Rose Runs Wild

The Wedding :: Hair

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:59:00 +0000

I had a request before my break to do a post on wedding hair so here we go. This is one of the very few areas when it came to the wedding that I knew exactly what I wanted. Everything else has been, "ummm, maybe, I don't really know." I've learned I really suck at planning a wedding and quite frankly, do not like getting into the details of all that wedding planning is. If I had the money to hire someone to do every last bit of it for me, I would in a heart beat. Another one of those domestic, girly, creative bones I was just not born with. But, that's a story for another time, back to the hair! I've always known I wanted wavy, messy hair. I absolutely love it. I love curls with a tossed around in bed kind of look. I'm not a fan of traditional up dos or something that is too done as that is a bit too formal for my taste. I want soft, natural, romantic hair. So here are a few of looks that have inspired me that I love!

What kind of wedding hair is your favorite? Are you an up do kind of gal or a let your hair down kind of woman?

P.S. Our wedding is only 4 months away! Time flies!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

The Review :: The Snugg Flowing Light Charger

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:36:00 +0000

A few weeks ago the awesome people at The Snugg sent me one of their new Live Wire Flowing Light Charging Cables. I have to say, it's pretty cleaver and a fun way to charge your iphone. And if you're like me, you have to charge your phone at least once a day, if not two. I'm also one of those people that has a charger at the office and at home and honestly, the more chargers I have, the better. It has a gorgeous blue light that flows the length of the charger. When your battery is low, the light will race up and down the cable very quickly, the fuller your battery, the slower the light moves. Once it stops, you're fully charged and ready to go! You don't have to look at your phone to see how much longer you have, the cable will tell you!

The Snugg sent me one of their iphone cases and I've continued to be impressed with the quality and function of their products. They offer cases for several brands of smart phones and tablets too! Definitely check them out if you are looking for a new case or accessories for your smart phone or tablet! If you have Amazon Prime, The Snugg is now on Amazon.com for you to shop there as well. Thank you so much to the awesome people at The Snugg for their patience and sending another great product for me to share with you guys.

The Mama Diaries

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:15:00 +0000

Whew, the other night. . . it was one of those nights. Where I see it all spiraling out of control but there is nothing I can do to stop it, I just have to roll with it. One of those nights where finishing off the box of wine in the liquor cabinet while I take a long shower and then go straight to bed sounds like the best possible outcome. Then the dog starts puking all over the kitchen floor and proceeds to puke until 1 a.m. and you think, I should have gone with the wine, shower and bed. You know that night right? Yes, you do.

The pre-teen years have proven to be, such a challenge. Parenting is always a challenge, but this, this emotional roller coaster is one ride that just makes me feel sick to my stomach and not in the fun way at times. Logan got in trouble last night. Not major trouble, just a talking too. But mix that with pre-teen hormones (they are the worst) and extreme exhaustion and you will get something that spirals into a complete breakdown. The kind of breakdown where he is crying and can hardly catch his breath and I'm holding him trying to talk him down, telling him to take a deep breath and calm down, it's going to be ok, I'm listening, I understand, I love you. In these breakdowns he tells me that his life has sucked for the past three years and lists off every bad thing that has happened in his life. Honestly, for a 12 year old, he has been through a lot of awful things, he really has. But he also has a very good life, a very blessed life, but at 12 years old, you have no true concept of that. When he says things like that, it's like a grenade straight into my heart and it just blows my heart into itty bitty pieces. It hurts and it's awful, but I know he doesn't say it to hurt me. If I showed any sign that it hurt me he would feel even more terrible and it would spiral into something else. So I stay calm and let him cry, let him vent, let him talk, while I wipe his tears and brush my fingers through his hair. Even 12 year olds need a good cry sometimes. I know he says those things because he is almost 13 and everything sucks right now, even though it's really not that bad. I know because I was that age, I was in middle school and it is the worst. It's such a difficult time in life where nothing goes your way, nothing is right or how you want it to be. I get it.

But being a mother, sitting on this side it's so different and so hard to watch your little baby go through these steps in life. After I get him calmed down, showered with kisses and I love yous, close the door, I cry and I can't help but ask myself, have I completely screwed up with my child? Have I made all of the wrong decisions and jeopardized his happiness along the way? Have I given him a horrible life? I start to completely doubt myself as a mother. I am hyper aware that these are the moments in life that shape and mold the adult he will become and how he reacts to others in different relationships in his life. I can't help but just think, I've totally screwed up and he is suffering for all of my mistakes. Even though I feel I am trying my best, doing my best and have finally created the happy, stable life for him that I have always so desperately wanted to give him, maybe it's to late for that to matter now. Maybe I missed that window. I was a mom so young, always struggling to find my way, gain independence, find someone I loved that would love Logan and I together as a family, create a stable, loving home for him and along that path, I made a lot of mistakes and he was there with me through all of my mistakes and I hate that I made so many bad decisions and he had to go through them too. I sit and think about him being in relationships and wonder what types of issues I am creating for him that some woman one day will be like, well it's because of your mom that you react that way. I know I shouldn't think of those things but I do. He is my child and soon to be an adult. I want only the best for him, I only want for him to be his best and be a happy person, a loving person, a caring person. A person with few issues and little baggage. You want to help your child become the best possible person that they can be. Their happiness is always top priority. Moments like these make me feel as though I've completely failed.

