Saturday, November 23, 2013

here comes the bride!

Today this girl joins our family and I COULD NOT be happier!






So thrilled for Stewart and Betsy. I just hope all of the pictures from their wedding don't have my mascara running down my eyes because I'm so darn emotional but SO HAPPY!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Perrow!!

Friday, November 22, 2013

gold and white gifts

I love gold and white together. There is something so simple and classy to these two colors. I found the appetizer places on C.Wonder's website and immediately added them to my wishlist. And then I thought it would be fun to find a handful (or two) of gold and white gifts! Here are my picks:

gold and white




C. Wonder  // appetizer plates
 C. Wonder // tea set
Michael Wainwright // gold vase
DwellStudio // gazelle bookends
 Worlds Away // wastebasket 
Alexa // canister  
Lulu and Georgia // throw pillow
 C. Wonder // votives
Lulu and Georgia // accent table
One Kings Lane // cheers letters

I'll take one of each, please!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

prayers for illinois

If you are new to my blog in the past 10 months, you may have missed the fact that I lived in Illinois for a year. This blog started because of mine and Tyler's long distance relationship and it just grew into a regular old lifestyle blog.

You all know that Illinois was slammed with tornadoes this past Sunday. What you probably don't know is that one of the tornadoes hit TWO MILES from where we used to live. Terrifying. My friend Ashley's aunt and uncle's house was completely demolished and it absolutely breaks my heart. Illinois is near and dear to my heart and I just broke down when I heard the horrific news. 

You can read the story and see pictures about the tornado that hit my friends' family HERE.

I just read that 13 Illinois counties are considered disaster areas, including Douglas County where we lived. My heart just breaks thinking about it. We have been in touch with our friends and it seems like all are safe, just very shaken. 

via
Please pray for the families affected and donate to the American Red Cross if you are able.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

eight things

Y'all where has this month gone!!!!! Next week is Thanksgiving. Life is flying by way too quickly.

I'm just going to post a little quick update on life....

First, thanks for all of the love about Sarge. He is 100% better and we will not be running 4.5 miles ever again. It was such a scare, but such a lesson- YALL DONT RUN  WITH YOUR DOGS!

Second, my cousin is getting married this weekend and I am so excited! I've been counting down since our wedding which was exactly 8 months from theirs on Saturday. I'll also be in my college town and I haven't been there in two years!

Third, this Beachbody challenge is the greatest thing I've ever done. I've already seen pretty awesome changes and I am trying to recruit as many friends as possible. I have about a week left and I can't wait to see how many inches I've lost. I will tell you I cheated on Saturday and measured myself and WHOA- its impressive. I also feel amazing- thats what it's all about!

Fourth, this past Friday was my 25th birthday. Tyler and I had a delicious dinner at a tapas restaurant and my work friends spoiled me! My parents came to visit and we had lunch at another place downtown we'd never been. And Saturday night friends of ours hosted an oyster roast in our HOA clubhouse and it was so much fun!! Courtney was so sweet and turned it into a birthday party for me!


Fifth, some exciting things are happen to this Law family and NO it has nothing to do with babies! Hopefully I can share it soon with you!

Sixth, speaking of BABIES, I am surrounded by pregnant people. Two coworkers are pregnant- I have a baby shower for one tonight who is due on Dec 12 and another coworker is due in April. ALL of my friends in my Bible Study from home either had babies this fall or are expecting and one of my old coworkers had a baby last week! College friends are starting to announce it and family friends, too! I'm surrounded. But here is the thing: I am not interested in babies. There is no such thing as baby fever in my mind and the thought of a child right now gives me a stomach ache! Just not ready. End of story.

Seventh, I am just really loving my fall TV shows: Revenge, Blacklist, Biggest Loser (new favorite show), Chicago Fire, SVU, and Greys. Thank goodness for DVR!

Eighth, I think thats it for now. I need to be more regular about posting but I honestly don't have time and its easier when Tyler is out of town for work like he has been this week!

Monday, November 18, 2013

last night strangers saved my dog's life.

On Friday Sarge decided he likes yoga.


I've typed this out a few times, but it is easiest to copy and paste the email that I wrote to the editor of the Beaufort paper. If it ever gets published is a mystery, but at least I have tried!

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen that Sarge collapsed while we were running last night. It was the scariest afternoon of my life.

-----


My 6.5 year old black lab and I were running on the Spanish Moss Trail this afternoon. We ran about 4.25 miles when my dog, Sarge, basically collapsed on the trail by Allison Road. His front legs gave out and he became very disoriented and fell over, almost like he was drunk. I started yelling for help when two ladies and a man in front of me heard me screaming and ran over to me as I was yelling for water. They did not have any, but the man ran to Allison Road and stopped a truck to ask for water. Miraculously, the man came running back with an unopened gallon of water. I was in too much of a panic to really comprehend what was happening. I immediately poured the water on the dog and got him to drink some of it until we could slow his heart rate and cool him down.
Side note: Who has a gallon of water in their car? He looked like a contractor (because of his truck) so maybe that is why, but if this wasn't a God-thing, I DO NOT know what is. This man was my angel- the water saved Sarge!

