Man-free Friday

Last Friday, my best girl friend & I ditched our responsibilities & our husbands for a night in Dallas at a new favorite hotel chain, NYLO. I couldn't have asked for a better way to relax, have fun & spend time in the best company. So thankful that Tommie asked me to come along.

The trip included a lot of hang out in the hotel time because look at this room. I didn't want to leave.

 Our first In-N-Out experience which I loved:

 & ferrets, because you know... it's not a good time unless I touch some animals.

In other news, this weekend will be Operation: GetMyHouseInOrder

Valentine Dogs

My house got dirtier & my body got heavier but it was worth getting away for a long weekend in Tulsa... I think. Ask me again at the end of the month when we do our weight & measurement check-ins. Damn you, pizza & burgers!! 

Sometimes it just feels good to not do much of anything somewhere else that's not home, so that's what we did. To prove it to you, here are the only pictures I took:

I am happy to announce that Peggy has also proven to be a wonderful little traveler, which is kind of a must in our family. According to what I overheard on the elevator, normal people don't take their dogs with them out of town for Valentine's Day. Good thing I've never claimed to be normal.

We did do a little furniture browsing on Saturday & saw a few pretty cool shops. Ryan finished the night at a concert while I soaked up 3.5 hours of Sex & the City with very cuddly dogs.

Now onto my next weekend trip this weekend to Texas. No dogs or husbands are coming along so I'll have to spare you a post without their cute faces & come up with something else to talk about.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day even though we don't really acknowledge the holiday around our house!

#GNM13

This post has only been 2 months in the making. :)

We took what felt like our first real vacation back in November to Santa Fe, NM with Ryan's parents to visit with family & just relax & we got way more than we imagined. The past two years have been hard different & it was time for our eyes to see new things & experience life a little bit differently.

I've been pondering how to put this trip into words. It wasn't just a trip or a vacation. It was an experience. An experience that I hope I never forget or lose sight of. An experience that taught me so much, yet not enough. The closest single word to describe the entire week is this: enriched

If I had a choice, I would go back right now. Or at least a couple of times a year. I want to spend as much time as I can with Ryan's Auntie Sandra & Christina (Kristina?). They are hands down the cutest couple on this Earth. Their entire lives are filled with love & it radiates off of them so bright that you can't help but catch a little bit of it yourself. Honestly, they are perfect example of who I strive to be. They don't over-complicate their lives. They're honest, loving, hardworking, intelligent human beings that see the world like it's brand new, every single day. I just want everyone to know them but part of me just wants to be selfish & hide them away for only myself. Don't even get me started on how brilliant & talented they are.

They had us over for breakfast in their home & it was probably one my favorite moments in Santa Fe. There is something so personal & special about having a meal made with love in someone's home.

It was also so wonderful to meet Ryan's GREAT Grandmother Helen & the man whom Ryan is named after, Uncle Brad. Helen is the most hilarious 98 year old woman you will ever meet. A woman that requests certain restaurants at certain times depending on which hot waiter will be her server. Her mind might not be as sharp as it once was, but her tongue sure was. I managed to get an overwhelming amount of pictures of the landscape & almost none of the fabulous people that I shared it with. I must get better at that.

Our hotel, The Lodge at Santa Fe, was not even close to what we had hoped and paid for but just look at that view from our breakfast table!

I could stare at this land forever. I don't know what it is. It is just so peaceful & beautiful in my eyes.

Truchas, NM: also known as the ghost-like town full of closed galleries & studios that we got lost in where you could put your arm out the window & touch the houses. We literally stopped at a General Store that said open & it was an empty building with nobody in sight.

I fell in love with that town. I truly did. The views were breathtaking. The culture was enlightening. The people were so kind & interesting. The food, delicious. So... who wants to move to Santa Fe with us?