BUT, after these emotions calm down, I come back down to the more realistic outlook of the fact that Logan is a wonderful kid and that he is going through normal pre-teen issues. Gray reminds me that we cannot all be happy, all of the time. I tend to live under a false illusion that we should all be happy all of the time. That isn't realistic. And I know that, even though I try so hard to keep everyone happy as much as I possibly can. As moms, I think we can't help but think that way and constantly try to please everyone. Happy family, happy mama, right? These moments are going to happen though, this is part of growing up, he will get through it, he will wake up in the morning refreshed and moved on from getting it all out. I am thankful that he knows he can breakdown in front of me, open his heart and pour it all out while I sit and hold him. That he is able to talk through what is weighing on his heart, what is on his mind and deal with his issues. That through all of his crying and complaining, at the end of it he says "You I love, mom", gives me a big hug and kiss. These things let me know that I am doing a good job, that I have done something right. All is not lost and we are all still moving forward. He loves me, I love him, we all love eachother and one bad 15 minute moment doesn't mean I've screwed his life up. It means he is growing up and that at 31 I am still growing, still learning and it's all going to be ok.

The Garden :: Tanglewood Berry Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:44:00 +0000

As Mother's Day approaches each year I think I get more excited knowing it will finally be time to start my garden! I honestly never thought I would be this into my garden. I mean, I LOVE my garden. It becomes this baby that I tend and care for each year and with every new year, I want it to do better and better, and I learn more and more. I do not consider myself a true "gardener" but I feel like maybe a little bit of my Nana's green thumb was passed along to me in some way and I am so thankful for that. I have a true love for plants. Watching them grow, flower and create food is absolutely amazing to me. When you are good to your plants, they return the favor 10 times over. It's a wonderful process and every year I love it more and more.

This year in the garden I knew that we really wanted to get all organic plants. Over the past three years we have mixed in a lot of organic soil with our own and mixed our leaves into the soil each fall. This has made amazing soil for our garden full of worms and pill bugs. To say I am proud of our soil at this point would be an understatement. How old and uncool am I getting excited about soil? Sheesh!

Last fall my friend Jean took me to an organic farm called Tanglewood Berry Farm that had a little market and I fell in love with it. We drove down a one way gravel road in the woods and were greeted by chickens and the friendliest big, white, fluffy dog. They are a certified USDA Organic farm in the heart of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The farm is family run and owned and you can feel that when you are there. They have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 125 vegetables, herbs, vegetable plants, flowers, U-pick, and other local products. Their organic veggie plants are only $2 a plant so we might have gone a little overboard and bought too many tomato plants again, like we do ever year after we say we aren't going to do that next year. Oops!

I'm so glad that we went to Tanglewood Berry Farm this year to start our garden and that we have a farm here in town doing the work that they are doing. I know it is a lot of hard work to get the USDA Organic certification and I appreciate it so much! Our grocery stores here sell organic produce but to be able to buy local and organic makes me one happy mama! I love knowing we have organic plants that were started and grown with lots of love and care. If you are in the Fort or close by, I definitely suggest heading out there for your plants or flowers this year!

19/52

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:40:00 +0000

// A photo of my children once a week, every week, in 2013 //

Logan :: I don't know a kid that loves animals more than he does. If it were up to him, we would have taken that dog home with us. We are on the hunt for new glasses for him since he got new lenses in his "active" frames. He's looking a little too grown up in those for my liking. ;)

Bacon & Waffles :: Every day. These two. Watchers and welcoming party of the Funk-Blue house.

* Thank you so much to Jodi for hosting this series.

Mother's Day :: Hiking

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

Mother's Day weather this year called for possible frost two nights in a row. So planting the garden this weekend was out of the question. I will not lie, I was a bit bummed.

