HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful & safe holiday! Not too much is going on around here, just a bunch of down time with the family :)

Anyway, today I wanted to share with you one of my many celebrity style crushes...

I personally have had a style crush on Blake Lively since her debut on Gossip Girl. It seems as though no matter what she wears she looks absolutely fabulous. Best known for her role of Serena van der Woodsen she has also made a huge splash in the world of movies such as, Green Lantern and most recently Savages.


I love that her look seems very effortless, like she just went into her closet and threw her outfits together... yes, I know that she probably has someone picking out the majority of what she is going to wear, but still, it never looks forced or out of place. She wears clothes that actually make her look good unlike many celebrities out there just trying to make a point. Whether it be summer or winter or somewhere in between I have found a lot of inspiration from her looks :)


Here are some of my absolute favorite Blake Lively photos...











Isn't she stunning?! Who would you say is your celebrity style crush?!


<3 Melissa

It is time for my final 5 questions in my series of posts for "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"! I am extremely excited that I was able to stick with it and finish these questions...

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? Honestly, I would probably write a whole lot more! I am absolutely terrified about finishing my book and then sending it off to be reviewed. It's my baby and to have someone judge it, possibly negatively, terrifies me beyond belief :/

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? Last night before I fell asleep.

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? I love to write, hence this blog & my pending book. I express this love daily, by writing on here or writing a chapter or two of my book I am always expressing my love for writing.

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the one before that? Oh goodness no, I can't tell you what I did on the day before yesterday, I have such a horrible memory. There would be no way that 5 years from now I will remember what I was doing.

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? This question could not be more appropriate for what I am going through right now. I think on a certain level the decisions that I am making and have made have been for everyone else but me, however I see this changing in the near future. It's time that I put myself first and everyone else can hopefully be happy for me and proud of me. I am wanting to pave my own way and not let anyone else tell me what I should do or who I should be :)


Now on to the second part of my Tuesday post... The Bachelorette. I started out giving recaps of the show, and at first, that was necessary with sooo many guys. Now that we are this far into things, there is no longer a need for a recap but whether just me expressing my thoughts on what has happened and what I hope does happen for Emily.

If you don't watch this show then I am sad for you, because while it may seem trivial on a lot of levels, it is one thing that I absolutely love about Mondays. Sitting down with my glass of wine and watching these men all compete for one woman, I mean come on, what is better than watching these attractive men be vulnerable & yes, even *cry* at times. I can't help but be drawn in and I know that many of you feel the same way, there's no need to be ashamed, it is perfectly normal... Heck, even my husband will get caught up watching it with me (then he realizes it and immediately walks out of the room lol)

So this week, I wasn't too shocked that Chris went home. He definitely seems like a great guy but it just didn't seem to be there with him and Emily, I can't really explain it but I just wasn't surprised at her choice to send him home. Sean, Arie and Jef... Her finaly three men, I can't even begin to express how happy I am that it is these three men left standing. The history of this show always seems to prove that in the end there seems to be one person that the viewers aren't too fond of, Emily got rid of those guys quite early on leaving us with three great guys that all make you want to root for them. I know that people are already starting to pick teams & hope Emily picks their guy but I just can't bring myself to do that. Every time I sit down and say "AWW I hope she ends up with Sean" I then immediately think "NO, actually I hope she's with Arie" then on to "Ah, no Jef, Jef is who she should be with"... I am so indecisive and this isn't even my choice lol.

Bottom line, I am very excited to see how the rest of Emily's season plays out, and even more excited for the overnight dates next week and to see who she sends home... It can't be easy, all three guys would fit great with her if you ask me, I can't even imagine how she is going to make this choice.

What do you think?! What "team" are you on?!

<3 Melissa

So back at the end of May I declared that I was going to try and complete the #PHOTOADAYJUNE challenge brought to us by Chantelle {See her blog HERE}. Well I am happy to announce that I stuck with it and am currently working on #PHOTOADAYJULY!!

As promised I am going to share with you all {those of you who aren't following on instagram... WHICH YOU SHOULD *wink* HERE} the pictures that I captured in June for this challenge...

1. Morning, I'm nothing w/o my coffee 2. Empty, her water and food are ALWAYS empty

3. On your plate, bridal shower brunch for my cousin 4. Close up, of where I stayed that week :)

5. Sign, Disneyworld! 6. Hat, GO CARDS! :)

7. Drink, Margarita in Mexico #DisneyWorld 8 & 9. 6'oclock & my view, I missed the previous day however this was my view at 6am that Saturday

10. Best bit of your weekend, mine is always Sunday Funday with the fam! 11. Door, Safe door at our work, that thing is ANCIENT!

12. From a low angle, an amazing pasta dinner I made 13. Art, Yarn bombing outside our breakfast place

14. Time, clock at work 15. Yellow, my classes all highlighted in Yellow :)

16. Out and About, Miranda Lambert concert 17. In your bag, rough draft of the book I am writing :)

18. Something we don't know about you, my true obsession with the Bachelor 19. Imperfect, the roads by my work

20. Fave photo you have ever taken, well this is one of them, my view going home from work :) 21. Where you slept, my lovely comfy bed

22. From a high angle, the start of a great night! 23. Movement, my pups in motion

24. On your mind, our Mexican vacation coming up in August! 25. Something cute, me and Andrew *aww*

26. Where you shop, I'm addicted to this store and online shopping :/ 27. Bathroom, this sums up the El Maguay that I frequent

28. On the shelf, shelves at work 29. Soft, pillows on our couch

30. A friend, well he is pretty much my best friend, it's not always perfect but  that's what makes it fun... And well, these pictures pretty much sum up our relationship hahah!

 BRING ON JULY!!! {Make sure you follow me on INSTAGRAM HERE}

<3 Melissa

Happy Monday everyone! I hope the weekend treated you well... To sum up my weekend in one word, it was HOT! Temps here averaged about 102 degrees each day... Oh, and this isn't supposed to stop the rest of the week either. A lot of places around us are cancelling fireworks for Wednesday due to the heat and dry conditions :(

ANYWAY here's some pics of my weekend...

Friday...

Thompson Square

Darius Rucker

Andrew & I enjoying the concert

Lady Antebellum!!!

Saturday... 

(Wine with my sister)

(Pictures that pretty much sum up our relationship hahah <3 )

(Oh and Andrew & Melanie decided to start a brownie batter war)

(This is how it ended haha)

 Sunday... 

Pool time!!

Just laying out :)

Riding around, visiting our families... Mab looks exhausted!

Sunday evening, watched the final day of Olympic Trials for the women's team for this summers Olympics (Above is the men and women's teams with alternates)

From left to right: Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber & Kyla Ross... Not pictured are the alternates, Sarah Finnegan (She's from STL WOO!), Anna Li & Elizabeth Price!

Nastia Liukin, probably my all time favorite gymnast, won the All Around Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympics, she attempted to make a come back and make the team for 2012 but it just wasn't going to happen, this is her after her final event... Knowing her chance had already come and gone, so amazing... standing ovation... I got a bit teary eyed myself!

And that pretty much sums up my weekend!!!

What were you all up to?!?

<3 Melissa

Monday: Weekend Recap
Tuesday: The final installment of "50 Questions that will free your mind" & Bachelorette thoughts
Wednesday: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY - Celebrity Style Crush: Blake Lively
Thursday: Why I love the Olympics
Friday: Friday Faves & Blogger award post


<3 Melissa