HEARTPUP.

I am so excited about this puppy carrier I just HAD to write a blog post about it! 

(and naturally post a tacky mirror selfie because I'm not one of those cool blogger that has a professional photographer for everything)

I have been eyeing this puppy sling since February! I even tried to duplicate it (thanks for your help, Mom!)... Which ended up to be an absolute waste of time, because Mollie grew out of it in like 2 seconds. Thankfully this darling company, Heartpup, went on Shark Tank recently and so they were having a sale (finally). Huzzah! Me and Mollie could not be happier with this purchase! I mean, just look at her cute little face in the picture. She is in puppy heaven! If you have a little furry friend you should definitely look into investing in one of these. 

PS. I didn't take a picture of it, but there is a secret pocket to keep all your special things in. Yay! Anything with pockets is an A+ in my book! 

xoxo 

Carlie 

MY LIFE ON REPEAT.

Long time no see friends! Sorry, it's been a hot minute since I last wrote on the old blog-eroo. Life seems to have gotten away from me. It tends to do that you know. Well, as you can tell, things have changed a bit around here. Big shout out to the lovely Kaylie Marie, the greatest blog designer in the world! {Check out her gorgeous work when you get the chance.}

Any-hoo. I figured the best way to jump back into this would be to do a little post about my favorite things as of late. These five things are the constantly on repeat in my life right now. 

{I am no photographer. No judging, please.}

#1. The Perfect Fall Booties:

Sam Edelman Booties {Porter}

Okay, so I got these gems just this week, but I'm pretty sure they will be seen on my feet almost daily in the months to come. They are my first pair of Sam Edelman shoes {that have been LONG awaited}. Sam Edelman is hands down one of my most favorite shoe designers. There is just something about the versatility of his designs that make them a perfect staple item in any girls' wardrobe. 

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#2. The Perfect Lipgloss:

Buxom Full On Lip Cream {Mudslide}

Ladies, let's be real for a second. We all know it's near impossible to find a gloss that has a long wear life, but isn't too sticky. Well, look no further, Buxom has created the perfect lipgloss. My favorite shade is Mudslide {With a close second being White Russian}. It is a pinky neutral, that has just enough color to add a certain pop to your lips. It's long wearing. Not too sticky. And best of all.... It plumps! Ahhhhh yeah. I wasn't kidding when I said it was perfect. 

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#3. The Perfect Headphones:

Marley {Smile Jamaica}

I have been on the search for some good headphones for months now. {Ever since sweet little Mollie did me the favor of chewing through mine. Love her.} I read review after review online of many different types of headphones, but one never stood out to me. Then one day at good ol' Target I stumbled across these lovelies. They were aesthetically pleasing, and seemed to have all the features I was looking for... So I took the chance and bought them on a whim. And boy, they do not disappoint. They have great sound quality. A microphone that also allows you to skip to the next song, pause, or go back {which is a MUST for me when it comes to headphones}. A tangle-free fabric cord. Earth-Friendly {made from certified beech wood and recyclable aluminum}. And best of all, a portion of the proceeds goes to support the 1Love Global Charitable Movement. Win-Win in my opinion. 

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#4. The Perfect Read: 

Maze Runner Series

Thank you to my dear husband for introducing me to this series. He read all of the books as they were released, and is a huge James Dashner fan. {Fun little FYI, James Dashner lives Sandy, and frequently does book signings around here. How fun!} Chase was so excited to go see the movie when it was released, but said I needed to read the book before we went. So, I read it in about 3 days time, which is a huge deal because I am not a fast reader! 

I am currently on the second book {The Scorch Trials}, and loving this one even more than the first. I recommend this series to anyone looking for a great, quick, entertaining read. 

WARNING: The books are pretty graphic/gory at times. So if you are faint of heart, maybe this isn't the series for you. 

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#5. The Perfect Jam: 

Misterwives 

Thank you Spotify for recommending this little gem of an album to me. They recently did a Spotify Session that is to die for as well. I'll let the music speak for itself. Take it or leave.

Hope you give some of these a try, and maybe they will soon become your favorites as well!

xoxo

Carlie 

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

Well, Carlie and I have been married for nearly a month (this coming Monday is the mark). So, I thought I would share a few thoughts as to what it takes to have that happy home (in my opinion).