We woke up, had a big breakfast drank a few cups of coffee and I kept wandering outside, wishing it was just a bit warmer but not wanting to lay around the house all day long. I wanted to be outside, even if that meant getting bundled up. Laying around the house seemed like a waste of a day. I wanted to go on a hike. Pokagon State Park is only about 45 minutes away, it wasn't even noon yet and we had a whole afternoon open. I knew Logan would be more than excited to spend a day there hiking the trails and it would be something fun for the two of us to do. So we packed our backpacks with snacks, water and essentials. Logan's pack is full of "survival gear". He is really into survival everything right now. He has been itching to take his pack out and test it out a bit. If you ask him, he can survive for a week with just his backpack. He reminded me of this many, many times. Waffles came along for the hike too and we set off.

The sun came out here and there, it was a bit chilly and felt more like fall than spring but it was a beautiful afternoon. Everything is in full bloom, green and perfect. I love being in nature with Logan because he loves it so much. It's where he feels most comfortable and he loves to explore. I loved every time he would say "Mom, shhhhh. . . Do you hear that? I love listening to nature, don't you?" He packed me a special surprise snack of my favorite Powerberries from Trader Joe's. He turned over every rock and log that he could to see what was underneath it. He ventured off into the woods countless times to investigate a noise or something he saw. He found an animal skull we plan to clean up. He told me many times about what was in his pack and if we needed a specific thing, how he would use it. "Aren't you glad I am so prepared for our hike, mom?" Yes, yes I was. He pointed out every little flower, every bird, bug, creature. He sees things I would never see. I love that about him. He also packed a little handheld tape recorder and on our hike back the car wanted to record a little piece of us talking about our hike. I will hold on to that little tape forever and ever.

This hike wasn't about me needing to be out of the house, this hike was about being with my son. Watching his eyes light up at the slightest sound and every tiny thing that caught his eye. Seeing him be so proud that he was prepared and ready to take care of his mom no matter what might happen, even if I just got hungry and wanted a snack, he had it covered. It was about spending an afternoon with him doing something we both love but more importantly that he loves so much. Mother's Day to me is not about presents or being pampered. It's about being with my child, taking a day to stop, slow down and soak in every moment with him that I can.

On our walk back he put his arm around me and said "Happy Mother's Day, thank you so much for bringing me here and hiking with me. I love you." Best Mother's Day gift I could ever ask for. And, a new tradition born.

P.S. You can see our camping trip to Pokagon here.

The Weekends

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Good morning! I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend and got to spend lots of time with those special ladies in your life. I got exactly what I wanted this Mother's Day, a special little road trip, just Logan and I. We drove up to Pokagon State Park to go on a hike for the day. We packed back packs, threw Waffles in the car with us and headed up there to see what Spring looked like since we have only been up during the summer and fall seasons. It was a bit chilly but a beautiful day for a hike. Him and I, in nature. . .we had a great time. We spent the rest of the weekend out and about buying plants for the garden, checking out our local Comic Con and going to a friend's art show. The weather kind of screwed up our gardening tradition but that's ok, I think Logan and I might have started a new one. Do you have any Mother's Day traditions?

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:38:00 +0000

Happy Friday an more importantly, Happy Mother's Day weekend! I hope you have something special planned for that sweet mama in your life! I came home from work last night to find this surprise in the fridge to kick of the weekend! I'm not going to lie, I'm extremely excited for this weekend! We have our local Comic Con to go to, an art opening of one of our very good friends, dinner at one of my family's favorite restaurants for my mama and we will continue our Mother's Day tradition of planting our garden! We already have a tomato plant, some onions, garlic and pea plants popping up on their own. I cannot wait to start eating fresh garden tomatoes again. Nothing tastes as good as a tomato straight out of your own backyard. Soon, so soon!

I thought about doing a Mother's Day gift guide or something along those lines but honestly, I didn't have the energy this week and I never ask for anything material on this day. . . well, that's not true. This year I did ask for one thing, this. Target, gets me every time. So silly, but I love the floral pattern and my other gardening tools are falling apart. But, besides that I ask for a day to just spend with Logan and Gray, at home, where we plant the garden and I don't have to do anything. No cleaning, no laundry, just hanging out with my boys to enjoy being a family. Oh, I do also ask for absolutely no whining, eye rolling or complaining when I ask to take pictures too. Hehehehe.

If you are a mom, I hope you know I wish you the best Mother's Day full of love, hugs, relaxing, pampering and happiness! I hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

~ If you want to read my past Mother's Day post you can read it here.
~ If you want to read some of my posts about becoming a mom at 18 and how I've grown as a mom, you can read them here and here.

P.S. I did get a photo of Logan for the 52 project this week but was too lazy to upload it. I'll make up for it next week!

*This image is from a Mother's Day card from Michele Maul. You can see more of her work here.

