WEEKEND RECAP // VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION

We are midway through the week! HOLLA! I hope it is going well for you all. We have been super busy this week, but luckily our schedules are filled with lots of fun activities. We celebrated my nephew's 6th birthday last night with family and it was too much fun. His friend party is Saturday and I am helping my sister-in-law make a few of the decorations. I need to get to working! And let's be honest, themed parties make my heart explode. I just love them.

And while we are on the topic of hearts exploding, how was your Valentine's Day weekend? Mine was fantastic and filled with lots of thankfulness and reflection.

Marriage can be a little messy and a little tough; i'll be the first to admit it. Tough mainly because it exposes every ounce of selfishness in me and reveals my deepest insecurities; but truth be told, marriage has been the greatest earthly decision I have ever made.

It has been full of the biggest blessings, has brought me endless joy and laughs, and I absolutely love having a life-long roommate!  I am so glad God chose me to live this life with David. He truly has the sweetest, most genuine heart.

Lets say farewell to all of the sappiness and say hello to all things heart shaped. I convinced myself this weekend that things would just taste better if I made them into the shape of a heart. So excessively, I did just that.

Heart shaped pizza for dinner on Friday night. Am I the only one obsessed with putting fresh pineapple on my pizza? This is seriously my new favorite thing.

and along side for dessert, a little heart shaped brownie-cookie cake. Which by the way, have your tried this before? Talk about heavenly and its a box mix, so can you really say no?

We went out to dinner on Saturday night and had the most amazing hibachi, so nothing heart shaped there, mainly just me attempting to use chop-stix. I just don't have to coordination for it and I am super jealous of anyone who can master using them.

Sunday Morning, I woke up my Valentine with a festive little breakfast in bed. Pink scrambled eggs did not turn out nearly as appetizing as I had predicted. I guess Dr. Seuss chose green eggs to go with ham for a reason ;).

David surprised me with some very thoughtful goodies and even picked me up my favorite drink from Starbucks when he went to pick up our Chinese food for dinner on Sunday night. He truly is a gemstone.

That's a rap! Now to finish out this week so we can enjoy another weekend! Hope you have a wonderful day, friends!!!

SHOW & TELL- FAVORITE PINTEREST PINS

Happy Tuesday, Friends! I'm linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals to share some of my favorite Pinterest pins. I resort to Pinterest for all of life's problems. Literally there is an answer to just about every questions imaginable. Want to know how to clean out your clogged up Keurig? Organize your coat closet? Budget your grocery money for a year? Don't know? Guarentee Pinterest will!!! I just love it! To follow me on Pinterest or to see my boards click here.

Follow Maddie Butterfield's board {For when I decide to chop it.} on Pinterest.

I have a hair appointment on Tuesday and I have been doing lots of pinning to this board lately.  To chop it or trim it is the question of the week? I haven't had my hair short since I was in high school 5 years ago! Are you a short hair or long hair girl?

Follow Maddie Butterfield's board {classy.} on Pinterest.

Pinterest is my go to for outfit inspiration. It seriously never fails. June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver is my style inspiration. I feel like she'd rock most of the outfits I have pinned on my Classy Board. ;)

Follow Maddie Butterfield's board {cookies & bars.} on Pinterest.

The winter weather makes me crave chocolate more than normal and this Cookies and Bars Board has been my saving grace. Everything I have tried, I have seriously loved.

These Snickers Brownies have been one of my very favorite pins, ever. Your taste buds will be in heaven. You won't regret making this! 

I used Pinterest to learn how to make chalkboards out of picture frames. I used these to ask my bridesmaids to be in my wedding. Fun, unique, & inexpensive. My kind of project! 

And that one time Pinerest told us to lather all of these strange things on our head and then put a Walmart sack over it. Pinterst fail? Maybe. But it definitely provided lots of laughs, and greasy hair for seriously like 2 weeks straight. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

5 WAYS TO WAKE UP WITH PEP IN YOUR STEP

Good Morning Friends! Happy Monday! I can't believe another weekend has come and gone. The time seems to just keep going by faster and faster. What were you up to? We had a fun dinner date out on Saturday and ate all things heart shaped the rest of the weekend. 

My dear friend Tori over at Sweet Life Diary of a Health Nut, is one of the sweetest, not to mention healthiest people on the planet!  When she approached me about starting a Motivational link-up I got so pumped! #allthehearteyes 

This is just the extra push I need to get my booty to the gym and to start each week on a positive note, feeling much more energized and healthy. Please feel free to grab the image below and inspire us with your delicious, healthy recipes, fun exercise ideas, and tips on how to live a life full of positivity and love. 