Weekly Round-Up: Aug 19-25

1. We had to "suit up" to visit our step-mom, Kim, in the hospital. She gave us quite a scare this week but seems to be doing much better now. She was released from the hospital today but still has some healing to do. 

We just ask that everyone continues to keep her in your thoughts & hope for a quick recovery!

2. Hank has had the luxury of being put in a pen, rather than a crate during the day. 

We finally bought him a crate because even with bricks around the pen, he moved that thing around everywhere. 

He hates his new crate. HATES. 

I swear that Satan himself has come out of his butt every single day in that thing. 

When I told him to get in his crate, he looked at me & then crammed himself in Comet's crate instead. 

He can't fit in there without sitting & curling up. He can't even walk into the thing. It's more like an army crawl but there was no way he was getting in his crate to be alone all day. 

Needless to say, it was so precious that I didn't bother arguing. 

He loves his tiny brother so much.

3. I've still been working on cleaning/organizing/throwing away the house.

This was my Sunday afternoon project: 

aka do something with the old bedroom/awkward room/dog room/music room/bicycle? room.

I was going to get rid of that table, filing cabinet AND mirror but look at me being all "reuse & recycle"...or whatever.

I took the big drawer out of the filing cabinet & removed the rolling track.

Now it's the perfect size to hide my big caboodle & hair products.

The table was my Grandma Audrie's. It's in pretty rough shape & used to have a V-shaped shelf right in the middle that just made it awkward. I took off the shelf & already have plans to reuse those.

I will eventually be sanding & painting it as well.

& yes, I did hang a mirror in between our double windows.

Lets face it. Natural light is the BEST to get ready in front of.

4. Ryan had his first band practice for a cover band that our buddy Matt is putting together.

I'll be honest & say that I'm excited because I could listen to Tommie sing all day & because well... it pays.

All I really care about right now is getting to New Mexico in November.

Vacation is calling to us so strong right now & we're focusing on saving every penny until then.

I can't wait to feel that cold mountain air in my hair & lungs.

Just A Normal Weekend...

...running from tornadoes?

This was one of the weirdest weekends of our lives

& it's one we will probably never forget.

The storms started coming in strong so we made the decision to go south.

Luckily, we made that decision before everyone made that decision,

so we were ahead of the traffic slightly.

Thanks to our dear friends -- The Apple's --

we ended up at OU Norman in the art building basement

in an office with 6 adults, 5 dogs & 2 cats.

& Hank met his new pittie best friend, Oswin.

All of the animals were actually great together.

I guess that was a plus to the stress.

I can't say I've ever been that close to a tornado before.

Growing up, we never had any real threat on our side of town.

I used to be afraid of storms & tornadoes but as I've grown,

I've mellowed in all aspects so I guess that just bled into those fears as well.

Ryan & I did get to storm chase with a friend last year & got to see a tornado form.

Surprisingly, that actually calmed my fears even more.

We had a couple decent scares through the whole ordeal but we remained calm.

Calm is key, people. There is no room for panic in these situations.

For instance:

We didn't know where my step-dad was for several hours because
he went to drive south & forgot his cell phone.
I should also add that he doesn't have a radio in his car
so he had no way of knowing where the storm was either.
We were driving around Lake Draper when we were told that that was a danger area.
We did get stuck in Norman traffic right when the sirens started going off

& we did drive through some pretty legit flooding on the way home.

I am honestly surprised we made it through some of the areas.

We got home around midnight after it taking about 2 hours to get home

to find that we were without power with phones that were almost dead.

We got sick of waiting around for power Saturday

& totally let our hairdresser talk us in to going to Tulsa for the weekend.

We called our favorite hotel & hit the road with all 3 dogs!

"Peace Out OKC."

We are happy to know that they are all great little travelers.

They pretty much just cuddled the entire way...

until Ollie decided she'd rather sleep on the floor & Hank pouted about it.

I can't go on enough about how much I love aloft Hotels.

They accommodated all 3 of our dogs without a single extra charge.

