Guest Blogging: Insanity Rules!

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Hey Y'all! I'm guest blogging today over at Insanity Rules!

Emily has been kind enough to let me share my few examples of how to create a cute, homemade halloween costume instead of buying a store-bought one. With Halloween just around the corner, you can't get started to early on those fabulous outfits!
Check out my guest post HERE and let me know what you think!

Sunday Snaps Link Party: Week 8

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Hello everyone! Today's "Sunday Snaps" is a bittersweet one, because this will be the very last Sunday Snaps link up opportunity. Julie and I are so sorry to end it, but sometimes good things have to end for better things to fall into place, right? Between my school and work dual-schedule and trips out of town to see family, Sunday Snaps has sadly become too much of a burden to host on this blog. 
I will miss enjoying all of your photos each week and seeing what you all have been up to lately. Each blogger who has linked up in the past, please know that I think each and every one of you are EXTREMELY talented! I will still be checking in with y'all to see how you're doing, and to view your lovely photos :-) Thank you for the opportunity to connect with y'all... I have greatly enjoyed it! Please feel free to wear your "I was FEATURED on Sunday Snaps!" button on your blog for as long as you please; you worked hard on your photos and posts, and you deserve to brag about it!
And so, time to feature last week's top three (IMO) pictures:

Photo by Katie Stories I absolutely LOVE the large, muraled golf ball and the beautiful background scenery!

Photo by My Borrowed Heaven I'm loving the way Meg grabbed the still of the children jumping, with their feet and shadows in focus and the children themselves blurred in the background!

Photo by Our Life in a Click I love this photo simply for the fact that it shows the behind-the-scenes on the crazy work and moves photographers will put themselves through in order to grab a beautiful shot. It's all worth it for the final product!
Congrats to those who were featured! Don't forget to grab your special "Featured" button and display it proudly!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.sarahbtexas.blogspot.com" title="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country"><img src="http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg634/SarahBTexas/Snap%20Shot%20Sunday%20Stuff/wasfeaturedSSbutton.jpg" alt="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
And now, time for the VERY LAST Sunday Snaps Link Up! (Remember you have until late Friday night to link up ANY post from this week containing a picture!)
Rules:

• Please follow both of your hosts! (Myself and Jules)
• You MUST provide the party button somewhere in your post in order to link back to this party (available to the right on my sidebar). Failure to do so may result in your link-up being removed.
• Link up to specific posts, not just your blog.
• Please only link up to three blog posts each week. 
• HAVE FUN! And follow some of your fellow link-up bloggers while you're at it! ;-)

Sunday Snaps Link Party: 09/16

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Oh, Sunday! Happy day! Sundays are always so bittersweet; another day of the weekend, but the last day before dreadful Monday comes around. But, let's make the best of it and celebrate another free day from obligations with another round of: SUNDAY SNAPS! :-)
Here are some of the top highlights from the previous link up week:

Photo by Painted Therapy

Photo by The Grant Life

Photo by Life's a Beach

Congrats to those who were featured! Don't forget to grab your special "Featured" button and display it proudly!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.sarahbtexas.blogspot.com" title="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country"><img src="http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg634/SarahBTexas/Snap%20Shot%20Sunday%20Stuff/wasfeaturedSSbutton.jpg" alt="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
And now, time for this week's link up! (Remember you have until late Friday night to link up ANY post from this week containing a picture!)
Rules:

• Please follow both of your hosts! (Myself and Jules)
• You MUST provide the party button somewhere in your post in order to link back to this party (available to the right on my sidebar). Failure to do so may result in your link-up being removed.
• Link up to specific posts, not just your blog.
• Please only link up to three blog posts each week. 
• HAVE FUN! And follow some of your fellow link-up bloggers while you're at it! ;-)

Recap: Texas Bloggers first DFW Bloggers' Meet Up!

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On Saturday, September 08th, Julie from A Beautiful Day, Taylor from Goings On in Texas, and I hosted the first ever Texas Bloggers DFW Meet Up at A Piece of Work in Fort Worth!

The hostesses of the night

The eventful night was filled with goodies to munch on...

 

Wine to be enjoyed...

... and paintings to be drawn!

