Mr. Taylor and his Lady

smooches

2012-02-23T03:02:00.001-08:00

mr. taylor is getting home this morning. and when i mean this morning, i mean a 4-am early kind of morning. which basically means i am up right.now. yes, it's 3 in the morning and i am still up waiting to go and pick him up. why am i doing this? it's a thing called love. so for the rest of the day i'm going to be doing a ton of this (see below)...and sleeping. see you tomorrow for a little giveaway ::winks::

little notes

2012-02-22T03:03:00.000-08:00

live lounge. by hislittlelady on Grooveshark

dear adam levine,
....enough said.

dear mr. taylor,
you get home tomorrow and i could not be any more excited to finally get a good night sleep. oh, and to kiss and snuggle you! mostly that ,)

dear readers,
i have a few more sponsorship slots open for next month. email me if interested.

dear blogging world,
you have come into my life at just the right moment. i have adored this little career that has come out of you, and now this new found love with making simplistic, beautiful designs for others. i hope this love / hate relationship continues for a long, long time.

dear pregnant women from around the world (including sue sylvester*),
you are not helping my already intense baby fever. all your cute little baby bumps are making me so giddy for the future. time may need to speed up a bit.

dear self,
you really need to stop waiting to whip something up until you reach that point of starvation. it results in a giant plate of food and one angry stomach afterwards.

dear downton abbey,
i know i'm slow to jump on the bandwagon, but you have got me under your spell. and mr. john bates, you are just the sweetest!!

dear elease,
i have just loved watching our little blogger friendship grow. you are just so perfect! i love our back and forth emails, DM's on twitter, and facebook love. can't wait to officially meet you in just a few short weeks :)

bachelor thoughts and awkward videos

2012-02-21T03:27:00.000-08:00

first off, i was 150% sure that kacie b. was going to make it all the way to the top two on the bachelor. and i was just a little bit more than broken hearted to see her go. if i wasn't already married, i'd probably say i have given up on love. i guess it's a good thing the mister snagged me up ;)

speaking of the mister, he is out of town yet again. i'm so very proud of him and all he is doing to succeed for this family of two. at the same time, i don't know how many more of these little business trips i can handle. i'm quickly starting to realize that i'm quite addicted to that man of mine. so what better way to keep yourself pre-occupied than to have a full blown photobooth session? hope you enjoy this late night, and borderline delirious-esque video at my own expense....yep.

syvende

2012-02-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

so you may have all heard of this little thing called tumblr. well, i made one a little while ago and am starting to get back into it again. take a gander.

blog love: The Happy Hour

2012-02-20T03:26:00.000-08:00

oh gosh, i can not contain my excitement much longer. when the lovely ms. meg sent me her blog post last night i quickly starting grinning from ear to ear. i mean look at her and her man! cutest things ever, right!?? and not only that but she has a personality to boot. before you run off to her site, look through this little q & a session and see why everyone is getting "HAMmered with mr. and mrs. ham!"
xo TJ

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hello, hello! from a distant blog called "the happy hour", my name is meg, i'm that girl on the right over there riding her bike around. i'm so thrilled to be introducing myself to you today here on this fabulous blog! i hope you enjoy :)

1. What are five words to describe your personality?

loquacious, charismatic, sarcastic, sympathetic, grateful. good golly, sounds like i'm all over the map!

2. Why did you decide to start blogging?

guys, it was sheer peer pressure i tell you. on my wedding day the most frequent question i got was, "when are you going to have kids" or "when are you going to start a blog?" since we weren't going to have a honeymoon baby i opted for the blog. now, it's become my journal of what we do day in and day out, well maybe more of what we eat day to day ::winks::

3. How did you name your blog?

when your last name is ham, ham with just one m that is, you just can't take yourself seriously! while, i don't drink alcohol i thought it would be quite the oxymoron to name it "the happy hour, get HAMmered with mr. & mrs. HAM". is it possible to get drunk off reading a blog? i, myself, can name a few blogs i've shamelessly read till you don't see that "older" button at the bottom of the page anymore... i suppose it's the good kind of drunk! hopefully, you'll want to do that with our blog ::winks::

4. What are some of your favorite blogs?

lately, i've been into photography blogs. i love just scrolling down the page and seeing what other people see through the camera. there is a lot to learn from looking at someone else's take on a bowl of pasta, a burger etc. (guys, i'm kidding about the food part.) but, i really enjoy looking at how people achieve great photos. here are some of my go to photo blogs:

a little sussy

blue lily

rebekah westover (my wedding photographer)

matt clayton

5. What do you do when you are not blogging?

most likely...working, cooking (it's a passion i have), planning our next adventure, riding around town on our vespa, or catching up on some favorite tv shows with my husband!

