Sweet Love {Our Engagement Photos}

      Cole and I won a wedding giveaway with Very Important Date Photography, and along with the wedding day coverage we also received a free engagement session with Kaity (the owner/photographer of Very Important Date Photography). We actually got the opportunity to do a mini shoot with her at the South Carolina State Fair in October, and then in early November she came up to Clemson and did our Engagement Shoot for us. We just got all of our photos from her this week and I am so, so, so in love with all of them! Kaity is an absolute blast to work with, and her eye for beautiful lighting is truly amazing. She also does an amazing job capturing true love and honest smiles, which any photographer would know can sometimes be a challenge. She took so many amazing photos, but here are a few of my absolute favorites!

***Disclaimer: All Photographs in this post are by Very Important Date Photography***

Farewell 2013!

         I can't believe it's New Years Eve already! This year truly has flown by, and man was it a wild ride. This year was a monumental year for me, in many aspects.

I rang in the year with the two most important people in my life, my best friend and my boyfriend! It was a new years that will go down in history for us! 

I finished up my last rotation at my co-op in Charlotte. 

Cole and I went on our first real vacation, and it was with two of our best friends. 

The love of my life proposed to me in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!

Cole and I picked our wedding date :) 

My 22nd birthday was spent camping

I found my wedding dress! 

Cole and I officially moved in together!

I took a photography class, I loved it,

 I finally know how to use the manual setting on my DSLR!

I passed my FE Exam

 (literally an 8 hour exam that basically says when I graduate I am an engineer in training!) 

I signed up for my last semester of undergrad. 

     This year seriously has been one of the best ones yet, and I am so grateful and blessed to have such an amazing family and equally awesome friends, not to mention the best fiance ever, and the most adorable pets ever! 

3000 Views + GIVEAWAY!

Hi All,
      I mentioned before on facebook and on the blog that when The Poppies, Puppies and Pearls Blog reached 3,000 Views I would do a Giveaway as a thank you to all the followers that have helped the Blog grow over the past year and a half. Well the day has come, The Poppies, Puppies and Pearls Blog has officially reached over 3,000 views! I am so thankful and appreciative of all the support and views the blog has received. I am so proud of how much the blog has grown in its early stages and I am excited to expand and let it grow some more. So on to the giveaway! I don't know about ya'll but I love Monograms. I especially love Monogram Canvases. So for the giveaway I am going to send one lucky winner a personalized Monogram Canvas! Enter in the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 If you win the giveaway I will contact you, and you will be able to chose your background color, font color, and font style from the following:

Background Color Options: 

Orange

Purple

Lavender

Green

Lime Green

Blue

Sky Blue

Tiffany Blue

Hot Pink

Light Pink

Red 

Yellow

Font Color Options: 

Navy

Black

White

Silver

Font Styles: 
Circle Script

Regular Font 

Interlocking Script 

 

 SEL

I can't wait to paint this canvas and send it off! The Giveaway entries start as of right now (So ENTER ASAP!)  and run through Friday! So make sure you get your entries in by Friday!!! I look forward to contacting the winner!  Again thank you all for the support!

Much Love,
Stacey


(P.S. keep in mind it will be hand painted so the actual canvas fonts/scripts may very slightly from the images above!)

Christmas Hustle and Bustle

      I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! I know Cole and I have so far! 

              The weekend before Christmas we had a few of our close friends and my brother visit for a festive weekend in Clemson! Friday night we made tacos, and enjoyed a good old fashioned bonfire. Saturday we went bowling, enjoyed an early Christmas dinner (complete with tasty grilled steaks!), partook in our traditional Christmas cookie decorating and had a gift exchange! Sunday everyone said goodbye and headed back to Columbia. It was truly a great weekend. I am so glad we were able to enjoy some time during the holidays with some of our closest friends. The weekend seriously couldn't have been better!

Some of the Christmas Cookie Masterpieces

               Cole worked Christmas Eve, so I spent the day baking tasty treats to give as gifts. I made homemade Peanut Butter Cookies, Cranberry White Chocolate Bread, Forgotten (divinity) Cookies, Chocolate dipped pretzels, and hot chocolate mix! Cole helped with a few of them when he got home. I seriously enjoyed baking all of it so much. I will share the recipes on the blog soon! If I do say so myself, my peanut butter cookies are AWESOME! We made sure to get to bed early so we could get up and moving Christmas morning.
   
                Christmas Day was super, super busy! Cole and I left Clemson at seven in the morning, it was soooo early! When we got into Columbia our first stop was Cole's grandparents house, to catch up and spend some time with them. It was so great to see them, Cole used to live beside them so it has been an adjustment to not see them all the time. We headed to my parents house next. My favorite Christmas day tradition at my parents house is opening our stockings and eating our traditional Christmas quiche breakfast, so I insisted that we go spend the morning with them. I love, love, love Christmas breakfast, and of course it didn't disappoint this year! After we enjoyed breakfast, and opened our stockings and gifts with my family we went to Cole's parents house. It was great to spend some time with his brother, his parents and the rest of his family! Cole and his brother played Cole's new Call of Duty game, and we snacked (Cole scarfed down a ton of ham...because his parents cook a mean ham!), caught up and hung out with everyone. I made the pups holiday collars for Cole's mom, and they loved them!

