AS OF LATELY /// November

1 /// I have had Strep throat, an Ear Infection, and Bronchitis ever since coming back from California mid September. I think it was my body being run down and forcing me to slow my roll. So when the doctor says take all your antibiotics...even if you start to feel better....DO IT! I don't do well with being sick. I am the worst. Thankfully my husband is the best caretaker in the world. Love him and not sure what I would do without him. Back to diffusing oils on the regular.

2 /// I have read two books recently. One my friend/client let me borrow which reminds me I need to get that back to her. Book 1 was The Yoga Store Murder By Dan Morse. It's the true story of a brutal murder that went down in a Lululemon Store. It was shocking and disgusting what some people are capable. Book 2 was The Girl on The Train, I wanted to read it before I see the movie because I wanted to imagine what the characters looked like instead of picturing them when I was reading...except that I know who two of the main characters are already. Now I am looking for another book to read because I'd rather be reading than watching the boob tube. So please let me know if there is a book I must read! 

3 /// This weekend our small group is going to serve Thanksgiving Dinner and hang out with the youth of the Covenant House. The Covenant House is a charity that helps homeless kids stay off the street. I am equally excited as I am nervous. I want to help so much with a strong face. I tend to cry a lot and get overwhelmed with emotion when I am doing these things. 

4 /// Recently my Cousin asked Jacob and I if we wanted to be a part of something exciting and something we have never tapped into. I had to keep it quiet at first but now I can share! We have invested in a restaurant here in Houston. On 11th street in the Heights to be exact. It's called Presidio. Roosevelt General Contractors have been doing the build out and our friend Adam Dorris from Pax Americana Will be the executive Chef....So it's a win win! We said yes before Adam was brought on and now I feel like that was the best decision we've made all year! I'll let you know when it gets closer to opening! If your curious about Adams cooking and you haven't been to Pax you should come to Lady Birds Bar on Nov 19th for Ghetto Dinner, You will not regret it. Music, Food, Drinks, and a good time! Hope to see you there.

5 /// Jacob and I have never been to New York together so we will be spending 1 day there before heading to Aruba to meet up with our friends Colin and Tess. A first for us both! I have been singing THIS non stop since I have found out we are going. AHHHHH I can't wait! 

YOUNG LOVE MAD STYLE /// Kelly and Seth Pineapple... I mean Plemmons

Let me introduce to you Seth and Kelly Plemmons, formerly known as Kelly Garcia...my sister. I haven't had the pleasure of really hanging out with these two lovebirds other than this trip because the whole relationship was long distance after Kelly moved to Nashville. I'll let them explain, but I thought they were a perfect fit to get my Young Love Mad Style Series back. They are young and young spirited, They are insanely in love, and their style stands out... mainly because their hobbies and who they are is represented well in how they dress. You'll see.. 

How did y'all meet?
At a titty party in Houston :)

The first time we met (we didn't remember this until after we started dating, but we have photos!) was through our mutual friend, Brent Nettles. Seth had just moved to town and Brent brought him to Free Press Summer Fest with our crew. Years later we started bumping into each other around Houston because he was playing music with my cousins and friends. Eventually, we decided to get jiggy wit it around the time that I moved to Nashville. 

How did you make long distance work?
Traveling back and forth, post cards, care packages, talking on the phone, texting, emailing articles, anything to make it feel like we were still with each other. We started having FaceTime dates, which ended up helping a lot. We would have drinks together and watch movies together while on FaceTime. We talked throughout the day everyday.

What were the biggest challenges?
Not having our best pal around through the ups and downs throughout the time we dated.

Why did y'all decide to get married before living in the same city or state!?
Because Seth is a crazy person. When we were talking about him moving up to Nashville from Houston, he proposed the idea of eloping. I was really excited because the thought of having a huge wedding stressed me out. I was also surprised because this was seven months into our relationship. Then again, we decided to be together on our second date and said I love you after two weeks. Turns out, we are both crazy people.

How much did y'all talk about marriage since you were never engaged?
We decided to elope around November 2015 and had loose plans until after Seth took my Pops out to lunch, to ask for his blessing, in late June 2016. Right before Seth talked to my Pops, we decided to go from privately eloping to inviting parents and siblings.  

Where are your rings from?
Seth bought me the "Moon and Stars" ring from Mociun
I had his ring custom designed and made by our friends at Black Spring Folk Art

What was unique about your ceremony?
We were in a baller af location. We were in the middle of the Redwood forrest, the one where Return of The Jedi was filmed, surrounded by our family and close friends.

