inspiration/goodies : shades of summer s11:f2

Hi ya'll! Welcome back to my newest weekly feature: shades of summer! :)

This week we're going to continue on with these colors because I am just madly in love with them.

shades of summer s11:f2

{aqua}

the ocean at those island resorts I daydream about

the sky in the morning, before the sun peeps up over the horizon

{light coral-pink}

the puffy clouds at sunset
my cheeks. after too much sun

{white}

clover flowers, tied together in your hair

puffy clouds dancing around in the sky as you lie on your back

{gold}

the wedding band of my June-bride Granny

streaks of my hair in the summer sun

1. Braided Leather Cord - $11.48

2. Flower Headband - $6.99

3. Stack Wedding Ring - $455

4. Sequin Wristlet - $27

5. Elephant Brooch - $12

6. Indian Summer Bracelet - $27

7. Hair Flower - $20

8. Aqua Ring - $9.95

9. Coral Necklace - $36

Happy Memorial Day!
Please say a prayer for our troops. As I'm here on vacation with my family, many, many men and women are seperated from the ones they love so I can have the freedom to be here, on vacation with my family.
God Bless & Protect our Troops.
♥

fashion : vacation

Fashion can travel.

{The -ings : shopping, reading, lounging, exploring, vacationing}

Vacation1 by reginakay featuring ostrich handbags

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. Today we are leaving from Panhandle, TX, and we're driving 4.5 hours to Oklahoma City to drop off a trailer full of stuff for the tornado victims here. After doing that, eating lunch and letting the dog and kids stretch their legs, we'll be moving on for another 4 hour drive to Heavener, OK, to my mom's house. Please pray for our safe travels and also for the victims of all the recent storms and natural disasters. ♥

When I travel, I like to do so comfortably, but also with style. Not that I want to be all dressed up, but I like to wear comfortable clothes while still being able to stop at most places and not feel completely out of place in my favorite inside-out sweat pants and over-worn Backstreet Boys shirt.

This outfit would be a LOVELY outfit for travelling. Comfortable yet very cute. Don't you think? Plus I MUST HAVE a big bag of goodies when I travel that includes: books, magazines, notebooks, journals, LOTS of pens and my laptop. I love to pass the time reading, writing and reflecting on memories, thoughts and ideas.

Do you have any must-haves of travelling?

inspiration : thursday thoughtfuls

Find happiness within every situation.

Wow. The passed two weeks have been something else. And even though it's been a rough couple of weeks, I've really been praying for peace, and trying to enjoy the happy moments as often as I can find them. I'm not sure how your week(s) has/have been but for now, I think we could all use a little laughter in our day. ;) Enjoy!

image source unknown

please comment if you know so I can give proper credit

Are you a stress eater? I am. I've been stressed lately and that hasn't done well for my diet. But I did go wogging yesterday morning and it felt wonderful. Actually it felt horrible, but it also felt wonderful. :)

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please comment if you know it so I can give proper credit

haha... exactly. The same thing is true for being nice.

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Well... at least I have coffee.

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please comment if you know so I can give proper credit

This just makes me laugh! I want to take more hip hop songs and rewrite them in ye olde english.

image source

Friday evening we are loading up the tahoe, attending part of Shelby's graduation, then driving to Panhandle, TX, to stay with Joey's parents for the night. Then we will get up EARLY on Saturday morning, drive to Oklahoma City to drop off tornado relief items at our last congregation, and then drive to Heavener, OK, to my mom's house. We will officially be on vacation and I will be on a tight schedule of not getting anything done. Except laying by the pool, swimming and spending time with family eating yummy food.

