From Kristen, With Love

Favorite Quotes

2013-05-04T07:17:00.003-05:00

So when I said I wanted to do this may blogging challenge with Jenni, what I really meant was, I am going to post on days when I have an hour to myself to sit down and write. And you know what, Jenni is okay with that... she said so herself "There really aren't any rules. If you miss a day, you can make it up or skip it. The blog police will not come knocking." And more importantly, I'm okay with it. Alright, moving on. Since today is Saturday, (7 am to be exact, why can I never sleep in anymore?!) I am currently sitting in my beautiful new office in our new home, with scents of coffee brewing in the background, thinking of today's writing prompt... Share your favorite quote. I, of course, couldn't decide on just one, so I'm going to share a few.

The story of my life...

2013-05-01T06:25:00.001-05:00

Today is day one of Jenni's May blogging challenge. I figured this was the perfect way to help me get back into blogging. Quite frankly, blogging has been at the very bottom of my priority list as of lately. It feels as if I have been living at work these past few months.

Anyhow, here's the deal-

May -- 31 days -- 31 blog posts

Blog prompts can be found on Jenni's blog (link above). Today's prompt is "The story of my life"

The story of my life goes a little something like this... I was born in New Orleans where I lived until the young age of 4. We then moved us to Dallas, Texas. Our little family lived in Dallas until I was 11. We found our next home in Houston, Texas... where I have been ever since. I graduated from a huge school district in Houston & attended community college directly thereafter. Community college was a smart choice for me because I couldn't afford to go off to a big 4-year university. In the end, I saved a ton of money on tuition. After earning my associates, I transferred to a University, where I got my Bachelor's degree 2 years later. I now teach Kindergarten (I never thought I'd hear those words come out of my mouth) in the same school district which I graduated High School from. 4 and a half years ago, I met this pretty amazing, handsome, & funny guy named Chris and we're finally tying the knot this year. I think that sums up the story of my life in a nutshell.

Life is great.

March Favorites

2013-04-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

1 // Girls on the run. I became a coach with this program at the beginning of this year. From the website: >> "Girls on the Run is a transformational learning program for girls in 3rd-8th grade. We teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness." I am so excited for these girls to run their 5k this month!!!

2 // Bridal Garter. I ordered my garter from an Etsy store called Fallen Star Couture Inc. & it came in a few weeks ago. It is gorgeous!

3 // Bath & Body works candles. 'Nuff said.

4 // OPI "Do you Lilac It?" polish. It's no secret I love purple. This shade is just the right color for Spring.

5 // Vampire Academy Series. I'm still on my vampire kick. And this book series is addicting.

Linking up here.

An update of sorts...

2013-04-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Photography by Meg Sloan

Since we last talked I...

- Started watching Grey's Anatomy (I know... I'm like 5 years late on that bandwagon) thanks Netflix.

- Bought wedding shoes, which also happen to be ballroom dancing shoes. Did I mention C & I are taking dance lessons for our first dance? It's been fun (& expensive, geez!)

- Put an application on a rental house, found out someone else put an application in before us, put an application in on another house, same thing happened, then finally put an application in on a town home & got it! We will be moving in two weeks. Time to start packing! (Expect inspiration posts for my new OFFICE!!!)

- Talked to Lura about starting a wedding-related link-up. More details to come on that soon!

- Won an awesome giveaway on Jax's blog, According to Jax, for a custom wedding cake topper via Wedding Cuts. Very excited about this! They have a ton of rustic, romantic cake toppers. Just our style.

- Did a boudoir photo shoot at a fancy hotel in Downtown Houston. I'd say I'll share images... but I want to keep my dignity & teaching job. ;)

- Bought a new purse. That's blog worthy, right?

- Finally started using my bloglovin' account. Follow me here! I'm excited to read all of your blogs through there.

Linking up at these fabulous blogs today:

LipGlossandCrayons, Synfullydelicious, Sami's Shenanigans, Join the Gossip

Freebie :: April 2013 Desktop Calendar

2013-03-31T10:14:00.002-05:00

Who can believe it's already April? I feel like I'm always saying that year after year. "Where did the year go?" Time truly goes by too fast. Before I know it, our wedding will be here & then just as quickly it'll be over. Which is why it's so important to enjoy every little moment & most importantly, in the words of Princess Diana, "Only do what your heart tells you". Hence the inspiration for this months calendar quote.

Simply click the size you need & save to your computer

1200x800 // 1280x1024 // 1600x1200 // 1920x1440

I'm hoping to start doing these every month & sharing them with you all.