SAY WHAT?!

Yes, you heard correctly. Pets under 40lbs are welcome.. for free.

They also provided dog beds that mine are really missing now that we're home.

We found a little strip of downtown Tulsa that impressed us

with a barbecue joint that also impressed us.

I'm actually ready to go back for another weekend trip & explore a little.

This getaway was exactly what we needed.

I was so in love with my husband, dogs & life during that little trip.

(not that I'm not all of the time anyway)

But times like this, it was just overwhelming.

You couldn't have paid me to wipe the smile off my face.

I'm so thankful for the ability to do these things together

& thankful that my husband has the same child-like, carefree & adventurous spirit I do.

There's nothing better than spur of the moment decisions

& a little open road to make your life better

& I think Ollie & Comet agree.

Weekly Round-Up: May 24-June 2

This was such a weird week.

1. Ryan doing karaoke for the first time! 2. Preparing our dogs for a raw diet. 3. Hank loves peanut butter.

4. Hank comforting Comet while we ran from tornadoes. 5. No electricity! 6. Thank aloft, you're awesome.

7. Hank refusing to potty at the hotel. 8. Back Alley Blues & BBQ dinner in Tulsa. Yum!! 9. Bangs!

"So sick, so sick of being tired and oh so tired of being sick." - Taking Back Sunday

Sometimes I get the need to be off the grid. I'm there today.

My entire being is aching to not be here. To take my husband and go away for awhile.

I don't want to respond to calls, texts or emails. I just want to be off the map.

AWOL.

2012 is closing in on me & I don't like the feeling.

I keep picturing the cabins we stayed in on our honeymoon & 

how badly I want to see those blue skies and feel that crisp mountain air again. 

Hatfield, AR, you are calling my name.

April & May 2012

Every year we have a few months that string together one bad thing after the next. Something usually happens with the house and then to our personal lives. We've hit those months.

• The squirrells have officially declared war on our house. If anyone would like proof of the damage that a squirrell can cause to your wood siding or shingles, come on over. Those little shits can chew.
• Lotion bottles have been flushed down toilets. Good news is, we have a really bad ass toilet that can flush things with a 1.5 inch diameter. This will come in handy when we have kids I'm sure.
• Windows have leaked water... just add it to the list of ways our house is falling apart.
• We lost Lady Bird.
• Ollie has been sick. She threw up for 12 straight hours. Come to find out, dogs with sensitive systems can't handle flea collars.
• I have been "sick". Not really sick but something is wrong with my body and it has caused so much joy, stress, anxiety, dissapointment and fear to last me awhile.
• I found out I have high cholesterol. This stuns me that I have to worry about clogged arteries at barely 23 years old.

To look on the bright side:

• I celebrated my 23rd birthday earlier this month & Ryan made it perfect. We just spent the entire day together starting with brunch @ Iguana's (I highly recommend it), a movie, bowling, dinner, etc. I wish every day was like that day.

• My birthday was also made special by dinner with my family, roller skating and a quiet "surprise" celebration with homemade ice cream cake with more friends.



• I've really learned a lot about myself and the people in my life these past two months.
• I know more than ever that God sent The Marshell's to be in our lives even more so to help us through times like the past few months. I wouldn't have survived without them. They are too dear for words. Not to mention, they are parents to my nephew so I have to adore them anyway. :)

• We're going on our first real vacation in 4.5 years in 19 days to meet our new little nephew Kyle who was born May 8th.



Meet Kyle Edward Adkins

• I have realized more than ever just how bad I want and am ready to be a mom.
• Having high cholesterol will force us to stay on diet and lose the weight we want off. I only wish our neighborhood wasn't too sketchy to go running in after dark.
• The Thunder just made it to the Western Conference Finals. That's pretty amazing.

On a side note, Blogspot's formatting is driving me crazy. I am not putting those gaps in between paragraphs. Even when I look at the HTML there are not spaces entered. I don't understand.

