Life Lately!

 

You know when your mom calls you and asks when you're going to write another blog post that it's been a while and you better get a new one up soon😜. So here's what we've been up to lately.

 

In January, I traveled two weekends in a row for work trips. I went to Orlando, Fl first for the Matrix Destination hair show. I have never been to Florida before so it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I didn't take my camera so these are the only pics I took with my phone so ignore the poor quality.

 This was the view from my room. I got a room all to myself so I thoroughly enjoyed it. The first night I ordered room service in and watched movies, it was glorious! The second night I went out to dinner with some co-workers. We also got to do a little bit of shopping while there. Unfortunately, I got the stuff I shopped for stolen from my bag at the airport so that was a major bummer, but it was a great trip and I'd love to go back to Florida and stay longer.

I got to listen to Tabitha Coffey from Salon Take Over speak so that was really cool!

Here are a few of the Matrix hair models. This particular session had a Star Wars theme if you can't tell.

 

This past weekend we had sales meetings for work at The Gaylord Texan. I had also never been there before and man, it was awesome. It was so huge and very pretty. The food was delicious and I had so much fun. I had the best steak I've ever eaten at Old Hickory Steakhouse. We also went out to the Glass Cactus after dinner and that was a lot of fun!

 

Sales meetings are my favorite. We get to learn about all the new products coming out and we get tons of samples of all the new products. In the left hand corner of the above picture, you can see all the good stuff I came home with. It's fun to work for a beauty supply company :)

 

This weekend Aaron and I stayed in town and relaxed. It has been so nice. We enjoyed the beautiful weather with lots of walks with Samsy around the lake.

 

 Last night we had a date night and went to dinner and a movie. We saw Nicholas Spark's new movie, The Choice. We both agreed that it was really good. I'm a sucker for all his movies and books and I've seen everyone of them. Aaron is always a trooper and comes along, but this one he really enjoyed.

Today we've just been outside enjoying the weather. We played outside with Samson, threw the football around and then Aaron rode his bike beside me while I did my 4 mile long run for the week. After that we made some pigs-in-a-blanket and chips and queso for the Super Bowl. Now I'm sitting here blogging while we are watching the game. I'm only watching for the commercials and the half-time show :)

 

Other than that, I've been busy painting and crafting (which always makes me happy).

 

Not only have I been painting onesies and wood, I've also been on a big nail polish kick. I always have to have my nails painted and I typically change them once a week. These are my new favorites that I've bought recently (I'm loving the neutrals right now).

 OPI- Let Me Bayou A Drink (pale shimmery pink) & OPI- Ce-less-tial Is More (the glittery one)

 H&M- Cashmere

OPI- Chiffon My Mind

 

I also painted a new birthday door hanger this week. I'm down to my last wood piece that I bought from Canton. I'm going to need another Canton trip soon to pick up some more wooden cutouts.

 

Lastly, I've been busy making baby clothes. There are so many sweet babies being born all around me and I love making things for them.

 This is my new favorite fabric for little girls.

 I made a few items for my mom's friend who was hosting a baby shower for baby girl Tyler.

 Little Miss Ella Kay is expected to arrive in the next few weeks and we can't wait to meet her.

Little Miss Abigayle was born way early and luckily I got the fabric in the mail the day she was born so we weren't too far behind.

Could he be any cuter? My best friend text me this picture of her little boy rocking one of my onesies. It made my day. Isn't he the sweetest little model baby? I think so!

 

So there you have it. The story of my life lately. Hope you guys all have a Happy Valentine's Day! We don't really go all out for the holiday, but we are praying for good weather because our plan is to have a nice picnic and kayak all day. Sounds like the perfect day to me :)

New Yummy Recipes!

 

We've tried some new recipes lately and we have both approved them all, so I thought I'd share!

 

Mexican Street Corn

recipe & picture source:http://www.seededatthetable.com/2014/05/23/mexican-street-corn/

My cousin bought some corn like this at a festival and she let me try it...oh man, it was the best corn I've ever had. I went searching on Pinterest for something that looked similar and this recipe looked and sounded just like it. I must say it was very tasty, but next time instead of using the mayo topping mixture, I would replace it with white queso. So good!!!

 

Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta Salad

recipe & picture source:http://www.butterwithasideofbread.com/2013/08/fiesta-ranch-chicken-pasta-salad.html

Beware: this recipe makes a ton and it is really good so we ate on it for almost 3-4 days straight and I never got tired of it. We made it exactly as the recipe says, but the last day or two we added salsa on the top to give it a little extra kick!

