Valentine's Day with an Earthquake on top

We had a pretty quiet Valentine's Day: the day started slowly, as we were just emerging for the first time since the winter storm. Our driveway and the roads were still really icy in the morning, so I went into work a little late. Which gave the hubs and I an opportunity to have a little V-day photo shoot. 

You can't read it, but Penny's shirt says "Little Valentine" <3

He was thrilled, naturally. I told him this was his Valentine's Day gift to me!

After work, we headed down to Aiken, SC where my in-laws live to celebrate Valentine's Day with them and go out on a double date. My how Valentine's has changed from a few years ago when we were dating! It was fun though, and I know they loved getting to spend the evening with us. 

When we got home from dinner, we enjoyed some of the festive cupcakes I made earlier in the week, and were going to go to bed early (Alex had a flight out at 5:30 am for a recruiting trip). I was upstairs getting ready for bed when the floor started to shake. I thought Alex had just slammed door or someone had opened the garage, but it got stronger and the rumbling got louder - so much that an old wind-up music box from Alex's childhood played a few notes! After about 8 seconds, it stopped. I ran downstairs and said "What was that?! Did we just have an earthquake?!" And sure enough, we did! Turns out the center was about 30 miles away from us, in Edgefield, SC. It was a 4.4 on the Richter Scale, so thankfully not major at all but pretty cool to feel. My very first earthquake experience, and on Valentine's Day of all days, in South Carolina of all places. I seriously do not know who ticked off Mother Nature this week, but she is taking out some frustration on South Carolina, y'all! Snow two weeks ago, an ice storm this week, and then an earthquake. Yikes. (Sidenote: perhaps I shouldn't have watched the Day After Tomorrow during the snow days this week. Just sayin'.) 

I hope you enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day with your sweetheart - with or without the ground moving! 

xo

KH

Five on Friday: happy Love Day!

Happy love day, friends! It's no secret that I love this day. Candy, flowers, and lots of pink, frilly stuff - it's a fun holiday, even if it's wayyyy over-commercialized! It's just a good excuse to say "I love you." Preferably with wine and chocolate.

I've been cooped up in the house since Tuesday afternoon due to Mr. Winter Storm Pax who decided to wreak havoc on the South and beyond. We were very fortunate - no power outages and no damage due to the ice! Which is amazing considering how much of it we got, along with sleet, freezing rain, and snow. Fun fact: Columbia had four consecutive days with snowfall for the first time since 1899 - so this is a rarity, y'all. 

Which brings me to my Five on Friday! 

I first want to say that I scheduled this post before I knew about the "Team Teddy" challenge, but I wanted to mention it to do my part in spreading awareness. This darling 7-month-old baby boy has been diagnosed with Menkes Syndrome, an incredibly rare genetic disease that is terminal. No one should ever have to lose a child. It's a terrible, horrible, very sad thing. I lift this family up in prayer that they may find peace and understanding in the tragedy, but joy in the rest of Teddy's life! Read more about Teddy's story here.
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One. I'm thankful for snuggle time with my furkids and husband during the storm! We didn't get out and play as much as we did two weeks ago (hello, ice!), but it was a nice break from the ordinary. 

Me and Ellie playing in the ice/snow/wintry precipitation

Two. Ellie cut her paws on the ice, poor baby. The silver lining in it is that it reminded me of what a wonderful Golden we have, who will let us do anything to her, like bandaging her paws time and again. She's such a good girl. 

In good spirits!

Is this a pitiful face or what?!

Three. It's not every day that I get to see my man shovel snow (with a ghetto garden shovel, no less). But it's pretty hot to see my golf coach husband in bean boots, jeans, and 2 days of unshaven face. 

Four. The cabin fever made me bake. I have no other explanation. Calories don't count on snow days, right??

Five. It's Valentine's Day! So tell those you love that you love them. Say something nice to a stranger. And be thankful for your blessings! 

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci! 

