These Are My Confessions...

"Just when I thought I said all I could say..."

(if you aren't singing that right now then clearly you are too young to be reading my blog. Gotta love some throwback Usher!)

 

I just feel the need to get some recent confessions off my chest. I miss the Confessions link ups (they are probably still around...I'm just out of the bloggy loop).

 

I confess...

 

It annoys me that there are always haters in life.

 

I haven't been drinking hardly any wine at all lately, who am I? Summer brings out my inner beer lover.

 

Humidity is the devil. You'd think living in the South my whole life I'd be used it to... but you never get used to frizzy hair and sticky sweat.

You know Lebron is my boo... but I really can't be mad about the Warriors winning it all last night. If you don't have love for Steph Curry then you ain't living right because that boy is incredible. This whole playoff series was so fun to watch them battle back and forth.

 

And now that basketball is over...
80 days until College Football is back! Can I get an AMEN??

This guy has truly stolen my heart, y'all. He's just everything that is precious and I pretty much spend all my time with him these days. I'm completely that annoying girl who is newly in love. I apologize for blowing up your Instagram, Twitter & Facebook feeds with my heart eyed emojis for him. #sorrynotsorry

PS - NO I'm not naked :)

I have an obsession with neon bathing suit pieces. (Just a quick poll - does anybody even wear matchy bikini sets anymore? I am all about that mix & match life.)

Speaking of obsessions... The Weeknd and Meek Mill are high on my list right now. And little miss Kelsea Ballerini and her "Love Me Like You Mean It" jam. FYI - she's from Knoxville!

Again with neons & obsessions, I got a new pair of running shoes. You know, because all that running I've been doing??? (jokes) I'm a slacker and I've only used them once, but I love them. this is the 2nd pair of neon yellow and pink Asics I've had so I guess you could say I'm a big fan.

I'm finally reading The Andy Cohen Diaries. I love that man and all his Bravo magic - especially those crazy housewives. Can he be my spirit animal? The book is really good, so far.
 

Y'all heard of Firmoo yet? If not then you need to hop on over there and check out their selection of glasses! This is the 2nd pair that I've gotten from them to review, and I doubt I'll ever get glasses anywhere else again. They are GREAT - easy to deal with, easy to order, great follow up to make sure you're happy with the glasses. Plus, they have a ton of new styles, frames and colors to choose from. A girl needs choices in her life! Plus - as a new customer you can get 15% off instantly just for trying them out.

 

5 on a Friday!

{ONE}

I spent last weekend living it up in Charleston with Manda & Christa! a) What an awesome city! We had a blast! Plus, anytime brunches & mimosas are involved I'm happy. b) Isn't blogging so awesome to bring us together? Christa doesn't blog herself but she's been reading mine forever and we finally got to meet for the first time last Nov for our blogger Nashville trip. Manda and I have had several adventures together too! Gotta love the internet & internet besties! If you follow me on Instagram {@nikkib918}, then you probably got your fair share of pictures. But I have to say, one of my favorite parts was the FOOD!

Because shrimp & grits is the BEST, especially with hushpuppies, boiled peanuts and a beer! This is from Hyman's downtown, and I would HIGHLY recommend that place!

{TWO}

Have y'all seen/heard the buzz about this?? Yeah NBD Lil Jon is just a Vols fan now! #ThirdDownForWhat    All I have to say is, FLORIDA IS GOING DOWWWWN this year! I cannot even handle the excitement!! #VFL

 

{THREE}

iPhone 6 iPhone 6 iPhone 6! Let's all chant it together! I'm going to get mine this weekend and if I wasn't crunk enough already about Florida game weekend, then this is really pushing me over the edge. I'm still rockin' the sad little 4s from 2011. I am definitely due for an upgrade!

 

{FOUR}

October is breast cancer awareness month! My mama is a breast cancer survivor! I've already pro-actively had my first mammogram 2 years ago, at the advice of my doctor based on the age my mom was when she got sick. Also, my cousin who is a survivor - and is an amazingly strong woman and former Lady Vol basketball player- had this neat write up about her yesterday in our local paper.  So do yourself a favor, and feel yourself up this month to make sure you're good! And take advantage of the extra reason to wear pink!