If you have any trouble downloading the image or saving it as your desktop background,

e-mail me at fromkristenwithlove@yahoo.com

Happy Easter!

Inspired :: Cleaning Schedule

2013-03-24T12:30:00.001-05:00

I was inspired to create this cleaning schedule after seeing Lura's over on her blog Domesticability. She has a great free-printable, but I needed to tweak it a little since I don't have a pool.

In the past few months, I have gotten lazy with cleaning. Dust has become abundant & I'm pretty sure we haven't bathed the pups in months (gross, I know!) We are moving to a house in two weeks, so I figured this was the perfect time to kick my butt into gear & create a cleaning schedule. I underlined all the things I want Chris to do & the non-underlined items are for me to do. I created four spaces for the weekly items for check marks when they are complete and so on for the bi-weekly & monthly.

I'm planning on printing it out, putting it in a clear sleeve, & putting it on the fridge. That way I can use dry erase marker to check things off.

What do you do to keep up with your house cleaning?

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DIY {Anthro-Inspired Coffee Mugs}

2013-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

While perusing Anthropologie with Lura a few weekends ago, I stumbled upon these cute cups & knew I had to have them. Well... there were two very imperative problems.

1) We have far too many coffee mugs, so convincing C I should get them was a hassle and

2) I knew I could make something similar for a fraction of the cost.

I'd seen a tutorial for a sharpie mug online & figured this would be the perfect project to test it on.

Here is the original photo I drew my inspiration from...

I am planning to do something similar at our sign in table for the wedding.

I gathered my supplies at a local Dollar tree & got to work.

Although my free hand may have come out better, I used my Silhouette Cameo for an outline for the letters. It did a decent job!

All you need to do is write on the coffee cup with sharpie & then bake them in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I don't plan on using these for actual coffee mugs anytime soon... so I don't have any insight on washing as of now. Where I've read online has said to hand wash.

Linking up here, here, here. here, here, & here.

Round Top, Texas :: Bed & Breakfast

2013-03-11T08:42:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, C & I traveled to Round Top, Texas for a wedding. Not only was the wedding spectacular & unforgettable, but we got the chance to stay in the cutest bed & breakfast; The Rose Peddler's Inn. The B&B was very private but also had a sweet home-like feeling to it. The inn-keeper made us a delicious breakfast; eggs with bacon & onions paired with fresh fruit & fresh squeezed OJ.

Round Top has a ton of antique shopping, although we didn't leave ourselves enough time to shop before heading to the wedding. On our way out of town, C mentioned possibly taking a trip back soon & doing some shopping. You heard right... Chris said we can go back to SHOP. Love that man.

I'll be posting photos & a re-cap of my friends wedding later this week.

Have you ever stayed at a Bed & Breakfast? If not, I definitely recommend it! Much more exciting than a Holiday Inn.

Valentines Day Classroom Project & Our V-day

2013-03-07T08:30:00.000-06:00

Valentine's day this year was the best it's been in years. We both did subtle but sweet things for each other & just like any other day, enjoyed each others company. Every year, I try not to get sucked into the hype of v-day, but it's so hard not to. Every where you look you see flowers, hearts, candy, chocolate, etc. And especially it being my first year teaching, I've noticed the kiddos go NUTS over v-day. I promise you... they celebrate it bigger than Christmas. I must have received over 10 boxes of chocolate (Hellooo, don't they know I'm trying to look good in my wedding dress?!) :) Well, anyhow, I know I'm a bit late on this post, but blogging hasn't been a priority lately, so I'm just now getting to it.

Below is a picture of me holding a sign I made. I had all of my kinders hold the sign & smile big while I took their picture. I printed the pictures out, they glued them on construction paper & completed the sentence.

We came up with a list of things we loved about our parents as a class... Among them were:

-You take care of me

-You keep me safe

-You love me

and then I had some not so good responses, although funny, such as:

-You give me hot cheetos

-You let me stay up as late as I want

-You let me stay in my room all day

Here are some pictures from our Valentine's day.

Wedding Wednesday :: Save the Date's

2013-03-06T07:55:00.000-06:00

Last week, our friends & family all across the world received our wedding save the date's in the mail.

Literally, all over the world... From Ohio to Ontario, Canada ... from North Carolina to Perth, Australia.

I got inspiration for the design from this photo. I love the vintage feel the doilies add & the twine wrapping it all together makes my heart smile. Why is twine so flipping hot right now? I want to wrap everything in it!

I talked about the laborious process of hand writing the envelopes in this post. I'm glad I did this because it really gave the envelopes a special touch.

Other wedding posts you may have missed:

-Bridal Party Packets

-The Proposal Story

-The Venue!

