Frolic {blog party + link up}

Is it wrong to particapate in a blog party because it has yellow in the button? Yes. OK then!


Guinevere is hosting a blog party in honor of her 1 year blogoversary {yay!} and the impending summer arrivial {double yay!}, and since I'm a sucker for blogging milestones, I'm linking up!

Favorite thing about summer? The time spent with my family hanging by the pool, reading & sipping iced green tea wearing my Calcutta sunglasses while laughing at my little bro. Oh, and I can't forget the sleeping in & watermelon for breakfast days. Love those!


In your opinion, the best scent in the entire world? Gardenias. Hands down, gardenias.
 
An embarrassing moment: Too abundant, I'm afraid. How about the time I tried to volleyball smack a rubber ball & instead slipped on the wet grass and landed square on my new phone in front of the WOL group. Or! How about the time I made an awesome cannonball that turned into a belly flop type thing? Yeah.

This is a bit overdone, but, what's your clothing style? Jeans, a t-shirt, and Sperry's, people. Comfy & casual all the way.
 
Deep question time: vanilla or chocolate? Need I answer this?! Choco lover right here!
 
What do you think: is the Twilight fad dying out?  And if it is, are you dancing over its grave? The Twilight fad IS dying a slow & painful death, so cue the par-tay music!! Seriously, I never knew what was so great about pale guys who take their shirt off every chance they got AND wanted to bite they're girlfriend. Weird.
 
Favorite quote? I'm not a quote junkie, but Emily Joy's Gmail chat status is {and has been} "Smile. Makes people wonder what you're up to."
 
Best thing that has ever happened to you and why? I could be the good Christian girl and say my "saving" day or my baptism day, but getting my camera on my 15th birthday was awesome too. :)
 
Traveling: where would you want to go? Anywhere overseas, but I have a heart for places with strong accents, so I gotta say Africa, Scotland, Ireland, and Czech Republic {place of my ancestors}.
 
Favorite food? Southern food all the way! Hush puppies, mac and cheese, and yes: fried chicken. On the other hand, health nut stuff is a craving of mine as well, like hummus & pita chip and/or preztels with veggie sticks.
 
What type of music do you like? Bob 93.3 & and Big Fish FM are my fave radio stations, so I have a wide variety of music taste.
 
Canon or Nikon? (If you're not a photographer, don't feel like you have to answer this...) Canon all.the.way!! Love my Canon Rebel XS.
 
Are you a squeamish person? Any stories? Nope, not squeamish to the point of grossing people out. You could literally throw up on me and I wouldn't even flinch. Same goes for bugs.
 
Flipflops, bare feet, or heels? Bare feet as often as possible!! Flip-flops second, and since I've never worn heels EVAH, I can't say about the high heels.
 
Do you like old black and white films? Never watched one. I think I just heard a collective ::gasp:: from the crowd.
 
Skirts or jeans? Jeans, pleaseandthankyou!! Skirts are my first choice in the summer, though.

Fresh or saltwater? As much as I heart my pretty blue pool, I love the smell & sting of saltwater/the ocean.

Delaney first alerted of this awesome blog party, so kudos to her!! There are just about a million prizes and not many entries, so chances are nice & bright for YOU to win a pretty! Click HERE to link up and put your hat in the jar linky machine!!

hello monday {12}

{hello monday}

{hello bright sunshine and warm temps; goodbye drizzles & dreary clouds}

 {hello bowl of Walmart cereal}

{hello WOL QuietTime, Beth Moore book, and first lesson of math}

{hello finishing 2/3rds of school at 11:30AM ::squeal::}

{hello shower}

{hello peanut butter crackers with apple and popcorn [i know; i eat like a king]}

{hello second lesson of math}

{hello random chores in between outside reading sessions}

{hello ACT studying}

{hello dinner and clean up}

{hello the most epic CHUCK in a looong time}

{hello DTWS and Castle}

{hello sweet sweet bed}

{hello monday}

---------------------------------------

This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due.

happy mother's day {2011}

"those three words

are said too much

or not enough..."

