embrace the camera! march 31, 2011 :)

meet ms. mccuaig.

the most encouraging and loving girl i know,

and a newly employed 7th grade english teacher.

{eeeeeeeeekk!!!}

i hate to think of what my college experience would be like if i hadn't been forced to live with this lady freshman year.

way to go texas tech student housing.

thanks for the set up,

you did good.

embrace the camera ya'll! :)

Wiggly Wednesday

i wish i could say i was a dancer,

but i'd hate to lie to you sweet people.

i have a negative amount of dancing abilities,

but that doesn't stop me from getting my groove on.

[in the secrecy and privacy of my own apartment...]

i love cranking up the ipod in the morning,

singing in the mirror when i'm putting on my make up,

getting pumped up for the great day that lies ahead of me.

and because everyone needs a little wiggle in there life,

here's a fun little song to help get you moving this morning.

have a blessed day ya'll! : )

# of all.....

first of all...

we're 6 days into insanity.

my back hurts.

my abs hurt.

my legs haven't stopped shaking in about 2 days.

shaun t should be institutionalized. 

{and i'm loving it.}

i don't know if this means i've fallen over the edge,

but it's the truth.

54 days to go...

second of all...

this cloudy day is making me anxious for mexico...

get me to the beach pronto por favor-o.

i'm counting down the days until i get to take another photo resembling this one.

[fifty-fourrrrr!!!]

if it wasn't for all of the corruption,

and drug cartels, and unsanitary conditions,

i think cozumel would make a pretty great paradise. 

third of all...

today i had a realization.

i am surrounded by some pretty amazing people.

maybe not literally surrounded,

but i've got people...and they are prayer warriors.

there is no better blessing than to know the people you love are interceding on your behalf,

and i am praising my Savior for them today.


"I will praise the LORD all my life; 
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."

psalm 146:2

have a blessed night ya'll!

a day at the beach

beach day has to be my favorite episode of the office.

hands down, never gets old.

i can never hold it together when stanley and jim sumo wrestle,

and andy is floating around on lake scranton,

and michael asks pam to look for a conversion chart in the back of her notebook.

i'm about to bust just thinking about it!

we had our own version of beach day,

and although there were no sumo wrestling costumes,

and there we didn't have 800 hot dogs,

we did have sand and sunshine.

[and the boys had a football...holla!]

have you looked at an ocean lately?

i think i could sit and stare out at the ocean for hours.

God just blows my mind. how does he come up with this stuff?

"if I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me..."

"...how precious are your thoughts about me, o God,

they cannot be numbered!

i can't even count them, they outnumber the grains of sand.

and when i wake, you are still with me."

psalm 139:9-10, 17-18

 

my hair might have gotten slightly out of control,

but who cares. it's beach day!

perky is rocking the wind blown look with me.

 

[[like i said, the boys had a football.]]

 

it might not be mexico, but it's better than lake scranton!

[[can i get an amen??]]

have a blessed day ya'll!

splendid sunday: pizza pros

we're 4 days into insanity, 

and we're [sore, achey, in pain, barely surviving] dominating!

shaun t really is a crazy man.

but he knows how to make you sweat. 

[[i've never done so many squats in my life. this better be worth it.]]

when i was at central market today,

{stocking up with healthy, shaun-t approved foods}

i found some pre-made whole wheat pizza crust.

we loaded one half up with turkey sausage and red and yellow peppers, the other half with canadian bacon and pineapple.

pop it in the oven, and 20 minutes later my apartment smelled a-maaaazing,

and my mouth was watering.

yummmmmmmy!

we loveeeeee pizza.

but it's not always the best choice when looking for nutritional, good-for-you foods.

think this is a good compromise!

[at least we like to think so!]

i hope you had a splendid sunday!

mac and peas : )

[[i have a confession.]]

my name is sarah grace, 

and i love mac and cheese.

but not just any mac and cheese...

mac and peas!

when i was in college,

{ya know, back in the day...}

i stole borrowed the combo from my bestest friend and roomie stephadoodle.

she said felt less terrible about eating mac and cheese if she knew she was upping her veggie intake at the same time.

she is one smart cookie.

yes.

i'm 22 years old,

and i love mac and cheese.

don't hate.

i'm linking my confession up with katy.

whooooo,,,,
it feels good to get that off my chest.

