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Sunday, July 19, 2015

Featured | Ashley from That Southern Mama


Hey y'all, I am Ashley.. I am a wife and girl mama [ toddler & 7 month old ] living in Bama. I blog over at That Southern Mama. On my blog you can find mama/wife related stuff, beauty & fashion, recipes, & even some inspiration. I love coffee, Jesus, regular Target trips, trying to stay organized in my messy beautiful life, a little wine or beer, and family time. Today I wanted to share some motivation with you, but before we get to that I just wanted to say thank you to Delene for allowing me to take over her blog today!

Everyone needs some motivation sometimes. I know I have for a few months now. Packing, moving, looking for jobs all the while doing my normal mama and wife duties. I enjoy turning through the pages of my Bible and finding some inspiration.. some motivation to get stuff done. If you are in need of some motivation for whatever you are trying to do, here are a few of my FAVORITE Bible verses that will help you! 


Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it. 
Ezra 10:4

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 
Philippians 4:13

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
Psalm 46:5


I have a few digital prints available in my Etsy Shop with that verse. 

But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. 
2 Chronicles 15:7

"Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." 
Matthew 17:20

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 
Galatians 6:9

Where do you turn for motivation? Your bible? What is your favorite verse to give you that push you need?

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Belated Moving Monday | Car Ride

With the craziness of the weekend and last day at Buffalo Wild Wings behind me, talk about time crunch. I'm done packing all the big shipping boxes [which will be sent out tomorrow]. Now it's time to pack my little Sentra that will take me into the country life.
Some stuff is much needed on a day and half trip. 



I can't wait to go back through my favorite and Gatlinburg with my Canon and enjoy the country side. Lets be real here, it is a day and half drive most of my time in the passenger seat with Guido so most likely I will be loading up the iPad with some movies. I am not gonna lie I probably won't sleep very much so looking like I am wide awake with my natural makeup is gonna come in handy. Other than my entertainment, my munchies will be a must. Can you say starbucks overload? I am pretty sure I will be finding an in&out in AZ before I am no longer surrounded by the delishisness of fries + spread. 
Hope y'all has a happy Tuesday. hehe I better get used to saying y'all

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Special Sunday Edition

I never thought I'd post on a Sunday. Well I never thought I would have time. But with my allergies deciding it was time for me to sneeze and sniffle my morning away, why not write?

With my move being 4 days away, it finally hit me how much I'm leaving in Cali. My friends and family, and friends who are family. My going away party was a success. Thanks to Alycia, Mom, Dad, Sis, Grandma, Nino, + everyone else who pitched in. With all my goodbye hugs I must say my "tias" really know how to make sure the sadness hits. It finally hit me how far away I will be from everyone I love. I am lucky though people plan on coming to visit / skype / call. Guido and I will miss everyone very much.

I'm glad I stole my hacked my god-brother's phone yesterday at the party. The selfies came out great and I realized I am definitely getting the Galaxy S6. The shutter sensor for selfies is a BONUS. Thanks Chris for the phone!




WARNING: instgram [@delene_andrea] will be overloaded with BBQ pictures. 

Most pics will be in my new place once I order them from MPix
With my dream becoming a reality this week, lots of posts will happen.  Well as long as I'm not sleeping or driving.  
Everyone have a blessed Sunday and the rest of the week. 

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Across Country Drive | take 2

So somehow my original post was deleted. Lame!!! But we will try this again. Officially a week until I am on the road and with the decision of which route, when to leave, who drives what is basically all on me. ok not really the who drives what but you know what I mean. There were 2 route options so with only one including my favorite city . I-40 straight thru was the winner.

California | Arizona | New Mexico | Texas | Oklahoma | Arkansas | Tennessee | 
North Carolina

Since the days are getting closer researching routes and time frame is pretty important. [ I'm not one who would want to end up in NOLA randomly lol ] Knowing when my apartment is ready was my deadline. I'm not financially capable of doing a week long road trip. As great as that sounds working until the very last minute was my goal. With that being said I'm 2 shifts away from leaving my job after 4.5 years. I think I'm done babbling for now... I figure two days will be plenty of time to drive. Especially knowing both of my parents will be helping me. 

With looking up which way to take and when ...yada yada yada, Google Maps was my go to on exact directions. Lucky for me its not very hard when it is only 1 hwy. I have been on road trips with my "sister in law" numerous times and we have concluded the love/hate relationship with the 40. I have been on it enough to know when it's time for me to pull over. Oklahoma and I are not friends. But Texas is.
Pros of Hwy 40: lots of signs for rest stops // welcome areas // gas // food // restroom , fast route , somewhat empty
Cons of Hwy 40: certain states are speed traps , pitch black in one state at night {no lights} , 2 lanes only {sharing hwy with semis} 

Last time I drove the I-40, I was coming back from Missouri [Ft. Lost in the Woods/Leonard Wood] to be exact and I remember stopping at the most twice in each state. That included snack stop + potty breaks for the dogs & humans. That was about a day and half trip so I know with 3 people driving it will not take longer than 2 days. The only detour in my plan is Nashville & Gatlinburg Tennessee. Excuse the fact I'm obsessed with Nashville, But Jacks BBQ is a must whenever in Nashville. The thought of smoked meat, homemade style mac&cheese, baked beans makes me gain the weight. Be prepared on my instagram: @delene_andrea for the #foodporn obsession when I get there. 
Gatlinburg is my next detour because I love some flavored LEGAL moonshine. And in the middle of the smokey's is where Ole' Smokey Moonshine is made...bonus. For a about 2 hours I will be a tourist sampling different ones and buying probably everything in the gift shop. 