I. am. excited. 

Well, happy Thursday ya'll! I hope you have a lovely weekend. Please pray for us to have a safe trip to and from Oklahoma and if you could throw in a prayer for peace for Joey and I as well, that would be great. ♥

inspiration/goodies : shades of summer s11:f1

Hi Ya'll! I feel like time is just absolutley flying! It feels like just last week that I was posting about my spring color crushes, and now, I feel like it's summer time already. This week is LB's last week of school (LG ended school last week), we're leaving this weekend for vacation and we have 3 weddings next month... all of this means that spring is over and summer is upon us.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Dionne posted about her summer colors and challenged us, her readers, with the question of what our summer colors are. I went blank. I didn't have any summer colors picked out. And then, even worse, I was bombarded by just about every color. haha. About the same time, the most gorgeous treasury made the front page of Etsy and one photograph in particular has been stuck in my mind ever since. Everything about the photograph just screamed summer and I fell in love with the colors instantly. I was thinking that those colors would be my summer colors, BUT I can't turn my back on the other colors/color combinations that are all things summery. Sooo... I'm introducing a new weekly feature: shades of summer. Each feature will be full of pictures and words meant to delight and inspire your soul and a collection of goodies to delight your senses. I hope you enjoy these features as much as I'm enjoying making them. And here's the first feature:

image via source

The photograph that I couldn't get out of my head. It's so gorgeous!

shades of summer s11:f1

{aqua}

the perfect color of a {swimming} pool

the shade of {blue} the sky becomes before {twilight}

{light coral-pink}

not just pink, but a {coral} shade of pink

the color of the {sunset} reflecting off the water

cotton candy and {bubble} gum

{white}

the sand on the beaches in your {dreams}

the most {refreshing} bowl of ice cream on the hottest day

{gold}

the sun sinking like a stone to the {horizon}

the {reflection} of the sun off of the morning dew-covered grass

1. Aqua Purse - $44

2. Suede Lace - $15.48

3. Beaded Purse - $45

4. Pillow Slip Cover - $28

5. Circus Necklace - $28.50

6. Ribbon - $3.20

7. Zippers - $5

8. Swarovski Ring - $30

9. Hoop Earrings - $29

Are you in love yet? Have you been delighted? Any thoughts yet on your shades of summer? If so, I'd love to hear about them. ♥

me : raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Hi ya'll and HAPPY FRIDAY! ♥ Last week, my friend Ashley tagged me in a Favorite Things post, so now I have to post about my favorite things. I'm doing mine a little differently than she did so be sure to check them both out! I'm excited about this because it's making me focus on some good things in my life and that's what I really need to focus on right now. Yay for counting your blessings! :) So here we go!

{my favorite hobby : blogging}

I love blogging. I've always loved writing, I've been journaling since I was little and now it's cool that I get to expand that to a blog and people from all over can see it. Thank you to everyone who reads, follows and comments on my blog. It gives me little warm fuzzies everytime I get an email that someone has commented. :) 

image via source

{my favorite shoes : TOMS}

I ordered these last night with my birthday money. They aren't even in yet and they are my favorite shoes. Why? Because they're cool, comfortable and for every pair of shoes you purchase, TOMS sends one pair of shoes to a child in need.

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{my favorite show : DWTS}

Dancing with the Stars is my favorite show. I love it every season! And on Monday DWTS ends and The Bachelorette starts and I'm REALLY excited about that too. I love reality tv. Always have. haha. ♥ 

image by: Regina Cummings

{my favorite site : Pinterest}

I love this site! I spend time on it nearly everyday. It's so much fun, I get so inspired and uplifted and I just LOVE that site!! You can follow me HERE.

{my favorite music : Mat Kearney on Pandora}

I've had my Pandora set on a Mat Kearney station for the passed several months. The music is absolutely perfect and I LOVE it! You should go do it too, you won't regret it. :) 

{my favorite food : stromboli}

This is the dish that I requested every year for my birthday from my Granny. And since my birthday is coming up this Tuesday and Granny isn't here to make it, I'll be making it myself and posting pics up of it afterwards with a recipe so you, too, can enjoy this scrumdiddlyumptious meal!

{my favorite day of the week : Saturday}

I love Saturday because it's so open to possibilities. It's like the one day of the week that represents absolute freedom. Of course, my Saturdays are usually booked pretty quickly, but that's because they are so free to have whatever done with them. ♥

And with that, I think I'll bring this to a close. It was a lot of fun though, so I might do it again... besides, it's always great to sit and focus on your favorite things. You can't fight the cheerfulness that brings you. :) 

And now, I would like to tag:

Jennifer of Colorfly Studio

Liv of The Saturated Palette

Anita of The Other Side of Me...

Alicia of My Life Through My Voice

Can't wait to read your posts!

