Chocolate, Coconut, Oatmeal, oh my!

Today, I had a craving for some cookies.  I've been working out lately to get into shape for my trip to Florida in March.  So, after all my hard work, who was I to deny myself some sweet deliciousness?

The other day, I pinned this recipe.  I think that's when my craving began.  It's all my favorites combined!  I finally gave in today and made some chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies.  I didn't have dark chocolate and I didn't want to go to the store, so I went with what I had- semisweet.  And they are delish!  Bonus points, they have coconut in them, so R won't go near them.  Score!

Besides these photos, I also made an awesome Vine video for you, but it somehow deleted itself.  Bummer.  I'll just have to make another and upload it later.

Anyway, if you've got a sweet tooth and you're hankering for a delicious cookie, give these a try.  They are so worth it!

On Being Content

For those of you who don't know, my husband and I moved to Hendersonville right after we got married.  Well, he had already moved, and I was basically just waiting on the wedding before moving my stuff (and self) in.

While this has been an incredibly exciting time during our marriage (hello, first year!), it has also been an incredibly lonely time.  Moving to Hendersonville, where the average age is like 65 (not really, but it feels that way, compared to Boone where the median age is 21), has been a challenge, to say the least.  Since day 1, I've been hoping against hope that we would be able to move to Charlotte, where my family and our friends are.

After a visit to Charlotte for my mom's birthday, I hit the breaking point.  I was miserable at the thought of driving home.  I called R and told him I would do anything to move.  I was tired of being lonely and tired of trying to fit all our fun into the 1 1/2 days every other month that we got to visit friends and family.  After a long talk, we determined that it was just not feasible.  In order to move, R would have to take a huge pay cut and we just weren't in a position to do that.  I was heart broken.

However, after our phone chat, it hit me.  God has GOT this.  Why didn't I see it before?  Since before R and I even began dating, God had a plan.  After R's graduation, he had several job offers, one of which would move him out of Boone.  The one he ended up accepting kept him there.  Then, when he was blessed with a promotion, it was in the same branch.  I found out a few semesters before that I was able to graduate a semester early.  That was perfect timing for us to get married May of 2012.  Richard's next promotion came exactly one month before our wedding.  It gave us just enough time to find a place to live and move our stuff down before the wedding.  Some of that may be confusing, but it comes down to one thing- Perfect timing.

Since the beginning, He had a plan.  I now realize that right now is just not a good time to move.  And I'm okay with that.  I'm learning to appreciate the few friends we've made, along with the time I get to devote to my husband and our marriage.  I'm learning to manage my time in a more constructive way.  I'm learning to really cherish the moments we spend with our friends and family.  Most of all, I'm learning to be content.

J.Crew Clearance Store

So, let's talk about the J.Crew clearance store.  For those of you who don't know, there is a J.Crew clearance store in Arden, NC (about 20 mins from Hendersonville).  The clearance store sells official J.Crew merchandise at ridiculous prices.  I'm not sure of the story on all the merchandise- I do know that some of them are returns, some are last season's items, damages, etc.  Items like these are similarly sold at TJ Maxx and Rugged Warehouse with a black mark through the label.  But, do not let that scare you away.  Let me show you what I scored yesterday.

After 30 minutes in the store, I walked away with a Super 120's black blazer, a pair of grey Cafe Capris, a pair of grey wide leg chinos, a navy blue and grey plaid shirt (for the husband), and a turquoise bubble necklace- for a WHOPPING $133.  The blazer and the necklace alone would have cost me over $300 retail.  I'm telling you, this place is amazing!  They had so many more amazing items- pea coats and trench coats, cashmere sweaters, and so many shoes.  The walls were lined with leather boots galore.  Most of the clothes were sample sizes (0-6), but they had several things that had more size variation.  Also, twice a year, they have insane Warehouse Sales with boxes of J.Crew items all below $30.

It's hard to believe not many more people know about this place.  Next time any of you are in Asheville, hit me up and I will take you to the most magical place on earth.

New Stuff

I have lots of new stuff that I plan to blog about this week.  I haven't posted anything, because I have pictures to go along with each post, and I haven't had a chance to edit them yet.  Hold tight, people!

ipsy Glam Bag Reveal

Today I received my January ipsy Glam Bag!  ipsy is a website where you can fill out a beauty profile and receive customized beauty samples!  For $10 a month, ipsy will send you a fun glam bag (always something different) with 4-5 sample or full sized beauty products.  There are similar companies out there- one being Birchbox.  I used to subscribe to Birchbox, but I found myself getting bored with their products.  Some of their products are outdated (last year's Essie Fall Line) and none of them really seemed customized to me.  I like ipsy's Glam Bag a lot better.  I've gotten a lot more full sized products and they come in a cute little bag.

Take a look at the fun stuff I received in this month's Glam Bag!

Big Sexy Hair's Spray & Play, Pacific's Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter, Jose Maran Argon Oil Moisturizer, a full sized concealer brush, and a Nailtini nail polish in Frappe (it's a nude pink color)

The Glam Bag is just a fun little surprise every month.  And, it's a great way to try out new products without having to buy a full sized bottle and potentially not liking it.  Take a look at their website and try out a Glam Bag for yourself!

Simplify

Lately, I've really been feeling the urge to simplify.  I want to purge the things in my life that I don't need.  This includes all aspects of my life- what I eat, my closet, our home, and how I spend my time.  After Christmas, I felt like there was so much clutter in my life.  We live in a small house with very limited storage, so there always seems to be too much stuff and not enough room.  R has a "we might need it in the future" mentality, which has rubbed off on me a bit.  I would love to go through every item in our home and only keep the things we need or love.

I also want to clean out my closet.  I am making an effort to dress in a more mature and sophisticated way.  No more jeans and fitted tees!  That will start with a good closet de-clutter.  My drawers are stuffed to the brim with clothes, but I feel like I rotate the same basic pieces every few weeks.  That means I need to git rid of a lot of clothes.  My search for a new wardrobe was inspired by this photo found on Pinterest (I can't find the original source):

When I stumbled across this picture, I was amazed that so many great outfits could be created using just a few simple basics.  So begins my search to build a minimalist wardrobe.  To start with, I bought a super cute pair of leopard print ballet flats.  I need some flats in my life.

There are many areas in my life that need a good cleansing.  I'm hoping 2013 will be there year that I have less and appreciate it more.

On My Bookshelf

Today, I'm starting another series I'd like to include in my blogging time.  On My Bookshelf will list and review books I've recently read.  I love to read, and since it's a new year, hopefully this will help me keep track of the books I've read.  I will start with one I read while I was home sick yesterday.  It was a page turner, so I finished it in one day.  I have a tendency to do that when I find a good book.

The Choice by Robert Whitlow

The Choice was pretty good as far as Christian fiction goes.  I've often found that Christian fiction can be a bit cheesy, but this one kept the cheese factor to a minimum.  Part I is about a young girl who gets pregnant and must decide what to do with her baby after a strange encounter with an older woman.    Part II is about the same girl who is now in her fifties and how she begins helping a young girl in the same situation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy read.

I have this book in paperback and would love to loan it to anyone wanting to read it!  I would especially love to do a book swap, so if you have a book you think I would like, comment below or shoot me an email at campbelltayb [at] gmail [dot] com.  It would make my day!