SO LONG, FAREWELL

You were quite the year. I am a very teeny bit sad to see you go but VERY excited for 2013 to make it's entrance!

2012 was a big year because Josh and I got engaged! 

I started my senior year of college. 

Summer, let's be honest, kind of sucked. I was not sad to see any part of summer leave. 

My friendships with a few people really took off and grew this year and for that I am so, so thankful. 

I believe that I grew a lot this year, spiritually and mentally. 

This little blog here really took off, it has grown so much over this past year and I am beyond excited to see where it goes in 2013. Look at this throwback, my post from NYE 2011. My writing has really grown, wouldn't ya say? 

Now, for 

Here's what I know is on tap for the upcoming year: 

a WEDDING!

college graduation!

(hopefully, Lord willing) a big-girl job!

Josh and I have tickets to the Masters! 

my 21st birthday!

And I'm sure there are many, many more fun things in store for us. 2013 is really going to be a year of change and transition and I am so excited about it! 

Now, I am all about resolutions because I love "clean slates" and starting off new things, so here we go. 

Resolutions for 2013: 

-Read the Bible in 365 days

-Continuing growing my relationship with Christ as well as molding Josh and I's future marriage to be 100% God-centered

-Having a compassionate heart for everyone and not being judgmental

I'm sure there are some more that I will come up with along the way haha!

I hope that 2012 was fantastic for you and that 2013 brings you tons of happiness and joy!

GIRL LOOK AT THAT BODY...I WORKOUT

With my busy schedule this past semester I didn't have a ton of free time to go to the gym much. Last year I got in a great routine going 3-4 times a week and I ran then did abs and weight training and I felt awesome during that time. This past semester I did get to attend Zumba classes 2-3 times a week which was great and I really enjoyed them and I plan on keeping up with my Zumba regime next semester. 

I also want some sort of routine that is easy for me to do in my room if I don't have the time to make it to the gym, gotta look good for the wedding ;) 

I hate, like loathe, trying to imitate exercises I see on the internet, especially if they're just pictures and not video. I never can seem to figure them out. But I stumbled upon this 10 minute video that is supposedly a workout routine that Victoria Secret models do. 

Mom and I did this routine in the living room the other night and it was really fun and REALLY easy to follow and the movies were not crazy by any means. I think I've struck gold. And it's only 10 minutes so if you don't have much time, you can still fit this in at night. And even though it's short, it really works you out!

If you're looking for something new for your workout routine or if you're like me and don't have a ton of time. Check this video out, I definitely recommend it!

CHRISTMAS PHOTO DUMP

I had a FANTATSIC Christmas and Christmas Eve, I hope you did too! I made some seriously awesome pumpkin muffins for our dinner on Christmas Eve and this taco bake thing, I'm working on my wifey skills. 

Mom and Dad...aka Santa...got me some great gifts for Christmas and some things to take to London. I am so blessed every Christmas. 

I hope that everyone got to spend Christmas with their families, had gifts to open, and love to share and receive.

My heart went out to the families who spent this Christmas without their loved ones, whether they were far from home or whether their loved ones are in heaven. 

I hope everyone was very good this year and got lots of presents. 

Thank you, Lord, for coming to this Earth and letting us celebrate your birth and for giving us so much of your love and being ever faithful. 

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas from Josh and I! 

If it isn't obvious from the photo above, I think one of the aspects of married life that I am so anxious about is holiday cards! Oh my gosh, I just can't wait to send out cards to all of our friends and family. So I did a little make shift practicing for this Christmas to send to my blog friends via the internet ;) haha!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and enjoys time with friends and family. I hope everyone enjoys yummy food and gets some great gifts! And safe travels to all. 

Please take a moment over the next two days to read the birth story of Christ and remember why we even get to celebrate this holiday in the first place. I pray that Christ is the center of every celebration and gathering that takes place this Christmas. 

