Healthy Living Journey

As I've talked about many times, here, here, and here, as well as on my page about our love story Jarr and I are getting hitched soon. So like a lot of brides I am on a fitness journey. Now, I'm going to keep it real with you guys. In the last two years that Jarr and I have been at our new school and I've been having to work full time while going to school I let my health slide to the way side. I've gained weight, a lot of weight in a two year time period for myself. I am the biggest now that I've ever been and well I don't like it.

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Now I know that I'm very lucky and I'm blessed with good genes and I'm tall. So my weight gain might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people but for me its not something I am happy about or proud of. So, I'm starting a fitness journey, well Jarr and I have been working out on and off since January but I'm buckling down.

So as I work on this journey of creating an all around healthier me I am going to share my workouts and my diet. Now, none of this has been given to me by a nutritionist, doctor, or physical trainer. This is all things that Jarr and I know or have learned from years of being athletes and from research we have done ourselves. Before you start any form of life changes you should do your own research and consult specialists.

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So for this week, my goal is to stay under my calorie intake every day. I know this may sound like an easy thing for most people but the fat kid inside me really loves food and I sit at a desk all day so I get bored. Eating is also how I deal with stress, anxiety, and depression so this is something I need to get under control. BUT, like the image above says, I will NOT starve for this. I will work hard and do this the healthy way. I refuse to be a woman who starves her body so others like the way she looks. I am STRONG, I am PROUD, and I will work HARD to get to where I WANT my body to be not where I think the world wants me to be. This fitness journey is for myself and making myself a healthier person NOT to lose weight.

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I use a calorie counter called My Fitness Pal. I really like this app and its very easy to use and lets you put in your own recipes. There are tons of calorie counter apps out there and I used to use the LiveStrong app and I liked it as well.

My advice on this is to just get one and use it every day. Be HONEST about what you eat and how much you eat, just because you don't put it on the app doesn't mean it doesn't count. You won't get anywhere without keeping yourself accountable.

So my goal for the week is to stay under my calorie intake of 1,500 a day and to exercise every day.

What are your healthy living tips?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Living Room Lust

As I talked about last week in my post about Out Door Living, Jarr and I are in the process of trying to purchase our first home. So of course Pinterest to the rescue, I have been checking out lots of home ideas and lusting over these gorgeous living rooms. I have so many ideas for our future home and I can't wait to get to work! I am really struggling with what color options to go with for our home so any advice would be great!

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As I've mentioned before yellow is my favorite color and I really love it paired with these light blues. Also that coffee table is gorgeous, the metal and wood combination is great.

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These floors though, for real I am seriously lusting over these floors. The color, the details, the imperfectness of them is all spot on. I also love how all of the wood work is white except for the floors. This is definitely what I would like for our living room. 

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I really like neutrals, if you haven't noticed I am fan of them in my living room. I really like the variety of textures in this living room and the fun pattern on the rug. It adds something extra and I'm definitely a fan. 

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The natural light in this living room is amazing. The first thing that caught my eye was the rug though, I love the striped rug but I don't think it would last in my house of muddy paws and gray cat hair. Something about black or white just doesn't seem to work well in our home but I keep trying to incorporate it. Hopefully, fingers crossed someday it will work out for me.

Which one of these living rooms are you lusting over? What do you like the most about your living room?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Wedding Wednesday- Choosing Colors

If this is your first week with us for Wedding Wednesday make sure and check out week one- Bouquets in a Pinterest World and week two- The Dress. This is all about my journey to the big day and how I made my choices and the advice I have learned along the way.

Today I'm going to talk about something that is very important to your wedding, the colors. For some people this is a very hard choice, as you will find out when you get engaged everyone has an opinion about your wedding and how it should be. Jarr and I decided to just do what we want and that means that I get to make most of the decisions about everything and we just ignore everyone else. I know that sometimes the pressure comes from unexpected places like in-laws, siblings, and the bridal party. So my advice on this is to do what you want, after all, it is YOUR big day. As long as the bride and groom are happy then it doesn't really matter what anyone else wants.

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I love this color combo and in the right location this could be absolutely stunning. I am a huge fan of coral and of navy. This is also very popular right now as coral is a very "in" color. 