The Home :: Living Room Makeover Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:35:00 +0000

When we first moved into this house three years ago, my first thought was "We need to paint in a bad way and I want to paint it all white." We rent this house and luckily our landlord is really relaxed and said we could paint. Well. . . three years later, nothing has been painted and it was driving me INSANE! It was literally depressing me. All of the colors in the house are dark, dark, dark, dark wood, dark colors. It felt like we were living in a dark cave. Gray seemed to not be bothered by it one bit but it was making me want to pull my hair out. Confession :: I don't like having people over to our house because I'm embarrassed of how the inside of our house looks. It does not reflect Gray and I at all. Decorating our home has not been at the top of our priority list for a number of reasons but we are at a point now where it can be. Our furniture is all old and hand me down from my parents since Gray and I both moved back from Las Vegas and New York without any furniture. Nothing matches, we've just thrown things on the mantel because we don't know where the hell else to put them, there is no style, rhyme or reason to any of it. It's just a gigantic mess of random crap and I reached my limit with it.

We decided that any money we get from the wedding would go to new living room furniture and that this year, decorating the house, making it more "us" and investing in pieces that will actually last us would be a priority. You have absolutely no idea how happy this makes me. So I nailed Gray down to an agreed upon weekend that we would spend painting. Three gallons of the paint and primer in one (yes, it took 3 gallons to cover that all up) and viola! A brand new pretty, clean, happy, non depressing room!

We would love to sand those floors down, stain and reseal them but, we don't own it so we're not putting that kind of money into it. A rug will have to do. We plan to keep the style of this room very clean and simple with little pops of color. I just grabbed some industrial mirrors that were going to get tossed here at work. I plan to spruce them up a bit, and once the new couch gets in here, we will start hanging things. We still need to find a new chair which has been a struggle. I just want a very simple basic, comfy chair and am having a hard time finding that for some reason. Any suggestions? We need new curtains and I have a shelf and coffee table in mind that I want to either track down or try to make too. Of course, there will be plants, lots of plants! Once I have this room finished I'll be sure to share it on here! Next to be painted and get a make over, the dining room!

Things On A Bun // Deer?

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:31:00 +0000

I saw these sticks and flowers the other day while on a walk and this is what popped into my head. ;) Happy Wednesday!

To see other Things On A Bun posts, click here.

*photo by Logan

Date Night :: Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:12:00 +0000

As Logan gets older night/day dates get harder and harder to nail down. He is home less and less so I try to make up for the lack of one on one time by at least getting in a nice walk at night after dinner or extra talks, snuggles and laughs before bed. As the weather warms up though it does give Logan and I the opportunity to enjoy our favorite kind of dates, or excuse me, hang out time (I'm supposed to stop calling it a date and call it hang out time now that he is older according to him) outdoor hang out times! We are very lucky to have three big ponds surrounding our home filled with fish. Not fish that anyone should be taking home to eat and some of the fish we have seen don't really belong in a pond at all, but fish none the less. Fish that make it fun for Logan and I to walk across the street and see what we can catch.

Logan has been fishing since he was oh. . . two, as have I. I know some of you are probably thinking "fishing!? Ummm. . . ok." But to me, fishing is very special. It's something I grew up doing with both my Nana and my grandpa. I've always been a lake girl. That's where I grew up and I will always be thankful for that. To this day I will pick up turtles, worms, shells, bugs (not spiders) or anything else that looks like it's some little creature without thinking twice and Logan will too. Fishing was always a special time with each grandparent. My Nana taught me how to find the best worms in the garden and my grandpa taught me the best way to hook a worm. I remember going to fishing competitions with my grandpa and one year going up to Canada with them when I was 8. I caught a 14 inch big mouth bass on a tiny pink fishing pole my grandpa had got me for my birthday that he even had my name engraved on. It said Nikki Rose. I loved it. He was so proud of me for catching that big fish, tiny little me. He had it mounted and everything.

Both my Nana and my grandpa have passed on but they are still with me in my heart, in my thoughts every single day. Fishing is something they were both able to share with Logan before their time here was up, just as they had with me. That means more to me than I could ever express. I had such a wonderful childhood because of the two of them. It's always been important to me that Logan have those same experiences in his childhood. That he got to enjoy those moments with them, learn from them, listen to them, be with them. So, when Logan and I can share an evening digging up worms together in the garden and can sit patiently, relaxing by the water, it's nothing short than the absolute best. For the two of us, we couldn't ask for a better night together.

Logan ended up catching 5 fish in an hour and I caught one. I hope we have many more nights of fishing this spring/summer. . .

This one is my favorite! Hahahaha!