Friends, Coffee, & Dancing

2013-03-05T07:41:00.000-06:00

C & I are taking dance lessons for our wedding! Being a former drill team girl, I am ecstatic about being able to dance again. He seems to be enjoying it too.
Save the Dates went out in the mail this past week! The sweet post office lady hand cancelled them for me. I will be sharing them on the blog later this week.
I truly miss designing! I recently did a design for Darby's sweet blog.
I've been torn over whether or not I should get a band to go with my engagement ring & went to instagram & facebook for advice. I had a lot of good comments on the subject, but I'm still undecided.
On Saturday, I went with one of my girlfriends to watch her sister dance at a competition at my Alma-Mater. It was a trip down memory lane. High school was a drag for me, but I loved dancing. It was my one saving grace.
Sunday morning coffee milk. Need I say more?
Saturday night I went out with my friend & bridesmaid Erica & bumped into Michelle from the Vintage Apple. She is such a sweet heart & I was happy to catch up with her for a minute.
Brutus is so photogenic... he'll just stare right at me like he knows I'm trying to take a picture & then when he hears the camera click he'll go back to licking his feet or whatever it is he's doing.
Previously mentioned date night with my friend Erica. This girl & I have a relationship like no other. She is one-of-a-kind.

What did you get into this past week?

February Favorites

2013-03-03T20:47:00.002-06:00

Catch last month's favorites here.

1 // AfterGlow photo editing app. The first & probably only app I will ever pay money for. (I'm a cheap-o, what can I say??) Aubrey over at the Kinch life introduced me to it this weekend & I'm already obsessed. Can't I make EVERY photo circular? They just look more chic that way, in my opinion.

2 // Being an iPhone user again. Yep, this makes the list this month of my favorites! I'm loving being an iphone user again. I switched from At&t a few years ago because of horrible service & had to say good bye to my iPhone since no where else offered it. Well, virgin mobile (whom I LOVE; my phone bill is $30 a month!) got the iPhone recently & I couldn't resist.

3 // Silhouette Cameo. This bad boy has been a saving grace with wedding crafts!

4 // WASHI TAPE. Gosh, can I just use this stuff on everything? Seriously.

5 // Groopdealz.com . I can't even tell you how many purchases I've made from this website. It's like those groupon & living social sights, but for boutiques & entrepreneurs.

What are your favorites this month?

Wedding Wednesday :: Engagement Photos {Revealed}

2013-02-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

All photos are copyrighted by Emily at Fleurish Imagery

1234 by Feist on Grooveshark

I'm only sharing a select hand few with you all. Not because I don't love you & want to show you all 100+ images, but because we want to keep some of them under wraps until the big day. Also, one of the photos is going on our save the dates, & we want that to be a surprise as well. Didn't Emily do a phenomenal job? We couldn't have asked for a better photographer. She incorporated all of the props I brought along wonderfully & made us look great. Thanks Emily! We are so looking forward to having you capture our wedding day!

Life updates via Instagram

2013-02-18T07:49:00.000-06:00

We got our engagement photo disc from Emily earlier in the week! She is so talented. I love every single image on the disc. I'll be sharing more photos this Wednesday.

-Another art journal entry. I love this song... do you recognize which song it is?

-Our Valentine's day this year was ten times better than last year. I'm not a huge fan of the holiday, but it's always nice to get flowers. I came home to candles lit, chocolate covered strawberries, a very sweet card & daisies. Good job, C.

I treated myself to a new phone. I've missed being an iPhone user & it was about time for a new phone. I'm really low maintenance when it comes to having the newest & best thing, so the iPhone 4 was just what I had in mind. And to the left is my screen saver from WeddingChicks.com

-Tucker looking handsome as always.

-I posted this photo on instagram last week. I'm horrible about rearranging my classroom too much. Poor kids are always walking into a new layout. They adapt pretty well though, luckily.

How was your weekend?
Linking up here & here today.
Follow along with me on instagram: @FromKristenWithLove

2013 :: planner

2013-02-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a planner. Always have been, always will be. My planner holds a very special place in my heart. Last year, I spent a god awful amount of money (okay, really only $25, but still) on an Erin Condren planner. Yes, it was gorgeous. Yes, I loved it. But it was heavy to lug around. This year I opted for a light weight shimmery silver planner from Target.

Fun things to write in my planner this year include:

- Trip to Ohio for our couple's shower

- Our October wedding!

- C's big 3-0 birthday

- C's niece's birth in January

and then the normal, day to day stuff such as hair appointments & vet visits.

What kind of planner do you have? Or are you a "live in the moment" type of person?