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Yellow is and has always been my favorite color. It reminds me of sunshine and makes me happy. I have lots of yellow things on my desk at work to keep me happy throughout the day so this for me would be a natural choice. I also love the yellow paired with purple. I never would have thought to pair these colors together but they work quite well. 

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This is the color pallet my best friend/MOH did at her beach wedding and it was gorgeous. The purple and blue go together extremely well and look gorgeous in pictures. I however would not choose this because they were the colors in my best friends wedding and I like to be different. 

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So I have a fairly large personality, I come from a big loud family and because of that (that's what I blame) I am a very loud person. I LOVE this color combination. I think these colors go amazing together and I really like the combination, I never would have thought to pick tangerine and fuchsia to go with turquoise but I reminds me of the beach. I feel like it is very summery and beachy and it makes me want an umbrella drink. 

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This shade of red is extremely popular right now. They are saying it is the color of the season and I think we are in for many things in this color coming the fall season. I think its to dark for a summer wedding though and therefore it wouldn't be my choice. I do really like how they have paired it here with a rustic theme.

So my advice for brides-to-be, chose whatever you and your groom will be happiest with. This day isn't about anyone else and it needs to be special for you. So do what you want and everyone else will get over it.

What colors would you chose? Any advice for brides to be?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Out Door Living

So in the very near future Jarr and I are hoping to buy our first home together. We are looking into all the details and hopefully will be able to buy and move in to a home sometime around our wedding. So in the meantime I am lusting over some gorgeous backyards and getting ideas of things I would love to do for our out door living space.

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I LOVE the brick work on this patio. I think this is such a neat idea and I would love to have a space like this. The white chairs go so good with the greens and the red brick. 

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I am a HUGE fan of fire pits. I think they are a great invention and I would love to have one at our new home. I don't think that Remy would be as good as this furbaby but I know she would be interested. 

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Although, an outdoor fireplace would be just as good as a fire pit. I really like how this is under a pergola and instead of a chandelier I would put a ceiling fan for those hot Oklahoma summer days but I really do love this set up. 

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And of course I have to think about my Remy girl. She would LOVE to have a pool like this in our backyard to play in. We are thinking about adopting another fur baby at the end of this summer and I'm sure they would have a blast in this.

What out door living ideas are you lusting over?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Wedding Wednesday- The Dress

I'm starting a new weekly post about weddings. All things wedding will be discussed on Wednesday's, if you have anything you would like to hear about please leave a comment about it and I will work it in! Last week I talked about wedding bouquets in my post about bouquets in a Pinterest World.  So to if you missed it make sure and check it out!

So today I'm going to talk about my dress, how my shopping experience went and all of the people I took with me. First let me tell you a secret, something I wish someone would have shared with me. Take people who will tell you the truth, not people who will be mean but people who you trust to be honest about how a dress looks on your body. It makes a world of difference. Also, do NOT take 13 people, it is stressful and overwhelming. Trust me, I did that the first time and it was too much.

Find this dress here.


So my first shopping experience with wedding dresses I took my mom, my grandma, 3 sisters, my best friend/MOH, my two aunts, cousin, future mother-in-law, future grandmother-in-law, future aunt-in-law, and future cousin-in-law. Why yes that is 13 people, I didn't exactly think it all out and then it just got out of hand and I couldn't stop it. In a nut shell it snowballed out of control.

Find this dress here.

I went to David's Bridal, which has mixed reviews. But I went in the middle of the week and scheduled an appointment. My consultant was amazing, for real he was super sweet and fun. I would highly suggest him to anyone, if you like in Oklahoma hit me up for his details.

Anyways, after trying on several dresses I finally found the one! I loved it, it was pretty and lace and had a gorgeous key hole back. Or so I thought, after I purchased, yes PURCHASED, this dress I got home and found out it was the EXACT same dress my older sister wore in her wedding. So I slept on it, well I tried to sleep on it. For two days I couldn't sleep and I had major anxiety about this dress.

Find this dress here. 

So after talking to my mom I returned the dress and shopped again. This time only my mom, one aunt, and two sisters came. It was so much better, they were very honest and supportive and I found my dress that I absolutely am madly in love with. I am so happy with this dress and knew as soon as I put it on. There was no doubt and I have no regrets, its been two months and I still love my dress. Another piece of advice I have, never tell the consultant that there is something that you don't want to try. I told him the only thing I didn't want and it ended up being the exact kind of dress I took home.