When you're "iced in," make cupcakes

Today is not what I thought it was going to be. If you would have asked on Sunday afternoon what I'd be doing right now, I'd have said running around like a chicken with my head cut off during my work event that was planned for today. But good 'ole Pax had other plans, which effectively canceled mine, forcing me to postpone the huge event I've been planning since I started my job in August, involving 15 speakers from around the state including the Governor, which had over 200 attendees who'd already registered and paid....to April 24. April flipping 24th. That is an eternity to have this event hanging over my head. I want so badly to be able to cross it off my list and move on. However, given the absolutely terrible conditions we've got here in Columbia today, I'm glad we didn't risk it. Postponing was the right call.

Anyway, I'm enjoying my second winter weather day in as many weeks, working from home with intermittent snow/snack/pup-cuddling breaks. We've gotten about an inch of solid ICE in the last 24 hours, along with another inch of miscellaneous precipitation (so far) that has frozen, providing an igloo-esque situation and a very real threat of power loss. Since the news keeps saying that loss of power is "imminent" and it might be out for a few days, I figured I better jump on my Valentine's Day baking while I still had an oven.

I decided to make cupcakes, since I had some cutsie cupcake liners and festive sprinkles to use. If you want to make cupcakes that aren't technically from scratch, but have that bake shop consistency (and don't crack or balloon up to epic proportions), this recipe is the bomb.

Bakery-Style Cupcakes from a Cake Mix
1 box of cake mix (I used Betty Crocker's SuperMoist Triple Chocolate Fudge)
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
(yields 20-24 cupcakes)
Mix all ingredients together for 30 seconds on low, then 2 minutes on medium. Scoop into lined cupcake tins using an ice cream scoop, filling a bout 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Let them cool, and then frost and decorate!

I'm feeling generous on this frigid day, so I'll share my frosting recipe, too. I've been using this recipe for several years now and it's to die for. I get so many compliments on this frosting, and it's embarrassingly easy to make. I will not judge if you eat it with a spoon. Because I have.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar
(yields enough to frost about 20 cupcakes)

Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar at a low speed. Once mixed in, beat at high for about 2 more minutes until fluffy.

Place the frosting into a plastic bag, snip the tip, and frost!

Ain't they purdy??
Now dig in. Or share with your Valentine.

And just so you know I'm not exaggerating, here's how much winter precipitation has taken place at my house! Sadly, it's 75% ice. And it's still coming down!

xo
KH

Having faith greater than fear

I'm getting personal today. Alex and I have recently started thinking about having a baby.

We've been married two and a half years. We both have good jobs. We're in a solid financial situation. We done those "Twenties" things like staying out too late or having too much to drink. We've taken the dream vacation to Italy we talked about for years. We've raised two dogs, which although nothing like child-rearing I'm sure, does prove a moderate capability of responsibility. We've done all the things you're "supposed" to do, in the "right order" - high school, college, love, marriage. We feel ready. Or as ready as I suppose anyone ever feels when contemplating whether or not to bring a life into the world.

I am a control freak. I like to have a plan, and stick to that plan. I am extremely motivated by to-do lists and accomplishing goals. And the more I understand (and re-learn from 9th grade health class) about the complexity of what actually has to perfectly align to conceive a child blows all of my planning and to-do lists to bits. I mean, seriously. You start reading this stuff and you think, "How does anyone actually get pregnant?!" I guess that's why it's called the Miracle of Life, huh?

I am a worrier. I have struggled with intense worry many times in my life. Matthew 6:25-34 has been one of my favorite scripture readings for years because I cling to those words: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"...

I don't want to worry about the things that might happen. I have no reason to believe that I will not be able to conceive, or that I will have a child born with complications, or will lose a child. Alex and I are just getting started on this journey, and it's different for everyone. Three consecutive posts in my Facebook feed last week prove this. Three women who I went to college with, all sorority sisters of mine. All love the Lord, all have an intense faith.

The first woman is a mom of 2 healthy, perfect little girls.  She was pregnant with her 3rd, a little boy. She found out around 24 weeks that he had Trisomy 18 and would likely be stillborn. She delivered him last week, a tiny, stillborn baby boy who will never have an earthly life. She and her family are mourning the loss of a child, grandchild, and little brother. Her faith throughout this ordeal has been incredibly inspiring. She was literally bracing herself for the sure loss of a child for 9 long weeks before it actually happened. I cannot imagine.

