This Crazy Oil Thing

Hey y'all!

So Ryan and I have quite a few ailments that we are constantly taking medicine for. The biggest issue is that Ryan has a lot of trouble falling asleep, so NyQuil is too much a part of our lives. I get headaches often (we're talking migraine, sinus, and tension headaches people) and am constantly taking medication for this. We both have seasonal allergies and take allergy pills often (i.e. almost daily). THAT TERRIFIES ME! 

Not only are we putting non-natural medications in our bodies, we are spending SO MUCH MONEY on them. A few people I follow on Facebook and in the blogosphere have been posting a lot about Young Living Essential Oils. At first, I was like "yeah, this is another fad that will go away in a couple of months."

But then I read about a mom who got all three of her very young children to sleep through the night with a sleepy cream made with essential oils. Hmm.... if it works on kids, would it work on my husband?

Then I read another story about a woman with migraines and peppermint took away her pain. Hmmm....if it will make a migraine go away, this stuff must be pure gold. If I get a full fledged migraine, I'm in a cold, dark room sleeping for hours on end. Could this stuff really put a stop to that?

And THEN I read about a family who has a daughter with severe asthma and allergy problems. A roller with an allergy trio has taken this little girl off of all of her medications. Could I stop relying on that little pink pill to get me through a day without being in a fog?

So I decide to give this thing a shot. If even one of these things can help Ryan and me, I will be beyond thrilled. Based on the many stories I have read though, I'm really counting on all three! If you're at all interested in hearing what essential oils are all about - shoot me a message here, by e-mail or on Facebook, send me a text, or call me. I can point to you tons of blogs and facts that might be able to help your family out! 

If you're on the edge (like I was) and want to try a sample of something, let me know that too. Sometimes, you have to see it to believe it and I'm more than happy to give a "show and tell." If you decide to make that plunge to purchase a kit, or even want to just purchase a couple of oils for a particular purpose, let me know!

Can't wait to share what I think when I get my kit this week!

Until next time,

Hi, I'm Cash Bradley!

Hey y'all!

My name is Cash and as of yesterday, I'm ten weeks old!

I've been living with my mom and dad for a little over two weeks and I've learned a LOT in that little amount of time. I love them as much as they love me. I love cuddling with my mommy and I want to be by her ALL of the time.

I've only had a few accidents inside, but honestly, they were mom and dad's fault! I was sitting by the door, but they just didn't see me. I know I'm supposed to go outside and only go when they don't see me at the door (maybe I should learn to ring a bell or bark once to tell them that I need them?). When they say "outside," I know exactly where to go and what to do.

I went to the vet for the first time in Oklahoma a week ago. They all loved me and I took a short little nap while waiting on the nice doctor. There were lots of new friends to meet there and I loved them all. I especially loved the car ride! Even when I took my shots, I just kissed and loved on the doctor.

This is me at the vet - I just wanted to hang out!

Last week I figured out this whole "crate" training thing. They say "crate," I run in and lay down, and I get a treat! Super easy, do they know that I'd probably do it without the treat? I love my crate so much that I go in it a lot or stay in it when the door is open just because I have lots of blankets in there and mom and dad can't get me to come out if I'm sleepy.

We've been going on short walks. Mom says that one day I will get to go running with her! I LOVE running. I just need to work on the whole "going in a straight line" thing.  Even when the leash is short, I try to walk in between mom's legs.

 

I weigh TWENTY pounds already! (that's almost 10 pounds in three weeks!)

PS - My mom takes SO many pictures of me, it's embarrassing. Be prepared, she is going to share a ton more.

I think it's time to do some cuddling. I'll talk to you soon!

Until next time,

Cash &

Ribbon Wreath Tutorial

Hey y'all! 