6. How did you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your hubby?

since, we don't know each other formally, i'll keep it [G rated] for you. bahaha!

we are working peeps which means, we're early to bed and early to rise, so my husband knows me best. he sang "she's got a way" by billy joel, as he slow danced with me. meant more than any present he could buy. that song has special meaning to me, he sang that song to me at our wedding dinner as a surprise! and we may or may not have grabbed a burger with my in-laws on valentines night too :) how romantic.

7. You definitely have style, girl. What’s your favorite go to piece?

well, thank you very much! this changes all-the-time. right this instant i'd say my favorite thing are my bright red minnie pants from jcrew. maybe because they run huge so i'm a size 4 in them. i think the last time i bought a size 4 was in middle school, no joke. everyone, and i mean EVERYONE, should go buy a pair and go down 2 sizes from what you regularly are. that'll make your day! it's clearly making mine each time i slip them on!

8. Who are your style icons?

i usually just love looking at catalogs from anthropologie, jcrew, and ruche, or even just people i randomly see, i try to use those as inspiration for what i have in my closet. i love to wear color. just like listening to good music can make one happy, for me, wearing color makes my soul happy!

9. Food makes a constant appearance on your blog, and I love it. What restaurants should we visit next time we find ourselves in your neck of the woods?

...you might regret asking me this question, the list could be a mile long!

your palate will thank you if you visit a food truck location here in california. it's like the chuck-a-rama of choices, with upgraded food! bruxie, a place where your sandwich comes folded on a waffle instead of bread. the filling station, for the best outdoor cafe-esque feeling. you can't skip pedros tacos, for some good greasy mexican food ordered to-go and eat it on the beach. 25 degrees and shwack burger for mouth watering burgers and fries. best bbq around is phils, p.s.- order to go, for the line is a long one!

hopefully that'll keep you "stuffed" for now...

10. What are your future goals?

life for me is all about trying to be better each day. make something of who you are and love where you're at in life. i already achieved one of my biggest goals - to be a college graduate! (still boasting myself if you didn't' notice...) i'm trying to prepare to be a mother one day, thats something very dear to my heart. i also want to be able to look back on my life when i'm older and not have wished i'd done this or that, but feel content with how i lived and treated others.
i hope you'll get the chance to come stop by and say hello! p.s. i've got many giveaways all week long for you!!!

i told you, isn't she the cutest?? okay, i know you've been itching with exciting to go and check out her amazing site. well, what are you waiting for?

let's all get bloggy hammered!

something on my mind lately

2012-02-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

...and apparently it's food.

grazing through my instagram photos last night, i started to see a pattern.

2012-02-17T03:02:00.000-08:00

a few things

1. many of you were asking for pictures of the new do so here it is in all it's glory, a shiny strawberry blonde.

2. yesterday i received an amazing email inviting me to work the sundance london film festival. i almost peed myself. and am still in the works of deciding whether or not to do it (mainly because of expenses).

and

3. want to sponsor mr. taylor and his lady for the month of March? check out your options here and shoot me an email at:

mr.taylorandhislady [at] gmail [dot] com

spots are limited.

awkward and awesome Thursdays

2012-02-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

(now that's what i call bed head...)

awkward
- so fair warning, i think i have the weirdest dreams of all time. but i had a dream the other night that i gave birth to a noodle and then i lost it. what could this possibly mean?!
- the mister and i have been on another LOST marathon run. we just finished season 3 where charlie dies. and no matter how many times i have seen this i bawl every time, resulting in humiliating laughs from my man. i seriously get too into my characters. am i alone here or no?
- someone searching "superman being awkward" and finding my blog. i guess that's pretty cool that someone thinks of me as superman...
- going to pick up the hubs from school yesterday in the ever so classic bright red sweatshirt, basketball shorts, high messy bun, and the man's slippers. we do it classy here.
- playing our minute to win it game at the valentine's day party and getting all excited that we won the stacking golf balls challenge, jumping up and down only to realize that my man totally walked off and didn't see the epic moment. every other couple's look of embarrassment for me was enough to put me to shame.

