WIWW #28

As I write this post, there is a large part of me that is saying, how is it only Wednesday?! Our weeks have been jam packed the last couple of weeks and the days seem to be crawling by. I'm ready for things to calm down!

Eventually it will. Until then, here's this weeks What I Wore Wednesday!


work:




top: target
pants: loft
jewelry: f21
belt: express

I bought this shirt on clearance at Target. I love the color and the ruffle detail. Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten bigger between the ride from Target to my house. Here's hoping a wash and dry will make it fit a little better...

work:




dress: steinmart
belt: old navy (FIFTY CENTS!)
shoes: target

We're on our last few days of business casual before students show back up and we go a little more professional with our clothes. While most of my outfits will stay the same, this dress is about to be stored away from the working wardrobe and I thought I should squeeze it in one last time. I wanted to wear the purple belt and probably wouldn't have worn a necklace. However, the open neck seemed a little risque for work, so I put the necklace on and pretended like it all went. Fake it till you make it, right?

birthday dinner!





dress: steinmart
lipstick: MAC red

Simply put: I love a snazzy outfit on my birthday!





dress: Target, clearance
belt: express
shoes: Gianni Bini

Meet my new shoes:


{sigh.} I'm in love! {super comfortable too!}

work:





dress: j. roberts {in ruidoso, nm.}
shoes: target

this is my go to dress. you can't help but feel cute when you put it on!

tell me, what's your go to outfit to feel cute?


check out the pleated poppy for more what i wore wednesday looks!

{last week's wiww.}

Birthday!

sunday was my birthday and i had such a great week{end} celebrating!

it all started last tuesday when cody mentioned that a church asked him to preach twice on sunday. this is somewhat of a normal deal & usually i am a supportive baptist wife and go with him. however, sunday was my first day to start volunteering in the nursery at our church, so i knew i couldn't go with him. so i called my parents up to see if they wanted to spend the weekend with us! {after all, no one should be alone on their special day!}

cody and i had our first celebration meal at red robin. sign up for their mailing list and you get a free burger for your birthday!



split it with someone and eat all the never ending fries you want and it makes for a rather cheap celebration! funny enough, all 3 booths that were around us at red robin were also celebrating birthdays! who know august 28 was so popular...

the rest of the week was busy with work, but i made some time to pick up the house for my parents. you can always tell if they're coming soon due to the condition of my microwave...



i scrub it till it's sparkling clean if mom's going to be in town!


while my parents were here, we finally introduced them to the goodness of lucy's burgers. for real. if you ever come to abilene, you have to get one of these burgers! they use some sort of sweet bread that is un.be.lieve.able. they also make homemade peanut butter ice cream that will rock your world!

saturday was filled with shopping, a picnic for cody's work and a delicious dinner at olive garden. my parents were super sweet and made reservations at perini ranch, which is a famous steakhouse that we're lucky enough to have in west texas, but breadsticks were calling my name.

cody put on a little show while we were there, serenading me with eric clapton.


{you look wonderful tonight}

my mom and i always split the chicken scampi. so delicious!



{my twinkie}



then we headed home for cake, ice cream and presents. only we were too full from dinner, so we started with presents. my mom used my dad's red shoe laces from his new tennis shoes to help in wrapping my present and they kept making a big deal out of the new red shoes they got me. i really thought they were just being ridiculous, but no, they really got me red shoes:


{just call me kendi}

i squealed when i opened them! i've been wanting these shoes for a while and haven't bit the bullet on them. bless my sweet husband's heart for telling my mom yes when she asked him if i would want them. i'm so excited! if you're thinking about getting them, be warned, mine are definitely coral orange, not red. like so orange that my mom spent many hours on the phone with u.o. saying they're not red. i will be taking them back to a store to see if they were mis-dyed. i'll let you know what the verdict is.

then it was time for my next gift. once again, my mom {and Bami!} hit it out of the ball park with this one!