The collars I made the pups

Dakota Loved hers!

She also loves her Dad! 

                We went back to my parents house for dinner with my parents and my brother. Finally we headed to Cole's Grandpa's house to drop in and say Merry Christmas and chit chat a bit before we headed back to Clemson with my brother in tow. We didn't get back to Clemson until after midnight, so we hit the sack and got up early the next day to take my brother to the airport so he could fly back to Pittsburgh.

My lovely parents, in front of their tree

Sibling Picture! (Two of my favorite men in my life)

The Essels - minus my sis! (missed you Ash)

My sweet boy - Next Christmas we will be "The Conners!"

 Our Christmases are always so so so busy, however I am so thankful we have the opportunity to visit and enjoy time with all of our family during the holidays. We are so blessed to have such a loving a supportive family, including our amazing friends!

Holiday Baking

        While Cole is at work today I have started to make some holiday treats to give to our families on Christmas Day. I am super excited, I love baking...I just hate the dishes part...(whose with me?). But really I do love baking and I am excited to continue baking this evening when Cole gets home, because we are making quite a few different treats for everyone! I'll post photos of the treats and the recipes for them after Wednesday...I don't want people knowing what they are getting before they get it ;)

Doggie Christmas

        While I was home visiting my family I got to spend a good bit of time with Deidre, which is always a blast. One night I took Dusk over to Deidre's Parents' house to have a puppy play date with Easton. And play they did!!
        When I was in high school I literally spent almost every weekend over at Deidre's house. We would stay up well into the night, watching movies, dancing, you know the normal sleepover stuff. I can't even tell you how many times her mom would come out to the living room and tell us we needed to go to bed, or be quieter. Almost every time I would stay over at D's house we would make rice crispies, and most of the time we would eat the entire pan the night we made them. It was so much fun, and it is definitely fun to relive those days every once in a while.

         That is exactly what we did,  Deidre and I made rice crispy treats, like always! Then when her mom got home we decorated their tree. While we were decorating our pups were running around, chasing each other, tackling and playing. They had an absolute blast, as did we! I love getting to hang out with Deidre, and being able to visit with her parents is always a plus.  We ended our night snapping a few billion pictures of the boys in front of the christmas tree...It took forever but we ended up getting a few good ones of them. They are too sweet.

Mid-Carolina Jeepers - Annual Uwharrie Ride

         I finished my semester early Friday morning...I had a take home test that took a lifetime to finish! Anyways I met up with a few friends Friday morning and we met up with the Mid-Carolina Jeepers Club to head up to Uwharrie National Forest to spend the weekend wheeling. The trip has become an annual one, that happens every December. This year was Cole and My third year going. I actually rode up to Uwharrie with one of our friends because I was in Columbia, and Cole met up with us Friday night after he got off work.
        Friday once we got there we actually got to go and wheel in a new place. The place is basically a man made training center for military and newbie wheelers, it is a guided trip. The trails were simple, and the guides were a bit inexperienced, but it was still a lot of fun! It was my first time riding with someone other than Cole offroad, and it was definitely very different. We headed to camp when we finished and made tent and dinner. Once Cole got there I went to bed. I was completely exhausted! Thank god I had a warm, warm sleeping bag, because I slept so well!
          Saturday we spent the whole day wheeling. We literally got up, made pancakes and sausage at camp, then hit the trails. We started the day on the toughest trail. Watching different jeeps and vehicles taking on the same trail is definitely a lot of fun. It is really interesting to see how each person handles the same obstacle in different ways. This trip was pretty good, nobody broke anything to detrimentally important. Everyone had a good time, it was just pretty wet. It rained most of the day.
 

I love this girl. So glad she goes on these trips! 

Me and my sweet Boo

Sam's Jeep, rocking its Christmas Wreath

(photos courtesy of Deidre, me dearest, bestest friend!) 

            Fortunately the rain let up, literally as soon as we headed to camp. Unfortunately all the rain flooded literally almost everyone's tents. My clothes got soaked...our tent had standing puddles...our sleeping bags were damp. We all learned pretty quickly that some of the jeeps were pretty good dryers. Cole and I dried our tent out, and put our newly warm and dry stuff back in the tent. This morning we cleaned up and packed up camp. Then headed to the Outpost where we gassed up, aired up, and ate up. Then we all headed home.
            All in all it was a great weekend, even though it was cold, wet and muddy! Sometimes weekends like that are fun.
     

It's the End

The end of the Fall semester that is! 

I am beyond excited that this semester is over. 

It has been an enjoyable semester, 

but it moved quickly

and I was very busy

with classes and homework. 

So a break is much needed. 

I am looking forward to my Christmas break.

catching up on sleep.

crafting my heart out.

This weekend I am excited to be going offroading

Cole, our friends and I are headed to Uwharrie.

We are camping all weekend. 

Wheeling all day Saturday. 

I am so exhausted

but I am too excited for this weekend 

it should be fun! 

Random Update on My Life

Well this is going to be a quick update post...very short, because I am procrastinating and I really need to get back to studying for my finals.