The Weekends

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:03:00 +0000

Good morning! I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open this morning. There is something about sleeping with the windows open that makes for the absolute best sleep and a struggle to talk yourself into getting out of a cozy snuggled bed. But, the alarm goes off and school and work are inevitable, 5:30 just never becomes any easier to get up by.

Spring has brought this breath of fresh are into our home and it's been so needed. The weather was perfect, I mean there is no way you could ever ask for better! Sunshine and 75 for two days straight with nights that bring just the slightest bit of chill that make having a fire in the fire pit and sitting outside, enjoying drinks with friends the beginning of a wonderful spring and summer. We made sure to enjoy every bit of this weekend. We ran errands, went shopping just for fun, saw a movie, cleaned the house in record time, got laundry done (good god I've gotten so behind on laundry, ugh), hung out with friends, lounged around in the backyard, read and spent an afternoon with Gray's dad and his wife. It was absolutely lovely.

I kept looking at all of the beautiful blooming trees across the street at the park and thinking that I needed to get over there and take some photos but, I never took my camera out this weekend. I didn't even post to Instagram all weekend, I hardly looked at my phone and it was nice. I kept leaving it in my purse or in another room. Definitely going to start trying to make less phone time a habit. How was your weekend?

1 // What our breakfasts look like on the weekends. They are not pretty, not healthy and on the weekends, that's how we like it. Especially after a long, fun filled night out with friends! ;)

The Week

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Friday is here my friends! Yesterday was one of those Thursdays where you swear it has to be Friday because that weight that a week of work, school and routine can bring on has been lifted a day early, you know? I'm not complaining one bit. This week has been beautiful! We've had sunshine and temps in the 70-80's all week. I've gotten in some fantastic work outs, Logan and I went on a fishing date, Gray and I got some work done for the wedding and I've been able to sit on the patio and read a few nights this week. It's been quite lovely. We don't have any major plans this weekend except to go out to lunch with Gray's dad tomorrow and buy a new couch!! Yay!! Logan will be at his dad's so Gray and I will hopefully spend lots of time with friends and maybe squeeze in a date night. ;)

What are your plans for the weekend? Relaxing, big plans, family, friends? I hope whatever you do, you have a wonderful weekend! Below are a few links for you!

~ Google Reader is going away as most of you know. Follow along over at Bloglovin here! <3

~ Julie, from Yonder is a very dear friend and she wrote and amazing post today. It's a great read and I can definitely relate.

~ This pouch from BEES'NETTA! Definitely one of my favorite new shops.

~ Definitely trying these babies out for my lunches next week. I'll eat just about anything wrapped in seaweed.

~ Liz from Yellow Finch is one of my favorite bloggers. She shares her honest daily life with her family and I always find it so refreshing. Not to mention she has three of the cutest kids I've ever seen!

~ This boho dress from Ms. Tips Vintage is gorgeous!

~ Anne from A Cup Full Of Sunshine has an AMAZING post called Living With Plants that shows some of the most beautiful rooms you'll ever lay eyes on. The more plants, the better in my opinion. Check out this room of Anne's! It's my dream room!

~ Carly added some new designs to her shop Black & Bronze! Pop over too drool over them and buy one or two. You know you want to!

~ Really, really, really, really great article on how the way we eat effects climate change!

~ This pillow from My Favorite Colour could not be more perfect for our new couch. This one from Michelle Dwight Designs is very fitting too.

18/52

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:41:00 +0000

// A photo of my children once a week, every week, in 2013 //

Logan :: In his element. Outside, fishing, patiently. Loving every moment of it. He caught 5 in an hour! ;)

* A series started by Jodi!

Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:10:00 +0000

Spring has officially arrived in Indiana, finally, and we are enjoying every moment that we can. We spend our free evenings and days outside as much as possible. We've been. . .

Working on the backyard every weekend.
Planting lots and lots of flowers all over the yard and will be planting many, many more.
Planning out this years garden that already has onions and garlic popping up on their own.
Finding cute baby turtles.
Going on bike rides.
Digging in the garden for worms for Logan to fish with at the ponds that surround our house.
Relaxing on the patio with Bacon at my side while I start reading Game of Thrones.
Going for long walks in the park right as the sun starts to set.
Climbing trees.
Grilling out, having fires in the new fire pit Gray built and enjoying drinks outdoors with friends.
Sleeping with the windows open.
Loving the new swan that has decided to make our ponds her new home.
Watching every day to see how the wildflower seeds are coming up so nicely.
Painting the inside of our home. (post soon to come)
Not having to tell Logan to get off of the computer because he just wants to be outside.

Spring, we love you. Please feel free to stick around as long as you would like.

