promote what you love

image via Miss Indie

I ran across this wonderful quote this weekend and I could not love it more. The older I get the more I realize that this world is just filled with hate. So much hate and definitely not enough love. I am a very positive person. I do my best to keep my posts positive and cheerful not only on my blog but on all forms of social media. I am not saying that I'm perfect and I never say anything negative or never complain but I try to keep it to myself or I vent to my husband or best friend. This quote should definitely be taken more seriously by everyone. Recently, it seems like Facebook is getting worse and worse. I'm finding myself wondering why I even have a Facebook still. It only makes me sad and upset when I'm on there. Yeah, there are  few people who I love being able to keep up with but most of the time I find myself saddened by the hate I see coming out of people. There's absolutely no need for it. People need to spread love not hate. Spread peace and acceptance rather than complaints and negativity. 

I want to show people love and positivity. I want to be a good role model. I want to influence others to do the same. I definitely have some things I need to work on and I plan to. I plan to be the light that brightens the darkness of the world. I want to bring smiles to people's faces and spread love and kindness.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes.

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other." 

 -Romans 12:9-10-

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”
-Mahatma Gandhi-

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” 

-Abraham Lincoln-

Snow Day

 Last week we had a little snow day. I woke up to a layer of snow that had fallen over night and it lasted most of the day until it started melting just before sun down. It was so pretty. Hopefully, this will happen again tonight. I'm about to head to bed so maybe when I wake up everything will be white again!! Otter doesn't much like the snow. I had to go outside with her to show her it was alright but she got cold really fast so she was ready to go back in. She's so silly. 

 Otter has been extra adorable lately.

 Coffee dates with this guy are my favorite thing ever. 

 Goofin' off at the Valentine's Day Mini Session shoot we had. 

 My sweet Valentine's and Fletcher's card I made him.

Bowling with friends and getting excited about the Taylor Swift concert this fall!

Currently.

Making:
A Valentine for my Valentine tomorrow.

Anticipating:
Lots of things. Spring, vacation, summer, Taylor Swift concert.

Learning:
Slowly but surely getting back into learning French.

Listening to:
MUMFORD & SONS! I can't get enough. I'm so sad that I didn't get tickets to their show in Oklahoma before they sold out. I've also been listening to Fun. a lot as well.

Wearing:
Stripes. Lots and lots of stripes.

Watching:
The hubs and I watch sooo many shows. The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries, Glee, The Middle, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Whitney, The New Normal, Raising Hope, New Girl, Hart of Dixie, Grey's Anatomy, Suburgatory, and Portlandia are our weekly must sees! Yeah, we watch a lot of tv but we both love them all so it's actually good quality time for us. We don't just zone out and watch tv we talk quite a bit throughout them and have mini discussions. It's pretty fun.

Coffee lovers

The hubs and I are slowly becoming coffee snobs. He recently (like year or so ago) started drinking coffee to help him wake up in the morning and now he loves it. He almost likes it more than I do. We recently started trying new kinds and we bought an Aeropress. It is by far my favorite way to make coffee at home. So far our favorite bran is most definitely Stumptown. We heard a lot of good things from a lot of people so I ordered one of their most popular blends for our first try. I am excited to try some different blends from there as well. I'm realizing that I love making coffee almost as much as I love drinking it. I'd love to open a coffee shop someday or possibly a mobile shop!

What kind of coffee do you like? Do you have any suggestions we should try?

A * Pour Toi

A * Pour Toi is a wonderful little company that specializes in monthly gift boxes. I got a chance to check out their boxes and see what they were all about. Each item is hand picked and not only delicious but nutritious as well! 

 Here is a quote from their site:

"a*pour toi, which translates to a*[present] for you, is an elegant gifting experience that nurtures the relationships that are in your life through the delight of a present. Founded on the principle of giving with care, elegance and joy, a*pour toi brings pleasure to your life by selecting and providing the finest gourmet items with surprise and delight: delicious food, consciously chosen, makes for a rich life."

images courtesy of a * pour toi

When I went to their site the first time the first thing that I noticed was the lovely aesthetic of the site and the boxes. The design is simple and elegant. I knew I wanted to check out their boxes. When I got it in the mail it had a lot more than I expected it to. Inside I found 4 different types of cookies, lemon candies, white chocolate covered pistachios and chocolate truffles! Not to mention they all came in the cutest reusable bag and the box was pretty neat too! Everything was neatly packaged and so cute. My husband and I tried everything in the box and it was all delicious. The cookies were still fresh and the pistachios were yummy! The customer service was exquisite as well. Julie Hasson, the founder, was absolutely wonderful to talk to and work with.

I highly recommend these boxes. They would be perfect for a foodie friend or really anyone! Check out  A * Pour Toi and order a box! You won't regret it!

I also had a box shipped to my friend Sam. Here's what she had to say about it:

"My best friend, often referred to as my biff, said she was sending me a box with food in it from someone that had seen her blog. I thought it seemed pretty neat, but had no idea what to expect. When I opened the package containing the box it created excitement before I even knew what was inside. The box is clean, yet fancy, and gives the feeling of an important gift, one you can't wait to open and discover what it holds. Not only is the box neat, it opens differently then most...it turns open from one of the corners! It is the little things in life that make some of the best excitement. Ok on to what was in it! Deliciousness! things I hadn't tried before all packed in a cute little fabric bag. The entire thing was just a new experience. I can't help but to smile when I walk by my kitchen table and see it sitting there waiting for me to try the next yummy item! My favorite had to be the white chocolate covered pistachios. Normally I am a dark chocolate fan, but this was a delightful pairing. My husband and I both also really enjoyed the Almondina, which was a cookie with almonds and raisins dipped in dark chocolate. As I said though, everything it contained was delicious. One final thing that I believe truly made it special...the name. A*pour toi. A present for you, the explaination is included in the box as well as a lovely introduction to the company. Both of which make the gift all that more meaningful. It is a great idea and I hope to purchase a couple throughout the year. I'm excited to see what the upcoming months will contain!

Here are a couple of photos of my a*pour toi:"

2012

2012 was absolutely wonderful. Here's a quick little recap of some awesome things that happened.

We got our sweet baby, Otter.

I went on a lot of biff dates with this lady.

I visited NYC for the first time and I can't wait to go back!

Went on a wonderful anniversary trip with my love to Kansas City.

Celebrated the holidays with family.

Got to meet Juliette Lewis!

Sam and I started our photography business.

So many other fun things happened but these are some of my favorite moments. I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!