In the cherry blossom's shade, there's no such thing as a stranger... Issa













October 31, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 21

Day 21: A picture of myself

In the spirit of Halloween... I decided to share a (past) Halloween picture of myself


and here are few more from varies stages of my life...








October 30, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 20

Day 20: Nicknames
 
My name is Renae, but I am also know as many other things. Here is a list of my many nicknames...
 
My mom calls me Pumpkin or Ray
My siblings call me either Sister or Sissy
My dad calls me Baby girl or Renette (my middle name is Annette)
My family (on my dads side) calls me Strawberry
My cousins daughter (my God daughter) calls me Fairy (as in Fairy Godmother)
My friend Satwian calls me ReRe
I also get Nae Nae, or Nae from a lot of people
The Man calls me Care Bear or Babe
and one day Booges will call me Mama
 
 
 
Thank you for stopping by...
 
Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 
 
 
 
 

October 29, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 18 and 19

Hello everyone... TGIF!! WOW, what a stressful day I had yesterday!! When I walked out of work I decided to go to Hobby Lobby with my friend Tiffaney (which is always fun). She drove, and when to brought me back to my car, I got in it and went to start it... and.... it didn't start! This was at 7:00pm and after trying to jump start it myself (which didn't work) I called my road side assistance to come out. The lady I talked to on the phone said she was going to send out a tow truck, but put a note in and said that I just may need a jump (I told her that I had did that and it didn't work, so why she was going to have it done again, I will never know). Well after waiting for about 1 1/2 hours someone finally came... and guess what?? He didn't come in a tow truck. He was told that I just needed a jump. OK, I understand that sometimes messages get mixed up. He tried to jump it and of course it didn't work. He then told me that his company didn't have tow trucks (so why does your truck say 'Aaron's auto and towing?). I had to call road side again and let them know what happened. They put in another work order for me called another company to come out, which took 2 hours this time (for those of you that aren't doing the math, it was about 10:30pm). After he got the car hooked up Tiffaney had to leave (Oh... I'm so grateful for her and glad she was there). And to be honest the thought of ridding in a tow truck with someone I didn't know was a little creepy (you know, that whole stranger danger concept). Well I got home around 12:15am... what a long day!! Now, I'm being told that my engine may have seized (so, maybe this is my fault, my check engine light came on about a week ago and I really didn't do anything... I was planning on taking it in sometime next week. Really there just aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done).

With all of that, I missed day 18 of Katie's 30 day blog challenge, so I'm combining 18 and 19 now....


Day 18: Something You Regret
I don't really have any regrets in life... I try to learn from the decisions I have made and find something positive out of everything. It's a bit cheesy, I know... but it true.
Growing up my mom taught us that we had choice in everything, and always gave us the opportunity to make choices. She would say to choose wisely because we would have to live with it and it would follow us in life. She would also say to own your decisions and always be happy with them and learn from them... and no matter what she would always be there (and she had kept up her end of the deal... so I'll keep up mine).
I have no regrets... just life lessons.
With that being said, the fact that my car isn't working (probably could have been prevented), I do regret not getting it looked at when the check engine light came on.


Day 19: Something You Miss
 
There are so many things I miss... but right now, what I miss the most is my family, friends and life in Denver.
I miss this scene...

How beautiful, the skyline with the Rocky Mountains in the background. The park this picture was taken in is right across the street from the apartment that I lived it. I would go to the roof and sip my coffee and enjoy sunsets
I hope day I'll be able to convince The Man to move.
I would love to raise Booges in the same city I grew up in, around tons of family.


Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 

October 27, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 17

Day 17: Something You're Looking Forward To
 
I think this list may be longer then I think, since there is something new I'm always looking forward to...
 
I look forward to watching Booges grow... the the short 5 months of his life he has already grow so much and learns new things every day
 
I look forward to the holidays... I love this time of year
 
I look forward to my next vacation to Denver, whenever it may be... I love and miss my family
 
I look forward to The Man finishing school... in about a year
 
I look forward to growing my blog... this is pretty fun
 
I look forward to crafting... I don't really get to spend much time doing crafts anymore
 
I look forward to my 29th birthday... on Monday, YAY!
 
I look forward to having a dog... we were going to get one right before I got pregnant, didn't think I can do both a newborn and puppy... one day 
 
This list can go on and on...
 
 
 
Thank you for stopping by...
 
Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 
 
 
 

What I Wore Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Everyone!! We are half way through the week, YAY!

I excited to join Lindsey for WIWW... I have gone to The Pleated Poppy for months... every Wednesday... to see what everyone wore for the week. But last week Lindsey said here to 'man up', so I did... and took pictures of myself all week... well I missed a day or 2 or 3...