{dishes by dayspring}

i've mentioned and showed these to my mom *several* times, but could never afford them, plus i couldn't really justify getting them since we were newlyweds and got nice stuff at our showers. it was so sad to see them on sale and know they were just out of my reach! thankfully, my mom and bami went in together to get me 8 place settings! i know i will love using these for many years to come!

bami did pull a fast one on me. she had my mom give me their card before we went to dinner. typically, we get money for our gift, but there wasn't any in my card. previously, bamps and bami did a large christmas gift for the cousins and understandably, didn't give us birthdays gifts that year. once i saw the empty card, i thought they must have started another no birthday gift year since we got the big trip from them in june. come to find out, they did get me a gift but bami wanted to make me sweat a little bit! {before you think i'm such a good person for just assuming our trip with birthday gift enough, i did ask cody if he got a gift from b & b this year! just wanted to make sure bami wasn't loosing her mind :) }

after presents, i then treated my dad to a quick round of night golf!


{11:50 p.m.!}

we had a great time {i won!} but i did keep saying... this would be so creepy if you were out here by yourself!

all in all it was *such* a wonderful weekend and i'm so thankful that my parents were able to come down. everyone did such a great job making me feel super special!  i'm excited to see what 27 holds!

Homemade Ice Cream. {no machine required!}

The university that I work for and graduated from has a great New Student Orientation, which not only introduces new students to each other, but familiarizes them with campus and introduces them to alumni at an ice cream social. Cody and I love to get to be a part of the activities {plus it's nice to enjoy the hard work of the recruiting team I'm on!}

Now, I have a confession to make: This is the 5th year I've served ice cream to this event, but it's the first time I've actually made homemade ice cream. {there's a heavy emphasis on providing homemade ice cream} Usually, I buy Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, mix in crushed Butterfinger bars and then place it into a ice cream maker container. It may be wrong, but I always got great compliments on my ice cream!

This year I was dedicated to making homemade ice cream after seeing a recipe on Kevin & Amanda.


For two quarts you'll need:

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 14 oz Can Eagle Brand
Mix Ins for Ice Cream Flavor

For our alumni ice cream social, I went with a classic Cookies and Cream and doubled the recipe.

Take your whipping cream and pour into your mixing bowl.



Mix until a cream is formed:



{I'll be honest: this was my first time to use whipping cream. I was afraid to mess it up. As I turned the mixer on high, it was slinging the cream out, so I covered my bowl with a plastic bag to keep it in. Eventually it will work-  Don't second guess yourself!}

See?



In a separate bowl, pour your Eagle Brand, then add your mix ins. {crushed Oreos in this case.}



After those are mixed well, stir in the whipped cream until it's all combined.



Place into your freezer and freeze at least 6 hours.



I was definitely worried to try this recipe out for the first time with such an important event. The best thing I noticed about this ice cream was how solid it was. We arrived at the ice cream social at 8:45, and at 9:45 when we were still serving ice cream, it was still frozen together. I was SO impressed! Homemade ice cream is usually homemade milk pretty quickly! Taste wise, this ice cream is DELICIOUS! When I tasted a small bit of the cookie's and cream, it reminded me of Braum's Ice Cream.

Knowing that my parents were coming into town, that we love to frequent Coldstone Creamery when they're here and that it can get a little expensive (at least $20 for the 4 of us to get ice cream!!) I wanted to try the recipe again with their favorite flavors. I used the same heavy whipping cream and Eagle Brand base, but I included a tablespoon of vanilla, a tablespoon of cinnamon and crushed Heath Bars to make Cinnamon Ice Cream with Heath Bar chunks.

Y'all. This recipe tasted exactly like what we would have gotten from Coldstone.  Seriously. This is hands down the best homemade ice cream recipe I've ever had.  I doubt we will ever end up purchasing an ice cream maker because this is so simple! If you're looking to make a fun treat for your family, try this ice cream tonight!

Be sure to check out Kevin & Amanda for some of the great ice cream recipes she came up with!

No.

"I need to some alone time, so I can climb into bed and just cry. I don't want to hurt your feelings and I'll talk more when I'm ready, but for now, I just need to cry."


Thankfully, he understood where I was coming from and quietly left the room to give me my space. The tears came freely, starting slowly and fading into a sob, dripping onto the pillow.


"Why God? Why did you answer this way? It wasn't supposed to be a no."


