#OurProject52: Love/Heart

I am not a big Valentine's Day person. My husband normally tries to sneak in a gift for me during my birthday celebration the week before. This year was no different. I originally wanted to photo what he got me this year. I procrastinated too much and my roses died. The kids have been playing with my bear and his neck is literally about to fall off. Poor fella.

Yesterday after school Savannah was eating one of the many heart shaped lollipops she received. It looked like the perfect photo op so I reached for my iPhone.

I am loving the camera on this thing. Between how awesome the camera is and the amazing photo apps I learned about during an instagram class my pics have been getting better. Or at least I think they have. 

Are you a big Valentine's Day person?

7 Days of Love: Romantic Dinner Date

They always say that the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach. That couldn't be more true for my husband. I make him dinner everyday but every now and then I make something a bit yummier than my normal crock pot one pot weekday wonders. When I really want him to feel extra special I make one of his favorite meals that he'd order if we were out at dinner.

He always orders a salad with his meals when we're out for dinner so I make sure to do that for him at home. Then I'll make his favorite pasta dish and we'll have brownies for dessert. Come to think of it tonight's dinner would have been perfect to share. I made a steak and shrimp pasta with mushrooms, spinach and roasted zucchini. It was delish. 

I tried to find some pins that are similar to what we had tonight. Pair this with his favorite wine (or beer if he's a beer guy like my man) and one of those outfits from yesterday's post and you're all set for a great start to a nice evening. 

Visit Fatima, Drea and Carissa to see more romantic dinner ideas!

7 Days of Love: Sexy Date Night Outfit

I am going to keep it all the way real with you. We hardly ever get out for dates outside of the house. We don't live close to friends or family so a true date night is hard to come by. Since most of our dates happen here at home that's the outfit I'll be sharing with you today. 

Once the kids are asleep my husband normally preps the living room for our movie or DVR mini marathon. While he's doing that I shower and find something to wear. My husband appreciates the dressed down, relaxed, girl next door look. If I'm being honest I love it too. There's something so sexy about not being so over the top.

My favorite date night outfit has to be some shorts that fit perfect. Short enough to be inappropriate for public wear but still long enough to not be considered panties. I normally pair that with a fitted tank top but I'm also loving these new sheer crop tops I recently bought.

pajamas by thechicsahm featuring tall shirts

So what do you think? You probably didn't expect to see this. Don't worry. I have plenty of 'real' outfits    coming up in my Vegas recap. To see more sexy date night outfits visit Baby Teems, The Green Eyed Lady Blog and So She Writes by Miss Dre.

7 Days of Love: Our First Kiss

I am going to do my best to remember this story. It happened back in 2002 so that's a very long time ago. If I'm not mistaken I think our first kiss was on our first date. 

I think I talked about this before but I met my husband during minority weekend at our college. Before school started that Fall I returned to campus for Freshman orientation. My bestie and I went together and I remember being so excited about learning more about the college experience.

One night after all of the mandatory fun was over my bestie and I had a double date with my husband and his best friend. (If guys don't say best friend, sorry, I had no idea what else to call him. They are besties. Pretty sure I'm gonna get killed for this too, LOL) We went to see Undercover Brother. Later we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

The date went great. I remember how funny and cool I thought my husband and his friend were. They had very laid back personalities. They weren't trying too hard. They were just fun to be around. Our friends didn't hit it off at all but my husband and I had immediate chemistry. 

We had our first kiss after that date. I remember thinking, "Well that's not how the boys kiss in high school." Hahaha! It was great. I actually remember my husband telling me, "There was no way I wasn't going to try to kiss you tonight." Swoon.

Here we are on our first date. Before this kiss…

To see more first kiss stories visit So She Writes by Miss Dre, The Green Eyed Lady Blog and Baby Teems.

7 Days of Love: How I Keep My Marriage Hot and Sexy

I think so much goes into keeping a marriage hot. For me personally, the first thing I do to keep my marriage popping is to feel good about myself. I workout, eat good and I try to make time for myself. I strongly believe that having a life outside of your marriage keeps things interesting. When I feel good about myself it makes me happy and you know what they say, "Happy wife. Happy life."

As a soldier my husband works long hours. Between their workouts and his actual work schedule he's gone for the majority of the day. I always try to make sure that dinner is ready when he gets home. It's the little things. I know he's going to be starving when he walks thru the door. Having dinner done is my way of saying thanks for all you do on a daily basis. We have dinner as a family at the table. This gives us a chance to connect and talk before I start the kids bedtime routine.

Having these kids in bed at a decent hour does wonders for my marriage. My husband and I enjoy watching TV together. Our favorite shows get DVR'd and we catch up together. Another thing I did to keep the sexy in my marriage was get these kids sleeping in their own beds. Let's face it, your husband wants to sleep with you not you and the kids. It took a lot of work for me to get them sleeping in their own beds every night and it's been great for my marriage.

Our recent getaway to Vegas did wonders for us. It was a beautiful thing being alone with him for those three days. Date nights are great too but this trip was everything. It reminded me what it was like before the babies. I think we both needed that.

So I keep my marriage rocking by feeling good about myself, cooking dinner for my man and making sure we get ample amounts of alone time to reconnect. How do you keep your marriage hot and sexy?

For more posts in the 7 Days of Love series check out my fellow motherhood lifestyle bloggers Baby Teems, So She Writes by Miss Dre and The Green Eyed Lady Blog.

Seven Days of Love: My Husband Reminds Me Of...

It's my last night in Vegas and I made time to write a blog post. That's real love. 

Alright. If I had to pick one look-a-like for my husband it would be Derek Luke. He's the actor that played Antwone Fisher. He's been in lots of other great movies too, like Miracle at St. Anna. 

At first I didn't see the similarities that they share but now I do. Ever since college people have been telling me that they favor one another. People that haven't even seen him real life will mention that he looks like Derek Luke. I think I am starting to agree with them.

He is going to kill me for this but here they are side by side…

Sooo what do you think? Do you think they look alike?

Seven Days of Love: Marriage Has Taught Me...

For Valentine's Day I'm collaborating with some amazing motherhood lifestyle bloggers to reflect on love, marriage and how to keep things spicy while living this mommy life. To see the other posts in this 7 Days of Love Series visit The Green-Eyed Lady Blog, So She Writes by Miss Dre and Baby Teems.

When I think about my own marriage, I think about a girl who was so young. I'm not even sure what my expectations were of marriage back then. I just knew I wanted to be happy and I knew I was making a great decision marrying my husband. That was back then.

Now that we've been married for eight years I would have to say I have learned a lot about myself and about marriage. My marriage has taught me that it's okay to be exactly who you are. It's taught me it's okay to speak my mind and be a strong presence. I can be in charge and aggressive without being afraid of someone else's opinion. My marriage has taught me how to be a grown up. A grown woman.

My marriage makes me fearless and free. I have talked about this before on this blog. Here and here. My marriage has taught me to hang in there when things are tough and enjoy every second when things are amazing. Marriage has taught me to be more compassionate and a lot less self centered.

What has your marriage taught you?