Five on Friday!

Happy Friday friends!  I'm linking up today for Five on Friday with DARCI, CHRISTINA, LIZ, and NATASHA. 

Fri-YAY!! As my students like to call it. This particular Friday I am extra excited because I am on the way to see one of my best friends get married!! I am a bridesmaid which means I have lots of fun events this weekend: her bridesmaid brunch, rehearsal dinner, wedding, AND a bridesmaid brunch for another friend on Sunday. I am in two weddings in the month of October. Busy but so exciting month for me! Let's get down to business shall we.. 

One. 
Let's talk shampoo. I am a Tresemme girl. It's not expensive, my hair responds well to it. I've never had a problem with it so I keep using it to save money here and there. With that being said sometimes I like to switch it up and treat myself to something different that cost a little more. I was browsing in Ulta and decided to purchase a bottle of Rusk which I had never used before but wanted to try out. I paid the $19 it cost and went on my way. I headed straight to TJ Maxx which happens to be next door to our Ulta to look around. While I was there I decided to look at there hair products (which normally I bypass as I beeline to the home section) I kid you not, in the home section was the EXACT same bottle of shampoo I had just purchased for half the price. $9.. that's it. UH! Oh well, now I know. What kind of shampoo do you swear by?

Two.
No judgements aloud here. I may or may not have already picked out and ordered our Christmas card for this year. I've even already received notification that it has shipped. You better believe I will be waiting by the mailbox every day until it arrives!! I know Christmas will be here before you know it and I can't wait!! I just love all of the buildup! 

Three. 
As a result of the rain we had last weekend we were dismissed from school early Friday, stuck at home all weekend and out of school Monday and Tuesday. That left LOTS of free time for me. I got work related things done, watched my fair share of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix and had time to do some deep cleaning. I discovered the way to make cleaning baseboards fun. Seriously, don't believe me? Try it! Poor a preferably large glass of wine, (Apothic Red being my choice) blast your pandora loud and get to cleaning and sipping. You will be done in no time! (: Your welcome. 

Four. 
I can't believe my friend Maghan is getting married!! I truly could not be happier for her. I met Maghan my freshman year at ECU and fell in love immediately. She is a true southern belle that you can't help but love. She was also my "big" in ZTA and became a lifelong friend. Her and Charlie are a match made in Heaven. I can't wait to celebrate with them!! 

Five. 
Is this the year of booties or am I just late to the game? I've always preferred taller boots like my riding boots and cowboy boots but this year I am crushing hard on these adorable booties!! 

Bedroom Inspiration

Our bedroom is one area of the house that could really use some work. We have only been in our house just over a year and have been doing a little bit at a time. It has come A LONG way but of course as with any home there is still a ton to do! I would love to get our bedroom fixed up pretty soon. Right now there are zero pictures on the wall (other than our married monogram above the bed) because I am one of those types that will for no reason what so ever put a nail in the wall until I am absolutely sure about what to put there. We have this awkward space between the bed and the wall that I think would be perfect for a pretty arm chair or maybe even a desk. I am the most indecisive person ever so it takes lots of pinning, dreaming and planning for me to make a move. (: Here are some of my inspiration pictures for our bedroom. 

I have a thing for fabric headboards. We don't have one at the moment. We are using a wooden sleigh which I also love but this is just so soft looking. 

..swoon. YES, please!! 

It looks so airy and peaceful... totally my style! 

I would love to add a full length mirror beside a chair or bench

Did you notice a pattern? I obviously love light blue, white and neutral colors. Our bedroom was put on hold while we got the living room, dining room and guest rooms up and running. Now I think it's finally time to make our room just as cozy as the rest of the house! 

Pre-I do: Wedding Recap

THE START OF THE BEST DAY EVER!! I get giddy just thinking back to our wedding day. The day started off bright and early heading to our wedding venue. The downstairs area had a bridal suite that we got ready in. We had coffee and biscuits in the morning and then made the switch to sandwiches and mimosas a little later in the day. I always knew that mimosas and good food would be a must on my wedding morning ;) All of the bridesmaids and I took turns having our hair fixed and doing our makeup. It was relaxing and so fun to soak in those last few moments with my best friends. It didn't take much to make me tear up that day but thankfully every tear was followed by a laugh. I think I perfected the "cry laugh" (:

I love these girls!! 

