InPink Giveaway from me!!

I am doing my very own giveaway! Yup! You heard that right, I am giving away a $25 gift card to InPink on And Here’s To You Mrs. Robinson’s blog. And hey, maybe you don’t want this awesome gift card, but this is a group giveaway, so there are a ton of other awesome prizes, so go check it out anyway!

First, let me tell you a little bit about InPink. They were a sponsor at a blogging conference I went to this past March. The woman was so sweet and generous! And their jewelry is beautiful, funky, bold, colorful, sparkly, vintage-inspired, just about anything you can think of. And it’s high quality stuff. I’m not talking about Claire’s here. This jewelry won’t turn your skin green. It will sparkle and shine. It’s simply gorgeous.

 

And let me tell you a couple things about Megan from And Here’s To You Mrs. Robinson {is it weird that every time I read her blog title, I start singing that song in my head?}. She is probably one of the sweetest, most genuine people I have ever met. Okay, I haven’t actually met her, we’ve just e-mailed a bit, but she is so kind and wonderful. And her blog is amazing. I promise you won’t regret following her! Let me tell you some of the things I adore about her:

She is gorgeous. Seriously, I wish I could look like her.

She is super sweet.

She is an amazing mom. Not perfect, and she doesn’t try to convey that she is. That is one of the things I absolutely love about her. On her blog, you get to see when she’s happy and awesome, but also when she’s gone through harder times {even ones that may seem smaller, like when her son is having a fit all day}.

She is so thrifty! I wish I could do better at that! Haha, maybe someday I will make it to her level of thriftiness.

Anywho, go on over and check it out and maybe you will win a prize!

Good luck!

Slight Obsession

And to continue with the blog challenge.... Celebrity crushes!

Maybe I had had a few celebrity crushes before this, but this was my one big celebrity crush. Man, I crushed on this guy hard. So much so, that I actually bought posters of him and hung them up in my room {which I had never done before or since}.

I watched all the Lord of the Rings movies just because he was in them. I obsessed over the Pirate of the Caribbean movies {ok, mostly just the first one}. I rented any other movie he was in, just to see him in it. I even bought the Twin Towers LotR book because he was on the cover, haha. Totally creepy, I know! I don’t know, maybe it’s not that unusual to be slightly over obsessed with someone for a short(ish) period of time. 

 

{what teen girl could say no to a face like that??? I actually think I had this poster....}

Yup, that’s right, I was in love with Mr. Orlando Bloom. Otherwise known as Will Turner, Legolos, Mr. Hunk man, cute long-haired-blond guy, etc.

Now, I am waaaayyy past celebrity crushes. I mean, what girl in her 20’s really has a crush on a celebrity. Especially a married girl??

 

Okay, maybe I have a tiny crush. My husband actually reminded me of him, haha. It may seem weird to you, but I may have a crush on Robert Sean Leonard aka Dr. James Wilson from House. He’s pretty much a total hunk of an old guy {especially in his not-so-old years}. Just saying. It’s fine if you disagree, but look at the chestnut eyes, that full head of hair, and who can look past that manly, yet still adorable baby face? Still not convinced? Well, that’s fine. Sadly, House has come to its end and I will not be seeing Dr. Wilson much more {except on reruns of House where he looks totally awesome anyway}.

 {yum!}

But that’s all fine because my real crush is my love, my hunk-of-a-man husband, who may have less hair than the fine Robert Sean Leonard, but has twice the manliness.

Happy Independence Day + Offically on Facebook!

 Happy Independence Day everyone!!! 

I don't think I have ever realized how important today is in our history and it is certainly a day worth celebrating! I am so grateful for the freedoms I have here in America. I grateful that the conditions were right so that our nation could be set up the way it is.

Also, I’ve just made a couple pretty big steps in my blogging/professional career. I always feel a little weird doing things that make me seem like an adult. I don’t know why. I still don’t really feel like an adult, even though I’m doing other adult things.

But I have created two Facebook pages in the past couple of days. One for my photography and one for my blog. I would LOVE to have you as a follower for both! I just want to say though that everything {including my blog, design, Facebook pages, and photography} is a work in progress. If you have suggestions for improvement, I would LOVE to hear them!

