Blog Connect and Button Swaps!

I am SO excited about what I'm about to tell you.

Yesterday I logged into Blogger-world and started catching up on my blog reading when I saw the most wonderful post from Helene at Helene in Between. She has put together the most glorious forum for bloggers that I have ever seen... granted I haven't been around that long, I think this thing is just out of this world! It's called Blog Connect. You should really check it out! There's bloggers talking to each other about design, blog ideas, sponsoring, meet-ups, anything and everything!

Seriously though, this is wonderful! Now, on to my exciting news! I went on Blog Connect yesterday and piddled around for a while and saw a thread about sponsoring other blogs. It was there that I learned about Passionfruit ads.

I went and created an account. It was SO easy! You may have noticed the little tabs on the top of my page now. I've got a new one - It's called Button Swap! I'm going to start button swapping! All you have to do is go to my button swap tab, get the promo code for the swap that I've provided on the page (which makes it FREE) and click BUY! From there you will fill out a little form and BOOM, you're done! It's THAT easy. Then, your button will be displayed on my sidebar for 30 days (which is what it says, but I may keep it longer than that, I'm not sure yet). The only thing you have to do is take my button and kindly display it on your sidebar as well for as long as I've got yours on mine!

<a href="http://lott2love.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/2zwKiqA.jpg" alt="button" width="250" height="250" /></a>

Simple enough, right? So, thank you to Helene and all of the bloggers who are using Blog Connect. Seriously, I would not have been able to figure this out without it's help.

So, Button Swap, check out Blog Connect, get your Passionfruit on - whatever it is you do, I'm sure it'll be great!

Insta-dump and Liebster 3!

Hello world! As you all know by now, I have a new phone. An iPhone to be exact. Since the acquisition of my new phone, I have been completely OBSESSED with Instagram. The cameras on these things are incredible! How did I ever live without this thing?! Anyways, I found a link-up that lets me take all of my Instagram posts and annoy everyone with them on my blog! Everyone wins!!

I even made a cute little collage so ya'll can keep up. :)

Follow me on Instagram!

1. This was the very first photograph that I took with me new phone. I told Hubs to make it a good one. You see what happened.

2. This is my sweet baby boy Maverick. That's his spot. He's a little like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory.

3. This is my Kimber girl. I broke that sweater and I was going to throw it away. I think I'm gonna give it to her. Hubs was not a fan.

4. And here she is again in her every day form. Lovely isn't it? She's silly.

5. I went a month between fill-ins. I was DYING for a nail job. I finally got one. I feel so much more put-together now. Funny how that works, huh?

6. This is the most amazing picture I've taken of Maverick yet. Look at his little legs crossed!

7. Since getting my phone and learning about the camera on the other side of the phone, I've been a selfie-taking-fool! We went to trivia last night and had to take a selfie before leaving.

8. I realized the previous picture wasn't a good view of my jewelry/shirt combo so I went old-school-mirror-selfie. That's the jewelry I bought at Belk this weekend. You can read about the good deal I got here.

9. I was just about to get ready for bed when I noticed that my hair looked great. I couldn't let the moment go unnoticed, so naturally I took a picture.


Liebster Award Take 3, ya'll!

NOWWW, something else exciting happened! Yesterday I checked my comments and got nominated again for the Liebster! Since I've already shared 11 things about me and nominated 11 others for the award, I'm just gonna answer the questions that Sarah @ Definitely Sarah B. asked! Go check out her blog! It's super adorable! Here's the questions that she asked:

1.  How long have you been blogging & why? 
I've only been blogging since October. I love the blogging community and love that we can all share our thoughts and opinions freely without consequence!

2.  What's one thing you couldn't live without?
One thing and not person, right? The one thing I couldn't live without would probably be my iPhone. I went all of that time without it, and now I don't know what I'd do without it. You can do everything on those things!