David's Bridal was amazing about letting me exchange my dress and everything was straight across the board. So I got a second dress which I absolutely love and cannot wait to wear. It was made for me, I really feel like it was. So my advice is that if you have any doubts, its not your dress. Seriously, I am so glad that I went back and got a different dress. I think that would have really bothered me, having my sisters dress just made it less special. I know that might be dramatic but I just couldn't get over it.

Find this dress here. 

So now that I have my dress, mine only. I am so happy with my choice and I have such relief knowing that it is mine and it is taken care of. So my advice in a nut shell; don't take a big crowd, try on every style of dress, and if you have any doubts then keep trying them on.

What was your dress shopping experience? Any horror stories or any more advice?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Traveling in Style

Tomorrow Jarr and I are going to Colorado for a few days with his family. We are going to spend a few days exploring and possibly making some decisions about the wedding. Last week I talked about how I have decided to Be Like Carrie and really challenge myself with my fashion choices everyday. So I am going to show you some of my inspiration for my suitcase as I am packing for our trip. The weather is going to be a little cooler then it is right now in Oklahoma so I'm bring out some of my favorite winter weather gear to wear.

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For me this is a classic winter weather outfit and it is warm and comfy. This style of outfit will definitely be in my suitcase. I love wearing scarves and my boots with a cute sweater that isn't to heavy. In Oklahoma you can definitely get to hot with the weather changing constantly but I should be safe in this outfit in Colorado. 

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I also seriously love wearing my chucks and colored jeans. I am a huge fan of chucks so this is very in line with what I will be packing, I will probably throw a cardigan or flannel shirt over this outfit just to make sure I am warm while we do our adventuring. 

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I also love wearing basics like this and mixing them together. This is always good when traveling that way you can mix up your outfits and still look different every day. This makes packing easier and gives you the option of bringing some fun scarves or necklaces to really make a statement for the outfit. To see what I end up wearing every day make sure to follow me on Instagram  as MissMo4 where I will be cataloging our adventures.  

What are some of your traveling favorites? Which outfit would you wear? 

I'm linking up at these parties!

And That is the Question...

After sharing about how Our Love Story Began and telling you all about Our Next Big Step I thought I would share some more about mine and Jarr's relationship. I'm going to be honest, a lot of people might not agree with this post. That is perfectly fine, but I'm going to be honest with you and talk about something that can be considered controversial. After being together for almost 3 years and transferring colleges together to live in a very expensive college town Jarr and I decided to move in together. So for the last two years we have lived together and been roommates.

Some people will say this is wrong, that you shouldn't share a home together before you are married. I understand that, we both understand that. But I come from a divorced family, I have trust issues, A LOT of people in my family have been divorced. So, for me this has always been a logical step. I think that when you live with someone, whether they are your friend, significant other, or even family member, you learn so much about them.

Jarr and I seriously talked about moving in together after 2 years of being together when we were first moving schools. We decided not to for the first year because he didn't think his family would accept it. After that year we decided that it was a waste of money for us to not live together and that if we both wanted to marry the other person some day we should live together and make sure that we don't drive each other crazy.

After two years of living with Jarr I have learned a lot about him and about myself. I know that if I call him on my way home from work he will pick up the living room. I also know that he likes to clean the kitchen as soon as we are done eating our meal. I love the man to death but he will never make the bed in the mornings if he is the last person out of bed. These are little things I've learned but it always seems to be the little things that push you over the edge.

During our two years of living together we have also learned how to budget together, how to manage our household, and how to meal plan around our schedules. These are things that a lot of people learn in their first few years of marriage but it is also something that can break your relationship. Jarr and I have learned how to work together and be completely honest about our debt, bills, spending habits, and needs in a relationship. We have learned to be completely transparent with the other person and how to come to solutions for our problems together.

So while some people think that living together before you are married is a bad thing, I think that it is a great way to really get to know the person you potentially want to spend the rest of your life with. Jarr and I have had some giant blowouts sure, but we have learned how to work through them together. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Jarr is my forever and that no matter how much I drive him crazy or how bad I might neglect him he will always be there waiting for me to calm down my crazy. We have been through a lot in the last two years but living together has made us stronger then we ever were before.

