Erin Condren Life Planners

 {My new 2012 Erin Condren planner. I'm in love!}

I've confessed on my blog a few times that I'm a type A, obsessive-compulsive to-do list-maker. I mean, everyone makes lists for their lists, right? Oh, they don't? Whoops! :) With the end of the year quickly approaching, I've noticed that I'm getting down to the last few pages in my 2011 day-timer. Today, I needed to schedule an appointment for January 19th and that date didn't exist!

My current 2011 planner is very professional and has tons of space for scheduling appointments, making notes/lists, and planning months in advance, but unfortunately is a little boring. Big, black, and sort of manly. So, I started doing a little research. I wanted to find a more feminine planner that still met the demands of my crazy job and life (tabs, reference stickers, pockets, bliss!). Erin Condren Life Planners do just this! If you're looking for a 2012 day-timer, you should definitely check her's out! She also makes presh notepads, iPhone covers, canvas pictures, etc. I'll definitely be buying more from this store!

My November Sponsors!! (Part 2)

...aaannndd here are the other half of my lovely November sponsors! I've absolutely enjoyed having these ladies and their blogs sponsor The Hinton Hook-Up this month. Make sure to check them out and don't forget to follow them!

Life Is a Sunset

5 Fun Facts about Chelsea:

1) She's driven cross-country twice in the past two years (both times to move)

2) She's allergic to chap stick

3) She has a huge place in her heart for homeless animals

4) Full House will always be her favorite TV show

5) She has always been a total night owl

Mrs Alana's Miscellany

5 Fun Facts about Alana:

1) Her and her husband are an eHarmony success story and they're trying to be on a commercial

2) She only likes songs that are fun to sing along to, including all Christmas music!

3) She's a middle child and has the syndrome to go with it (half joking!)

4) She has an Etsy shop where she sells her art

5) She has baby fever like whoa

Following The Walkers

5 Fun Facts about Stevie:

1) She got married at 20 to a boy she met when she was 4 years old and dated in high school

2) She moved to Manhattan to pursue her dream of working in PR and works at a global PR agency in West Village

3) She's obsessed with bulldogs and plans on getting one in 2012

4) She overuses parentheses

5) She interned with me at CBS News in the Press Office in NYC!!

Thurmonstrosity

5 Fun Facts about Claire:

1) She loves being challenged: she's traveled to three Spanish-speaking countries

2) She likes trying new things: she has 5 years of karate under her belt with trophies to prove it

3) She's very efficient: she got married the same day she graduated from college after a 6 week engagement

4) She plays hard: she's a cut-throat board-game enthusiast

5) She's highly creative: her soul is a craft studio and the HobLob brings joy to her heart


Illuminated He{art}

5 Fun Facts about Ashley:

1) She's the mother of the cutests little 1-year-old girl

2) She's a stay-at-home mom and artist

3) On her blog she write about art, fashion, and living each day as sweetly as possible

4) She has an Etsy shop, which you can find here

5) She has amazing style!

L&B

5 Fun Facts about Bethany...

1) She loves to write and cook

2) She is passionate about missions

3) She loves to travel and is a big fan of the beach

4) She just realized her love of cooking

5) She and her husband, Lee, just announced that they're EXPECTING A BABY!!

December Sponsor Swap!!

Hey y'all! It's about that time again. :)

If anyone would like to sponsor swap for the month of December, I'd love to swap with you! I enjoy getting to know new people and new blogs, which is what sponsor swaps are all about! Send an email to me over at thehintonhookup@gmail.com to let me know you're interested and we'll get to chattin'.

I hope you're having a fabulous week and I look forward to talking with you soon!

-Sara

 {If you'd like to swap buttons for December, I'll dance for joy! Or I'll dance a little sassy. See above picture for proof (embarrassing!)}

My November Sponsors!! (Part 1)

These ladies are just awesome! I have loved having their 6 fabulous blogs as sponsors this November. You should definitely check them out and follow!!

Tea Time Thoughts

5 Fun Facts about Candice:

1) She's writing a book!

2) She enjoys public speaking

3) She absolutely loves to travel

4) She's a dancer and studied classical ballet for 12 years

5) Earrings are her favorite piece of jewelry

My Happy Thought

5 Fun Facts about Lauren:

1) She can't whistle

2) She used to be ticklish, but now she's not (to the dismay of her hubberz!)

