girls.' His boss and his two direct reports are all women so we call them 'his girls.' They're so sweet. We actually all had lunch together one day--without Scott. It was fun! They loved the cake and Scott loved the surprise. (Whew!!)
I really made no special plans for the evening. It was a Wednesday so I figured we could do whatever we wanted without reservations. Scott decided he wanted Bonefish. On our way we invited his Dad and we all enjoyed a nice and yummy meal together. Scott thinks of his birthday as just another day. He never requires anything special. I'm the opposite. I think everybody's birthday should be a HUGE celebration. It's hard now though. People work and have so much going on....in the past I've always tried to plan fun stuff but nobody can ever show up so I'm over that. It was still a very nice day though.
I didn't get Scott a present. He would rather me not spend the money. I've told you all about his ummm...........savingness.
PLUS, we're headed to Florida in a few days so we designated that our present to one another.
Tomorrow I'm on bridesmaid duty. Jaclyn, Christina, Anna, and I are throwing Jax and Craig a wedding shower. We decided upon The West End, formally known as On The Rocks. Ha! That kinda makes me laugh but the patio is so nice so we went for it. Hopefully it won't rain. I've got special duties that I've gotta take care of tomorrow (procrastinator) so I'll be busy with that.
OOOkay I'm bored and I'd be willing to bet you are too. The end.

I'll leave you with this. I wasn't sure if I should share this covo between Jake and myself but decided 'ehhh....Why not!!!'



(It's a pic of Lady Gaga in this months Harpers Bazaar. Please check it out. You'll understand this even more if you do.)

My Favorite Person's Birthday Is Today

Today my husband officially made the jump to his 'late' twenties. Scott turned 27 today! In honor of his 27 years on Earth, I'm going to tell all of you 27 things that I love about him.

1.) His ambition
2.) His mad grilling skills
3.) That his pet name for me is 'gorgeous'
4.) That he'll just watch whatever I'm watching on TV
5.) His sweet heart
6.) That he makes me laugh
7.) His tidiness
8.) That he can still do algebra, trig, chemistry, and calculus like he just learned it yesterday. Smarty Pants
9.) His cute face
10.) His calm/chill/laid back/sweet nature
11.) That he still opens the car door for me
12.) His nice fashion sense
13.) That people tell me all the time how great he is
14.) His crazy car knowledge
15.) His humbleness
16.) How private he likes to keep his life. I find that intriguing as I'm the total opposite
17.) That he never says anything mean or negative about anybody
18.) His sexy arms
19.) His perfect smile
20.) How much he loves Holly
21.) His love for Christ and our church
22.) That he still sings the song even though he gets all the words wrong
23.) His love for great food and great wine
24.) That he knows all the key strokes on the keyboard instead of using a mouse
25.) His addiction to cheese of any kind
26.) That he irons everything
27.) That he's, plain and simple, a really great guy.

............I could do 27 + 27 + 27 more....................

Happy 27th Birthday Scott Michael Johnson. The love of my life, my favorite guy, my best friend, my biggest supporter, my hard worker, my favorite company and soul mate. I love you and I'm so glad you were born!!! :)

Blooming

I find myself at a loss for words. I've got nothin for ya today....except for maybe pictures of my flowers!
Scott and I enjoyed our patio last night until 9:30 and it was so lovely! I can't wait to do it again tonight. Someone please remind me to book a flight to Florida. I keep forgetting!!! Scott and I are going with my family next weekend to Tampa/Sarasota/Siesta Keys for Memorial Weekend. Ahh...beach. Eww, just realized I have to be in a bikini. My body is definitely not bikini ready. However, realizing my beach vacation is next weekend, I think I need to hop on my bike and ride it for an hour. Then come home and lift weights and do about 2,000 crunches. I hate that my gym is closed right now. It puts a huge cramp in my life.
Okay off to ride my bike.....

My New Happy Place

The day has finally arrived!! I'm officially finished building/decorating/planting my outdoor space!!! I honestly wasn't sure when the day would get here. The rain delayed it BIG TIME. I'm so proud of it. I have spent countless hours on this space and feel so pleased with how it turned out. I was worried it may look like a big blobby mess. I've never 'landscaped' or anything of that nature before. Sure I've planted flowers in a pot but this was a whole new ballgame. Anwho, enough with the talking. Allow me to show you the before + after pictures!

Before.....

Dead grass, very blah, kinda embarrassing...

And NOW.....

Major improvement huh?! We poured a concrete patio and stamped the edges to make it look like brick. We added landscaping around the air conditioner. We did another landscaping area to plant a Japanese maple. We put in new sod because the old sod had started to die and grow weeds. We got new furniture and planted lots of new flowers in pots (as you can clearly see. Scott makes fun of me).
It's all just so very exciting! We can actually entertain people outside now! I can't wait to have friends over. I'll definitely have to plan something soon!! This is my new happy place. I LOVE IT!