3.  Favorite Sports Team?
This is like the hardest question on here for me. I LOVE sports. SO MUCH. Can I do this per sport? Please? KThanks.
Baseball: Atlanta Braves; NFL: Atlanta Falcons; NCAA Football: Georgia Bulldogs; NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson and the 48 Team

4.  Are you a shoe person? If so how many would you say you own?
I am most definitely the epitome of a show person. I have at least 60 pairs of shoes (last time I counted). Every time I go shopping I almost always come home with a pair of shoes or a purse. No kidding.

5.  Your favorite Shampoo brand?
Funny you should ask! I'm actually looking to expand my shampoo/conditioner usage. Right now I'm using L'Oreal EverPure. I'm thinking I want a little change. Nothing against L'Oreal. It's been great, I just like to change it up every once in a while. If anyone has any new suggestions, I'm all ears!

6.  What are you scared of?
Wind. Not breezes, not light gusts, but like full on WIND. Like more than 15 miles/hr. I've had an emotionally exhausting couple of days. Thank you, Mother Nature.

7.  Morning Person or Night Owl?
Both. Seriously. But, if I had to pick one - Morning person. I like sleeping too much to put it off at night for shenanigans. Oh, it's 9:30? Bedtime! I swear I'm an old lady at heart.

8.  Sweet Tea or Coke?
Sweet Tea. ALL DAY ERR DAY.

9.  If you could do anything for a living what would you do?
Ad designer. As a matter of fact, I just designed an ad for the company I work for! I just love being creative.  Anything where I can just have "arts and crafts" every day is fine with me!

10. If you could be front row to any concert of all time, who would you see?
Oh wow. Okay I'm gonna go with... Elvis. How AWESOME would it be to see him live? And not fat Elvis - pelvis-shaking Elvis!

11. Do you collect anything?
Shoes and purses. See #4. I think it's almost on the border of hoarding at this point. I just love them so much!

First Things First!

It's that time of the week again!

It's First Things First with Halie, Gayle and Ricci! Today's firsts are all about 2 of my favorite things: eating and drinking! Let's get it started!

1. First Dessert Choice: 

I don't normally get to eat dessert. I also don't really like sweets too terribly much. When I am in the mood for dessert, I go all out. I think one of the best desserts I've had has been at Buffalo Wild Wings, of all places. I was sitting there watching my Falcons play football and saw this on the menu: 

Hello sugar! I ordered it immediately. It's a fried cinnamon sugar tortilla with fried cheesecake bites and vanilla ice cream on top drizzled with chocolate and caramel. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. I think about getting it every time I'm there, but I know I shouldn't. I don't even know if they have it on the menu anymore. 

2. First Beverage Choice: 

If we're talking about regular beverages anyone who knows me knows the answer: 

Sweet Tea. Emphasis on the 'Sweet'

And don't let anyone tell you that it doesn't taste better when drank from a Mason jar - because it does. 

If we're talking alcoholic beverages, that's another ballgame. As far as beer is concerned I love Michelob Ultra, but if we're talking liquor, give me one of these, please! 

Margaritaville for me! 

Any flavor is fine as long as it's frozen with salt around the rim! My mouth is watering! 

3. First Breakfast Choice: Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Unfortunately, I don't get to eat breakfast a lot (read: almost ever). I know, I know. Anywhooo. If I could have anything for breakfast my first choice would definitely be breakfast casserole. 

I mean , really? It has everything you could ever want for breakfast in one deliciously decadent bite. Perfection. Recently I found a recipe that even uses country gravy. Heaven! Makes me want to go get in the kitchen! 

Are you linking up for First Things First today? 

Weekend Shopping!

Happy Monday, ya'll!! I don't know about where ya'll are, but at my house it is raining! Schools are closed because of flooding! How crazy is that??

In order to keep myself from going crazy with all of this icky weather, I think about what a great weekend I just had! I went home to visit my Momma this weekend and Me + Momma = Super Shoppers.

I do not buy things at full price. Ever. I guess it was instilled in me when I was just a youngun'. But let me tell you, I can find a deal! Here's some of the bargains I found this weekend: 

http://www.sperrytopsider.com/

These amazing shoes are from Belk. On the Sperry website they are marked-down to $59.99. How much did we pay for them at Belk? Twenty. Freaking. Dollars. Whoop whoop! 

