Feeling Thankful

Of course, you guys all know that Thanksgiving is upon us! It's just three days away and I'm so ready for everything, and by everything, I mean yummy food!

But Thanksgiving is always a reflective time, when people really sit down and think about what it is in life that they're grateful for. And as a person who follows quite a few blogs, I've been seeing a lot of new posts about it. So, in the Thanksgiving/blogging spirit, I figured that I'd do one myself!

What am I thankful for? 

1. My family- Of course, right? I love them to pieces and I'm very thankful for the blessed life that I've had with them. I'm also thankful that Kristopher is now officially a part of my family.

2. My health- When teams of doctors tell you that you'll be sick for the rest of your life and then a medical miracle happens, which results in you getting your health back, you learn to really appreciate your health.

3. Coffee- I seriously don't know how I'd function in life without this stuff.

4. Disney trips- They help me forget about how lonely I feel while Kristopher is away and allow me to create lasting memories with my family before I move. I'm also pretty thankful for the smiles that they leave on my face every single time I go.

5. Blogger- I am so grateful that I get to share my thoughts and experiences with the world via Blogger. And it's free, which I LOVE! Blogging is my new favorite hobby!

6. Books- There is nothing like curling up with a good book, some coffee and some imagination. It's my favorite relaxation technique. I'm also thankful that I get to write my own books.

7. Army life- Although it's the hardest thing that I've ever had to go through, I am so thankful that I'm an army wife. And I'm so grateful that one day I'll be able to be a part of the wonderful adventure that is army life.

I am thankful for everything in my life but if I listed it all, I'd be here all day!

What are you all thankful for?

-Chelsea

JC Penney Wishlist!

I am normally a very frugal person but the holidays make me feel like it's okay to spend money. I don't spend a lot on myself but that doesn't mean that I stop looking! :)

1.Love Reigns Sequin High-Low Dress


2. Trixxi Chevon High-Low Dress


3. Love Reigns Belted Denim-Lace Dress


4. Side-Cutout Dress


5. Decree Body Con Skirt


6. L'Amour Nanette Lepore Skater Skirt


7. Arizona Ombre Cardigan


8. Arizona Slub Cardigan


9. Embellished Heart Godot Dress


10. Jou Jou Trench Coat


What's on your wish list?

-Chelsea

20 New Random Facts!

I just read Kaelah Bee's post with 20 facts about herself and I realized that I haven't done one in a while. So that inspired me to share a little bit more about myself with you guys, so here goes nothing!

1. I have recently become obsessed with ThatcherJoe videos on YouTube. Seriously, if you haven't been watching them, you're missing out.

2. I love corny Hallmark movies. Not all of them but so many of them are just too cute not to love!

3. I am terrible at math! Seriously, just the thought of my math class makes me cringe.

4. I am totally non-confrontational. If we are having a fight, in my head I'm telling you off, but while it's going on, I hold back a lot. I'm much more of a pick-your-battles type person.

5. I still love to watch Grey's Anatomy but I think that they killed off/got rid of a lot of the best characters. I miss Izzie, George, Lexie, Mark, etc.

6. I read a lot of self-help books. I think that more people should. I find them very inspiring and mentally stimulating.

7. I am obsessed with proper grammar. If you use a double negative or say something like "most bestest" in front of me, I will correct you and tell you why you're wrong. People get mad at me all the time for it and I honestly don't care. Don't butcher the English language, please.

8. I'm afraid of needles. Seriously, I feel bad for my doctors when I need shots.

9. I'm addicted to Instagram. I have no excuse. I'm sorry.

10. My favorite actress is Anne Hathaway. Who didn't love The Princess Diaries, right?

11. I get mad at my sister for stealing my clothes all the time but I steal her clothes a lot too. In fact, right now, I'm wearing her sweatpants. Sorry, Kelly.

12. I love to read but if it's a popular book, I probably won't like it. I don't understand why that is but books like, The Hunger Games or The Twilight Saga, I just can't get into. Harry Potter, is of course, the only exception.

13. My favorite flowers used to be white roses and now they are lilies. And working at the flower shop made me fall in love with cutting and cleaning flowers. I make arrangements for my home all the time now.

14. I have never played any sort of Pokemon game. Maybe someone will teach me one day?

15. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I hate when stores start decorating in October. Seriously, I don't want to be sick of Christmas music/decorations before it even gets here! Besides, I live in Florida. It's not even cold here, so calm down retail industry!

16. I used to hate dresses but now I practically live in them. They are my new addiction.

17. My new favorite drink from Starbucks is a Caramel Brulee Latte (hot). If you haven't tried one, you definitely should!

18. I'm not used to my new last name yet. I have to catch myself writing/typing my maiden name on everything.

19. Yesterday I went to the shooting range and I fell in love with it! It was one of the biggest adrenaline rushes that I've ever had and I can't wait to go back!

20. I get sick a lot. I have the worst immune system of anyone that I know. But I've learned to live with it.

Surprisingly, this wasn't as difficult as I thought that it would be. What are 20 random facts about you?

-Chelsea

11/19

That date may not be significant to you but to me, it's one of the most important days of the year.

