**Link-up Party/ WWW/ WiW**

So happy it's finally WEDNESDAY!!

All week I've thought it's a day ahead of what it really is,

And let me tell you, I'm SO ready for the weekend!

I've been a total slacker with outfits these past couple of weeks,

And sadly only have 2...

This outfit is one that I just put together...

The scarf is a recent addition to my wardrobe,

and I am in love!

I have so many ideas to incorporate this into my outfits!

{Scarf: Old Navy/ Cardi: Hollister/ Belt: F21/ Boots: Steve Madden via Amazon/ Jeans: Nordy's}

 Do you see what I see? Cash wanted to get in on the picture taking too...

He is the cutest!

 This is my Pinterest inspiration outfit...

I just wish I had a cute baby to pose with!

{Red Pants: F21/ Striped Shirt & Blazer: H&M/ Ballet Flats: Target}

As always, this Wednesday I'm Linking up with:

Momma go Round for Real Momma, Real Style {because I'm a momma now :)}
 Rolled up Pretty for Whatever, Whenever Wednesday and

The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday

P.s. Can it PLEASE be Spring yet?! I have some serious SPRING FEVER and

am completely dying for some warm weather!

{Iowa 2012}

Michael and I went to Iowa a couple of weeks ago!

Both his mom's family, and his dad's family are from Ottumwa, Iowa...

{About 2 hours from Des Moines}

This is our 3rd trip to Iowa together, but the first time we flew,

And let me tell you, it SO beats the almost 17 hour drive!!

First thing into town, we had to stop at The Canteen!

 It's this really adorable little diner that serves loose meat hamburgers that are DELISH! 

Aside from seeing family, this is what Michael looks forward to the most on our trips to Iowa!

 BUT, our real reason for the trip to Iowa....

Grandma Pat's 80th Birthday!!!

She had no clue we were all even coming to Iowa to surprise her!!

Her reaction to her SURPRISE Birthday party was one of my faves!

 We sure do love Grandma Pat, and hope she had a wonderful Birthday!!

 We did so many fun things with family this trip! {I wish I would have taken more pictures!}

I even got to meet a few of Michael's family I've never met before! {7 years later!}

We spent the majority of the time with Michael's Mom's side of the family...

But made sure to visit his Great-Grandpa Leonard:

And Grandma & Grandpa Bean {On his dad's side!}

It was so great to see them all again!

Even though it was FREEZING in Iowa, {Seriously, it was BRUTAL!}

We had such a great trip visiting family and celebrating Grandma Pat's Birthday!

{PUPPIES make me SMILE!}

 I promise this blog won't become a PUPPY only blog...

But really, we've only had them since Sunday, and already,

my life has been filled with so many more SMILES

all because of these two freaking adorable little guys!

When we first brought them home, we let them down to have a look around...

But they went in the hall and sat like this for a good 10 minutes!

Even when Michael tried to bribe them with treats they wouldn't come!

Finally, they inched towards the kitchen 1 little step at a time!

It was seriously so dang cute!

They pretty much spent the first few hours in their new home

SO calm and reserved, just cuddling each other!

We were so excited when they both walked right into their crates to rest!

{We were so worried about crate training! So this definitely made us SMILE!!}

We got 2 crates, and let them decide if they wanted to go in together or separate-

It was so dang sweet that they chose to go together, and cuddled all night!

We've had lots of visitors the past couple of days!

They both LOVED my dad!

He did this little smooching noise, and Cash ran right up to him!

{He still hadn't run up to Michael or I at this point - so this was HUGE!}

So cute! They love their Grandpa & Grandma Paul!

Michael's nephews, sister Holli and Mom also came by!

Mateo LOVES puppies! He was so excited to see them and hold them!

This picture most definitely makes me SMILE!

 Cash just loves Aunt Tracie!

He stayed by her side for the majority of the night!

Along with lots of visitors, our boys also got PRESENTS!!

Our fabulous friends: Jenna & Kevin

gave them each bags of toys and these precious shirts!!! SO freaking cute!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!!!

