Etsy Love!!

My name is Katie and I am an Etsyholic...yes, I am obsessed with ETSY!! this relationship came about around the time I got engaged and was searching for ideas for invitations, garters, ring pillows etc, all of which i was able to find inspiration and recreate myself...minus the garter I did order that from etsy, along with many other things:

this beautiful bracelet for myself from here: TZTudio

there you can see the bracelet on my arm, it is absolutely gorgeous and I am still looking for opportunities to wear it again

and this handkerchief from here:Artful Beginnings, it was imprinted with my and Mark's names and our wedding date

this is our hands and you can see the hanky, and the bracelet from above

And this Garter which this seller was amazing and I had actually forgot to order a garter until like a week and a half before the wedding and she had me this in less than a weeks time!! Peterene Design

Then, after the wedding was over my love affair continued and I fell head over heels in LOVE with 

Dear Lillie, The owner is amazing, her items are all handmade and shipped in such a fast and timely manner, and your package arrives in the cutest wrapping with a huge bow, its so cute and you feel special opening it like its a gift or something, even though you bought it yourself.  I happened to stumble across her shop while looking for something to wear to a friends rehearsal dinner and I bought this top:

then this top which I LOVE, I wore it last weekend

and here is me in the top: 

I also buy lots of jewelry such as these necklaces which I love and always seem to get a few compliments when I wear them:

they are from LoveErica, I have ordered lots of jewelry from this seller, and she packages her jewelry in the cutest manner, and it is all very good quality.

So yes, I love me some ETSY but clearly, how can you not?!?

Labor Day Weekend

Im back from my trip....and yes I am still alive

I had an awesome trip, I left friday super early in the morning and after a layover in Atlanta (where my mom was also, so we visited for a few minutes) I arrived in Va Beach late afternoon, shortly after, mom arrived and we headed to the hotel to unpack and get some food.  We ate at Ruby Tuesday which I had never eaten there before but it was pretty good.  After dinner my mom and I decided to walk to the Target that was across the street and only a half mile from the hotel.  Well...due to all the landscaping it took us forever to walk to the Target and forever to walk home.  We probably walked a good three miles or more, which was not too bad since I had been on an airplane all day and needed to stretch my legs but man o man I was tired! I pretty much went back to the hotel and was asleep by 830pm which on my bodies clock was 730pm!!! However, I was up bright and early at 6 AM... We went to breakfast at Panera Bread which was delicious and tried to pick out all the other people in the restaurant who were in town for the race...it was a fun game hehe.

We then headed over the Va Beach Convention Center to pick up our race packets 

me an momma

my whole family who was racing, My Gram, Mom, Me, and my Uncle

We walked around the Expo and looked at all the neato things and I bought a few fun little things as well, then we were off to get some lunch and freshen up before dinner

Then came Sunday...Race day...The Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon to be exact

it was a GREAT race, the weather was perfect in the 60's and 70's and there were no injuries to be had.  I did really well considering the circumstances, I didn't train, I was not well hydrated which I know because I peed before the race but not again until I was already done for a few hours which is bad usually I pee at least once, and by mile 10 I hit a wall and it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other and not walk, by the time I finished I had no reserve left, but thats what I wanted I hate having too much energy left at the end.

I finished in 2:03:57 which is just shy of a PR (my best time is 2:03:15), my Gram placed first in her age division, and my mom had an injured foot prior to the race and still set a PR!! My uncle well he did awesome too :)

Later that day my bestie from high school drove 4 hours with her family to visit!!! It was so sweet of them and so good to see them, her children are amazing, so cute and well behaved so we had lunch then went to a little local beach for a little bit, where we also saw some old friends from when we lived in Ohio!!! Its so nice to see old friends, growing up military the people who mean most to me in life are all scattered around the country so I always try to stay connected so at times like this when I travel, I get to see them

It was such A good trip and a nice break from the business of work and the heat and rain in Texas!!