Wedding Wednesday :: The Dress!

2013-02-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Photo by Fleurish Imagery
Oh, how I wish I could share with you all a picture of my wedding dress.
It is simply breathtaking. When I tried it on, I couldn't stop smiling.
For those of you who don't know, I'm not much of a girly-girl. On occasion, I will dress up. But, typically, I'm a jeans, t-shirt, & converse kind of girl. So, wedding dress shopping wasn't something I was exactly looking forward to. When I had my dress on though, something inside of me just lit up & I knew this dress was the one.
It's from a local wedding/formal dress boutique here in Houston. I tried on a total of 8 dresses. A lot of the ones I tried on, I knew from the get-go they weren't my style. This dress, on and off the hanger, was screaming my name. I am happy to say that I only had to try on wedding dresses once & bought my dress the same day.
I can't wait for C to see me in it come October.

The time I pretended to be a fashion blogger

2013-02-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

No, not at the blogger meet-up. When I got home from the blogger meet-up. Feeling cute in my bold colored mini dress & boots, I asked C to take pictures of me. I've never asked him this before so he was a little hesitant ... Actually his exact words were "For what?!" After explaining to him I wanted to share the photos on my blog, he gladly took them for me. Good hubby-to be, I tell you. He's a keeper for sure.

Anyhow, on to the meet-up pictures!

This meet-up was put on by three lovelies...

Whitney put the festivities together, Bree organized the pinterest craft, & Darby lent us her gorgeous home to have the party at.

It was a great time, although I wasn't feeling too hot & wanted to curl up in bed the entire time. I'm glad I went though. We did a fun pinterest craft. Bracelets.

A mere 3 hours after the party, Tucker got ahold of my bracelet & thought it was a toy. So, unfortunately I no longer have mine.

And now, for the pictures C took of me afterwards... the ones that inspired this blogs post title.

The man behind the camera. Isn't he handsome?

Art Journaling Commences

2013-02-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

I started an art journal! I had a barnes & noble gift card from graduation burning a hole in my pocket & knew exactly what I wanted to splurge on. I got this sketchbook & colored pencils from B&N for around $30 total. The inspiration for my first entry came from this photo.

This past week I taught my first Girls on the Run lesson to 15 beautiful fourth & fifth grade girls. The lesson was about negative self-talk. I truly love this program. Find more info about it here.

After C gladly escorted me to Chuck-e-cheese for a school fundraiser, I rewarded him with his favorite sushi place. Okay, it's MY favorite sushi place too, so it was a win-win.

C is currently obsessed with monster trucks. I blame his other OSU friends that live here in Houston. He looks like such a little boy with his monster truck, flash light, & intense concentrating.

Attending a 2 year olds birthday party childless is not-smart. There were kiddos everywhere. We had a great time though & enjoyed catching up with some friends. I made his birthday card on the go with my all-time fave, washi tape.

And, lastly, if you saw last weekends photos, you'll notice these pancakes look like death compared to those last weekend. That's because yours truly made them. They were ugly, but delicious.

What did you get into this weekend?

Linking up here & here today.

Let's be real {Vlog}

2013-02-02T19:06:00.002-06:00

After watching Kym @ Travel Babbles vlog, I knew I had to accept her challenge and do one myself. As if it were fate, I was fresh from the shower, zero makeup, and in my pajamas still. Perfect for this video.

It's real, raw, unedited, and yet, I love it. It's me.

The me you, my readers, never see since I always show you "put-together" pictures of myself.

Call me crazy, but I loved doing this. Enjoy.

You may need to turn your volume up while watching.

I talk softly because C was on the phone with his parents upstairs.

xo.

things I obsessed over in January

2013-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Above are photos of products I've been obsessed with this past month & more than likely will continue to obsess on for coming months until I find something new to replace that obsession. Did that make any sense?!

Anyhow, confusion aside, these product get the Kristen stamp of approval. They rock.

1 // Chobani Champions yogurt. It's basically kid friendly greek yogurt. Delicious & only 100 calories. Makes for a great, quick breakfast.

2 // Twine, twine, TWINE! I will never get over the cuteness of this stuff. It is going to be used a whole bunch at our wedding.

3 // Kindle... which I just realized needs a name. What should I name my Kindle? Any ideas?

4 // The ever popular blogger bubble necklace. I was quite possibly the last blogger on earth to jump on this bandwagon. I didn't for so long, but then I saw Monica's online store (Monica's Closet Essentials) selling a lilac colored one & knew it had to be mine!

5 // My clarisonic mia. This is my newest obsession. I got one after Tara @ Fabulous but Evil posted about hers. In LOVE! Let me tell you... my skins never felt so soft.

