April/ May favorite things!

1.    Peonies… any explanation needed there?

2.    L’Oreal Sublime Bronzer. Guys, this stuff is awesome!! It doesn't leave streaks because you don’t need to rub it in! Just spray! I also like it because it doesn't smell like other lotions and it’s not orange.

3.    5 Love Languages by Gary Chapmen. I have read this before but I decided to read it again as a wife! Even though a lot of the information seems to be common sense it is crazy how much I took from it even the second time. I wish every couple had to read it.

4.    Jean jackets! Seriously I think I have had my GAP jean jacket since middle school but they are totally “in” again (wait, were they ever out??) and it has been my go to these months.

5.    My Canon 5D Mark ii. One of my most favorite possessions and it has been by my side these past couple of weeks now that wedding season has begun. I recently switched from Nikon to Canon but I’m never looking back… I am finally starting to get a feel for it and I’m obsessed.

6.    Chobani Flip. MMMmmm… I was a Fage girl up until I tried the key lime pie Flip. It’s like dessert.

7.    Imagine Dragons. This has been on repeat since I downloaded it… It’s the perfect running music. 

This week I am working 4 days at Children and Youth and I have 3 weddings back to back Friday, Saturday and Sunday (ah!) Luckily, I have off Monday to recuperate.

Weston and I are also celebrating 10 months of marriage today WHAT THE HECK??!! I seriously can’t believe it’s been 10 months already. I know celebrating months together is a very newlywed thing to do, but we will take any excuse to go out to eat haha and between our busy schedules date night has been something we have been really intentional with.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Bridal Shower #1

This weekend was my bestie, Alyssa's {surprise} bridal shower at The Vineyard at Grandview!!!

It has been a long time coming and I am so happy we pulled off the surprise! She had wanted me to take their engagement pictures and so we planned to take them yesterday which is how we got her to the vineyard. I had a white dress for her to change into and all the appropriate undergarments haha. 

With music playing a lot of yummy food AND wine, of course it was a goooood time. We also planned some fun games and watched her open her entire kitchen and bathroom haha. 

Alyssa is one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet and I'm so happy we were able to shower her as she gets ready to take the next step in her life! Nick (Alyssa's fiance) is Weston (my husband's) best friend... cool huh?? Anyway last year Weston and I got married and this year it's Alyssa and Nicks turn! This time is our lives is so freaking fun and I love that we can share it with these two! 

Here a a few details of the evening!! 

Now it's my sister's turn to be showered! Luckily, it's not a surprise shower so I don't need to worry about keeping it a secret (and I have until July to recuperate from this one haha)! I honestly love planning these things and love that I have these two to celebrate this summer. 

I hope everyone else had a great weekend. 

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Update

Life Update:

Life has been pretty busy over the past few weeks and I’m preparing for it to get even busier!

Spring has finally arrived and I have been trying to take full advantage of the gorgeous weather. Long walks, jogs, picnics, hikes, etc. have been my source of stress relief from all the business.

Two weekends ago I was also able to travel with my best girlfriends to the Finger Lakes, NY for a wine tour. It was seriously so much fun…! All 6 of us crammed into one hotel room and just laughed the whole weekend. It was a five hour drive each way BUT surprisingly that was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Singing loudly to our favorite songs and playing strange car games were some of the highlights.

Weston has started fishing again so it was a good weekend for him too! He caught us a bunch of trout to eat and I supplied the wine for the next couple of dinners. ;)

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Work Update:

I work at Lancaster County Children and Youth as a protective caseworker. That means I work with families that still have their children but need some extra help. I work with these families to get them on the right path and hopefully help them find and utilize resources that prevent the placement of their children. As you can imagine it can be a pretty tough job.

I grew up in a foster family where we over 32 children come in and out of our home… and my two youngest siblings are adopted so this profession is near and dear to my heart. It can be really tough some days but the success stories are why I do it. It’s something that is very hard to explain but I know that this is where God wants me to be right now.

I am also a photographer and wedding season is just beginning!!! Some awesome things have happened and I am shooting 22 weddings this year… YES, I said TWENTY TWO. Haha… I managed the get 10 on my own and then I was asked to second shoot with my favorite photographers …EVER at Brooke Courtney Photography. I am still kind of in disbelief that this is actually happening but I could not be more excited.

So between my full time job as a caseworker, 22 weddings, not to mention my little sister’s AND best friend’s weddings (which I am MOH in BOTH) in September I am going to be one busy girl.

Some people call me absolutely crazy but I could not be happier with the opportunities God has put in front of me.

Weston on the other hand is still teaching in York City Schools. He is learning to love it so much and we are preparing to hear if they are renewing his position into next year. This is something that has been weighing heavy on my heart for many reasons and prayers are appreciated!