: )

it was almost fate...

for months now i have been praying for a puppy.

and when i say praying,

i mean pleading,

begging,

in the most pathetic form of the word.

{i even have a name picked out.}

i want a cute and cuddly buddy so terribly my heart can barely stand it!

just a buddy.

is that too much to ask for??

last night, when bryce and i were driving to meet my dad for dinner, 

fate almost made me the luckiest lady on the face of the earth.

we were driving down memorial when jesse appeared on the side of the road.

[this is the closest photo i could find.]

she was so cute and super feisty.

she was running along memorial,

owner-less, buddy-less,

she needed a friend, and i needed a buddy.

[perfect match.]

we pulled the car over, got out, and chased her down to prevent her from running into traffic along the busy road. 

when we were able to get her to back into the neighborhood, i suppose she was able to recognize her surroundings because she took off running, towards home.

 

i was heartbroken.

[even though she had a collar]

i somehow got it in my mind that she was the puppy i had been praying for.

she ran away from home,

and her owners were going to give her up to a loving home, to me!

it's ok. 

God has it figured out.

if he can handle placing the stars in the sky,

and the sun into orbit,

he can find the perfect puppy for me.

i have faith.

and so it begins...

in preparation for our upcoming cruise,

bryce and i started working our way through the 60 day insanity challenge.

[try to keep the mocking and the what are you thinkings to a minimum.]

yesterday was day one.

[the fit test.]

we barely made it.

today is day two.

i can barely move.

{i think i can i think i can...}

bring it shaun t.

{embrace the camera will ya?!}

great vs. GREAT

wanna know why today is a GREAT day?

the sun is shining,

it's the first day of spring,

left over fajitas for lunch,

perfect cup of coffee this morning,

i have that "i worked really really hard yesterday" soreness all over,

i've found a new project to work on [thanks jess!],

it's biggest loser tuesday!,

i've got my "i feel tall and confident" shoes on,

i found out my office is closed on good friday!,

i'm feeling these muffins are gonna make a yummy breakfast this weekend,

my two [eeeek!!! i know...] tickets got dismissed this morning,

the dry cleaning lady [with a really heavy eastern european accent] didn't yell at me when i asked her to repeat what she was trying to say 4 times,

the Michael Scott proposal is coming up on thursday...

you know you're jealous.

life made lovely: march 21, 2010

i can't believe the weekend is already over. again! 

it always goes by so quickly.

in order to keep my self free from the end of weekend blues, i'm cranking up the bruno mars 

{yes....i'm kind of addicted} 

and trying to look forward to the exciting things ahead of me for this week!

[[like my new yoga class tonight! yayyy!]]

fake it till you make it right??

sunday afternoons are perfect for getting your scrap on, and i took full advantage of it.

a couple of birthday cards,

and a just because getting mail is fun cards.

{who doesn't love some old fashioned snail mail?}

i think this last happy birthday card is my favorite of them all.

have i mentioned how much i love my amy butler scrap pad?

it just can't do any wrong.

{life made lovely}

super sunday: march 20, 2010

this sunday is quite the wonderful one.

the sun is shining brightly,

my apartment is clean and it smells lemon-ey fresh,

my new stamps came in,

and the bugs are gone!

when i told my mom about my little bug problem,

she knew exactly what to do!

they were grain moths.

gross, flying, pesky little guys were living in my crackers and pasta boxes.

perfect time for me to deep clean my kitchen.

now my pantry is empty, 

but clean!

yes.
today is super because i am finally bug free!!

now...on a less buggy note:

look at these adorable shoes:

a sweet lady was wearing them on my flight to dallas this past week and i couldn't help but snap a photo.

they remind me of something my nana would wear.

i hope i'm cool enough to pull those off one day.

what's super about your sunday?

embrace the camera! march 17, 2011 :)

ok world, watch out.

i'm officially in the march madness game.

i'm hoping i'll start feeling the madness pretty soon:

the hives, the fever, the jitters, all those things that come along with watching more basketball than any normal human could ever possibly need to watch in their entire lifetime.

i haven't seen bryce this excited in a long time,

and it's quite cute.

he's got the bracket-makin down, the research, the predictions, the multiple drafts.

and then there's me.

o ya, my bracket is bound to go down in history.

i picked every single possible underdog there was.

