Update in Under 20 Pictures

Well, hello there.

In my most recent post ("recent" being used very loosely), I said I was back. And then I disappeared for about 7 months. I like to keep people guessing...

I hope to check in a bit more regularly, so I thought I'd write a post to catch you up on where I've been and what I've been doing since March. It will be quick, so try to keep up. 

Blog-tember Challenge: A Letter to My 16 Year-Old Self

Today's "Blog-tember Challenge" prompt is to write a letter to myself at 16.  In order to do that, I need to think about what was happening at that point in my life...

Blog-tember Challenge: My Passions

Happy Friday!

Today's Blog-tember Challenge prompt is "What are you passionate about?"  So, here are some things that make me tick - I'd love to hear from you in the comments section about some things you are passionate about. Do we have any in common?

Blog-tember Challenge: Get to Know Morgan

I'm back! 

So, I have read a lot of fun posts from Bailey Jean's "2015 Blog-tember Challenge" which I am hoping will help me get back in the blogging game more consistently. Things have been crazy busy, but I will do my best! I'm a day late, but bare with me...

The first prompt is an introduction of moi. So, instead of giving the very basics (which you can find on my "About YDD" page), I thought I'd get more specific. So here goes!

Sponsor Q&A with Rachel Nordgren

Hi there, and happy Friday!

As I've mentioned already, I have a Lemon Drop Sponsor this month! It is none other than the fabulous Rachel Nordgren! Please skip over there and check out her website and her blog if you aren't familiar with Rachel (or even if you are). She's awesome!

Monday Musings: Four

These are always fun for me to read, but I don't often participate! Since I was tagged by the lovely and awesome Christine from The So-Called Homemaker, it gives me a great excuse to jump in. I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about me :)

Four Names people call me:
:: Morgs - mostly by my immediate family
:: Momo - extended family
:: Squirt - by my daddy-o
:: Gorgeous, most amazing, perfect woman ever - Spencer (ok, maybe I made that one up)

Four jobs I’ve had:
:: Marketing Coordinator for a law firm - current position
:: YMCA After School Program leader - college
:: Men's Basketball tutor - college
:: Restaurant hostess - high school

Four movies I would / have watched more than once:
:: Pride and Prejudice – I am with Amanda AND Christine on this choice. Never gets old!
:: Gone With the Wind - because the book is so incredible, and the movie has such dreamy movie stars
:: Twilight - all of them. Don't judge!!
:: Elf - Will Ferrell in an elf costume eating cotton balls? All day, every day.

Four Books I would recommend:
:: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
:: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. It's just the best of all time, basically. 
:: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
:: Phoenix Island by John Dixon. John is my cousin, and the book is out of my typical genre. But I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got into it and then I could not put it down! Also, the book was adapted into a CBS series called "Intelligence," which sadly was cancelled after the first season.

Four Places I’ve Lived:
:: North Augusta, SC
:: Columbia, SC
:: Lexington, SC
:: New York City (for a 3 month internship)

Four Places I’ve Visited:
:: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
:: Las Vegas, NV
:: Cancun, Mexico
:: Los Angeles, CA

Four Places I’d Rather Be Right Now:
:: At a spa
:: At home - because ahhhh
:: Europe (10 days!!!)
:: The beach (Hilton Head, probably)

Four Favorite Foods:
:: Chocolate covered strawberries
:: Rare filet mignon
:: Cheese
:: Red wine (is that a food?)

Four TV Shows I Watch:
:: 19 Kids and Counting
:: Married at First Sight
:: Downton Abbey - not caught up, but the costumes, the story line...love!
:: Jeopardy - because I love when I get one right :)

Four things I’m Looking Forward to This Year (2015):
:: Europe!
:: Fixing up our back yard
:: I really hope to re-do our master bedroom!
:: Visiting with family <3

Four Things I Say All The Time:
:: Stoooop
:: Piper, no ma'am!
:: Babe, can you help me?
:: I'm hungry.

Four People I’m Tagging:
:: Elizabeth
:: Cassie
:: Madison
:: Ashley

Can't wait to read your responses!


Until next time - - 

Sponsor Q&A with Love the Here and Now

Happy Monday!

Did you know I have a Sunshine Sponsor this month? Well, I do! And it's not just anyone - 

It's Anne from Love the Here and Now! If you aren't yet familiar with her blog, then (1) where have you been and (2) get your booty over there and check it out!