♥

  

inspiration : thursday thoughtfuls

Hi ya'll! Whew... it's been a busy day! I had to take LB to an appointment for his hearing aid evalutation. He should have hearing aids in just a few more weeks! :) Then we came back and took Joey to lunch. There's some drama going on right now in my life that is just yucky and hurtful. But, I know that there is an end to everything, even to the hurt, so I'm just trying to stay positive. And now, for this week's thursday thoughtfuls, let's have an uplifting post focused on the light at the end of that tunnel. Enjoy!

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I'm trying to remind myself to do this, even towards people who hurt my feelings.

image via unkown source

please comment if you know so I can give proper credit

True. And it is.

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Right now, with it feeling like storm clouds are looming all around, I'm having to take my sunshine with me.

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I have often been a stupid person. Sometimes I'm a smart person. But right now, I'm trying to be a wise person.

image via source unknown

please comment if you know so I can give proper credit

This is going to pass. One way or another, it will all be over and everything will be alright. :)

And usually I just have quotes and images for you on thursday thoughtfuls, but today, I need a little something more. And there might be one of you out there who need a little something more today too. So this is dedicated to us: the hurt but the ever positive that the hurt will eventually subside. ♥

Happy Thursday ya'll! ♥

fashion : weddings!!!

It's officially wedding season. Now normally, this means nothing to me except perhaps a custom order coming in on my shop or seeing extra blogs/articles about weddings. But this year, I feel like it's the year of the Wedding. We have 3 weddings in June - Joey is in all 3 of them either as a groomsmen or officiating; and 1 wedding in July - where fortunately we are just attending. 2 of the weddings in June are evening, classy, elegant-styled weddings. And because I've never owned a little black dress, that's what I'm looking for right now. I'm hoping I can find a great dress to wear to both weddings. And because it's summer and I'm feeling spunky, I'm actually thinking of a one-shoulder little black dress with gold accents.

Something like this look that I created over at polyvore:

Evening Wedding by reginakay featuring flower jewelry

So last night I was perousing the tri-dubs for the perfect dress, and I found this one on dillards.com. I love it! I love the one shoulder, the fact that it's fitted AND the fact that it's knee-length. (I'm tall, I don't need anything short. I want to keep it classy!) There's a couple of problems though. I would have to work hard to drop enough pounds and inches to fit into the dress. It's very possible, but I would have to be very focused and driven. Joey said that would be my motivation! Also, there's the fact that the dress is $150. Joey said that's okay, every woman deserves a little black dress. It was at this point that my jaw dropped and I just stared at him asking who he was and what he did with my husband. I then asked him if that mean I could get shoes and stuff too. He said of course, how often do I get to dress up all fancy like! ohemmgee. I don't know who this imposter is, but I like what he's saying... haha.

So... I'm thinking... and we'll see what I end up getting.

In related news I hit TWO weightloss milestones this week. I hit the losing 5 pounds mark again AND I have officially lost 5% of my original body weight by hitting my first goal! Now, my next goal is 10% of my original body weight. Gotta keep on keepin' on! Especially if I want that dress. ;)

me : weekend recap

Hi ya'll! Whew... this weekend was crazy, but it was a wonderful kind of crazy!

Friday: Friday night, the Children's Home was hosting a Parent's Night Out so all of us Foster Parents got to drop our kids off for about 3 hours while we do what we wanted. Because it was Joey's birthday last week, we decided to go to the movies and Joey got to pick the movie. He ended up picking Thor because it fit within the time slot we needed and we really couldn't have picked a better movie. We got to the theatre just in time to get our pop and popcorn (we decided not to do dinner and just eat popcorn for dinner... haha) and get a great seat. Albeit, it wasn't great seats when a couple brought their kids and sat right behind us with the chattiest of chatty girls. (Oh the irony...) But it was fine most of the time. The movie was in 3D so it was pretty cool. And we made it back to the Children's Home right on time to pick up our kiddos and go home.

Saturday: I woke up about 8:30, walked 1/2 a mile, jogged 1/2 a mile, showered and dressed. Then I got busy with baking. I started out with the cupcakes, then moved on to Joey's belated birthday cake and the Smore Pops. (Recipes to come on a later post.)

