valentines: greek god style

so every valentine's, we have made it our tradition to do themed dinners.

 

this years theme: GREEK!

 

before the theme really got started, i woke up to a yummy breakfast by trav. my favorite egg sandwich, with compliments of blood orange juice, turkey bacon + berries (all things red!)!

 

 

then, @ work: these beauties were delievered! such a little romantic. i wasn't expecting them at all either. love my tulips babe!

 

 

after work, our place was decked out. my sweet husband came home to greece!

 

 

a little menu action for ya'll:

 

 

some table scape going on. (did blues + whites for to match the greece flag). candles were a must. i didn't have any statues laying around or else they would have been around this area.

 

 

meal: i didn't take a pix of our food but it sure was yummy. if you read the menu pictured above, you can see we started off with pita chips + hummus. had a fresh greek salad (extra feta :) ). lamb with tatiziki + greens in a pita. rife pilaf to compliment that. red wine all night. baklava unfortunately never made an appearance (we're probably better off without it anyway!). such a great dinner!

 

 

dree code: oh and then this happened! my handsome hubby in a toga! what a HOT greek god!

 

 

me in my greek get up!

 

 

movie: and don't forget the best part.... my big fat greek wedding! this movie cracks me up!

 

 

 

it was a fun, loved filled day. i hope ya'll felt as loved + special as any person should.

 

 

happy {belated} valentine's day. xoxo

heart attack...

it's the last week of january, so you know what that means....

 

it's {almost} valentine's day!

 

i started with some decorations we already had but am about to go out shopping for some more! here is what's hanging around so far!

 

i made trav a heart book for our first valentine's day: "25 things i love about you". from those hearts, i made a banner. call me a pack rat, i say i'm sentimental.

 

still have our mini trees up {i justify it by saying - it's still winter}. so i threw some heart ornaments on them!

 

this banner was made our wedding by my sister. i need to outline the letters to really make them pop. once again, sentimental. and who doesn't love our antlers?!?!

 

lil vignette of some valentine decor!

 

it's not much yet but had to get it up!

 

oh ya, speaking of valentine's day. we like to do a themed valentine's every year. last year, we did western. check that out here. so any ideas of themes?! get at me!

 

xoxo

scavenger {love} hunt

i told trav i wanted to take him on a date saturday morning. so i did.

i planned a scavenger hunt {6} months ago. i had to put my plan to action finally. here's how it went down.

he received his first clue with his coffee... {at home}

it told him to go to the place where it all started... {hint: i go there everyday}

it all started in a certain building called wilden. it's where we had 2 classes our Senior year. the clues talked of having the classes together and thinking he was a total babe!

 the {secret hint} then led him to an APU favorite: donut man. 

 

us getting down on our tiger tailz. yum! next clue: i gave him the address and told him this is how our love traveled the world... {totally tricked him on this one!}

he landed at delong's. delong's is THE place where we designed our senior shirts {the ones where he, noel and i designed and no one bought. lol}. it ended up being the way we communicated after we graduated. anywhere we would travel, the three of us would take a picture in our senior shirts and email them to each other. 

the next clue hinted that it's a place where we fed our sweet tooth. 

 

of course we hit up 21 choices {best fro yo in the world!}. unfortunately, they didn't get the memo so it was closed. we didn't want it anyway. 

the clue trav got at 21 basically said, this is where God has brought us from. i never want to forget the journey He had us on and continues to lead us on daily. just wanted to create a little fun scavenger hunt to keep it fresh + fun! 

some of the little notes that were planted everywhere by one of my favorite cupids... melissa, i love you. thanks for being apart of this. i owe you. xo

this scavenger hunt is a huge part of our love story. it's fun to be reminded of God's faithfulness. never lose sight of Him. 

hope ya'll have a great weekend! xoxo

best day in the world!

john travis harper was born on october 3, 1985.

 

27 years ago, trina gave birth to a studly son and i am thankful everyday that she did.