I got a pair of jeans AND a pair of shorts at this store called "Dots" for a grand total of $16. Love them!

www.amazon.com/

I got this hoodie at TJ Maxx. Since you can't shop online with TJ Maxx and I really wanted to know how good of a deal I got on this, I searched Amazon. You can buy this hoodie on Amazon from $45-$65. How much did I pay for it? $7. REALLY? Really.

www.belk.com

 Another great deal we found at Belk. See the clearance prices? Take half off of those. That's right, $64 worth of jewelry for $16. I swear, I love Belk more and more every time I go in there. Hubs? - exactly the opposite! 

Now, that wasn't everything but it was the better of all the deals we found this weekend. I always have a great time when I go home. Family, home cooking, shopping, old friends. What more could a girl ask for?? 

Did anyone else find any good deals this weekend? I'd love to hear about them! 

Leibster Award Take 2!

So, I've been nominated for a Leibster award again! The first time I was nominated I only had like 3 followers so I'm thinking this has come with great timing! This time I was nominated by a sweet blogger by the name of Suzanne who blogs at Sweet Tea in the Sunshine State! I know I still don't have THAT many readers, but I think those of you who DO read this will learn just a little bit more about me. 

Here are the rules:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you. 

3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award. 

4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate.

5. Go to each bloggers place to let them know about the award. 

6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog. 

So, here we go! 11 facts about me! 

1. I live in a town with only 1 stoplight. 

2. In high school I did a 2 week student exchange to Bautzen, Germany. 

I'm in the front row with the bright-as-day white outfit on. 

3. My first plan ride ever was that 8 hour flight to Germany for the above exchange.

4. I had never gotten a speeding ticket until last year (made it 8 years!).

5. On that same note, I've almost totaled a vehicle twice (Half-Asian, full female. Can we say stereotype?).

6. I am a HUGE Braves baseball fan. I live 3.5 hours away, but I go to as many games as my wallet can stand every year! 

7. I've run a half marathon on Superbowl Sunday 2012. I never thought I would be able to do that, but I did. 

I may have run it slow, but I ran it, dangit! 

8. I make wreaths. A LOT. If you ever need a wreath, I'm your girl. I missed V-Day this year and I'm kicking myself for it. I bought the supplies and everything, but never got around to it! 

9. I absolutely hate being cold. There is a reason why I moved further South. People think I'm crazy, but I don't like for my bones to hurt because of the weather outside. No thank you. Give me sunshine and I'm a happy girl! 

10. I painted a portrait of my baby girl Kimber last year. It was the first time I painted anything "realistic."

Not too bad, huh?

11. I am a reality TV junkie. Seriously. Here's a few of the shows that I absolutely LOVE: (Don't judge me!)

Now, questions for me to answer!

1. Do you like scary movies, if so, what's your favorite? Well, I am not a scary movie kind of girl, but if I had to pick a scary movie that I really liked, I would go with the very first Saw movie. It was those mind games that really got me. The second one wasn't too bad either. They should have stopped with the third, like I did. 

2. What do you prefer to read, fiction or nonfiction? Definitely nonfiction. I love ready biographies. Specifically of the comedic variety. For instance, I LOVE the Chelsea Handler books.

3. Did you play any sports growing up? I played t-ball when I was little-little. Then I moved on to cheering and then to color guard, with a little bit of church-league softball thrown in for good measure. I'd like to think I was pretty active as a child. More than I can say about myself now, but we're working on that. :)

4. What's the best concert you've ever been to? Oh my gosh. This is the hardest question on here. I really don't even know where to start, I've been to so many! I love me some Luke Bryan and when I went to the Farm Tour the first time he came to Valdosta, I had the time of my life. This was before all of the rules against bringing your own beer in. Now it's just a bunch of people crowded around a stage. Back then it was a bunch of people partying together while Luke was holding down the stage area. 

