20 Facts.

Continuing with this challenge, today is for 20 facts about me.

1: I absolutely abhor being late for anything.  It seriously messes with my whole day, and I end up freaking out for the rest of the day because of the beginning of it.

2: I am the oldest of five siblings.  I have two younger sisters, and two younger brothers.

3: I proposed to my fiance.  Our proposal story is me acting spontaneously, and it worked out perfectly.

4:  I have a lot of irrational fears.  Seriously horrible phobias.  I'm a freak.

5: I have milked a cow before.  (with a milk machine. still counts.)

6: Speaking of which, I hate milk.  I'll only drink it with oreos, or on cereal.

7: I have a compulsive shopping problem.

8: I'm a Virgo.  According to The Waterboy, this means I dislike confrontations.  This is correct.

9: I have a thing for old Elvis movies.  Especially Blue Hawaii.

10: I believe Elf is more than just a Christmas movie.  Really, if you watch it, there are so many good messages that come through.  Everyone should smile more often, and treat every day like Christmas.

11:  Did I mention, Christmas is my favorite holiday?

12: My biggest celeb crush is on Sir Patrick Stewart.

{via}

13: I know all the words to all the Harry Potter films.  Also, Anchorman, Adventures in Babysitting, and the Die Hard films.  Oh, and Tommy Boy.

14:  I am slightly obsessed with The Walking Dead. Both the television series, and the comic books.

15: I completely hate the Twilight series...yet have read the books multiple times, and own all the movies.  It's a love/hate thing.  The story is so lame...but ah, that Jacob saves everything.

16:  I am a certified scuba diver (or used to be...i think that expires).  I am afraid of deep water, and am a poor swimmer.  Go figure.

17:  Autumn is my favorite season.

18: I'm pretty sure I know more about sports (all of them) than my fiance.  I'm pretty okay with that.

19:  I love the show Friends more than anyone probably should.  Though I might be tied with my sister on that...

20:  I am beyond grateful every day for my family, my friends, and my fiance.  They have helped shaped me into the person I am today.  I could not survive without their love and support.

...

Stay tuned for the meaning of my business name!!

(might be the shortest post ever, but I'll add some cute pictures.)

Something a little different.

I found this blog challenge a little while ago on my bloggy friend Elyse's blog.

I liked the idea, but didn't really feel like keeping up with it.

But, I've been so busy in the last couple weeks with wedding stuff (yeah, my wedding is next May, but we found out some things that we thought we had settled...weren't so much), I haven't been blogging much.  And this is the perfect excuse to do it daily :)

So, for number one...an introduction!

Hi.  I'm Traci.
I started this blog (my third, btw) because...I felt like it.  I've always written stuff down, usually in a journal, and when I found blogging, I just started to absolutely LOVE it.
My old blogs weren't anything special - one was created specifically for my Etsy shop (and was really boring), and the other one was more like this, but the name didn't flow well.
So I became Rose & Lou.

Now, you'll notice that my name isn't Rose.  Also, my fiance's name isn't Lou.
And now you may be wondering, "well what's with Rose & Lou then??"
Rose & Lou is named after both of my grandmothers.  (My mom's mom and my dad's mom).
My mom's mom's name is Rose, my dad's mom's name was Nancy (but her middle name was Lou!).   I loved how Rose and Lou sounded together, so I decided to make it my blog name :)

I'm not so great at writing introductions...I never know what to say!
But stay tuned for the next challenge - 20 facts about me!

{from Elyse's blog}

Sometimes life is hard.

Sometimes anger, fear, jealousy, resentment, and stress can all cannonball into the same feeling until you're so distressed and upset, you don't even know why you're so upset.

You start to forget to take time to appreciate little things.

You begin to disappear inside yourself, completely shut off from those around you.

And then every nice gesture from anyone feels like a slap in the face.

...but tomorrow's always another fresh start.

{i found it here}

Sunday reflections.

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

dear friday...

{via}

dear mama mary: congratulations on your new baby girl!  i can't wait til I get to meet her in person. she's perfect. dear fiance: thank you for making me watch the Niagara Falls episode of The Office with you last night. not like you had to twist my arm but...it made me even more excited for our own Niagara Falls wedding! i can't wait to be yours for-like-evah.  dear sister: i can't wait for tonight! is it totally dorky to be that excited about scrapbooking class?  dear wedding venue lady: please hurry up and email me soon! i really want to get that contract signed so we can have our wedding with you! dear walmart: your photo department should be open 24 hours a day like the rest of you so i can print out pictures whenever it crosses my mind! dear tj maxx: thanks for helping me find the cutest gifts for a certain someone, and for having essie nail polish for $3.99! win win win!  dear charlie sheen: thank you for giving me reasons to use the phrase "win" or "winning" in my every day vernacular.  dear followers: thank you for being awesome!



Linking up with:



If you knew me...

one from the engagement session, edited by me in Photoshop Elements 10

If you knew me in real life...



...you'd know that I have a love/hate relationship with my job. Mostly because I hate waking up so early.

...you'd know that I don't have a huge friend base, but rather a few close friends that I cherish with all my heart, but also that I suck at making time to hang out with anyone.