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

 I love you, Mama, so much it's not funny. I don't say it often, but when I say it I mean it. And, for the record, I'm so glad you & Dad decided to get married and have a skinny kid named Sarah-Anne, then another handsome one named Thomas Clark. {Comic gold credit to my pretty friend Becca.}

And, since I have the attention of the moms out there, I want to give a shout out to my adopted Moms: Miss Danielle, Miss Elizabeth, Miss Beth, and Miss Martha Duke. I love you girls and I've learned so much about being a wife & mother during the great times we've had together. Thanks for all you've done for me and my little ol' family.

women's car care clinic

A couple Saturdays ago, Mama & I attended a Women's Car Care Clinic hosted my the awesome husband-wife team, Waylon & Kimberly from Import Services. First off, these people are ah-mazing. They make you feel at home there at the shop, both in the garage AND the lobby. They're just all around great people who radiate the love of Christ & have a passion for helping people keep their cars in great shape! 

Before the class officially started, we sat in the lobby & enjoyed the delicious food and got to know Waylon and Kimberly and their story of how they started their business. After everyone arrived, we went into the garage where we supposed to introduce ourselves. I say supposed because we all sang the praises of Import Services & how great they are! ;) Waylon worked on the ol' Volvo since I'm going to inherit that car when I'm allowed to drive! Thanks Waylon!! Up next is the seat controls since they're broken and this girl is a shortie...

An hour later {yes, we had that many good things to say about them!}, we started off the class with a lesson on tires and brake pads...

{did you know brake pads are metal?! not a spongy thing like i thought they were?! crazy, man}

...warning lights...

...and lessons on where your car battery is, plus a lot of great info in between!! 

{did you also know that some car batteries are in weird places like the trunk or under the backseat?! i'm proud to say that i did know that!}

{coffee on a car engine. so awesome I couldn't resist snapping a picture...}

On to the hands on part! We all went outside to learn the ins and outs of checking your oil level... 

... recognizing what's what under the hood...

...the difference between clean & dirty air filters... {Can you guess which one is which?}

 ...check tire pressure in stilettos, no less...

...check the oil on different cars...

...learn about little knobby things that are important to mechanics ;)...

...and learn that when all else fails and the oil is running low, grab a cup and make a funnel! My life is now complete!! 

And we were done...almost 3 hours later!! Seriously though, this class was so informative and I didn't feel stupid at all because I didn't know how to do half these things because hey: there we're people there just like me! Waylon & Kimberly presented the info so clearly that even if you didn't know a THING about cars, you left knowing more than the basics. 

And, because no blog post of mine is complete with random shots around the place that I consider "artistic", here you go...P.S. You're welcome. ;)

 

 {i seeee youuuu!}

 {a canon 40D. :: simultaneousnesly drools & squeals at the awesomeness::}

 Thanks for the great class, guys!! I now feel so very smart about all the basics, and I will highly recommend it to anybody and everybody! :)

a {yellow} giveaway

It's been too long since my last giveaway, readers. So, because I love you and want to be your bestest friend forever, it's time for another giveaway here at Simply SA! And, since I still ::swoon:: over all things yellow, the 3 items are yellow. No duh! Are you excited yet? You should be!

The first item up for grabs is a yellow wrap around scarf from the super ruffly shop Boubo, run by the equally super Yvette!

{organic bamboo jersey ruffle scarf}

See what I'm talking about? So ruffly and perfect.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Secondly, Ilene from Much Love Illy {blog and shop} offered up her bright and springy yellow headband! Seriously jealous of the winner here. 

{just friends poppy garland headband}

I heart each and every one of Ilene's handmade goodies, but this one has a special place in my heart. :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lastly, the third giveaway item was donated by the wonderful Esmeralda of SilverBlueberry. Again, seriously jealous over here.

{silver citrine ring}

So simple, but so pretty and feminine!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So how do you win these awesome goodies?! It's quite simple actually: just follow the guidelines below.

1. Go to each shop (links above), come back here to SimplySA, and tell me what you like the most from one or two or all of the shops below.
2. Become a follower of SimplySA.
3. And, lastly, you can blog, tweet, or Facebook about the giveaway! Only one of these options, though, and leave the link in your comment. Please and thank you!

Disclaimer: All three shops provided the goodies for this giveaway when I convo'd each lady and begged asked nicely if she would be willing to do a giveaway for me. Even though I didn't come out of pocket, I'm supporting her, and all the other sponsors, business via my Favorite Things Friday + Saturday Shopping post...and this giveaway. Just thought you should know! :)