[that "ooooo sarah..." feeling you've got going on right now is the same thing bryce said to me when he saw my picks.]

we're embracing the madness!! 

meet super bug killer man

one of the side effects of leaving the doors open to enjoy the beautiful spring sunshine and cool breezes is the silly little

[well more medium sized than little]

flying bugs that have decided to take up residence in the corners of my 14 foot ceilings.

[have i mentioned that i'm 5'1, sans platforms and stilettos of course!]

they are so gross! they just fly around and land in your iced tea, and cause all sorts of havoc.

luckily,

i have a manly and courageous superhero to save me from these terrible creatures:



allow me to introduce you to super bug killer man!

he managed to save me from the flying villians 

armed only with a broom and his super duper charm.

[[isn't he just the cutest??]]

life made lovely: march 15, 2010

good morning world!

even though it is dark and cold and stormy outside,

and i would much rather be snuggled up in my warm, comfy bed with a cup of coffee and my [guilty pleasure, super duper cheesy] book,

i am at work [i mean.....yayyy work!!].

but,,,eeeek!
i am so excited to share something lovely with you!

:)

as i mentioned yesterday, i purchased my very first xyron machine!
that, combined with my beautiful new amy butler scrap pad,
pretty much put my into a paper-lovin coma!

i parked myself on my living room floor,

turned on "give them something to talk about",

and got my scrap on.

of all the cards i made yesterday, i think the one below is my favorite.

and i hope you find it lovely as well!

.

and here it is in the set:

i am going to try and start putting life back into my etsy shop, so please stop by every now and again to see what i've managed to cook up!

[[check me out!]]

i'm linking up to life made lovely from blessed little nest. :)

splendid sunday! :) march 13, 2011

hello there world!
are you having a splendid sunday??

this is where i take a few minutes and share a few of the things that my life splendid.

[1] this was a beautiful weekend! i couldn't get enough sunshine!
so i turned up the tunes, opened up the windows, and got my clean on!  cleaning is so much more enjoyable when theres a little wiggle in the mix!

[2] i started using this lavender scented laundry softener. i know, mind blowing, exciting stuff! but for real, whenever the dryer starts going, my whole apartment smells soooo lavender-ee! 

[3] last week i purchased my first xyron, and can i tell you, i am IN LOVEEEE!
i don't know how i've survived all these years without it.
{for all of you non-paper lovin nerds out there, a xyron is a sticker maker! so fun right??}
so, this afternoon, i busted out my new amy butler scrap-pad, and put my xyron to work.

[[but more on that tomorrow!]]

and last, but not least.....

[5] eight splendid years ago, 

i was introduced to the lady who would become my bestest friend.

her name is courtney elizabeth,
and today is her BIRTHDAY! :D

i am so grateful for her!

[[YAYYYY!]]

mmmmm.....fajitas!

[confession]:

i'm addicted to mexican food.

i can't get enough

chips and salsa,

fajitas and margaritas.

my tummy is grumbling at the thought!

maybe it's because mexican food is so much more fun to say than american food.

margaritas vs. iced tea

fajitas vs. sandwich

salsa vs. ketchup

see what i mean? they've got the fun factor,

and it's got me hooked.

last week my daddio made a trip out to h-town,

and you guessed it!

mmmmmmm........fajitas! :)

i'm so grateful for a fun dad who loves fun and adventure just as much as i do!

embrace the camera! march 10, 2011

yesterday i was blessed with a day off from work and a visit from my brother!

it was such a great and beauuuutiful day!

grayson is home from tenessee on spring break, and he was kind enough to make the trip down to houston to visit his sister! :)

we went to canes,

we went to the ZOO and saw the most adorable baby giraffe!

we saw cranes, and flamingos,

and a red panda, and fighting rhinos...