1. I am officially an Engineer in Training or an EIT for short...meaning I am one step closer to being a Professional Engineer (AKA a PE). It doesn't sound like a big deal, and it's really not because there are so many steps that still need to be taken to become a PE. However to become a EIT you have to be a senior at an ABET accredited university for Engineering and you have to pass the Fundamental of Engineering Exam. Again sounds simple..however the exam is an 8 hour exam. 8 grueling hours of pure mathematical, scientific and engineering torture. The first 4 hours of the exam covers the basics of engineering and then the last 4 hours covers your specific discipline. There is literally too much information to study to feel completely prepared for the test. I went in thinking I would FAIL, I left feeling like I was dead, and that I FAILED it. Well Friday I got an email saying my status had been updated on the website...and to my surprise when I opened my account the little green four letter word PASS was listed beside my status. I was excited beyond words! Now to be considered a PE I just have to work under a PE for a mere 4 years, oh and torture myself with another Exam. I look forward to that day...

2. It's FINALS week. My seventh Finals week. Fall Finals are way way harder to focus on than Spring ones, because all I can think about is Christmas, Friends, Family and Fun...I just have a few more days...and 4 test between me and all those things I hold so dearly. 

3. Funny story. Saw a dude in the library with a legitimate 12 cup coffee pot set up and brewing, along with a 12 pack of coke zero, and a whole bunch of snack packs of chips...somebody was doing some serious studying. Finals brings out the crazy in everyone.

4. I had a mini panic attack earlier today...thinking I had missed an exam...its not for another three years. Phewwww. It has been a very busy week. my mind is getting all sorts of scattered.

I hope you all are doing well. If you are suffering through finals, Good Luck. If you're not consider yourself lucky. I cant wait to go home after I finish my last final and cuddle my sweet pup, and sip hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies!

Warms My Heart

               A few weeks ago while my mom was up visiting me I stumbled upon some of the most adorable little holiday hats and crafts. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to get them for my sweet little nieces. So I scooped up what I thought they would love, and my mom sent all of the goodies off to my older sister's house for her girls to enjoy. Well tonight I got a few texts from my sister. Low and behold the texts held photos of my all too cute nieces sporting their new hats. Getting photos of my nieces makes my day instantly better, and getting photos of them enjoying a gift I sent them absolutely warms my heart. I sure wish we lived closer to my sister and her family! 

{Deck the Halls}

           Mine and Cole's little house literally has no halls,

 but we have decked our house with decorations... 

Well we have decorated our living room!

All of our glittery, colorful ornaments 

Our tree all decorated, lights, beads and ornaments galore. 

Of course, I had to include a tree lighting up the dark room

Our mantel decor, I want to add some more to it!

I love our cute little mantel glitter tree

 I still plan to add some more decorations,

 if we have a chance to hit a couple stores to search for some budget friendly decor. 

Right now I am completely obsessed with targets line of Christmas decorations!  

Our decorations are bright and bold (blue, green, pink, purple and red) 

and the target line matches perfectly! 

I just want to end this post with photos of me and my babies, the night I was decorating 

My silly Dusk

Sweet, sweet Cali

Whats the color scheme of your decorations? 

What is your favorite piece? 

Don't forget to follow the blog on facebook 

Follow me on twitter (@SL_Essel) and instagram (@Sessel91) 

Much Love,

Stacey and Dusk

Tis the Season {My Want To-Do List}

            I love, love, love the holiday season. It is literally my favorite time of the year. I don't know about you guys but my holiday "Want To-Do List" is always a mile long, and more often than not Cole and I don't get to do all of them. I want to share with you a list of all the possible fun ideas (including some obvious ones) to try out this holiday season .

My Holiday Want To-Do List 

1. Buy an Advent Calendar to Countdown the Days til December 25th 

 Cole and I always buy a German one from World Market, because advent Calendars are a German Tradition, and German chocolate is the absolute best chocolate!

2.  Pick a tree out and put it up 

or put up your artificial one, either one is a lot of fun.

3. Trim your tree 

This is one of my favorite things to do! 

4. Decorate your home 

garland, lights, candles, glitter, pull out all the stops!

5.  Decorate Stockings

Buy plain ones and added your names, or designs to them, we bought some from the dollar store last year that say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" on them and painted our dogs names on them with puff paint.

6. Find or make sweet outfits for your pets to wear on Christmas day, or for your family photo 

 I am excited to show you guys what I got for Dusk and Cali, and what I made for Cali. 

7. Go to a Christmas Parade

Just about every city/town has one, and the best part is that it's a great FREE date! There is one parade in the Columbia area at night, and all the floats and people are dawning bright amazing Christmas lights! 

8. Go to Starbucks for a Holiday Special 

My favorite is the Caramel Brulee Latte!  Or hit a local coffee shop. 

9. Have a Christmas Movie Marathon 

Some of my favorite movies are The Grinch (both the cartoon and the real one...They are must sees in our house), The Polar Express, and Elf. 

10. Go see the Nutcracker

Go see a local ballet company preform it. 

