What If...

1. If you could relive any memory in your life, tell us what it would be, and what/if anything you would change about it? I would definitely go back and relive my college years. I spent a lot of time wishing I was done with school and dealing with drama and I wish that I could have just appreciated being away at an amazing school with all of my friends. (And I would bribe convince them to come back to Memphis with me.)

2. If you could be any celebrity or well-known person, show us who you would be.
Taylor Swift, hands down.

3. If you won the lottery, tell us would you take the lump sum or take the money over time, would you continue working or quit right away, would you reveal who you are, and what are some of the first things you would spend with your money?

I would probably take the money over time and treat it like a salary. I would like to say I'd keep working but I would probably quit and start doing something I love that just didn't pay enough to make it a career. The first thing I would buy is a new vehicle because I'm about to have to buy one anyway.

4. If you could live anywhere, show us where it would be and tell us why.
I've answered this question before with Savannah, Georgia but now I'm thinking bigger. I would LOVE to go to Rome. The culture and architecture are just beautiful. I've never left the US before so I think it would just be amazing and overwhelming.

 

5. If you could have one magic power, what would be and what would you do with it?

I think it would be the ability to teleport. I spend SO much money going back and forth to Connecticut and it would be a lot more convenient to be able to snap my fingers and be there whenever I wanted to! 18 more days until I'll be there!

 

Have a great Monday (if that's possible)!

things that make you go ugh..

Okay, I really need to be more consistent with my blogging. It's kind of a problem.

Today Jeff Foxworthy has inspired me. Yes, the "you might be a redneck" king.

He does a segment during several of his shows called "things that make you go ew". I'm changing it to ugh for the purpose of this not being a gross post.

1. Amateur "Photographers". Just because you have an iPhone and Instagram does not mean you are a photographer. Just because you can push a button on a camera does not mean you are a photographer. Photography is an artform. I am not a photographer and I never claimed to be, just like I never claimed to be an artist. I guess with the ease of creating a Facebook page for a business comes a bunch of quacks.

2. Getting called the wrong name after introducing myself. This happens at work ALL the time. I have to say "(name of company), this is Samantha" when I answer the phone. Getting "Hi, Lisa" or "Hi, Amanda" in return really ticks me off.

3. Driving in Memphis. We were named the worst drivers in TN. I believe it. What should be a 15 minute drive to work takes 45 minutes because people have NO IDEA how to drive. There are always cars broken down in the middle of the road or crashes or people on their phones not paying a bit of attention.

4. Political posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Newsflash: Nobody cares who you're voting for. My opinion is not going to sway anyone else's vote so why post about it? I was taught when I was young to never talk about politics, religion, or abortion with others. These are too sensitive of topics to bring up with people you barely know or don't know at all.

5. Inconsiderate neighbors. I live in an apartment. I hope I never have to live in one again. Thank God I live on the top floor or else things would be a lot worse. My downstairs neighbors think it's cool to have parties at midnight on a Tuesday. Hey old farts, it's time for bed. Some of us actually work. And another thing, don't mess with my dog. Little Bristol mostly keeps to herself when she's outside. She does her business and then wants to come back in. When I'm walking back up the stairs with her, what makes you think it's a good idea to bark at her? How old are we? 2? Even my 3 year old cousin knows not to mess with strange animals.

6. Bad customer service. I am an avid online shopper. It's just way too convenient not to partake in but occassionally you get a lemon of a store. I ordered a necklace from veryjane.com on July 31. After contacting the shop about not receiving it on August 28, I was told it was on it's way. It finally arrived to me the first week of September, complete with a broken chain and 13 beads broken off. Needless to say, I had a few choice words with the seller and was told I would receive a prepaid envelope to return the necklace and she would send me a new one. I have still not received the envelope and have given up hope with this one. $20 down the drain. On the flipside of bad customer service, you sometimes get excellent customer service out of it. I ordered a Tennessee Vols sweatshirt from a store online and they sent me the wrong one. I contacted them that day saying I received the wrong item and they got back to me within 12 hours. I simply filled out the return form on the packing slip, sent it back with the prepaid sticker provided, and received the correct sweatshirt 3 days later. I wish that would magically happen with my necklace.

Does anyone else have any pet peeves?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

if I could write a letter to me..

I've seen a TON of these posts lately and I think it's a really cool idea. I'm going to write a letter to my 17-year old self. stay tuned.