awesome
- spending my first valentine's day as a married woman. and what did our day entail? sleeping in with extra cuddles, mexican for lunch, grocery shopping and holding hands, pasta for dinner with a big glass of martinelli's, and cheesy chick flicks. mr. taylor let me pick any one i want. what a guy :)
- my grandfather being honored as "Sir John" yesterday morning for his efforts in WWII. so proud of you grandpa!
- mr. taylor getting upset that someone else sat next to our cute baby friend at church on sunday instead of us. bless his heart, i think he is starting to finally warm up to babies. not only that, but we were called to fill in for nursery this next week. i'm super pumped! and i think the mister is secretly too.
- discovering that cake bites are perhaps one of the best things ever invented.

little notes

2012-02-15T03:26:00.000-08:00

valentines. by hislittlelady on Grooveshark

dear playlist,
you are the ultimate valentine gushiness that my little heart needed for the holiday. not only do you include the talented and oh so missed whitney houston, but you also include the many songs that played at our wedding. little known fact, i walked down the aisle to a guitarist playing "i'm yours" by jason mraz, and had our first dance to "love ain't gonna let you down" by jamie cullum. love, love, love.

dear hubby,
thank you for the extra snuggles and kisses yesterday morning. i love that you are my first and last valentine. you are my best friend, and the love of my life. but i'll leave the rest of this mushy talk for the mister when he gets home.

dear whitney,
why did you have to go? your talent and beauty will never be forgotten. and in honor of you, i watched Cinderella starring brandy, whoopi goldberg, jason alexander, and you of course as the lovely fairy godmother. please tell me someone knows the movie i am talking about!!!!

dear bachelor ben,
honestly how many people have to warn you about courtney's evil and vindictive ways before you get it. i'm starting to believe that you both deserve each other.

dear l'oreal haircolor,
i bought you yesterday in an attempt to fix up my boring hair. please don't let me down when i try you later tonight. anyone else tried this before? good reviews?
pictures will soon follow :)

dear readers,
i'm so sorry i have been neglecting you all the past few days. i've been hard at work designing a few blogs for people that i just haven't had any time to reply to any of your lovely comments. but don't worry, i'll be back soon!

dear yesterday's mexican lunch,
i'm pretty sure you're still digesting inside my belly, but i don't mind because you were so very, VERY delicious!

dear project runway re-runs,
i could watch you over and over again. especially when you have my favorites like christian to keep me occupied. "so fierce!"

dear amanda seyfried,
just read through your GLAMOUR magazine. and you are looking super gorgeous in your spread. just adore you! you will always be karen smith to me!

dear self,
remember how precious life is. get out there and do something unpredictable! no regrets.

happy valentine's day!

2012-02-14T03:19:00.000-08:00

"there is only one happiness in life - to love and be loved."

i have just adored reading your love stories from around the world, as well as looking through all of your amazing images! love for our families, friends, pets, no matter where your heart is, it is beautiful!

so where is the love?

st. paul, minnesota

british, colombia, canada

provo, utah

maricopa, arizona

beijing, china

seattle, washington

memphis, tennessee

denver, colorado

jonesboro, arkansas

pretoria, south africa

south pasadena, california

danville, virginia

centerville, utah

portland, oregon

raleigh, north carolina

fort worth, texas

washington, d.c.

boston, massachusetts

buckingham, england

salt lake city, utah

edmonton, alberta, canada

melbourne, australia

baton rouge, louisiana

scottsdale, arizona

melbourne, australia

hollywood, california

miami, florida

milton, wisconsin

honolulu, hawaii

queensland, australia

county londonderry, northern ireland

lexington, kentucky

figi

dallas, texas

north hills, california

richmond, virginia

farmington, utah

corpus christi, texas

granada hills, california

detroit, michigan

buenos aires, argentina

rexburg, idaho

charlotte, north carolina

winchester, virginia

london, england

hermosa beach, california

poland

des moines, iowa

dickson city, pennsylvania

birmingham, alabama

san francisco, california

minot, north dakota

monterey park, california

salem, new hampshire

bountiful, utah

lufkin, texas

new york, new york

surprise snow attack

2012-02-13T03:26:00.000-08:00

so i think everyone and their mom at this point has come to realize that snow is pretty much my best friend (as long as i don't have to drive in it). i just love it oh so much. and come to my surprise when i woke up yesterday morning to find this beauty waiting for me outside my window.

