For My Stylish Friends...

My sweet, SUPER talented and wonderful Mommy friend Casey from The Wiegand's, From the Heart of Casey gifted me with the Stylish Blogger Award. If I am going to be completely honest, getting an award with "stylish" in the title is pretty darn hilarious to me. Now of course this didn't mean that I am personally stylish or that my house is stylish or my wardrobe, BUT it does mean that someone (who I think VERY highly of, I might add) thinks my blog is stylish! And when I think about it in that context I couldn't agree more because this blog is ALL ABOUT Caden and there is NOTHING more stylish than that two-year-old cutie pa-tootie of a boy!

SO thank YOU Casey for the sweet award. YOU are one of the most stylish people I know so I do know that whoever graced you with this award was talking about way more than your blog. For those of you who don't follow Casey, you should. She is an artist and I am PROUD to say that both KK and I have a piece of Casey Wiegand art hanging prominently in our living rooms! I love my art and I love my sweet friend Casey even more!

The rules of the Stylish Blogger Award are as follows:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Tell 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 10 other worthy bloggers.

4. Notify the bloggers that they were given a Stylish Blogger Award.

I have already linked you up to Casey in all of her fabulousness! BUT make sure you check out her etsy shop, A Little Artsy too. You can also follow her on facebook and twitter!

Now for 7 things about myself... I'll try to think of random things y'all might not know or remember!

1. I'm a wife to Justin and a mom to two sweet Cox babies... one that is not so much a baby anymore and one that is not quite a baby yet! I consider both of these jobs a privilege and I am thankful for both of these titles!

2. My mom is my BEST friend! We talk at LEAST two times a day, usually more, especially if you count texts! She is a very wise lady who oddly enough only seemed wise to me in the last few years, although I know it's only because I never truly appreciated her wisdom until I became a mom myself! Funny how that happens! My mom is STILL a full-time mom even though my brother and I have been away from home for several years... she is always on-call! Between Josh and I we keep her on her toes constantly and probably have her wishing she could throw her cell phone out her car window on many days! :) I love you Momma!

3. I would prefer liquid calories to solid calories ANY day. I love coke, half-n-half in my coffee, wine, etc. I will be happy to trade in a cupcake for a glass of wine any day... or french fries for a coke!

4. I LOVE old t-shirts. LIKE really old, soft... so worn they have holes in them t-shirts. I love to wear them to sleep and around the house. It takes YEARS for the process to take place, but it is SO worth the wait and WELL-worth the keep once you achieve the right level of oldness!

5. I dream about the cast from Gilmore Girls ALL THE TIME. Only in the last two years have I found this lovely show... I started watching it right after Caden was born. I caught one of the first episodes on ABC Family while nursing one day and decided I was hooked. I began DVRing the episodes each day and NOW I have seen the entire series and am currently going through it a second time! It never gets old!!

6. If you sit next to me on a couch, you will find my toes beneath your legs... digging ever so slightly, inch by inch until I have found the perfect warm spot. I do this subconsciously and often move people from one end of the couch to the other... Nana was my most recent victim! Sorry Nana! This is a habit of mine that Justin HATES!

7. Over the past year and a half or so I have dedicated LOTS of time to researching the Holy Spirit. This is one area where my conservative, mostly Southern Baptist upbringing left me hanging. We didn't talk about it much for lots of reasons I'm sure, most of which I think were about church politics and not God's vision for the church. Thankfully, God has placed me in churches, with mentors, in Bible studies and in life with things that have lead me to a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit over the past few years. And let me tell you it is a GAME CHANGER!! If you feel this way too, I would encourage you to seek!! It's so worth it!!

Alright so that was easy enough... now for the HARD part! Naming 10 bloggers with the Stylish Blogger Award! There are SO many I could choose. Honestly, I don't spend time reading blogs that I don't think are fabulous... so anyone on my blog roll (even though it needs to be updated) and the SEVERAL that I stalk anonymously are all GREAT, WONDERFUL and STYLISH in all senses of the word! But the award rules say 10... so 10 it shall be!