11. Go Ice Skating

It is even better if you can go to an outdoor Ice Rink, Greenville, SC and Columbia, SC have seasonal outdoor Ice Rinks

12. Bake Christmas Cookies

This is a tradition in our house. We always make sugar cookies, and spend hours decorating them with different colored icings and various kinds of sprinkles. 

13. Drive around to see all the Christmas lights 

I personally hate doing outdoor decorations, so I love going for a drive to see all the beautiful lights around the town. 

14. Do a Gift Exchange with your friends/family 

This is a great way to enjoy time with those you love. 

15. Host a Holiday Party 

Cole and I are hosting our first Christmas event this year, and I couldn't be more excited. 

16. Go see a Christmas Pageant

Growing up one of my favorite activities during the holiday season was being in the church Christmas Pageant. Now that I am older I enjoy being in the audience. 

17. Check out a local holiday event 

In Columbia, SC the zoo has an event called Lights Before Christmas, where they open the zoo at night, and the entire zoo is decorated completely in lights, Santa is there to visit children, and it's completed with fake snow, and marshmallows by an open fire. 

18. Enjoy a fire in your newly decorated fireplace

complete with hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows. 

19. Go shopping and Donate a Toy to an organization

We generally do Toys for Tots or the Angel Tree. 

20. Pick a price point, and go stocking stuffer shopping 

One of my favorite things to do is buy a silly, childish toy for Cole's stocking...Last year Cole got one of those silly straws that is a pair of glasses. 

21. Take Christmas Photos - Set your camera on a timer or grab a friend to operate your camera and have photos taken of you and your family in front of your tree. 

22. Spend an Afternoon making homemade gifts 

Cole and I like to make homemade gifts. We have painted canvases and baked treats in the past. 

23. Blare the Holiday Music 

I love playing the Holiday Channel on iHeartRadio. 

24. Make homemade home Decorations

like snowflakes, paper garland or popcorn garland. 

25. Spend an afternoon wrapping gifts together 

Gift wrapping is awfully boring when you are by yourself, doing it together is way more fun...just be sure to wrap your gifts for one another separately. 

End of Semester Panic

      I don't know about the rest of the college students in the world, but for me the last two weeks of a semester end up being the most stressful, and busy weeks. This semester is no different. I have a class project due,  and several homework assignments due this week, and four tests next week (Three of them are on the same day!) not to mention I have to finish a portfolio this week of some of my relevant work I have completed through my college career to graduate in May. I tend to get very anxious and very very stressed on top of being overly exhausted. My goal is to finish the semester strong and attempt to keep my grades up for these next couple weeks. I have a few things I do to keep myself in check and my mind on my work.

1. To-Do Lists are my friends when I am stressed and overly busy. They remind me how much I have to do and it is satisfying to watch the list shrink as I crank the work out.

2. Writing out due dates in my planner helps me decided what needs to be done first.

3. Taking sanity breaks every so often to surf the web, check blogs or Facebook gives my stressed brain a bit of a break.

So here is to hoping I can stay strong and determined for 10 more days! (I think I can, I think I can!)

What do you do to keep yourself encouraged and on track with finishing your work?

Black Friday OOTD

I spent most of my Black Friday on the couch watching Cole, his little brother and his uncle Joey play video games, and I was getting pretty stir crazy. So when Cole's mom of'fered for me to go shopping with her later in the afternoon it was an offer I couldn't refuse, for my sanity's sake. I enjoyed spending some one on one time with his mom and his grandma.

I don't know about ya'll but when I go shopping I want to be put together and look nice, but I also want to be comfortable since it involves a lot of walking around. I think my outfit yesterday was the perfect mix of style and comfort.

Necklace- Target
Shirt- Old Navy
Belt- (old) Pacsun
Leggings-(old) Walmart
Boots-Alloy
Watch- Fossil
Ring-Clemson Class Ring

What is your go to outfit for shopping days? 

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Follow my twitter (@SL_Essel), Instagram (@sessel91)and Pintrest Boards (Stacey Essel )

Thanksgiving Photos

I already talked about our thanksgiving on the Thankful Series {Post 6} but I just wanted to share some photos from our day! Excuse the quality of them, between the bad lighting and the fact that I left my Cannon at home so I had to use my iPhone the photos are less than desirable. 

Cole and I with Cole's little brother

It was so good to catch up and hangout with Cole's family, especially his little brother!

Dusk was worn out from all the fun he has had this weekend! 

Of course I couldn't pass up a chance to get a picture with my little boy! 

Thankful Series {Post 6}

     Wow it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and past and that today is the last day of November!Cole and I are spending the long weekend in Columbia catching up with family and friends we haven't seen in a while. Anyways to the reason for the post, my very last Thankful Series Post!

1. I am thankful that Cole and I were able to travel home to celebrate thanksgiving with his family and my mom. For the past five years Cole's family has been kind enough to invite and include my parents in their thanksgiving dinner because my parents don't have any family close by other than me and Cole. It takes a burden off my moms back to cook a full spread of thanksgiving foods for just four people and it makes mine and Cole's thanksgiving much more enjoyable because we aren't spending half our day driving around to different thanksgiving meals. It also serves as a great way for our families to catch up. For that I am thankful.