and what did i do at 7 o'clock in the morning? jump on my sleeping hubby and yell, "it's snowing, it's snowing, it's snowing!" needless to say, he was not as excited as i was. but we enjoyed it none the less!

so here's to a few more winter wonderlands before spring decides to show its little face.

valentine's day party

2012-02-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

well, the valentines day party was a success. we ate too many sugar cookies (my poor stomach is yelling at me now), took some awesome photobooth pictures, and got our game faces on for minute to win it. we got second for the m&m straw challenge, failed miserable at apple stacking, showed those balloons whose boss and won the balloon juggling, and came out as champions on golf ball stacking. yeah, i pretty much carried our team....just kidding, mr. taylor did well too.
oh, and forgot to mention yesterday that me and the hubby's pet names are plastered all over this here blog, so make sure to check it out and leave some love.
happy Saturday!

blogger venting

2012-02-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

so all day yesterday i tried to be a good little blogger and get back to all you lovely people and comment on your blogs. but blogger had other plans. instead he wanted me to type in the same word into "word verification" 50x (not working, OR giving me a new word to type in) until i finally gave up and closed out of all of my tabs. now, i know a few bloggers have mentioned this before, but honestly, word verification has got to go!

i. am. not. a. robot.
phew, there i said it.

now, on to the "how to":
1. sign on to blogger.
2. click on the tab, "settings".
3. now, click on the top tab, "comments".
4. scroll all the way down to the bottom where it says "show word verification for comments?" and click NO.
5. click "save settings".
6. you are now word verification free.
7. the blogging world praises rejoice.
8. more comments start coming in.
9. all is right with the world.

with that being said, i'm feeling 96% better. yep, that percentage is exact. and now i'm going to take a shower for the first time in a week, make myself presentable, put on my dancing shoes and enjoy this fun valentines day party that is all set up. the party includes a photobooth, lots of sugar cookies, and a few newlywed games. bring it!

oh, and just a reminder that today is the last day to send in your photographs of you and the one you love, with the city that you are from. email them to me at mr.taylorandhislady [at] gmail [dot] com.
happy weekend!!

awkward and awesome?

2012-02-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

so i know many of you are wondering where the awkward and awesome is today. and to tell you the truth, it makes me sad that i don't have anything to share. but being confined to a bed for the past few days leaves your life pretty dry with humor. so instead i'll leave you with one awkward for the day and then take you guys to a little guest post i did for one fabulous lady.

awkward
- waiting for someone to answer the phone, so you decide right then would be the perfect time to bust out singing the theme song to "wishbone". first off, if you remember this show then we are instantly best friends. second, don't ask me why this song came into my head, because honestly i just can't tell you. third, i was calling my mom. she answered, and started singing along. so i guess that calls for a kind of awkward and awesome, right?

now on to the guest post. just click the picture below and away you'll gooooooo.
*yeah, that last line was pretty lame. but i'm pretty sure i'm still in that place between sleep and awake.
just add it to the awkward pile.

little notes

2012-02-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

electric feel. by hislittlelady on Grooveshark

dear husband,
you have officially reached all star status these past few days as you've waited on me hand and foot while i suffer through this flu bug. you've made me all my meals and brought them on our rockin' food tray, you've done the dishes, you've fetched me water every time i need it, and give me cuddles and kisses whenever i want. seriously, i should be sick more often!

dear playlist,
you're just what i needed to give my sick little booty a kick in the butt. sometimes fun and random songs are just what the doctor ordered. oh, and that MGMT cover by katy perry is pretty amazing!

dear bachelor ben,
i've now confirmed that you are all about the sexuality and are no longer a favorite of mine. but i will continue to watch because let's face it, i love the drama.