Music is something that we feel is so important and it breaks my heart that it is even a consideration to take it out of the schools. Anyway, I could go on forever but I’m leaving this one up entirely to God! There is only one quarter left in his school year and during the summers he works at a golf course which he absolutely loves.

As we prepare for this crazy awesome summer to start I wanted to update you all and write it down so in a couple years from now I can look back and remember all of this.

I can’t think of anything better than being married to your best friend. It has been 9 months (ONE YEAR THIS SUMMER… whaaaat?!) and I just can’t imagine doing life with anyone else. It has been such an amazing journey so far and I just cannot wait to see what else is in store. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with happiness that I just want to cry. I don’t know what I did to deserve all of this, but I’m truly so thankful. Life has certainly not been perfect but I would not change a single thing.

I read a verse the other day that struck me hard. John 13:7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

I had no clue this is where we would be now and I have no clue where we will be a year or even a couple months from now. BUT it so incredibly comforting and exciting to know the creator of the universe knows and is orchestrating everything.

***I apologize for my scattered thoughts and updates. I hope you are all doing well!! Xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Mexico

Some Grandma’s pay for college, others go all out at birthdays and Christmas… My Grandma, well she likes to take us on vacation. Over the past couple of years she has taken (and paid for) 18-20 of us to Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Mexico.  We are a busy family and she knows one way to get us all together is take us somewhere tropical :).

We are so blessed.

This trip was a little harder then most because my Grandma’s dementia has gotten a lot worse, even just over the past couple of months. This trip was probably the last one we will be able to take with her, and I’m really glad we were able to do it.  She is one of the most fun people I know and she’ll be 80 in October!! She loves Jesus, her family, beer and the Steelers. She was a principal for many many years and raised two amazing kids (one being my Dad).

The week was spent mostly just relaxing and spending time together as a family. I brought my “good” camera but ended up using my phone for most of the trip! Some of my favorite parts were, of course, the free food and drink, riding gold carts all over Isla Mujeres, running with the sunset Easter morning, having my own room with Weston (this was the first family vacay as a married couple :)), our personal hammock on the porch, the 85 degree weather, sun, sand, palm trees, and summer clothes all week!! Mexico is also where Weston and I honeymooned in July so it will always have a special place in my heart. 

Here are some iPhone pics from the trip! One day I’ll get around to uploading the rest.

2AM wake up call to get to Philly by 6... this was needed.

Somewhere over Jamaica!! Getting excited!!

Someone needs some color... bad.

Sunset and Palm Trees... Sigh.

main sqeeze. 

INSTAX!

Easter morning run with the sunset!!

Take me back?

More Instax!

The colors made my heart happy.

Grandma <3.

So in love with this guy.

Clear water!! 

My family was making fun of me for this, but how cool are the doors?!

Grandma held a sea turtle!!

My little (and not so little) munchkins!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Good for the Soul

I have never been the most athletic person in the world (I can’t even touch my toes! True story!) BUT I love being active!! I also love my friends… put them together and BAM!

 

God has blessed me with the BEST group of girlfriends ever… and since college has been out we have made it a point to get together at least once a week. One of our favorite things to do (When The Bachelor isn’t on TV) is go on ridiculously long walks. It sounds silly, but I have to say it’s one of favorite parts of my week. We also recently signed up for The Color Run in Washington DC so our walks are going to slowly turn into runs. I started running here and there but I’m excited to have a goal to work towards and some awesome people doing it with me!!

picture by Miss Amy B :)

 

BRING ON THE WARM WEATHER!!

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

February/ March [Favorite Things]

I have decided to start a monthly blog tradition of my favorite things!! 

1. Tone it Up!! I'm heading to Cancun with my family at the end of the month and so I have been kicking it into gear when it comes to working out and eating right. My friend introduced me to the Tone it Up girls and they are so awesome!! I have been following them on Facebook and Instagram and they have so many great ideas for living a healthy lifestyle. Check them out! http://toneitup.com/index.php

2. Mineral Powder by Maybelline. I have been using Bare Minerals now for a couple years, and love everything about except the price. I also always end up running out of my powder before anything else. Anyway, I tried this Mineral Power by Maybelline and I LOVE it!!! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Bare Minerals and saving money. 

3. Wedding magazines!!! Ok, so I know I got married in July ...but being a wedding photographer gives me the excuse to buy these wonderful things, right?! My sister AND bestie pants are also getting married this year so I've really enjoyed helping them plan!

4. Vine. Well, I've only posted one video so far, but I'm loving the idea!!

5. JLaw and Mr. Cooper. DUDE, if you haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook... GO. NOW. It is definitely one of my all time favorites. 

Happy Friday, friends!