Things On A Bun

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:16:00 +0000

Just a silly new series I'm starting. No point, just for fun. There was really no way for me to come up with a name for this series that didn't sound. . .ummm. . . dirty. Well, I guess I could have but it's more fun this way, right? Yes. So we'll all just have to deal with it. I'll be hashtagging it on Instagram too with #thingsonabun if you want to follow along there too.

I'm probably one of the few people that gets excited to see dandelions pop up in the spring time. Yes, they are a weed, but I am a fan of pretty much all flowering weeds. Dandelions remind me of some of my fondest childhood memories and smell like summer. What's your favorite spring flower?

And. . . I'm Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:56:00 +0000

I'm back, here in this space. In some ways I feel like I never left because I still get on here to keep up with my favorite blogs but I haven't been here, writing in this space and putting any energy into posting. It's been so nice, so refreshing. Let's be honest, spring finally being here is helping a lot. I noticed that a lot of bloggers had taken a break around the same time and you know what I decided? It's winter. Damn you winter and all the ill ways you make people feel! I think it's that long drawn out, never ending feeling that just drags everyone down and leaves you feeling empty. It was so dark out, so cold, so gross for so long that I was just feeling depressed, overwhelmed, burnt out and blah. Which then made me start to feel as though I was just not up to par, I had nothing interesting to offer to this little eco system. I felt as though to be a blogger you have to "be something". You need to be into fashion, design kids clothing, sell vintage, do outfit posts, make amazing food, be a graphic designer, create jewelry, be a professional photographer, a wonderful and serious story teller, be an artist, you need to be something. Well, I'm not any of those things. Not even close. So I started asking myself why I was doing this, spending time and energy on this space. My answer was continually, I don't know. . I really don't know. I've never felt that way and it honestly scared me. I always found this place to be a nice little escape, a place to connect with people, a place to let the littlest bit of creativity that comes in my head, like twice a year, out. To share the stories of our family, the random thoughts and rants that come into my head, things I love, my crappy attempts at photography. And I've always loved it. I always felt like this was my thing, the one thing I was good at and enjoyed doing. One day, I just wasn't feeling it anymore. It was like any desire, passion, confidence or want for this space just packed up it's bags and left without saying goodbye. So I decided to take a step back, walk away, take a deep breath and not come back to this space until I had a clear mind and had dealt with whatever it was that was making me feel such a void, making me so upset and moved beyond it. I also had some hormonal issues I needed to sort out to which had been making me feel completely out of my brain and not like myself. I'm happy to say that all is well and under control. Thank god. I've decided hormones of the woman and pre-teen kind are straight from the depths of hell. It's a fact.

I didn't want to come back to this space until I was here at this moment, for realsies, okay. I know I have said it a million times that I am but I guess we all go through times where we start second guessing ourselves, well, at least I do. I needed this time to stop putting half assed effort into this space and letting that make me feel like crap. I needed spring to get here so I could wake myself up out of this ridiculous funk and move on with my life, get back to being myself once again. So here I am, awake, feeling a million times better and ready to put energy and life back into this space.

Thank you so much to everyone that has been so patient, so supportive, so amazing while I took a step away. Your emails, comments and support mean more to me than you know. Somehow I managed to gain quite a few new followers in my absence! So if you are new here, welcome and thanks so much for hanging out with us!

*photo taken by Logan

17/52

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:37:00 +0000

// A photo of my children once a week, every week in 2013 //

Logan :: I love what he sees, what he chooses to capture and how he goes about getting the photos he wants.

P.S. I'll be back full time on Monday! ;) Happy Friday and I hope you have an amazing weekend!

16/52

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:25:00 +0000

// A photo of my children once a week, every week, in 2013 //

Logan // Even at 12 he still has that sweet, sweet just woke up from a nap face. Teen years bring naps back and we've been taking lots of them this rainy, dreary week, mama included.

Waffles // Logan's protector, his nanny dog. She loves him so much to the point it is visible. She always wants to be as close to him as possible. Logan had a rough night the other night full of tears. Waffles heard him crying, came up in his bed, couldn't get to him because I was in her way so she sat behind me and cried until I moved. Once I moved she laid on top of him, licked all of the tears off of his face, then snuggled in as close as she could get with him. She is the sweetest dog I've ever encountered and I'm so glad she is part of our family.

Bacon // Oh you know, he's Bacon. My little shadow. A sweet, fat, smelly, loud bundle of love.

Thank you for being so patient with me while I take this break. It means more to me than you know! I have to tell you, it's helping so much. I'm starting to feel refreshed and back to normal again. I will be back soon. I'm still updating Instagram if you want to follow along over there.

15/52 :: Taking A Break

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:19:00 +0000

// A photo of my children once a week, every week in 2013 //

Logan :: The sun was coming in just right to cast a perfect shadow of his handsome profile. Bacon is not the brightest crayon in the box and is completely intrigued by any shadow. Very easily entertained.