dear nat the fat rat,
i don't know why i just recently discovered your lovely blog. i'm a little bit more than obsessed.

dear heater,
i have a love / hate relationship with you right now. you're either too hot or too cold. i'm starting to think i'm going through early menopause or something. hot flashes galore. tmi?

dear instagram,
i have become more and more obsessed with you the longer i have been confined to my bed. seriously, what did i ever do before you came into my life? (psst, follow me @hislittlelady)

dear zac efron,
is it true? are you really off the market and dating lily collins? i would be lying to myself if i said i wasn't a little heartbroken. i was kind of hoping you'd pull a george clooney, and let all us ladies enjoy your single-ness.

dear self,
pull it together! honestly, sleeping in until noon is a little pathetic. and leaving the bed only once? i don't know, is that normal for those sickies out there?

dear grandpa,
you fell down the stairs the other day and have the whole family in shambles. we love you oh so much, and are sending all our prayers your way as you recover from your broken back.

dear readers,
thank you for all the sweet comments. i'm starting to feel a little better. a few days of rest, rest, rest has paid off. i'll try not to slack as much as i have the past few days on this here blog.

february sponsors

2012-02-07T03:05:00.000-08:00

well ladies and gents, the month of love is finally here. honestly, i feel like christmas was just yesterday. how is time passing so quickly? i guess all we can do is focus on the present. and what better way then to showcase this months sponsors, all such fabulous ladies. take a peek!
xo TJ

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Meet Chandra:
After a somewhat rough beginning to life, I experienced what I affectionately refer to as my quarter life crisis. This ‘crisis’ and the subsequent years of finding myself has left me downright passionate about leading the fullest life possible, and helping others to do the same. I’m a true believer that in order to live a full, healthy, happy life we have to do 3 things:

1. Treat our bodies with respect, love them, and nourish them well.

2. Be just as careful about what goes into our minds as what goes into our bodies… they are not separate entities as we oftentimes think, and I truly believe that one does affect the other.

3. Recognize our passions and desires, believe in them, and give them the space in our lives that they deserve. They were given to us for a reason, they are the divinity within us, and they are our contributions to the world.

I created The Earthfood Experiment to be a fun, lively, and accepting environment for us to meet together and experiment with all these aspects of life…

a place where we pump one another full of good food, good thoughts, and inspiration. So to aid us in living the best lives possible.

I feel that we should shower the ones we adore with gifts of love, respect, and compassion everyday of our lives. My perfect Valentine’s Day would be a day just like any other in my house… cooking, good food, conversation and laughter, with lots of XX&OO’s.

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Meet Chelsea:

Hey! I’m Chels-the writer of The Collegebook. I’m from Oklahoma, but I am currently living in Happy Valley, Utah while attending Utah Valley University. I am majoring in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations and possibly getting my minor in Spanish. The Collegebook is about my adventures through college and social networking. Because let’s face it…we all check our Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times a day. Am I right? Or am I right?

My dream Valentines date? Well let’s start with Boy brings Girl flowers (tulips or daisies) with a note that says be ready by 7:00pm. Girl giggles, bites her lip, and twists her hair. Girl gets ready by curling her hair, puckering her lips for her favorite lipstick, and slipping into her favorite outfit. The knock comes. Boy is standing there looking mighty dapper. Elevator eyes are used. Boy and Girl walk to the car where Boy opens Girl’s door. The two drive to the city where there is a quaint cupcake shop. Boy buys Girl her favorite cupcake and a hot cocoa. They sit on the luscious couch and sip on hot cocoa while exchanging “those looks” and good conversation. Michael Buble is serenading the cupcake shop which makes Boy stand up and pull Girl in the middle of the pretend dance floor. They start dancing, and of course Girl can't stop smiling. Snow starts lightly falling outside. Boy and Girl hold hands and run to the car. Boy drives Girl home, walks her to her door and then does the head scratch (you know the one that EVERY boy does in those romantic movies when he is hinting that he doesn’t want to leave yet? Yep-that one). Girl fumbles with keys. The sound of snow falling is getting louder. And then it happens. That ever so wanted Valentine’s Day kiss. Girl smiles, says goodnight, and does a hop skip into her apartment. Boy smiles, says goodnight, and does a hop skip to his car and doesn’t leave until after she waves goodbye from her window.

