happy new year?

 

wowwwww. it's been exactly one month since my last post. hot damn. sorry for the delay. my december was absolutely insane, as was yours i'm sure. but in the last few weeks leading up to christmas, i could never find a good time to sit down and write! and here i am, one month later, with the same problem. well, let's start with a recap...

christmas was wonderful. it was so great spending the holidays with the family in florida! we were home for 6 days, which was just perfect. although not a lot of my high school and college friends were home for the holidays this year, i did get to catch up with a few of my favorites and of course my precious niece! she is cute as ever and growing by the day. i think she'll be walking in no time - a scary thought for my brother & sister-in-law i'm sure.

we got back to dallas the day after christmas and were able to rest that weekend and get our house back in order [speaking of which, yes, we got to move back home the day before we left for florida. hectic, but i can't tell you how happy i am to be back in a home]. we went to a friend's ranch on new year's eve which was an absolute blast! we made dinner, shot off fire works and played drinking games. it was so fun being reunited with [almost] everyone. and now we're halfway through january. where the heck does the time go?? being back at work was a big readjustment, but it's nice to be back on a schedule i guess.

my good friend laura got married last weekend in little rock, arkansas, which was a ton of fun. i unfortunately caught a cold on friday, so i wasn't fully myself, but it was sooo great to see all of my college girls. makes me miss them so much though. we are trying to plan a reunion trip next year since 2013 is the year of weddings, but 2014 is looking pretty grim...anyone have any fun girl trips they've planned?

that has been my last month in a nutshell! sorry it isn't super exciting ... now you see why i've waited to write, eh? i'm going to end this post with my new year's resolutions - and yes, one of them is to blog more consistently and with quality content. can't help that my life isn't exciting as yours :)

1. find a church in dallas and start going with hubby.

2. try a new recipe once a week.

3. start saving more.

4. find a new hobby/extracurricular activity.

5. blog more and better.    

that's all i got for ya, ladies. keep on bloggin.

fill in the blanks

howdy ho neighbors! i know i'm kind of copping out on posts this week (two fill in the blank friday posts = a busy but lazy jenna). buttt, at least you get to learn more about me through the blanks? okay, i promise to come up with some new and exciting topics of conversation for next week. deal? in the meantime, enjoy today's blanks...

1. when it comes to holiday shopping, i like to have everything done early early early. i did a lot of online shopping this year (sorry local retailers) and was finished by december 5. yes, i like to think of myself as an overachiever during the holidays.

2. a few things on my christmas wish list are...a box clutch, anything lululemon, a tory burch bag and an iphone 5. wishful thinking? absolutely...but a girl can dream, right?

3. an intangible gift i would like to receive is a night out with my hubby with no phones and no distractions. it seems like there is always something...

4. a gift i would like to give this year is more hours in the day...

5. my christmas will be spent in beautiful florida with the fam! less than a week woop woop!

6. my most favorite christmas gift of all time was a precious puppy named rudy. weeks later, he was taken back to the north pole as santa reallllly needed him (aka...bad doggie hahah).

7. the best thing about the holidays is celebrating and being around family and close friends. and the gorgeous christmas lights in highland park, texas!

i'm off to a tacky christmas sweater party tomorrow and will be sure to take lots of photos. hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

where have i been?

welp, i've taken a full 11 days off, so i'd say it's about time to get back on this thang and give you some dirt. but sadly, i have none! my big event weekend went great - actually, it couldn't have gone better. lots of people came, tons of media picked it up and it was a lot of fun! methinks i deserve a raise, but my opinion on that doesn't exactly matter haha. other things to tell you...i finished my 5th half marathon 3 days ago and got my personal best time! i really wanted to run it in under 2 hours, but i'll take 2 hours and 15 seconds! next one, i'll have to find a way to shave off those mere seconds, but i am really happy because i thought i was going to be a slowmo for this race. 

 

running buddies before the half

a sweaty jenna after the race...so happy it's over!

other than that, i've just been working, christmas partying and waiting for our home issues to ]finally] be completed. they've told us we will probably be in by monday. please pray for me....our temporary apartment is just not big enough for the three of us.

since i missed last week's friday blanks, i figured i'll just do some wednesday blanks. hey, why not?

not sure who this child is, but he is quite cute!

1. my favorite place i have visited in the usa is north carolina. what i love most about it is how beautiful it is. my family has a house in the mountains, and there is something about it that just makes me feel whole. the crisp air, gorgeous hiking trails, refreshing waterfalls...counting down the days until i'm there next.

2. my favorite place i have visited in europe is florence, italy. what i love most about it is everything. i studied abroad in florence, and i truly daydream about going back at least once a week. the delicious food, the rich history and museums at every block, the markets, shopping, wine...i could go on and on. i miss it. i need it.


