Fashion Friday: Equestrian Style

 

By now some of you may have seen blog posts on other blogs about fashion, I often come across those postings on my Instagram account or while browsing through Pinterest. Sometimes I admire how adorable and put together people can be day in and day out and silently wish that I could do the same, other times I giggle to myself when they call their fashion sense "equestrian inspired." Well I absolutely love my job and my lifestyle but I will let you in on a little secret...the equestrian style isn't always quite so fabulous.

Here is my Fashion Friday update:

My trusty Sperry's that literally get worn everyday paired with my lovely tall socks (I mean what else are you going to wear under actual riding boots?!) plus white socks are just boring

My winter riding breeches (lined with the comfiest fleece ever...its cold here in Georgia ;) ) I have literally had these pants since 10th grade

My denim button down that is monogramed and embroidered with Wesleyan Equestrian topped off with a scarf (I'm addicted to scarves)

And drum roll please....I actually matched my socks to my Izod vest today!! Apparently I was slightly awake while getting dressed this morning

My lovely accessories include: pearl earrings from Mike (every girl needs pearls) and a lovely slobber/dirt/possibly poop stain on my vest

By the end of today's lessons my accessories also included rosy cheeks and a very pink nose from teaching in the lovely wind

I certainly wouldn't trade my life with horses for the world but I just thought that maybe the rest of the world should know what equestrians truly wear everyday on the farm....every once in a while we do pull off a cute day though :) 

Sweet Southern Love

If you know anything about my dream wedding you'll know that it involves being near,  preferably on, the water but does not include sand. You also know that now that Mike and I live in the South I have become obsessed with the Spanish moss covered oak trees that give Savannah its charm. So drumroll please........we will have both at our wedding!!

Mike and I ventured to Savannah this past Sunday to go wedding scouting and we were welcomed at every site that we went to, and when I say welcomed I mean the people could not have been any nicer. Everyone was so helpful without being down your throat demanding a decision on the spot, this is most likely the only reason I was actually able to make a decision that day...I do not do well with pressure to make an instant decision.

Mike with the Spanish moss at Skidaway Island.

Mike and I wondered down the amazing driveway of Wormsloe Plantation, explored Skidaway Island State Park and found a little slice of Heaven in Isle of Hope. While I absolutely love love love the oak lined driveway of Wormsloe Plantation they are booked solid through our wedding month...so all of our guests will have to be sure to at least drive by and take a peek at the gorgeous driveway while in town. Skidaway Park had the nicest park rangers and have been nothing but helpful but my debate on if the weather will cooperate rages on and I can't pin myself to no back up plan quite yet. Isle of Hope, however, feels like home.

Here is a sneak peek of the view from our reception site.....I'm so so so excited!!

After lots of driving around and pondering (thank you, Mike, for being so patient!) Mike and I made a decision on the reception site and then headed to downtown Savannah for celebratory drinks and a trip to our favorite Candy Kitchen. 

I am so excited to share Savannah with all of our wedding guests! I've already got tons of fun ideas for everyone while they stay in town so I hope y'all are ready for some Southern exploring :) My next order of business will be to get save the dates out! I'd say that Mike's New Year's resolution of "Get married" is in full swing!

Love y'all!

Polar Vortex and Resolutions

Holy polar vortex! I hope y'all came out of this crazy week without any frostbite. As cold as it was down here in Georgia I know it was even more crazy up north. When temps reach down into the single digits down here people freak out (ok this might include me as well) and apparently even cancel school due to extreme cold. Umm I very clearly remember many days of school when there was actual snow on the ground! Thankfully Mike and I's apartment survived the freeze and Lou and Spence were bundled up in their heavy blankets and equipped with heated water buckets, a perk of having lived up north! The barn at Wesleyan, however, has experienced our share of freezing temp consequences including 6 water line breaks and a frozen solid riding arena. The weather is starting to look a bit brighter though and we should be back up in the 60's by the weekend!!

As promised I will share some of our New Year's resolutions with y'all...after you stare at the adorable panda above though. Too much cuteness!!!

-Usually I make resolutions based on my job but honestly I'm pretty darn happy with my job right now, so my career based resolution is to stop and smell the roses and just be grateful. I mean how exciting is it that I am following my dream and experiencing my first year as head coach?! So I will work on soaking all of that in.

-I will also work on not letting stress take over my life. Last semester showed me that my body can no longer run on crappy food, no sleep and insane amounts of stress. In fact my body was very upset with me for most of the fall...sorry about that! So stress management will be at the top of the priority list along with actually eating adult foods aka not ramen noodles every night. I will also take some time out just for myself; I actually already started on this by forcing myself to go to yoga at 6:30am this week...turns out I love it!

-I will also remember to be more in the moment and unplug. This past Sunday Mike and I ventured out to the Atlanta Zoo and other than snapping pictures I was completely unplugged and it made me realize I need to do that more often. So Sunday Fundays will be unplugged...except for the camera use of the phone:)

When I asked Mike what his resolution is for the year he answered "Get married." So that will be the final resolution, get married!!