 [insert DRINK UP here]



I know my family is really worried about weather and gas. So thanks to Google, roadtrippers.com & intellicast.com are my go to during the trip. Roadtrippers gives an estimate on how much gas and places to stop {waffle house & crackel barrel is a must}. Intellicast will be checked daily to give me the weather forecast on the hwy. It's a great website because It just gives the cities on the highway, no other random infomation. I will probably look up if they are apps just to make life easier for all of us. 

Is there any other apps, websites, or stops I should know about? 
happy thursday y'all 





Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Feautured | Amanda from Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace


Hi, I am Amanda Cruse from the blog Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace. I am a southern mama of two from Alabama blogging about a strong passion and eye for style, fashion, beauty, food, her southern roots (drawl included) and a little bit of everything between. If you get a chance, we would love for you to check out our blog and all the amazing recipes and reviews we have to offer ;)

When my long-time friend, Delene, from City Girl with Country Charm asked me to do a style post to be featured on her blog my first reaction was gratitude, followed by a slight panic attack. What would I write, what would I feature, what types of apparel items would I include? So many thoughts went rushing through my head it was hard to catch even a single one of them. Finally I decided that I would just wing it, wing it as I do posting on my blog. Sometimes I hit a wall and lose focus on what I want to post about, but then it usually always comes to me once I get my fingers moving and the paragraphs flowing.

I really love fashion, style, accessories, and everything that goes along with paring the perfect items to create that perfect, signature look that is just your own. Take it from me, when I say that I am no fashionista, there is no truer truth to be told. I have no fashionable bone in my body. But what I do know about fashion is that if you can wear it, rock it, feel confident, and own it - it honestly doesn't even matter if you are wearing a burlap sack. Granted, there is nothing appealing about a burlap sack, but if you wear it right, it could easily be the next hit trend. Confidence is half the battle, y'all ;)

My style is an acquired taste for most and most certainly isn't what you would think of when you think typical southern girl. That's okay. I have never been one to go with the flow or confrom, if anything I define myself as quite the little rebel. I have an obscure outlook on what I think fashion is or isn't. It's not fancy dresses, expensive jewelry and the highest pair of heels you can stand to walk in. To me, it's so much more and the way you chose to style yourself says is a little deeper than the pair of destroyed jeans you are rocking on any given day. My fashion has changed so much over the last few years, especially when I was trying to be someone I wasn't for the people in my life that thought they should control every little thing I did. Before I met my ex-husband the majority of my wardrobe consisted of things from Buckle - Affeclition, True Religion, Miss Me, Billabong. I also loved Pac Sun until our local one closed in both malls,talk about a bummer. I tend to go through seasons with my style. For a few months I may walk proudly in a raggedy pair of blue jeans, a cut off tee and tennis shoes, and months later I am wearing boho rompers and flowers in my hair, maxi dresses and cute little wedged sandals, and a few months from that I may have on my Slackjaw Americana or Deadskull Co. or tee, cut-off sleeves, destroyed black jeans, spiked jewelry and my cowboy boots. I really don't have a set style. I just throw on whatever I am feeling that day and own it. My current trend is the badbass biker chick tattooed look. Because let's face it, I am a pretty badass person at times and I do have a couple tattoos, so I think I wear that look well if we are just being honest ;) The best part? I can definitely pull it off and above all, OWN IT. I guess that's the Biker side in my, thanks Daddy!

With that said, I wanted to include a few pieces above that I really love that I could definitely see in my closet in the near future. As most know, from my blog, Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace, I have a slight obsession with gemstone jewelry - and rocks in general for that matter. So it's no surprise that I have two or three raw gemstone pieces included in the looks I put together above. I love denim, so the denim sunwashed tunic dress had to be included in the round-up along with the Dolce Vita Haku booties and turquoise sandals. And anyone who knows me know that I cannot ever post a style post without including a bag or two. I really love this Liebeskind Margo Hobo Bag because it has plenty of spaces and compartments. The compartments and space is always a make it or break it for me, especially as a mother. I need all the nooks and cranny that I can get, especially in order to stash away things that I don't want the kiddos getting in to if they just so happen to get their paws on my satchel.

Hope you are all having an amazing week thus far, we are only a hop, a jump and a skip away from Friday! XO

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Monday, July 6, 2015

July is Here!

HAPPY MOVING MONTH Y'ALL



Hello July! Its Moving Month! With 2 weeks left in CA there is so much I want to do and see but so little time. Malibu Winery, LACMA, 1000 steps beach, & of course one last trip to Disneyland on my list but with about 10 days left I'll be lucky if one thing is crossed off my list.
It's offically my last week at Buffalo Wild Wings. After 4 ½ years serving pain in the butt customers, non stop football seasons, and more beer served than one can drink, I am not saying see you later I'm saying GOODBYE. Some of the greatest co-workers to work with. It's definitely bittersweet.

In other news: I woke up with my wonderful insomnia kicking in late last night to a message from my older half sister that I am an auntie to an independent American niece. Sophie is here !!! 9 DAYS late but she decided to be born on July 4th! So proud that she already has a mind of her own. If she's anything like her cousins and aunties, and her great great grandma, my sister better be prepared for a free spirit! Auntie LOVES you and your sister!

Speaking of 4th of July, I hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday. Mine was spent in the heat having yard sale pt. ii. and enjoying my dad grilling & a firework show. If you didn't know I'm obsessed with my camera Found Here and thanks to photography 101 I decided fireworks would be fun practice. Didn't turn out too bad. Next year will be a different scene seeing how I will be 2k + miles away.



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