becoming organic

More and more Chase and I are becoming organic/green people.  Its not because its the "cool thing" but because we have done some research and organic and green products are healthier for you and your environment.

As our diet has morphed into a more well balanced healthy intake of food we made the switch to buying some organic products and locally grown products.  Luckily, being in Dallas has made this much easier.  I have also slowly switched to green environmentally friendly cleaning products as I began to think more about taking care of our home and our surroundings.  We have also taken some strides with our veggie garden, being able to pluck fresh tomatoes and peppers right out of our backyard.  Nothing more "locally grown" than that.

And we LOVE Target's Archer Farms brand...great organic products at reasonable prices.

We still have a long way to go and it still hurts a little to pay the larger price tags but we are getting there.  This past grocery trip, after reading a very informative article, we made the jump to cage free organic brown eggs.  I had been avoiding this for a long time just because I had a weird mental block with brown colored eggs.  But, after finding out how much more nutritional value you get from a cage free brown egg it was easy to make the switch.

Personal growth people. Love it.

engagement photos

A couple weeks ago Chase and I trekked back to Oklahoma City for a date with our photographer to snap some engagement photos.

I developed a thorough plan with locations, style of photography, props, outfits etc. It was the account planner in me coming through.

In preparation for the photos I got a manicure, a pedicure, some eyebrow waxing and then I had my hair and makeup done by my good friend Kande from eyekande.blogspot.com

We had a lot of fun running around our favorite spots in OKC and gazing into each others eyes for photos. haha In all honesty it was a little awkward at first but we warmed up to the camera pretty quick. Plus our photographer, Simon Hurst, helped calm me down with his charming english accent.

We just got the pictures in the mail yesterday and they still need to be touched up but I had to pull out a few of our favorites to share. Enjoy.


in front of the Oklahoma State Capitol Bldg



downtown Oklahoma City



Paseo Arts District



Jefferson Park



Edgemere Park




All images by Simon Hurst Photography

weekend plans

A house full of boys.

I guess I should say Men...they are all in their mid-twenties. This weekend seven of Chase's really good friends (including my lil bro) are coming to Dallas for a visit. They are staying at our house.

Looking forward to playing host to our guests. And excited to see all of them. They haven't been down to Dallas since New Years so this will be a very fun weekend.

The plans for the weekend are:

• Out on the town Friday night to celebrate my lil brother's birthday
• Six Flags/Bike Riding (some of us don't do rides)
• Pool party at a friends
• Cooking Out
• More bike riding
• All around good times

The Guys

what time is it?

New watch time! If you will remember, I was gushing over this watch last week. Well actually, I posted the wrong watch...it is really this Fossil Stella Watch.

I tried it on several times and was in LOVE with it. Well, when you have a fiance that is a huge watch buff, ask and you shall receive.

Chase surprised me two days later with the watch. How sweet is he? And I absolutely love it.



It looks SO good on my wrist. Thanks honey!

What's for Dinner?

I have not posted about what's for dinner in quite some time, mostly because we are dieting and our meals are pretty boring.  But a few days ago we cooked our first meal with veggies from our backyard garden!  It was very exciting to harvest peppers and tomatoes from our backyard and use them in our dinner.

So what was this meal?  Chicken and shrimp kabobs with cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper and pineapple.  The cherry tomatoes, tomato slices and green bell peppers came from our garden.  It was a simple and delicious meal with lots of fun summer colors.



We put all of the meat and veggies on the skewers and then added salt, pepper and some dash seasoning. Cook on the grill at low heat for about 20 minutes. Perfection.



Looking forward to making some homemade salsa with our veggies next.

Happy Father's Day

Just a quick little post to say Happy Father's Day to my dad, Tom.  This is the first year I am not at home to celebrate so I am sending a huge shout-out via the blog to my dad.  He is the best dad I could have asked for.  I love you Dad!

afternoon treat

Part of my afternoon, around 2:30, I brush my teeth.  For some reason it gives me energy and is a very invigorating experience.

This afternoon, when I went to the bathroom at the office, I got two very weird glances as I was standing over the sink, brushing away.

"Don't look at me because I have good oral hygiene, judge yourself!"

Does anybody else brush their teeth at work post lunch?

Wrist Bling

I have my eye on this white Fossil Watch. Isn't it pretty. I think it would look great on my wrist. A little bling if you will.

weekend plans

On the road again...

That's right, heading back North again for OKC. But this time its for a really fun reason. Our engagement photos!!

We have some really great ideas and locations planned and our goal is to have a great time that will turn into great photos that will capture this memorable time in our lives.

Sunday morning bright and early, 6am, I am up and at em prepping for the shoot that starts at 9am. And I talked one of my friends into doing my makeup and hair. She is great at that and I am not. (check out her blog full of beauty tips, www.eyekande.blogspot.com)

I will post some of our fave photos when we get them so stay tuned. For now I will leave you with one of my favorite engagement photos that served as inspiration.

messages from home

Every few weeks or so I get a sweet card or postcard from my Mom...just to say hi. I love getting these little messages from back home in OKC. I miss all my family and friends a lot so getting these always puts a smile on my face. Oh, and my Dad has sent a couple my way as well.

Exploring the Metroplex: Evening at the Arboretum

Our latest edition of Exploring the Metroplex did not take us far from home.  We decided to check out the Dallas Arboretum's Evening Concert Series, Twilight Tuesdays.  The Arboretum is less than a mile from our house but we hadn't been yet so it was a new experience.

The concert series is in a big outdoor area that overlooks White Rock Lake.  Plus you get to walk through most of the Arboretum to get there so you get to see all the beautiful flowers.  And you get to bring in your own food and wine.  So we packed our bag of goodies, grabbed a blanket and hopped on the motorcycle.



The band we saw was a jazz group led by a female singer.  They were very good.



We enjoyed this new experience and are looking forward to going back again very soon!

wedding mood board

With so many ideas floating around in my head all the time about the wedding I decided to put together a wedding mood board. Its actually focused on the reception but the overall feel is for the entire wedding.

I am calling it Vintage Chic.

Click on the image for a larger view

the growing continues

Another quick update on our first veggie garden.

After returning from our weekend in OKC we were fearful that some damage may have been done to the veggie garden due to lack of watering. Boy were we wrong. The veggie garden was doing better than ever with plants towering and tomatoes popping up everywhere. We even had to add in some support cages for the tomato plants because the weight of all the tomatoes was taking them down.

A quick look back at day 1:


And now at day 40 or so:


We are getting some absolutely beautiful veggies.

a new addition

One of my best friends Liz has an incredible eye for beautiful mid century furniture, and more importantly chairs. You can check out her chair obsession here.

Liz had a great opportunity to pack up her house in OKC and move to North Carolina for an adventure of a lifetime. Her new home in NC happened to be smaller than her home in OKC so some chairs had to be sacrificed. Insert opportunity for me. : )

This past weekend while at home in OKC I picked up one of Liz's mid century gems. We welcomed the new chair to our home yesterday. We tried the chair in several spots in the house and ultimately gave it a prime spot in the living room.

Welcome home Gunlocke chair.