 

 {FIVE}
And in case you needed some Amy Poehler wisdom to get you through your weekend - here you go.

 

Five on a Friday!

I'm pretty sure that the 5 on a Friday link-up isn't going on right now (hopefully just during the summer?), but I'm just going to pretend like it's still a thing. And since I'm clearly a part-time blogger now, Fridays are all I have to offer you. #sorrynotsorry Life, it has been a'happenin!

 

{ONE}

I have a boyfriend!!!!! A real, live, Facebook official and everything boyfriend. I know you're probably either experiencing a heart attack at this moment, or you have fallen out of your seat because I knocked your socks off. It's true. I'm not even sure I remember how to have a boyfriend, but here we are. It makes me want to pee my pants with excitement and terrifies me at the same time. He's a saint, y'all. And my absolute most favorite thing about him is his heart for Jesus. I had never looked for that in a boyfriend before, so I never realized how incredibly attractive it is.

 

"If you are a woman of God, don’t sell your spiritual birthright by marrying a guy who doesn’t deserve you. Your smartest decision in life is to wait for a man who is sold out to Jesus." - J. Lee Grady

 

{TWO}

Football is back. Praise the Lord! First home opener game was a big fat WIN, and just so happened to be sold out. There are few things in life that are sweeter than spending an evening with 102,000 of my closest friends and cheering on our boys. I had a blast!

Actual picture I took at the game - gorgeous skies that night!

{THREE}

If you can listen to this song, and not sing it all day then you're a better woman than I am. My co-workers are probably sick of hearing me sing "I'm bringing booty back" non stop.

{FOUR}
I started an online bible study with Love God Greatly about the book of Esther. Can I just be 100% real with you right now and tell you that it's only the first week and I have been blown away by what God is revealing to me? In just a few short days, my heart is lighter than it's been in weeks.

I've been struggling with a lot of emotions recently, and being in a new-ish relationship (while exciting) has definitely caused me some internal conflict. It's so easy to become complacent and too focused on the world's distractions around us. I am incredibly guilty of this, especially since I got home from my mission trip. While God is always pursuing me, I can easily push my pursuit of him to the side. When stress starts to weigh me down, I can all too easily fall back into the ways of claiming control over things as a coping mechanism. I revert back to old ways of dealing with my emotions - which is basically not dealing with them. Old, ugly scars were definitely starting to rear their little heads with my relationship issues. None of that is from God. This Esther study started at just the right time. It is truly amazing the ways that God will reveal himself to us, if we just make the time to seek him. I am constantly in awe when this happens to me. Yet it happens time and time again. This verse just captivated me.

"Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory..." -Pslam 115:1

I forget sometimes that I'm a changed person. My natural instinct is extreme independence. I used to pride myself on the strength that came from that. But I am reminded that I do not have to face any of these feelings alone. That instead, if I pour my heart out to God, He will renew me. I am reminded that through my weaknesses, God shows his healing power.  And that is the best feeling. Glory to God!

All that being said, just wanted to share this little nugget from Wednesday's lesson with you.

 

{FIVE}

If you read nothing else this week, read this. I love the idea of women holding each other accountable, advocating for each other, and just supporting each other - no matter what stages of life we are in. I would gladly do this with ANY of you over guac and margaritas - even if we have to do it virtually. It's important!

 

Happy Weekend, my loves! AND GO VOLS!

5 on a Friday

 

 

{ONE} It's Bama eve baby! Bama hate week is HUGE! Traditionally TN vs. Bama game is always the third Saturday in October... we got a little screwed up with our schedule this year so it's the fourth Saturday. They will win, I'm sure, I mean they are #1.  #butchplease But I think my boys will put up a good fight. GO VOLS!

 

{TWO} Today is this sweet fur baby's birthday! I can't believe she is 3, feels like just yesterday we were driving to get her and she pooped on my lap on the way home.