By this time, Jeremy and Hillary (friends from OKC that are getting married next month and Joey's doing the officiating) showed up and Joey took them to his office for their premarital counseling. Mikenzie and Candace were also in and out visiting, hanging out, taste-testing, etc. Eventually, I got everything baked and decorated and Joey had convinced Candace to watch the kids so Jeremy, Hillary, Joey and I went to Lubbock again. We went to eat at Spanky's,a burger shop here that's delicious and well-known for it's Fried Cheese. YUM!

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Then we decided to go watch a movie and Joey got to see another movie he wanted to watch for his birthday... Fast Five. It was really good too although I thought there were going to be more muscles and cars and muscle cars... so disappointed in that. ;) (I hope you get the heavy sarcasm there.) There was one scene where The Rock and Vin have a fist fight.... I really was worried for both of them... it could have gone either way. The Rock is bigger, but Vin had more to fight for.  

Sunday: Sunday we had church, then I came home, ate lunch and got ready for the baby shower. I got up to the annex early, got everything decorated (with some help), and then we had the shower. It was for a young lady about my age from church. She's an ag teacher in town so we did the shower in a sheep theme with hot pink and lime green as the colors. It was bold, beautiful and was a lovely time. We had great food, lots of fun and I was so caught up in everything that I didn't take a single picture. Ugh! But, it was still a wonderful time. :)

Part of the shower decor.

The shower is for an ag teacher in town so I made Sheep Cupcakes!

By the time I got home, I got to relax for about an hour, then I changed clothes and the youth group came over for a devotional. After that we went back to Lubbock for dinner and when we got home one of the Youth Group Alums came over for some game playing. We played Nertz and Farkle. Lots of fun! :) Finally about 11 or so we kicked her out (sort of) and went to bed, completely exhausted. haha.

Like I said, it was a crazy weekend, but a wonderful kind of crazy...

How was your weekend?

inspiration : thursday thoughtfuls

Hi everyone and welcome back to thursday thoughtfuls. Today I'm just focusing on all the blessings and the good things in my life. I'm filling my cup with joy and I want to let that joy overflow into the lives of people I encounter. I hope when you leave here you feel lighter, you're smiling and you are inspired. And now let's jump right in...

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1 part joyful you. 2 parts sharing joy with others. Mix together. Fold in laughter.

 = a better day/life/world for everyone.

image via source unknown.

comment back if you know so I can give proper credit.

Believe in magic. Share that belief with others. I always try to see the silver lining, the rainbow behind the storm, the positive side, the good in everyone and everything. It doesn't always happen... but I still try. Your life is happier if you have a positive attitude rather than a negative one.

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I'm striving to be all those things. Are you?

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So do it often.

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Sometimes, my friend Amanda and I would decide that today would be "Accomplishment Day". And we would set out seeking to accomplish as much as we could and celebrate those victories, however great or small they might be. Not that we didn't do anything any other days, but sometimes, you need to put it in the front of your mind what you're going to do, and then relish in the fact that you did it. Celebrate yourself, celebrate life.

Today you only have one job to do. That is to be the best you that you can be for today. So go do your job. ;)

♥

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I don't think this is going to become a regular feature, but it sure is a lot of fun so expect to see these posts from time to time. I just {love} reflecting on and thinking about the things that I'm loving this week or today. It's like counting your {blessings}. You can't not feel {chipper} and {cheerful} after counting your blessings. And who doesn't need {more} chipperness or cheer in their life?

Sorry, I don't know why it showed up on blogger sideways... weird.

I'm loving this nail polish! It's called 'My Lifesaver' and it's actually more of an aqua color, but here in the picture it looks more like sky blue. But it's {fabulous}, and I love that I'm wearing something that I love, {regardless} of what people might think of the "crazy youth minister's wife". Being {me} never felt so good.

I'm loving our monthly {Ladies' Bunko night}. Although once a month is not enough for me, we should totally kick that up to twice a month. But that's just me.... the game player. ;)

I'm loving these bright beautiful [fake] flowers in my office. I'm getting ready to host a baby shower this weekend and the theme is hot pink and lime green. It should be fan-tab-u-lous! More pics on that later... ;)

I'm loving that in two weeks it'll be my {birthday}!