Dear 17-year old, senior in high school, freshman in college Samantha,

I wish this was real and my 23-year old self could actually tell you all these things. It would save you from a lot of heartache and stress. Let's start with your love life.

That boyfriend you had in high school that you thought you would marry..yeah, you won't. You'll actually break up with him on Valentine's Day during your freshman year at UT. It actually won't hurt as bad as you think it will. It's for the best. I promise. He's a loser with a capital L and has done absolutely nothing with his life.

You remember that guy, your best guy friend who has wanted to date you for 3 years? You date him for a year. It was really hard being 5 1/2 hours away from him and you both were not mature enough to handle the distance. This one absolutely breaks you. He tries to get back together with you the entire summer after and you just don't have it.

You go back to school for your junior year and meet a guy who will end up proposing to you after a year and a half. You think it's exactly what you want but it's not. You break off the engagement after 3 months and have the time of your life for a month before you move back home.

You move back home and the first thing you want to do is see the one that broke you. This time it has a happy ending. He is 22 hours away but you are both mature and ready to handle the adjustment. You two are engaged and getting married very soon.

Let's bounce back to school. You start your freshman year at UT not knowing anyone. You decide not to join a sorority or an athletic team and just focus on your studies. You never had to study in high school but by God, you need to study now. Those late night movies and classes you slept through lead you to lose your HOPE scholarship after just one year. You decide to rush the next fall and that is one of the best decisions you ever make. These girls quickly become your best friends and motivate you to be a better person. Your grades are AWESOME this year but that one bad grade from before keeps you from getting your scholarship back. Moving into your sorority apartments is great for your social life, not so much for your academics. It's way too easy to sit and watch Real Housewives with your sisters instead of walking 25 minutes to class. Your senior year is stress on stress on stress but you get through it and you come out with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing. Didn't see that one coming, did you? You were set on being a teacher but it just isn't the right thing for you.

You'll struggle to find a job & actually work retail again for a little over a month. You'll go back to the credit union until you land a full time job your good ole neighbor told you about. It's absolutely not what you want to do but it allows you to move out of Bartlett and into your own apartment with your puppy. (Yes, you have a puppy named Bristol.)

All things considered, you're happy and that's really all that matters. I don't have all the answers of course. I mean, I'm only 23. Check back with me in another 23 years and maybe I'll be able to tell you a lot more about life. It's been real. Love you! (P.S. Never drink hunch punch. It's NEVER a good idea. You'll thank me, I promise.)

hello, fall. i've been waiting on you.

Today is full of random thoughts. My head is completely spinning so I thought I'd share :]

1. I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to visit John in CT on August 31 for Labor Day weekend and he asked me to marry him..at 4 in the morning on Saturday..no makeup..pajamas..watching tv. It was the most perfect proposal ever. No frills or fancy food. Just us. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

2. Building on #1, we're getting married the end of November/early December. We're not sure when he'll be graduating from A School yet. We're just going to go to the courthouse and have a party/reception after :]

3. Work is stressing me out. It's always something at this place. In the 10 months I've been here, I've been handed responsibility after responsibility and it can be a bit overwhelming.

4. My little Bristol is perfect as usual. She has really become clingy to me and she's starting to get separation anxiety. I bought her a Thundershirt originally for her fear of thunder but it also helps with anxiety. I don't know how it works but it sure calms her down. I would highly recommend it.

5. Can we take a sec to talk about this gorgeous weather?? Fall is my favorite season by far. My Vols are playing some great football, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back, my apartment is full of almond biscotti and pumpkin patch candles, and I can turn off the air and open the windows. It's amazing. I can't wait for the leaves to start changing.

6. My air compressor in my car went out for the second time in 3 years. My daddy was definitely not happy but thankfully it was not my fault. $860 later, my air conditioning works again :] Thanks, Daddy!

Have a great week everyone!



I'd like to thank the Academy..

Okay, that was a tad much haha

 

Morgan from Stars, Stripes, and a Military Life nominated me for my first blog award, the Liebster Award!

 

 

To accept this award you must follow these simple rules:

1. Each person must list 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you plus you MUST create a set of 11 new questions for the 11 people you tag.

