January 4x4 Roundup

The end of the month always takes me by surprise. I say it every time but how could 30 days possible pass by so quickly! Anyway enough about that! 
I'm so excited to be joining up with my gal Alex for her very first monthly 4x4 Roundup. Pretty much, it'a a roundup of your four favorites of the month--your posts, your instagram photos, pins, and friend's posts. I love the idea of showcasing the best of the month in one most so I have a feeling this linkup will become a staple here on the blog! 
four favorite blog posts

• Renew | Peony Project: The Peony Project has become such a blessing to me and I've been loving the prompts Betsy and her team have chosen so far. 
• 5 Ways Married Life Changes after a Dog: Duke is my baby so obviously I love talking about him on the blog as often as possible. This was such a fun post for me to write.
• Ten Things Disney Movies Taught Me about Life: My Disney obsession is real, folks. If this post doesn't prove it, I'm not sure what does! 
• January Project Life: I'm more than a little excited about my new scapbooking/memory keeping venture and I loved sharing a little bit of my progress so far with you ladies.

four favorite Instagram photos 

four favorite Pinterest pins 


four favorite friend's posts

• How to Respond to Brand Email Inquiries - Hello Rigby: It seems like I'm always getting emails from brands hoping to work "together" and I never know how to respond politely but firmly. This is an excellent guide to the brand email etiquette question.
• Switching from Blogger to Wordpress on Your Own - Gina Alyse: I'm going to be doing this in the very near future so I loved reading Gina's step-by-step process on how to approach the transfer process.
• 5 Questions to Ask before Joining a Group Giveaway - A Beautiful Exchange : Hayley gives some great tips for getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to blogging giveaways. Definitely a must read! 
• Home - Black Little Button: Truth--I cried happy tears when I read that Whitney's husband is finally home again. And seeing all of her homecoming pictures on Instagram? Yeah, you can just find me bawling over here. 

SO WHAT DID YOU THINK? CARE TO SHARE YOUR 4X4'S FOR THE MONTH? DON'T FORGET TO LINKUP WITH ALEX AND AMANDA!

The Guys Behind the Blog Vol. 1

Way back when I first started blogging, a few of my favorite bloggers Mal and Stephanie had a really great linkup called Boys Behind the Blog--if you've been a follower of mine since the beginning, you'll probably remember those posts. It was so fun to feature the hubs on the blog each month!
Since then, there have been a few guy-centered linkups floating around Blog Land but none of them have piqued my interest. Which is why I was so excited when Betsy announced on the Peony Project that she was doing a post centered around her fiance AJ and invited all of us Peonies to join her. I absolutely knew I had to join in! 
Thankfully Zach obliged so here we go! 

By the way am I the only one who thinks this photo is just perfect??? My Montana boy can definitely work the whole cowboy thing...even at the beach.
Ok, to start things off, tell us a little about you.  Well, I'm Zach, but you guys already know that. I have, in my opinion, the best job in the army,--infantry. I like to shoot guns, do anything physical, play video games, and chill with my wife.  Oh, on that topic, the new maps for Call of Duty came out today, babe, wanna play? 
my husband in his own words, ladies. 
1. Have you ever had a blog, or have you ever considered starting one? Noooo. That's where you come in....to have a blog and write about me.
2. If you could be a member of any band, which one would it be? Linkin Park or Avenged Sevenfold I guess
3. Valentine's Day is on the horizon.....are you the date-planner type or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Do you have anything planned for February 14th this year? I guess that would mean I'm a fly by the seat type of guy because I don't have anything planned. But I do know I won't be freezing like last year so that's a plus. 
to explain, last year his unit was out on training all of February and spent the 14th in the rain trudging through the jungle so I think he's just happy he gets to be home warm and dry this year haha
4. Tell us about a date-night-gone-wrong for you and your wife. If it's funny, all the better!  Well I wouldn't say it was a date night gone wrong...but there have been times we've gone out to do something and nothing seems to work out. Like that time I convinced you to try that new restaurant and it took pretty much forever and the food ended up tasting craptastic. So yeah. Does that count?
5. And let's cover all the topics....sports...who are you rooting for in the Superbowl and why?   Patriots because I hate the Seahawks.
Yes, he still holds a grudge against Seattle for beating the Bronco's butt last year--a huge grudge since he's actually rooting for my team to win the Super Bowl!
Well that was super fun wasn't it! I love having Zach take over the blog for me. So what do you gals think? Should we ask Betsy to make this a monthly thing? I think so!!! Click the button below for the linkup and join us!

HAS YOUR GUY EVER TAKEN OVER YOUR BLOG? WHO ARE YOU ROOTING FOR IN THE SUPERBOWL??? 

Our Hawaiian Bucket List

Sometimes I forget we only have a little over a year left on Hawaii. I feel like during our 2ish years here we haven't done nearly enough of the touristy things you expect to do when you live on an island. 
A few months ago, I started a Hawaiian bucket list and, almost a year ago, we've only crossed three things off that list!!! So here I am, at the beginning of 2015, making yet another bucket list for our time here on Oahu. Hopefully, my goal of being intentional this year will help us cross every item off this bucket list come January of next year. 

1. Visit another island, preferably Maui or Kauai.
2. Tour the Dole Plantation and taste their pineapple whip.
3. Eat out at three local restaurants.       Monkeypod Kitchen     any suggestions for our other two? 
4. Go to the Polynesian Cultural Center and watch their luau. 
5. Attend at least one Eat the Streets food truck event. 
6. Hike Koko Head Crater twice. 
7. Play a round of golf at one of the many golf courses on Oahu. 
8. Do yoga on the beach. 
9. Photograph a surfing competition.
10. Hike to all the waterfalls on the island:        Manoa Falls - Completed Spring 2014        Lulumahu Falls + Pali Lookout       Maunawili Falls - Completed Fall 2013       Laie Falls 
11. Take at least one good photo of a sea turtle.
12. Spend the day at Hanauma Bay.
13. Hike Makapuu Point Lighthouse.
14. Watch the Lantern Floating on Memorial Day. 
15. Visit the Honolulu Museum of Art 
16. Go spearfishing.
17. Take some underwater photos of fish.
18. Visit the Honolulu Zoo.
19. Spend a day exploring Downtown Honolulu.
20. Take Duke to the beach.
What do you think of our list? I know some of these might make great date nights and I'm excited to put a good dent in these before our PCS next year! 
HAVE I MISSED ANYTHING WE JUST HAVE TO DO DURING OUR YEAR LEFT ON ISLAND? I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT PLACES YOU'VE BEEN. DO YOU HAVE A BUCKET LIST FOR WHERE YOU LIVE?