Why did you want a small wedding with just family?
I love big weddings and the huge dance parties to follow, but I always hear folks say they don't remember the ceremony or they were stressed about all the plans and not what was actually happening on their wedding day and we didn't want that. We wanted the day to be just about our love and our decision to spend our lives together. It's a HUGE promise and we wanted to remember every detail about that day. We've been asked a bunch if we regret doing it that way and honestly no. We would do everything the exact same. It was unreal.

What do you predict will be most challenging the first year?
Since we dated a short amount of time and all of that was long distance, we are still getting to know each other. I think it will take a while to learn each other's habits and preferences, and finding a balance between how we each approach situations could prove to be challenging. We are also learning the effect our upbringings has on the way we both do our day-to-day activities. Also, we are both a year shy of 30 and we are set in our old ways, so we are learning to compromise. yay! 

Any advice to other couples in long distance relationships?
Just like any relationship, if you want to make it work, commit to that and put the effort in. You can't be lazy and expect the magic to just be there.

Favorite things about each other?
We are having a hard time choosing just one. We love all the things. 

Favorite activity to do together?
You know, the S-E-X...  Listening to records and drinking whiskey has been a favorite past time. Traveling, two-stepping, games, and hanging out with Mr. Zeyk.  

What so far is the most annoying thing about living with the other person? Are you trying to cause a fight?

S /// I'm still trying to get used to Kelly being as stubborn as I am.

K /// Same

You can follow their adventures at Kelly Amber Garcia , IG @Iheartbueno, and Seth's You tube Channel showing his crazy talent.

OREGON COAST ///

This was my first time in Oregon and I absolutely fell in love. Living in Houston you can forget that places like this really exist. Don't get me wrong I love Houston, Texas but it was nice to get away and just live at a slower pace with beautiful scenery. There was no agenda in Oregon except for Kelly and Seth to get married and that they did!!! Post coming soon I promise. But...This particular day was the last day we spent in Oregon. The family went to The Redwoods to hike around but Jacob and I took off a little early to take Mike back to the super small airport. If you saw our snapchat/IG stories I'm sure you saw how amused we were by it and by Mike. After dropping him off we made a quick decision to head to the beach instead of driving back to the woods. It was just what we needed to recharge. After being around my family 24-7, whom I love with all my heart, I just wanted to enjoy some one on one time with my Love. I felt like this was really the only time we got to hang out with each other. It may sound silly but since my sister and I don't live near each other anymore and since this was her wedding trip I was just focused on her and spending as much time with her as possible. And Jacob well his focus was on everything and everyone else, making sure the week and wedding went smooth for the bride and groom. He's really good at that sort of thing. I'm so glad we had this moment together to soak it all in and talk about our favorite parts of the trip. His favorite part of the trip was off shore fishing with the boys and our peaceful drive through The Redwoods. My favorite part of the trip was that my whole immediate family was together on vacation, in one house. This hasn't happened since the late 90's! Divorced parents ya know...sucks but it just felt good to know we are still a family even though my parents are not together. 

If you were following our stories and snapchat what was your favorite thing to watch? I'm curious for future travels. What would you like to see more of? What do you not care to see? We have two trips coming up in November and hopefully I can be on top of it! Any guesses where we are headed?

ON BRANDI ///

Sunnies

Lippy

Hair- I used a wave iron on clean hair & the only way to keep this lasting all week is by using THIS

Neck - # 1 reason I wear a bandana around my neck is incase of sweat or allergy attack. True Story. Comes in very useful.

Denim jacket - Thrifted this in Brookings but I've linked other jackets I own below.

Tee - Thrift Shirt that is falling apart but it's my favorite.

Pants - My favorite pants to wear when workingout, traveling, or everyday wear running errands.

Shoes

Wrist

Rings

/// ON JACOB

Hat- Scored this hat in the cute town of Brookings, Oregon

Jacob- He's been wearing bandanas since we started dating 11 + years ago. Always when working out, also wrapped on his wrist, in back pocket, rolled up around head, and neck. Other than sweat its a style thing for him. He loves accessorizing. 

Sunnies

Shirt

Denim Jacket

Pants

Shoes

Rings

Wrist- random items...half of them are probably mine..ok we share accessories and some clothes.