Anne is a blogger I've looked up to since I started this little hobby of mine, and has really helped me learn the ropes!

Get to know Anne a little better by checking out her answers to my random questions.  :)

YDD: Who in your life do you most admire? Why?
LHN: My mom!  She is the most self-less person I know.  I can count on her for anything...support, honesty, encouragement, help, and a laugh.  I grew up without any extended family around us.  I know it was hard to be away from her family but she made the most of all of our holidays and birthdays.  She has become the type of grandparent that she always wished we had had growing up...present at everything and so involved in their day to day lives.  She's a blessing to our family.

YDD: Name one new skill you'd like to learn.
LHN: I would love to learn web design!  I would love to be able to create anything I wanted on my blog and develop new blog themes.  I think that type of creativity is wonderful.

YDD: What is your all-time favorite book?
LHN: My all time favorite book is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. 

YDD: Do you have any siblings?
LHN: I have 2 older brothers.  Not only am I the "baby" of the family but I'm also the only girl, a double whammy! 

YDD: Chocolate or Vanilla?
LHN: Chocolate...always chocolate!  

YDD: If you could meet up with anyone for coffee, living or deceased, who would it be?
LHN: Oh gosh...tough question.....How do you choose one person? Hmmm.....I would say my dad's mom.  She passed away when he was in high school.  I would love to meet the woman who raised my father.

YDD: Describe your perfect Saturday.
LHN: My perfect Saturday could be described in one word: lazy.  I would lounge throughout the morning and linger over cups of tea.  I would head out to lunch with my family and catch up over a leisurely lunch.  In the evening I would love to have our friends and their families over to relax and hangout.  The kids would be entertained and the adults could catch up over drinks and laughter.

YDD: What was your first email address or screen name?
LHN: I am boring...never had a screen name.  Email always has been a variation of my name.  <yawn>

YDD: Name one item you carry with you everywhere, all the time.
LHN: Sad but true...my cell phone.  If I leave home without it I feel a sense of panic....how can my daughters get ahold of me if they need me?  What if I get in an accident and need to call for help?  I forgot what it feels like to be detached from technology.  My phone has become an adult version of a security blanket.
(Ha! Same here!)

YDD: Do you have a guilty pleasure? If so, what?
LHN: Guilty pleasures...oh...I have a few....buying new fonts, notebooks and journals, and my new one?  Buying stylized stock photos to use for blog graphics.  Don't judge me.  ;)

YDD: Why do you blog?
LHN: If you had asked me when I first started I would have said to share my life and to create a journal of sorts for myself and daughters.  The longer I have blogged though my answer has evolved.  I still blog for that reason but for so many other reasons as well.  The blogging community is wonderful so I blog to be a part of that and to nurture my online friendships.  The creativity aspect is amazing so I blog to flex those creative muscles that I rarely used before.  The learning curve is huge so I blog to educate myself and to teach myself new skills.   Blogging has given me self-confidence.  It truly has been such a gift. 

Thanks, Anne! Don't you just love her?  Go say hello! Visit Love the Here and Now.



Until next time - - 

Big News from Rachel...

Do you know Rachel from Our Yellow Door? Well - the news is finally out! 

Drum roll please....

She now has a gorgeous, brand-spanking new site: 

Rachel Nordgren

Rachel and I originally connected on Twitter, when we realized we both had blogs about our yellow doors - how funny is that!? Well, pretty soon we were tweeting back and forth, and I fell in love with her sweet blog. She is fun, down to earth, and a great writer. If you don't know Rachel yet, you are totally missing out!

Her new site, Rachel Nordgren, is stunning! I think it captures her personality perfectly, and it's obvious how much time and effort went into creating this gem. The site itself is lovely, yet simple - just like Rachel! She loves to write about simplicity and uncomplicating things. In fact, she has a series called Simplified Series where she shares awesome tips (and I feel pretty confident in saying we all could use help in this department)!

I'm so excited for you, Rachel, and look forward to keeping up on your brand new, beautiful site! 

Go say hello, check out the site, and follow her blog!



PS: Did you see Monday's post and take a guess which option was a lie? WELL - the lie is #1!

I never got suspended - I hate (and always have) getting into trouble. Suspension would have killed me! But yes, I used to sleep outside of my family members' bedroom doors (I don't know why), and I do always check behind shower curtains. Too many scary movies, maybe!?