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Meet Krista:
Hello, my name is Krista and I blog over at Crescendo! I am a twenty something who just moved to a new city to begin a career, girl in a current long distance relationship, member of a loving family and friend of some amazing people.

Blogging began as a way to keep in touch with family and friends as I moved to a new place. It has now evolved as a creative outlet in a hectic world. I blog about setting goals, organization, DIY projects, favorite recipes and hair styles the average person can achieve. Mostly I blog about my life; what inspires me and the beauty I find in every day.

My dream Valentine's date is actually what me and my man have been doing the past 4 years. We order a luxurious 'heart-shaped pizza special' from Papa Johns Pizza, get into sweats and watch comedies all evening. I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's - don't forget to stop on over and say 'hello' at Crescendo!

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Meet Haleigh:

My name is Haleigh Forbes of A Forbes Life. I always have a baby in one hand, a diet coke and a camera in the other, and a husband standing beside me. My blog is just that: my life, my dreams; my good days, my bad days; my deep thoughts, my shallow thoughts; some snapshots and some creative writing to paint the picture.

If I were to have a dream valentine's day, I would hope to be skydiving, or jumping off a rock somewhere deep in the jungle. And then he would surprise me with a huge box of chocolate covered strawberries. Because let's face it, valentine's day is not the day to be watching your figure.

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Meet Hollie:

Hi there! I'm Hollie, I'm a country music lovin, 20 something living in America's Finest City...San Diego! I write a lifestyle blog which features everything from current style obsessions to my daily adventures...with a little bit of humor thrown in. I love to laugh and try to make that priority in my blog! Beware, my humor can be a little cheesy and over the top and ironic sometimes ;)

My dream Valentines Day date is being swept away for a surprise mini vacation...or more realistically, a romantic restaurant with amazing food, irresistible ambiance, and a killer dessert menu!

superbowl, flu, and a donkey

2012-02-06T03:43:00.001-08:00

hey readers,

today's post is going to be a little short as i got hit pretty hard with some sort of flu bug.

i was able to make it through the superbowl and see my new york giants (aka eli manning) win the big game. and after that my sweet husband took care of me hand and foot while i rested in bed all night long.

oh yeah, and barney stinson and sheldon cooper were there.

they gave me chuckles through the pain.

in the meantime, i'm still reminiscing on honeymoon pictures. they're fun.

bank dance

2012-02-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

i'm making the mister memorize this dance with me so the next time we walk into the bank we'll bust this bad boy out.

oh, and zooey deschanel and joseph gordon-levitt should be together already. just saying.

love is just around the corner

2012-02-03T03:07:00.000-08:00

(mr. taylor and me, honeymoon, st. maarten)

happy friday everyone! hope you have amazing plans with your loved ones and days filled with adventure, as well as some much needed zzz's. i'll be spending time cuddled up with my man eating good ol' food, movie watching and hopefully a little bowling. just a reminder to all those interested in being apart of the mega post of love from around the world for the valentine's day post, last entries will be taken Saturday, February 11. just send in a picture of you and the person (or pet) that you love as well as the city and state you are from.

email photograph to: mr.taylorandhislady [at] gmail [dot] com

awkward and awesome Thursdays

2012-02-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

(mr. taylor circa 1992)

awkward
- the fact i had the same outfit as mr. taylor growing up. that's what you get having seven brothers, a lot of hand me downs and a temporary loss of estrogen. oh, and my mullet for 3 years didn't help either.
- smiling at someone as they leave the bathroom stall, only to turn that smile into a look of disgust as said person walks out without washing their hands. come on people, you should know to at least pretend to wash your hands in public!
- having a nice hang out session with people, only to get home and notice that you have a nice, juicy booger hanging out of your nose, and you think to yourself, how long has that been there?
- waking up in the morning to realizing that you just cuddled with your teddy bear instead of your husband all night. "23-year-old married problems!!!" (said in deena and snooki, meatball voice)
- going out to a celebratory dinner and end up spending an hour talking about future baby names. that's what happens when you see your hubs playing with a baby all during church. your ovaries start dancing.