Mrs. Parrett

Weekend Away

My mother-in-love got Weston and I a "weekend away" for Christmas. We looked into a bunch of places and ended up choosing AC, NJ. After the work day I had on Friday I was more then ready to start our little road trip. Weston starts his job this week (yay!!) so it was an even better time spend the weekend with just the two of us. 

Here are bits an pieces of our wonderful weekend. 

Road Trip!!

Bridges, beaches, sun rises, and sea gulls

Snow on the beach?!

 Jumping on the bed and room service!!!

 Red lips and a handsome hubby :)

Happy Presidents' Day friends!! 

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Valentine's Day!!

I know today is a commercialized day to express your love, but I’ll take any excuse to do just that! I'm so in love  sometimes I could just cry (of happiness, of course). 

Our day started with heart shaped french toast thanks to Pinterest. Weston has the week off before he starts his new job so while I was at work he made our apartment extra special to come home to. AND he must love me because after dinner he took me to see Safe Haven. :)

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!!! I hope yours was so special and you remember YOU are loved.

Goodnight! xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Wow

This morning I woke up feeling overwhelmed with joy.

If any of you had read my "January 7th" post you know that it has been a tough road finding Weston a full time job. He graduated with a degree in Music Education and has applied to almost 100 jobs. Thankfully, I have had a full time job with benefits, and he has been able to find a substitute job almost everyday so we've been OK... but it's taught us a lot of patience because we had no idea where we would end up. I would be lying if I didn't say we weren't frustrated with the situation.

WELL, on Tuesday Weston had an interview at York City School District to be their K-8 Music Teacher. On Friday he got a JOB OFFER. GAH! The cool thing about this all is that he is not locked into this specific position and so there are a couple other music ed jobs he has applied to which means he has some options for the fall.... Wow. I can't believe I can even use that word!!

I am so proud of my husband for sticking with it over these past couple of months. AND I'm so thankful that we serve a God who knows so much more then we could even comprehend!
My prayer is that we continue to trust in Him no matter what is thrown our way and that we trust in His timing of it all.

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

P.S. With all this excitement I haven't been able to sleep past 7AM this weekend (I'll regret it tomorrow) but since I've been up for a while now, I put some blueberry muffins in the oven and I'm contemplating how to wake him up before church. *mwah ha ha* I love married life so much.

Baby Serenety

Alyssa and I had a blast today shooting baby Serenety! Between the gorgeous head of hair and big deep blue eyes we were in photography heaven. (This did not help my baby fever!!)

A Pep Talk

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Six Months?!

Tomorrow marks six months of being Mrs. Parrett.

The day I married Weston will forever be the best day ever. Although it wasn’t the most traditional ceremony it was US. We wrote our own vows and just had a big celebration afterwards surrounded by our closest friends and family. We made the food, picked the flowers and prayed it would all go smoothly.

In one aspect, I feel like it happened yesterday but in other ways I feel like we are an old married couple now ;).

This half of a year has been more then I could have imagined… after dating for seven years I wondered how different marriage would be, but let me tell you, it’s so much better. Living with your best friend is so fun!! It’s a sleepover every night!! It has NOT been perfect, but it has been an amazing journey. Simple things like grocery shopping are so much more fun with a husband.

With that being said, I feel as if there is all this hype about getting married. People want the glitz and glam of finding a wedding dress and having a perfect wedding but they forget WHY they are doing all of that. Sure, planning a wedding was one of the most exciting, fun parts of my life, but the end result is so much better. MARRIAGE is a lifelong commitment. Through all the ups and downs, in sickness and in health… etc. Marriage is doing life with your best friend and you NEVER know what life will bring you. My prayer is that my marriage will be more beautiful than my wedding (and I may be bias, but I thought our wedding was pretty darn beautiful)!

Here are 6 reasons why I am so happy I married Weston.

1.    He is the most genuine person you’ll ever meet. If he says it, he means it, and he’ll do it.

2.    He is so happy! Like, the contagious kind that makes any day better.

3.    He sings to me… and when I say this I mean he sings to me at home, in the car, the shower, over the phone, etc. This kid loves to sing and I LOVE that he does.

4.    He’s super helpful. He cooks, he does the laundry, and he washes dishes! (Ok, ok sometimes I have to ask but who’s complaining?)

5.    He eats anything, which is a blessing when you are learning to cook and trying new things!

6.    He still loves me after living with me for 6 months. ;)

The Mr. and I both have off tomorrow AND he's planning something (sneaky sneaky)!!! Can't wait to find out :)

xoxo Mrs. Parrett

Date Night

Knowing that sushi is the way to our hearts, my mom gave Weston and I a kit for Christmas! I was so excited to use it and thought I would plan an extra special date night so we could. 
It was so fun! We had the Gavin Degraw Pandora station playing in the background and attempted to make shrimp tempura. It was harder then I thought, but after a "practice round" I think we got it!! 

xoxo Mrs. Parrett