I'm loving even more that in 3 weeks I'll be {poolside} at my mom's house for a week. I'm so looking forward to having some mom & me time. We never had a lot of that before {now}.

I'm loving that {Joey} likes to come into my office throughout the day, sit in this chair beside my desk, play songs on his {guitar} (some dedicated to me) and just talk to me. I've come to really {treasure} those times. ♥

What about you? What are you loving today?

[feel free to make your own post and leave a comment here with a link to your post.]

And please visit my friend Ashley's blog to see her weekly WILW posts. :)

the ginger listographer : pets

Here is another part of my listography series.

This list is all of my pets. I've had several fish over the years, cats that lived in or around our house, dogs that came and went, but this is the list of all the pets that I claim.

 Enjoy!

Lady

{Lady} - an overweight beagle that was my constant companion and friend when I was a little girl. My favorite pet of all time. Lady took care of me but also helped the stray cats that lived at our place take care of their kittens. They all slept with her in the winter to keep warm. She is my #1 favorite dog of all time.  

Lady (R) and Ruff Ruff (L)

{Ruff Ruff} - a pomerian my brother and his (then) wife left at my grandparents.

{Bossie} - a stray tabby cat that claimed my grandparent's house his home.

{Tuttles} - Probably a stray. Most of my cats growing up were strays that "took up residence" at my grandparent's home. I named him after Aristotle.

{Nick & Carter} - Two beta fish that a friend brought home to me from a wedding he attended. Yes. I named them Nick and Carter after the one and only Nick Carter, whom I love to this day.

Me and Chispito

{Chispito} - a west highland white terrier I bought for myself early in 2005. I originally named him Chiquito, Spanish for small, but one of my Puerto Rican friends convinced me to name him Chispito, Spanish for 'little spark'. Chispito caused a fight between a close friend and I, I took him with me when I moved to OKC, but later had to give him to my roomie's parents because I just didn't have time for him.

Me & Minna

{Minna} - a gray and white cat that was bought for me by a guy I was daying at the end of 2005. Minna didn't like anyone but me. When I got married in December 2006, she hated Joey, Joey hated her, she peed on all of the Joey's stuff, eventually Joey won and Minna was taken to a shelter where I like to believe someone came along and took her to their lovely home where she still lives today.

Chewy opening his Christmas present in 2007.

{Chewy} - The first pet Joey and I owned together. We had Chewy for a little over a year. We named him Chewbacca because that's what he looked like when he was little, but then we just called him Chewy for short. Turns out, Chewy was a very appropriate name as he took to chewing up carpet in our apartment, house, townhouse and even my dad's house. After he destroyed the carpet in our bedroom in our townhouse, Joey said that was it and he had to go.

Gus front left, Topher back right.

{Gus & Topher} - After we gave Chewy away, I wanted another pet. What can I say, I'm a nurturer. We bought these two from Petsmart and we each claimed one. Joey got the boy, I got the girl. After going through several names, Joey finally decided on Gus for his after Gus from "Lonesome Dove", and I decided on Topher for mine. I like the name Topher Grace and even though it's kind of a boy name, I don't care. She's my cat, I'll call her what I want. Gus has since passed on, he was hit by a car last May and we had to put him down. I still have Topher. She's an independent spirit who does what she wants and expects us to let her in and out whenever she pleases. Something we have to do as she can be very persuasive.

Lorie as a pup.

Lorie playing in the snow last year.

{Lorie} - The summer of 2009 we went shopping at the mall for some shoes for me. We walked out with a golden retriever pup and no shoes. Joey told me he had always wanted a golden retriever, it was his dream dog. And how could I pass up on his dream, huh? So we got this tiny furball and brought her home and now she's grown up to a 50 pound beast. But she's a great dog and is now my 2nd favorite dog of all time... and is very close behind Lady for the #1 position. And her name... well, I wanted to name her Lucy, BUT, since she was Joey's dog, he named her Lorie. After Lorie from "Lonesome Dove".