awesome
- mr. taylor showing me this video, and then exclaiming that she is me. when it comes to animals, i cry over everything. so perfect! plus, i love ellen!
- coming into the living room and seeing the mister blasting yesterday's playlist and free styling to selena gomez. i'm not making this up.
- the creamery on 9th east officially having the best ice cream. in DIRE need of this right about now.
- apartment hunting. i love just planning this next adventure with my best friend and partner in crime.
- sitting down and watching the bachelor over dinner with my mister. i love his little commentary too. right now his favorites are kacie b and emily. and whenever courtney gets on screen he has to leave the room because he dislikes her so much. good boy.
- having all new sponsors for the month of February. make sure to check them all out on the right sidebar!

little notes

2012-02-01T03:41:00.000-08:00

disney. by hislittlelady on Grooveshark

dear self,
you are finally admitting to the world you are a fan of all those disney stars like selena gomez and hilary duff. hey, we all have that little child-like attribute inside all of us right? and can i let you readers in on a little secret? the mister likes when i play "love you like a love song" on re-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat.

dear sundance,
you rocked my socks. i had so much fun, and the whole experience just has me even more excited for the future and what all it holds for me.

dear last nights thai food,
you were extremely delicious, and i can't believe mr. taylor decided to splurge and get an appetizer too. well played sir, well played. and now you entice me as your left overs sit in the fridge. i may just have to eat you now for lunch, yum!

dear hubby,
i'm so very proud of you and getting your first "big boy" job starting up later this summer. i know you put a lot of pressure on yourself and work so very hard to provide for your little family of two, and i just want you to know it does not go unnoticed. i can't wait to move, live in our first official place on our own, and start our grown-up lives together.

dear bachelor ben,
i really do not like courtney. there, i said it. i just thought you should know, because obviously my opinion matters to you.

dear microwave,
i have been abusing you the past few days, resulting in food splatter all over your once clean white sides. i solemnly promise i will clean you very soon. pinkies up.

dear facebook,
you are making it mandatory for all your users to turn over to the dark side and use timeline in just a few short weeks. that's it, i'm boycotting you.

dear little fly,
you never seem to die or try to escape when i so kindly open the door for you. i have decided that you are now the hubs and i's first official pet. i shall call you fabio.

dear whoever came up with these,
you make me laugh every time. especially this one.

dear officer chapin,
i will sincerely miss your raptor dances, letting us walk on your police car, pulling us over just so you could see how our days were going, and overall concern for the school system and its students. you made a difference in everyones lives and were truly loved. rest in peace dear friend.

the ins and outs

2012-01-31T07:18:00.000-08:00

many of you had questions regarding my whole experience working the sundance film festival, so here we go.

i signed up to be a volunteer for the sundance back in late august. i've always been interested in the entertainment industry (you know, the whole PR thing). i wrote an essay, i did a phone interview, took a few quizzes and voilà, i was headed to sundance.

i had no idea what to expect as i had never been there before during this festive time. and i was a little worried to be doing it all by myself, but within minutes i made good friends who were working my shifts. i felt all official as i was strapped on with a fancy headset and clip board. my official title was the sign-up volunteer. i was in charge of delegating to the P&I, directors, producers, and patrons where they were to sign up, to check out their credentials, write them down, and show them to their theatres. basically i was their little chaperons for hours on end. i got to meet and talk with a lot of important people. anywhere from singer, ingrid michaelson, to actor, joseph gordon-levitt, to writer/director, brad bird. look at me, i'm totally name dropping and i love it! ha

i had so much fun, i can't wait to do it all over again next year. and i even plan on volunteering for the academy awards next time around. i could get used to all this glitz and glamour!

have anymore questions? do you want to get involved next year and want the full low down? just email me!

blog love: Kristen Marie

2012-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

i'm so excited to share this next blog interview, the talented kristen marie. this is definitely one of my top favorite photography sites. and it doesn't hurt either that i've known her since the good ol' school days. she shoots anything from travel, to portraits, to weddings, and everything in between. i highly suggest you check her site out after you read this! i promise you'll find yourself hours in to her beautiful images.

xo TJ

What made you decide to start photography?