3) She is NOT a morning person

4) She LOVE LOVE LOVES Engish Bulldogs

5) She works as a Disney Princess on the weekends

The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart

5 Fun Facts about Ruthie:

1) She broke her back in 2003

2) She mt her husband at work (she was the underage intern and he was a 26-year-old sales guy...scandal!)

3) She is not much of an Asian food fan

4) She's only 5 feet tall (or maybe a little under, but who's counting?)

5) She graduated from A&M, but is actually a bigger Baylor fan (her husband's alma mater)

Gentri Lee

5 Fun Facts about Gentri

1) She is only 4'8'' tall

2) Her favorite type of books is usually Dystopian

3) She's in her 20s, but usually acts 5 or 80

4) Sometimes she thinks she's an artist, until she tries to create art--then she realizes she's not an artist

5) She thinks road trips are the best thing ever!

A Little Inspiration

5 Fun Facts about Angie:

1) She has a little shop called Little Miss Chic

2) She has 9 sisters!

3) Her middle name is Adilene

4) Her Little Inspiration (her daughter) is named Aries, the golden ram

5) She loves the beach

 

Virginie's Cinema

5 Fun Facts about Virginie:

1) Her first language is French

2) Her husband is half Mexican

3) She makes movies in English

4) She is pretty sure she should have abben a Californian

5) Her main inspiration is Japanese culture

Now seriously, go check out these beautiful blogs!! :)

Thankful

There is much to be thankful for this year!

1) I turned 24, Luke turned 25, and Brooklyn turned 1. Grateful for another year of life!

2) I officially cut myself off from my parents financially in May. This may sound silly, but I'm thankful for financial stability.

3) I bought my first car. :)

4) Luke and I were married in June, the best day of my life to date.

5) Luke and I moved into our first house this month and are loving married life!

6) I've learned SO much about the industry I work in and have been successful this year. Again, thankful for financial stability and the amazing team I work with.

7) Although I've only made it to Baylor twice in 2011, I'm thankful for my education and the role it continues to play in my life.

8) I'm grateful for Coffee and my Keurig. And coffee. 

9) I have friends from childhood, high school, college, camp, work, etc. that continue to be life-long friends and family. They are amazing blessings in my life.

10) God has given me the goofiest, stubborn, sarcastic, loving family that could possible exist. And they are perfect.

These are just 10 of many blessings that I just cannot be thankful enough for!

I hope you and your family have a very happy and blessed thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and green bean casserole (my favorite)!! 

Hurry up weekend!

AHHHHH!!!! Work is crazy today! Holiday log deadlines are stressing me out. I have conferences calls, orders to book, and commercials to edit...oh my!

But my mind is elsewhere. On turkey, family, and days off with the husband. Dear God, please help me get all this work done so I can relax and enjoy Thanksgiving!

{Can't stop thinking about a long weekend with these two}

Miscellany Monday

Ahhh!!! I'm a little late in my post today. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! What's going on in your world this Monday? Blog about it and then link up over at lowercase letters.

1) On Friday, a friend of mine from work and I decided to spend our lunch walking the bayfront to get in a quick workout before grabbing a bite to eat at the Art Museum. One of our favorite lunch places, Hester's, just opened a second location in the museum and this was our first time to visit. This was the perfect lunch! A little workout, a lovely lunch, and fellowship with a beautiful sister in Christ. We've decided we're going to make this a weekly thing and I'm pumped!

2) On Sunday night, I watched Miracle on 34th Street. This is one of my absolute FAVORITE Christmas movies!! I know, I know...it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But I can't help it! :)

3) A few weeks ago I dyed my hair with color from a box. Shameful, I know. I'm a natural blonde who has always added a few highlights to enhance, but I got a little daring and went medium golden brown. Well now it's faded a bit and I've decided to get it professionally colored. Tomorrow at 6pm I have an appointment with Penelope, my sassy, tattooed hairstylist (love her!!), to get my hair cut and colored. Pics will be posted afterward!

{Goofballs}

4) The pic above is of the youngest two Martisek girls, modeling the dress all four of us will be wearing for my aunt's wedding on Dec. 6th. We're the House Party! Although it looks great on them, they found it in the juniors' section at Dillards. I'm pretty sure my butt hasn't fit into anything "junior" in a while. Wish me luck on this one!

5) I came home tonight to a husband and puppy dog watching "Tangled." Yes, the new Rapunzel movie. Should I be worried? Ha!

6)What are you asking for for Christmas? I really want a Michael Kors iPhone wristlet. I can't decide between this one or this one. Which one do you like better?