"Without love it ain't nothin', but a house, a house where nobody lives." - Tom Waits

Well, hello! I've almost forgotten how bloggin works.

(Do you notice that I've started off all of my most recent blogs commenting on my lack of blogs? HUSH. I don't care.)

This post is going to be boring to pretty much all of you. It's going to be about houses.

I am so obsessed with the beauty a house holds. And I'm such a nerd that sometimes looking at modern beauties brings tears to my eyes because I am so happy in that moment. I'll see the corner of a house peeking behind a tree and immediately light up with excitement. Sometimes I even bounce in my chair until I can get the words "RYYYYAAANNN. LOOOOOOK" out of my mouth.

This is what happened when we were in Tulsa walking down Cherry Street. I got a glimpse of one on the way into town and it's all I could think about the rest of the afternoon until it was time to explore the streets myself. This is really the only good thing about Tulsa. It's definitely the only thing that makes it better than Oklahoma City. Our city is getting there but it's nothing like this. There is a hidden gem of houses like this I go to in the city but it's only 3 or 4 clumped together.. it's not several blocks worth like this.

The weather was really crappy so sorry for the quality of pictures.



This is my favorite. It was GORGEOUS. You can never have too much wood or windows.

It is my dream to build my own house one day. I want to retire in a house of my creation with clean lines, hard surfaces and lots of wood and windows. I know we'll be able to make it happen eventually. I am anxious for that day. My desire is so strong that the idea of living in an apartment and saving money until it's possible sounds amazing.

"*GASP* Renting is throwing your money away!"

Yeah well, so is living in a house that I'm not in love with. To me, it's just as bad living in a 'temporary' home that I own which is what we currently do. Don't get me wrong, we are grateful for our house. We were blessed by being able to buy a house so young and cheap BUT I can't say that I'd do it again if I could go back in time. Oh first time home buying, you have your way at working your charm and covering our eyes.

Do I sound like a brat? If I have to ask that that probably means yes.

"I can be your hero baby. I can kiss away the pain. I will staaand by you forever." -Enrique Iglesias

We just celebrated our fourth year of marriage. Four years.

We got asked if we were newlyweds tonight. Why you ask? Because we still share food and eat off of eachother's plates. It's funny to me that something so small and so normal to us seemed like a "newlywed ideal". I suppose we are still "babies" at marriage in the long scheme of things. I can't wait to eat food off the same plate 50 years from now.

We are anniversary regulars at The Melting Pot.

We took a weekend trip to Tulsa to celebrate. 

Our plan? Think about nothing. 

Do whatever the hell we want. 

Relax. Relax. Relax.

Friday: drinks at hotel aLoft

Saturday: Lunch @ Fuddruckers

Afternoon drinking @ Kilkenny's Irish Pub

Driving around Cherry Street & looking in shops

Dinner & games @ Dave & Busters

Sunday: Sleeping in & coffee needed for drive home

Kilkenny's is definitely my favorite bar I've ever been to. McNellie's doesn't even compare to it's awesomeness and authenticity. The bartender says cheers when he gives you your drink for goodness sake! There was a really ridiculous "couple" sitting at the bar singing to 80s-90s songs that they were listening to with earphones on their laptop which really topped off the experience. (I tried to snap a picture of them but couldn't do it inconspicuously.)

Cherry Street was fun but doesn't compare to any of our districts here. The Plaza & the Paseo are way more neat and "local". I tip my hat to you, Oklahoma City. BUT we did find the house jackpot in Tulsa. I was obsessed with the modern surroundings. So obsessed that an entire blog post will have to be dedicated to it. Stay tuned.

Dave & Buster's has delicious food and their arcade really wasn't overpriced (which I expected it to be). I won two or three jackpots on 1 game, THREE times in a row. ...I also beat Ryan at basketball. ARCADE MASTER.

It was a perfect weekend with a perfect husband.