 I wish I would've gotten a picture with all of our guests!

Along with those pictured and mentioned above,we've also had Kat,

and Tracie's friend Kevin... Jenna, Kevin & adorable Morg and

Our friends LaShae and Noah!!

Our adorable boys are already so loved!!

Not only are Johnny and Cash so freaking adorable,

 they are also such good little boys!!

They slept through the entire night last night!!

We had been told horror stories of puppies waking up

3 or 4 times in a night to go out,

but our boys slept all the way through!

ABSOLUTELY had me SMILING!!!

We had a couple of accidents the first day...

One that was pretty bad - {Thank goodness Aunt Kat was here to help! THANKS AGAIN!!}

But since then, they have been so good at going outside!

As long as I am good at taking them out,

they are already making great progress at potty training!

 {KNOCK ON WOOD!!!}

I was feeling a little bad about leaving them to go to work today,

but they both went in their crate like champs,

and stayed in there with no accidents until I got home!!

{I only had them in there for 4 hours at a time,

 luckily I'm able to come home for lunch to play and let them out :)}.

They are so playful, and I'm so glad they have each other to wrestle around with!

I also love that they have started following me around the house!

Anywhere I go, they are right behind me! So fun!

We love our Johnny & Cash and are so happy to have them in our family!!

It's TWINS!!!

That's right, the Burtis family is growing, not just by one - but by TWO!!!

I have seriously been wanting a dog for YEARS!!

But the timing has just never been right...

I'm finally SO happy to say that as of Sunday afternoon,

We will officially be parents to these two ADORABLE twin boys!

Aren't they seriously just THE CUTEST?!

They are Mini Schnauzers and are a little over 2 months old!

Michael and I have been debating over the kind of dog to get,

I love my little dogs, and he likes big dogs...

So these are the perfect compromise!!

We honestly went to just look to maybe get ONE-

 right before we even left, we both agreed that we weren't set on this breed...

But seriously, as soon as we walked in, we knew they BOTH had to be ours!

They completely stole our hearts!

They are the only two that survived out of the litter,

and we just didn't have the heart to separate them!

I know it's going to be a lot more work {and poop} with two dogs,

but we feel much better being gone knowing that they will have a friend to play with!

We just finalized their names this morning:

Johnny and Cash

Johnny is my puppy {he is so loving and cuddly, very calm}

Cash is Michael's {is also very loving, but much more hyper active}

Both Michael and I are completely SMITTEN and cannot wait to bring them home on Sunday!

I'm sure there will be many more pictures and posts of the new little guys in our life!

So make sure to stay tuned!

WiW/ Pinterest Link-up Party/ WWW

So, I've got to be honest...

I REALLY don't' like the way any of these pictures turned out- haha!

I honestly almost deleted this post 3 different times....

BUT,  I have to have a post for Wednesday right?!

I should really work on my posing and photo-editing skills, if I want to keep this up!

It's just the World Wide Web anyway :)

WHATEV.... here goes....

This outfit was a combination of these two different Pinterest pins:

I added a little pop with my leopard print flats!

{Cardi: Hollister/ Chambray Shirt: AE/ Jeans: Nordy's/ Belt: Target/ Ballet Flats: H&M} 

My Airport outfit... very comfy and casual!

I'm always freezing and can never get comfy when I fly -

This outfit kept me warm and was very comfortable too!

I never thought I'd own a jean jacket {Honestly, I've always made fun of them ;)}

But when I saw this at Old Navy recently, I fell in love!

Now, I'm totally sold!

{Jacket: Old Navy/ Striped top: H&M/ Green jeans: Urban Outfitters/ Wedges: H&M}

This shirt is another Old Navy find!

{Seriously, they are so hit and miss for me, but lately it's been all HIT!}
I absolutely adore the bird print!

{Although, Michael told me they look like Turkey legs from far away - HA!}

Here's a closer look, you tell me!

Anyway, I love how perfectly it goes with my bright red jeans!

