Our Arkansas Mini Vacay

Since B is a grad student once again, our schedule revolves completely around LA Tech's class schedule. They are on a quarter system instead of the more traditional semester system and so far we like it! Buie is a full time graduate student and is not working at the moment. We decided to go this route so he can fully focus on school and get out faster. If everything goes on track, he should be done with his Masters at the end of 2014.

Buie finished up his first two classes this summer and as the quarter system goes, you get two weeks off inbetween 12 week classes. We had tossed around the idea of going to the beach or to our favorite city, New Orleans, or perhaps both, but we ended up going back to our home, Little Rock, to visit friends. We stayed for several days shopping, eating, and relaxing with our best friends. It ALMOST made us want to move back to Arkansas... ALMOST. ;)

Here are just a few pictures from our trip::

We stayed with Alan & Jessica for a night and with Brian & Alicia for a few nights. We love our friends in Arkansas and didn't want to leave. I had a checklist of things we wanted to do and people we wanted to see. It's funny how much more *quality* time I feel like we get to spend with our friends when we are here for a few days as opposed to when we actually lived here. On our list of things to do: Visit our best friends. We saw a lot of our friends while we were here. I think it's impossible to see EVERYONE we want but we do make an effort to see most of our close friends and family, including Buie's parents. We usually stop in Rison on the way up to Little Rock. We stayed for one night there and they enjoyed seeing our doggies.

Other things on our list included: Eat at David Burgers. (We actually ate there twice.) Shop at Midtown: Pottery Barn, William Sonoma, James Avery, Container Store, Ann Taylor Loft. Eat at Big Orange. (Yes, we ate a lot of burgers while we were in Little Rock.) We even managed to squeeze in a couples massage for us while we were in Central Arkansas which was much needed. It was Buie's first professional massage ever and he's already been asking for another. I may have started something. Uh oh! ;)

We are getting ready to start another Fall quarter full of history class for B and fall family photo session for me! :) If you would like to book a Fall family photo session in North Louisiana or Central Arkansas, please email me at carabethstudio@gmail.com. I would LOVE to take your family's pictures this season.

Last week on Instagram.

I'm just posting a super quick picture post with Instagram pictures from the last week or so of our lives. If you are pretty savvy with an iPhone, then you probably already have the Instagram app like millions of others and are already obsessed with it too, like ME! :) The BEST way to keep up with us is definitely through this wonderful phone app but some of y'all don't follow us through Instagram like my wonderful mother-in-law. (Hi, Mrs. Carole) If you DO follow us, then sorry these pictures are repeats but oh well, they're cute enough to repeat. :) 

We had a fun opportunity to be momma and daddy birds to these two little guys for about a week. They were born in our garage and we were scared after a really bad storm that the momma was never coming back. After one LONG night of eye dropper feedings, the momma finally came back and continued her very important job! After about a week, the baby birds grew feathers and finally left the nest. I was a little sad. I had grown to love watching the mom bring her babies meal after meal. The mom had become accustomed to me so much that she would actually fly into the garage with me sitting right by the nest and feed her babies with me watching. 

My sweet daddy turned 61 last week! His birthday was the same day that Anniston came home from the hospital but we all (minus Nicole and Anniston) still managed to meet for a quick bit of yogurt and to watch dad open his presents. 

So a while back I took a sewing class and it went okay, I guess...I mean, for a beginner's class. I learned the basics like how to turn on the machine, etc. Lately I have been looking for curtains to cover our 5,237 windows that we have in our new home. It really is ridiculous. Seriously, y'all! Curtains are expensive! So I whipped out my machine, broke a few needles, cursed a few times, but managed to make something that resembles cafe curtains, I think anyway. What do you think?? The left bottom side obviously aren't done but it's a start. After sewing like 1/4 of them, I told Buie, "Now I know why people pay like $350 for curtains!" Hopefully the more I sew, the less I want to throw my machine out the window. 

I have this running "To Do" list. It's not like a daily to do list as it is more of a "Goals" list and one of the things on the list has been to get involved with 4Paws Rescue Organization here in Ruston. It has literally been on my list for months and I finally visited the facility. They have quite a bunch of puppies out there right now and they are adorable! But they have dogs of ALL ages that need good homes. I plan to volunteer with them more so stay tuned for more information about 4Paws soon. :)

This little girl is just the cutest. She's almost two weeks old! I got to hang out with her some last week and she threw the cutest smile my way. It might have been gas, but hey I'll take it! 

And seriously, how sweet are these two. My boys just fill my heart will happiness. I love it when they snuggle.