What are you obsessing over this month?

Weekend Happenings

2013-01-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend was jam packed with awesome-ness. Friday, consisted of mexican take out & a "Lost" marathon via Netflix. Saturday C headed out to the golf range with the boys & I went to a high school friend's bridal shower. // Photo one // It was absolutely perfect. By total chance, I had on a similar dress as the bride-to-be. Luckily, she isn't one of those girls to get all "That is MY color & MY dress. I am THE BRIDE." type girls. You know the ones I'm talking about...

Saturday night, after our respective festivities, we went out for a much needed date night & saw the latest horror flick, Mama.

Sunday morning we decided to try our new induction cookware with some delicious pancakes. // Photo two // It cooked our breakfast in two minutes flat. Have you heard of induction cooking? It's pretty interesting. Read more about it here. Later in the day C & I worked on assembling save the dates // Photo five // I can't wait to share them with you all!

Sunday afternoon I headed out to a Houston blogger meet-up at Darby's house. I had fun getting all dressed up for the party // Photo three // More photos from the meet-up to come later in the week.

And last but not least, I'm been enjoying writing in my "thought a day" journal I bought from Barnes & Noble. // Photo four // It's a lot more realistic to journal a thought a day than an entire entry daily. And for someone like myself who likes to look back and remember what I've done, reminisce if you will, this is perfect.

How did you enjoy yourself this weekend?

Linking up here, here, & here today.

Wedding Wednesday :: Engagement Photos

2013-01-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

Photo Credit: Fleurish Imagery

We met up with our photographer Emily this past weekend to take our engagement photos. Not only was the weather gorgeous, but Emily picked out the cutest spots around Spring for our photo session.

Just a sneak peek. I'll share more soon!

Our Quirks

2013-01-21T11:35:00.001-06:00

I originally got this post idea from Ashley @ The Shine Project. I found it fascinating to read her relationship quirks & knew I had to do my own version of this blog post. Thanks Ashley for the brilliant idea!

I don't know about you & your S.O. (significant other), but C & I have some pretty odd quirks.

For instance...

- Every time we come home together (i.e. after dinner out) we quietly tip toe upstairs and spy on our dog Brutus. 9 times out of 10 Brutus is sleeping all cuddled up in a blanket somewhere. C & I will just stand there for a minute or so whispering "He's so cute" to one another. I'm sure if someone else saw us doing this they'd think we're nuts.

- We are constantly making up stupid songs & singing them to each other. It's ridiculous. And me teaching Kindergarten doesn't help the matter. I come home singing some silly song I taught my kids at school & then it gets stuck in C's head & we're both signing it.

- We negotiate everything! And I mean everything. "Okay, I'll walk the dogs, but can you take out the trash?"

- Whenever I get upset about something, C calms me down by making me take deep breaths. He won't give up until I cave & take those darn deep breaths. I hate him for it in the moment, but then after it works & calms me down, I am grateful.

Every relationship is different. Beautiful in it's own way. What are your relationship quirks?

Linking up here today.

Wedding Wednesday :: Fake Calligraphy

2013-01-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

Let's be honest, my handwriting is decent, but not wedding stationary worthy. Oh, & a professional calligrapher just isn't in our budget. I saw an idea to print out addresses & then trace over them on Pinterest & figured it'd be worth a try. After hand tracing 50+ save the date envelopes, I may have developed carpal tunnel, but our save the dates look fantastic & professional.

I photoshopped out some of the addresses for privacy reasons, but you can get a pretty good idea of the finished product. Now, I have to do the same for the invitations. Thank goodness I don't mind doing tedious stuff like this.
Linking up here today.

Sunday Social :: Re-introducing yourself

2013-01-13T08:46:00.000-06:00

Photo by Meg Sloan

1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging?

My blog is titled "From Kristen, With Love". I wanted a simple blog title incorporating my name & I do everything with love... so it felt like the perfect name. I have been blogging for almost 4 years. I started this blog a few months after C & I met, wanting to document life & have something to look back on.

2. Why do you blog?

To share my story. To document this crazy life. And to connect with others.

3. What is the first blog you ever followed?

My good friend Rose's blog, Happiness is the sweetest revenge.

4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2012?

A post where I shared my imperfections, but why it's important to find beauty in them.

5. What are your blogging goals for 2013?

Write meaningful posts.

6. Top ~~three~~ four favorite blogs.

Aunie Sauce

Story of my Life

My favorite blog for a good laugh, Recently Roached

For recipes, hands down, Six Sisters' Stuff

Linking up here today.