Here are 5 ways I roll out of bed with pep in my step and jump start my day with loads of positivity:

I haven't always been an early riser, and honestly, there are days when I still battle with hitting the snooze button over and over again. In college, I started waking up early because the quietness of the morning was just the company my coffee drinking and Jesus time needed and I've never turned back.

Now, working a full time job and being involved in numerous things after work, the mornings have become even more valuable to me and I want them to be as relaxing and stress-free as possible. Here are 5 tips that help me to wake up with lots of pep in my step, even on a Monday!

1. Pack our Lunches the Night Before
I know this task is pretty brief and simplistic, but just having it out of the way the night before leaves me with one less thing to wake up thinking about. It also allows me to take my time to plan and prepare healthier lunch options, versus throwing in a lean-cuisine as I am running out the door.

2. Lay my Clothes Out the Night Before
I have serious problems committing to outfits in the morning and I seriously used to waste so much time filing through my closet, putting something on, looking in the mirror, throwing it on the floor (which also made my room look like a tornado went through), and starting from step 1 all over again.

3. Do a Light Workout
There is nothing like getting your heart pumping bright and early in the morning. There are so many benefits from doing a short workout when you wake up. One being, that your hormones that build muscle mass are elevated first thing in the morning. When you get your workout on in the morning, you have the ability to take advantage of these natural circulating hormones as they are peaking. It will also give your metabolism a quick boost.

Personally I have found that exercising in the morning allows me to be more focused first thing in the morning when I get to work! I love going on little walks or runs with Bentley Pup in the morning.

I love treating myself to a delicious smoothie after a morning workout- check out my berry delight smoothie recipe here.

4. Drink a glass of water alongside my Coffee or Tea.
If you are anything like me, the first thing I grab when I roll out of bed is a beverage with caffeine. No problem, keep drinking your coffee or tea, but drink a glass of water with it. By drinking water, you too are jump starting your metabolism first thing in the morning, and rehydrating your dehydrated body, leaving you feel much more refreshed and energized.

Plus, after nourishing your cells, drinking water will help flush out unwanted toxins from your body. After ridding your body from the toxins, you are able to soak up more nutrients from your morning breakfast #score! And your skin will be clearer #doublescore!

5. Enjoy a healthy breakfast while doing some self-reflection. 
Whether your pull out your adult coloring book, make a to-do list for the day, or read your morning devotional, penciling in some "me" time before the pace of your work day kicks into gear is super important.

Happy Monday, Everyone!! I hope you have a wonderful week!

An InLinkz Link-up

FRIDAY FAVORITES // FREE PRINTABLE EDITION

It's Friday!!! Oh happy day!! Linking up with Andrea, Erika, & Narci today to talk about my Friday Favorites! I am bursting with lots of excitement today because my hubby was traveling (again) this week and is homebound today! Can't wait to soak in a whole weekend with my little family. Quality time really makes my heart full. What're you up to this weekend? Any fun Valentine's Day plans in your future?

Speaking of Valentine's Day... if you are anything like me, you are scrambling to throw something together for the ones near and dear to your heart. Every year I tell myself I am going to plan ahead, but here I am again going through the oh so familiar motions of chaos trying to put something thoughtful together before Valentine's Day this weekend.

My husband and I are donut crazy. I have to practice immense amounts of self control everyday on my way to work to not whip my car into the parking lot of our local donut shop. It's a daily battle between my little head and my little tastebuds... my tastebuds usually win and my checking account does not.

Since I feel like my love for donuts is pretty mutual with most people, I designed a simple little gift tag, picked up some donuts and created these little treats to hand out to friends, family, and our closest neighbors. These turned out to be one of my fastest and favorite projects!

(Don't mind my poor quality photos. I accidentally deleted all of the pictures I took on my camera last night, so iPhone pictures for the win! Thank goodness it's Friday!)

Check out the free printables below. Hope you enjoy them and grab a donut for yourself to enjoy, too! I shamelessly enjoyed 3 ;)

For the bag printable click here.
For the box gift tag printable click here.

To check out my Valentine's Day decor inspirations and 3 must have festive sweaters click here.

Did you know when the Krispy Kreme light is on it means they are giving away free warm glazed donuts? I discovered this this week and it may have been the greatest news of all times. And yes, my husband has already noticed my addiction to donuts... especially after I sent him a picture of this sweatshirt this week.....

This needs to be in my closest. ;)

Dreaming about one of my favorite vacations ever with this guy. I am craving sunshine, tan skin, and swim suit weather! Are you ready for the heat, too? 

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends! XOXO!

WHAT I'M WEARING

Today I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy to talk about what I'm wearing! One of my very favorite parts about winter is the freedom to layer my clothing without feeling like I'm going to pass out because of heat exhaustion. Layers add more depth and visual interest to outfits, and are a fun way to express creativity.