{Bird shirt: Old Navy/ Red Pants: F21/ Tie Wedges: Nine West}

 

This Wednesday I'm linking up with these adorable gals:

All Things Lovely for Pinterest Link-up Party,

Rolled up Pretty for Whatever Whenever Wednesday and

The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday

{Our LOVE story}

I knew I wanted to do a special post for Valentines Day...

So when I saw this fun LINK-UP, I knew I needed to join!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
Michael and I have been together for almost 8 years! CRAZY that it's been that long!

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Many of you already know this story, but for those that don't, I will give the "short version". I worked at the Bank in Michael's town! I watched for him to come in every 2 weeks to deposit his check... every time he would, the old ladies and I would just swoon! We all thought he was our most handsome customer, and would watch him leave - either in his '67 Mustang or on his motorcycle - he was soooo dreamy!! After months of him coming in with small talk, his mom came in when I wasn't in and told one of the other ladies that her son "fancied me" HA! So the next time he came in, it was a Friday, we made small talk, neither of us really had any plans for the weekend... and when he left with out my phone number - AGAIN, I was devastated! But don't you worry, he came through the drive-thru not 3 minutes later, and his famous line "If you're not doing anything, and I'm not doing anything, maybe we should do nothing together!" AWWWW! So I sent my number on a receipt thru the drive-thru {Side Note, I cleaned out our office just last week, and I found the receipt with my name and number on it in his keepsakes!! I seriously melted!!} For our first date, we went and walked around a local park for hours, he thought I talked WAY too much and I thought he was cocky and conceited! HA! We ended up giving each other another chance {He was way too good looking not too! ;)} And the rest is history!
3. If married, how long have you been married?
We will celebrate our 7 year Anniversary in May!
4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?
We eloped to Honolulu Hawaii!! It was just the two of us, the Preacher and an absolutely gorgeous beach!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?
Michael has soooo many nick-names for me: Bang Bang, Tissie, Kissie-kissie-bang-bang, Feets, She-bang-bang, bangs, and She-bang-dizzle {Just to name a few}. I don't have nearly as many for him, I mostly just call him Babe, or Lover of all Loves, or Punkin, or Miguel.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
*He is HILARIOUS. He honestly makes me laugh on at least a daily basis, even when I'm mad at him he manages to make me smile!
*He is so TALENTED! I'm so lucky to have such a handyman! {See previous post for just one example}. He can seriously do anything he puts his mind to! If he doesn't know how to do it, he will work on it until he figures it out and can do it right!
*He is GORGEOUS. Seriously, I don't know how I got such a good looking guy! I've thought he was dreamy from the first time I saw him, and still to this day - I can't get enough!

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
Well.... he actually never proposed! HA! We pretty much just talked about it and decided it would be funny to elope while we were in Hawaii {stupid kids!} But I've told him that I would like to be proposed to someday... he's promised to do it before we have children... I honestly don't care how he does it, I just want to be proposed to!!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
Michael has been known to send me flowers on occasion {and I LOVE it}... but he's more of a practical gift kinda guy {which I also LOVE}... He gives me things he knows I will like and appreciate, like clothes or shoes or jewelry.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I'm going to admit that I'm totally high maintenance and say both! I would love to have a wonderful sunset dinner on the beach, then head in, pop in a movie and relax. I'm good with either - I love to go out and have a good time, but I also love to put on my comfy clothes, get take-out and just chillax with my man at home!

{Hawaii 2010 - AWFUL picture of me -Please don't mind the red nose, we got LOTS of sun!}

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

We love to travel... there are a few places on our "Travel Bucket List" that we hope {plan} to go someday like: Bermuda, Costa Rica, Italy and Spain.

11. .Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day
This Valentines will be a low-key one, we just got back from a family trip to Iowa, and are going on a little get-a-way Saturday night with our fabulous friends, Jenna & Kevin... so Michael is just going to make us a yummy dinner, and we will probably cuddle up with a cheesy chick flick!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
I didn't come right out and ask... although, I have hinted about some Black Ballet Flat Toms :) {Fingers crossed!}

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
The time we spend together. We are always one anothers first priority. I LOVE spending time Michael, no matter what we are doing, just watching TV, household chores or playing on the computer - After almost 8 years together,  I still just cannot get enough!
14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

{New TILE!!!}

He's done it again!