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with and getting to know my fellow DFW Blogging gals. We truly are a little blogging community. Every woman I talked to that night was so kind, gracious, funny, and downright sweet! We may be online blogging pals, but rest assured my friendships with these ladies were truly affirmed that night. It's funny how bonds can be made through a little computer screen, isn't it?

I had the pleasure of meeting the following ladies that evening:

Julie at A Beautiful Day

Taylor at Goings On in Texas

Nicole at Three31

April at Red Dirt Mama

Becky at The Java Mama

Crystal at Mason's Mama

Amanda at Princess of the Panhandle

Jill at Nokoikonomia

Holli at Holli's Hoots and Hollers

Kristen at Few of My Favorite Things

Lauren at The Crazy Life of LT

Samm at Little House in the Big D

Cynthia at Oh So Pinteresting

After a fun-filled night of blog talk, story swaps, painting, and wine, we all finally said our goodbyes and went our separate ways for the night... BUT, not before grabbing our take-home souvenir! Julie did a beautiful job decorating the keepsake boxes that held the homemade cupcakes I made for the event:

All in all, it was a fantastic time, and I can't wait for the next one! Thank you ladies for making this past weekend one to definitely remember! :-)

Oh, and PS, just so it's out there as photographic proof that I DID paint something in my life, here's me with my attempted painting from the evening's workshop... I think I'll stick to my art skills on cupcakes! haha ;-)

Summer '12 California Trip

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A few weeks ago, the boyfriend and I hopped on the plane en route to Orange County, California. Joe had been to California once before, but I told him that trip didn't count since it was for work and he was only in LA area for 24 hours. 
Not only did my parents want to see me (at least) once during my summer vacation from classes, but they wanted to meet Joe, and I was craving a break from the Texas weather. What better way to beat the heat than to leave the kitchen--am I right?!
Now, how do you show someone ALL of your hometown in just three days? Especially when your hometown is in the beautiful state of California? I decided it was time to get my tourist gear on and show Joe the landmark sites and attractions that make my home-state a great place to visit. From Newport Beach to the Huntington Beach disc golf course, from Old Towne Orange to Main St. in Huntington Beach, from Disneyland to UC Irvine area, I gave my man the glorious, drawn out tour of California, making sure he saw everything from the beautiful beaches to the hole-in-the-wall diners and bars.

Pictured: Myself in front of the Newport Beach shore line. We went to the beautiful shores of Newport Beach so Joe could get the full effect of California Beach scenery. Isn't this panoramic feature cool?! Joe downloaded the PhotoSynth app on his iPhone to be able to capture beautiful panoramic scenes while we were on vacation.

Pictured: Joe and myself at Taco Mesa in Costa Mesa. I made sure to show Joe the difference between Tex-Mex and Surf-n-Turf (California) Mex. We enjoyed some beach-style Mexican seafood at Taco Mesa with complimenting Sangria.

Pictured: Joe posing with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. What So-Cal vacation would be complete without a trip to Disneyland? Because I worked at the Disneyland Resort for a few years, I had been gifted several complimentary tickets seasonally to use with family and friends. I took advantage of these tickets and shared "The Happiest Place on Earth" with Joe for a full day. We're talkin' 10 AM to 11 PM with no stops in between!

Pictured: Joe and myself in front of the Hollywood Blvd. mural in California Adventure. I made sure to take advantage of every photo-op available, like this surprisingly realistic mural in California Adventure.

Pictured: the World of Color lake in California Adventure. I thought California Adventure was the perfect "sample" to show Joe different highlights of my hometown state. Just look at the mix of sunlight, lake, and palm trees pictured!

Pictured: Joe and myself in front of the brand new Cars Land. Cars Land was merely an idea when I moved to Texas last year. I had heard the rumors and seen the walls being blocked off for where they considered putting the new attractions, but I never got to see the final product in all its glory. It was great to experience a Disney "first" with Joe.

Pictured: myself in front of the Cars Land scenery. Doesn't it look like I'm actually on the side of the Grand Canyon or some place of the sort?! Loved the realistic details in Cars Land. 

Pictured: The outside building of the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride. This is by far one of my FAVORITE rides in Disneyland as a whole. I was so happy when I saw they wait was a mere 7 minutes for this one! I grabbed Joe's hand and dragged him through the spooky hotel, and giggled as he screamed on all the drops! Hee hee.