3. Choose 11 bloggers

5. Absolutely no tag backs.

6. The bloggers have to have less than 200 followers.

7. Go inform you nominated them for the award.

 

Eleven things about me:

1. I am obsessed with school supplies. I am no longer in school which means no more of those for me, right? Wrong. I was definitely at Target fighting the mothers for my chevron notebook, cheap pens, and folders. I found uses for them at work :]

2. I have a precious little boxer/lab mix named Bristol. She's one of my best friends & I love her dearly.

3. I am a Sigma Kappa alum. Shoutout to all my Greek people!

4. I was born & raised in Memphis, TN.

5. I met the love of my life when I was 15. He's the most amazing person on the planet(I am a little biased).

6. I have a caffeine addiction. You know it's an addiction when you can drink a bottle of Diet Coke right before you go to bed or drink 2 Red Bulls at work & still be falling asleep.

7. One of my biggest dreams is to go to Italy. I wanted to study abroad there but that never really panned out. I hope to get there someday soon.

8. I love to read. My mom got me a Nook for my college graduation & it is full of books that I've read in the past year and a half.

9. I know more about football than most boys. Don't challenge me.

10. I danced for most of my life & I miss it every single day.

11. I have 3 tattoos. I don't plan on getting any more but if the mood hits me, you never know.

 

Morgan's Questions

1. What is your favorite food?

sushi! John hates it so I have to get it when he's not around :]

2. If you could spend the rest of your life in one city, where would it be?

Savannah, GA. It's BEAUTIFUL & has all the charm of a small, southern city.

3. What's your favorite Starbucks bev?

Venti Non-Fat White Chocolate Mocha

4. Do you use Instagram, if so what's your username?

samanthanicole1003 <--follow me!

5. If you had to choose one type of cuisine to eat for the rest of your life, what type of cuisine would it be?

It would probably be Chinese or Italian because there are so many different varieties!

6. What's your favorite quote?

"The Lord will fight for you. you need only be still." Exodus 14:14

7. What's your favorite past time?

Dancing!

8. What's your favorite movie?

That's a tough one. I love so many. I would have to go with The Notebook or Beauty & the Beast.

9. What's your favorite flavor jelly bean?

Cherry Starburst

10. What's your favorite candy?

It's a tie. Reese's or Hershey's Special Dark

11. What's your most prized possession? 

Would it be weird to consider my dog a possession? If not, I pick Bristol :] If so, my necklace that John gave me for Christmas.

 

I tag:

1. Nicole at A Southern California Belle

2. Ashley at Ashley's Passion for Fashion

3. Emily at Dirt Bikes and Diamonds

4. Laurie at The Rookie Wife

5. Melissa at 53Blonde

6. Laura at Loving Life in Love

7. Sara at You.And.Me.Are.We.

8. Mary at This is How My Garden Grows

9. Krista at Crescendo

10. Sadie at indecisive

11. Morgan at Ms. Morgan's Reality Check

 

My Questions

1. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

2. If you could only live for 24 more hours, what would you do?

3. Are you a dog person or a cat person?

4. Nail polish or lip gloss?

5. What genre is your favorite type of music?

6. Where are you located?

7. Who is your celebrity crush?

8. If you could pick 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

9. What is your favorite color to wear?

10. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

11. What is your favorite part about blogging?

Have a fabulous monday y'all!

umm..okay.

I'm not sure why but all of my posts from the last few months just showed up on the Dashboard so sorry for the overload!



Shelby

On Saturday, I decided to go to the dog adoption event hosted by a local humane society. I should've known better because I ALWAYS find a dog that I would love to rescue.

Que Shelby (aka Gucci)

I brought this little love bug home with me. She's a boxer/terrier mix. I fell in love with her sweet personality and cute little face immediately. I knew she would be a perfect playmate for my Bristol.

WRONG.

Bristol was NOT happy about having a new dog in her house. She was anxious and couldn't sit down at all. While she was running around like a mad woman, Shelby was cuddling. Such a sweet girl.

Such a jealous girl.

Everything seemed like it would work itself out with time until this happened..

Shelby was extremely protective. Bristol walked over to the chair to sit with us and Shelby snapped at her, biting Bristol's lip. Unacceptable. I knew they were still getting used to each other so I kind of let it slide (after scolding Shelby). After that happened, Shelby got down on the floor and threw up a pool of blood. I freaked out and had no idea what could be wrong with her.

I called the humane society on Sunday, after no sleep at all, and said that it wasn't going to work out. I felt terrible but the snapping at Bristol more than once and the throwing up blood more than once was just too much for me to handle. She needed constant supervision and with me working 2 jobs, I just didn't have the time to properly care for her.