 

{THREE} My kickball team had an 8:30 game last night. The temp at 8:30 last night was 42 degrees. EFFING COLD! I had to cave and turn the heat on when I got home just to warm up. We lost...but we celebrated with the other team like we both won. And that's what sportsmanship is all about. One of the guys on our team got pissed because we had gone to pre-game. Some people  are too competitive and it really annoys me. IT'S A REC LEAGUE!

 

 

{FOUR} I want to change up my hair! It's so dry and nasty from all the blonde this year. It needs a re-charge. I always get the urge to go dark in the fall/winter. But it completely washes me out, and I am only one shade lighter than Casper right now.

 

{FIVE} My Hal Pal got to go see LB last night! So in honor of her, and really just because I can't get enough of him and neither can you...here's your man candy for today!

 

Thursday Things to Love

1. Too Faced Primer -  Primed & Poreless

 

My skin is naturally combination, meaning I have dry patches but mostly oily in my T-zone. Since I don't wear foundation, throughout the day I have to powder up and conceal blemishes. This primer is a miracle worker. It makes my skin more even-toned and helps me not to have to do so many touch ups.

 

2. Dirty Hair - {enter baby powder}

 

Man I love having dirty hair!!! Weird? Yes, but very very true. I am so thankful for the day that Ms. Kelly from MessyDirtyHair walked in my life and taught me a trick or two. I was a have to wash my hair every single day kinda girl before I started blogging. And the thought of that now just exhausts me. I try to push it as far as I can and I've been known to rock the 4th day hair. I've tried several dry shampoos but baby powder is my absolute fav for making the dirty hair look possible for me.

 

3. New Devotional - Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore

I started this 10 week daily devotional today with a close friend. I've never done a Beth Moore one, but I've heard she's nothing short of amazing. My friend who found this one for us has been a spiritual mentor to me over the past year. She happens to be my pastor's wife, but she and I were friends before I even started going to church with them. She has helped me so much with my journey to find myself again and helped me be able to trust in God's plan for my life. I'm excited to see what comes of this!

 

4. Local Celebrities

So last night your girl here got to meet UT Football Coach, Butch Jones. To you, this sounds dumb and perhaps non-exciting. To me? It was heavenly! I squealed and smiled too big for the picture, but I couldn't help it! GO VOLS BABY!

 

5. Leggings & Boots

I love fall weather and all the clothes that come along with it. Boots, leggings, scarves - sign me up! If you happen to see me around over the next several months, I'll be wearing some variation of these outfits all.the.time. My wardrobe staples will be: cowboy boots, riding boots, booties, scarves, black leggings.

 

Weekend Shenanigans

 

I'm in an "I hate Monday's" mood today! I only got maybe a couple hours of sleep last night. My weekend in sports was heartbreaking! My Vols fought SO HARD on Saturday and they deserved to win that game, but sadly ending up losing 34-31 in OT to Georgia. It's been a very long time since I've seen Neyland Stadium that excited though. Then the Braves last night, I mean what the hell kinda joke was that?? Torture. My poor voice has suffered this entire weekend.

 

BUT I got the spend alllllll day Saturday with my love bug Alexa so I really can't complain! You know when you picture a bloggy friend in your head? Well Alexa (& Glenn) were EXACTLY how I pictured them - Extreme Vol fans, fun loving, hilarious, pretty people, perfect couple, sweethearts. I felt like I had known them for years and we had so much fun together! Despite the sweat we endured on Saturday, we had AMAZING seats for the game! I miss them already!! Blogging is such an amazing thing how it can bring two people together who were just meant to be friends in real life. I am blessed with THE BEST bloggy loves!!

 

Excuse my obscene boobs in this picture...it's just the way I was sitting I think...

VIP Friends & Family Seats on the 40 yard line, about 20 rows up - PERFECT SEATS to watch our boys play their hearts out!

We met up with Lauren & Erin on Market Square for drinks after the game. Such a fun night and we talked about everything under the sun! Love these ladies!

 

Can we go back to the weekend already? I don't want to play work today! COFFEE ME UP!