3 years ago today, Kristopher and I became a couple and started the greatest journey of my life.

He brings me so much happiness and joy that I honestly don't think that I could find the words to get others to comprehend our special bond. But that's okay because I love that we have a relationship that nobody else understands; it's like a special secret that I get to hold close to my heart.

All I know is that Kristopher is the best thing that has ever happened to me and my life has been enriched beyond belief since I met him. He makes me laugh, he holds me while I cry and supports me in everything that I do. He is my best friend, my person. I don't know what I ever did to deserve him but I'm sure glad that I did it. I don't know where I'd be without him.

He accepts me for who I am and never judges me. He always treats me like a princess and reciprocates all of my feelings. These have truly been the best 3 years of my life. I'm truly blessed to have him in my life and I wish that he was home so that we could celebrate this special day together. But it's okay, we'll be together for our 1 year wedding anniversary. :)

                                                     I love and miss him more everyday!

Happy 3 year (dating) anniversary, baby! 

-Chelsea 

Papaya Wishlist!

Papaya is my absolute FAVORITE clothing store and most of my current wardrobe comes from there. So of course, I'm looking forward to holiday deals and prices! But until then, I thought that I'd share my favorite items with you!

1. Faux Leather Lacy Bow Dress, find here.


2. Tribal Sheath Dress, find here.


3. Floral Top Chiffon Hi-Lo Dress, find here.


4. Gold Chiffon Lovly Top, find here.


5. Heart Print Cardigan, find here.


6. Cuffed Color Denim Shorts, find here.


7. Street-Femme Skater Skirt, find here.


8. Color Maxi Skirts, find here.


9. Zigzag Cutout Dress, find here.


10. Oatmeal And Black Striped Boxy Tee, find here.


Do you shop at Papaya? What's your favorite store? What's on your wishlist?

-Chelsea

Accepting Change

I used to be the type of person that hated change, no matter what it was for. To be honest, sometimes I still do. But I'm trying to learn how to accept change without letting it bother me.

I understand that change is a necessary part of life. I mean, life would be pretty boring if everything stayed the same all the time. But when I really started to try to get to the root of my problem, I found that I didn't hate change; I was afraid of it.

If there is one thing in this world that scares me beyond all reason, it's uncertainty. I am a planner, a list-maker, someone who is always prepared and in control. So when all of my certainty is gone or something changes, I don't always know what is going to happen next or how it'll affect me. And it scares the hell out of me.

But after my accident, I realized that life is short and sweating the small stuff really isn't worth it. Worrying about change is only going to make it worse, so I might as well just roll with the punches. Because of my life as an army wife, my plans and life are always changing and it's been causing me extreme amounts of stress and fear. But instead of letting my fear of change run my life, I've decided that I'm going to accept whatever life throws at me and do my best to accept change rationally and calmly.

Wish me luck!

My Upcoming Changes: 

• My university
• Where I'll live
• My job
• My friends

My life is literally being flipped upside-down very quickly and I'm sure that it'll all be okay, as long as I have a good attitude about it. And if it doesn't come right away, I'll just keep trying. 

Any progress is good progress, right? 

Are you afraid of change? Any advice on how to deal with it?

-Chelsea

Making Memories With My Grandmother

Today I went to go visit my grandmother, since I had a day off from school. The weather was absolutely terrible but I was determined to have a good day. I am very close with my grandmother and I visit her often. So I drove over for another day of fun with her.

We always exchange stories for hours and have a ton of laughs. No matter how many times I visit, she never fails to put a smile on my face. I could listen to her tell stories about my family and historical events (she was born in the 30s) for hours. And I do.

But I love it. Always have, always will.



A few weeks ago, my grandmother had a heart attack and I was really afraid that I was going to lose her. Thank goodness, she is still around and doing well. And as I was sipping coffee with her, listening to the storm outside and watching movies on the Hallmark channel with her, I felt blessed.

No matter what happens in life, it's the little moments that mean the most. I'm so glad that I have such a close relationship with my grandmother and that I see her as much as I do. When I was younger, she used to babysit me a lot and I spent the night in her condo frequently. We'd spend hours coloring and watching Disney movies together, especially Beauty and the Beast. And it brings me such comfort and joy to know that after all of these years, I can still revel in those wonderful memories and continue to make more.

The idea of moving away and leaving my family behind terrifies me and makes me sad, but I know that I have to do it. So I'm going to spend as much time as I possibly can with my grandmother, creating moments like these, because they shouldn't be taken for granted and the little moments truly do mean the most.

I love you, Grandma Stella.

-Chelsea

Meet Katie

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the most positive, upbeat people in the world. Everyone, meet one of my very good friends, Katie.

We originally met when she was drafted onto my team in football about 5-6 years back. Little did I know that she would leave such a lasting impact on my life. She has an uncanny ability to make me laugh, especially with her charmingly corny jokes. And that is definitely a quality that you want in a friend.

Katie absolutely loves this! 

Katie and I have a lot in common, which obviously strengthens our friendship bonds. However, we haven't seen very much of each other over the past year. But now we go to the same university and on Thursday, I finally ran into her again. She and I sat down for a while, catching up and exchanging stories. The topics ranged from fun and light to deep and meaningful.