Life can be hard at times and the banality of it all can be exhausting. Here is my daily, pliant Monday- Friday schedule:

5:50am- Wake up and check on Mollie

6:00am- Breakfast, shower, and get dressed

6:25am- Hug and kiss my Mrs. goodbye

6:30am- Head out the door

6:30-6:45am- I have a peaceful 15 minute drive to the Layton Front Runner Station

7:02am- Hop on the South Bound train to the great city of Orem

8:30am (approx.)- Arrive at the Orem Station

8:30-9:00am- I have about half an hour to scrap my ever-so frosted windows, drive over to UVU, find a place to park (which takes nearly 10 minutes all on it's own), and then take the long and tedious, but breath taking, walk to the GT building clear on the other side of campus (why I don't park by that building is beyond me... but I could use the exercise I suppose)

9:00-11:00am- Enjoy school for 2 hours

12:00-8:00pm- Head to work at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in the lab for 8 hours

8:02pm- Catch the North Bound train to Layton

9:30pm (approx.)- Arrive at the Layton Station

10:00pm- Finally arrive home after spending 18 hours of my day gone at work, school, and on the road away from my beautiful wife.

Now, I know that this all may sound a bit prosaic or monotonous, but mind you that as most married folks quickly learn, you will do some of the most tedious of tasks for your spouse and family. Love is a powerful emotion that, if used right, can make you feel like you are on top of the world. (Even if you only have 1 dollar to your name.)

Each day when I arrive on the train, typically around the Farmington station I will receive a text from by beloved wife telling me already how much she misses me (and loves me) or will tell me something that Mollie may have done (she's turning into a crazy dog lady). These little things are what help me get through the train ride 'cause in all honesty sometimes you meet some very interesting folks on the train.

*On a side note: I one time met a lady on the train who was bummed out that I had a full time job for the innate fact she was looking for a pimp because she was "good at making money on the street"...*

Again, Carlie's text messages get me through the train rides and she started doing little things like this long before we were married.

In my opinion, it is those little things that you did while you were dating that will keep your home happy once you're married, if you consciously continue to do them. Sure Carlie and I aren't perfect, but one thing that I have realized is that when we have stop doing those little things, we end up at opposite ends of the relationship.

Pick your battles. This is a huge one, because some battles just are not worth fighting over. One thing that I've learned is that it's easier to just go with the flow vs. throwing your hands in the air as if to say "what the hell". Just chill. I remember one fight that Carlie and I got into, it was over the aspect of who organized the pantry shelf better. (This one was on me.) I was off work and thought I would organize our pantry and put some of the food storage away while Carlie was gone to an appointment. So I began to do the task at hand... and Boom! finished it. I thought it looked pretty rad considering I am not a food storage organizer at all. Then Carlie came home and I showed her what I did. She was more than impressed, but I noticed she started changing some things around and instantly I was in that "what the hell" phase of the fight. Instead of just waiting for Carlie to finish what she was doing, I just got grumpy about it and snapped at her for changing all my hard work. Needless to say after all was said and done the only reason Carlie changed a couple of things to my mountainous food trophy was because she couldn't reach it. She just moved a few essentials down to her level (she's so tiny) so she could reach it for when she cooked or baked for us. I just assumed she hated my sorting abilities (they're great by the way), when really she just couldn't reach. Pay attention to the little things folks.

Guys send your wife flowers, buy her gifts, write her notes of "I love you" and post them around the house. Carlie did this for me the other day (the notes not the flowers), and it made my day to come home from a long days work to find that. While most couples dating have no problem financially buying gifts or doing something for said boyfriend or girlfriend, once you are married it feels different. You tend to find yourself thinking "We really don't have the money for these flowers right now, we need to save..." Yeah saving is so important and I can't stress that enough, but buy the flowers. But don't just limit it to that, "flowers" can mean a myriad of different things. It can mean make your wife dinner (I will do that soon), clean her car, make the bed, or just make sure you tell her that you love her in the most genuine way you can muster.

   

Girls compliment your husband. Let him know that you care, you love him, that he is your hero. Shoot we also like surprise gifts too! Clean our car, fold our laundry (you know, that laundry you've been nagging us fold but have been neglecting because maybe we are too busy to get to), or instead of buying us flowers get us a new book or something that is of the same value. You know us and what we like. Keep it simple. That is when your home will be a happy home. So here are a list of things to keep it a happy home (keep in mind this is just my opinion of things I have noticed over the last month, I am no expert on marriage):

1. Keep doing the simple things. A simple text or words of affirmation go a long way.

2. Pick your battles carefully. Some fights just aren't worth it.

3. Positive reinforcement is key. Focus on the good things they do vs the bad.

4. Love your spouse like you loved them when you were dating. Keep those butterflies flying.

Cheers.