So here is goes...


hooded long sleeve shirt - Target
cargo type pants (why to big for me) - hand me down
cami - Lane Bryant
flip flops - Payless or Target (every old)
necklace Lisa Leonard
(the mess was picked up right after this picture was taken, please excuse it)


black and grey cardigan - motherhood maternity (ok, I know... Booges is 5 months... but so comfy)
jeans - Lane Bryant
black mary jane flats - payless
white tee shirt - Target (yes it's also maternity)
purple scarf - Target


brown v-neck long sleeved (really soft) tee – Target
green tank – Target
yellow cami – Lane Bryant
jeans – Lane Bryant (yes, I wore them twice in a row, they are the only ones that fit)
cream scarf – Target
light gold(ish) mary jane flats – Payless
necklace – Lisa Leonard (I actually wear it every day)

It looks like this...

Mine is hand stamped with Oliver... I JUST LOVE IT!
Go check out her store here and her blog here



That was fun… now go link up with Lindsey here and share with all of us what you’re wearing

Thanks for stopping by…

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae

October 26, 2010

Top 2 Tuesday

 
 
Top 2 Halloween or Fall crafts/decor/party ideas
 
I love fall... and I love fall crafts. Taylor at The Undomestic Momma has some wonderful ideas, go check them out.
 
Now... some of my favorite are flower filled pumpkins. I actually did this last Thanksgiving, and I'm so sad I didn't take a picture of it.
 


These were made for my friends wedding a few weeks ago...

Pumpkin carving has always been a fun tradition... look at these...


or designs...


Also, these candy corn filled mason jars with candles are beautiful and fun...

another version of this can be seen here

I wish I had more time this season to do these different things... next year, I'm gonna make it happen.


Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 

30 day blog challenge - day 16

Day 16: Dream House
Now this is a fun topic, and I can go on and on about the house I see myself living in (or at least the improvements I want to do to the one I live in now)
First of all... I would love to have hard wood floors and high ceilings.
A big open country style kitchen, like this one...
I love how the stove in set in the wall with built in shelving.

And a craft room is a must... right now I have all of my craft stuff everywhere in every room.
I like the fresh feeling of this one...


and this one has so much inspiration... isn't the detail on the island beautiful?


a spa like bathroom and huge bedrooms with walk in closets.
A yard big enough for kids to play in and a garden with a water feature.
I dream about a deck with an amazing outdoor cooking area, like this...


Please... someone tell me when I can move in??

Now go see what Katie is dreaming about.

Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae


October 25, 2010

Spiders and Webs.. OH MY!!

With Halloween just around the corner...
I thought that I would share a picture I took of a spider web we came across...

The Man and I were driving down the street... and I shout 'WOW, DID YOU SEE THAT?' I made him stop the car so I could take a picture.

I don't know why I'm so fascinated with spider webs, when spiders creep me out so much. 
I guess 'Charolette's Web' had something to do with it.

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae

30 day blog challenge - day 15

Day 15-Bible verse
There are many bible verses that I love... But these two are my favorite and daily reminds for me to focus on what is really important...

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae

October 24, 2010

I found one more for Day 14 - favorite picture

Ok... I told you all that I had several favorite pictures... and I just found one more!!


This picture is several years old... it's a wonderful generation picture.
My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my daddy, and me with all my younger siblings!
LOVE!

30 day blog challenge - day 14

Happy Sunday... Today I will be getting ready for a fun week at work. I work in a medical supply office, as a customer care rep. This week is Customer Service Week, and our bosses plan all sorts of fun activities for us... Starting off with pajama day Monday... how wonderful, starting off the week by going to work in Jammies! Also, when The Man gets home from work, we are going to pick pumpkins out (didn't make it to a pumpkin patch like I wished for). Whole Foods has these beautiful white pumpkins, that I'm loving... so we will get a good combo of white and orange pumpkins. I can't wait, I LOVE PUMPKINS!

What are you Fun plans today?

Day 14: A picture you love

Oh!!! There are so many picture that I love... I will try to limit them to just a few...

The first 2 have been seen here.

This is the day we brought Booges home.. look how tiny he looks next to his daddy.


This is a very old picture of me and my brother... I don't know what my uncle was thinking when he took this or why he sent us to bed dressed like this... but I'm glad he captured this moment.


I just love this picture
My Memaw and Grandpa with their granddaughters


Me at 28 weeks pregnant... I was huge!!


Me and Booges at 4am one morning

Ok, I hope you all have a wonderful day and go over to Katie's blog to see her favorite pictures.

Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae



October 23, 2010

What I'm Lovin' and 30 day blog challenge - day 13

Happy Saturday Everyone!! We made it through another week.. YAY! I don't know about you, but this week was LONG. I don't know if it was the fact that it's starting to get dark sooner.. or that Boogies has started teething and seems to be up every hour (and just wanted Mama)

I seen a fantastic blog topic here, and I do hope that she can get a linky started... But in the meantime, I thought I would share what I'm lovin' this week with all of you...