During my adult life I have lived with 5 different people and by myself for an extended amount of time. If I had to choose again I would still pick living with Jarr before anyone else or living by myself. I think that's what being in a relationship is all about. We have learned how to do so much more then just coexist, we share our lives together and we don't want to murder each other on a regular basis for the most part. ;) Jarr and I are just like every other couple, we have our ups and downs but we have learned to work together as a team.

So it might be wrong or controversial but for us it was the right choice. What do you think about living together before marriage? Did you live with your spouse before you got married?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

Well its my favorite day of the week, Casual Friday!!! So I might have taken big advantage of it today and rocked a baseball cap to work, BUT it's a cute hat. This week has been a hot mess of not being home until after 10 every night and going straight from work to the hospital. My grandma is in the hospital and she was diagnosed with COPD, which for those of you like me who don't know medical terms that is basically lung disease. 

If you like my hat check out Sister Act 3 for other styles! And yes this is a work bathroom selfie. :) 

My grandma has been a smoker for almost 50 years, she hates the doctor, needles, medicine, being away from home, and generally anything associated with the medical field. So this has been an interesting experience for all of my family. My family is very close as I have talked about several times before so this is hard on all of us. 

Today I'm rocking the chucks and boyfriend jeans.

Another big thing happening right now for my family, I told you a long time ago about a New Adventure  we were starting. Well my aunt has had a clothing store for the last 8 months in my hometown. She was renting a building but has recently bought a building and the grand opening is tomorrow! I am so incredibly proud of her and this adventure she has started on, plus I am having an amazing time helping getting merchandise for the store and myself. ;)

My new purse that also came from Sister Act 3! 

So this week I've had a lot going on and I have a big list of Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers. 

Peaks: Getting to spend so much time with my family, even though its in a hospital with my grandma all of us being together has really been a wonderful blessing. We are one week closer to wedding time and next week we are meeting with photographers! 

Pits: I haven't been home before 10 almost every night this week, so I miss Jarr and I miss my fur babies. We haven't seen much of each other and its definitely been hard. Plus I really miss sleep. 

My sweet girl waiting for me to get in bed. 

Praises: My aunt is having her grand opening for her new store tomorrow! We are so incredibly blessed everything came together so quickly and she had so much help from amazing friends to get everything ready to open. Also, that my grandma did finally go to the doctor and is getting the help and care she needs to become healthier. 

Prayers: That my grandma will listen to her doctors, quit smoking, and start living a healthier life. That my aunt will be successful with her new business adventure and that she will continue to enjoy what she is doing. Also, that Jarr and I don't forget what all this wedding madness is really about, becoming husband and wife. 

What are your Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers for the week? 

Be Like Carrie

I have always had a slight obsession with Carrie Bradshaw and Sex and the City. I used to love the show and watched it constantly growing up. I still watch reruns every chance I can and I loved The Carrie Diaries while it was running. One of my favorite things about Carrie Bradshaw is her style and the fashion you got to see on the show.

I found this cute outfit here.  I love the combo of sweater and cute skirt. 

I believe that every girl has an inner Carrie that they channel when they pick out clothes and decide what to wear. But sometime for whatever reason we suppress our Carrie so that we don't stand out, or dress in something other people might not like. So I am challenging myself to be more like Carrie and to stand out, to embrace my inner style and to not worry about what other people think.

I also love Blake Lively and her style is something I really relate to. This outfit is gorgeous and I could totally see myself wearing it. I found this here. 

So for a while I have had a pinterest board called Be Like Carrie  where I pin outfits that I like. Its to give me inspiration and to give myself ideas on how to expand my inner style. So I'm encouraging all of you to be more like Carrie and to let your inner style shine.

I love the combo of maxi skirt and a scarf with a tank. Everything about this outfit is simple but when you put it together it looks so good. The link to this outfit didn't work, this is my only issue with Pinterest. 

So these are three very different looks but they are all classic and I love the style of all of them for different things. For me this is what inner style is about, finding what fits you and wearing what goes with your attitude for the day. I'm on a journey to find my personal style and to incorporate some good pieces into my wardrobe.  