This is a video of it that I took. I have no idea why I rotated the camera. I was... well, drunk. LOL. Go ahead and skip to 1:30 and just enjoy that for a second.

5. Why did you decide to start blogging? I decided to start because of my sweet friend Maggie, at Maggie The Mrs. I figured, hey, I used to rock the Xanga back in the day, this could be pretty fun! Now, here I am!

6. Are you working the job you thought you would be back in high school? Heck-to-the-naw! I thought I wanted to be a pharmacist in high school. I went off to college, got a job at the pharmacy and hated my life until I quit. I knew that wasn't my calling and that was that. Now I'm actually a crop chemical consultant/regulatory agent. Honestly, I really like my job. And, I got really lucky finding it almost immediately after I graduated.

7. Who is your favorite celebrity? Another hard one! As of right now, I'm gonna go with Norman Reedus. The Walking Dead is my favorite show right now and I love him. Seriously.

I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of it! 

8. Are you a good public speaker? I'd like to think I am. I don't have anxiety attacks or any of that junk before speaking in front of a crowd. I have to practice like everyone else, but in general I like to be the center of attention sometimes.

9. What is your favorite place to vacation? Mexico Beach, Florida. It's where Hubs proposed, where we got married and where we love to go. It's so quiet and peaceful there. No tourist attractions, just you and the beach. Nothing else to ask for.

It was really windy. Go figure, right? 

10. What do you think is your biggest character flaw? When I have a plan set out for something, I almost always have to do it that way or I have a tiny mental breakdown in my head while I'm dealing with the fact that plans have changed and I have no control over it. It's really weird, but it happens. The smallest things too: for instance, once Hubs wasn't ready when I got to the house to pick him up for something. I sat in the car and waited for him trying to figure out how I was going to get over this 5 minutes that have now been WASTED that have apparently thrown off all of my plans for the day. He hates when I get like that. I can't blame him. He still loves me though, and puts up with it. We laugh about it later.

11. What is your favorite recipe to make at home? I'm going to go with anything and everything that can be cooked in my Crock-Pot. Seriously, how awesome are those things? Everyone needs to have one.

Now, my questions for my nominees: 

1. Obligatory: Why did you start blogging?
2. Who/what has the most influence on your life right now?
3. Favorite thing to drink?
4. If you could switch places with anyone AT ALL for a week, who would it be?
5. What is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?
6. In which reality show would you excel the most?
7. What is your claim to fame? How do people identify you?
8. If I opened your fridge right now, what would I find?
9. What is your dream job?
10. Favorite thing to do on a date/girls night?
11.  The one thing that you want more than anything else at the moment is...?

On to my nominees!

Ashley @ The Enlightened Redneck
Jen @ Team Bowen
Erin @ Living, Laughing, & Loving Life
Alissa @ iAManRD
Megan @ Growing Up is Actually Kind of Fun
Alexandra @ Everything Under the Sun
Jess @ City Sequins

Can't wait to see what ya'lls answers are!! 

First Things First!

I'm at it again!

It's First Things First with Halie! For today's memories, here are the questions:

First thing I do at the Gym: 

WELL. I have a gym membership that I don't use. I call it my fat-tax every month. But, don't worry! I've been working out at home instead! When I DID go to the gym I always did thigh workouts first, mostly because I already ran during the day before coming to the gym and the thigh machine things were right at the front with the ellipticals and treadmills. Seemed right to just do what I got to first, first. 

First date with my current significant other (Hubs!): 

Well, this is.. controversial. I won't tell you why, but I will tell you about the date. Hubs asked me if I wanted to hang out one day. We knew we had feelings for each other but we had never really acted on it before this day. Of course I said yes and away we went. First we went to his parents house. They had a pool table and so he asked me if I wanted to play. Not knowing that I knew my way around the billiards, Hubs went easy on me and I beat him. Bad. (That part may be exaggerated. I don't know how much. I've told it this way so many times that I'm started to believe myself!). We played another game where he actually played and he won. I was upset. But not upset enough to not continue the date. :)

After that we went to a pizza buffet. I loved this place and he knew it. We invited one of our other friends to come with us and he showed up a little later. After we had got to sit down, eat, get approached by a couple of folks that set destiny in motion (part of the controversy), and talk for a bit. Come to think of it, not only was that friend at our first date, but he was also there for our engagement! I wonder if he realizes that? 

