Miley and Stanlee's Weekend Recovery

Whenever we travel somewhere for the weekend, the dogs spend Monday and sometimes Tuesday recovering from the excitement.  This past weekend, we traveled to Dayton for a retirement party for someone at husband's work and we were able to visit a little with family, which also includes another boston terrier and a boxer.  I am not sure what happens in the backyard with the other dogs, but I am always amazed at how stinky, dirty and exhausted the pups are when we come home.  I guess that's just a sign of a great weekend for them!

On Monday, I gave both of the dogs baths, I brushed their teeth, cleaned their ears and filed some of their chipped nails.  They have been snoozing ever since...

Our Love Story

Tomorrow, Justin and I celebrate our third wedding anniversary!  I think back to the past three years and feel so blessed to have an amazing husband and best friend.  

This is our story:

Justin and I met roughly 20 years ago.  We both grew up in the same neighborhood, riding the same bus and sharing some of the same classmates and teachers throughout school.  Our parents live less than a 1/2 mile away from each other and we spent our summer days playing sports, riding bikes and walking to the pool with our neighborhood friends.  When I remember Justin at this age, I remember a little short boy with tons of freckles wearing gym suits!  Boy was he cute ;)

Justin and I developed a little crush in 6th grade when we sat together on the bus.  Our crush was very short lived and was a typical grade school crush.  We held hands a couple times and were so shy in front of each other that we rarely had conversations.  So, we moved on, remained friends and occasionally hung out together with mutual friends throughout junior high and high school.  

{Fast forward to college}  Justin and I attended The Ohio State University and reconnected sophomore year.  We quickly became the best of friends again and spent all of our time together.  My girlfriends really liked him and would ask me why I didn't want to date him.  For months, Justin and I tried to pretend there weren't feelings, or I would say "oh no, he is just one of my best friends."  Well, I can't tell you the exact moment my feelings changed, but after several months of saying that, it clicked for me.  Why would I not want to date my best friend?  Sure there was a lot to risk if things didn't work out, but the idea of dating the person I have so much fun with, the person that I naturally connect with and can be my ridiculous self around...well that would be perfect.  I felt like there was a reason God put Justin in my life, at that time, with that connection.

So we started our next step as Michelle and Justin! After 2 years together, Justin asked me to marry him {on Christmas day 2007 :) }, I finished up my fifth year at OSU and we planned our wedding.  Although Justin and I started as friends, just like any relationship there have been hard times.  We have moved three times, there have been new jobs, new responsibilities and new adventures and I can't imagine going through life with anyone else.  I have so much fun with Justin and I really believe that is the most important thing.  We laugh, travel, go on dates, we are spontaneous and love to explore new places.  At the end of the day, it is our relationship and friendship that I am so thankful for.  

So tomorrow we celebrate three years and I will share with you photos from our wonderful wedding day!  Justin has requested off of work Thursday and Friday of this week and we have some really fun things planned :)  Happy Monday friends!

**There is a Little Blue Feather giveaway going on at alexandra rose today!!  Check it out!

Quality Time

Justin and I had a really great weekend!

We slept in
Went on a 2 1/2 hour bike ride through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Hung out at the pool
Did taco night for dinner on Saturday
Made strawberry cupcakes from scratch with real strawberries (I was surprised how long it took us to find a recipe that used actual strawberries) recipe: asouthernfairytale.com
Watched the Womens World Cup at The Winking Lizard (northeast ohio restaurant similar to BW3's but has a massive pet lizard in each restaurant)
Played wii and overall,
Spent a lot of quality time together!

This week we have a lot going on!  I am sticking to my to-do lists and hoping to accomplish everything I want to in the next few days!  When Thursday rolls around, we will be proud new owners of a couch that will be delivered just in time for my parents to come spend a few days with us!

cupcakes with pieces of real strawberries and strawberry cream cheese icing.

all smiles after our nightly walks.

our wii characters are what Miley and Stanlee would look like if they were human.  yes we are those dog people...