Things will be quiet here for a little while. I need a little bit of a break. I've been feeling a lack of motivation and inspiration. I've also got some things I need to work on and get together with me. I need to get me in a better spot before I come back here. This could be a few days or a few weeks, I'm not sure. I will however, be keeping up with series. Taking photos of Logan (when he lets me) and my pups is something I will never grow tired of. Thanks for those of you that come back in here each and every day to check in. I will be back soon, I promise.

Bridal Shower Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:13:00 +0000

Anna Z. posted some photos from my bridal shower. If you want to take a look head over to her blog! Thanks for the photos Anna!

The Weekends

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:09:00 +0000

Good morning! This weekend blew by but felt so long at the same time. I think it's because we had so much going on. I'm going to be honest here. I feel as though these weekend posts are always a struggle for me to write. I always kind of sit here and stare at the screen for awhile trying to wake the hell up and figure out how to start the post without sounding like a complete cheese ball. Mmmmm. . . cheese balls sound good. . . Anyways, I don't really like reading moment by moment recap of what people did over the weekend, but I don't like a brief paragraph either. I also really like breaking my thoughts or subjects up as well. Blogging, it's so weird sometimes and I just way over think everything.

Anyways, we got a lot accomplished; gym, groceries, house got cleaned and laundry got done just in time for Laura to get here! I cannot really put into words how absolutely amazing it was to have her here. She was my friend through one of the worst points in my life. She never judged me or thought I was too much. She held my hand and was there for me every step of the way. I will always be so grateful for that. She's this beam of positivity, she's so easy going, sweet, genuine, hilarious and no matter how much time passes between our visits (which is usually a year), it's like no time ever did. She over looks my cursing, messiness and disorganized chaos and loves me for me. Friends like that are few and far between I love her so much and it hurts that we live so far. But this is life and more than anything, I am so thankful for any time I get with her and this year I get to see her twice! We kicked off our afternoon with non stop talking and some bloody mary's.

Then it was off to my bridal shower! My sister and Lindsay threw my shower at my sisters house and it was so much fun! I did have my usual anxiety over (as my aunt so well put it) feeling responsible for everyone's happiness but it wasn't that bad. Most people knew eachother and we are a pretty friendly bunch. We played games, ate delicious food, opened gifts, laughed and sat around for about 4 hours talking! Thank you again to everyone that came to be a part of such a special day! Extra special thank you to my sister for the awesome horse decorations and to Lindsay and John for making the best food!

Since Laura and Gray's mom were both in town I really wanted to show them my wedding dress! I love it more and more each time I put it on! I cannot wait until it fits perfectly and Gray gets to see me in it. I tear up every time I think about walking down the aisle to him. I'm going to be a blubbering mess. It's not going to be pretty!

Laura left early Sunday morning. :( But I was so happy to have spent a whole day with her, introduce her to all of my friends and Gray! Gray and I spent the rest of our weekend shopping for a new couch (we found one) shopping for the backyard and a little Game of Thrones thrown in there. It's was pretty spectacular. I realized yesterday that I never got a photo of Laura and I together and didn't take any photos at my bridal shower either. I think Anna snapped a few though, thankfully. Sometimes, time with people is so much more important than trying to take photos. This was definitely one of those weekends!

Hope yours was great!

1 // Sweet little flowers from my bridal shower
2 // Neon vintage horses from a sweet friend. The silver sparkle one if my favorite!

The Week

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:06:00 +0000

This week was a short week, but I feel like sometimes that makes them feel like the longest. Weird how that works. But, I'm glad it's Friday for many, many reasons. 1) My best friend Laura from Vegas is coming in town tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!! There are not enough exclamation marks for how excited I am about that! Yes, there will be jumping up and down and screaming when she gets here and I don't feel bad about it. 2) My bridal shower is tomorrow. Even though the wedding is still 6 months away, I wanted to try and do it while Laura is here so she could be a part of it. It will be awesome having all of my friends and family together! I'm more excited to just have everyone in the same place and get to spend time with all of them! 3) Laura is going to be here!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy to have her here, in our home and get to spend the weekend with her! Can you tell I am excited?

I feel like there are still a million things I need to do before 2 p.m. tomorrow like get my bangs trimmed, go to the gym, go to the grocery, get more laundry done, clean, go shopping for a dress, pick up some flowers and million other little things. Will I get them all done, who knows!? Probably not. I do plan on starting to drink at 1 tomorrow though. Just so you know.

~ This week I met an awesome new lady, brought over a bottle of wine and managed to make it explode all over myself and her kitchen. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm the clumsiest/messiest person you will ever meet."