This is actually a post from my old blog, but I thought I might share it again. I made my first ribbon wreath in 2011 with my friend Kara and have made a few since then as well for gifts. You don't have to be "crafty" to make one of these at all! I have posted directions below that my friend Shannon gave me years ago (thanks again!). Here is what you need: 12" styrofoam wreath form (Shannon used a 14", Kara used a 10" on one of hers, it just depends on what you want!) Straight pins - I bought one big package (750) and probably used about half of them. Ribbon! - You can use skinny or thick, whatever you want! I used mostly skinny so it took more, Kara used all thick so it didn't take as much, but both were really cute! I bought about 10 yards of 9 different kinds of ribbon, but only used a little over half of that. Rhinestone pics from the bridal department at Hobby Lobby - So cute! Ruler Scissors

Step 1: Cut the ribbon into about 4.5" strips. This takes quite a while, Kara had a great idea to use the length of her phone (we have iPhones) to approximate the length.

Step 2: Take a piece of ribbon and form a loop with each piece. The ends should overlap by about 1/2". Place a straight pin through the ribbon, from the inside out, to hold ends together. If your ribbon is one sided, make sure that your design is on the outside. It should look like this:

Step 3: Attach the ribbons to the styrofoam form by pushing the pins into it. I'm a little OCD about things being even, so I started by evenly spacing (somewhat) each ribbon. As it gets fuller you just have to randomly push them in and keep going until you can't see the styrofoam anymore.

Step 4: Once you have gotten it as full as you want it, you can put the rhinestones onto pins and push those into the styrofoam.

Step 5: Finally, add a loop of ribbon to the back (I just used a few pins to hold it in place) so that you can hang it on a door. DONE!

Below are Kara's wreaths (the first was for her house at the time and the second was for her mom).

I made this wreath for my parents house. Instead of rhinestone pins, I used pearls and added a wooden letter by gluing straight pins to the wood and pushing it into the styrofoam.

Until next time,

My Five Favorite Things About Weddings

Hey y'all!

My cousin got married a few weekends ago and it was so much fun! We got to see family that we haven't seen in a while and celebrate the love of two awesome people. Here are a few of my favorite pictures taken that day.

Most of the girl cousins/aunts :)

 Meet Mr. & Mrs. Robinson!

 I hate this picture of me because I'm trying so hard not to bust out laughing, but boy do I love this picture of everyone else

I LOVE weddings. I have been a bridesmaid in plenty and a guest at many, many more. I was thinking about what my favorite thing about weddings is, and I can't just narrow it down to one! I figured I could go with the top 5.

1. The first look - I absolutely love the look on a grooms face when he sees his bride for the first time. We did a first look because I knew that if I wanted to get Ryan's real reaction, a bunch of people shouldn't be around. Also, I thought I might squeal or something which I really didn't think I should do in front of 250+ people. (By the way, I'm 95% certain I did do that). As a bride, you know exactly how you want to look, but the groom has no idea until the moment he sees you. Ryan's reaction was exactly what I hoped for. As a bridesmaid, I love seeing the excitement in the bride's face as she is about to go see her groom and the groom's face the moment he sees his girl. Whether that be seconds before the ceremony begins or before their first look. I watched my little brother drop his jaw in awe of his wife walking down the aisle and it was probably my favorite moment of their wedding ceremony.

 

2. The first time a couple is announced as husband and wife - I mean, do I need further explanation? The very first time your friend is announced as "Mrs." is pretty dang exciting.

3. The Cake - I have a serious sweet tooth. I look forward to wedding cake like kids look forward to Christmas for Santa to come visit. I love how you can see the bride and groom's personalities reflected in the cakes too. I recently found out that the "grooms cake" tradition is very regional (definition: Southern) and many people have never even heard of it! Having a husband who doesn't like cake works in my favor because I get to try both cakes most of the time! Don't worry though, if anyone were to ask, the groom's cake is ALWAYS "for Ryan." I also really enjoy watching the bride and groom cut the cake. It's so funny to see some people be so dainty about it and others just smash the cake in each others' faces.

If you know me, you should not be at ALL surprised that I was telling Ryan to not shove the cake in my face (can you blame me? Look at that mischievous look on his face!).

3. Father-daughter dance - I love watching the father daughter dances even more now that I've had mine with my dad. A daddy is the first man a little girl ever loves. You can definitely see emotions running high during this dance.

