If money were no object..

then all these loves would be in my possession.. Just saying.

Have you entered for the $100 Colie's giveaway?! 

Never, ever, EVER...

Today I'm joining Neely for her one-day link up of...

-will you hear me say "No, let me mop. I love it."

-will I be the one who wants to go shopping (yes, I'm serious)

-will I ever think my closet is perfect.

-will I deny Taco Bell. 

-will I like the drama that facebook creates. 

-will you see me give up coffee.   That would be dangerous!

P.S.- Don't forget about the $100 Colie's store credit giveaway! 

BFF's + Colie's GIVEAWAY!

Blogging has been such a blessing to me and the lovely ladies I have on here today.

I met Jenna first when she started talking with me through e-mail.  The friendship was immediate and just to prove how sweet she was even in the beginning, she surprised me with a bubble necklace for no reason!  That's just who this amazing woman is... a true friend.

Hallie and I met a little later when I caught a blog post of hers discussing wedding-related topics.  Being that I'm getting married this fall, I was obviously interested.  But the more I read, the more excited I got.  You see, Hallie is just about my twin.  A LOT of the things she did in her wedding are the things I have in mind for mine.  We've been BFF ever since that first e-mail!

So, you see, blogging to me is more than just writing out my daily life. It's a connection for some wonderful women that I would have never found otherwise.  I'm thankful for these friendships.

Now let me show you these gorgeous ladies, aka my blogging besties!

Now, blogging also has other perks. I have been introduced to so many new styles, brands, and foods.  So Hallie, Jenna, and myself decided that we want to promote one of our favorite small business owners and at the same time give a big thank you to each of our readers.  We love you ladies.

Meet Ashley, Owner of Colie's an adorable, affordable fashion boutique!

 

Ashley always wanted a career in fashion, and always dreamed of opening her own boutique, but as any person in business knows, it isn't exactly that simple.  In 2008, her senior year at Southeastern University, she decided to begin her mission of helping girls everywhere sparkle.   As her middle name is Nicole, Colie was a nickname given to her by her Dad, and when deciding on the name for her boutique nothing seemed to fit quite as well as Colie's. Ashley hand picks each item that is sold at Colie's, and works very hard to find the most unique and on trend items at fabulous price points. I am hoping by now you have been or will go to her site and fall in love with all her selections. Your next step? Start making your wish list now because you have the chance to win a $100 dollar gift card to Colie's shop! Yep, I said it $100 BUCKS!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck and feel free to share with us your bloggy BFF stories!

Sunday Social [Link-Up]

1. Did you sleepwalk as a child?

- One time, I did.  I walked out the door and to the next house.... luckily that next house was my grandmother's!! Scary stuff though!!

2. Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house?

-I said I was going to run away once.. but I soon realized I'd want my mama at bedtime so I stayed home, LOL.

3. Did you have any imaginary friends?

-YES.  And her name was Seeda.  And the best part,  I had a picture of her.  It was one of those people's pictures that come in picture frames when you buy them.   

4. Did you ever go toilet papering?

-Only once.  We struck the band director's yard... & got caught.  &&&& had to come clean it back up.  FAIL.

5. Did you ever sneak tv shows you weren't allowed to watch?

-My parents were not too strict about tv, so I can't think of anything.

Turning Point.

Last night, B, his parents, and myself went to Tupelo to hear Dr. David Jeremiah speak.  And it was great. There was lots of good music, a sold out crowd, and a good message that was heard.  I really, really enjoyed myself and if you ever get the chance to see Dr. David Jeremiah, I'd recommend it!

To learn a little more about him, visit is page here.  He is a terrific speaker, and what I liked best was he threw in some comedy.  Some preachers get so focused in on their message, they forget to "interact" and I liked that he did so.

It was a really great night out with my honey and the future in-laws :)

 This is my attempt at a panaramic view of the arena.  Wow,what a crowd!  ((Ignore that I cut a man in half there....))

 My love :)

 Donna, my future mother-in-law.

Donna & Ken, B's parents. :)

In other news, I'm SO ready for this weekend.  BUT I'm not really the happiest girl about this rain we have forecast for us.  My engagement pictures are supposed to be at 4:00 on Saturday.  And well, they are calling for straight rain this weekend, with storms.  So my hopes of sneaking the session in are dwindling away.  I don't really want to get struck by lightening ya know? :)

But, even if it's cancelled, we will reschedule and they will be what I always dreamed they will be.  Just gotta stay positive.

Hope you all have a great Friday and a lovely weekend! :)  *Muah!

It's Getting Deep... about me.

Today I'm going to jump on board with Erin at Living in Yellow and answer some of those "tough questions!"