1. One of my DEAREST, DEAREST friends from college, Stephanie Meyer from Meyer on the Wire is ABSOLUTELY stylish! She hasn't been blogging long, but you'd never know it. She has ALWAYS had an eye for style and things that are beautiful. She takes the most gorgeous photos of her family... you'd swear they came from a magazine tear-out, BUT no... they are JUST that glamorous. Steph is funny and light-hearted, but also sensitive and sincere... follow her... you'll love it!

2. Sweet Lindsay Hall! She just had an adorable baby named Evie and her husband Nick is serving in our Armed Forces. He has been deployed AT LENGTH but is currently state-side with his family in New Mexico. Lindsay was a Pi Phi with me at Baylor and is one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. It is exciting to follow her growing family and to read about her adventures as a military wife!

3. Shellinda!! That's what I call her. Shelly was my roomie at Baylor for two years and also a fellow Pi Phi. We graced some KILLER apartments in our two years living together and could often be found standing on our couches singing along to performances on American Idol. Shelly and her hubby Chris have a precious little boy named Will. Shelly is a great blogger and does an awesome job updating the world on the wonders and excitement of little Will!

4. Meli P! Meli P is one of my best friends from college. She is an amazing Mommy of two boys, Carter and Logan... in fact Logan is just weeks old! She does a great job documenting their life through pictures and stories! If you think you are a busy person, just read Meli P's blog for a few weeks and you'll think otherwise. They are always on the go and spend lots of time with their HUGE families that live in the same city! AND her BOYS are PRECIOUS... you'll just love looking at those sweet faces!

5. Emily Fallin... well she's not Fallin anymore... but she has a little girl named Fallin who is the cutest little stinker of girl you've ever seen. I just want to squeeze her every time I see a picture of her. Emily is one of the FUNNIEST people I have ever met... and her blogs follow suit. From adventures in nursing to funny things that people said in her childbirth class (an all-time favorite of mine) you will be glad that you stopped by her blog to check in!

6. Jennifer, the cute, blond, SUPER nice, education major... this is how I will always think of her. Although I am getting a little more accustomed to thinking of her as Jen and Jed, as her blog title names her! She and her husband Jed have a great blog that documents LOTS of interesting things... from their travels, to their home improvements projects, to their YUMMY recipes, there is something there for everyone. They are definitely a STYLISHLY fabulous family!

7. The G-Rowes! My sweet friend Gina, who I know I've mentioned A TON has a great blog (which she needs to update more...hint, hint!) about their sweet little family of four. They just added Austin to their family this month and he is as cute as could be... a baby with a FULL head of blond hair! Gina is the type of friend everyone needs... she is upbeat, encouraging, hilarious and full of life! It's too bad you only get a glimpse of all that is Gina when reading her blog... she's awesome!

8. Aunt Rach! Rachel is one of my oldest friends here in Austin and actually if I am to be fair one of my oldest current friends. Rachel and I go way back to middle school when she was cool and wasn't... but that is an entirely different story. Rachel and I reconnected as bridesmaids at a mutual friend's wedding the summer before we both moved to Austin and the rest is history. Rachel is a teacher and has a GREAT blog in which she is documenting an inspiring story about a kid named Brian. Rachel has a heart of gold and it shows through her relationship with this student!

9. BOOZY!!! My cousin Amanda, who I affectionately call Boozy. She has a little boy, Cy who is just a few months younger than Caden. She is a VERY consistent blogger who has lots of funny pictures and videos to share. She too is a busy girl and always has lots of fun adventures to note... from trips to sporting events to stock shows... she is HILARIOUS! I check her blog more than I do anyone else's and get so excited when there is a new post!! Love you Boozy!! (Boozy's blog is private, BUT I had to give her an award... it's that good! Maybe she'll go public again someday!!)

10. Katie Ray! I have never actually met Katie Ray but I started following her blog not long after I had Caden. She is actually a friend of my cousin Boozy's and after our virtual introduction we've become good blogger buddies! Katie's little boy Michael is seriously one of the cutest, happiest kids ever to be photographed. He is adorable and their family is precious. Katie does a great job of capturing a day in the life of their family! We're gonna meet some day... we are!!

And I'm done! The next round of Stylish Blogger Awards have been given!!

Thanks again Casey for the award and for the chance to give some serious shout-outs to my favorite blogger buddies!!