I thanked the group over and over and told them I thought he was OK and we started walking slowly back to my car parked on Depot Road (about a mile away). After about ten yards, Sarge collapsed again. This time, his jaw was locked shut and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It was like watching him seize but having no idea what to do and no one to call! I screamed for help again and another group of three came running over to me. At this point I was in a panic, but the two men were able to calm me down while the lady ran to her car so we could drive Sarge back to my parked car. In the meantime, we laid Sarge down, cooled him down, and continued to try to give him water.

One of the men, a local photographer in Beaufort called a friend of mine who lives in Mossy Oaks, so she could bring a bowl of water and help calm me down since she knows me well. By the time my friend and her husband arrived, the men had taken care of Sarge and gotten to him to his feet and walking again. We let him walk around a little to make sure that he wasn't going to fall again. They had helped me breathe and stop panicking, something I could have never done on my own.

I only got three of the six stranger's names (Paul, Liv, and Doug I believe) and I never spoke to the man who generously gave another stranger a gallon of water. I kept saying thank you over and over and over, hoping that these people truly understood my gratitude, as this was one of the scariest things that I have ever had happen to me in my 25 years of life! I did find Paul on Facebook and sent him a thank you message, hoping he will send me his friends' emails to I can thank them, too.

So as we hear terrible events and bad news everyday, I can't help but be thankful for our wonderful community in Beaufort and for those people who took time out of their Sunday stroll to help me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and would love to be able to hung your necks, especially the man with the water who almost appeared like an angel. If you aren't a believer in God, I don't know how because coincidences like this just don't happen.

----

(Tyler was out fishing with a buddy so I couldn't even get him when I was in panic-mode. He doesn't quite seem to grasp how serious the situation really was and how truly scarred I am from it). 

I pray that this was an isolated incident and not the beginning of epilepsy. After posting on Facebook, a friend told me the same thing happened to her dog and now he is on medication for seizures. This poor pup has been through a lot this year!


Love you poochie!

Monday, November 11, 2013

clean eating and some recipes

Today marks day 14 of my 30 day Beach Body challenge. WOW!

It has been a great experience and I am feeling awesome. I'm not bloated, tired, or just feeling plain blah like I was and I'm attributing that to how I've been eating!

I have not eaten out in an entire two weeks. Not even coffee! I've really stuck to this challenge and really feel like this is a lifestyle change. I've packed my lunch, meal planned, and had my chocolate Shakeology shake for 15 days now!

Every chance I get I hop on Pinterest to get some dinner inspiration. I want to make sure I'm feeding Tyler something that will make him happy and not go digging in the fridge 10 minutes after dinner. I thought it would be neat to share some of the recipes that I've tried in case you were interested!

Chicken piccata / Committed to Getting Fit
Salmon with corn salsa / PBS

image via PBS

Slow cooker shrimp jambalaya / The Naked Kitchen (not my favorite - need to try it again)
Homemade granola bars / Red Sky Food
Thai lime chicken / Clean Eating Mag - now I have my own bread crumbs I made
Clean enchiladas / Marlena Hedine Blog - these are AMAZINGGGG
Sweet and spicy sweet potato fries / Eat Clean Freak - I've been making these for a long time!
Eggplant fries / Damy Health
Clean meatloaf / Whole Foods New Body - crazy how similar this is to my mom's recipe!
Apple and pear crock pot pork chops / Whole Foods New Body - dinner tonight!
Shakeology energy bites / Life of Aficionada
Crock pot roast / The Spunky Runner
Shrimp scampi / The Gracious Pantry
Homemade hummus / Laws in the Lowcountry - that's me!
Lots of roasted broccoli with lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes
Roasted squash with salt and pepper
Turkey on whole wheat wraps with Laughing Cow cheese and spinach

We've tried a lot! And if you look at these recipes, they are just everyday recipes altered to be cleaner. Less processed and a lot fresher!

My coach Cara is looking for more challengers for her upcoming challenge (that I'll be doing again!), so if you are interested in joining please let me know. Or if you have any questions, ask away!

Happy Monday!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

parties for stewart + betsy

In less than two weeks my cousin and his fiance will tie the knot! I am SO excited to get another girl in my family and it almost feels like I'm getting a sister instead of a cousin! I'm so lucky to have Betsy and Stacey join the Perrow family.

I've been great about taking pictures at their parties and showers, but I haven't been good about posting, so I'll post some of my favorites!

Looking forward to 11-23-13!


Sunday afternoon tea:

Sisters-in-law to be!


Aunt Peggy and her girls

Sunday Dinner Party:


Beautiful table


Bride and groom!


Gift from the hostesses


Bride and her mom and grandmothers


Stewart, Tyler's dad, Tyler, and Pop

 Shady Grove Church Shower:



Bride and her grandmothers and mother


Betsy with some church ladies and her future mother-in-law


Aunt Peggy and her girls


The bride and me!


Beautiful flowers arranged by my grandmother


Delicious cakes!



It has been so much fun celebrating these two! I have one more party's worth of pictures I need to upload for the big day.

xoxo