Believe it or not, I've got nursing prerequisites under my belt. My initial spurt of energy growing up came from helping others, I've never liked seeing people suffer (I would run to my room crying when America's Funniest Home Videos came on the TV; I wasn't a fan of watching videos of people getting hurt). When I began doing my clinics for my nursing aid training, I started realizing that it wasn't the best fit for who I was at the time. I took up photography for filler classes and fell in love. From there, I moved onto focusing on people (portraits to family to engagements to weddings). I can say that the need of wanting to take care of people is still being fulfilled, I'm just with people at their highest moments now instead of their lowest. Both nursing and photography are rewarding, I am just able to get in creative mode a lot more easily through photography.

You recently got engaged. Having photographed many a wedding, any themes you are loving right now?

I do indeed have myself a handsome fiance! He's my best friend and we are very excited. Ultimately, we just want to start a life together. Being in the wedding industry, I've seen a lot of blogs, ideas and magazines. We've decided to make a list of what's the most important : being outside, walks, good music, great food and the spending time with the people closest to us. I think a smaller outdoor wedding with our musician friends playing some tunes will blend really well. I love simplicity and things that are visually pleasing so it will probably have more of a rustic, minimal feel to it. We were able to find an incredible venue that seems to match all of this.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

The list on my google reader is incredibly short. I've been sticking to my top 10 wedding photographers for inspiration and a good kick in the pants for my own business :). One of my favorite cooking blogs right now is http://www.sproutedkitchen.com, not only is the food amazing (maybe it's what got me my fiance in the first place) but the images are clean and fresh. Hugh Forte (http://www.hughforte.com/blog) is another wedding photographer who uses composition in a beautiful way and takes the images while his wife creates the recipes.

A big part of your job is traveling. Where is your favorite location?

I've had some amazing opportunities to travel. Europe is one of my favorites and where we hope to go again after the wedding. We got to travel to Eastern Europe together last year because I had booked a wedding in Hungary and stopped off in Austria. It was magical. I got to travel to Italy the year before and had a wonderful time. SE Asia is incredible too, I am off to Tokyo and Singapore next week.

What program do you use to edit your photos?

Photoshop seems to do the trick. My 2012 goal is a faster workflow for a quicker turn around time.

What is on the top of your resolutions list this year?

To make life less about me and more about others.

Future dream goals?

Definitely more traveling. There's talk of moving to Europe for a couple of years after Michael's music calms down but that could be more of a dream and less of a goal. I'd love to learn new ways of cooking, visit and meet more people and enjoy the small things.

What are you doing when you are not taking photos?

Usually editing! I decided to take a month or two off from photography since it was such a big year but now I'm itching to shoot again. These past few weeks off have really helped to put myself first and work on the relationships around me. I've been really grateful for this time. I love a good day of thrifting too, it's amazing what you'll find in secondhand stores outside of the city. One of my favorite pieces is a WW2 locket that soldiers gave their girlfriends called a "sweetheart" locket. I've been able to furnish my whole apartment with a tiny budget and I am quite proud of the way it looks!

You have great style. What is your favorite go-to piece?

My John Fluevog Radio Boots, Cigarette pants and a nice wool sweater. For summer you'll usually find me in a vintage blouse and skirt with some delicate antique gold jewelry and coral lipstick.

Any tips for photographers starting out?

Keep shooting and shooting what you like. I think a lot of photographers starting out will be shooting anywhere from landscape to street to babies but don't realize their strengths are in underwater or animals! Keep pushing yourself to utilize light and to see things differently. I am constantly learning and letting my style evolve, it's great to be able to show people how you see them and the world.

thanks so much for your lovely interview Kristen, and your more than perfect images!

things i've already learned working sundance

2012-01-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

1. a lot of these directors, producers and press and industry people are all 35 and under. i don't know why i just assumed they would be older, but one up for the youth.

2. people will do anything to get in line for the films. anything.

3. you must conjure up every bit of simon cowell in you and be firm in what you tell people. "please" does not work around here.

4. your co-workers may possibly be the coolest people on earth.

5. joseph gordon-levitt is shorter in person, but oh so talented, smiley, and all around perfect.

sundance

2012-01-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

my shift is finally here. after all the planning, anxiety, excitement, and studying, i am ready to impress and work the carpet for all these P & I, directors, actors, and the public. if you are going to see some films for the next three days make sure to come up and say hello! :)

{image via}