 

travy, you make my world go round. your life; the joy, wisdom, and love you bring to me daily astounds me. you move me in ways that are only of the Lord.

 

you are a man who: fears the Lord, adores your wife, loves your family, has the best, hardest work ethic, enjoys the great outdoors and all things manly, gives me insight on any and all sports, always is fun to be with, has kind eyes, a beautiful heart, and a generous spirit. you are unlike any other.

 

and so today, i celebrate you. so thankful that you have made this world a better place the last 27 years.

 

happy birthday best friend + lover.

 

 

let's party like it's your birthday... cause it is.

xo

best job!

during the olympics, they played this commercial....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDXdHVw-yM

did y'all cry?! i did!

i get to be an important part in this process and call them once they are admitted to our univeristy (so i get to hear that excitement over the phone!)!

what some don't realize is this could be a dream come true to many! they might be the first one's in their family to go to college, or "APU has been my dream school since 7th grade" (a student from last week told me that!).

so i LOVE my job.

here's another reason why:

sweet jay brought me by a thank you card and chocolate. he wanted to get me flowers but was advised not to since i'm married. LOL

thankful for my job today + everyday!

all in a week....

i am TERRIFIED of scorpions. well, i live in a desert so what should i expect?

i found one in my tub at 1am. i called trav, told him to wake up, come over and kill it. after 15 minutes of encouragement (over the phone), i finally killed my first scorpion. although this is not an elk, or deer, i still consider it an accomplishment.

we bought our first car! a honda pilot! holllllar! okay- so it's not my Mercedes but I LOVE IT. it's practical, cute, and can fit a family of 8!

we went to a diamondbacks game with my mom and her best friend doris. trav knows the vp of marketing there and he got us the best tickets. on top of having killer seats, great hot dogs and beer, trav surprised me and got us first on the kiss cam! i was shocked when i saw us up there! i leaned over, and LAID one on him! everyone around us was cheering so loud! the lady behind us told us we won the best kiss of the night! haha it was so fun!

Baby London!

My sister had her! London Jayde! Born September 3, 2010. Weighing 6 lbs 7 oz and 18 inches. She is perfect. Take a look at my beautiful niece.

i said YES!

so john travis harper and i planned on having a theme for the month of august. we name it "adventurous august" and decided everyday to do something adventurous. the first week went by great with new adventures everyday! so last thursday, august 5th, we are having our weekly date night (t-squared: travley (travis and joeley together) thursday) at ra sushi. just minding our own business, i have these two surprise guests show up- my sister smash and jordan sacca! i started freaking out! i was in shock and then started crying! what a surprise it was to have them in downtown scottsdale! travis and those lovely ladies planned it all! so friday we had a grand day and one of my best friends from college crissa met up with us too! it was seriously one of my favorite days with my girlfriends! i was sooo happy! we got manicures and got spoiled with great meals all day, shopping and some other adventures! little did i know that was not the only surprise trav had up his sleeve.

earlier in the week- we had planned on crossing something off our "summer bucket list"- the grand canyon! so we planned on going there saturday and having a picnic! trav came by that morning to pack our picnic and we said our goodbyes to the girls and headed for another adventure! trav told me to wear a cute sundress, cause he loves me in them and that we were going to have dinner at the grand canyon later that night. so as we hit the open road- having a blast singing and rapping the whole way up- it poured rain. no joke- for about 3 hours. i was pretty bummed thinking we wouldn't be able to see the grand canyon (and that i was wearing a dress!)

but as we pulled up to pay to get into the canyon, it literally stopped raining. God was watching out for us :) so we unpacked the car and headed up to have our picnic. as we were walking, travis spotted the photographer in our friend kelsen's car. he freaked out thinking it would ruin everything and pulled me in tight for a "grand canyon hug"! then he wanted to show me a "deer" in the opposite direction since we were "scouting" on the way up! i was so confused at his funny behavior cause i had to pee soooo bad! so kelsen's car literally drove two feet by us on the sideway and i never saw!

