My Lifelong Dream

I have loved linking up every Tuesday with Lauren and Tiffany.  It's sad that today is the last day, but hopefully fingers crossed they have another set of ten fun topics for us next!!  But first, today's topic...

I have lots of lifelong dreams, but the one at the forefront of my mind recently is getting married.  Not just getting married to anyone, but to the love of my life :)

I absolutely can't wait to be married to my best friend.  To be able to relax together on the weekends.  To be able to overcome life's challenges together.  To be able to create a home together.  To turn two into three and then four...eventually (but that's a whole different lifelong dream).  To wake up next to one another and say goodnight in person each evening.  To continue to figure it out together.  I can't wait for this lifelong dream to become a reality!!

Andrea :)

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

This is a bit late, but I did want to squeeze it in there since traveling is one of my favorite things to do!  It is very difficult for me to narrow it down to just two places that I have traveled since I have been to all 50 states and many different cities in Europe.  If you want to check out some of my travel adventures, please be sure to look here on my travel page!

I'll pick one American city and one European city...

LONDON

This is one of my favorite cities (and one I'll be returning to later this summer).  You can check out the recaps of my trip there with my parents two years ago here and here.

SAN ANTONIO

This is easily in my top five US cities list.  Without a doubt.  It is such a lovely city and so very relaxing!  Definitely want to visit there with Chris someday!  Check out my recap here from my last visit there!

Andrea :)

I'm an Aunt...again!!

Landon Michael Heflin - my little nephew - was finally born this morning at 8:55am!  He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long.  We waited and waited and waited for him to decide to come and then when he did, he really got here in a hurry!!  There was a lot of commotion surrounding the birth, but I'll just say that both he and his mommy are doing fine now!  So thankful that all is well and this little blessing is the newest addition to the Heflin bunch :)

Dear Landon -

I am so happy you are finally here!!  We thought you never were going to arrive, but I am so glad it worked out for me to be able to meet you in just a couple of days!  (I had to wait a few weeks to visit your sister when she was born - I didn't like that at all.)  I'm excited to share our birth month - trust me, July birthdays are the best!  You are almost exactly 30 years younger than me little buddy. I just want you to know that even though I don't live nearby, I look forward to being involved in your life.  I'll set up a FaceTime schedule with your parents so I can keep track of you!  Look forward to watching you grow and learn.  I love you so much already my handsome little nephew :)

Love,
Aunt Andrea

Can I Quote You On That?

I have lots of favorite quotes. I can't ever seem to remember them exactly when they would be most useful, but I love collecting them!

Here are three some of my favorites!

"God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, the COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference"

"Yesterday is history. Tommmorow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."

"Love the Lord your God, and love one another. Love one another as he loves. Love with strength and purpose and passion and no matter what comes against you. Don't weaken. Stand against the darkness, and love. That's the way back into Eden. That's the way back into life." - Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

"If you have to justify something, it's probably not worth it..."

"Don't make someone a priority when you are only their option!"

"Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So, love the ones that treat you right; forget the ones who don't. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. No one promised it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

"It's not the good times that make friendships, it's how you recover from the bad." - PJ on MY BOYS

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."

What is your favorite quote?

Andrea :)

Chicago + Pumpkin Alfredo Ravioli

This Weekend, I had two extra days of fun!!  It was awesome to have the Thursday and Friday off from work!!  I was also able to check a couple more items off my 30 before 30 list.  It's down to the wire now so I was glad to get those two done.  I have one more I am attempting to complete before the 24th!  Now, back to my long weekend of fun!

On Thursday, Chris and I headed out to Chicago around noon.  When we arrived, we were starving so we grabbed some airport pizza before heading downtown to meet up with my friends Tarra and Evan!  We had so much fun with them while we were there!  That night, Chris and I headed to The Second City for an awesome improv show!  We loved it!!

On Friday, we toured around the Money Museum (for FREE!!) and then met up with Evan and Tarra for brunch. 

 

 

We made our own money!  Such a fun spot!

We made a pit stop at the bean!

After brunch, we found a little gem of a cupcake place - Sugar Bliss!  I was so pumped they had mini cupcakes!

Finally, we made our way out to Wrigley Field.  It was such a fun experience.  The stadium is so old, but in a really great way.  They have ramps leading up to your seats instead of escalators and that area is really consumed by the all things Wrigley.  It was cool to see the ivy walls in person, too!

After the game, we had a delicious dinner at City Winery in the West Loop area of Chicago.  We had great company and amazing food!  Definitely recommend trying it out!

On Saturday, we went on an architecture tour during the peak of the day and even though the sun wasn't really out, I still managed to get burnt on my shoulders.  

We also went up to the Sky Ledge at Willis Tower.  I didn't think I would be scared, but when it was my turn to step out there, I was SO nervous.  It was a really unique experience!

We headed back to NYC that evening, but not without getting some Garrett's popcorn at the airport!  I even managed to accidentally get the Chicago mix - cheddar and caramel.  Yummy!

On Sunday, I made pumpkin alfredo ravioli which completed one of the items on my 30 before 30 list!  Thanks to Kaitlyn at Wifessionals for the recipe - you can find it here.  We had some yogurt for desert while I did some laundry that afternoon. And even managed to make it to the evening service at Calvary which we both enjoyed.

I have a HUGE week (and a half) ahead of me with our National 7-on-7 Tournament and National Lineman Challenge coming up so wish me luck with both of those massive events out in Cleveland!  Here's hoping they both go off without a hitch!

Hope you had an amazing weekend!!

Andrea :)

Book #10 - Before Ever After

Before Ever After was sent to me via a book swap with Ashlee over at A Step in the Right Direction. I was so excited to participate in that swap...and I'm so glad I did because this was an awesome book!  I really liked it!  I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I got past the first couple of chapters...I was totally hooked!!  I could not put it down! 

The story is told mostly from Shelly's point of view.  Her husband, Max, was tragically killed around their 5th wedding anniversary.  Max's grandson finds Shelly a few months after his passing to alert her to some interesting information about Max.  This news finds Shelly reminiscing about the very beginning of her courtship with Max which happens to have occurred on one of Max's famous off the beaten path tours.  The stories Shelly recounts from cities all over Europe are fantastic and really draw you into the book.  It was especially fun to read for a travel fanatic and history buff like myself.  I loved reading the stories about ancient times in each city.  And of course, the love story was wonderful as well.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys romance, history, and/or mystery.  It has a little bit of all three mixed in there.  It's also a very quick read!  Let me know your thoughts if you have a chance to check it out!

Andrea :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating our great country's independence!

I'm on my way to Chicago with Christopher to check another item off my 30 before 30 list.  I'm getting down to the wire. Only 20 more days to go before the big 3-0!!

Enjoy your day!!

Andrea :)