a summer haircut...

over the past year or two i have been growing my hair out & now it's long enough to donate!! yay!! i really want to do something good with what God has blessed me with & since summer time is almost here, i definitely need something fresh & summery!! so lately, i have been checking out photos of the "long bob" style... here are some celebrity styles that i really like...

i am hoping to get the cut done sometime this week...

i will share photos when i do!!

:)

weekend in denver...

on friday night, my mom, sister & i had to pick up a friend at the denver airport (really late), so we went up to denver early to eat at maggiano's for dinner! i always love the atmosphere of italian restaurants... while we waited for our table, we listened to the old music play & looked at the old photos on the walls...

i ordered chicken & spinach manicotti

& we all got tiramisu to share... yumm!

on saturday, we headed to denver again for a ROCKIES game!!! yay!!!
it was cold, windy, & a bit rainy... BUT the rockies won 15 to 4!!!!
so it was a great game & we had a blast!

have a happy & restful memorial day!

:)

summer fashion photography.

i love these stunning fashion photos from ruche. their new summer lookbook is amazing! the photography & art direction is by stephanie williams.
don't these look like a summer dream....

{ruche lookbook}

{photos by stephanie williams}

the biggest loser!

so... has anyone watched this season of the biggest loser on nbc??

well, let me tell you, i love this show!!!

i have been a fan for a while now, but i think this season has been my favorite!

i have really enjoyed watching all of the contestants.

it is so amazing to see their lives transform... physically & so much more...

it's like going on a huge life-changing journey with them & it's so inspiring!!

since the beginning of this season i have loved the the purple team:

hannah & olivia!!

they are sisters & they have made this season so much fun to watch! they are both so pretty, genuine, & funny! well, i am super happy because... they are the 2 guaranteed contestants that have made it to the finale! yay!!

the finale is tonight & i can not wait to watch!!!!!!

here are their before & after photos from "makeover week"! so amazing...

& two more fun things coming this week...

my youngest cousin will graduate from high school on thursday night...

oh.my.goodness!!!

& i am going to a rockies game on saturday! i can't wait!!

summer is offically on it's way.... yay!!!

inspired by: braids

here is some pretty inspiration for your monday...

over the weekend, i bought one of these braided leather bracelets from something monumental. awe, they are so pretty.... i got one in teal, even though i really wanted one in every color!!

lately i have been so inspired by braids!! right now i have pretty long hair, so lately i have been enjoying braiding it more... soon, i will be cutting it (to donate) so i only have a little while left to enjoy it this long! it reminds me of when i was little, because my grandma always used to braid my hair! :)

anyway, i recently joined pinterest, which helped me to find all of this pretty inspiration... so fun!! (be sure to check out the rest of my "braid" themed pinterest board.) these are such pretty & "grown-up" ways to wear braids...

& i love this really cute idea from martha stewart.

i will definitely be trying to make this pie crust this summer...

hope you all have a lovely monday!

:)

bridge of dreams in ohio

on our last day in ohio, we went to see the bridge of dreams...

i love this bridge & it is only a few minutes from my aunt's house!

the bridge of dreams is a 370 ft. covered bridge, near brinkhaven, ohio. it was originally built in the 1920s, as a railroad bridge, but it wasn't covered until 1998. it is the third longest covered bridge in the america!

the bridge of dreams goes over the mohican river. it is a pedestrian/bicycling bridge and part of a nature trail. the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic but is often used by amish buggies.

& here is a little more history, if you are interested...

many local people, including the amish community, had a vision of converting the old railroad line into a multi-use trail. this trail would be used by bikers and hikers and would also be open to equestrians and horse-drawn vehicles in an effort to take the local amish buggies out of the path of fast moving automobiles. as a centerpiece for this trail a plan was drawn up to cover the very long bridge. when the idea was suggested at a meeting the response of many members was,"you're dreaming". & that is how the bridge was named...

{source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Dreams}

amish country in ohio.

when i visit my aunt in ohio, i always love to see the amish buggies riding down the road & the little amish children in their cute clothes playing outside! the amish have always been interesting to me... & even though i don't quite understand the amish lifestyle, there is something that i admire about the simple way they live their lives...

we saw one of their school houses on the way to the amish store, to get some of the special "trail bologna" & cheeses that they make... yumm! that is always a favorite souvenir to bring home!

& here is a shot of an amish buggy going down the road... i actually took this photo while we were at the gas station filling up the car with gas that was $4.09 a gallon! hmm... maybe they do have the right idea with this... haha!!!

we also went over to the amish "country furniture" store, wish is just down the road from where my aunt lives! they really do make the most beautiful wood furniture, their store was full of so many beautiful pieces!

while we were at the furniture store, they had a table set up with the most amazing baked goodies for the store's visitors! they had the most delicious baked doughnuts, filled with bavarian cream & topped with carmel frosting, ahhh!!! & they had warm, buttery, salty homemade soft pretzels! i could have gone back for more, over & over again... i am wishing for some right now! amish food is so good! (it's a miracle i didn't gain 10 pounds on this trip!)

they had adirondack chairs sitting outside for sale... they are my favorite!! maybe someday i will have one just like this... the color is perfect!!

& the funnest thing there was this huge adirondack chair that they had for sale in front of the store! so, of course, we had to climb up in it for some photos!! it was really fun!!! :)

these pretty horses were in the field next to the store!
i love these shots of them...

this colt was the cutest, especially when he was running around! awe....

glass factories in cambridge, ohio

during our time in ohio, we took a little trip to cambridge, to visit some of the glass factories there! we went to one very small, family owned one first (boyd glass) & then we went to one that was a larger (mosser glass)! it was so fun to see the process of making these beautiful glass pieces... so pretty!

my sister & grandma at the larger glass factory...

we got to take a tour through the factory, to see the steps of making each of the glass pieces... it was pretty amazing to watch!

after the tour, we picked out little glass treasures to take home with us! there were many styles & colors to chose from!!! everything was very pretty...

ohio trip. part two.

well, i am back with another post full of photos from my trip to ohio!

there is so much to share that these will be broken up into several posts...

it was such a wonderful time for me & my family.

& ohio really is a beautiful part of this country.

looking at these photos makes me really miss it...

there are so many pretty houses in this area!

& a very pretty church...

the first time i have ever gotten to photograph dogwood blooms!! lovely...

favorite shot of a tiger swallowtail butterfly!! so happy to get this one!!

lots of 3-leaf clovers! awe... they are so cute!

& this amazing view!! all of this green is something i am not used to where i live... i absolutely loved it! (even though the air was a bit more humid than i like it to be!)

{next up} our day going to the glass factories in cambridge...

home.

i finally made it home today! yay!! the trip went really well... God really protected us!! & i am so happy because i finally got to stop and take photos of the "welcome to colorful colorado" sign! (something i have always wanted to do...) i really love where i live!!! :) & even though i am so sad that vacation is over, there is nothing quite like being home...

tomorrow i go back to work... boo.

but i will post more photos from my trip very soon...

there are so many of them that i can't wait to share!

:)