           

Be sure to check back soon as we are venturing to Savannah this weekend for wedding fun!! I love hearing from y'all so be sure to leave a comment if there is an update you just have to have...sometimes I need help getting update ideas flowing.

Love y'all!!

2013 wrap up

2013 Wrap Up

Can y'all believe another year has gone by already?! That means that Mike and I have officially made it through our first full year in Georgia and goodness gracious are there some highlights from the year.

2013 was certainly a year of on and off wedding planning. I started the year off with a couple of trips to Savannah,Ga and completely fell in love with it. After lots of options and stresses on wedding location, Mike and I came to our final decision of Savannah,Ga and I couldn't be more excited!

Katie has been such an awesome help with everything wedding-wise!!

Spring brought about end of the year award ceremonies, graduation and prep for summer camp. Thankfully summer was very nice to us this year and we didn't have to endure the crazy Georgia heat, although I'm sure we won't be that lucky again. Summer also brought visits with long lost friends and students, southern wedding festivities in Tennessee, a Jersey shore getaway and new job titles for myself and Mike! Phew a lot happened this summer!

2013 Athletic Banquet

I survived 6 weeks of summer camp...at least they were adorable campers

Ashley came to visit!!

Gray McCurdy became Mrs. Kephart!!

 

 

And Rich and Mandy tied the knot!

 

At the start of the summer/end of spring Mike started working for Butler Honda and began his adventure in sales. Then at the start of July I officially became head coach of the equestrian teams at Wesleyan College. I'd say it was a pretty big summer for us!

I kicked off the fall semester with a boot camp for returning students and was lucky enough to have a visitor from Whitings Neck join us for the day! It was so great to see a previous student doing so well in her riding. The show season kicked off in September and the insanity of the fall semester began!  

 A small part of our boot camp. I can't believe how much the team has grown since the start of the school year! 

 

Somewhere in the midst of show season, car sales and life in general Mike and I picked up wedding planning again and I even got to make a trip to Boston to spend time with my parents and some wedding dress shopping. Even though I didn't find the one while in Boston, I did recently buy a dress here in the South!!

To end the show season I hosted a schooling show at Wesleyan and was lucky enough to have Erin fly in for a southern getaway and to help me keep my sanity!

 This year has been such a lesson in learning to really cherish each and every one of our friends and loved ones. Life can be so fleeting and we should enjoy each and every day. Be sure to tell your loved ones that you love them as often as possible! I know that if it weren't for my amazing friends, family and Mike I certainly wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today and my sanity would have been lost years ago! I love all of you more than you know! With that being said I can't wait to celebrate a new year with all of you and, of course, can't wait to celebrate Mike and I's union in marriage with all of our close friends and family!! 

Remember how I said that Katie has been amazing as wedding help, well she was kind enough to spend the day with Mike and I in Savannah this fall for our engagement pictures and she is currently housing my wedding dress...love her!!

To end out the year I was lucky enough to get a couple of days away from work and headed up to DC for some time with the family. Then I headed back to Georgia for a nice quiet Christmas with Mike and the puppies and then rang in the New Year with a late night visit to check on the ponies and the love of my life :)

  Wishing you all a very happy new year! Be sure to check back soon for our resolutions and wedding updates! Things are seriously rolling now...we have a dress, a guestbook and the search for an official venue in Savannah begins with a visit very soon!! 

Love y'all!!

If you are looking for another read be sure to head on over to my cousin Hilary's blog! She is currently visiting Germany and has a knack for making history fun!

http://historywithhilary.blogspot.com

 

 

The things that bring us together

As I sit here at the airport waiting on a delayed flight and truly missing the manners of the South, I keep thinking about all of the small things that bring so many people together. It is amazing how when you really sit and chat with people there are so many things we all have in common. Just this past week I was reminded of how common ground can bring together people from opposite sides of the world. 

As some of you may know, we have a very large international population at Wesleyan College and this year I am lucky enough to have a student from Japan on my riding team. I began speaking with Mayu over the summer about the team and she agreed to give it a try, now we are half way through the year and she has decided to stay for a second semester! Last week Mayu's mother came to visit and was kind enough to make authentic Japanese food for the girls on the team and myself, it was delicious!! As we were chatting we talked about how great it is that our love of horses brought all of us together. And honestly it really is so great! There are so many people who never take the time to find thoses common ground moments, but goodness when you do you meet some pretty neat people!

    Horse people are notorious for finding each other in random situations and striking up a conversation but Hokies are the same way. Apparently so are Auburn alum and fans as I discovered while taking my Opi to get his haircut this weekend. A simple conversation about Auburn football brightened his day so much. I know that anytime someone stops Mike and I to talk about Virginia Tech I always get excited. So as you go about your travels this holiday season maybe strike up a conversation with the person next to you on the plane or train, you never know who you may meet. And heck if they are a Hokie you are pretty much guaranteed a good travel buddy!

