Friday Photos 24: My Brother From Another Mother

Wednesday marked the 32nd anniversary of my dear friend Joey's day of birth. 

I met Joey standing in line for the Bellarmine (College, not University--yeah, we're that old, kids) Convocation Ceremony. So there I am, draped in a black robe in the middle of August on a Sunday afternoon, and I hear, "Hey, how are you?" I turn to see a bubbly young man standing in a black robe beside me. "I'm Joey, what's your name?" And the rest is pretty much history. 

So 14 birthdays later, here we are, still friends. But no black robes--those things were blazin' hot. With each passing year, I'm more and more thankful for my brother from another mother. Happy birthday, buddy! Here's to many more!

Wedding Singers

Go Cards!

You'll always be the Lorenzo to my Snooki.

You + My McNugget

Trivia buffs

Merry McDecker Christmas, everyone!

Thumbs.

You and Rach were probably swapping recipes right before this was taken.

My favorite.

Phyllis McNutt

Thank you for introducing Bunco to my life...

...and for wigging out with me.

#happybirthday #thatswhywearefriends #wehavethebesthashtagconversations 

Tip Tuesday 3: Joss & Main

Thanks to my friend Colleen, I am now familiar with the fabulous home furnishings sale site, Joss & Main. And now thanks to this Tip Tuesday, you are too. 

I literally joined yesterday and already am in love. I'm pretty sure these items need to come live with me:

If you're interested in joining Joss & Main, visit www.jossandmain.com to sign up so you can start shopping these sweet sales soon!

This Summer, So Far...

Since school let out on May 28th, today is officially the first day that I've been able to stay home, and catch my breath. It has been a fun, but super busy start to Summer. Which is why I'm thrilled to be lounging on my couch as I write this, with nothing to do but reflect on all that's happened in the past few weeks...

June 1st, otherwise known as my 10-year college reunion, was a reminder of how blessed I am to have attended Bellarmine University with such wonderful people, a decade ago.

My dad and I got into a conversation the other day about friends. He said that the friends we make in high school are the ones who influence the people we become as adults. And while I have been fortunate to remain friends with several of my high school peeps, I believe that it is my college friends who truly helped to make me into the person I am today. What do you think?

Love these girls, then and now!

The day after my reunion, my Grandma came to town to visit. With everyone else working during the day, I got to be G-ma's personal Louisville tour guide. As a native of the Land of Lincoln, I knew she would appreciate the Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park.

We also met the fam for lunch at the Cafe one day, and visited Wild Eggs for brunch the next.

The McNugget cuteness factor was at an all-time high.

The Chocolate Chip Waffle, otherwise known as the definition of gluttony.

By June 8th, I found myself packing a very large suitcase and hitting the road, with the 'rents and Gram in tow. We met Micah, Kate, and my McNugget at my Uncle Gus & Aunt Beth's lake house near Fort Wayne, IN. 

I partied my bass off when I reeled this in.

Needless to say, I loved every minute with this doll.

We got to celebrate Gram's 84th b-day with her too!

We are so blessed that Gus & Beth invite us to this beautiful place each summer!

We got word that some major storms were headed our way, so we rolled out a day early and headed to LaSalle, IL to take my Grandma back home. We didn't waste any time before visiting our favorite lunch spot, The Igloo. 

I'm embarrassed/proud of the number of times we ate there during our 4-day stay.

We got back in town on Saturday, just in time to watch the Cards play in the College World Series on TV. Unfortunately, we couldn't celebrate a victory, but any Louisville fan can spend the rest of Summer reveling in the best year of sports the University has ever had.

Of course we spent yesterday celebrating the best Dad/McPawPaw ever (that's not just my opinion, it's a fact).

Amidst the Father's Day celebration, we also did some wedding planning--'cause while we were at the lake, we got the good news that Andy proposed to Jill (and she said yes)!

Whew. Are you as tired as I am? 

As grateful as I am for these past wonderful weeks, I'm looking forward to some sleeping-in (my own bed), slow-moving, and (maybe) showering-by-noon days of Summer. I hope you're enjoying your Summer too!

Friday Photos 23: Father's Day

With the day for dads on Sunday, you know I've gotta give some love to some of my favorite fathers, starting with my grandfathers.

Grandpa Mac

Grandpa Jack

Now I'd like to skip a generation and give a shout out to my brother, Micah, who's celebrating his first official Father's Day this year.

And last, but certainly not least, my own father. The greatest dad a girl could hope for:

I'm one lucky girl to be related to such amazing dads.

Happy Father's Day, y'all!

Tip Tueday 2: It's Fro Yo, Yo!

Today's tip is simply this: buy some Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt and eat it. 

I stumbled upon these delicious 100-calorie snacks right next to the other Healthy Choice frozen foods (imagine that) and thought I'd give 'em a whirl. Even if you don't think you're a fan of Greek yogurt, I'm quite confident you'll dig this. 

I added dark chocolate chips to the vanilla flavor and then promptly thanked myself for doing so after I tasted the delectable combination. With several flavors, it's the perfect cold (and most importantly, guilt-free) sweet treat for Summer. Enjoy, friends!

Friday Photos 22: Instagram-in'

Well, I finally got with the times and picked up my first smart phone last week. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't in love with my iPhone, particularly the access it now gives me to Instagram. Y'all already know how much I love pictures, so naturally Instagram speaks to my heart like no other media. Here's a little taste of what I've captured, filtered, and captioned since joining:

Feel free to follow me at iheartcardinals if you're also an Instagram-er. Unless you're a creeper, in which case, please don't follow me. Thanks.

Happy first Friday of June, folks!

Tip Tuesday 1: Very Jane

Summer is officially here for this teacher! The kids are on their merry way, and the PD meetings are all over, so that means in addition to sleeping in and soaking up all the time I can with my sweet niece, I'll be blogging more (I know you're excited).

What will I write about with all this extra blogging time? Whatever I want, that's what. And what I want right now is to hereby institute "Tip Tuesday". That's right, folks, Tuesdays are gonna be chock full of tidbits to help make your life easier and/or more enjoyable. You're welcome.

If you're not already receiving emails from Very Jane then I suggest you do so ASAP. Go here, sign up with your email address, and watch your inbox fill up (not really--it's one email a day, calm down) with savings on the CUTEST items the internet has to offer (think Etsy, on sale).

I've got my eye on this wooden monogram and some $10 chevron infinity scarves. This site is a great source for gifts (for others or for yourself, of course)!

Thanks to my friend, Rachel, for the tip! It looks like I can add one more thing to my list of summer happenings: online shopping. Happy savings to you & be sure to pass it on!