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

                                               ¹⁴ 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

From my family to yours, 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

COME ON, LET'S CATCH UP

Hey friends! Sorry I've not been around a ton, life's been busy...I'm sure you can relate. 

Ever since I've been home I have been on the go nonstop. I got one full day at home and it poured down rain and I stayed in my pajamas all day, it was fabulous. After that day it's been go, go, go. Daisy cuddled with me on my one day home, love that sweet girl.

Today, Josh and I went to his family to celebrate Christmas. We had a terrific time and they are so sweet and loving to me! I am getting a great set of in-laws if I do say so myself! :) 

Last week after Josh and I had gotten home from doing the last of our Christmas shopping mom surprised us with a mini engagement party! It was super laid back and my family just came over, we ate some seriously great cake and then opened a few gifts. 

I also caught up with tons of friends this week. It's amazing how much you realize you miss someone when you haven't seen them in...oh years! And a few that I just haven't seen in a few months. My friends Kellie and Kayla got me an apron with my new monogram on it...can you say obsessed?

Kayla, Kellie, and Rebecca also came over to my house one night. We literally painted nails, looked at magazines, and chatted for over 3 hours. I also proposed to Kellie with a shirt of mine that she has loved FOREVER...I'm talking like, since 10th grade, and I gave it to her. It was a precious moment, haha!

My sweet, sweet friend Tesla sent me this picture of the necklace she made for me for Christmas, it's an L and a J! Little did she know I have been LUSTING over these on Etsy but thought they were pricey and she is so creative and made one! I can not wait to sport this beaut. Tesla you are a jewel and I appreciate you so much!

Mom and I began wedding dress shopping, talk about exciting! And kind of overwhelming LOL!

Christmas shopping traffic has been INSANE in Columbia. Like, absolute madness. So many fender benders, people paying zero attention while driving, ugh it's been awful! And the stores...don't even get me started. Thank goodness I got done with most of my shopping relatively early so when I go out now it's not like I have to get something, I can just browse. While out this weekend I did wander my way to a clearance rack in Tar-jay and found this gem. For $4. 

Something else very exciting happened this past week and I can't wait to share it with you! I promise I will share it soon. 

Tomorrow Josh and I are doing our Christmas and going ice skating, wahoo! 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!

THAT'S HOT // ABSOLUTELY NOT

Because I love my blog friends so much I am going to share with you today what's hot and cheap and what's absolutely cheap but not hot. 

I've experimented with quite a few products and taken all the pain upon myself when they were absolutely terrible, just so that I could report back to you lovely people so that you don't have to go through the same pain :) Great, right?

I love a good deal, no doubt about that. And if I find something that is cheap AND fantastic, I can't help but share. I also can't help but tell you what to stay away from, even if it is cheap. 

So let's get started shall we? 

THAT'S HOT!

Suave Clinical Protection Deodorant

 I'm a girl that likes serious protection from odor under my arms but deo is ex-pen-sive, can I get an amen? Well, I've tried everything on the market and Suave is fab-u-lous and is a fab-u-lous price. Trust. That's hot. 

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Family Dollar brand fancy razor look alikes.

(I can't even find a picture for these but they are pink, beware!)

 Anybody else with me when I say I feel a serious pain on my wallet when it's time to replace razors? SO EXPENSIVE, like what the heck?! I hate shaving anyway and knowing that I paid an arm and a leg for a razor, yuck. Anyways, I bought these back in August because they looked like the fancy Venus ones and weren't all that cheap but certainly not as expensive as Venus. But let me tell you, these things are awful. Like, don't even shave the hair off your leg and the razor head flew off the other day and went flying through the shower. Awful. Absolutely not. 

THAT'S HOT!

Hard Candy Primer

This bad boy comes from Wal-Mart and is like $6. Great size and a great product. Love it, feels like silk on your skin! That's hot. 