we then found a spot overlooking the canyon, but due to the rain, couldn't see into the canyon because of the clouds! we pulled out our picnic and i started pigging out on fruit and my sandwich. trav took a bite of his and i was felt like a fattie! haha but he was sooo nervous so he couldn't eat anything. the clouds literally cleared up and it was beautiful. we could see to the other side of the grand canyon! so then i see him mess with something in his backpack and i was like- what are you getting out of there?! he said- i brought a book. i thought it was kinda weird but what better setting right?! then he pulled out a piece of lamenated paper that was titled "our adventure together" and he started reading it to me.

it went from the very first time it all began (when he texted me on my birthday last year) with significant dates leading up to when he said, and on august 7, 2010 travis got on one knee and.... and as he did this, he got on his knee, and said, joeley will you marry me?! i said yes. Yes! YESSSSS! started crying! hugged him, and then said- PUT THAT THING ON MY FINGER! hahaha!

and he had hired a photographer who captured everything on camera! in fact, in the middle of it, i said there is a girl taking pictures of us! haha kari is the best and out of this, came this amazing photo!

so then, we got back into the car, prayed together and read scriptures. then he said- my grandparents knew that i was going to do this and wanted to buy us dinner on the way home in prescott. so we drove to have dinner at the "nicest restaurant" in prescott. we talked about everything on the way there. i called my family and some girlfriends and told them the news! they all were freaking out with me! little did i know, more surprises were in store for me!

so we pulled up to his grandparents house and as we rounded the corner, to walk up the side of thier patio, there was a huge banner that said "CONGRATULATIONS JOELEY AND TRAVIS" and saw literally everyone! my whole family came in from vegas! his whole family was there! and a ton of our friends flew or drove in from everywhere! i was sooooo shocked! another surprise! so all along, everyone in the world (almost) knew about this but me! and no one had slipped or anything! it had all been in the plan for months!

so to top off the best day of our lives, we had an engagement party that night and then a brunch the next morning! it has literally been the best weekend of our lives! thanks to all have supported and loved us through it! we love you all!

cutest.

i feel like my blog has turned from a single lil lady loving life blog to an obsession with my boyfriend blog. lol it's all because he is so wonderful.

so one night we were texting about dinner plans. he was going to take me out so he asked what kind of food i wanted. my reply: something similar to red velvet cafe (cause arizona doesn't have a rvc). so i come home from work, and see this lil note on my front door with this amazing man cooking me the best meal with a fresh bouquet of flowers, sparkling lemonade, fresh chicken salad and a dashing young man! it was so cute. i love him.

lion king.

so good! go see it if you haven't. me and trav LOVED simba and pumba. the cutest.

i got some things to say.... or type!

first order of business.

a. alice in wonderland. saw it saturday. marvelous. but she really got me thinking... and i want to do is paint white roses red. and some of her wardrobe was stunning.

b. is it really march?! like- it's almost spring. i can start dusting off the flip flops and sun-dresses. oh this is a happy day!

c. the littlest things in life, bring me joy. there is the cutest lil asian couple at the end of my block. today, i drove past them and they were carrying the trash can to the curb together. i can't wait to do that (not take out the trash- but grow old with my man).

d. okay bachelor talk- vienna?! really?! even though i knew it, i was still pissed. okay- i'm over it. just had to get it off my chest one last time. kinda looking forward to jason and molly's wedding tonight! hollar!

e. my best friend whitney is engaged! ENGAGED people! now if this isn't love- i don't know what is?! i'm so stoked for them. it's going to be the fanciest wedding. and i'm going to have the most handsome date!

f. shout out to jillie and dane! they had their small intimate wedding in the mountains of santa barbara! i'm so stoked for these two. they are beautiful in every way.

g. another random.... i'm real tired of going places where people don't flush the toilet. like seriously, we aren't potty training here people! grow up and flush! i'm grossed out even writing about it. ew. (i better stop bloggin' before i offend some people)

h. and the reason i blog- to brag about my wonderful family.

my sister and jebron are having a babbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I'M GONNA BE AN AUNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT! i'm biased, but it will be the most beautiful or handsome baby. in the world.

it's official!

i am dating this handsome studly man TRAVIS HARPER!
bloggers- meet trav. we met in college (there is too much to say about the in-between) and the rest is history :)
i haven't had a boyfriend in a long time, i'm talking 5 years! so to say that i have a boyfriend is a big deal! lol so trav is a big deal.

anyway, thought you would enjoy! cause i am :)

13 things to blog on the 13th.