Pictured: Minnie Mouse on Main St. in Disneyland. After we were done enjoying all that California Adventure had to offer, we headed across to the world-famous Disneyland and began to take on all the popular rides at the resort.

Pictured: Joe and I on the Space Mountain ride. It was near the end of the day; Joe and I were exhausted. We had gone on over 15 rides, saw several parades and shows, watched the fireworks, and walked around for hours. But I couldn't let him leave the park without riding on my absolute FAVORITE ride in Disneyland--Space Mountain. He was a little hesitant to go wait in the 15-minute line, but once we sat front row for the last roller coaster of the day, he enjoyed every moment of the ride, and thanked me after for making him go on it :-) 

Pictured: Joe and myself in our California shirts. What summer trip would be complete without a souvenir? At the end of our Disneyland trip, during our walk back to the car through Downtown Disney, I stopped and picked up this shirts as a conclusion to our trip. I figured they were convenient and something we'd actually wear and recall our fun trip with each time we use them :-)

So that, in total, was our fun California trip. Joe concurred that he got to see most of California, and that he had a wonderful time. My family loved meeting him, and it was great to be back on my stomping grounds... even for just a few short days.
How many of you went on fun trips this summer? Maybe even vacationed in a different town than your own? Link those posts up, I would love to see! :-)

Photography Link Up: Sunday Snaps Week 6

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Hey everyone! I hope you had a great week with the start of September and the return to classes. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are out at Starbucks, and Fall is not too far away! Now, if this Texas weather could get on board with the upcoming season change, everything would be fine and dandy ;-)
Here are some of the top highlights from the previous link up week:
Photo by Life's a Beach
Photo by Finding My Way in Texas
Photo by The Grant Life
LOVE every single one of the above photos! Great framing, great job capturing the moment, beautiful focus, and beautful lighting! Good work, ladies! :-)
If you were featured, please don't forget to grab a button and brag about it on your page!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.sarahbtexas.blogspot.com" title="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country"><img src="http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg634/SarahBTexas/Snap%20Shot%20Sunday%20Stuff/wasfeaturedSSbutton.jpg" alt="Sarah B Texas @ City Girl Gone Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
And now it's time for the beloved, weekly photograph link up you all know and love! I can't wait to see what y'all have in store this week! Be sure to tell your friends so they can join in on the fun, too :-) (Remember you have until late Friday night to link up ANY post from this week containing a picture!)
Rules:

• Please follow both of your hosts! (Myself and Jules)
• You MUST provide the party button somewhere in your post in order to link back to this party (available to the right on my sidebar). Failure to do so may result in your link-up being removed.
• Link up to specific posts, not just your blog.
• Please only link up to three blog posts each week. 
• HAVE FUN! And follow some of your fellow link-up bloggers while you're at it! ;-)

A little more sneak-peek to my Vaca-time

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I know, I know. I'm behind... REALLY behind. I've been on two trips and have nothing to show in the blogging world for it except an extremely overdue post up on Sunday Snaps and a bunch of emails asking what corner I ran to hide in. 
Rest assured, I'm alive! I stupidly bravely planned a four-day trip with my sweetheart to visit his family in Michigan and take in his hometown. What makes this so brave? The fact that the minute I would touch back down on Texas soil I'd be hitting the ground running with the Fall semester. Who likes playing catch up? Not me.
SO, now that I've gotten my classes, books, and homework all taken care of and under control, I'll give you a little sneak peak into our Labor Day weekend MI trip. At some point, I will be posting a Summer Vacation wrap up with highlights from both our CA and MI trips, but for now, a few teasers will have to do ;-)

Joe and I were fortunate enough to be taken to the Frederik Meijer Botanical Gardens by his mother. It was breathtaking!

I took full advantage of the beautiful plants, flowers, waterfalls, and sculptures available at the gardens with my trusty Canon Rebel!

Joe's mother fired up the bonfire pit one of the nights we were there, and it was such a delight to sit by the fire as the sun went down and take in the lake's beauty.

We both had a great time. I enjoyed getting to see the Mister's hometown, and I think he enjoyed showing me the ins and outs of Michigan. I would LOVE to go back again sometime soon!
What did you do for the Labor Day weekend? Anything exciting or different? I'd love to see! If you're a college student like me, hang in there! I know the initial start back to classes is so hard!
Until next time...