2. I am thankful that every year we have an overflowing table of delicious thanksgiving food.  I am grateful that we are able to enjoy a feast like that, and enjoy the fellowship of family without worrying about where our next meal will come from. We are blessed to have what we have.

3. I am so, so, so thankful that I no longer work in retail. When I was in high school I worked at Target, and I loved it for the most part. I normally worked on the floor fixing shelves, helping guests or folding shirt tables. However every Black Friday I was there I was moved to the registers to help the cashiers out.

(Funny story, the first year I worked at target they decided they wanted me on the registers for Black Friday, literally the last day I was working before Black Friday they called me up to the register and seriously talked to me and showed me how to check someone out for about five minutes, then looked at me and said "get here earlier on Black Friday because you are gonna be a cashier on Black Friday" You can imagine the panic and fear that I felt as soon as I heard those words. I was convinced that all I would do was mess something up since I literally had only spent 5 minutes at a register before the doors opened at 3am that Friday.All is well though I actually did really well.)

I actually liked working Black Fridays as a cashier but I would have absolutely hated if I had to work out on the floor dealing with frenzied, crazed guest and picking up after them constantly, not to mention the poor afternoon/night workers always had to stay a hour to two hours after close fixing the floor. The worst thing about working Black Friday was having to go to bed early on Thanksgiving Day to be able to get up early enough to get to work on time Friday morning. Now the stores have the audacity to open on Thanksgiving day, which I think is a shame. The deals will still be there Friday there is no need to open the doors on Thanksgiving day. Since the stores are opening earlier and earlier I am very very thankful I no longer work in retail.

4. I am thankful that I was able to help and contribute to the thanksgiving meal this year. I love cooking so I really enjoyed making some dishes to bring to dinner with Cole's family. This year I made a pumpkin pie, turtle brownies and some delicious artichoke and olive dip. I got the artichoke and olive dip from the Pioneer Woman's blog. She has the best recipes ever!

5. I am thankful that our babies travel as well as they do. Cole loaded up the car Thanksgiving day and we rounded up our four legged babies into the Jeep and headed to Columbia. The babies did so well! They love visiting their grandparents houses so I am thankful that they are calm and easy to travel with.

Well that concludes my thankful series post, I hope you all enjoyed!

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Feel free to follow me on twitter (@SL_Essel), instagram (@sessel91), or pinterest (just Stacey Essel there!)

Thankful Series {Post 5}

       I am a day late on this, I know, I know...how dare I...Well I had a major project due today so I spent last night working away at completing that. So since I had ya'll waiting a whole day I will go ahead and dive on into the five things I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful that I am officially on Thanksgiving break! This semester has gotten extremely hectic these past few weeks, and a 5 day weekend is exactly what the doctor ordered! I am looking forward to sleeping, getting our house back in shape, baking, holiday decorating and of course visit Columbia to celebrate thanksgiving with Cole's family and my parentals. (Did I mention I am looking forward to all the yummy food too!)

2. I am very thankful that this semester is almost over. I have four more days of classes when I get back from thanksgiving break, and then I have four finals in two days...It is gonna be a rough few weeks but I am ready to face them and finish the semester strong. I am actually pretty proud of myself so far this semester...my grades are better this semester than they have been since freshman year. I think there are two factors playing into my better grades....I am not working at all this semester, and Cole is up here instead of living two hours away. I never realized how much working affected my grades...but having so much extra time to study and get work done has done wonders for my grades. Also running back and forth between Columbia every weekend or every other weekend was very distracting, I never got any work done on weekends before, whereas now I have all the time in the world.

3. I am thankful that I am blessed to have an abundance of warm clothing, especially on cold days, like the ones we have had here lately.

4. I am happy and so thankful that I am done with the project that I had due today. I had a very, very late night working on it. I am thankful that I have the determination and drive to complete my work on time, it is the only thing that keeps my need to procrastinate from affecting my grades.

5. Who isn't thankful for starbucks? I am! Or just a good cup of coffee in general. I am grateful that Clemson and the surrounding area has an abundance of quaint little coffee shops with delicious coffee and of course pastries! Coffee is a god sent treasure!

What are you thankful for this week? 

If you haven't followed the blog on Facebook you should do it! 

Now if you all don't mind I am going to go curl up in bed, and take a nap...the cold rainy weather requires it