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Elf mascara

This almost pains me to put it on here because you guys all know, I love elf products. But I got a tube of their mascara in an eyeshadow kit thing I bought one day and that stuff was horendous. It did nothing to my eyelashes, I mean noooooothing. It was just terrible mascara. Maybe a different kind of Elf that doesn't come with a kit will work better? Absolutely not.

Happy Thursday! Go find you a deal!

BE STILL, MY HEART

BECAUSE I NEED TO

I'm going to forgo a weekend update today and talk about the shooting in Newtown, because I need to, I need to write it out. 

On Friday I saw the chatter on twitter about a shooting so I flipped through my channels until I found a news station covering the story. When I heard that an elementary school had gone under attack I literally did not have the words to say. I was completely in shock. 

After watching a lot, probably too much, coverage over the weekend my heart is just so heart and so sad. I can't even begin to wrap my head around what these families and this town is feeling right now. Violence in the world is a scary, scary thing. 

To think about all those little babies that won't get to live out there life is so saddening to me. I'm going to get One thing I to wake up, Lord willing, on Christmas morning and open my gifts and spend time with my family. While so many families in CT are going to be continuing to mourn their loss. Those little babies probably had a tree full of gifts with their names on them...and most importantly, a whole life ahead of them that they won't ever get to live out. 

It is BEYOND me that someone can be so cruel and so cowardly. 

One thing that I do know is that I hope the families that lost their babies or lost an adult, I hope that they know the Lord. He will rescue them from this pain and hurt and the loss that I'm sure is filling their soul. He will take good care of those babies and those adults in heaven and I am sure they are looking down wanting to wipe away the tears of their families right now. 

My prayer for this community is that they are able to come together in this time and love and care for one another. I truly believe that for every mean person in this world, there are 5 more people doing some good. I know that this tragedy will take quite some time to heal from but I pray that their healing has started and that they keep the memories of their loved ones near to their heart forever. 

ONE SEMESTER

stands between me and college graduation. 

My junior semester wrapped up today and man does it feel good! It has been a looooooong and grueling semester. Who am I kidding, all of my semesters are grueling. 

But it's OVER now and I only have ONE semester to go. That almost seems like crazy talk to me!

Let's reflect on this semester why don't we? Hold my hand and let me take you down memory lane for the last 3-4ish months. 

-I started my job as Head Resident Assistant. 

-I teamed up with Mackenzie to be President and Chaplin of our sorority. 

-I went to meeting...after meeting...after meeting. Most weeks I was pushing 5 meetings PER WEEK. Tiring doesn't even come close to describe. 

-I took 21 hours of classes.

-I signed up for my senior semester of classes

-I was frustrated on more than one occasion

-I was filled with happiness on more than one occasion

-I wrote paper after paper after paper and did assignment after assignment after assignment and took test after test after test

-I planned lots of devotions and events with my council crew for Sigma 

-I had many late nights and many early mornings

That list is just a FEW of the many, many things that took place this semester. It was a great semester but I am not sad to see it go. I am so looking forward to beginning my last semester of college and enjoying ever second of it. 

Happy Friday, Happy Finals Week is Over, Happy Christmas Break!

Lots of happies today, I don't mind. 

I CAN FINALLY PARTICIPATE

In Wedding Wednesday that is! 

I guess since I'm engaged I now have a pass to join in on the fun for Wedding Wednesday, this is exciting my friends, YAY! 

Today is going to be a bit of randomness compiled into a blog post, nothing better right? So this is going to be a tag team of Wedding Wednesday and Random Wednesday. I hope that is OK with everyone ;) 

Just because I'm still giddy about being engaged, enjoy!

Facebook official! I felt like we got engaged all over again the day after we actually did and finally put it on facebook haha!

An excited car ride home!

Our first item with our joint monogram came today! It's going on the outside of my/our wedding binder!

I got the monogram sent to Josh's apartment because I was afraid it might not come to school before I left for the holidays so as soon as I get home and get it put on the binder, I'll do a post about our wedding binder. It has started to fill up a bit, so exciting! 

