Tag Archives: friends

Puzzles & Pajamas

June 26, 2013 Pamela Stephens

I wrote this post several months ago (as you’ll be able to tell by the fuzzy pajama pants), but I never got around to posting it. However, after a slight mental breakdown on Sunday night, I decided this message was relevant again. I suddenly realized that I haven’t taken a day or even a few hours off, since I started this new real estate career. I was both mentally and physically exhausted, and I didn’t even see it coming. Finally, I realized that I have to be just as diligent in giving myself a break as I was when I was running Salt & Pepper. Therefore, I decided to come back to this unpublished post. It’s as much as a reminder for me as it is to share with you guys. So here it goes…

I have a habit of putting off things that I want to do in an attempt to accomplish more of what I have to do. Problem is, I’ll never finish everything on that must-do list, which means I’ll never feel like I can let myself have a little fun.In this post, I mentioned several little things that I wanted to do (like this blog) and said I was going to make a better effort to actually let myself do some of them. And I have!

One of those little things was wanting to put together a puzzle. My mom and I did puzzles all the time as a kid, and I loved them! I bought a puzzle probably 3 years ago and haven’t given myself the go ahead to do it at any point over the past 3 years. How sad is that?!

Soooo…I finally decided that life was too short to keep putting things off and made a goal to put my puzzle together. Turns out my BFF also enjoys doing puzzles! (We’ve been friends for almost 8 years. I can’t believe I didn’t know this already.) The puzzle I had was of a man and little boy propped up against a tractor in a field….not very exciting. Needless to say, we ended up with a whole lot of green pieces that all looked the same. Ultimately, I decided that “life is too short to waste time on miscellaneous greenery” and bought a new puzzle. (Amanda will appreciate this because it’s the exact text I sent her when I decided to give up on puzzle #1.)

Matt & I stumbled upon a cool Las Vegas puzzle, and it was perfect because Amanda and I had just returned from Vegas. We needed a good place to start the puzzle (other than my dining room table like before) and we didn’t have a big box or any of the other puzzle tricks, so Amanda jokingly suggested rolling up the living room rug and then rolling it back over the puzzle when we are done for the day. It was one of those moments where we all laughed and then simultaneously looked at each other because it was a great idea!

While this puzzle story seems a little useless and trivial, it was actually a big turning point for me. A point where I decided that in order to stay sane and enjoy this ole life of mine, I’m going to have to sprinkle in things that I enjoy among the things life requires. Rather than puzzles waiting, clean baseboards can wait. Laundry can wait. It can all wait…and give me the opportunity to have a little fun. I already have my next puzzle lined out, and I will make a diligent effort to begin working on it as soon as possible.

Are there any fun things you’ve been putting off? You’ll be amazed at the refreshing feeling that comes after you make a little time to enjoy yourself. What sort of fun activities have you been putting off? Leave a comment!

What I Wore: Memorial Day

May 30, 2013 Pamela Stephens

When I started this blog, I figured that I’d eventually get around to sharing outfit posts. I always get a ton of comments about my attire and would like to share details. However, to be completely honest, I secretly hate taking photos of myself, and I hate sharing them even more! Even though I’ve planned several outfit posts since I created this blog, I always talk myself out of posting them. However, at the encouragement of my wonderful husband, I finally decided to take the plunge. (If you’ll haven’t noticed, he thinks I’m great at everything….thankfully.)

I will preface this post with saying that this is not, in any way, one of my best outfits. However, it was festive and a happy occasion, so I thought I’d go ahead and share. Besides, if I didn’t go ahead and start, I’d just keep putting the outfit posts off until eternity. So here it goes…

This Memorial Day was a happy one! It was the birthday of one of the kindest, most beautiful (inside and out), and talented young ladies that I know. Not only was it her birthday, but she got ENGAGED! Her parents and now fiancé set up a surprise celebration to commemorate this exciting time, and I was happy to be there to congratulate them. (Drew, I’m warning you here on the world wide web that you better take amazing care of that girl! She deserves a prince charming like no other!) My advice to you both is to always put each other first. Never, ever criticize each other in front of other people, and always avoid hurtful words…even in the heat of the moment. Enjoy every second of this special time!