What is your inner style? Do you let it shine or do you try to stay in whatever the norm for your lifestyle is?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Wedding Wednesday- Bouquets in a Pinterest World

As you read about in Our Next Big Step we are getting hitched. For me the hardest part so far has been to decide what direction I want to go with the theme and over all concept of our big day. So I have a confession, I have a pinterest addiction. I am an addict, I could spend hours every day planning the rest of my life on pinterest and never actually doing anything.

So like every bride to be in our Pinterest world I have pinned away every idea I come across that I may like for our wedding. I have like 15 (slight exaggeration) wedding boards right now. So today I'm going to share with you all of my inspiration for my wedding bouquet.

I love the different colors in this bouquet, and the textures. I also really love how it is wrapped with twine. I'm on a twine kick myself right now. I got this from Style Me Pretty. 

Like any other Southern girl I love myself some pearls. Some people might not consider Oklahoma Southern but us Okie's do. I really like the different textures of this bouquet as well but the pearls, well they steal the show for me. I found this at Brides of Adelaide.

I also have a great love with Peonies, they are my favorite flower and I really want them to be in bouquet. Also, royal blue is my color of choice right now. I have a serious problem with buying and wanting everything in royal blue. So these flowers are gorgeous and I like how it has the little blue berries in it also. I found this over at Sayles Livingson Flowers. 

So far these three are my top picks, I'm sure that whatever I decide will be much different then all of these but will have little pieces from them all. 

What do you think? Which bouquet is your favorite? 

I'm linking up at these parties!

Our Next Big Step

I mentioned a few weeks ago in my post about Grown up Decisions that Jarr and I got engaged. If you want to hear some about our love story where it all started go check out How Our Love Story Began.  So today I'm going to talk about the most recent step in our journey together.

Jarr and I have been together for almost 5 years, its crazy to think that we have been together for that long but I also can't remember a life without him being in it. He has been my best friend, my strength, my biggest support, and my champion for the last 5 years and I couldn't be more happy.

So a little history first, Jarr and I are the same age and we started college at the same time. But his degree plan takes 5 years and mine only took 4 but I pushed it to 4 and half years because I figured why hurry, lets enjoy this. But as I talked about in Grown Up Decisions we are going to have some big life changes when Jarr graduates this coming May. We have lived together for the last 2 years of our relationship while we have been in college so we know this is it for us, we are each others forevers.

This was such a big step for us! We couldn't be more happy!

So, in a very nontraditional manner we have been talking about and planning out when the best time for us to get married would be since last fall, like August and September. So as I feel like all couples who are serious should do we discuss our finances together. We each know how much debt the other person has and we know how much money the other person makes. Maybe not all couples do this but I think its important as a couple to both be aware of the finances and income of your relationship. Anyway, with this being said, I know Jarr's budget and income when it comes to a proposing. So I wasn't in any way expecting that he had been saving for an engagement ring and had one.

So on a Thursday night I get home from market with my aunt and Jarr asks me if I want to go with him to the free hot air-balloon rides on campus tomorrow. I of course say yes because I have always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. So on Friday I go to work and leave a little early so I can beat the traffic and be home in time to go with Jarr.

With the hot air balloon! 

So we went up to campus and got in line for the rides...then waited 3 hours. Yep, we waited in line for 3 hours. During the wait we saw a gazebo and make jokes about it and thought it would be cool to check out. So after we finally got to the front of the line and signed a ton of waivers we walked over to the gazebo. While we were standing in the middle of it talking about the gazebo and how it was like the sound of music Jarr got down on one knee.

I was so shocked I asked him if he was joking. Ha little did I know it was for real, I was so excited. Then he surprises me even more by telling me my mom, sister, and aunt were there and had been waiting for the whole 3 hours so they could be apart of it also. I was beyond surprised and excited that I got to share this special moment with my family. Jarr knows how much they mean to me and I'm so glad he included them in our special memory.

My wonderful family that got to be apart of this with us!

So that's our story, it is just like us. Sometimes the plans don't work out so we figure out something else and it always ends up being better. I'm so glad he proposed in the gazebo and it was a private special moment for just us.

So now the big mess of wedding planning is in full swing. We are narrowing down things and making decisions. I hope you will follow along with our journey to the big day.

What is your proposal story? Did everything go according to plan?

I'm linking up at these parties!