After work on Sunday, I drove that sweet girl back to the humane society. She wagged her tail and ran to the owner when she saw her. It really hurt my heart to give her back because she was so loving towards me but I requested that they give me updates on her :]

The owner reassured me that I did the right thing by bringing her back and that made me feel so much better.

Bristol is obviously a lot happier alone and John and I will just have to accept that. We thought we were doing a good thing by giving her a playmate but she would much rather chew on a bone alone, sleep in peace and watch The Hills with me. I love my little girl and I'm so glad we were able to rescue her :]

50 Shades of RED

Yesterday was fabulous! I am a HUGE Taylor Swift fan and she had a live announcement on YouTube! Her new album, "Red", will be coming out October 22!!!!!

Guess who will be at Wal-Mart at midnight waiting with all the pre-teens?! This girl. I still play her 3 previous albums on repeat in my car. Her new single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is one of my new favorites. I love how she's changed up her sound throughout the years. I can't wait until she starts touring again!

Also, for you makeup lovers, my precious friend Morgan over at Stars, Stripes, and a Military Life is hosting a $25 Mary Kay giveaway! Head on over there & check out her blog & enter to win!

Have a wonderful Tuesday, lovelies!

things you most likely don't know..

It's the first blog post in August(whoop whoop) and I've decided to jump on the bandwagon & tell you some things you probably don't know about me. Be warned..this list could get lengthy.

1. I am a texture eater. If something looks or feels squishy or slimy, I'm not going anywhere near it.
2. I absolutely can't stand cats. I will never own one. I hate how sneaky they are, how they can claw your eyeballs out in 2.5 seconds, and litter boxes. Gross.
3. Building on #2, if I could own 100 dogs, I would. I'm slightly obsessed.
4. I know it says in my About Me that I graduated from UT-Knoxville but that doesn't do it justice. I am a die hard Tennessee fan & alum. I love everything about that lovely campus. My dad asked me which college I wanted to go to when I was 7. I said Tennessee and it was never an option after that to go anywhere else.
5. I drive a Jeep Liberty. My dream car is a 4 door white Jeep Wrangler. A girl can dream.
6. I would do absolutely anything for my friends. They mean the world to me.
7. I have 2 jobs, neither of which pertains to my hard earned degree. I am a Customer Service Representative for Cummins during the week and work at Colonial Country Club on the weekends. At least I get some good laughs at Colonial.
8. I am obsessed a huge fan of Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert. I love all kinds of music but country is definitely my favorite.
9. I am in the process of learning to cook. John being gone makes it a lot less embarassing for me to completely mess up one of my hundreds of Pinterest recipes.
10. I was born & raised in Memphis. I've never been shot or robbed or carjacked. It's not as ridiculous of a place as the media makes it out to be. Even though I've lived here my whole life(minus the 4 years in Knoxville), I went to Graceland for the first time in December. I guess I take a lot of the touristy things for granted. I should probably soak up everything in Memphis before John gets his duty station and we peace on outta here.
11. I love getting new school supplies. Even though I am not in school anymore, you can bet I'll be at Target tonight pushing 5 year olds out of the way taking advantage of the tax free weekend in TN.
12. I'm in the process of making my closet a little more sophisticated. That means no more items that can't be worn to at least one of my jobs. It's harder than it sounds. I love sweatshirts and yoga pants.
13. I'm Catholic but I'm not super hardcore about it. I go on the major holidays and don't really get to go any other time because of work. I'm trying to do better.
14. Since there was no way in heck I could leave it at 13, that brings me to my last fact. I have major OCD tendencies. No, I'm not one of those that has to turn the lights on & off a certain number of times or wash my hands until they're raw but I hate odd numbers and I have to have things organized a certain way. I would go into detail but that would take days.

Thanks for reading, y'all! I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about me :]

it's been a while..

This week has been terrible to say the least. Let me give you a little insight:

• being yelled at from the moment I walk into work until I leave
• my brand new(less than 30 days old) iPhone 4S stopped working so I had to buy a flip phone from Wal-Mart to use until I go to Apple this afternoon
• I discovered my precious angel Bristol chewing on our dresser last night. Thank goodness it's black and I was able to make the shredded wood on the corner a little less noticeable with a Sharpie. She's also been chewing my desk chair at night so I threw that in the closet. I'm going to buy her a big bone today to divert her need to chew mommy & daddy's furniture.
• Kelly (one of my besties that blogs over here) and I went on a big girl date on Tuesday and had by far the worst service EVER. Dear Chili's at Wolfchase, I'm never coming back. (I did enjoy the girl talk & TJ Maxx shopping though!)