Clara

{Clara} - The same weekend that Gus was hit by the car, a girl in our youth group brought us this teeny, tiny little kitten that they found by their house. Because Joey was facing the loss of Gus, I told him it was his decision. If he wanted to keep the kitten then he could name her. If not, we would take care of her till she got better and then find a home for her. Needless to say, Joey decided to keep her (he's such a softie) and he named her Clara. Also a character from "Lonesome Dove". Anyone detecting a pattern here? And as a side note, Joey really wants to get a chocolate lab and name it Deets.

................................

Well, that's all for now. I have plans for more pets... I have been wanting a yorkie forever, but if not a yorkie, I want some other smaller dog I think.

What about you? Do you have a favorite pet or a pet that you really want?

me : Mother's Day Recap

Hi all! Well, I guess you could say this was my first Mother's Day, since we do have our foster kiddos now. A part of me still feels very weird about it, almost like I'm a "mom-poser". But then again, right now, during these months of these kids' lives, I am their mom. So, for today, I'll set aside my doubts and feelings of awkwardness, and instead relish in the day that is mine.

But today, as I sat in my office, working on some stuff for my friends' wedding, I was thinking about how it's Mother's Day, and these kids aren't getting to spend time with their mother today. And worse, she's not getting to spend time with them. She made a terrible mistake, was caught up in the moment and did something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. Being the google nerd that I am, I decided to "google" her. I found a picture of her online and although I expected to feel anger at her for what she put those kids through, I instead felt (and still feel) very sorry for her. She's missing out on LB finally getting taken care of with his vision and hearing problems. He's going to start hearing and speaking perfectly soon and she's not going to get to hear it. She's missing out on LG learning how to count and spell her name. She's missing out on listening to them giggle about some inside secret that only they are privy to. She's missing it all and my heart hurts for her.

Okay... enough with the solemn, sad, sappy stuff... on to what else filled my day....

Now, I'd love to post a picture of the beautiful necklace that I received for Mother's Day, but I can't. We bought matching necklaces for my mom and I for Mother's Day and in the off chance that she might actually read this blog, I don't want to put a picture up of it. I don't care if she knows what she's getting, I just don't want her to see it beforehand. :) But I love mine and I know she's going to love hers. :)

Aside from that, today has been a roller coaster of a day. I had a bad hair day, a bad clothes day (I can't decide which is worse), I got to wear my new Mother's Day necklace, I got a sweet painting from LB from Children's Church, the kids took a nice long nap this afternoon, LB got really sick: ran a high fever, throwing up, Joey took him to the ER to find out he has strep, I cleaned up vomit, I did laundry, I got to craft and work on wedding stuff for a friend, I laughed with the hubby, I cleaned up more vomit, I watched an episode of Dawson's Creek... it was just a roller coaster. But all in all, as I'm about to go get ready for bed for the night, I had a good day and I'm thankful for the little ones tucked in their bed, for the big one that's getting me ice water right now, and for the Biggest one who put us all together in this life.

Here's a look at some of the crafting I did today:

Please excuse the poor quality of these photos, they were taken with my phone:

Bouquet for my friend. Before the sparkles were added.

Close-up of my friend's bouquet, with the sparkles.

Bubbles. 72 Bottles of bubbles. I finally got to use my Cricut Expressions cutting out all these tiny tags and then I stamped and tied them on by hand. All 72 of them. And you might not think that would take very long, TRUST ME, it takes longer than you think.

Well, that's what I did on Mother's Day... what did YOU do?

♥

fashion : an ode to saturday.

Saturday. Saturday. Carefree Saturday.

You are overflowing with possibilites and potential.

Sometimes, napping and laundry are best.

Sometimes, it's grocery lists and gardening.

Sometimes, you bring days full of crafting, dreaming, singing and dancing.

Sometimes, all I do is read. And that's perfectly fine.

Sometimes, I have events for attending and people for mingling. 

Sometimes, you let me go shopping. 

I love you Saturday. 

Saturday. Saturday. Carefree Saturday.

You are overflowing with possibilities and potential. 

You are mine. 

...............................

A perfect Saturday outfit :

Saturday by reginakay featuring lanvin handbags

Whatever you are doing on this Saturday, I hope you are spending it doing something you love with someone you love. Life is too short to be spent otherwise.

♥