Merry Christmas and safe travels y'all!         Love ya!

The Spirit of the Season

The holiday season is upon us and it is the perfect time to think about what this season truly means. Its not about what we get but rather what we give. It is so important to not lose sight of what Christmas is truly about, the birth of Jesus! God gave us the perfect example of love! Now we just have to work to love each other and care for each other.

To start off the Christmas season the athletics department at Wesleyan partnered up with Jay's Hope to wrap presents for over 200 children! Jay's Hope is an organization here in Macon that works with families affected by childhood cancers, Jay's Hope organizes events for the children as well as the entire family. The Jay's Hope Christmas Party is the organization's largest event of the year and we at Wesleyan were more than happy to help out! All of the athletes, coaches and our athletic director were on hand to wrap the hundreds of gifts and prep the holiday decorations. You can read about it in our official press release here!

On Sunday afternoon Mike and I headed back to Christ Chapel to work the Jay's Hope Christmas Party where we got to greet families and sign them into the event. I think the thing that struck me the most about the entire night were all of the smiles and thank yous. These families are battling unimaginable things in their lives yet they could not have been more pleasant, polite and adorable. While signing in one family, their son perked up and told me that his sister was having her port taken out the next day, the excitement on his face was so wonderful! And his sister was cute as a button and lit right up as soon as I replied with my excitement. Those are the moments when you remember that this season really is about giving (especially your time) and hope. Lots and lots of hope! Please say an extra prayer for all of those wonderful families as they continue to fight through childhood cancers with smiles, tears and lots of hope.

We also brought the Christmas spirit home while decorating our tree, complete with our initialed ornaments that we got last year:)

Now it is time to wrap up the semester with my last final to give tomorrow and grades due next week! The ponies will be enjoying a true break over winter break as our arena is being completely torn apart and redone. I will attempt to enjoy the break from the arena but I'm sure I'll be twiddling my thumbs and aching to hop back on as soon as the arena is ready...I may get stubborn and ride horses out in the pastures! A trip up to DC to see my family before Christmas will be a great way for me to let myself take a break, however. I am so looking forward to flying up to DC on December 19th and then I'll be back in Georgia for a warm (hopefully) Christmas with Mike, the pups and the ponies.

Hope y'all are prepping for Christmas with lots of joy and baking!! My baking marathon is set to kick off this weekend!! Love y'all :)

Stuffing and Sushi

Can y'all believe its already December?! This past week certainly felt like winter was on its way in down here in Georgia but thankfully the weather is turning around (fingers crossed) to warmer weather for the upcoming week.

The puppies and I took some time out of the day to do a quick photo shoot in the fall colors before they all disappear. Can you tell that Badger is used to having his photo taken? He's such a trooper about all of that, Chloe on the other hand clearly has not lived with me long enough to understand posing, haha.

Of course, this past week was the week of Thanksgiving!! Mike and I were lucky enough to host Mr. and Mrs. Denniston for Thanksgiving dinner but we started the day with the ponies at Wesleyan, of course. I believe that Spence is thankful for his warm blanket during our unseasonably cold week.

Badger may have been a teeny bit thankful for his scarf on the chilly Thanksgiving morning...maybe slightly unthankful but he's adorable either way.

After the ponies were taken care of, the rest of the day was devoted to prepping Thanksgiving dinner. Our menu involved: 

Turkey (made by Mike and it turned out amazing!)

Stuffing 

Cranberries (I used the recipe on the back of the cranberry bag and added orange zest, yummmm)

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Biscuits

Corn

And for dessert I made these adorable mini pumpkin pies :) 

Black Friday consisted of sleeping in and then dealing with a water main break that left us without water for most of the morning but that just meant that Mr. and Mrs. Denniston and I had to head out to the stores. No, we were not part of the crazy early morning crowd! Instead we meandered around Bass Pro Shop and the new Macon mall. I finally started my Christmas shopping, well the parts that won't be from Mary Kay, and finished up shopping for holiday banquet this coming week. (Be sure to check back later this week to see how my holiday banquet table turns out on Thursday) Plus we got to end the day with sushi! So this past week I was able to enjoy my two favorite foods...stuffing and sushi :)

Saturday was a gloriously lazy day of sleeping, ponies and football. And it sure was an awesome football day...yay Hokies!! And holy cow what an amazing finish for Auburn!! Clearly I'm embracing the South with my Mason Jar, adorable new Sperrys (thanks Mr and Mrs. D!!) and SEC football on tv. 

Mike and I are so thankful that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and already miss having them down here in Georgia! We are looking forward to setting up our Christmas tree and gingerbread house decorating with Nicole and Donnie soon though! So if you're looking for people to visit in slightly warmer weather...get down here to Georgia!! We love having guests!!

Looking for gifts that you couldn't find on Black Friday? Head over to my site for lots of great gift ideas, plus shot me a message that you read the blog and I'll throw in a special gift with your Mary Kay order! 

My Mary Kay site!

Love y'all!