Justin surprised me with this gorgeous pendant that is a family heirloom. He had the sweetest hand written note to go along with it. Oh, how the tears flowed. That man of mine, so sweet! 

I did not do a first look with Justin so I thought doing one with my dad would be fun. I'm so glad I did. The pictures are priceless! Smiles, then tears... that was the theme that day!

One thing I knew I wanted to do was pray with the whole bridal party before the ceremony. Justin and I stood on either side of the door so to not see each other and everyone held hands. This was SUCH a special moment that I will forever cherish! 

 self explanatory ;) Last minute sip to calm the nerves! 

In case you want to catch the other wedding recaps you can here:

Bridal Portraits

Bridesmaid Brunch

Rehearsal Dinner

Meet and Greet

It's been awhile since I've done an introduction of myself and since I am getting back into blogging more regularly I figure now is the perfect time to do an intro of the girl behind the blog. I always love catching a glimpse into others lives! So here we go..

The Basics
Hi, I'm Amanda. :) I am 25 and newly married to the best man ever. We have a one year old chocolate lab named Henson who we treat like our child. I am a first grade teacher and LOVE my job. I now live in coastal North Carolina and absolutely love being just 5 minutes from the beach!!  I grew up near Greensboro and then attended East Carolina University. I stayed in Greenville for another two years after college, teaching and loved every minute of living there. I moved to be closer to Justin and have never looked back! 

The fun details:

- My favorite nights are nights spent at home with Justin eating grilled cheese and watching TV

- I have a newfound love of shiraz and am not above the two buck chuck Trader Joe's kind

- I could sit on the beach for days but I could also stay inside and binge watch Greys Anatomy for days 

- Mornings are my favorite.

- Speaking of mornings, Breakfast.. I don't skip it. Eggs, toast and coffee.. every morning like clock work 

- Justin proposed to me in the middle of a hurricane. No joke! Read here

- I love cooking and I even don't mind cleaning most of the time

- I have an amazing group of friends that sadly all live in other towns. That means lots of weekend trips to see each other! 

- Henson is our world, he is completely spoiled but we would have it no other way

The Weekend of Rain

Oh the rain, this weekend it has rained nonstop. I'll start by saying I am lifting up the parts of South Carolina that were hit the hardest in prayer. There are roads and bridges that have collapsed, dams that have broken, peoples homes are being flooded and evacuated. It is truly just devastating. The reporters say this is once in 1,000 year kind of rain. -kinda scary! Our house is right on the NC, SC border line. We have been hit hard but thankfully nothing like Columbia or Charleston. School dismissed early on Friday and is completely closed today which means we have been house bound all weekend. A weekend of nothing rarely happens for us so it was kind of nice to have no where to go! (except one emergency grocery store run) 

By Sunday of being stuck in the house Justin and I started to go a little stir crazy. The kind that even Netflix couldn't cure. Henson decided to brace the rain and flooding with his doggy life jacket and doggles. We like to think he wants to go save some other pups out there!

This creek is in our back yard. It is normally ONLY two feet wide and you have to go down a large hill to get to it. Most of the time it is so dried up there isn't even any water in it. By Sunday there was no longer a drop down to get to the creek and the water rose all the way up to our backyard. I noticed this morning that is has started to spill over and flood part of our yard. 

I had plenty of free time in the kitchen so I made homemade bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on an english muffin (which may be my new favorite breakfast) and taco soup with cornbread. So easy and delicious. I'll share the recipe this week.

The weekend of rain left our household eating lots of food, catching up on Netflix, possibly YouTube-ing the latest dance moves (nae nae, quan, oh my), and deep cleaning baseboards. Seriously, too much time on our hands!! Stay safe and dry!