I also added an e-mail address just for this blog. I will put it into the contact section of my blog as soon as I can, but for now, please feel free to e-mail me at homesweetholmesblog@gmail.com

I also have a couple new blog buttons you can check out and grab if you like.

Internet Absence + 20 Facts

I have been without Internet the past couple of days and will continue to be without Internet for the next few. I’ll just be on here for a few minutes. So I promise, if you’re trying to get a hold of me, I’m not ignoring you, I’m just not online. Don’t worry though, I’ve got some fun things for you to read.

To continue with the blog challenge, here are 20 facts about me that you may {or may not} know:

{My cat can literally run up our fence and walk on top. Fun fact.}

I don’t have a favorite color. {I think that any color can be beautiful.}

I’ve been to over 16 different countries and over half the U.S. states. {Most of the different countries are ones in Europe}

I am a black belt in Karate and I’ve competed in Nationals twice. {It took 10 years to get that. Definitely not easy.}

I used to play the clarinet when I was in middle school. {I was even 3^rd or 4^th chair, depending on the week.}

My back is extremely ticklish. Extremely. If my husband touches it, I may just go crazy with laughter.

I am much goofier than you might imagine. Seriously. Especially around really cute things {kittens, babies, my husband, etc}

I am a self-motivated amateur photographer. {Check out my Facebook page Elyse Alexandria Photography!}

I hate cockroaches with a fiery passion. Even more than I hate spiders. {Ugh. I hate they way they crunch. It freaks me out. I even hate the word. This is a big deal though because guess how many cockroaches we have seen in our house in the past 4 months. Guess! Like 15!! Okay, not a ton, but kind of still a ton!! Gross!}

My skin tans really easily. But I have to be outside J {The couple of years, I’ve had either full time jobs or full time school, so I wasn’t out in the sun much. This year, I’ve been getting more tan.}

I really enjoy eating healthy because it makes me feel good, but sometimes I just want a big bowl of ice cream or some tasty movie theater popcorn {only movie theater kind though, it’s the best}

I talk in my sleep. Ask my husband. Or my family. Or past roommates.

Papa John’s Pizza is the absolute best take out pizza. {not really a fact about me, but something you all should know.}

I have a tendency to drive a little bit on the fast side. My husband on the other hand, drives like a grandpa. Sooo sloow. I often tell him that the speed limit is actually 5 miles faster than he is currently going.

I like running. Kind of. I’m not very good at it, but I like how I feel after I run. Maybe some day I will get better. Maybe.

I LOVE pineapples and pineapple juice. Love it. If I could only have one juice for the rest of my life, it would be pineapple, hands down. {The best way to prepare pineapple juice btw, is to pour it into the blender and blend it for a couple of seconds. It becomes all frothy and yummy}

I may have a crush on Dr. Wilson from House. Probably the weird celebrity crush anyone has had, but dang, he is a good-looking man. ;)

I could listen to Taylor Swift all day {and have}. I love her voice. I love her songs. I love her passion. She seems like the sweetest person ever. Plus she is so stinkin’ gorgeous!

When I went to college, I KNEW what I was going to be when I grew up. I was going to be a high school music teacher. I was going to major in music education, vocal emphasis, and my life was going to be great. Well, after a semester of being around the people in the music program, I just didn’t fit in with that atmosphere. I completely changed my whole life and majored in English instead, with a minor in editing, and I would never ever go back.

Because of that change, I got the chance to work at three different magazines. I’ve been published in three magazines. Two of those magazines are published internationally. And one is translated into over 40 languages. Pretty neat huh? I was really blessed to get those jobs.

I’m kind of a hoarder, but not a really bad one. I just have a hard time throwing things away. But I can!! I can do it! And I don’t collect junk. Case in point: I have a pair of sandals that I bought several years ago. I really haven’t worn them much because their so high, but I had spent a good amount of money on them, so I didn’t want to throw them out or give them away. I still have them and I’m actually wearing them! Five years after the fact J

I’m not much of a jewelry person. It’s not that I don’t like it {I actually love jewelry and I would definitely wear it!}; it’s just that it takes too much time for me to figure out if it looks good, matches my outfit, etc. I wish I were better at that sort of thing. I don’t know, maybe I just need to organize my jewelry better.