Now, back to my outfit post. When I’m choosing what to wear each day, I often pick one item that I know I want to wear and then pull the rest together from there. I may change the other pieces a hundred times, but I typically stick with whatever initial item I gravitate to.

Today, it was white jeans. When deciding what to wear to the event, I knew that I wanted to wear these particular white jeans and wedges. After trying on a few different shirts, I decided on this navy and white patterned top. I really like its rope straps. To be honest, I hardly ever wear it though. I probably haven’t worn this top in well over a year! Today was its lucky day.

At the start, I was wearing these yellow wedges with the outfit, but then suddenly remembered it was Memorial Day! I’m not one to typically wear red, white, and blue together, so I used this opportunity to take advantage of the holiday. I switched the yellow wedges for red ones, and sprinkled in some red jewelry.

One of the most frequent pieces of fashion advice that I give is to not overdo it on matching accessories. I tied in the red shoes by adding the red, bamboo bracelets, but I didn’t add red earrings so that I wouldn’t be too “matchy-matchy.” Instead, I wore the cream and turquoise feather earrings with a splash of red in them (currently available at Salt & Pepper!). They had just enough of the colors from the outfit, but added another element too. As I post more outfits, you’ll notice that I do not like being overly matched and will sometimes try to not match at all! It’s kind of my thing.

So here you have it! My very first “What I Wore” post! Again, I’m hoping that by forcing myself to share this, I will become a little more courageous in sharing my personal style with you. Let me know your thoughts!

Outfit details: top and pants – Banana Republic; shoes – Gianni Bini (Dillards); bracelet & earrings – Salt & Pepper

1 Comment Fashion 2013 - friends - What I Wore

Our Wild Weekend.

May 13, 2013 Pamela Stephens

This weekend was a busy one. We spent Friday night hanging out at the new River & Rail Cantina with Amanda. The outing originated from an excuse to wear new shoes, but we camouflaged it as an early birthday celebration for Matt. We sat out on the patio next to the fire pits, overlooking the Ouachita River and had the best time laughing the night away. The atmosphere at R&R is superb. (Pardon the water on Matt’s shirt. I couldn’t crop it out or only my head would be left..short girl probs.)

Saturday brought upon a very special day in the Petrus household…Matt’s birthday! Poor thing had to go help with athletic physicals at 7 am (nursing school probs), but this gave me time to wrap presents and tie up loose ends for his big day. I decorated the house as if we were having a big party. Birthdays were always a big deal when I was growing up. My mom always did perfectly themed parties or special birthday activities, so I feel like you absolutely have to make a big deal of the day.

Even though Matt wanted a quiet night at home, I just couldn’t help decorating the place so that he’d have something exciting to come home too. He grilled some of the most delicious steaks, and Amanda came over to play some board games. I hope he felt extra special on this day.

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and we invited my family over for lunch. I offered to host the gathering, because I’m the only one in my family who’s not a mommy yet. Matt grilled burgers, which were delicious as usual. We all sat around a chatted for a bit. Of course, I forgot to take many pics, but I was excited about this get together, because it was our first family gathering for Matt and I to host at our home! (Again, the firsts are always special!) I did catch a picture of Dana (my oldest sister) with “check yes or no” written in the background. The girls lost a ball under the house, and I couldn’t resist a picture of their attempt to fish it out. (They taped a rake to the end of a 10′ pole!) We may have lost a piece of siding during the process, but that’s ok. Memories were made, and I have a handy husband who can fix it in no time. We enjoyed the chance to spend some time with my side of our family and are looking forward to visiting with Matt’s side of the family soon.

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a weekend as we did! We especially hope all of the Moms have a fantastic time (especially our moms/grandmothers…we love you all!). Now we’re off to another busy week!

You can read about some of our others “firsts” here.

2 Comments Marriage - Other Stuff 2013 - family - friends - husband and wife