Carrie Underwood's new song "Mama's Song"

watching my 4 1/2 month old baby boy play with his toes and put his feet in his mouth

my new Say Yes to Carrots shampoo and conditioner (it smells yummy)


This sweet little canister that came in the mail Thursday
from my mom
(She finds the cutest things... and it going to go perfect on my counter filled with coffee)



I stopped at whole foods last night on my way home and found these little bits of love.
The coffee is amazingly good and the pumpkin butter isn't going to last (in my house) either... YUMMY!!

 Go check out what Chicago Cuisine Critique is loving...


Day 13: Goals
 
Ahh.. The list of goals, or should I say the list that grows? It seems like I add things onto this list faster then I get things crossed o ff....
 
~Finish with the bathroom remodel
(this is actually one of The Man's goals, but it's my goal to make sure it gets done)
~Finish all of the jewelry projects I've started
~Go to school to be come a make-up artist and aesthetician
(I love all thing make-up and skin care)
~Now that I finally started my blog, my goal is to keep up with it and blog daily
(this blog challenge Katie started does help)
~Get the never ending pile of laundry washed and put away weekly
~Make dinner (at least) 3 times a week
~Lose the remaining 15 lbs of baby weight
~Attend on of Donna Downey's art workshops
~Grow a garden this summer
~Keep up with Booges baby book
~Finish the many books I've started
~Have girls night at least once a month
~Marry The Man and give Booges a sibling
 
This list can go forever...
 
Go here and see some of Katie's goals
 
Thanks for stopping by...
 
Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

October 22, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 12

Day 12: What You Believe

I’m having so much fun with this blog challenge that Katie started… it’s a good way to get to know fellow bloggers and to share a little bit of myself as well.

I believe in God
I believe that no one can make you happy if you can’t make yourself happy first
I believe that anything is possible
I believe that it’s important to take time out for yourself
I believe in ‘what goes around, comes around’
I believe in ‘The Golden Rule’ –Treat other’s the way you wanted to be treated
I believe there’s nothing like a first kiss
I believe in miracles
I believe autumn is the best season
I believe in the magic of Christmas
I believe that red nail polish and a strand of pearls will always be classic
I believe in love
I believe it’s important to smile and laugh when ever you get a chance
I believe in giving back, no matter how big or small
I believe in living life to the fullest
I believe in simplicity
I believe actions speak louder then words
I believe that it’s the imperfections that make us perfect
I believe that if at first you don’t succeed… you have to get up and try again
I believe that sometimes all you need is a big hug
I believe that a warm bath and a nice glass of wine can make a hard day turn great
I believe pancakes, eggs, and (turkey) bacon make a wonderful dinner
I believe coffee (and a big smile from my lil one) is a morning must
I believe honesty is the best policy
I believe a double rainbow is a blessing


Thanks for stopping by…

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae

October 21, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 11


Day 11- Favorite TV Shows
 
 
I don't really get a chance to watch what I want to watch... my TV is either on Sprout for Booges or The Man is playing video games or watching his 'manly' shows.
 
 If and when I do get to watch tv...
 I will admit, I'm a reality tv show junkie...
 



These are some of the favorites... and if I get to watch them when they actually air (and not have to TRY to catch a rerun on the weekends) then I'm super happy.

Thanks for stopping by

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae
 
(wanna join this challenge?? It's not to late... link up with Katie here and join in the fun)

October 20, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 10

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

I have been asked this question several times and my answer is always the same...

I'm afraid of failure! I know that no one and nothing is perfect... however the thought of failing scares me. Why? I'm not sure where this fear has come from. I haven't always felt this way, heck I picked up and left my family and friends in Colorado to start a life here in Chicago (I wasn't afraid then). I didn't know a soul when I moved here, and I moved here alone.

I recite this daily...

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure...
from Our Greatest Fear poem by Marianne Williamson


Oh... and bugs! Well I can't say that I'm truly afraid of them.. BUT they creep me out. Anything that has more legs then me, can't be completely trusted.

Thank you for stopping by

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae

(Link up with Katie here to join this challenge)

October 19, 2010

30 day blog challenge - day 9

Day 9-A picture of your friends

I just heart my friends... what a fun topic!! I hope I don't picture overload, but here is goes...

(I'm linking up with Kate at Katie's Journey for this bloggers challenge)

This is Satwian and I being goofy. He is truly one of my favorite people!
very talented too...
check out his jewelry designs...


and...

Carmen, myself, and Tinik having a little fun at a Phillip Morris show (pre baby days)
Maria and I hanging out with out bubby Phillip Morris
(check out his music here)

and...


Cassandra and I before she left to Texas  

and...
(are you tired of looking at pictures yet, I know I promised not to have picture overload, but I also said I heart my friends.. and I really do)


Vianca... she is my Sunshine!
Oh... there are so many more!!! I do have amazing friends, and I love them all!


Natalie, Lyn and myself doing the Zoolander face


Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love
XOXO,
Renae