Trans Siberian Orchestra {Greenville, SC}

           This weekend Cole was out of town with his work on a boys trip so I stayed home. My weekend was far from boring though. My mom came into town on Saturday afternoon. We got ready (all dolled up) and headed to Greenville for a night on the town! We went to Bellacinos, a local pizza franchise that is soooo good, for an early dinner. When we finished our dinner we walked around Main Street in Greenville and browsed some of the awesome shops there. We went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra Concert, and finished the night off grabbing a warm drink before heading back to Clemson.
           Of course, while we were browsing I had to take my mom to my all time favorite shop in Greenville, Poppington's. It is an adorable little popcorn shop, that has the most amazing flavors! My favorites so far that I have tried are their kettle-corn and their Greenville Mix. Their kettle-corn is seriously the best I have ever had, and I love kettle-corn it literally melts in your mouth. Their Greenville Mix is a mixture of cheddar cheese flavored popcorn, white cheddar cheese flavored popcorn, and caramel popcorn. It sounds like an odd mixture but it the absolute best. It is the perfect mix of textures and is the perfect mix of salty and sweet flavors. If you are every in Greenville I totally recommend checking it out they have a ton of different flavores, 75 to be exact...flavors you expect like cheddar cheese, kettle-corn and caramel, but they also have more unique flavors including mixtures, bloody mary flavored and ranch flavored. If you aren't visiting Greenville anytime soon check out their website, and order yourself a treat, they ship! We also checked out the Mast General Store and a cute little mineral shop.
            Then we headed to the arena to go see Trans Siberian Orchestra. We have both been wanting to see them in concert for several years. While we were at the arena to see FGL we found out that Trans Siberian Orchestra was playing in Greenville! So my mom bought tickets for us to go see them! The concert was awesome. They had a ton of crazy lighting and backgrounds, awesome pyrotechnics and awing stage movements. I am so glad we went, the orchestra sounded awesome and
you could hear everything!

I love my mom

(I hate my Iphone's front camera, the quality is aweful :( I cannot wait to get an upgrade on my phone!)

The opening lighting for the concert

Check out their opening song! 

Here is the Finale from last night

         After the concert Mom and I headed to what I, and many others, consider the best coffee shop in Greenville, Underground Coffee. Mom got hot chocolate cause she is weird and doesn't like coffee, and I got a delicious white chocolate and caramel latte. Exactly what we needed because it was so cold last night. It really wasn't too bad temperature wise, but the wind was harsh making it feel twice as cold. It is definitely starting to feel like Christmas around here and I am too excited! 

Puppy Tales

      I haven't posted a Dusk post in a while,

 in fact I don't think I have posted one since Cali moved up here with us. 

So this is a 3 in one post. 

Whose ready for the cuteness, and the stories that join them? 

ONE

The babies have claimed one of our couches for napping while we are home. 

They literally sleep on it every single evening. 

Dusk normally claims the back of the couch, 

Cali claims the actual seats.

Well tonight they were sleeping in the cutest position ever! 

How sweet is this? Also I love that you can see Dusk's black spot! 

TWO

Dusk has also become much more protective, especially when Cole isn't home.

By protective I mean he howls, or grumbles anytime a car drives by...

which is a lot because we live really close to a major road, 

so our road is pretty busy. 

Recently Dusk has even started peeping through the blinds.

and I'm not talking looking through two blinds...

I mean he literally lifts the blinds out of his way so his nose can press up against the window. 

Case in Point: 

Dusk was making sure their weren't any
boogie monsters in the backyard before our nap

Dusk is checking out all the cars driving by

THREE

I took Cali on a short jog with Dusk and I the other day. 

Dusk loves runs, so he was spastic. 

Cali however surprised me with how excited she was. 

Running (or lack there of)

          About two years ago I was religiously running everyday while I was working full time with a company as a co-op student. When I started running back then I could barely run an eighth of a mile, but I stuck with it and got farther and farther. In fact one weekend that summer Dusk and I took on a challenge of running the equivalent distance of a 5k, because my goal was to start running 5ks.
           Well since then I went back to being a full time student, and did another rotation of co-op work (however I took class too) so life caught up with me and I stopped running religiously....well running at all. When I get stressed I am awful about letting my workout, and house keeping schedules slip. So as this semester is winding down I am going to slip my running shoes back on and start hitting the pavement religiously again. This semester I have been walking a lot more, and jogging randomly but I wasn't making it a priority until now.
             Today since I have no school on Fridays I spend the day normally working on school work, or clean the house or I am just absolutely lazy and take a day off and veg out, if the rest of the week was ultra stressful. Well today was the later of the three...I had a rough test week. However Dusk and I did go out for a walk/jog. I am pretty out of shape, breathing wise...I lose my breath before my body gets anywhere near being tired. So instead of just jogging for a few minutes and heading home Dusk and I started out with a nice jog, walked a bit and had intermittent running or jogging. Today we went all the way to campus and back to the house, which is a little over 4 miles total. (needless to say Dusk has been passed out the rest of the night!) So although I was disappointed in my breathing I am proud we went so far. I am looking forward to pushing us more, distance wise, and time spent running.

       What is your best running advice? What is your favorite way to run (with music, with your dog, with a running buddy, ect.)?

Much love,
Stacey and Dusk

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Photography Gallery Final

           My photography class ended this week. For our final in the class we had to submit two pieces, and attend a photography gallery of our work and other classes work at a local coffee shop. The photographs will be displayed through the end of the year at the shop, and are up for sale.Which is super cool!

The two pieces I submitted in the Gallery. They are very, very different from one another...but two of my favorites from the semester. 

            I am actually kind of disappointed that the class is over though. I feel like I learned so much about myself, using my camera and my personal shooting style. I personally think it is hard to explore and learn it on your own, because the tough assignments in class that you wouldn't necessarily pick to do yourself are the ones I feel you learn the most from. It was also great to have a professional around to guide you if you needed it, and also provide feedback. I want to continue practicing and learning so, I guess, I need to find subjects to shoot. I also definitely need to continue challenging myself with different ideas and types of photography.