[these aren't real rhinos, but they look just the same!]

this is grayson hanging out with an american alligator.

if you squint with your magnifying glass, you can see the baby giraffe sitting down on the ground next to the two grown up giraffes. just a baby, only 7 feet tall....ahh!

and, of course, we saw the elephants.

how stinking cool is that?

when i was walking around yesterday, looking at the monkeys, and birds, and frogs, and fish, and snakes,

[yes, i walked through the snake exhibit,,,,,,eeeek!!]

 i was so blown away with how creative our Savior is. 

who else would be able to come up with so many different types of so many different animals?

and how gracious he is for sharing his creation with us.

he's a pretty great God.

p.s. you should check out grayson's tumbler, andddddddd watch this super awesome video of him.

he's a pretty talented guy. 

i taught him everything he knows. :)

[[embrace the camera]]

you know you wanna! :)

life made lovely: march 7, 2011

the other day while meandering my way through target, i came across a set of magnetic letters.

you know the kind i'm talking about right?

the super cheap plastic ones with the barely magnetic magnet on the back?

the ones that are in  
bright happy colors
that you'd use to spell out words and messages to your mom while she was making dinner?

[am i the only one who did that??]

well i found some of those on the clearance racks, 

and let me tell you,

i snatched those suckers right up!

although i probably should have spent the extra $1 and gotten magnets that are actually strong enough to hold up things on my fridge, 

i'm very glad i threw practicality to the wind,

because yesterday i found this:

and that is why my life is lovely. : )

splendid sunday! :) march 6, 2011

last week, i made my first [[splendid sunday]] post.

however, according to my lovely and logical boyfriend bryce,

a tradition isn't really a tradition until it's been done twice.

so here's to the start of a tradition! :)

[[maybe once i figure out how the whole button thing works, you can join me!]]

since this past weekend was so incredible, and so full of splendid things, i'm going to dedicate this splendid sunday list to my birthday weekend!

[1] if you're ever in need of a yummy, cheap reasonably affordable bottle of wine, may i recommend the central market foodie wines??

[2] sex and the city 2.  yes, i know i've talked about SATC in practically every post, but for real.  it's the perfect movie to watch while folding laundry and cleaning your apartment. i just love their relationship, the way the girls are so supportive and real with each other.  oooo realness. but that's another post in itself. o, and did i mention the shoes? eeeeeeek!

[3] red velvet cake + cheesecake = the perfect combo. 

red velvet cake on your birthday is a tradition in the akerly household, and when you can't have it homemade from mama's kitchen, the cheesecake factory is a great second.

i've been talking about the cheesecake factory for weeks, and my sweet boy caught the hint! it was so yummy! 

this is one of those times i'm grateful i'm in love with a boy who could give or take sweets.
i'm eating the leftovers as we speak.

[4] i am the proud owner of a beautiful new dress, full of pockets and zippers! i love me a dress with some pockets, and when i received this sweet gift from bryce, i was so excited! i wish i had gotten a full length photo of the dress, but this will have to do! mrs. chastain raised a very sweet and stylish boy! :)

[5] bowling is really under-rated.  ever since wii-sports came out, i feel like real-life bowling has gotten stuck in the corner and labeled lame. 

so, since my friends and i are the complete opposite of lame, we decided to get our bowl on!
let me introduce you to my sweet friends in the photo below:
mallory
one of my best friends from middle school
sarah mullis
she and i are the result of a blind date.  a blind friend date to be precise!
connie
i'm so glad God is the planner and not me, because if it weren't for college dorm life, i may not have ever met this sweet lady, and that would have been a huge tragedy! 

we made that bowling alley look good.  

we don't discriminate, we bowl in all colors.

ok, now that i've talked your ear off about myself and my splendid weekend, what are you grateful for on this splendid sunday?

ballaaaaaa!

last night, my sweet friends indulged my super-mature idea to go out on the town and get our bowl on!  it was definitely a great way to start off my birthday weekend!!


we had tons of fun, so try not to let your jealously get the best of you when you look at the photos (courtesy of connie!!)

meet sarah.  we dominate the blind friend date.  

i couldn't imagine celebrating a birthday without sweet connie!
red raiders have to stick together! ;) 

i don't think i've ever gotten charlie to take a normal picture with me.
ever.  

that sweet boy on the right almost got schooled.....almost. ;)

we made that bowling alley look good.

yup, i'm a lucky girl! :)