Until next time - - 

Friday Funnies

Were you ever a comic strip reader? I was. I loved the Sunday paper as a kid because there was a whole section of funnie pages - in color! I didn't always understand them, but I read each and every one of them.

As a throwback to the funnie pages, I thought I'd share some things that made me laugh and smile this week  (thus the title "Friday Funnies." Because who doesn't want to smile on a Friday?).

Here we go!


My aunt posted this image to Facebook:

Faith, blogger at Life w/ Mrs G & the Artist, cracked me up with this lyric mug: 

Rachel, a new buddy at Our Yellow Door ("yay!" for yellow doors!) - I mean, tell me this isn't one of the best things you've seen this week...:

Kerrie, from Rarely Taken Seriously, really got me with this one! I hear ya, sister!

My friend Christine, The So-Called Homemaker, cracked me up with these tweets about her daughter! 

Last, but certainly not least, I really connected with Sarah from Seriously, Sarah? and her picture of baby coffee mugs.

I'd love to hear and see some things that made you laugh and smile this week! Leave me a comment, or catch up with me on social media.

Have a great weekend!


Until next time - - 

Link Up: Valentine's Goodies Swap

Good morning!

This morning I am participating in a link-up with Carly from Musings of a Wanderer and Bella from Bella and the City to show you the Valentine's goodies I got from the bloggers swap they organized!

Can I just start by saying how fun this was? I thought getting a card or letter in the mail was fun! (which it is) But a package of goodies, bought and made just for me? It was easily the highlight of my week!



My swap was with Chelsea from Not a Passing Fancy. Take a minute to check out her blog. Isn't she the sweetest?? She is also very talented!

Without further delay, check out the goodies in my box from Chelsea!

Doesn't it all look fun!?

First, I want to point out the yellow door she painted with watercolors and framed (picture below). Isn't that amazing? I love that she took the thing my blog centers around and made it into a beautiful piece of art. It's now proudly being displayed in my "office" by my computer. I love it!

Also in this picture is a Skinny Girl nutrition bar that I am definitely taking to work next week for my mid-morning snack.

This next picture shows the #MUGLIFE coffee mug she sent. I love coffee, and I have a weird love of cute coffee mugs. This one has quickly made its way up on my "favorites" list! (by the way, check out the awesome "Mug Life" project here. How cool and creative!)

Also pictured is EOS lip balm (which a gal can never, ever have too much of), some chewy, gluten and GMO free caramels by Lovey Candy Co. 

You can see another handmade gift in this next picture. It's a tin heart on a yellow string, with the quote "Let all that you do be done in love." I love having this hanging on my refrigerator, where it's seen morning and night! 

Can you spot a gift here for little Piper? Yep, Chelsea sent her a tiny pink collar! It adjusts really easily (which cannot be said for all collars) and is so girly. Piper actually sat very still for a change to try it on, and pranced around in her new "necklace" like she was modeling. It was pretty cute!

Check out the adorable card, too. She thinks I'm a gem! ;)

And you may spot another gift for Piper...some homemade Valentine's Day treats! Piper was so thankful not to be left out. Plus, she really likes food. That's why her foster family nicknamed her "Chubs." Ha! A girl after my own heart.

The last item you probably saw in each picture was a handmade yarn pom-pom garland. I am so touched at the time she put into this gift! I have this currently draped on a large frame on our living room wall. I'm excited to use it for holidays in particular, and incorporating fun colors into it!

Now, just for fun, here is Piper with her gifts:

"Piper, you got presents!"

THANK YOU so much Chelsea for all of the time and thought you put into this goodie swap! We love everything and appreciate it very much :)



Until next time - - 

The Liebster Award!

Happy Monday, friends!

I'm honored to announce that have received my first blog award! Alexis from A Blissful Haven nominated me for the Liebster Award, which is an award for bloggers with less than 200 followers by other bloggers. Thanks, Alexis!

I'm honored that anyone even reads this little 'ol blog, let alone would nominate me for an award! I'm approaching my 4 month "blog-iversary" and am excited to see where I am in 4 more months!

Now for the award rules:

I'll be doing this a little out of the order listed in the rules, but it's all there.



First, I will answer the questions from Alexis...

1.  Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I felt I needed some sort of hobby that would allow me to be creative, as well as to find a community of people who had similar interests. The communities I already find myself involved with have been so wonderful! 