Are you a Friends fan? I can’t help but picture Joey saying, “Could I be wearing anymore clothes?” every time I pack on another article of clothing to my outfit. 

I'm a bit vest obsessed these days. If I can throw a vest with it, I'm going to. The combination of my love for vests and fur have given my wardrobe a whole new look of wild. #justcallmeJane #Tarzanreference 


Oh and I can't stop wearing my Red Hunter Boots. #swoon I am eyeing some adorable light pink ones for Spring, but can't seem to justify the purchase to my adorable hubby just yet!


Cozy sweater weather is the best weather and this Old Navy sweater makes my heart so happy. It's the perfect weight for winter and is a great go to piece for the office.

Vests obviously go perfectly with starbucks dates along side my besties. I met this set of sisters at Purdue and they are just the funniest and best kind of people around. Always a good time when we get to reunite! 

Love love this mustard vest from Old Navy. Have I mentioned how much I love vests? And I am loving this chambray and grey cardigan combination. I wore it this way last week... 

And this way this week! Selfies in the Starbucks bathroom, because why not?! Starbucks is literally my second home. Give me all the lattes and blueberry muffins please. 

Random days where rays of sunshine peak through the sky and running tops paired with a light vest is all you need for a long walk outside with your pup, are hands down the best days. I want to put my winter coat in a box and never see it again for at least 10 months. 

To find a similar top to this yellow one and to find out what running watch I am obsessing over click here. Would you rather spend your days wearing elastic pants and ruffled running tops, too?! Or is that just me?

And with Valentine's Day this week, I am in full panic mode! I have nothing bought or planned for my sweet husband yet! But I do have our home decorated with fun Valentine's Day touches. Click here to get outfit, decor, and food inspiration for the day of love! 

Tune in tomorrow for a free printable! You "donut" want to miss out! (hint, hint!!!) 

Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

FRIDAY FAVORITES

HIP HIP HORRAY!!! It's Friday and I could not be more excited! Linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals today, dishing out all of my favorite things! One being that after traveling for work, my husband will be home tonight! Cannot wait to have a lazy Friday night ordering in pizza and catching up on our favorite shows. I'm hoping to sneak in a few games of Boggle, too! Have you ever played before? It's my new ridiculous obsession. What does your weekend agenda look like?

First things first. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we are almost through the first week of February and how the heck is it almost Superbowl Sunday? I feel like I was just drafting my Fantasy Football team yesterday! Oh how time flies. 

Although the Redskins aren't appearing in the Super Bowl (and the last time they did was the day after my parents wedding 20 something years ago) I am still excited! In honor of the big game I thought I would share some of my favorite photos, with my favorite people, supporting our favorite team. Who are you routing for Sunday? I'm so torn!  

I am pretty sure that we were celebrating that this was the last picture of the day. Love being on the same team and living life with these guys by my side. 

And while we are on the topic of the Super Bowl, here are few things that will be on the menu at our house on game day! 

this pepperoni cheese ball

these chicken and waffle sliders

and these heavily baked asian glazed wings

One of my very favorite memories is from my freshman year of college when I attended the University of Indianapolis the year Indy hosted the Super Bowl. The Giants practiced every day leading up to the big day on our campus, so we did lots of fan girling over Eli Manning.

And then, somehow I landed a gig with my besties guarding the suite doors at the game as part of the Superbowl Security Crew #gettingpaidtowatchthesuperbowl #aintabadgig

We spoke to and spotted lots of celebrities that day and had an absolute blast! #ohheyyyyreecewitherspoon 

I think about 9380420 pounds of confetti dropped from the ceiling and I was in confetti heaven. So fun watching the players and their families celebrate the big victory! What a crazy adventure! 

Quite mornings with a cup of coffee in hand and a book filled with inspirational words is another favorite. There is something about starting my day off on a peaceful note that usually results in the rest of my day going much smoother. 

Mini pies are my absolute favorite and they were a huge hit at my wedding reception. To see all of our reception details click here, and click here to check out our woodland wedding ceremony. 

What're your plans for Valentine's Day? Whether you are single, dating, or hitched, throwing a little get together with some of your besties to paint nails, catch up, and eat lots of yummy treats is always a fun idea! Check out my Valentine's Day Inspiration Post to get the scoop on some of my favorite decor, recipes, and more! 

This week I blogged all about my favorite yellow workout top and my crazy infatuation with my new Garmin running watch. Wishful thinking that the sun will be shining as bright as it was last weekend! 

Happy Weekend & Superbowl Sunday! Hope you fill your bellies with lots of delicious goodies! Thanks for stopping by!