The second woman found out a few months after her wedding that she was expecting triplets. Natural triplets! Although she had no problem conceiving, she delivered the babies - 2 girls and a boy - very early and, as with most multiple or premature births, there were complications. She just brought the last of the babies home from the NICU a few weeks ago after a nearly 3-month stay. Thankfully, everything looks good now and the babies seem to be doing fine.

The third woman has been trying to conceive for more than 2 years. She recently started writing personal blog posts about she and her husband's struggle with infertility, and the possibility of adopting. They had an adoption in the works, but it fell through. Then, a picture popped up in my newsfeed: she was holding a darling, squishy infant and the caption was "It's a GIRL!"She literally woke up one morning and found out that they were getting a baby that day - no time to prepare a nursery, no time for a baby shower, no time to even tell her job! She is now a mommy, and seeing those pictures makes me well up with tears of joy for her.

These cases are all amazing. They are all sad, terrifying, and uplifting in their own ways. I could go on and on about the many women I know who have miscarried, been unable to get pregnant, have had complications with pregnancy or birth, or have had truly terrifying health scares with their children.

But you know what? I know even more women who have had no problem conceiving, have had beautiful, healthy children, and the only pregnancy "issue" they had was gaining a little too much pregnancy weight.

I must choose to have faith greater than fear. If I start to think about all the things that could go wrong, I'll make myself crazy. And in the end, it's in God's hands. It's all in His perfect timing, in His perfect way, in His perfect plan.

So here we are, beginning this journey that will end one way or another, by God's grace, in parenthood. Which is the start of another journey. I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if I will struggle to become pregnant. I don't know if I will have a healthy child. I don't know if I will have a baby at all. But I DO know that God has a plan. Faith greater than fear.

Here we go! Wish us luck (*wink*)

I feel like I just totally updated my wardrobe

Notice anything different? Young & Southern got a whole new look. It's simple, it's fresh, it's classic. I love it!

I've also added some social icons over there on the left, so if you'd like, follow along.

I'm still changing things around a little, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

And besides the blog redesign, I really do feel like I have a whole new wardrobe: I scored two pairs of work pants, a blazer, and a blouse for a grand total of $32 today. Have I ever mentioned I'm a Maxxinista??

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
xo
K

Steppin' up my game

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


Hey friends. I finally got with the program and joined Bloglovin'. Do me a favor and follow along? Promise I'll reciprocate as soon as I figure out what I'm doing.

PS - I'm in the midst of some changes around here (clearly). Pretty pumped :)

Five on Friday!

Happy Friday! 

This week has absolutely flown by. I'm gearing up for a big event at work next week, so I've been going hard for the last few weeks. I'm down to just 3 business days before this big annual event, so I'm a mix of relieved/anxious/excited/exhausted. Let's just say that I'll be happy when Thursday rolls around and it's over!

Let's jump into these 5 things that are making me super happy!

ONE. Alex and I went to Hilton Head last weekend for a mini-trip. Actually, we went because he was going on a recruiting trip anyway, which meant our hotel, travel, and half our meals were covered. I just went along to enjoy to beautiful HHI scenery (below) and to hit up the Outlets.

Which brings me to my next point...

TWO. I am still on a shopper's high from this purchase. Yes, you're reading that correctly: I saved $461.01 and only spent $57.23 at Off 5th, which means I saved 90%. YES. I know. Amazing. And even better? For that $57.23, I got an adorable Yumi Kim blouse and TWO pairs of Jack Rogers sandals. Shopping success doesn't get much better than that, friends.

THREE. This might seem ridiculous, but I am extremely pumped that Richland County finally got their stuff together and gave all residents an Herbie Curbie for recyclables! Not only is it bigger than our trash container, they're picking up recycling more frequently AND it's all mixed load, meaning you can throw everything in there together and they sort it at the recycling facility. I work with a lot of recycling clients and have recently been made aware of the economical impact of recycling. It's amazing how many jobs recycling supports!

FOUR. My Gator boys are on FIRE right now. After the horrendous football season we had, I was very much looking forward to basketball season, and the Gators have delivered! Is it March yet??

FIVE. This has been my mantra lately! More about this soon! 

Have a fantastic weekend, y'all! 

Linking up with April, Christina, Natasha and Darci!