My husband is super awesome. He’s a pilot in the Air Force. He’s really tall. He’s the best snuggler. He’s so sweet. He gave me most of these ideas J

Beautiful Truth

Honeycruise + Blog Challenge

My husband and I are {{finally!!}} going on our honeymoon {10 months after the fact, nbd}.

And I am SO excited because we are going on a cruise.

Everyone in my family and everyone in Jordan's family have all been on cruise. Except me. So for the next two weeks or so, I may be MIA {but I'm going to leave some fun posts for you to read}.

Speaking of posts, I found this blog challenge on my friend's blog and thought it might be a good to help me stay on top of my posts for the next 31 days. Mmm, okay false. As I am reading through this list, I think I shall pick and choose which ones and in which order. So really, it'll be like a surprise every day! But I think I'll do the first one first.

So here goes #1: Introduction.

My name is Elyse Alexandria Holmes. 

I'm married. 

I have no kids {although I nanny a 4 year old and 10 month old}.

I'm from NY {{upstate}}

I have three brothers.

I'm a spoiled only girl.

I live in The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Texas.

I am not very fashionable.

But I still care about how I look.

I'm 5'4 1/2" tall.

My husband is about a foot taller than I am

I'm slightly obsessed with grammar.

And spelling.

And editing in general.

{{But I will never judge you for doing something incorrectly}}

{{most of the time anyway}}

I love to sing. Maybe one day I'll post a video :)

I like laughing with my husband

Making up terrible puns

I couldn't live without my iPhone

I'm an avid learner

I want to learn photography,

How to sew,

How to cook,

Pretty much how to do anything cool.

I have never eaten a Snicker's bar in my life. 

I would rather go skydiving

or kayaking

{{or heck, even fly fishing}}

 than stay at home all day.

I can't believe the amazing things people do

like...

Run marathons {I've only run 3 half marathons}

Climb mountains

Create art through photography

Find creativity anywhere

Sing beautifully {check out this girl!}

 Have immense compassion and love {like this beautiful blogger}

Create beauty {love this girl's jewelry and blog}

I don't know. I never really know what to say on these things.

If you want to know anything else, please ask!

p.s. I'm crushing on this song right about now

Lovely Linky: Seven Questions

Hello readers! I've been slacking a bit on this link up, but here I am again with 7 Questions with Gentri Lee

So...you know how it's impossible to lick your elbow? Well, actually it's not. I can lick my elbow. 

This isn't the greatest picture, but I really am licking my elbow. 

It's one of my many stupid human tricks.

1. If you could be any princess, which would you be and why?

This one is hard because my favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty {Aurora}, but it would be totally awesome to be Gizelle {from Enchanted}, or Belle. If I were a Princess at Disney World, I would probably want to be Belle. If I were a real princess I'd want to be like Gizelle. And if I got to sing and live with 3 sweet little old fairy ladies, I would want to be Aurora.

2. Do you have any odd habits? (do things in order, words that you say too often, etc)

My closet is rainbow ordered.

 I absolutely cannot leave the bathroom without washing my hands. Ugh. Double ugh.

If I go to bed without writing in my journal, I can't stop thinking about it.

Same if I don't brush my teeth.

I put my leg up on the seat when I drive

Or pretty much whenever I'm sitting.

When I'm with my husband, I will try to spout out as many puns as I can think of.

3. What's your "go to" outfit?

Jeans, white shirt, TOMS

4. Do you have any siblings? What are their genders, ages, order of age, names, etc?

Three brothers

Oldest // Peter // 28 (I think??)

2nd oldest // Andrew // 24

Youngest // Michael // 17

Me // Older than Michael :)

5. What's your favorite precious stone?

I'm honestly not a big precious stone person. 

But I adore pearls

Diamonds

And amethyst {{my birthstone}}

6. If you had a check in your hand for 1 million dollars, what would you do with it?

Oh gosh, I really don't know. My husband would make us put at least half into savings.

And the rest would go towards an airplane. 

{That's how well I know my husband. He would totally take the money and buy an airplane.

Makes sense though; he is a pilot :) }

7. What do you love most about yourself--physically (eyes, smile, hair, etc. I don't know a good way to word that question...)

This probably sounds really weird, but I like my collar bone. 

I don't know why. Mostly, I just think it looks nice.