Meet Marley, the very large lizard at the restaurant The Winking Lizard in Fairlawn, OH.  Don't worry she is caged :)

{Inspiration Linky Party #7} - Sunshine

Some of my favorite memories involve summer months playing outside in the sunshine.  When I think about summer and sunshine, I think about spending lots of time with family, playing with our dogs, vacations, our wedding anniversary, swimming and Sharkey family cookouts.   

Taking my brother, mom, dad and stanlee kayaking for their first time!

 Miley loves it and is a little adventurous....

 Poor Stanlee did not enjoy his first time kayaking.

 One of my favorite photos. ever.  Jumping into the pool with Justin, some of his siblings and his dad!

On vacation with my momma in St. Petersburg, FL

Dolphins swimming beside our boat!

I was so nervous to feed them!  Can you see the fish in mid air!?

Our dogs love the sun!  Miley (on the right) would spend every minute outside if she could and if they are inside, the like to sunbath by the sliding doors.

One Beautiful Bridal Shower

This past weekend I was able to spend a couple days in Columbus celebrating Aubrey's upcoming wedding!  Gretchen, Abbey and I threw one of the cutest bridal showers full of good food, family and lots of blue and orange decorations.  I loved spending time with Aubrey while she was in town and am excited to share photos with you from our fabulous day!

Orange, white and blue treats decorating the table.

Aubrey and Adam's engagement photo and her handmade toss bouquet.

Oreo BonBons.  I will share this recipe soon!  They are SO delish!

Aubreys favorite is carrot cake!  And it has blue icing :)

 Griffins artwork for Aubrey and Adam.

 Excited to get the shower started!

 Griffin lovin on auntie "aubwee"

A handmade cork board from recycled wine corks from Gretchen's work.

After the shower we hung out for a little bit around the house, saw the movie Bridesmaids, and then roasted s'mores and ate leftovers on the back deck.  It was pretty much a perfect day!

Only 3 1/2 months until the BIG day!  We are so excited for you Aubs :)

LittleBlueFeather GIVEAWAY!

In celebration of the 4th of July, I have a special giveaway for Little Blue Feather blog followers!   

                          Source: afinidades-eletivas.blogspot.com via BrownPaper on Pinterest

You will have a chance to enter three times from now until Saturday!  


This giveaway is for a *new* LBF  headband!!

What do I love about this headband?  

• The colors are classic; black headband with a hand sewn strawberry red felt flower. 

• This headband will transition perfectly from summer, into fall and then winter.  I can think of several short sleeve shirts, sweaters and winter coats that would match this headband!

*Important: To win, you must be a public follower of Little Blue Feather.  If you are not already a public follower, just click the follow button on the right side of blog!!*

So here is how you enter! Visit LittleBlueFeather.etsy.com and tell me what your favorite LBF item is! {easy right!?}  

And if you really want to win:
 "Like" Little.Blue.Feather on Facebook
 Tweet about this giveaway with @LilBlueFeather in the subject






  There you have it!  Three chances to enter!  Please leave a comment on this blog post with 1.) You are a follower and your favorite item is ______.  2) If you tweeted about the giveaway and/or  3.) You "Like" Little.Blue.Feather on Facebook.


Winner will be announced on Sunday!!  Thank you LBF blog fans and good luck!!!
A special thanks to all of our military men and women that continue to fight for our freedom <3

Outdoor Green Crafts For Children

I recently discovered the best children's summer crafting book!  Even though I do not have kids, I was still overly excited about the really cool summer crafts this book has to offer and thought I would share for all of you with little ones!  

Find it, Make it is a book with 35 craft projects for kids that include using materials they find in nature.  The book encourages you to spend the day at a park, beach, or outdoor play area of your choice and collect little things throughout the visit.  Find it, Make it then gives you 35 project ideas to use your rocks, weeds, grass, shells, sand, leaves, etc. to make awesome artwork!  It teaches your kids to be creative and environmentally friendly at the same time.  This book also gets you and your child out of the house, enjoying nature, crafting and spending quality time together.  

perfect :)

Available on amazon and at Barnes and Noble

Purchase Here!

{Wordless Wednesday} - Ways To Enjoy Summer