I found a few places in the Columbia area that I think would be fantastic for our venue. I'm excited to start making appointments with places to go look! And I think my mom and I might hit a few bridal shops to look at dresses while I'm home. 

Another piece of seriously exciting news is that I thought of THE most perfect way to ask my girls to be my bridesmaids! I had been a little on edge about how I was going to ask them and after a lot of searching the internet and racking my brain the best idea came to my mind. Now this weekend while consist of a lot of crafting. Good thing I have a stellar fiance that is on board to help me! I can't wait to ask my friends to stand by my side on the big day!

Now for the random news of my life: 

1. Finals suck. I am so over it. My brain is fried, I took 4 exams today and have 2 left to go. 

2. I made little treats for my residents and my RA's. I love Christmas time. 

3. I ordered some adorb tags for my Christmas presents today! 

Alright my friends, I think that's enough of my chatter for this Wednesday. 

Ta-ta for now lovebugs. 

STUFF THAT STOCKING

I think stockings are so fun at Christmas! My mom (and Josh too) are SO good at finding stocking stuffers! Mom always has my stocking filled to the brim and it is so fun to open on Christmas morning! She also can find the cutest stockings ever. Mine at home is currently a high heeled stocking with a bedazzled santa belt, haha! Something neat that Josh does is that he wraps everything in my stocking individually in wrapping paper and it's fun to have lots of little things to open.

Today I want to talk a little about some fun things you can put in your loved one's stockings this year!

For her:

- a charm for her charm bracelet (Josh gave me a puppy and elephant last year, in love!)

-favorite candy (duh)

-scarf

-pair of earrings

-cute keychain

-eyeshadow (or makeup) brushes

-lipgloss

-hot chocolate

-small devotional

-a good book

-bookmark

For him:

-earbuds

-iTunes gift card

-fun sports cups

-favorite candy

-cuff links

-sports coasters

-small devotional

-a good book

All of the items listed above I have received in my stocking or given to someone in theirs. Stockings are perfect for the little gifts that you happen to stumble upon when out Christmas shopping!

Many things in his and her stocking can overlap like candy, books, etc.



I hope this list gives you a good idea of things to pick from if you're stumped with your stocking stuffing!

WHY FINALS ARE DUMB

It is finals week...or sometimes better known as death week. 

So I'm going to take today to gripe and make my complaints about finals known. 

Indulge me for a little ok? 

Students all over America learn tons and tons and tons of information over the course of a semester. Take tests, get grades, the whole nine yards. And then at the end of the semester professors are so cruel as to make you take a cumulative exam and recall EVERYTHING...that you've already been tested on. It's just awful, if you ask me. 

And a lot of the time, it's your Gen. Ed. classes that have cumulative finals...now tell me, what will I ever do with most of the information in my Gen. Ed. classes after college? 

You're right, probably nothing. 

But alas, I must take these 6 exams and I have no doubt it will be horrible, horrific, terrible, and awful. 

But I am thankful to be in higher education, feeding my mind, and getting a diploma that (better) get me a darn good job one day. 

So for that college, I am thankful. For finals week, I am not. 

Here's to making it until Friday. And here are my sentiments about college. 

If that is not the truth, I have no idea what is. 

Happy Monday friends, almost done with this semester and my first to last exam week evaaah!

IT'S A LOVE STORY BABY JUST SAY YES

Josh asked me to marry him on December 2, 2012. What a wonderful day that was.

I had wanted to go hiking for awhile so we decided to take me to the mountains that Sunday. The drive to Pretty Place was beautiful and it was a gorgeous day. We had to drive up lots of winding roads and it was definitely a trip for the books haha!

We got there and walked into the chapel and it was rustic, quaint, and beautiful. There's a big cross in the center and stone lining around the chapel. We overlooked the scenery and took it all in then. Then we saw TWO bald eagles! How crazy is that?! I am certain they were husband and wife ;)

Josh got out his Bible and lead me to the cross where he started reading some passages. He read from Psalm 24 about the creation of the Earth and all that God created. He read this in reference to us overlooking the mountain at all that God has created and how beautiful it is.