            I personally have enjoyed abstract, nature and portrait photography the most this semester. I think it will be interesting to see how my likes an dislikes develop as I continue on the photography journey. I am also definitely going to try my hand at offroad photography, because, honestly it's at my fingertips with it being my fiance's job and hobby.

Reversed Buyers Remorse

Have you ever walked into a store, to just browse and fallen head over heals for a piece of clothing

...but you just couldn't justify paying the price at the time for the said article? 

I do it frequently.(like all the time!!)

 Obviously since I am a broke college kid, it doesn't take much for me to think it is to pricey at the moment.

 I normally am ok with that, and just move on. 

Well a few moths ago I fell in love with a skirt at target,

 it was on sale, 

but since it was part of the designer line, 3.1 Phillip Lim.

The line was featured previously,

 but even on sale it was still a bit out of my price range.

 I was also worried that I wouldn't get my money's worth out of it because of how bold the print was. 

 So I sucked it up and left without it.

 No big deal right.

Normally it isn't but this skirt is haunting me now.

 I have  seriously seen it on blogs and even a tv show recently.  

(twice just this week!) 

FYI, the tv show was Glee, and Unique was wearing it, and looked fierce! 

and man am I kicking myself for not buying it, 

because it looks stunning on every single person I have seen it on!

 I am having serious Reverse Buyers Remorse,

 you know when you really, really, wish you had bought the piece. 

Alas, 

all you ladies who own that skirt you rock it, 

because it looks fabulous!

So ladies, what is your biggest Reverse Buyers Remorse, what was it that you wished you had just bit the bullet and bought?

(ATTN: I have found out that although the store no longer carries the skirt, target.com does still have it!Guess who will be buying this bad boy!) 

Thankful Series {Post 4}

My goodness this month is flying by. 

I literally have 16 days til my Finals week. 

Which is actually only seven more days of classes. 

Thanksgiving break is soooo close,

I can taste the pumpkin pie!

Sorry, I am getting off subject...continue on to read

the five things I am most thankful for right now. 

1. This one is kind of an in the moment response, but I am so thankful that I am done addressing our save the dates. No one tells you when you get engaged the amount of time you will spend writing, painting or making something. I have been addressing these bad boys for about a month on and off when I get home from school during the week. They take forever. Unfortunately I still am waiting on addresses from people so I will have more to address soon. I cannot wait to get them all out in the mail! 
2. I am thankful to have three beautiful nieces in my life. Although Cole and I do not get to see them very often, we cherish our time with them and they truly light up my life. My sister and her husband are doing a wonderful job raising sweet, loving and thoughtful little girls. I am looking forward to seeing them again, Ohio is too far away! 
3. Cole and I lucked out this year and found a great little house to rent for the year, for an amazing price, and for that I am thankful . We are fortunate enough to be able to live on our own, with no roommates. We also have the pleasure of having a guest room, which has gotten it's use this year. 
4. Our friends are our rocks. Cole and I have an amazing group of friends, and I couldn't be more grateful to have them in our lives. Everyone is so different from one another but they all play such an important and vital role in our lives. The best thing about a good group of friends is that regardless of where everyone is from, or how we were all raised, we can all make one another laugh and we all enjoy one another's company. I love spending time with our friends. We always have great conversations, laughing fits and encourage one another. I am really looking forward to our "Christmas in Clemson" weekend in December! 
5. Finally, I am so excited that my wedding dress is in! I got a call earlier this week that my dress is waiting for me in Atlanta, at Bridals by Lori. I am so, so grateful that my mom bought me the dress of my dreams. I am also so thankful and happy that my Aunt Elisa and Uncle Jeff let us invade their house for a weekend so we could go dress shopping there! I couldn't have asked for a better shopping experience, my mom, my aunt and my best friend were all there to help me pick my dress with me! I am looking forward to seeing my dress! 

What are you thankful for right now? 

This Jacket {swoon!}

I get frequent emails from American Eagle, 

and the other day I was bored, so I was scrolling through their site

 and Oh My Goodness...
 they have the most adorable jacket ever!

American Eagle Navy Wool Coat

 It has now been mentally added to my "I really, really want this" list.
It is a very classic cut, and neutral color.

 I love the pink contrasts,

 and I love the structure of the coat. 

 However, I don't know about ya'll but, I think I have gotten a new coat for the past four Christmases 

so my need for a winter coat is like zero. 

Thankful Series (Post 3)

It is hard to believe that this month is half way over, 

I only have 10 more days of classes for the semester! 

I have been struggling the past few weeks with some personal decisions...

So this thankful post is coming at the perfect time. 

Bring me out of the funk, 

and remind me of all the wonderful things I have in my life. 