7) I'm sort of a psyco list maker, which is why purchasing my 2012 day planner is such a HUGE deal. Last year, I ordered a big guy from Planner Pads. It has my name and company name printed on the front. Nerdy, I know. But this year, I want to by a more feminine planner without it being too girly. Suggestions?

8) Everyone seems to have their own opinion of Taylor Swift, and I must admit that I wasn't really that big of a fan until just recently. I watched her perform "Ours" at the CMA and just fell in love with that song! If I would have written a song about Luke and I throughout our dating years, it probably would have sounded something like this. <3

 

Alrighty, that's all I've got. Hope your Monday was fab!!

-Sara

Confession: I've been a bad blogger (but a good unpacker!)

I have severely ignored my blog over the last month or so, and I feel pretty bad about it. Yes, I've posted maybe once or twice a week, but it's just been little updates here and there. I haven't written my sponsor highlights yet and I haven't gotten back to a couple of people that have contacted me about guest posting. For this, I'm sincerely sorry. Life has just been nuts! But I'm back and ready to make it up to everyone. Be looking for sponsor highlights THIS WEEK and for me to be posting more regularly!! Ok, now that I have gotten that off my chest, I'm going to give you all a glimpse into what has been going on around here. :)

As my last blog post told you, we've moved! This is my first full weekend in the house and I have spent the entire day unpacking boxes, doing laundry, and hanging up wall decor. I must say, I'm pretty proud of my progress!

 {Our bedroom. Not much on the walls yet, but I'll get there!}

{Our HUGE closet! This "room" alone makes living at camp worth it!}

{Our new Ikea kitchen table and chairs}

{Living room #1}

{Living room #2. Sorry for the bright sun coming through the window}

I'm still adjusting to life out at the camp. Although I spent multiple summers working out here during college, living out here as a wife is a whole new ball game. Brooklyn and I have watched three movies on Netflix today (The American President, Father of the Bride, and some Hillary Duff movie that was never popular) because there isn't really much else going on. We also went for a walk and I went for an evening run. I'm sure I'll get used to this slower pace on the weekends, but today was definitely an adjustment.

Work, oh work. I wish I could just write and write about all of the madness that my job has been for me the last couple of weeks. Here is the short version: I was offered a new job. I wasn't looking and had no intention of leaving my current job. But I learned more about this new position and things just started moving. The new job really wanted me to come work for them; my current job really wanted me to stay. I had so many variables to weigh and in the long run had to make the decision that best moved me toward my long-term professional goals. And I decided to stay at my current job. :) This past week I was challenged to make some tough decisions, learn some big lessons, and set new (higher!) professional goals for myself. I really believe this situation/experience was God preparing me for something greater in the future and I'm excited to see where He takes me on this journey!

Luke has also been seeing some cool advancements at work. After one of the directors at the camp moved to take a new job, some re-organizing went down and Luke has taken on some new responsibility at work. Yay for promotions! Also, a group of men that travel and build buildings/office furniture/etc. for Christian organizations built a new desk that has been put in Luke's office, which is a pretty cool upgrade for him. God's blessings are just overwhelming us right now!

(This guy is one of the hardest workers I know!}

So you see, life has been pretty hectic. But beautiful, none the less. I can't wait for the upcoming 3-day week, Thanksgiving with both mine and Luke's families, a weekend of Christmas shopping in Houston, and buying our first Christmas tree as a married couple (all things that will be happening before next Sunday)!

Hope you all are having a blessed weekend. :)

It is finished.

(Well, sort of. I still need to finish unpacking, but...) This past Sunday, Luke and I, along with two of our best friends, picked up a 17' Uhaul truck, packed up our 2 bedroom apartment, and moved out to Camp Zephyr! Yes, I am officially a "camp wife," I live in a town of 735 people (census 2000), and I now drive an hour to work one-way everyday. Yikes, right?!

Now, you're probably thinking, "How did Sara go from city-girl-New-Yorker to small-town-country-girl?" Well, no worries. I'm still a city girl at heart and plan on moving back as soon as the Lord's work through Luke and I in this chapter of our lives has been completed. So for now, we have been called to live and serve at Camp Zephyr. For those of you that don't know, my husband is the guest services manager at this beautiful South Texas Christian camp/retreat facility. This is where we met, fell in love, and spent our summers working as college students. We took engagement pictures on the camp grounds and were married about 20 minutes from its gates. To say this ministry has helped raised us is an understatement. We are excited about God's plan for us (full-time) at Zephyr!