FRIDAY!

Friday is such a beautiful thing! And today is Football Eve and Lord have mercy after watching that South Carolina game then Vandy vs. Ole Miss game last night THIS girl is ready for football time in TN! Game day is such a powerful thing and I am so thankful to have grown up with the UT traditions and to be an alumni. It just means something to us around here! You know you are an addict, when this picture gives you goosebumps. CHECK!

 

My Vols are a rockin' a new coach this year (AGAIN), but we have high hopes! This season might struggle a little, but the future looks bright again! Feels like we are ready to finally rebuild this program back up to where it should be.

You know us Southern girls take our football very seriously. My mom must have missed that memo because last night she actually said to me "does Peyton Manning still play for the Titans?" I about fell out on the floor! See why I'm a daddy's girl?

 

 

 One of my early birthday presents I've gotten was this cute little number from my step-mom. I love it and I've been lusting after these on Pinterest for forrrrrrever! Just in time for game day!

 

So here's to a fast Friday, a looooooong Saturday full of tailgating & football and a 3 day holiday weekend! Oh yeah and GO VOLS!!!

 

 

In honor of football finally making it's way back to Rocky Top I gotta throw it back to the song that we will sing at the top of our lungs 230924357345x tomorrow and love every single second of it!

 

Friday's Letters

 

Happy Friday y'all! My girl Heather from RHONY couldn't have said it better! HOLLA!

 

Dear friends - Thank you guys again for another week of well wishes, prayers and support! I wouldn't be doing as well as I am right now without it. I mean it! XOXOXOXOX Dear girls night tonight - I can't wait to get drunk have fun with my homegirls while we make glitter wine glasses! I'm so excited. I'm sure it will look like a glitter bomb went off in my house but hey that's what girl's nights are all about, right?

Dear Zumba - I can't wait for our date bright & early Saturday morning for a little ass kicking. If you guys haven't tried Zumba yet, you need to. It's like a dance party but a workout. We do the wobble dance at my Zumba class and I always leave feeling like I left the club. Dear Duck Dynasty - I could not love you more if I tried. I literally watched 4 back-to-back episodes last night and laughed my butt off. Out loud. In the dark in my house with only the Christmas lights on. That's not weird is it?

 

Dear my new single lady budget status - I hate your guts. Being on a budget is no fun! I'm gonna have to start going on dates just to eat! (I'm totally kidding...sort of). Dear dirty hair - I'm so glad that my best girl Kelly introduced me to you! My hair is lucky if it gets washed once every 4 days now. Dear Vols - Are we going the Jon Gruden route or no for our coach? I'm just so confused! If I get a vote, then I say yes because he's kinda cute. Freckles, anyone?

Happy Friday loves!

Friday's Letters

Dear my AMAZING & THOUGHTFUL readers - I cannot thank each of you enough for your kind words on my post yesterday about my mama. Even though we haven't met, your support means the world to me. Thank you for taking the time to even send a thought my way. YOU ROCK! Dear new car search - I can't really complain about getting a new car, but the process is just exhausting. I hate car shopping. Please go easy on me. (PS - I really like the Acura TLs - anybody have one of those??) Dear birthday next Tuesday - I'm ready for the birthday celebrations, just not ready to get another year older. Can I just be 25 forever? K thanks! Dear Messy.Dirty.Hair - thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of messydirtyhair. It's probably the best thing that's happened to me all year. I go for like 3 days without washing my hair now - and I never thought I could! Dear Gym (I know this is a repetitive one) - WE WILL MEET AGAIN SOON! I need your endorphins to cure my stress. Dear Vols - please whoop the hell outta Florida this weekend. We need it! ESPN Gameday is in town and we need to show these boys what's up. GATOR HATER BABY! (all my Florida friends, I love I really do :) If you are coming up for the game please let me know!) So ready for tomorrow's festivities!

 

Dear Bubble Necklace Lovers -

Have you entered my giveaway yet to win one in your choice of color?? Better go do that now, it ends Tuesday.

Happy weekend!