Mar 5, 2012

My bliss, favorite of the week, and a new adventure.

Happy Monday! I think.

It's been a week since Nashville (where I'm sure you know, based on our constant tweeting, the girls and I ventured to BlissDom!), and I finally feel recovered. It took days, y'all.


The experience? Wonderful. Insane. The hotel was amazing. The bloggers. The music. The food. The wine. The SWAG. The prizes. The inspiration.

 I roomed with fabulous people. I even was given a new name: Heidi. Thanks Chris Mann. I mean, "Hello Heidi" DOES have a nice ring to it...



(Some of my favorites: Neely, Meghan, Amber, and Ashley. And I didn't take but a few pictures, so thanks for letting me steal, Ash. ;) )

We learned a ton, and we went on a few unexpected sojourns (Coyote Ugly, anyone?). I even took the time to take advantage of the hotel spa (best part of my trip, no lie).

It took days to recover, as I'm sure anyone else will tell you, but the trip was very worth the exhaustion! If you're thinking about going next year, DO IT!

As soon as I got home last week, I had to hit the books. Online classes can be a pain, that's for sure. I even had to do homework over BlissDom because I needed to be present for online discussions. But three papers and one project later, I'm finally done with school work for at least a week and a half. WOO!

Even more exciting, linking up with Erin today: I feel like spring is already here in Texas. And THAT is my favorite of the week.


Everything According to Erin


The flowers are blooming. The sun is out. It's simply gorgeous. I may even hit the road next week during spring break and go to the beach house for a day or two.

But the biggest thing on my to-do list is: I started taking sewing lessons. My grandmother - who I have raved about a time or two on this here blog - is constantly creating things. She sews. She makes mosaics. She basically kicks our collective butts. I have always been envious of anyone who can sew, so I thought: Why not? I'm giving it a go. I'm sure you will be seeing my many attempts through Twitter and Instagram.

Feb 27, 2012

...

Some of you probably returned from out of town to loving kids, husbands, pets, boyfriends...what have you.

I returned home to this:


Awww, thanks Neko! It's like a giant hug welcoming me home.

Feb 23, 2012

it's okay, BlissDom edition.

Its Ok Thursdays


Hey y'all. So, I'm with some of the most wonderful ladies at BlissDom, and IT'S OKAY. (Nice segue, eh?)

It's okay...

...to listen to Tori Spelling's book on audio tape during the road trip here.

...to think that a 10-hr car ride with friends ain't so bad.

...to be incredibly thankful Neely brought apples on the trip. 

...to hate Arkansas.

...to love Tennessee.

...to be a bit nervous for the conference.

...to be a bit EXCITED for the handmade market place!

...to love staying in hotels. And pull a Ross and take as many complimentary items as I can back home. 

...to already have gotten lost in the Gaylord Opryland. TWICE.

...to steal salt 'n peppa.

...to miss your boyfriend. A little. 

...to never leave Nashville. Ever.


#BLISSDOM! Find me on Twitter (@hellokiley) and Instagram (hellokiley) for many updates. :)

Feb 20, 2012

Phone fun and oh hai, I'm alive.

I can't believe - I mean, LITERALLY cannot believe - that this week is already here! In the next seven days, I'm going to be having so much fun that I can barely stand it. Blissdom, a Pure Barre class with some wonderful ladies (at 6am no less...I agree Meghan, Neely is crazy awesome and I can't believe she's getting me to take a 6am class!), and a wedding with some amazing people.

I know you all probably think I died, but I assure you I did not. ;) I've just been busting my butt trying to get back on track with new classes. It paid off! So far, all 100s this semester. Feels good, not gonna lie.

I'm also linking up with the lovely Savanah and Ashlee to post what's on my phone from the last week. Here goes!




Torchy's. Doesn't get much better! 
I would have bought this if I didn't already have a Moleskin I love to use. This is perfection.

Gratuitous sleepy kitty.

This is from a little over a week ago but it was so nice to have the gang all together!

My old friend V. I don't see her enough!

Gratuitous sleepy puppy. I haven't had enough Chuy pics on my blog lately, so you're welcome.

My favorite place to run. It's always quiet. I feel like I'm the only one around. (Oh, so I guess now you know where to kidnap me. Good move, Kiley.) Oh yeah, I started jogging. I mean, I do NOT jog. But I started Couch to 5k. I hope that I'll be able to take it seriously and keep going. I've never found joy in running, but Drew swears that a "runner's high" comes eventually. And if I'm going to keep losing weight, I need more cardio!

Favorite watch. 

New polishes. They are PERFECT together. I love Essie. It last for days and days, sometimes even without a top coat! At least for me.

Found this Rilakkuma iPhone wallpaper online. Adorbs.

And I leave y'all with more sleepy kitty. 

Pinspiration with Emily!

I have another fabulous guest post for you guys and gals today. Emily is one of the sweetest bloggers. Period. She is always so bubbly and wonderful to talk to, and I was so thrilled she wanted to guest post for me while I'm on my little hiatus! I especially love this post because my life has felt so...HECTIC...lately; it never hurts to find a little Pinterest inspiration.

Take it away Emily!
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Hey there everyone, I'm Emily from over at


I can't believe that Kiley is actually giving me custody of her blog for a day, she must have had a streak of temporary insanity but I'm glad she did!

For those who have no idea who I am, I'm a 20-something born & raised in Dallas, still here 'living the dream' with my amazing boyfriend and our hyper little puppy dog.  I am a sports nut and a girly girl just having fun and taking one day at a time! I am very new to the blogging world & this is my first guest post, so it took me a while of racking my brain to figure out what I wanted to write about and then the wonderful, amazing Pinterest came to my rescue!

I've recently found a few quotes  that I've printed out and put around my house because they are just the inspiration I've needed for a good long time.



It's so simple but it's so true - in all areas of our lives.  Whether it's love, work, friends or anything else you have to go after what you want, ask all the questions you can think of & always step forward!  So easy & yet so hard to do all at the same time...

This one is my absolute favorite...

Source: flickr.com via Emily on Pinterest


This quote helped me turn a corner, it helped me kick-start my rediscovery of a weight loss journey & just helped so many things fall into place when I took this to heart...  When it comes down to it, you are the most important person in your life & you absolutely have to love yourself first..

Don't get me wrong, I am all for inspiration but let's be real, sometimes all of the inspirational quotes in the world aren't going to be right for the occasion...  sometimes you just need to remember these few things - 


or



So those are some of my favorites... Hope you enjoyed my little take-over of Kiley's blog!  
Come on over & visit my corner of the internet sometime!