{My movers, the hubs and the pup}

{The beautiful sunrise that greeted me on my official drive into work from the new house. South Texas is breath-taking at sunrise!}

As soon as I get some wall decor up, I will post pictures of the new house. I need to do a little work before then! I am pretty proud of our progress though. I've cooked two meals in this house, while Luke has set up our internet, Netflix, Hulu, AND has put together all of our new Ikea furniture. He's one stud of a husband. :)

Shadowfeet

I've been singing this song to the Lord pretty much all day today. Life has been incredible the last few days; my head is still spinning. I'm extremely humbled by the Lord's blessings. But with these blessings have come big decision and days spent in prayer. I know this all sounds vague, but I just have some big stuff on my plate. If you get the chance, will you throw up a prayer for me? And of course, listen to this beautiful song, if you get the chance. :)

[P.S. We moved into the new house yesterday!! Blog post coming soon!]

Shadowfeet
By Brooke Fraser

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet

Towards home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing; less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I've sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day
[CHORUS:]

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and the mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you
There's distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
But I've heard rumors of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way
[CHORUS]

You make all things new

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2:]

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Movin', movin', movin'!!!

This is the weekend! All day tomorrow, I will finish packing up the last boxes. Then Sunday, we move! I'm more than ready for Luke and I to finally be living in the same place and so is he. If you think of it, say a prayer for us Sunday. I'm sure Luke and I will get on each others nerves after hours of moving furniture down 3 flights of stairs repeatedly, but we'll make it and we're pumped!

{Pictures of the new house to come after these two lovebirds make the move!}

And speaking of moving, guess who is about to be back in Texas after a semester abroad in Europe? THIS girl!!! We're all so ready for Claire to be back in Texas. The Martisek girls come as a 4-pack and it's been such a weird three months without 1 of the 4. Hurry home kitty girl! Thanksgiving at Aunt Kathy's and the 3rd Annual Poopek Partners Meeting are waiting on you. :)

Hey, It's Ok Thursday

It's ok...

...to splurge on a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and sugar-free vanilla iced coffee from McDonalds since it's Thursday AND pay day! (a day early, weird...)

...to wear the same dress to work that your wore last Monday. Too soon? Who cares. It's cute and cozy for this chilly weather we're experiencing!

...to have only packed 4 large boxes and to be moving in 3 days. At least the Uhaul has been rented!

...to still be obsessed with/look through your wedding pictures on a daily weekly basis. I love reliving that day though pictures and videos. :)

...to have not yet decided on a Christmas card. There are so many cute ones to choose from! P.S. Any suggestions? Where are you getting yours from? I need to get on the ball with this one.

...to find a quiet room somewhere in your office building where no one will find you and just sit. With no interruptions, no questions, no phones ringing. Just silence. For 10 blissful minutes.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

This Wednesday, I'm loving...

 {...The CMAs!!}

{...Our new kitchen table/chairs from Ikea!}

 {...Pictures that Jade takes of Luke and I}

 {...The rain we got today}

 {...These two cute faces. But I'm lovin' them everyday!}

A fast, busy, lovely weekend

This past weekend was one of the most fun Luke and I have had in a while! The three weekends prior have been spent working on and painting our new house, so a long weekend/vacation was exactly what we needed. We both took off from work on Friday and headed up to Waco for Baylor Homecoming!

If you attended Baylor or know someone who has, then you know how involved Baylor students and alumni are. We don't just "show up" or "attend" homecoming. We book our hotel rooms months in advance, we coordinate flights/road trips with old college friends to make sure everyone shows up, we get to campus early to make sure we're there for the bonfire and float winner announcements, we attend Singspiration so that we can worship with the Baylor Family, we wake up way too early on a Saturday to watch the largest collegiate homecoming parade in the nation, we buy tickets for Pigskin the day they go on sale, and we cheer on the Bears at the homecoming game (Sic 'em Bears!!). Us over-achieving Baylor people just don't have it in us to half-ass homecoming weekend. :)

 {Homecoming fireworks!}

{So proud to be the product of this God-praising college}

I had a great time catching up with all my college roomies and Tri Delta sisters! This was mine and Luke's first Baylor Homecoming as a married couple, which was really fun. We stayed at The Czech Inn in West, Texas and LOVED our room! I mean, who wouldn't love a king-sized bed and a hot breakfast served each morning? As busy as the weekend turned out to be, Luke and I still really enjoyed getting out of our daily routine in Corpus and splurging on ourselves.