My insanely talented, handyman hubby seriously does not cease to amaze me!

I posted this picture on my SMILES a couple weeks ago...

Please take note of the not-so-nice vinyl flooring...

It wasn't awful, but it was seriously SO easy to scuff, or peal up in spots...

We've also had carpet where our kitchen table is, which was kind of annoying
So, Michael decided he was going to TILE the entire kitchen/ eating area -

All by himself!

This was the first day, pulling up all the tile and vinyl...

It ended up being a lot bigger of a job than he thought it would be...

But he still wouldn't ask for help or even let me help him!
Crazy, silly kid!!

This picture cracks me up!

After cutting and laying tile ALL DAY, this is what he looked like!

Even with grey hair and a painted face, he's still HAWT! ;)

Many hours, and lots of hard work later...

Here is the finished product:

I LOVE it!!!!!

He did such an AMAZING job!

It seriously opens our kitchen up so much more getting rid of the carpet!

I'm so lucky to have such a TALENTED guy who can do pretty much anything he puts his mind too!

{Colored Jeans}

Whenever I wear my colored jeans, I always get asked where I found them.

I've seen them ALL over the place now,

Especially now that most stores are getting their Spring Collections out!

BUT

I must share, I've officially found my FAVORITE colored jeans!

I got my other Red pants from Forever 21 about 2 years ago,

they were getting so worn out, and faded,

 that I knew it was time I needed to invest in a new pair!

I was browsing online when I found these beauties!

I love how bright and vibrant they are and get this... they are were only $15.50!!

So I, of course, not only had to get myself a pair,

but I had to get my "little" sister a green pair for her Birthday too!

I seriously love them! They are so comfy and fit great too!!

They have White, Green, Turquoise, Purple, Pink AND Red!

I would HIGHLY recommend these!!

Here's the link: Forever 21 Skinny {colored} Jean

I'm fighting the temptation to head over there and get the pink ones too!

So freaking cute!

(Wednesday SMILES)

I SMILE often, and on Wednesday's -

I share the things that make me SMILE on my blog!
LIKE...

Lunch at fabulous Zupas for my baby sister's 20th Birthday!!

What the?! How is she already 20?! SO crazy!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACE-FACE!

So glad I got to celebrate with you on your special day!! LOVE YOU!!
**********

GNO to see Odyssey Dance Theatre's Production of

Romeo & Juliet!!

Such a fun night out with my sister's Kat and Tracie and SIL, April!

{We missed you Kami & Mom!!}.

And also 4 of my sister, Kat's student's who won an essay contest and

 got to join us!!

This is the second year I've gone to Romeo & Juliet by Odyssey,

the show is seriously SO amazing!
LOVED it!

The night was filled with SMILES!

I sure do love my sisters!

**********
A much needed Girlfriend night at Melissa's new casa -

Definitely made me SMILE!

I'm so lucky to have such wonderful girl friends!

It was so much fun just sitting around eating and chitty chatting for a solid

 5 hours!

Such a fabulous night!
**********

A little LOVE NOTE left in a mess of construction dust from my hubby absolutely made me SMILE!! {Construction post coming soon!}

I also love that I have 'She-Bang Dizzle' to add to my nickname list :)

Then going to my parent's house that afternoon and seeing the adorable

LOVE NOTE

my Dad left my Momma on their phone msg board,

most definitely makes me SMILE!

I love that after 34 years, my parents are still so dang cute with each other!

**********
 And finally, still making me SMILE 3 days later...

Audrey & Tracie's posing session at Tracie's Birthday dinner!

We tried to do a "cute" pose, but Audrey was too busy getting her VOGUE on! 

They crack me up!!

I hope you had a week FULL of SMILES too!!