1. If you could do one thing differently in your life, what would it be?

I know I can't change how and when things happened because God has complete control of that, but if it was on my plate- I would have met B sooner.  We are both the people we are because of the things we went through before knowing each other, but I would love to think back on a life of getting to spend more time "growing up" with him. 

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Whew, this is a hard one.  I would like to think that in five years that B and I are living what we consider our "dream life."  And that's not meant to be a mansion with expensive cars, etc.  Our dream life is having a good stable home for whatever kids we might or might not have by then.  It's being more in love then than we are now.  It's doing the right thing by people and living each day to the best of our abilities as husband/wife and father/mother.  Simply put- Living the good life.

3. Do you honestly want kids?

Easy one for me.  Absolutely.   B and I have "the kid talk" a lot actually and he knows I would love to be a mother to his future children.  But right now isn't the best timing for us.  We are still a few months away from our wedding, and then would love to be just a married couple for a little while.  We met late in life and didn't get to experience a lot of "dating time" for just the two of us, so we need some more of that for our foundation.  I don't want us to rush into parenting without a strong hold on husband and wife first.   So, yes, we both want a child.  But he/she is not in our immediate timeline. 

4. What has been the best moment of your life so far?

This is going to sound so cheesy, but I'm saying it anyway.  The moment B proposed to me. 

For all purposes, I have given up on love.  I looked around and saw all my friends getting married, having children, or pursuing awesome degrees with great jobs.  I was not doing any of those things and I felt like life was beating me.  I had tried to date a few people, but they all ended badly and were terrible fits for my and my life. 

And then I met B.  It changed my entire life.  I don't even believe I'm exaggerating when I say it changed my family and close friends lives.  I suddenly felt alive again.  And I knew this man was special.  And meant for me.

So the day he proposed, it lifted every single fear of my past.  I immediately went into crying and didn't stop for a long time.  That was years of built up hurt/anger/sadness/frustration/fear that was suddenly flowing away from me as I looked at this shiny diamond on my hand.  In one bow of his knee, and realization on my part- life was changed.  And in just over five months I will become his wife.  The emotions I expect to feel on that day, are beyond my mind to even think about. 

5. What is your life theme song?

There is no way I can possibly choose ONE song for my life.  I think every day I'm a new person, so it would be changing daily.

6. What is one thing you have yet to accomplish that you want to do before you die?

Finish my degree.  I know that sounds simple.  But it's something that bothers me a lot that I never did and I should have.  At the time, I moved home from college with intentions of finishing locally. But then I bought a house, started remodeling it, etc.  There were always excuses to "put school off" and honestly, I was sick of it. I had been going for 16 years straight.  I needed a break. 

But now it's on my mind.  And I'm actually looking into doing it...

7. If you could choose one thing to be known for, what would it be?

My nature.  I love to help people.  I would rather give than receive any day of the week.  I would love for people to hear my name and remember what I did for others to better their lives, not my own.

8. If you could do anything you wanted right in this very moment (no consequences, no fear, etc), what would it be?

Turn in my notice at work, go pick up B, and travel the world with him.  I would love to see other cultures, and I'd love to have my man with me during that journey. 

9. What has been the most challenging moment in your life?

Home ownership.  It is really great to own your own home.  It gives you SUCH a great feeling of accomplishing one of those "life's notches" on your belt.  But at the same time it is so stressful.  And I've been doing it for almost five years now.  Luckily, I have a wonderful father and brothers who I have been able to call to help with things out of my comfort zone.  But it's hard to try and make an entire household work and function properly by yourself with a very limited income.  I look back on some days and have no idea how I do it, but I'm proud I have.  My house will be paid for when I'm 39 years old.  Now that is what drives me to keep going. :)

10. Summarize yourself in one word.

Blessed.

WILW

I haven't done one of these in awhile, so let's rekindle old times!



Today, I'm loving...

-That it is Wednesday.  I like being on "Hump Day" because that means the weekend is getting near!

-That I got a FANTASTIC catering quote for the wedding, which makes me more excited about getting back into the planning.  Honestly, these last two weeks have been HARD for me to want to with all the stress that's came with it.

-That tomorrow is the David Jeremiah event with B and his parents.  I'm really looking forward to it, and I saw yesterday that it's a sold out show! Awesome!

-That I tried a new place to eat yesterday and it was absolutely great!  Count me in for some Greek food!

-That it's raining today.  Weird? Well.. maybe it will rain all it needs to today so by Saturday we have great weather for our ENGAGEMENT PICS!!! Eeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!

-Coffee.  Period. :)

What are YOU loving today?