13. i'm all over the map (therefore haven't been on here too much).

between weekend trips to laguna for work, phoenix trips to see my boo, or seattle trips to see my girlfriends. but i love to travel so i ain't complaining!

12. i did resolutions this year, and 13 days into the new year, still sticking to them! one in particular, to be generous. (now don't go calling me asking for me to take you on a shopping spree :) )

11. is it weird when your ex's start getting married? cause i think all but one of mine and either married or engaged. just a thought. i'm excited for them though. truly.

10. i love winter. bundling up; beanies, scarves, boots, cute pea-coats, etc. but vegas hasn't really given me the chance to enjoy it. yesterday it was about 65 degrees! is this global warming or is this typical? i can't remember!

9. i am really into vanilla lattes @ coffee bean. get one everyday. but to have the best foam, go to the one on charleston and park run. dylan, the barista there, will take good care of you.

8. i have been such a book worm lately. just finished dear john. oh my. such a good book. i cry every time i see the preview for the movie. and now onto finishing eclipse and breaking dawn.

7. i got lola by marc jacobs and i can't get enough of that smell. wow. it's lovely.

6. is it bad that i'm ready for summer? (i know i said i love winter but i need the sun already) i need a vacation, that's probably why. and i really want to travel back to this glorious place.....

costa rica! or maybe i just want to be with these girls...

5. my best friend whit is in love. she tells me all these cute stories and it makes my heart melt. i think my heart melts cause i'm a couple steps behind her in the process....

4. i'm really excited about ihope network this year. we have a lot of good things in store for the local homeless. we will also we traveling abroad to do some partnerships with human trafficking organizations.

visit: http://ihopenetwork.com/

3. the other day, someone told me "you are a cute little lady bug who fly's around loving on people." i thought that was one of the cutest things.

2. went to see beatles love. wow. what a production. favorite cirque show.

1. i think i'm falling... ya that's right. with this stud of a man.

thank you mr!

i ran across this blog entry and had to share.

hope you had a good halloween!

http://jaggard.blogspot.com/2009/10/ask-her-out.html#comment-form

ENGAGED!

shout outs to my newly engaged friends!

my dearest ASHTON HAWKER! get him girl! haven't met your fiance but can't wait to learn about him! i'm excited for ya'll and giggle when i think that i'm the LAST one left! it was the two of us but you got a man now :) love it! love you!

JILLIE RYAN and dane! i love this free spirit child. she met dane in her hometown of santa barbara, fell in love, and they traveled to portugal together (where he's from), lived in tree houses, and are now getting married! i love you beanie! soooo stoked!

 

sock match.

i had this wild revelation today. so i nanny (shout out to all nanny's) and help with whatever i can around the house while the three girls are @ school. therefore, i do laundry. well, i have this sock pile, with all sorts of socks, mostly not matching ones obviously. anyways, i've been doing their socks for over 9 months right. well the first sock i found without a match broke my heart. then today, 9 months later (that's like straight having a baby!) I FOUND THE MATCHING SOCK! then i start trippin thinking, socks are like relationships. everyone has to find their perfect match (shout out to linda and reggie on the engagement!). so then i was like, i just haven't found my perfect sock match yet! this goes to show, to all my single ladies (all 2 or 3 of you), to not settle on just any mismatched sock! WAIT for that right sock match because it will come! i promise. i was given proof today. brought tears to my eyes!