5. Having friends and family from all parts of your life together in one room  - Honestly, besides your wedding day, when can you think of a time when most people who are important to you are in the exact same room? Yes, one day there will be baby showers, there are always holidays and birthdays, but that's not EVERYONE. Walking down the aisle and seeing both sides of my family,  friends from preschool, high school, college, and work in one area? It was completely awesome. On the same note, all of my bridesmaids didn't know each other before wedding festivities began. They knew OF each other and many had met, but they were all from different parts of my life (family, college, childhood, etc). One of the guests asked me at the reception if we had been friends for all of our lives.   I asked why she asked and she said "well it just seems like they have been friends forever with how they act." LOVED that.

I could honestly give a top 10 or 20 as there's so many things I love about weddings. I might just have to share more another time. 

Until next time,

One Year Caffeine Free!

Hey y'all!

As of Wednesday, I have been caffeine free (minus chocolate) and haven't had any aspartame in AN ENTIRE YEAR! This year, my goal is to get off of sugary drinks period.

It's been a very busy week! We celebrated my 27th birthday Tuesday, and Wednesday and Thursday I took a trip to pick up the best birthday present ever from Alabama! I can't wait to tell you all about him (and probably share a thousand pictures).

Until next time,

13. Get a puppy - Part 1

Hey y'all! 

Have I told you before how awesome my husband is? I've been wanting a puppy for what seems like forever and FINALLY he told me he was getting me one for my birthday next week! Please note, I may or may not have asked for a puppy every single "gift" holiday since we started dating...I think he might have just gotten tired of me asking all the time!

We looked near and far, but when it came down to it, I wanted Hank back. Hank came into the Major family at Christmas when I was in 5th grade. He was born on Halloween that year and we picked him out in November. He was the most awesome dog ever and a couple of weeks after celebrating his 15th birthday last November, he went to doggy heaven.

I know that I can't have HIM, but I figured the closest thing to him was a direct relative. The daughter-in-law of the couple we got Hank from is a mutual friend from childhood. Even though I haven't talked to her in over a decade, I sent her a Facebook message asking if she knew of anyone breeding labs with Hank's lineage. Not only did she know someone, SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE THOSE PEOPLE! Their dog was set to have puppies within the week.

Obviously we jumped at this opportunity and said we would LOVE to have one. The next day, 8 sweet puppies were born.

Ryan had a chocolate lab, Country, and I had a yellow lab, Hank, so we decided to get a black lab since neither of us had one in the past. I'm going on an adventure to Alabama to pick up our sweet little guy this week!

Blogging world, meet Cash! (You know, like Johnny Cash?) The Bradleys will officially be a family of three on Wednesday night! Not only am I bringing this guy home, I'm bringing two more puppies for other families in Tulsa. So if you see a person driving Bridesmaid's style down I-40 next week, don't be worried, it's just me! 

So here's where I need YOUR help. I'm going to buy all of our pet "supplies" before heading to Alabama. What do you think is a "necessity" for us to get or your dog's favorite toy/snack?

Until next time,

16. Go to a Cubs Game - Ryan's Birthday!

Hey y'all!

Like I mentioned earlier this week in this post, I was FINALLY able to surprise Ryan for his birthday! Last Sunday we got up and headed to the airport for a quick trip to Chicago.

Our friends Ian and Whitney picked us up and we headed to their house and then to lunch. Soon after, we arrived at Wrigley!

I've always heard "you just HAVE to see Wrigley." They were right, there's something magical about that old stadium and seeing it with a die hard cubs fan made it even better. Unfortunately the Cubs did lose to the Cardinals, but it was a close game (1-0)!

With our friends Ian and Whitney! 

We loved getting to spend time with our friends (thanks again for letting us stay with you!), going to the game, eating Chicago style pizza, and getting addicted to Chicago Bagel authority. We hope we can visit Chicago again soon! 

I love this guy more than anything. I had such a great time on our mini vacation and can't wait for the many adventures that we are going to have in the coming years. Happy birthday again babe! 

Until next time,