 

Baked Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

recipe & picture source:http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478

This chicken is super easy to make and very good. We have already made it twice in the last few weeks since we liked it so much!

 

Slow Cooker Smothered Pork Chops

recipe & picture source:http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478

This recipe was a little more work than the rest but it was for sure worth it. We served it over rice and it was delicious.

 

Hope you all enjoy! There hasn't been much going on in our neck of the woods. I had a wonderful time last weekend on my work trip to Florida and I'm looking forward to another work weekend in Dallas. While I was gone Aaron invited his brothers to our house to spend the weekend and have some brotherly bonding time. Other than that, I've been focusing on working out and training for the half marathon and have been doing a little bit of onesie/headband making in my free time. Not too much excitement going on to share about. We have a low-key and relaxing February planned so hopefully I'll have some time to work on some crafts & projects around the house to share with you all. Thanks for reading, you guys are the best! All my love- Q

Hello 2016!

 

I hope you all had a fabulous New Year's Eve! So far January has been really good to us. Here's a recap of what's been going on...

We spent the weekend in Tulsa with these sweet friends. Thank you guys so much for having us and for all the wonderful hospitality. We had a blast!!

 
 

 Emily got the best New Year's kiss :)

 

 We played the Game of Things and laughed until we cried....it was so much fun! By far the best round of Things I've ever played.

 

While the boys hunted the next day, the girls went shopping! We woke up before the sunset the next morning and went duck hunting with the boys. It was cold and we only got one duck, but it was fun anyhow.

 

 

 Pretend like I don't look like a humongous man.

 

 Love my hunter!

 

This past weekend we had zero plans which was so nice.

 I got home from work on Friday night and found the boys being lazy in the recliner. We decided to rent and movie and stay in. We watched War Room and it was so good. I highly recommend it.

 

We slept in on Saturday morning and I finally had some free time to work on a Valentine's Day craft.

 

The before and after of my Valentine's door hanger.

 

We went to the gym and worked out and then we got ready for our date night. We went to dinner and saw the movie "The Revenant." I let Aaron pick the movie and I will never make that mistake again. I was so sick to my stomach the entire movie and almost 30 mins after. It was awful, but Aaron loved it and now he owes me a Nicholas Sparks movie :)

 

We went to church on Sunday and then spent the day exploring a nearby town and driving around the lake and dreaming about warm weather and camping (yes, we are an old married couple already).

 

On Sunday we grilled corn on the cob and sat outside by the fire pit, then we watched The Golden Globes. We made Mexican Street Corn for the first time and it was so yummy. I've got lots of new recipes to share on the blog soon.

 

 

It was the perfect weekend and I look forward to another one this weekend! The last two weekends of January I will be out of town on work trips so I'm excited for one more relaxing weekend at home in January. I will be going to Orlando, FL next weekend and I've never been before so if you have any must see/eat places, or fun things to do, I'd love to hear about it! I get to attend a hair show there and I'm so excited about it. I also get to go to the Gaylord, Texan in January for sales meetings for work. I've never been there before either, so I'm excited to get to see and experience it all.

 

I don't typically set New Year's Resolutions, but I do like to set a few goals.

My goals for 2016:

- Grow in my relationships. First and foremost with God, but also with Aaron and my friends and family. I joined a bible study last week and I'm really excited about it. It is very challenging for me, but I've already learned so much and I'm excited to get to know the girls that are in it better.

- Get healthy and loose weight. I got the MyFitnessPal app and Aaron and I have been journaling what we eat and keeping track. He is doing way better than me and I'm so proud of him. I am also going to run a half marathon in April with some friends and my mom so I've started training for that too.

- Simplicity. I'm trying to not fill up my calendar and trying to teach myself to say no. I don't want to be so busy that I can't enjoy life. I want to balance everything better and have time to relax and spend more time with Aaron.

- With that being said my word for 2016 is present. I want to be more present. I don't want to constantly be on my phone or computer and I want to really enjoy the moments. I don't want to feel like I always have to be attached to my camera and instead enjoy the time with people I love and be present.

2015: A Year In Review

I've said it before and I'll say it again...these are my

least favorite blog posts to write because they take forever, but my most favorite ones to read. I hope you enjoy a look back on the year 2015.

