adele.

so much in love with this cover. the photo is perfection.

it's one of those issues where i feel like i should keep it somewhere for safe-keeping. adele, after all, has been the songstress of our love story. chasing pavements was like a battle cry for me during my first year of graduate school (good thing i didn't "give up" on shane), and we danced our first dance as husband and wife to her version of to make you feel my love.

love her.

not too frosty frostbite.

Hello, all. It's Shane. Rene has been getting after it lately in terms of blogging so I thought I'd take a minute to post.

I'm a simple guy. The vast majority of my thoughts and actions revolve around three things: Jesus; my beautiful, loving wife; and off-roading.

On occasion, I get to fulfill my off-roading passion by taking out my Blazer, which is built and modified specifically for off-roading, and driving it in places the average vehicle does not and cannot drive.

A local off-roading park puts on an event every year at the end of February called Frostbite. I use Frostbite as an opportunity to meet up with some fellow wheelers and get some seat-time in the Blazer.

Overall, Frostbite 2012 was a great experience. The weather was great, especially compared to previous Frostbite runs. There was near record attendance with 250 rigs and almost 500 people.

Here are some of the pics I managed to get of the trip:

My view of the crowd as I eagerly waited for my raffle ticket numbers to be called.
Lots of great prizes were given away, but I left empty-handed.

Stretching out the suspension on the Blazer.
As you can see, it has a bit more suspension travel than your mama's SUV.

The new Silverado pulled the husky Blazer really well.
There's just something about doing what you've been created to do...

Just a small glimpse of the numerous vehicles in attendance. 

a happy kitchen.

our kitchen is a happy kitchen.

reason number one: husband cleans it with a happy heart because he knows i detest dishes.

reason number two: half-priced chevron towels from target. adore.

playing catch-up.

as was my fear, once school started in early september, i completely forgot about blogging. for your viewing pleasure, i've created a compilation of photographs and summaries to catch you up on our last six months. enjoy!

september:

september included my ten-year high school reunion. homecoming was part of our reunion weekend, and my baby sister, sydney, was a queen candidate. love my sisters!

... shane's not so bad either.  ;)

october:

the highlight of my october was sending bethany a birthday box of goodies. she created a play-by-play so we could see how much fun she had opening the box all the way in japan.

november:

the entire month of november played out like a metaphorical drum roll in shane's head. his favorite holiday, thanksgiving, found us spending lots of time with family. we decorated the trees at dad's house, and i made an anti-turkey dinner of a hensley favorite: mashed potatoes and chicken noodles. don't worry, there was plenty of turkey over the course of the holiday weekend.

in mid-november, on my mom's birthday, we decorated our first christmas tree. i love how it turned out!

december:

in early december we sent out our first christmas card, created by my talented husband (with some serious credit given to amandajanejones -- her amazing work was our obvious inspiration). 

photo credit: simple splendor photography

january:

we spent new year's in london, england! we were able to meet up with beth and dylan on their european vacation and get bed bugs all in a week's time. oh, london...

february:

february isn't over yet, but we've already celebrated valentine's day and shane's birthday! it's a good month.

it's a good life.

28.

this past weekend, my hubby and i spent a few days in tulsa celebrating my 28th birthday. we stayed at the amazing aloft -- the same hotel my girlfriends and i stayed at the night before my wedding.

saturday we spent some time poolside and did some shopping. we had dinner at bonefish grill and finished the night with a movie.

sunday morning, shane gave me my present, a kate spade "i do" necklace. it's pretty and dainty, and i love it to the moon and back.

we had birthday doughnuts (as is tradition) at krispy kreme, where the birthday girl made her favorite boy wear the silly hat for a picture.

after doughnuts, we contemplated the tulsa zoo but decided against it because of the heat. instead, we saw another movie and then met up with my family at dave and buster's for lunch and games. there are zero pictures of the family festivities because everyone was too busy winning tickets to stop for a photo. 

it was a great weekend and honestly one of my very favorite birthdays. 

28, be good to me.

my birthday dream come true.

my best friend in the world lives across the world -- japan, to be specific. she's a real pretty lady who apparently attempted mt. fuji today with her husband, dylan. and if i know bethany like i think i know bethany, she was the most stylish lady climbing that nearly 13,000 foot mountain.

admire her style here and here.

my story today, though, has little to do with her style.  here's what you need to know:

my 28th birthday is this sunday, and celebrating without one's bff is a recipe for disaster. but, i must tell you, disaster has been thwarted. minutes ago beth's mom arrived at my door with two birthday packages.

notice the cake batter rice crispy treats wrapped so perfectly. i noticed the treats right away because i had recently pinned the recipe for them on pinterest (best. website. ever.) -- according to linda, bethany sent her the recipe and requested that she make them for my birthday. so sweet and so thoughtful... that's my friend. i'm eating one now and i could not care less about the sticky mess on my keyboard.

i saved the big package until after linda's departure -- if i had been wise, i would've opened while skyping with beth, but i didn't think of it nor did i have the patience for such a rendezvous. i began opening the package immediately.

THIS, my friends, is what i found inside:

notice the debris in the background. i tore into the sucker. now, notice the beauty of the dooney.

take a minute...

how stinkin' adorable is that bag? it's the perfect rene bag. a long strap to wear across my chest when my hands are too full or too busy shopping to carry said bag and the perfect handles to hang fashionably on my wrists. oh, and the inside... let me show you the inside.

the pink and white stitching make for a beautiful inside, and the colors contrast the amazing turquoise color of the entire bag. every detail is perfect! i'm in love.

this bag, my birthday bag, is the very same bag i pinned on pinterest months ago. never could i have imagined that i would be the proud owner. pinterest, after all, is where you daydream about things you want but don't really think you'll ever get.

take another look.

gorgeous, right? just like my friend, my best friend forever.

bethany, i love you. thank you so much for my birthday dream come true.

we've been featured.

a few of our engagement pictures were recently selected and featured on a great wedding blog called middle of the map weddings. so cool!

how sweet are the kind words written about us? i must admit, i teared up a bit. i must also admit that the balloon photos are some of my least favorites from the entire session, BUT we didn't get to pick which ones were featured, AND apparently someone somewhere loved them.

i adore the first two shots. the colors are so vivid and kim newman captured us so well.  simple splendor photography, you rock!