1. I am thankful to have the opportunity to study Civil Engineering  for an undergraduate degree at Clemson University. Attending Clemson has been a dream come true. I have learned so much, and grown just as much during the time I have spent here. Being a student at Clemson has opened up many doors for me, and I will forever be grateful for what I have experienced and learned the last 5 years. Clemson University is an amazing place of higher education with an amazingly beautiful campus, with a little something special. The best way to explain the feeling that students feel about Clemson is definitely the infamous Joe Sherman quote: 

“There is something in these hills that brings together and binds together and holds together men and women of all persuasions, of all heights, sizes, weights, and cultural backgrounds - something that cuts across every difference, spans every gap, penetrates every wall - something that makes a man or a woman stand taller, feel better and say with a high pride to all within earshot, "I went to Clemson."
There is something in these hills that you and I can't define and others can't understand. A wave of warmth always surges through me when "outsiders" say, "I don't know what it is about you Clemson people, but your undying love for Clemson is admired by everyone I know."

2. I am very, very thankful for the wonderful support system I have through my friends. My friends are truly amazing and so very different from one another. I am graced with friends from all walks of life, and I couldn't be more grateful for it! My friends add joy to my life, keep me anchored and are as honest as they come. To me having a few amazing close friends is way more satisfying than having a bunch of decent friends. 

3. My siblings! I am beyond thankful for my siblings. Growing up I was just a big pain in their asses, because I was much younger than them. They double teamed me, gave me a hard time, and teased me. Now I am a much stronger person thanks to their tough love. Funny story, my brother taught me how to ride a bicycle... by threatening to beat me up if I didn't get on my bike and ride it. Thankfully now my siblings are much nicer, and I can honestly say they are two of my best friends. They encourage me and support me in all of the decisions I make. I don't get to see them often, so the time I do get to spend with them now I cherish a lot!

4. I am very thankful that I have had the opportunity to travel both in the US and abroad. I love experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. I am most grateful to have had the chance to participate in a German Exchange program while I was in high school. It was definitely one of the best experience of my life! I have a life long friend from that trip, and a ton of amazing memories that will never be forgotten. I can honestly say that, that was the trip that gave me the travel bug. I cannot wait to see more of the world! 

5. My Grandma! Grammy is the most amazing person in the entire world! I can't imagine my life with out her. She is the strongest person I know, and definitely the person I admire the most. I cherish every moment I get to spend with her. She is encouraging, wise, and honest. She has been a very influential person and my life, and I am so thankful for her support and encouragement my entire life.


Much Love,
Stacey

Feel free to comment below. What are you thankful for? Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

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Workout Planning and Execution

     This semester has been way more hectic than I expected...because of that I have been horrible about sticking to workouts. It is so easy to rush home and get caught up in a tv show or a craft project after a long day of school and homework. And it is just as easy to make excuses for reasons why you didn't workout.
       Today, I am making to conscious decision to stop doing this. I have a lot on my plate but I am determined to start getting back into a workout routine. I have a lot going on and working out is such a good stress reliever for me. Running specifically makes me feel a thousand times better, and I also want to work on my strength.  I am currently taking a yoga class, and I really enjoy it. So my plan is to mix them all and try to get a good total body workout through the week. I also really want to train and improve my running enough to complete a 5k, and continue to train to accomplish more.

So my work out plan for the rest of this week.

Tonight (Tuesday), I am gonna do a little yoga.

Wednesday- Yoga Class, Run (run/walk a mile)

Thursday- 25 pushups, 1 song of sit-ups, 2-30 second planks, 4-30 second wall sits.

Friday- Yoga at home, Run with Dusk

I will post a recap of how sore and pitiful I am Saturday. I am severely disappointed with myself, and I look forward to becoming a stronger person physically and mentally.

Thankful Series (Part 2)

           The past five days have been a whirlwind. 

Have you had a week like that lately?

Where everything is due, and there is so much to look forward to after its done? 

I had a paper due Friday, and after that was done the weekend has been so fun!

the five things I am most thankful for over the past five days:

1. I am so very thankful to have an amazing relationship with my mom. I am also just as thankful for the fact that she wants to be involved in my life. My mom is nothing but supportive, encouraging, and loving. I am grateful that I can talk to my mom about anything, weather it be for advice, to vent or just to catch up and chat. My mom truly has become one of my best friends, and I can't imagine my life without her. 

2. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to attend the Florida Georgia Line! My mom was amazing and bought tickets for all of us to go. It was such a great time, being spent with two of the most important people in my life! It was definitely a night I will never forget! (Thanks Mom!) 

3. I am thankful to have a kitchen, and all the needed utensils to practice my cooking skills. I enjoy cooking, and I love baking! I am grateful to have a fiance that is willing to try out my first attempts. This weekend I tried my hand at making homemade cube steak (Cole's favorite meal)! It was definitely a challenge because his grandma and grandpa make the best cube steak. 

4. I am thankful that Cole and I won a contest that provides us with our wedding photographer, Kaity. It truly has been a blessing, and not for the obvious reason. Our photographer has been nothing short of amazing, and every time we have met to talk to her, or shoot with her we have had a blast, laughing and acting up. I seriously don't think we could have found a better photographer!!! If you are looking for a photographer in Columbia, SC or the surrounding area you should check her out at Very Important Date Photography!  

5. I am thankful for my fiance's help with all this wedding planning. Cole has truly been amazing with all the planning. Unlike most guys, he has been there every step of the way to help me make decision, or give me his opinion. I honestly don't know what I would do if he weren't so hands on and helpful. He has even been helping me with a lot of the DIY aspects of our wedding! He is amazing!!!