You know that you have a true friend when you can be separated from them and then when you see them again, it was as if you were never apart. I could share my deepest, darkest secrets with her and not be worried about judgment, not for one second. And it made me so happy to release some of the burdens that I've been carrying around and knew that I could trust her with that information. It is really hard to find someone who understands you and when you do, you have to hold onto them with all you have because they are truly a treasure.

And Katie truly is a treasure.

I'm very thankful that I've been lucky enough to know her and I'm glad that we'll finally be hanging out again, just like old times. She could not have come back into my life at a better time.

-Chelsea

Charming Charlie Christmas Wishlist!

I absolutely ADORE Charming Charlie! It's my favorite store and I could spend hours there, perusing the color-coated displays. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite items with you all... and if you know me in real life, "hint, hint."

1. Totally Triangle Earrings: here.

2. Pumpkin Spice Latte Nail Polish: here.


3. Clever Girl Clover Nail Polish: here.


4. Lucille Printed Scarf: here.


5. The Bold Bow Set: here.


6. Ring It On Hobo: here.


7. Shirting The Issue Shirt Dress: here.


8. Frill Me Tank: here.


9. Cheyenne Chiffon Dress: here.


10. Bow No You Didn't Sweater: here.


Hope you guys liked the stuff! Can you tell that I'm ready for Christmas?

What's your favorite store? What do you want for Christmas?

-Chelsea

Melissa Explains It All

If you follow Melissa Joan Hart on Instagram, you'll know that she's been promoting her book, Melissa Explains It All, for weeks. Being a huge MJH fan for my entire life, I couldn't wait to pick it up! So I put it on hold at the library and raced over to get it when it was ready.

It's been out for a few days and I'm pretty ashamed to say that it's taken me 3 days to read it cover-to-cover. (I normally finish books in a day.) But although I do love nonfiction books, I don't always find them to be the page-turners that fiction books are, so I put them down a lot more often. I find that after my brain has sponged up a ton of information about one topic, I need to take a break. But nonetheless, I found it an extremely captivating read.



As a rule, I tend to stay away from memoirs because (I hate to admit this but it's true) I'm an extremely judgmental person. When I read Gene Wilder's memoir, I was so disgusted with what I had read, I couldn't watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for a year. I was afraid of what I'd learn from Melissa's book and wondered if I'd be able to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch ever again without cringing.

So the reason that I picked up this book was to take a step forward in the right direction, to make myself more accepting of other peoples' flaws and mistakes. And I figured that Melissa would talk about drugs, cheating and things of the like. Sure enough, she did and I found myself a bit upset with her stories of her non-stop party days and cheating on her boyfriend James with Ryan Reynolds while shooting the Sabrina movie.



But then I thought to myself, am I going to punish Melissa for mistakes that she made in her 20s? Especially when she's brave enough to air her dirty laundry out to the entire reading public?

No, I'm not. I'm going to accept that she's lived her life and it's not my place to judge, which is what I was hoping to get from reading this book. I really feel like Melissa Explains It All (a clever reference to her previous hit TV show, Clarissa Explains It All) was a well-written, well paced and informative story of Melissa's life. It was written in a conversational tone, easy to follow and provided a lot of insight to a person I adored as a child.



I don't agree with every choice that she's made but I still admire her nonetheless. If you haven't picked up the book yet, I suggest you do. It's a really good read and you should definitely form your own opinion on it. :)

Do you have any new book suggestions?

-Chelsea

Future Tag!

1. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I see myself married, living on an army base and with a kid or two.

2. Do you want to get married?

I am married but I'd definitely like to renew my vows in a few years!

3. Do you want to have children?

Yes! 2 or 3!

4. Do you want to move? If so, where?

Being an army wife, I don't really have a choice about moving. But I'd love to life in Oregon!

5. What does your dream house look like?

2 stories, big yard, white picket fence, etc. You get the idea.

6. What is your dream job?

Novelist!

7. What are 5 things you want to do before you die?

Have kids, publish a book, skydive, travel, rescue a puppy.

8. Are you scared of the future?

Excited, actually.

9. What is the biggest dream in life?

To make a difference.

10. What is the ideal age for you to die?

At whatever age it is that I've lived a full life. 

Tags are really fun, so if you're reading this, I am tagging you! If you fill one out, leave a link so that I can find and read it! 

-Chelsea 

Blog Challenge, Day 30: 10 Things I Hope to Be Remembered For

Well, I did it again! I finished another month-long blog challenge! I'm pretty proud of myself because, believe it or not, this is harder than it seems. Although it is nice to not have to worry about having something to post about. But with that said, let's post this last prompt!

1. Writing novels


2. Volunteering for charity


3. Being a good wife


4.  Being a good mom


5. Making my parents proud

6. For being a good influence
 
7. Loving Disney


8. Being a good friend
 
9. Always being myself

 
10. For being positive
 

Thank you to everyone that joined me in this challenge! It means a lot! If you participated in any of the prompts, don't forget to link up! I'd love to read your posts!

-Chelsea