more seaside time

Another day in beach land!!! loving vacation time!

family board games. i am personally not a fan... i painted my finger nails and pretended to play instead. i even tried to make this game into a drinking game...but Mom wasn't too thrilled. haha

but seriously, with letters like this...how can this game be fun?!

josh really likes family fun board game time... this is a pic of him using his "brain power." riiight. 

 aren't my parents cute

we spend a majority of our vacation time riding bikes through all of the neighborhoods and sneaking into houses that are being built. this house was amazing- i shouldve taken pictures

 more bike riding

love!

& the day ends with a lovely dinner on our wonderful patio watching the sun set! 

back up early early the next morning for more bike riding

we found a great climbing tree and of course took some "family fun" dorky pictures :)

i felt very athletic- so this moment in history had to be well documented

 

love this picture :)

 FOUR hour bike ride. whoaaa

 she is probably thinking "this is the life" :) makes me happy

 

:) amc

 

seaside beach trip!

We are in Seaside Florida this week for family vacation! The house we are in is fantastic!!! it has a massive deck that looks out over the white beach and beautiful blue water. 

Here are some pics of what we have been up to:

 bocce ball tourneys!

homemade pizza

bik

bike riding! 

I'll post more throughout the week- off to the beach now! :) amc

cozy bedroom II

whoops! clicked publish a bit too soon and left off these pics...

my boho-neo-traditional-super-cozy room {and not at all 60's looking, contrary to this pic}

recognize the bedding college friends? it hasn't changed- just added some new accent pillows. i miss the days when we would all pile on my bed and just hang out :(

 my dresser is probably my favorite part of my room. it is just an ikea piece but i had my eye on it for the longest time and one day i found it in the clearance room at ikea for a steal {it was a showroom model}! i had to have it, so we snatched it up right then and there, even though the store was closing and it was making us very very late to some party we had to go to. it was a happy day :)

the top of my dresser is covered with jewelry- but in it's special and weird little amanda way- it is very "type a" organized. and i love the bright happy colors. {they arent as overpowering as they seem in real life}

so, that is my room! would love to know what you think! :) happy hopes & dreaming - amc

cozy bedroom

 Some shots of my room. {i know it's not really anything to write home about...but... i'm  writing about it anyways :) }

wonderful books: Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's "Influence" and interior designer Victoria Hagan's "Interior Portraits" 

{yes, that is a yummy newcastle summer beer that slipped into the pic, whhooopsies}

i really love books and the color orange :)

 & i have an obsession with scarves!!!

pretty things that make me smile :)

My self-named "blog manager" {aka boyfriend josh} thinks that blog posts about "things that i think are pretty" are lame. But today i do not care, i was in a blah mood today and decided to look through my computer folders at the pictures that i have saved this past month. :) looking at pretty things can really make you smile and take your mind to a different place! 

here are some things that i have found this past month that make ME smile! 

Everything about this says Amanda Macy! striped see-through girly t-shirt, ribbons, pearls and a BOW! This necklace is part of a beautifully adorable line of girly bridal things called Untamed Petals. Perfectly perfect! I love it all!

I am an unashamed overzealous take-more-than-is-polite match stealer. And how super cute are these matchbooks!!! They are being used as wedding favors here...hopefully I can remember this idea when it is my turn, super cute and super me. {you should see the old Tiffany's bag I have filled with matchbooks...it rocks}

 {WORK HARD & BE NICE TO PEOPLE}

how simple and brilliant is that!!! i want to paint it and put it in my office- haha!

 

speaking of paint-how wonderful is this! this wouldn't match my room very well, but i realllllly want this Caitlin McGauley print!  And I really want the necklace with the tassles! awesome! Think I could make it??!