When I feel like warding off about 10 million mosquitoes, I head outside to do a little herb harvesting. This spring we put all of our herbs in pots since this was our first official herb garden and we really had no clue what we were doing. Honestly I was surprised at how well they did. I harvested quite a bit. I washed them, tied them off in bundles and hung them up to dry. Pretty soon we'll have dry herbs to last us quite a while and all for pennies! I love stickin' it to "The Man!"

We're still taking care of home projects here and there. Buie got our brand spanking new mailbox hung and it's purdy. It's helps to have a lab/border collie mix there to lend a hand for moral support.

I went over one night and helped Craig feed the kiddos while Nicole had somewhere to go during suppertime and we served watermelon for an appetizer right out of the sink. ha! We kept everyone alive and mostly happy so I say job well done. ;)  And my nieces are just growing like weeds! This is little Hannah Banana with little teeth and her cute little grin. I couldn't snap a pic of Makaylan because she is literally all over the place! ha! 

Well, this is pretty much our lives here in Ruston: family, gardening, doggies, house stuff, family, projects, family, photography, kitties, etc.... and we love it! I'm enjoying August because September, October and November are already looking like they will be crazy busy with photo shoots galore! I can't wait for Fall Family Sessions! My favorite time of year!

Anniston Nicole

Our new little niece arrived yesterday afternoon around 2:30 here in Ruston with the chubbiest little cheeks and a head full of dark hair! Anniston Nicole Walker weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces at birth and was so alert and bright eyed for her first few hours of life! She is precious! Nicole did wonderfully during labor, too! From what she said, it was quite an easy labor and birth. We are so thankful for another healthy baby to add to our big extended family. I can't wait to spoil another niece and watch her grow up under the protection of her two older brothers, Landon and Carson. Being the youngest of three and having two older brothers myself, I can honestly say from experience that she is in for a wonderful life. Having two older brothers is the best! They watch out for you. They teach you the ropes. They let you drive with them to school with the cool kids. They will be your friends for life, Anniston, if you let them. 

Mommy and Daddy with Anniston in her first few hours of life. 

Landon holding baby sister for the first time. He was so cute with her. 

Honey and Pop meeting Anniston.

Me & B meeting Anniston. 

 We love you, Anniston!

My Favorite Etsy Artwork

I didn't realize how much art work I have purchased on Etsy until a friend of mine was getting the 2 dollar tour of the casa de Buie and kept asking where all of my framed prints were from. My response to nearly every single piece: ETSY. The internet: it really is an amazing place. But even more than that, ETSY...where artists, vintage lovers, recyclers, crafters, and most of all hoarders can unite as one! 

My most recent purchase celebrates the love for my home state of Louisiana and yes my home town made the map! I LOVE this print! It's so fun and colorful. I just wish that this particular artist made Buie's home state of Arkansas.

Etsy Shop: joebmapart

I'm sure you've noticed in the last few years that chalk art is EVERYWHERE! I can't write very pretty with chalk to save my life. But I don't need do when someone else has done it for me. :) But these are permanent. They don't rub off so no worries! I put the first one right above our coffee area and the second one I actually gave to B as part of his anniversary present. It's what I say to him every night right before we go to sleep. I know I know, we're adorable. ;)

Etsy Shop: Lily & Val

I think this print accurately describes me and my interests: silly, dog, cat, coffee. If only one of them were holding a camera we'd be all set. This print is in our breakfast room and it brightens up my morning! Sometimes when I'm still delirious (before I've had MY coffee) I image our dog Conner and our big orange cat Charlie chumming it up over a hot cup of Joe and it makes me giggle. (Yes, I know I'm weird and spend waaay too much time with my animals. Give me a break, people. I work from home!)

Etsy Shop: 3 Crows

Of course, I HAVE to mention one of my dear friends, Christen Byrd. She is so fabulously talented in every area of her life. She's one of those people you want to hate because she's so darn good at everything creative but you just can't because she's so funny and nice. I'm glad she's my friend. She custom designs these prints for children's room or for a nursery. They make the PERFECT baby shower gift. While I don't currently have any hanging in our home, my brother and sister in law have FIVE of these prints between the two families. As long as they keep popping out babies, I'll keep ordering these prints! :)

Etsy Shop: baby byrds

This shop is probably one of my favorite discoveries thus far on Etsy. The artist's work is simply magical to me, filled with flowers and inspiring quotes. I currently have 6 (maybe 7) prints by Katie in our home and one of my best friends just sent me another print for my birthday that I need to get hung too! Her work inspires me as any good artist's should. I wish she could come paint a whole room full of wildflowers for me. I would never leave it. :) Check out her Instagram feed too @katieisadaisy.