ANYWHO! After that, fate ran it's course and here we are today. I don't think I've beat Hubs at pool since that day. He's pretty proud of that. I will continue to try though. 

This was not our first date, but it was our first overnight trip we ever took. Savannah, baby! 

First email:

Ya'll, when we got a computer with internet in our house, we were the cool kids on the block. I spent all day and would have spent all night on the internet if my parents hadn't pried me away from it every night. Being the pre-teen that I was, I thought I had to come up with the coolest email I could on the coolest, most hip email provider that I could find. The best choice that my adolescent brain could conjur up?    gtchicka88@bolt.com 

What in the world?? First of all, GT stood for Georgia Tech. I wasn't even a real tech fan. I am a Georgia fan. Second, chicka? What in the world was I thinking? Third, you may think that 88 was the year I was born. NOPE. It's not. Finally: bolt.com? I don't even know where I found that. I'm sure I searched for hours to find it. EMBARASSING. Needless to say, that is NOT my current email address, or anywhere near it! 

Are you linking up today? What are your firsts??

Also, I have a new Facebook page. Check it out!

Work-Out Update!

Just finished my workout for the day and I look AWFUL! But, that's okay. I'll be looking much much better in a few weeks. :) 

Seriously though, last week I found out a helluva lot about myself. Including and not limited to the fact that I am no where NEAR the shape that I thought I was in. I wanted to start p90x last week, but after doing plyometrics once - JUST ONCE - I thought I was going to die the next day. I forgot why I could never make it through the first couple of weeks. 

So, I've had to adjust the schedule to fit my needs. How humbling that was. For instance, I'm sitting out on Plyo for now and replacing it with regular cardio x. I'm just not ready for the intense cardio workouts yet. So sad, but it has to be done. I don't want to hurt myself when I'm just getting started. 

As far as eating goes, I've been doing pretty well actually. Normally I would eat out every day. And when I say eat out, I mean fast food. Not. Good. Last week I think I cooked dinner 5/7 nights. One night we had pizza and one night we had sushi (Valentine's Day). 

One other thing I've learned about myself is that I get bored working out. I have no idea why. Oh well. A small price to pay for reaching my goals! 

Speaking of reaching your goals, how's this for motivation: 

Pinned via Tasha Lott on Pinterest

I think I'll make these tonight! What if you put like a $100 bill in the bottom of the "to go" jar for a new outfit or something when you reach your goal? That would motivate me A  LOT!!

How's everyone else's Monday going? 

Happy Birthday, Cuz!

Today is my sweet cousin Ashley's birthday! She's 23! You can find her over at The Enlightened Redneck. She's a brand new blogger. I'm so excited for her! So, Happy Birthday Ash! Here's some pictures of us that prove we need to take more pictures together. 

So in conclusion: 

Sunday Social!

Linking up with Ashley and Neely for Sunday Social, again! This time it's all about Valentine's Day!

Basically that means I lied when I said that my last post was the last one to be able V-Day! Sorry. I hope you'll forgive me! 
Here's the questions:
1. What's the Best Valentine's Day You've Ever Had? 
Tough one! They've all been pretty darn good. The most memorable one was in college - I think it was my freshman year - and Hubs got me 2 dozen red roses and a HUGE balloon. 

Actual photo of the roses. I still have the petals tucked away somewhere. 

My balloon. I think I still have it somewhere folded up. 

What makes this V-Day so memorable besides the roses and the flowers was that I asked Hubs to shave that night. I had never seen him without a beard so I asked and he delivered. He was not pleased. I never asked him to shave again.

Sad hubs. 