- - - - - - - - - - - - -


A few days and a few tears later, my resolve is stronger. I can handle the no. Something greater must be on the horizon. I start dreaming, planning out the next steps ahead, deciding what the new course will be.


- - - - - - - - - - - - -





I love this shirt. Straight off the hanger though, it wasn't created for me. It would need a few nips and tucks to fashion a shirt that would be flattering.


And one morning, I hastily cut the shirt so that I could have something new to wear to work. 




Every time I wear it now, I am reminded of my hurried decision. I tug self-consciously, fighting to keep the shirt from riding up. Strings stick out, saluting the haphazard manor in which I tailored the shirt, reminding me that I should have taken my time.


- - - - - - - - - - - - -


I reevaluate the plan. It will work. It gets me where I want to be. But one question lingers: Am I selling myself short? This could work, but is it Your plan?


- - - - - - - - - - - - -


I sit down to read.





The answer is audible. It's my plan. I am haphazardly cutting the shirt again, trying to overcompensate for the no.


- - - - - - - - - - - - -


Sigh. Why are no's so hard to take? 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

{journey is a daily devotional provided by my church. they're short but powerful. if you don't have this resource available to you and would like to try it for a month, send me an email at abbyneinast{at}gmail dot com and I will pick up a copy for you.} 

Insta- Friday 3.

{both: new artwork for the office}

{a quiet evening with coffee and sookie stackhouse}

{new student orientation for our freshman class}

{cody the good samaritan}

{free birthday burger! which we split & got a nice, cheap meal!}

{birthday celebration #1: success}

{i think my homemade ice cream was good. recipe to come}

head to life rearranged for more insta-fridays!

WIWW #27

this just in: it's still really hot in texas. apparently the weather doesn't care that it's back to school season and we're supposed to be preparing for fall.  i'm dreaming of cooler days and and hope to break out the fall clothes soon!

here's this week's outfits, which include a few fall items!

work:





burnout: store in amarillo,tx
skirt & jewelry: forever 21
shoes: target

i have to admit, i wasn't really sure i could pull this skirt off in august. it doesn't look so fall-ish in these pictures, but it's definitely a wool skirt. i felt a tiny bit out of season wearing it, but ignored those thoughts!

work:





shirt: kohl's {materinity. you didn't miss any big announcements. i'm not pregnant!}
skirt: loft
jewely: forever 21

i love the color and collar detail in this shirt, but unfortunately it's got several holes in it after a few washes. would you return it because it will probably keep getting holes in it, or keep it because the colors so good? these are the hard decisions in life people :)

work:





shirt: forever 21
jeans: old navy

church:





shirt: walmart
skirt: loft
same jewelry that i can't quit wearying: forever 21

i haven't worn this skirt in a while... i enjoyed it so much on sunday {but only for a few hours}....

work:





shirt: loft
belt: express
do i even have to tell you wear the jewelry's from?

let me let you in on a secret- this is actually my favorite belt.... BACKWARDS.

you can see the tiny bit of leopard :


the only black skinny belts i own had silver on them and i needed gold. so i thought, why not? i did have to tug at it during the day to tighten it up, but all in all it worked pretty nice to create an accessory to go with my outfit from what i already owned.  don't be afraid to wear something in an unusual way!

work:



we helped move in our new freshman on campus today and got to wear causal clothes. i know the purpose of wiww is to fight against the tee shirts and sweat pants... but some days it's so nice to go casual!

shirt: provided by work
shorts: loft
shoes: nike factory store

so i fixed my hair with a tiny braid to keep it out of my eyes. as soon as i did, i felt like my face looked chubby. {why is it that simple things make us feel like we all of a sudden look fat?}

when cody came in, i asked him if the hairstyle made my face look chubby. he answered with:

"i saw this one blog post when you hair was kinda like that but a little longer and you were holding an orange coffee cup. yeah that was not a good haircut on you. it definitely made you face look fat."

i still don't know if that was a yes or not!

so help me out... does my face look chubby? i'm showing off two pictures because it could all be in the angle of the photo. please be gentle and honest!







check out the pleated poppy for more what i wore wednesday's!

{last week's wiww}