Etsy Shop: the wheatfield

There are thousands of more wonderful and talented artists to discover. If you have found someone I need to know about let me know! I love finding new talent and displaying beautiful artwork. 

My Current Season of Life.

I saw this quote somewhere recently that talked about embracing the current season of your life and it really stuck with me. I think it's natural for us to always be looking forward to something...I mean, after all, time is always moving forward and it seems to do so faster and faster the older we get. My husband and I have recently made a pretty big life change and it drastically changed our day to day life. Instead of looking ahead to when this phase will be over, I'm learning to embrace it. My husband, affectionately known as Buie, has gone back to graduate school to get his Masters in History in order to one day teach (hopefully at the college level). Depending on how the future goes, he may go on to get his doctorate. The Masters is a two year program and so far he has finished one class with flying colors! We still have a long road ahead of us. He gave up a stressful career in retail management to do a complete 180 and go back to school because it was what we thought was best for our family. History has always been Buie's passion. Also, my photography business has done really well since moving back to my home state! However, we still have not sold our home back in Arkansas which is a HUGE prayer request. We need to get that sucker sold like yesterday!

Recently B & I had the whole life plan talk which is exciting and scary all at the same time considering our life plan has sort of changed so much here in the last 6 months. I mean, we are 30 and almost 36 years old and sometimes I feel like we are starting over! But then it hit me. How many people get to start over in life? We really felt like Louisiana is where God wanted us now. It was Arkansas for a season and we embraced it. I loved my job so much at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention and miss all of my friends in Little Rock. Buie talks about his work friends all the time. We embraced our time there...but our time was up and it was time to move on.

So now we're in this new season of life where I am still building clientele for my business and Buie is a student all over again. Yes, we talk about what the future holds... when we'll have babies, if we'll be horrible parents (ha!), if we'll get another dog (I really want a King Charles Cavalier and an Irish Wolfhound), when are we ever going to take our trip to Scotland and Ireland...

But most importantly, we are embracing the now. We are enjoying the fact that we live in Louisiana. We sit outside on our sunporch and listen to the rain poring down and talk about all the places we want to travel to. It may not be exactly what we had "planned," but I kind of like this season in our life.

Surprise!

Today is my 30th birthday and actually I'm 100% okay with it. I've heard different people saying they had a hard time "dealing with" turning 30 so honestly I was curious about how I'd feel once the day arrived. I knew I wanted to celebrate with close friends and family but that was all I really cared about. Little did I know that my wonderful husband had been planning a wonderful surprise party for months! 

Buie sent out Facebook messages back in April and then worked closely with two of my best friends to iron out all the details. The night went off without a hitch thanks to my husband, Alicia, Melissa, my two brothers and many other of my closest friends who showed up to make my birthday surprise the best ever! 

So B TOLD me we were just going to dinner to celebrate our anniversary that we didn't go out for the weekend before...just the two of us. But when I arrived at the restaurant, there were about 25 of my closest friends waiting on me. I was totally caught of guard, like completely flabbergasted! I kept saying over and over again, "I had NO IDEA!" The fact that it was actually a week before my actual birthday made me even less suspicious. This surprise dinner took place last Friday. 

That was just the first surprise of the night. Buie, along with a few of our close friends, booked rooms in downtown Shreveport. We went out downtown and stayed in Shreveport. It was just a fun night! 

And the fun continues! My best friends that came down from Arkansas stayed through the weekend. We had a big slumber party at our house. It was so fun! We had big plans to do a big meal but kept it simple with frozen pizzas, candy and a movie night for the kiddos and they loved it!

Thanks to everyone who helped make my 30th birthday the best yet!

 Today, on my actual birthday, I enjoyed relaxing at home with Buie and our animals. I'm looking forward to the next 30.

Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

The last time we chatted, I was in a panic over Conner's scare that he gave us. Since then, my little buddy has been doing just fine! No more seizures to report! Let's hope it was a one time thing.

So much has happened since I last blogged... Let's get updated, shall we?

Peach season has come and gone in Ruston and they were AMAZING! Since this is our first summer as Ruston residents, we took full advantage in this little peach crazy town. If you aren't familiar with the town, Ruston is known for its peaches. They have a big family owned and operated Peach Orchard. Every year, the whole town comes together for the Peach Festival. I think I ate enough peaches to last until next summer! :)

We are LOVING being closer to some of our best friends. While we miss our Arkansas friends everyday, we are so grateful for the friends we have that live close. Some of us have only dreamed about living close to each other since high school days. I love being close enough to call them up to meet for dinner or an afternoon swim. 