January

-We rang in the New Year with our friends, Nick & Paige, Kortney & Josh and Emily & Zac. At the time, I had only hung out with these girls once before, but I knew their boys because Aaron has been friends with them since high school. It's so funny because since then we have hung out with them numerous times and made lots of FUN memories and I'm so glad we all became friends! We will be ringing in the New Year with them again and I can't wait.

New Year's Day we went on an epic duck hunting trip with our men. We may have almost sat in a skunk nest.

 I also got to experience the Dallas Market for the first time and got to spend the day with these sweet friends from Mammoth. It was so much fun and I'm so glad I got to go with them! Miss you both.

At the end of January, I started a new job working as the Outside Sales Rep for State Beauty Supply and I still absolutely love it! Thankful to have a job that I love in the beauty industry.

In January, I also got the bright idea to open up an Etsy shop. I have put my shop on vacation for the past few months so I could catch up on life and relax during the holidays, but I have plans to open it back up in the next few weeks so check back here if you're in the market for a baby/toddler gift or any kind of personalized gift: https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuinceeTaylorDesigns?ref=hdr

February

-We spent Valentine's Day with my best friend and her husband in Dallas at Top Golf. It was our first time to go and we had a blast.

 -We also made our first big purchase and bought a new (new to us) SUV.

March

-We celebrated my Grandpa's 90th Birthday with a fun weekend trip with the whole family at Camp Canyon.

April

-We celebrated my birthday with a super fun camping trip with some of my favorite people!

-I received the greatest birthday gift and found out my best friend was expecting a bundle of joy!

-We moved from the tiny "Love Shack" into a nice, spacious rent house. That made 3 moves in 3 years for me. I never want to move again!

-Took a weekend trip to visit Aaron's friends from college and hunt turkey. Of course, I didn't hunt, I just hung out with the girls :)

May

-Spent a weekend in Galveston with my mom, celebrating the anniversary/vow renewal of my sweet friend Robbin.

-Went on a kayak fishing trip with my brother and his wife on Memorial Day.

June

-Went to the Blackhawk concert and got WAY too excited about it! We've been jamming out to their CD on all our road trips ever since. Aaron is now hooked and has requested to see them in concert again.

-Celebrated our 2nd Anniversary

wedding day-year 1-year2

-Took a trip back to Mammoth Spring to visit friends and help with the fishing derby. It was so great to see everyone and it made us really really miss that place and all the wonderful people in it.

-Had a blast at our 4th Annual Family Reunion at Fin and Feather Resort in Tahlequah. Can't wait until the next one.

July

-Aaron spent a week in Canada fishing with my brother, dad, and a group of guys.

-Attended the Turnpike Troubadours concert with my brother and his wife.

August

-Spent a nice relaxing weekend in a cabin in Broken Bow with a group of couple friends.

-Took a girl's trip to Ft. Worth to celebrate my aunt's birthday. It was SO much fun!

Met this precious baby boy for the first time and took his newborn pictures. I haven't seen him since and I'm having withdrawals :(

September

- Went on the hottest Labor Day camping trip in the history of ever, but it was still a blast!

-Celebrated Aaron's 28th birthday with a fun date night and family dinner.

-Attended our first wedding of 2015....and it was the most fun wedding EVER!

October

-Hosted my best friend's baby shower.

-Girls shopping trip to Canton! We had so much fun and found lots of goodies!

-Saw The Band Perry in concert and loved every minute of it!

-Watched the Memphis Tigers beat Tulsa University and got to visit with my cousin, Brad!

-Found out that I'm going to be an aunt!! Cannot wait to meet this baby.

-Took our 2nd trip to Canton in one month and came home with even more goodies.

November

-Celebrated Thanksgiving with both of our families.

December

-Welcomed this precious boy into the world and documented his birth story through photography.

-Hosted our Annual Christmas Party

-Celebrated Christmas with both of our families.

And a huge thanks to all my photography clients in 2015! I loved getting to capture your special moments. I decided to take a break from photography towards the end of this year, and it has been so nice, but I definitely miss it so I may just take on a little more in 2016...we'll see!

And in case you are interested in previous year in review posts, you can find them here:

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015, you were a great year filled with lots of blessings. Thank you, Lord for our amazing families, the best friends we could ask for, for your precious gift of life and all the sweet babies that were born and soon to be born, and for all the wonderful memories we made and fun times we had this past year. I pray that 2016 will be just as good, if not better!

Whew, that was a long one. Thanks for reading, you guys are the best! I hope you all have a happy and safe New Year!! Cheers to 2016! I can't wait to see what's in store.