2.  If you could be a character from a TV show who would it be?  Why?

Hmm. Probably Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. I am so intrigued by that time period, and her clothes are beautiful. But I'd like to think I wouldn't make so many mistakes and poor life decisions, haha.

3.  What is your favorite flower?

I love peonies and hydrangeas. I had both in my wedding bouquet and it was beautiful! If only me and my black thumb could grow them.

4.  Where is your favorite place to blog?

My "office" at home. It's basically a sofa table with a chair and a lamp in my living room.

5.  What is your favorite thing to make?

Probably any type of meal. I love to cook!

6.  What is your style and what is your favorite thing to wear?

I'd say my style is pretty classic. I like neutral colors and earth tones, and a good pair of jeans and boots. On a weekend, though, you'll likely find me in leggings and a long cardigan!

7.  If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Definitely Italy...which we are doing this May! I am so, so excited!

8.  Describe the best evening ever.

Ooh, tough one. Since I'm a homebody, I'd have to say a night in with my favorite guy, my husband Spencer. I love when we cook together, so we would make dinner (he would do the dishes, of course), and play a board game with a bottle of red wine. Sounds pretty nice to me!

9.  What is your secret obsession?

Secret obsession? Hmm. For lack of a better, more juicy option (maybe I'm just boring), I'd say "Old Hollywood." Sometimes I will find myself in a Wikipedia rabbit hole, just reading about old celebrities, their romances, and the homes they lived in. One link leads to another and bam, lots of time wasted haha.

10.  What do you do to relax?

I love to read a really good book that I don't have to think too much about. If I can do that in a bubble bath with a glass of wine (is there a wine-theme here?), that's even better! If the weather is nice, I'll also go lay in Spencer's hammock and enjoy the sunshine.

11.  What is your dream career?

I ask myself this all the time - I don't really have an answer! I suppose it would be something that would allow me to be creative, but to also have a flexible schedule, and maybe work at home from time to time. 

________________________________________________

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

1. My birthday is Dec. 28th. I've never minded having a birthday so close to Christmas, except that the rest of the year is a little boring because all of the fun is crammed in at once.
2. I'm the youngest daughter of 6 girls...and I have 2 sisters and 3 step-sisters!
3. My ring size and my shoe size are the same: 6.5
4. I have to sleep with a small fan. Not for the breeze, but for the noise. Mine faces the wall, and is on its last leg!
5. I would rather have a night in with a handful of friends than to go out to a bar. Bar + 5'1" gal = no fun
6. This year I will celebrate my 5 year anniversary at my full-time job. It was my first job out of college, and I can't believe it's already been 5 years!
7. I am horrible about keeping in touch with people. It's not for lack of caring, it's just something I am bad about!
8. My favorite book of all time is Gone With the Wind. If you haven't read it, do it. It's long, but so wonderful.
9. I have more of a "salt-tooth" than I do a "sweet-tooth." Potato chips and popcorn, all day.
10. My biggest fear is losing someone I love in a car accident.
11. I am a grateful to serve a Lord who pours out so much love and forgiveness! I'm a sinner in need of it often.

_____________________________________________

I am excited to nominate the following bloggers for the Liebster Award. If you don't already, you have to go check out their blogs and hook up with them on social media. They're all wonderful, kind people that you will love getting to know!

• Danielle at A Tangible Fiction
• Amanda at The Life of a Gluten Free Mama
• Ann-Marie at Espresso Explorations
• Kristi and Nolan at Love In Difference
• LeeAnn at The Mosaic Life
• Julie at A Hopeful Hood
• Jayme at Simply, Always, Forever
• Tammy at Running is a God Thing
• Elizabeth at Downtown Demure

Ok, nominees - congratulations! Here are your 11 questions. I look forward to reading your answers!

1. Who in your life do you most admire? Why?
2. Name one new skill you'd like to learn.
3. What is your all-time favorite book?
4. Do you have any siblings?
5. Chocolate or Vanilla?
6. If you could meet up with anyone for coffee, living or deceased, who would it be?
7. Describe your perfect Saturday.
8. What was your first email address or screen name?
9. Name one item you carry with you everywhere, all the time.
10. Do you have a guilty pleasure? If so, what?
11. Why do you blog?

Thanks for reading along, and for connecting with these other amazing bloggers. :)

Until next time - -