He then read Matthew 19 about how a man leaves his family and cleaves to his wife and how the two become one. And this is where my tears starting flowing!

After this he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was absolutely perfect. Oh and before he got down on his knee he said lots of very sweet things!

Afterwards we celebrated by standing on the stone and shouting from the mountain tops that we were getting married!

Then he prayed our a new journey of life together and our marriage. It was beautiful.

When we walked out of the chapel later on we were holding hands and he stopped and looked back and said the next time we walk out of a chapel like this we'll be husband and wife! AH! Melt my heart people, really.

WHAT GOES ON THIS FACE

I've had a few suggestions to post my makeup routine, so here we go!

1. Hard Candy Primer- Walmart

2. Porefessionals- Benefit Cosmetics

3. Erase Paste- Benefit Cosmetics

4. Playstick- Benefit Costmetics

5. Tone Correcting Powder- Elf

6. Georgia Powder- Benefit Cosmetics

7. SuperFlip Bronzer- mark. 

8. Golden Bronzer- Elf 

9. Thrrrob Blush- Benefit Cosmetics

10. Highlighter- Mary Kay

11. Eyeshadow- Elf

12. Liquid Eyeliner- Elf

13. Badgal Lash- Benefit Cosmetics

14. Eyebrow Kit- Elf 

15. Setting Mist- Elf 

These are the things that I use everyday to put my "face" on. 

If it's not obvious yet, I'm a huge fan of Benefit and Elf. Complete opposite spectrum's of the money scale, but I think they both have awesome products. 

After I use up this Playstick I am going to buy Kat Von D's Lock It foundation. I read about it and then went and got a sample from Sephora and I love it! I'm also getting new Sigma makeup brushes for Christmas that are supposed to make your makeup look flawless, so I can't wait to try those out! 

Erase Paste is the best concealer that I've ever tried and that little container will last you well over a year. It is so worth the $26 price tag. It hides dark circles and acne like nobodies business, heavenly!

I just recently purchased the eyebrow kit from Elf and I love it. There's a wax type powder to shape your brows then the powder to fill them in and make them full. I had NEVER ever thought about doing anything extra to my eyebrows, besides my monthly wax and shape up but this stuff was cheap, $3, and really does make a difference. I definitely encourage you to try it out, can't hurt!

This whole routine takes me about 10 minutes, max. After you put your makeup on so often, you get a routine down and it takes no time to get your makeup on beautifully!

If you have any questions about the products above I would love to answer them.
 And share your favorite beauty products, I love trying new products!

FUR & LACE

In true Lindsay fashion, I just put on whatever the heck I want in the mornings. I mix and match colors, fabrics, whatever. If I like it, I wear it. 

So my newest creation a few weeks ago was a fur vest, top with a big bow, a lace skirt, tights, and boots. I loved it. Hopefully I didn't look too crazy. You can judge for yourself. But not too harshly, please. 

I am in love with this little vest. You'll probably catch it on the blog again some time in the future. And how lucky did I get that my tights matched the color of my skirt? Ha! Score!

Oh and this outfit, minus the boots, maaay have cost me around $20. That is what I'm talking about.

My fried Paige graciously snapped these photos for me after our sorority meeting. I have some pretty great friends to help me fulfill my blogging needs LOL! 

MRS.

Just call me the future Mrs. Colvin because...

I said YES!

Josh got down on one knee yesterday and asked me the most important question of my life thus far. It was beautiful, magical, and everything in between. His proposal was perfect and he looked so sweet popping the question.

I wish I had the words to tell you how ecstatic I am to be Josh's wife, but there are not enough words in the world to accurately express my love and emotion.

Our engagement story will hit the blog soon, so be looking out!

Here's to getting married!