{At dinner with friends}

{Love these girls}

Btw, sorry about all the iPhone photos. As soon as Cat uploads all her pictures from homecoming, I'll steal some and post them on the blog. Her camera is so much more legit than anyone else's that we just let her take pics all weekend. Love you Cat!!!

 {Tri Delta won Class B Float. So proud of you sisters!!}

{And of course, we couldn't leave Waco without grabbing some Common Grounds for the road}

We loved our Baylorcation very much and are already making plans for next year's homecoming! We left Waco around 10am on Sunday morning and drove an hour to Round Rock, Texas, where we went to church at Central Baptist. This is the church where Allen Frans, the pastor that married Luke and I, is the Family Minister. We are HUGE Allen Frans fans! I had texted Allen ahead of time to let him know that we were going to see him at church and he replied, "Yes! I need a Luke hug. It's been way too long!" Needless to say, Luke and Allen are buds. :)

{We love this church and it's people}

And after church we drove a couple miles down the road to...IKEA!!! This was definitely one of the highlights of our weekend. Before this trip, Luke had never been to Ikea and I was so excited to be the one to introduce him to this little large piece of heaven on earth. We went in knowing that we needed to stick to our budget, but of course, we went a little over. It's hard not to in that place! But you can't hardly be mad at yourself for doing so when you come out with multiple pieces of furniture for the same price of one at Pier 1/ Wilcox/Pottery Barn/etc. We bought a new kitchen table and chairs, a new bed frame + headboard, two bedside tables, a 3-drawer dresser for a nook in our room, and a fun mirror to hang above our bed. We were pretty pumped to take all of our new furniture home to the new house!

{First time to Ikea for Mr. Hinton}

{And he loved it!}

On our way home we stopped in Hallettsville to see my mom, dad, sisters, Nana, Papaw, Aunt Amy, and soon-to-be Uncle Shane (4 weeks you two!!). My family was barbecuing to celebrate my Papaw's and Becca's birthdays.  It was fun to see everyone for that short hour, but after an amazing dinner we had to wrap up our long drive back to Corpus. We finally pulled in to town around 10pm and picked up Brooklyn from our friends' apartment. Our little family didn't go to bed until about 11:30pm that night and we were exhausted, but the weekend was SO worth it!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and have had a great start to your week! Did the time change throw any of you off? My body is STILL struggling. :/

Happy birthday baby sister!

Today is my youngest sister's birthday. I can't believe this "little girl" is a 19-year-old college student!! To me, she'll always be about 6 years old. Becca is my mini-me, without a doubt! We have the same face-shape and our bodies are built the same. We're the "bookends," as my mom like to call us and we're definitely the loudest of the Martisek girls. Becca is on the path to becoming a nurse, which will be perfect for her because she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know! She is known for being a show-stopper and makes our entire family laugh uncontrollably on a regular basis.

Rebecca Anne Martisek has turned into a beautiful young woman, who I am so blessed to call my baby sister and one of my best friends. I hope you have a fabulous 19th birthday sister girl!!

Welcome November!

via.

Hello friends! Aren't you all SO excited for November's arrival? I sure am! So much, in fact, that I have made a list of all the wonderful things about the 1st of November:

1) It's 11.1.11

2) Starbucks' red cups are back

3) My boots that I ordered came in today, just in time for this beautiful month (remember these?)

4) Thanksgiving is in 23 days

5) Justin Bieber was on the DWTS result show tonight (he's such a cutie!)

6) Baylor Homecoming is 3 days away

7) The 3rd Annual Martisek Christmas shopping weekend in Houston happens this month

8) New blog sponsors!

9) My youngest sis and mom both celebrate their birthdays in November

10) And GOD IS GOOD! But hey--this is every day. :)

via.

A quick house update: We finished painting the house!! All three bedrooms, the living room, and the kitchen have received new coats of paint and everything looks so nice! Luke also put new shutters on the front of the house, which gives our sweet little beige house some much-needed color. My mom played a HUGE role in helping me finish painting this weekend! We made a trip to Home Depot, bought a few items that will help spruce up the house, and Jules even bought Luke and I the cutest "H" doormat. I don't know what I'd do without her! 

{New shutters!}

The Hintons have a lot to be thankful for this month! What are you thankful for during this Thanksgiving season? Are you doing anything special on your blog to document this? If so, let me know. I'd love to read about it!