On another note, there were some happy things this week:

• John figured out how to work his iPad so we were able to FaceTime for a few days before my phone went crazy!
• My amazing DVR recorded all of my shows while I was busy FaceTiming :]
• I got my work schedule for this weekend and don't have to go in until 1 on Saturday(happy dance for sleeping in a little).
• I read a story on my local news website about a Navy SEAL who passed away in combat & in his will he wrote that he wanted 100,000 people to donate a dollar to the Wounded Warrior Project. This touched my heart so I gave a donation in his honor.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

wilw

I'll first start off with a little recap of my weekend because that is definitely something I loved this week :] We went on a tour of the USS Nautilus, a fireworks show & concert in New London, walked around Mystic, CT and ate at Mystic Pizza! It was the best weekend!

Okay..enough with the weekend recap..on to WILW!

Sigma Kappa's Lilly collection was finally released! I'm not going to go overboard but I'd like a few things, starting with the tote :]

I am IN LOVE with this watch! Watch+Bracelets all at the same time!

I love this idea! Put pictures of you both growing up along the aisles instead of flowers. So cute!

I love any and all things with anchors, and this cake is no exception :]

This is just too funny! I'm reading the second book now. I'm not obsessed with them but they're pretty good. I'm anxious to see how they can turn them into movies without being rated X.

Happy Wednesday y'all!



WILW

It's that time again! While everyone is wishing America a happy birthday, I'm wishing my daddy a happy 49th birthday! The poor man always had to combine his birthday party with the family barbeque so we always make a conscious effort to not include red, white, and blue with his birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Daddy(& America)!

On to What I'm Loving Wednesday..

I LOVE these canvases with your wedding vows on them. What a great daily reminder of the love you will always share with your spouse.

I have a thing for big picture canvases lately. This arrangement isn't too overwhelming for the room and I love how all the pictures are black & white.

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know my boyfriend is in the Navy. I have a new anchor obsession. It happens.

This girl has the right idea. I'm all about being comfy but not looking frumpy. This is a great combo of style & comfort.

I adore Mrs. Kelly Ginn & all her findings. She sent me a picture of the koozie with the sailboat earlier and I fell in love. Guess this will be next on my online shopping list.

I would've never thought of this on my own. Thank goodness for Pinterest. You can take a plain sweatshirt from WalMart and turn it into a wardrobe piece with just a small pocket in whatever fabric you choose!

This is one of the pictures that Kelly took last week during our blog friend meet up! I bought this at John's graduation & I haven't let it out of my sight since. Read more about our meet up here & check out Kelly's photography page here. She's so talented!

Last, but not least, I am obsessed with this outfit. This heat is killing all of us and this outfit is perfect! I love the color of the shorts & the lace on the top!

Thanks for reading, everyone! Happy 4th!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRISTOL!!!!

Okay I'm a tad bit excited today because it's my little Bristol's 1st Birthday!!! She has been such a blessing to John & I. We got her in November during an impromptu trip to the Bartlett Animal Shelter. I had seen her picture online but I thought for sure she'd be gone by the time we got there. We started walking through the shelter and spotted her sitting in the very back of her cage up on a little bed. She looked so scared. We asked if we could take her out to hold her and discovered a large wound over her right eye. John asked what it was and the lady said she had been playing with her sister(who was getting adopted that day) and her sister had scratched her and it got infected. He was concerned about getting her since we'd have to start off putting medicine on it and washing it several times a day. The lady guaranteed us it would heal.

We stepped outside to talk about it and obviously agreed to get her! I was so excited to get to Petco to spoil her rotten. John picked out her tag(a heart with pink rhinestones on it) while they gave her a bath. We spent probably around $150 getting everything we thought she would need.

She was, and still is, packed full of energy with the cutest little personality. She has trust issues with men and growls whenever she sees one with the exception of her daddy. She has kept me busy since John left for the Navy and we have gotten closer than we were before. I talk to her like she's going to talk back, cuddle with her when I'm sad, and take her on SEVERAL walks a day. She is the apple of our eyes. We want to get another dog eventually so she can have a playmate but for now she's more than enough to handle :]

Mommy & Daddy love you so so so much!