Happy Monday!!! Hope this day finds you refreshed after a (hopefully) long 3-day weekend full of holiday fun!! I know sometimes it can be even harder to get back into the routine of the week after these type of weekends — especially with the jam-packed schedules they tend to bring — but hang in there, keep your chin up, and try to find the silver linings :) (I may or may not have watched that movie post-cookout on Friday…perfect way to relax after a day of enjoying lots of patriotic desserts & sangria :) ) In fact, that’s why I started this blog series to begin with — Mondays get such a bad rep & it’s so easy to approach them with dread, but sometimes a little intentional happiness with a side of CHOOSING contentment and joy is all ya need! Even when it’s a Monday :)

So, as always, things I’m loving today as I reflect on this past week:

>> Date nights out with my hubs!! Life has been really crazy lately & Chris and I hadn’t gotten a lot of intentional time together, so I was super psyched when he asked me out on a date night this past Thursday :P We had a gift card to The Velvet Tango Room from a past shoot I did and decided it was a perfect time to discover what all the fuss was about!!! For $20 a drink, I had very high expectations — and every single one of them was met and SURPASSED!! So. Much. FUN. :) :)

>> Fixer Upper. Oh my geez I am OBSESSED with this show! Well actually, I’m mostly obsessed with Chip and Joahnna. HGTV has always been a favorite channel of mine, but it definitely has a little more of my love these days :) They are SUCH  a sweet couple (and their kids are freakin’ ADORABLE), and, just like the name implies, they literally take these crappy crappy houses and turn them into AMAZING spaces!! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly encourage it :)

>> #shereadstruth devos in the morning! I LOVE these mini insights into different books of the bible — I LOVE that thousands of other women are reading and learning and praying the same things — I LOVE the refreshing messages and unabashed truth they share — and I also sort of love the pretty pictures and images that come along with each devotion :) I am currently double-dipping plans as I slacked for a few weeks..so I’m catching up on the Ruth study and loving the current Sermon on the Mount plan!

>> On a photography note, I am LOVING the two sessions I got to do during my time in Indy!! The Stilabower session and Casey and Kyle’s engagement session were both SO fun and full of laughter — great reminders of why I do what I do :)

>> I am also LOVING my new head shots from Lane Baldwin Photography!!!! Just another step towards having my official website / branding done — and I can’t wait!! She did an AMAZING job & I had such a blast getting to chat with her more over coffee post-Ohio-City-photo-takeover :) I posted one on #instie earlier this week, and I was going to leave any other peaks until my website is launched, but I decided I wanted to show you a few of my favorites anyway and hopefully get some feedback on which ones you like the best!!! What do ya think?! Love the happy-fun-city feel these have :)

I’m not quite sure if there are many things more awkward than taking pictures BY YOURSELF, but Lane made it so fun :)

And, just because this was an adorable video of our crazy puppy I snapped on our way to 4th of July festivites, I’m going to end today’s Monday Love with this:

Happy Monday!! #turndownforwhat

:)