3. my favorite movie (location wise) set in the usa is anything set in new york because i love new york city - there's an electricity about it that can't be found anywhere else in america, and it's fun to be a part of that (even if it's only for 2 hours).

4. my favorite movie (location wise) set in europe is casino royale. because montenegro and venice? sign me up...

5. my favorite band/musician from the usa is currently the head & the heart. they're from seattle, and i have only seen them in concert once, but wow. truly one of the best live shows i have ever seen. i love me some biebs too though...yes, i said it. sorry i'm not sorry.

6. my favorite band/musician from europe is currently mumford & sons. who doesn't love them right now? they are a great folk rock band from england and it's almost comforting to listen to their music.

7. i love where i live in dallas, texas because it's a blast! we live in such a fun & young neighborhood with tons of restaurants and bars and near all of our friends. it's perfect for now - when you're not quite ready to start a family but are not exactly a 21-year-old party animal.

hope everyone has a great hump day!

i need a vacation

happy friday! sorry i have been absent the past 2 weeks - the last two months have been absolutely insane. hopefully after this weekend, i will finally be myself again and actually have free time. long story short, my workload has been incredible, hubs and i [and bailey] are living in an apartment while our home gets fixed and i am training for a half marathon. methinks i need a vacation. anywhoo, i have a huge client event tonight and tomorrow, so i will have a big sigh of relief on sunday when it's all over.

1.  "the best way to spread christmas cheer is..." singing loud for all to hear! (gotta love elf). i would say just giving back to those less needy than you.

 

2.  the holiday season is  stressful because it's the busiest season for work and our social lives, which is why i like to get all of my shopping done early. yes, i am already done with gifts this year. you know you're jealous.

3.  when it comes to holiday decorating... i go a little cray. pumpkins everywhere for october and november and an explosion of christmas decor and white lights for december. sorry i'm not sorry.

4. the thing I look forward to most about the holidays is   getting to spend time with my family in florida.

5. my favorite holiday tradition is  going to see a movie on christmas day with my parents. there is always a good one premiering december 25!

6. this year my christmas plans include  a week in florida with the tuttle fam! i am thrilled.

7.  my favorite holiday food is  tenderloin and party potatoes that my mom cooks every year at our family christmas party. so yum i can almost taste it.

wedding wednesday

reception time! don't worry, i will only post the highlights. i'm sure you don't want to see a bunch of our friends dancing and sweating haha.

 

that's all folks! hope you enjoyed seeing my wedding pics - i know i did :) happy hump day!

blank fridays

another week down, another weekend of fun ahead! smu has their final home game tomorrow night, so naturally we will be tailgating and cheering on the ponies all afternoon and evening. not too much else to report on the rest of the week, other than i am happy to have no work for 2 days! also, can you believe it's already november? i mean, honestly, where have the last 2 months gone? thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away. i almost had an anxiety attack when i looked at my planner and realized that yesterday. 

fall. it's always crazy busy. but at least i'm closer to seeing my family over the holidays! november is usually about the time i start getting homesick, and i'm less than 6 weeks away from being tampa-bound, which is so exciting! gotta love the holidays at home - and this is my first one as a married woman! holllaaaaa

1.  i like  animals, running, red wine, cooking and dressing up.

2.  a life goal of mine is to do something (work wise) that i am passionate about and to be like my mom. i realize work is always going to be that part of your life that's work, but i would love to be doing something that i love and that actually matters. and my mom - well she is the most selfless and just plain nice woman i've ever met, and i will always strive to adopt as many of her qualities as possible. 

3.  the last thing you would ever expect me to like (even though i secretly do) is  guy stuff - sports, movies, shows, rap, cursing like a sailor, etc. i guess this isn't that surprising, being that i grew up with an older brother, but it's interesting maybe?

4. some wise words that i love are   "your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. they somehow already know what you truly want to become. everything else is secondary." -Steve Jobs

5. most mornings you will find me  running with bailey. ah, the fun part of half-marathon training.

6. right now i am super into  leggings and oversized sweaters. being cozy is key.

7.  right now i am super over  take out food. we have a leak in our house and haven't been able to use our kitchen for a month. we have to move out for 6 weeks while they fix the leak and our [ruined] hardwood floors. sucks to move, but at least we'll have a kitchen again! so, now you know why i've been so stressed the last 3 weeks!

hope you all have a blessed weekend!

wedding wednesday

excited to post a couple of shots of our wedding party and of trey and i pre-reception. i just printed out a ton of these to give to friends and family as christmas presents! love.

love my photographer. just love. everytime i look through these pics, my heart melts. she knew exactly what i wanted and was so great to work with. priorities people. make sure you have a great photographer who knows your vision and isn't going to stress you out the day of! i want to be stephanie's bff.