Tuesday Topics [Link-Up]: Four

1. 
It's the first thing I do when I open my sleepy eyes in the mornings.  I usually have a couple blog-related e-mails, some wedding related ones, and a crap ton of junk.  (I swear I've unsubscribed like 10 times to some of them....)

2. 
I debated about even listing this one.  Facebook has gotten so out of hand to me.  I used to enjoy it when people actually wrote statues and didn't share every picture under the sun.  Oh, and the letting anyone and everyone join- whew, I don't think I have a blog post long enough to support that.

However, with that said, I do still check it in the mornings.  But honestly, it's to get the stupid red notifications off my home screen.  I cannot stand the notification numbers.

You can follow my Keeping Up With Kayla fb page here.

3.
I love Instagram.  I think it's SO much more fun than Fb/Twitter because it's pictures.  C'mon, who doesn't love to see pictures instead of words when you're trying to be a stalker, I mean a good friend :)

I don't use it every single day to post my pictures, but then some days I use it to post like 10.  Forgive me.  Oh, and you can find me here.  Go follow me, I promise I follow back.  I'm nosey, remember? :)

4. 
Guilty.  I like Twitter better than Fb, so I tend to spend more time there when I'm having a "social media moment".  Twitter is mainly my blog friends though, with a few others mixed it. Maybe I like the separation!?
But I'm going to take this opportunity and say every since I saw a lot of hate going on in the Twitter land, I've been MIA.  I don't like drama, I don't do drama, and I have un-followed a ton of people because I've seen them either start it, but into it, or try to be two-faced and claim they are one thing and are really just as bad as the one they are bashing.
That's just not me. And I like my social media outlets drama free.  Sorry, I'm not sorry.

You can follow me on Twitter, here.  And maybe soon I'll get back into it.

Well, there ya go.. my 4 daily stops.  Past those, it's banking sites, Bloglovin', K-Love, and news websites :)

Where do YOU go?

First Things First [Link-Up]

First thing I would do/buy if you won the lottery

First, I would pay off all of mine and B's debts, and then I would decide the amount I would like to put back and where I would want to place it.  I would start our future child a college fund, and fix all the small repairs I need done around the house.  I would build B a brand new shop out back for all his tools, and I would honestly take a tiny bit of it and just go blow it on myself since I never get to do that! :) Hey, I'm honest. 

First person I call when I get amazing news.

B! Of course, that's the answer I'm sure you all expected, but that's my best friend, so he comes to mind first! :) 

First thing I do when I've had a bad day.

Crank up some music.  It doesn't matter if I've had a sad day, mad day, etc. music always makes me feel better because there is always a song that will come to make you realize your struggles aren't near as bad as you think they are. 

Weekend fun!

To say this was a good weekend is an understatement... this was a fantastic weekend! :)

Thursday night, B and I had one of the best times.  We laughed at stupid old memories, talked about old things we did as kids, and just really had a great time.  I love those nights when we can just laugh and have fun and it be just he and I.. our simple lives giving such joy to us.  It's in times like that when I know God gave me this man.. honestly.

Friday, we both only worked a half day and then we headed off to the Brantley Gilbert/Kip Moore concert.  We had such a great time!

The rest of the weekend I have been just plain exhausted.... but I did clean out my half of the closet.. LOL.

Sunday Social [Link-Up]

1. What is your shopping weakness?

Well, since I don't shop.. I don't know how to answer this.  I know, you're freaking out that I "don't shop" but this gal lives on a strict budget, and when that's in place there's no room for stores. HA!  But, I used to really love purses. 

2. What is your food weakness?

Pizza an chocolate, by far!

3. What is your go to movie to watch when nothing is on?

I don't really enjoy re-watching things, but one that never gets old is The Notebook or Field of Dreams.  Ah, love those!

4. What is your go to breakfast food?

Uhh, I don't eat breakfast.  Bad, I know. 

5. Do you drink coffee? If so, how do you take it?

I wouldn't function without coffee.  But it MUST have creamer, anything like hazelnut or french vanilla, etc.

It's Ok [Link-Up]

It's OK...

-that I really am just ready for the weekend to be here!  B and I have plans! :)

-that wedding stuff is STRESSING me out, because come October 12th, it will all be worth it!!!

-that I love GOD, more people should! :)

-that it breaks my heart to hear about Boston.. people really are cruel and this world is scary.

-that I skipped the tanning bed last night.  I just wasn't in the mood.

-that I was too lazy to plug up my phone last night, and I woke up with 2% left.  Oops.

-that it's Thursday and all I can think about is I get a see my man tonight!!!!!!!! :)

Have a great Thursday you pretties!

Fess it up!

Two posts in one day.

Shocker.