Chase

MISS MOLLIE.

Last night my lifelong dream came true {all thanks to my wonderful, adorable, handsome, hunk of a husband}

WE GOT A PUPPY!!

Now let me back up a little and explain... 

I was that little girl every parent dreads of having. You know, the one that begs endlessly for a puppy. Anytime a holiday rolled around you knew what was going to be on the top of my list of wants... You guessed it, A PUPPY! Sometimes that was the only thing I would ask for, but my parents were very wise and never caved in. Although, they were always good at getting me a stuffed animal puppy. They would tell me, "They're just like a puppy, but without the mess." But little Carlie wasn't persuaded;  finally my wish came true. I have a real live, breathing, sleeping, cuddly, playful, poopie little puppy! And we couldn't be happier. She is darling beyond explanation.

NAME: Mollie

AGE: 8 Weeks Old

BREED: Pomchi {Pomeranian/Chihuahua Mix}

SIZE: Itty Bitty Tiny {Mom is a 6lb. Pomeranian and Dad is a 3lb. Chihuahua} 

FAVORITES: Cuddling, being swaddled in a blankie, and sleeping. 

TALENTS:  Sleeps all through the night without any problems, doesn't bark, and already potty pad trained. 

We love her to death and are so excited to have her be part of our family. 

xoxo

Carlie

THIS MAN I CALL HUSBAND.

01.03.14

{Thanks for the picture Kaylie}

Has it really been two whole weeks already? And I seem to love him more and more everyday. Amazing how that can happen, huh?

Well, normally I'm a pretty private person when it comes to my life being on the internet, so this post is going to be a bit different than anything I've ever done before {other than it being my first blog post ever}, so bear with me. I'm opening up about what has been "our" life for about the last month or so. I'm not doing this to receive pity or charity from anyone; so don't think for a second that's the nature of this post. Instead, it is to honor that incredibly handsome man standing next to me in the photo. That man, who when two weeks ago made me the luckiest woman alive by making me his wife, had no idea of the trials he had coming his way.

Many of you won't know this, but about 2-3ish weeks before our wedding I started having seizures. The doctors {up until yesterday... more on that later} believed they were psychological seizures that are triggered by stress or possibly even the daily migraines I get. They scheduled me for all sorts of tests to try and help us determine what kind of seizure we are dealing with, and put me on a prescription medication called Topamax, this is most commonly used for in the treatment of neurological seizures and migraines. The doctor warned that this medication would either improve my moods greatly {awesome} or cause them to get much worse {not so awesome}. Of course my body decided to choose the later reaction. I became an emotional roller coaster, becoming aggressive and emotionless all at the same time. But Chase has proven to me time and time over the true meaning of...

unconditional love.

He never ceases to amaze me with his patience and understanding or his ability to take a walk in my shoes and see things from my perspective. I have truly hit the jackpot and found the most wonderful man on earth. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I will eternally be thankful to have him in my life and to be able to wake up to him each and every morning. He's been my rock through this crazy adventure so far, and I know I wouldn't be able to continue on it without him. He is always there to hold me through my seizures, whispering words of love and encouragement in my ear until my body has decided it's time to stop. He is always there when I need to call him, whether he is at school, work, or to get a pep talk, so that I feel like I can continue on with my day. He is always there when I need my best friend to just sit and say nothing, but just merely be there next to me when I don't feel like being alone, but I don't quite feel like doing or saying anything either. 

He is the best, and he is all mine. 

Yesterday we went back to neurologist to get a couple more tests done as well as go over all the test results thus far with him. The doctor is now thinking they might be more along the lines of neurological seizures, not psychological like we've been thinking up to this point. But we still have no answers and are merely seeking treatment off of possibilities through trial and error. I also found out this week that my driver's license has been revoked and it is illegal for me to drive until I go 90 days without a seizure. In the words of my doctor, "It doesn't matter if you have a seizure on day 89, you roll back to 0 and start back over. 90 days is 90 days." {Just to clarify, I haven't been driving up to this point. My sweet mother has been driving me to all my appointments, school, work, etc. but there is a huge difference in willingly doing that in order to be safe for yourself and others and being told you aren't allowed to do it.}With Chase by my side as my support group I know we will get through this and we will be stronger than ever because of it. 

I just wanted to end with one of my favorite pictures I use as a wallpaper on my phone that helps me get through any hard time. I found it on Pinterest, but the original source is from a blog you can find here. No matter how hard life gets, there is always something to be thankful for.

I consider Chase to be my greatest blessing.

xoxo 

Carlie