H54F: End of July

It’s Friday! This month has been really busy at work and at home so I have not been blogging as often as I want to. I have had lots of ideas for blog posts, but I just have not had the time, but today (actually last night) I made time to put this H54F together to link up with Tif, Katie & Della! I’m covering two weeks again. This is not looking good for one of my July goals.

On July 15, Michael and I went to one of his co-workers’ wedding. I loved getting to dress up and I got a blow out at the Drybar before hand. The wedding itself was a lot of fun as well. Lots of dancing and we sent the couple off with massive sparklers.

Pre-Wedding Pic

That Monday, I got my official IREM pin. I was pretty excited. IREM stands for the Institute of Property Management. It’s an organization that will help me in my industry a lot.

July 19 we had our Tenant Summer Event. It was a Hawaiian Luau with smoothies and other fun Hawaiian snacks. We had a steel drum band as well as a photo booth.  We had lots of fun and our tenants really enjoyed it as well.

Photo Booth Craziness

I went with my Dad and Michael to see Star Trek on the Friday that it came out. I love Star Trek and to be able to see the new one with the two men that share that love with me was awesome. We went to Alamo Drafthouse so they had a little area that you could take pictures in. Of course Michael and I both dressed up. I pretty much take any opportunity to wear this dress that my mom made for me when I went to DragonCon last year.

The next day, Michael and I went on a lunch date to Cheesecake Factory. It was nice to spend some time just to two of us, especially because August is starting to get packed. We have Quakecon as well as separate vacations and he will start classes again so I am taking advantage of little opportunities to have time together.

He’s so cute!

That’s the highlights from the past two weeks. Like I mentioned above, August will be busy for me. I am going to really try to write posts ahead of time and schedule. I am finding that is the easiest way, especially since I going on two vacations in August. I will be documenting those vacations on Snapchat (bekahm21) and Instagram (pinkpearlsandhockeyskates) so feel free to keep up with me there!

Look for my Small August Goals on Monday as well as my first Monday Musings post!

What are some of your highlights from the past week or two?

 

H54F: Two Week Recap

It’s Friday and I have a half day at work, so I am over the moon.

You may have noticed that I have not posted in two weeks. My week nights were very busy during that first week and I did not have a chance to put a post together. The second week, I purposely did not post on my blog. As I am sure you have heard, Thursday, July 7 my city was rocked by a violent act. At the time, I was not sure how to put my feelings into words and chose to stay off the blog for a bit. I didn’t want to go n with blogging like nothing happened, but I also did not know how to express my feelings.

I am going to be recapping the past two weeks for H54F, so here is goes!

July 4th weekend was fun and relaxing. We did not do a whole lot. We saw a movie Saturday. Sunday, I went out with family to celebrate my little sister’s 20th birthday, and on Monday, Michael and I took Chewie to the dog park. Pretty good weekend in my opinion.

My baby sister is adorable!

He loves the dog park for all the people, not the other dogs!

Last Thursday evening started out really well. I have a Girls’ Night with tow of my friends from church at a Cru Wine Bar in Plano. We had a lot of fun, talking and drinking. When I got home, I found out about what was going on less than 30 miles away. I stayed up late watching it unfold. Like most Dallas people, most of Friday was spent listening and watching the news for all the details.

This past Sunday we celebrated Tori’s birthday again, but this time at my mom’s. During the afternoon, Jacquie and I took Tori shopping and some good sister time together. That night, we did birthday dinner and then had some amazing cake. Tori’s childhood best friend’s mom now makes and sells goodies in the Dallas area and she made a beautiful cake for Tori. Look her up on Facebook at Sweet Smith Bakery. I highly recommend her. The cake was sour cream almond and oh so delicious. Look at the detail on these flowers!

Monday, I hosted my small group at my apartment. We had dessert night so I tried a new Pina Colada cupcake recipe. They were pretty good. I always enjoy hosting people at my apartment, and I love my church small group.

Last night, I was elected as the 2016-2017 President for the Terry Scholars Alumni Association- DFW Chapter. I am so excited to be part of this team and for everything that will be happening this year. I will be writing a blog post this month about the Terry Foundation, Scholarship and what it has meant to me.

So that is a condensed version of the last two weeks. As always, I am linking up with Della, Tif & Katie!

I am so excited for this weekend. Michael and I are going to a wedding tonight, so I am using that as an excuse to have my first DryBar experience and I am so excited about it! We also get to go down to Austin for my cousin’s 8th birthday and to see some friends. It will be a full, but fun weekend!

What do you have going on this weekend?