~ Logan was hardly home at all. It was his spring break so he was at friend's houses or grandma and grandpa's spending time with his uncle. People ask "what are you doing with Logan over spring break/summer break?" and I always shrug my shoulders. This is what happens, he ends up not being home at all without me even trying to plan anything. I've given up on trying to plan his time off from school. It works out one way or another. THANKFULLY because of my awesome family and Gray working from home. So, so, so thankful for the family in our life. I remember living in Vegas and not having any help at all. It sucked and I much prefer this method. :)

~ The project Gray has been working on for the past few months was launched! So awesome to see his work come to life! I'm so proud of him. Check it out here!

~ We officially hit the 6 months 'till the wedding mark yesterday! HOLY CRAP!!!!!! 6 months! I really need to get my butt in gear and start working on decorations. I keep saying I'm going to and something else always comes up. I need to start making it a priority asap!

~ Our save the dates are done and they look AWESOME! Thank you so much to our friend Justin for busting those out for us. We love them! Hoping to get those in the mail this week. I know, we are way behind!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I think Spring has officially pushed winter out of the picture and it's here to stay! Yay!

*photo via

14/52

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:10:00 +0000

// A photo of my children, once a week, every week in 2013 //

Logan :: Looking so grown up these days. . .

Bacon :: He promised me he will live forever, I really hope he does.

Waffles :: By far, the laziest one in our house.

The Wears // Cacti & Horses Ft. Ms. Tips Vintage

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Funk) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:31:00 +0000

Just kidding, this isn't an outfit post! But, I figured Tammy would get a kick out of that. We had rambled off a few post names for this post and I'm sure we could think of a million more. I haven't had my coffee yet this morning though, so I'm sticking with fun and simple.

Do you have any "internet friends"? People you talk to over email, Twitter, Instagram, blogging or your shop? I think a lot of us in this little world of interwebs do. I have a good handful of ladies that I truly love and consider very close friends like Erin & Jeannine, Amanda and Julie. Never met them but they are still dear friends to me. One of my best friends is, Sandi. I've never met her in person either but I've told that woman pretty much damn near everything about me, good and bad. She knows stuff about me few people know and I trust her completely. Some people might think that's weird and that's ok but, I don't. I've said it a million times and I will say it again, my favorite part of blogging is the connections that I have made with other people. Not numbers, not exposure, not people sending free stuff, it's about the amazing people and friendships I've made along the way that make blogging worth it.

As I get older I feel like it gets harder and harder to make friends or true connections with people. I guess a better way of putting it would be that I feel like it's hard to meet people and feel like I can be myself around. I curse a lot, there isn't a subject that I won't talk about or that makes me uncomfortable. It takes a lot to offend me or make me uncomfortable in any way, I mean a lot. And, because of that, I'm pretty brash and open. This doesn't sit well with everyone and I get that. Nothing is more exhausting to me than hanging out with someone that you feel you are constantly watching what you say and trying to hide certain parts of your personality. Honestly, at this point in my life, I'm over that. If I can't be myself around you, I don't want to be around you. Life it short so I've chosen to surround myself with people that I can be me around. Life is just better that way, don't you think?

About three years ago Tammy and I started chatting on Twitter. I cannot believe it's been that long already! We both had vintage shops, both have Boston Terriers and we also have boys around the same age. We would chit chat about stepping on Legos, dog farts and how annoying it is when dogs chew up your underwear. We would talk about these things on Twitter, in front of everyone and not care one bit about who saw it or what they thought of us. And this is why I love Tammy. She is herself at all times and because of that, I felt like I could be myself. She is one of those people I feel like I could tell anything to and she would just get it. No questions asked, no judging. Having people like that in your life is so refreshing and I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for her friendship.

Luckily, her family was taking a road trip through Indiana to visit some family and we planned to meet up in the middle for lunch. I could not wait to finally meet her face to face and give her the biggest hug! I was so nervous to meet her. Wondering if I would be what she thought I would be, if she would still like me in person. I know this all sounds like a date and trust me, we have joked about that a lot. Once she walked in the door and I gave her a big hug, all worries were gone. Lunch was perfect! We ate delicious food, drank lots of coffee and talked and talked and talked, mostly about our kids and our dogs. I have to say it's really nice to talk to someone that loves their dog as much as me. Makes me feel just a little bit less crazy. Her son and husband are just as amazing as she is and we had such a wonderful lunch together. It was far too quick, they were literally closing down the restaurant around us. I wish we would have had more time!

Thanks again lady for taking the time to meet up with us! We miss you guys already!!

P.S. Here is Tammy's guest post from awhile back all about Boston Terriers!