2. What is the Worst Valentine's Day You've Ever Had? 
Honestly, I can't remember a single Valentine's Day that wasn't great. If I was with someone, they were always fun and when I didn't have someone, spending it with my girlfriends was always the best option and it was never a let-down! 
3. What Did You Do for Valentine's Day This Year? 
Well, we didn't get to celebrate on the 14th this year because Hubs had to work. We did go out to dinner on Friday night for sushi. We kind of celebrated (i.e. gave gifts) a little early this year. You can read about his gifts here. 
4. What is Your Best Valentine's Idea if You're Single?
I remember one Valentine's Day in high school when me and a bunch of my girlfriends were single. Some by choice, some not-so-much. We all got together and watched My Best Friend's Wedding (... because she doesn't get the guy in the end!) and baked cookies in the shapes of guys, decorated them accordingly and bit their heads off. Don't believe me? I have pictures:

These pictures are making me laugh. Oh how young we were! 

5. What's Your Favorite Valentine's Candy? 

I don't really like candy - like at all! I'm more of a strawberry fan. If they're covered in white chocolate or yogurt or whatever they cover them in nowadays, I will eat the whole mess of them. I LOVE strawberries.

6. Favorite Valentine's Memory from Your Childhood?

I don't really remember any particular V-Day from my childhood, but I do remember that my daddy always got me a teddy bear or a doll or something on Valentine's Day. It always made me feel special. Probably why I grew up to be such a daddy's girl. Couldn't help myself! Here's a picture of me and my daddy way back when: 

Are you linking up today? Can't wait to read about it! Hope you're having a great weekend! 

One more Valentine's Day Post!

Check it out! Hubs already gave me my Valentine's Day gift. You can read about that whole glorious weekend here. But, he didn't get his stuff until last night. Here's all the stuff my lucky Hubs got for Valentine's Day!

I had to hide things throughout Hub's day yesterday for him to find because he had to work all night. Even though we are celebrating tonight, I HAD to give him his presents yesterday because I was so excited! 

http://www.ae.com/

I planted this gift on his vanity in the bathroom so when he woke up, he would get it. What was in it? Boxers of course. What girl doesn't like to give their man a pair of good boxers for Valentine's day?

http://www.wofmts.com/

Next gift I planted in his office. I wanted him to get it before he left the house in the morning, but he told me he was running late and didn't get to open it. Maybe he was running late because he couldn't pick out which pair of boxers he wanted to wear! Dang! I should have planned better! We're both Atlanta Falcons fans and this shirt started getting popular right as the season was coming to an end. Hubs loves Pulp Fiction so I knew what I had to do. I bought myself one too so we can match (!!!).

http://www.mypilotstore.com/

Hubs has his pilot license and works at the airport. I wanted to get him something that reflected that part of his life. I was scouring the interwebs and was just about to give up when I saw the most glorious sight. This gift is beyond perfect. It talks about by flying and fueling up and they are shot glasses! Who doesn't want a shot when they come home from a grueling day of customer service? Incredible. Bought them immediately.

http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/

This was the gift I was most excited about. Since the first time that we played this game, we have been addicted. There was only one problem: it was always SOLD OUT! You could buy it on Amazon from 3rd parties but it would always be more than twice the price! We were not doing that! Finally about a week and a half ago I get a tip that it was back in stock, I immediately went to Amazon and ordered it (plus both expansion packs!) and sure enough, an hour later it was sold out again! If you've never played this game and don't mind "adult" humor, I suggest trying it. It can be vulgar, but it's quite the hilarious game. Think "Adult Apples-to-Apples". 

How did your Valentine's Day turn out?

It's Valentine's Day!

If you've read my blog at all before right now, you may or may not have noticed the amount of ecards I have scattered throughout my posts. I love ecards. I think they are hilarious, and I especially love them around holidays. Here's some of my favorites from Valentine's Day:

Sorry to all my single ladies! 

Sounds like a DREAM!

Hah!

Sometimes it feel like this, doesn't it? 

...Pinterest anyone? 

These cards are a riot! Now, what did I get for the Hubs this V-day? You'll have to come back tomorrow to find out because he doesn't even know yet!

How was your Valentine's Day?