But today I was reading through some blogs and I was on Rachel's page and saw where she had joined up with this pretty girl named Tami.  I flipped over to her blog and immediately became a follower.  Her confession post was super funny, so here's my stab at mine!

I confess..

-I love pizza more than anything.  Really, I think I could eat it daily.. and if this wedding wasn't coming so soon, I just might do that.  But no one wants to see pizza butt on my wedding day.  womp, womp.

-I want to move in with Hallie and Jenna, in our mansion on the beach.   Okay, so that's clearly never going to happen....... unless I hit the lottery, then COME ON GIRLS.... but I had to throw this in there! :)

-I bite my nails.  It's ugly, it's dirty, most of you are probably un-following me right now, but it is what it is.  I have since 2nd grade, and I don't see it stopping.. therefore, I'll be fake on the wedding day.

-I don't want to have food at my wedding.  It's getting on my nerves finding a caterer and getting all that finalized.  I feel like it's making me angry with life.  Ready for this part to be OVER.

-I have to change pens, a lot.  I can't write with the same pen a full week unless it's a GOOD pen.  I'm a pen snob.

-I think my diamond is the best.  No lie, it's my baby.

-I keep chocolate in my house at all times.  Weird or smart!?

-I like to "take care" of B, but when I see him fold clothes/wash dishes/etc. I think it's an even better feeling.  #lucky

-I work in a bank, and I use the calculator for ridiculous things.  It's became too easy and a habit.

-I'm indecisive.  BAD.

-I'm a cheap-butt.  I spend NO MONEY.

-I don't get why people like celebs so much.  Sure, I have a few I enjoy (basically cause they sing a certain song..) but I don't get all crazy over them and stalk their personal lives.

-I think I'm confessing too much... more later! ;)

Special Day.

It's someone special's birthday.........

Blake, there are not enough words to tell you how much I love you! :)  You hold such a special place in my heart and I can't wait to see you grow into the man I know you're striving for!  Uncle B and I love you SO much and hope today is a great day!  You're in those double digits now... Welcome to the best part of your life! :)

First Things First [Link-Up]

First movie you went to without your parents

First sport you played (either Little League-style or in school)

First major injury

First movie without my parents:
I really have no idea.  This should probably stick out to me a little more than it should but when I was growing up, my parents weren't strict on me at all since I was always with friends, so I'm not sure what the movie was, but I'm sure it was fun, LOL.:)


First Sport You played:
Easy one for me, I DIDN'T.  I'm not athletic at all.  Although, I did win this basketball shooting contest at school... but it never went any farther than that.  

First major injury:
Thankfully, I've never REALLY had an injury that just happened.  Although I consider my back an injury every day because it keeps me from doing a lot. :(

Weekend Love.

Man, are we already back at Monday!?!?!  I really the weekends would last longer..

So let's see, Friday night, I rode with Cassie and Liz to a "ladies night" and we had a ball.  I think each one of us needed to get out of the house and away from all the "normal" things going on.  It was so much fun, and I'm so sad I didn't pictures except my food.  Weird?!

Saturday, I got up and went to town with Mom and Jenna and then hung out with those two awhile. We got out and let our princess play at a local fundraiser...

And then we loaded up and went to the park, for more play time!  Oh, and she dressed herself! ;)

Saturday night, I spent some time with the future hubs and I loved it.  I really can't wait until he is my husband and we don't have certain nights of the week he is here.  Even if he's in the other room doing his own thing, it will be GOOD to know he is home with me.  I'll be living out my fairytale. :)

Sunday, I went to my wedding venue and met with my decorator to discuss all the details and now I'm SO excited about it.  I know some people are probably tired of hearing about it and talking about it, but some people don't understand just how much this day means to me.  So I'll be happy about it all I want.  I've dreamed of this day and experienced a life where I didn't think this was a reality and for someone to look down about me being excited about it all, saddens me.  But it will be a wonderful day and I'm looking forward to being the bride I've always dreamed of being, end of story.

See that cross in the background?! Yep.. I'm saying my vows in the very spot I was standing when this pictures was taken.  AHH, can't wait! :)

Sunday Social [Link-Up]

1. When did you join twitter?

I joined sometime in early 2012.  

It took me awhile to figure out what was even going on, LOL.

2. Who is your favorite non-celeb to follow?

@a_squared83 My friend Amanda! 

3. Who is your favorite celeb to follow?

Honestly, I don't follow any celebs that I can think of.  I'm not big into celebs like most people. 

4. Have you ever had a celeb respond to a tweet?

Nope, I've never sent one.. LOL

5. What is your favorite store/brand to follow?

Marley Lily and KiKi La'Rue

6. Give us three tweeps we should be following.

@hallieberry @jennadk @hooahandhiccups

Happy Sunday!