July Small Goals

Half of 2016 is already gone! It’s seems like just yesterday that I was celebrating New Year’s Day and now I am celebrating Independence Day. I am pretty excited that it is a Monday today, yet I have no real plans because I don’t have to work. Anyway, this post is not about me choosing to be boring on a holiday, so let’s recap June goals.

1. Complete the Everyday Unicorn Challenge: I started out strong, but quickly lost track as I do with most Photo Challenges. I really need to stick to one though!
2. 26 Before 26 List: I actually succeeded at this and posted it to my blog! I was pretty excited about this! One of my goals: Take a picture every day! Check-out my Instagram to follow along on that progress.
3. Read Three Books: Done! I read the last two Fourline books and then another one called Terms of Use. All three were good and free through Kindle First Books and Kindle Lending Library.
4. Get and Play Overwatch: Michael bought this as an early birthday present, partially so we could play together. I am getting better at it slowly but surely. I have been playing the D. Va character a lot so I am feeling like I need branch out a little more.
5. Have an Awesome Birthday: Although the day of my birthday was not great, my friends and family made sure that the weeks surrounding it were awesome, so I am counting this as done!

Four out of five is really not bad. Now on to July goals:

1. Work-Out 5 Times a Week for 2 Weeks: My doctor said that I should work-out ffive times a week since I am heavily predisposed to diabetes and that really is the best way to stave off diabetes, so I am starting small and building up.
2. Post 2 Times a Week: I have really let my blogging fall to the wayside this past month. I need to work on sticking to my editorial calendar more! I had one for June, I just let myself get lazy.
3. Only Buy Clothes if I Sold Clothes: I need to only be buying clothes with money that I get from selling some of my old clothes. This past month I sold some stuff on Poshmark and was able to get two tops! I need to stick to this rule in order to stick to my budget well.
4. Get Ready for Quakecon: This is a goal that is more applicable for the end of the month, but still a goal. This year is the first year that I will be at the BYOC and not just stopping by to visit the boyfriend. It starts August 3^rd so I will need to pretty much be ready by the first. I need to have packing list, get really good at Overwatch and make sure Mouse is taken care of during that weekend.
5. Finish my 3 Months of WW Strong: When I started Weight Watchers at the end of April, they had promotion that if you lost 10 pounds in 3 months you got a $50 gift card. I reached that goal and then my BFF trip and birthday tripped me up a bit. I really want to finish these three months of the promotion really strong and go beyond the 10 pounds.

I’m definitely excited for this second half of the year! Check out everyone else’s goals on Nicole’s link-up!

H54F: Spending Birthday Money

Another week has gone by and I have not had the chance to put a blog post together. Nothing super exciting has happened this week, but work has taken up a lot of my time and energy. When I get home, I’m pretty drained. I am really going to try to do better next month and set aside blogging time. Anyway, here are my top 5 this week.

Saturday, Michael and I went to a Frisco Roughriders baseball game. We went with the alumni association for the Terry Scholarship (I had this scholarship in college). I was in charge of the whole thing as the event coordinator, and we ended up with a great turn out. It was great to meet new people, see old friends and the all you can eat food didn’t hurt.

He loves getting on a freshly made bed.

Monday, I got home to packages. The sheets and bed skirt I ordered with my birthday gift card had come in. I was so excited because my bed redo is almost done now. I just want to replace my pillows some time soon. If anyone has recommendations for good pillows that are affordable let me know!

I may have fallen in love with Kendra Scott.

Tuesday, I spent more birthday money and I had my first Kendra Scott color bar experience. I got this pair of earrings and I got to pick the actual stones, not just the color. I was pretty excited. By the way, if you go to an actual store and show your ID, you get 50% off one item during your birthday month. I covered the rest of the price with a gift card from the best friend! My new Women’s Bible Study also started that evening. It was a great time of fellowship and Bible study. I’m excited for the next 5 weeks of the study.

So much work, but so yummy!

Wednesday, Michael and I took a break from work out Wednesday due to the fact that I forgot my tennis shoes. I did get to experiment with a new recipe. I made the Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken from Skinnytaste (my favorite website for WW recipes). It was really good. Michael loved it and then cleaned up after dinner so I could relax. I have such a good boyfriend.

Rocksbox Kendra Scott and New Top = One Happy Bekah

This week I also got two new tops I got from Poshmark. I love that I can use credit from clothes I sold to buy more clothes. I got two tops and wore one yesterday. I absolutely loved my outfit and had to take a picture for Instagram. I love getting things in the mail!

We don’t really have any big plans for the weekend, just a lot of small plans. I’m just excited for a long weekend to relax and a short work week next week.

As always, I’m linking up with the H54F girls: Tif, Della & Katie!

Send me your pillow recommendations please! Also, what is your favorite quick Fourth of July dessert (I need to make one)?