I have an un-secret obsession with Lauren Conrad. Not really as "a person"{sidenote, i hate when ppl use that expression} but I am slightly obsessed with her as a makeup, hair style and outfit inspiration point. It is sad, but honestly I google that weird little privileged Laguna Beach LC from time to time for style inspiration. Anddd I am guilty of buying her book and going to a book signing to meet her and have her sign it. What a sad life I live. But she may have caught on to the fact that more people care about how she looks than what she says or "designs."....because she launched a beauty tips website! & I love it!

 

stunning.  i love every single little thing about this photo.

So! Don't you feel happier?! Cause I do. Pretty little things that make me smile... that is what hopes & dreams are made of :)

amc

date-iversary number one

Last week was Josh and I's one year anniversary! I like to call it a date-iversary though. It is so weird to think that it has already been a whole year, the BEST year! :) I will spare you my mushy-gushy-iness, but I have to tell you about our date!

We went to a dueling piano bar in Marietta called Red Sky and it was soooo much fun! I wish it were a little bit closer to home but I still can't wait to drag my friends and family there. We had a great night singing along to favorite songs, eating great tapas, sipping drinks and enjoying each others company.

 @ Red Sky... probably right after belting some Benny & the Jetsssssss!

As part of my gift to Josh, I made him a mixed-media painting. It was really special to me to do this for him because I hadn't painted in a really long time and I really put a lot of thought and love into it. I even cried a little while I was making it for him! Just thinking about how special he is to me and how HAPPY I am! :)

 

I used a photo from one of our first dates at a Braves game on Memorial Day last year. We had so much fun together that day and still talk about it to this day. I blew up the pic, cut us out and mod-podged us to a canvas. I painted in the background and then made a border out of pics of vintage Braves tickets. I think he was really surprised to get a painting from me and didn't quite know what to think, but he immediately hung it on his wall and that made me feel really good. :)

Honestly, each day I look at him and tell God THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for showing us such joy, happiness, love and hope {and dreams, haha}. 

blessed! :) amc

sorry for the mushiness... and p.s. thank you Josh for the new laptop that I am writing on! yay!

happy words & happy pictures

Lately I have been back to my old, time-sucking habit of combing through blogs. I really do love it. It's fun to peek into someone elses life and join in their joys, hear about their struggles, watch their lives develop and learn some good ole life lessons {and recipes & diy tricks!}. Blogs also tend to send my Hopes & Dreams mind into crazy town.... my mind starts to go a mile a minute thinking of the things that I want to create, cook, paint, build, wear, the list goes on!!!!! :)
Sometimes though... it gets the best of me... so today I am reflecting on the fun little things that I have found on blogs, recent pics that make me smile and some verses & quotes that should probably race through my mind more often.
here goes:

IN HIS HEART A MAN PLANS HIS COURSE, BUT THE LORD DETERMINES HIS STEPS {proverbs 16:9}

me and grandaddy- I absolutely love getting to spend time with him- brightens my days!

THE JOURNEY IS THE REWARD

me and my perfectly sweet {and ruggedly hot in this pic!} boyfriend during a recent hike. he gets a ton of credit for calming me down, slowing down my mind and helping me enjoy every single little happy thing about life. love!

{i grabbed this next one from one of my favorite blogs}

I TEND TO THINK..."IF I JUST HAD MONEY TO FINISH THIS OR THAT" OR "IF I JUST COULD GET ___ THEN I WOULD BE CONTENT." AS THOSE THOUGHTS CREEP INTO MY MIND THE LORD GENTLY REMINDS ME THAT THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME.

i recently snagged a bench from craigslist {this isn't it...} and while it doesn't have the sides or details like this one- i still love it and am so proud of my find {i should post a pic of it sometime!} :) this bench however is just wonderful, i love how cozy and inviting it is

WHAT YOU WILL DO MATTERS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS DO IT. {judy grahn}

simply cute!

"FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU," DECLARES THE LORD, "PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE." {jer 29:11}

this table makes me smile! happy happy joy joy!

a big smile for this one too :)

happy hopes & dreams!
amc