Fourth of July came and went as well. This is probably my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. Unfortunately this year I was in bed sick for days so the only celebrating I did was listening to the fireworks from our back porch. 

 July 5th was our 5 year anniversary and since I was still under the weather we didn't do anything special really. We had a few gifts to exchange to each other and then we took the dogs on a walk around the neighborhood together. It was simple and quite nice actually. It's hard to believe it's already been five years!

Hopefully I can stay caught up on the blog. Some days I think, I don't have anything exciting to write about. Other days, I look back and wish I had written more...even about the simple things in life. So here's so writing more.

I hope your July is going splendidly! :)

Our Scary Morning.

This morning, B and I were relaxing and hanging out talking in bed like we do most mornings before he goes to class. Neither one of us are morning people. We might wake up at 8 or even as late as 9 am, but we are most productive in the afternoon, evenings and even into the wee mornings hours. I guess our clocks never reset after college. Sometimes you'll find us awake at 2 and 3 in the morning. That's when I get my best editing done. Anyway, we were waking up very slowly, talking about our dreams that we had the night before and our plans for the upcoming day. We recently started watching Breaking Bad all over again and I had a dream that B and I were hiding a liquified body in a plastic container. Seriously. If you haven't seen Breaking Bad, then you have no clue right now. (Season 1. Episode 2.)

So as we were talking, checking email on our phone, seeing what's happening on Facebook, you know the usual morning routine... we both heard a sad pitiful yelp come from my baby Conner. Any dog mom knows this yelp of helplessness and I pray to God you never have to hear it. EVER. Something horrible was happening to my dog Conner and I had no clue what it was or what to do. The next few minutes were mass chaos, at least in my mind. I'm pretty sure B stayed reasonably calm throughout the entire event. I kept screaming WHAT IS HAPPENING? Conner's jawed was clinched tight. His paws went straight over his face as if he was covering his eyes or something. His entire body tightened in panic and was trembling. I didn't know if he was choking or if he had broken a limb. All I knew was that something was seriously not right. B mentioned a seizure and then it hit us like a ton of bricks. That's exactly what was happening- he was having a seizure right in front of us and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.

Of course, I screamed, cried and yelled for the seizure to stop, but it wouldn't. I tried petting him, talking to him, rubbing him and when all of that failed, I just sat there helpless and watched as the seconds dragged on.

A couple of minutes had gone by and no improvement. We quickly realized that an emergency vet visit was a must. With tears in my eyes and panic in my mind, I threw on the first thing I saw...which I realized later was an Arkansas tshirt B had bought me, dirty jeans, slippers and a camouflage hat. Seriously, I probably looked like some sort of hillbilly. But at the time I didn't even think of it. I just scooped Conner up in my arms and headed for the nearest vehicle in our driveway. He peed on me on the way to the car, but I didn't care. All I cared about at that time was him not dying. I remember yelling "You're not dying on me, Conner, not today!" So dramatic, now I realize that, but that is how I felt.

I thought my baby was seriously dying in my arms.

I know for all you parents out there, this post may sound silly or dramatic but we don't have human children. Conner, Scooter, Hazel, Charlie and now Lannie Cat are our children. We buy them presents. They even have their own stockings. They sleep with us. I talk to them constantly. I work from home so I hang out with my fur children more than any other human being on this planet and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly like my pets a lot more than most human beings...and that's no joke, y'all.

So you see, to lose one of these guys, is exactly like losing a member of the family because to me, they are 100% family. Our animals are what makes up this family. We spend 90% of our time with our animals and we CHOOSE to everyday. So we may be known as the crazy animal lovers but I'm okay with that. Because until you love an animal, you have not experience the kind of love that is 100% selfless, loyal and devoted.

Conner came out of his seizure about the time we were pulling up at the vets office. He was scared and continued to pee on me and every vet assistant in the office but that's a Cocker Spaniel for ya. :) He is now completely better and is sitting on top of my feet even as I write this. The vet told us that epileptic seizures are common in Cockers and for us not to be shocked if this happens again. If this becomes more common, there is some medication we can get him on to prevent seizures. I might have to get MYSELF on some medication if this starts happening more often! I'm not sure my heart can handle another morning like this morning.

I will definitely be more prepared if this happens again but until then, I will continue to cherish every single day I have with him. Like with any person or animal, I know our days are numbered. Events like today definitely make you stop and appreciate the life we have with our furry friends.

I love our little crazy zoo and right now in life, I wouldn't have it any other way!