...you'd know that I don't believe in religion.  (this is not the same as not believing in a god). BUT I will never mock, ridicule, or lecture someone who DOES have those beliefs. 

...you'd know that I am not, nor will I ever be, a morning person. Despite constant assurances that if I have to wake up early every day, I'll eventually get used to it.

...you'd know that I very strongly support everyone's right to marriage.  EVERYONE.

...you'd know that I have very little tolerance for ignorance, and do not deal well with stupidity.

...you'd know that despite the above statement, I have a LOT of airheaded moments.

...you'd know that I absolutely love macaroni and cheese, and would probably eat it for every meal if I was able to do so without becoming incredibly unhealthy.

...you'd know that I suffer from chronic migraines, and that it is the most annoying thing because people who don't get migraines don't understand that it's a real thing, that it's real pain that I have trouble controlling.  I pretty much have at least a small headache every day.

...you'd know how my fiance fractured his skull in December and had to have emergency surgery.

...you'd know that I am very quiet until I get to know you, and then I don't really have an "off" switch.

...you'd know that I love the smell of cigarette smoke, but hate to be around it.  (it's a comfort thing i think, because my fiance is a smoker so always has a slight hint of the smoke on him).

...you'd know that I would rather watch an action movie than a chick flick any day.  I have an unnatural obsession with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.

...you'd know that I can recite Tommy Boy and Anchorman line for line.

...you'd know that I not only LOVE the Harry Potter books and movies, but that I've attended midnight premieres for both the books AND movies, and own multiple copies of each book.

...you'd know how much I fear rodents.

...you'd know about lobsters.

...you'd know my sisters and I have our own language, dealing primarily in movie and television show quotes.

...you'd know that I almost always win board games.  Except Scrabble and Yahtzee!, unless I'm not playing my fiance.

...you'd know that I will be 26 this year, and that I tend to turn my birthday into a week long event.

inspired by {this post} from Adventures of Newlyweds

What bits of randomness would I know about you, if I knew you in real life?

a sweet sentiment.

{i made this using one of our engagement photos & a favorite quote}

belatedly, i realized that my fiance is two years older than me, so even if i lived to be a hundred minus one day, i'd still be without him for two years.

oh well.

it's still a cute thought.

What did you do today, Traci?

Oh ya know, the usual.

Stalked Pintrest for like a zillion years.

Found some amazeball free downloads.

Then spent several hours going through engagement pictures, editing, re-editing, exiting without saving and having to edit again...in order to bring you...

{ok, pretty much for me, as i'm seriously obsessed}

Some of the Save the Date's I've been {obsessively} creating!

And honestly, I'm trying to DIY as much of this wedding as I can...

Well to a point.

But most definitely the Invites & Save the Date's & my bouquet (one of those pretty brooch bouquets!)

Photos: {elizabeth pellette photography}

Calendar template:  {weddingchicks}

Flower brushes:  {inknest}

And here are some I made up myself:

this banner is from {inknest} too

I feel like printing like a million of all of these...

Which one's your fave?

Summer Style.

So, I have been sitting in awe of all of these blogs with pretty outfit posts, wondering how they pulled together all that stuff...

And then I finally discovered Polyvore.

Seriously, I love shopping without spending money, so expect to see more of these posts in the near future.

sundresses by traci-horschel featuring short silk dresses

Floral print dress
$19 - houseoffraser.co.uk

AllSaints short silk dress
allsaints.com

Oasis tribal dress
$70 - oasis-stores.com

Charlotte Russe ankle wrap sandals
charlotterusse.com

Cheeky Budha shoulder bag
$44 - republic.co.uk

Dorothy Perkins square sunglasses
$12 - dorothyperkins.com

Facing Reality.

{pintrest}

It's been about a week since my {Reality Check} post.
I posted about my real weight.  And my ideas to change that.
And in the last week, I've realized...
I don't really feel like changing it.
I don't think I'm fat.
I do think I eat like crap.  And that I often feel ill.
And that I'd like to change.
But basing it all on the numbers on the scale?
Nope.
Not gonna do it.

Coming to that realization was pretty freeing for me.  I stopped working out for a few days (sweltering heat = yeah fat chance), but tried to continue with my more healthful eating patterns, and I still feel pretty darn good. 

The other thing I realized, was that finding out how much I actually weigh and deciding it was too much, was a huge catalyst in finding out how dissatisfied I am with a lot of aspects of my life.
Sadly, they're all holes I've dug myself into.
And it's stupid stuff, like being constantly broke, having a disorganized & messy house, staying home all weekend because I am too broke to go out if I do get invites.

Migraines = missing work = no money.
no money + compulsive shopping = even less money.
BUT
eating better = fewer migraines = more work = more money.
more money + spending less = cleaner house due to less accumulation + even more money.

Or something like that.

{pintrest}

Dear Friday...

another from our engagement session...pretty much what's always on our feet!

dear heatwave: seriously, it is weird living in a place that has both high heat warnings and cold weather warnings, so if you could just chill out a bit, that would be great. kthxbye. dear sweet tea: you're undoubtedly horrendous for me, but thank you for keeping me cool and tasting oh so delicious.  dear jeans: it was a bad idea to wear you today.  dear baby brother: you're 20, so i shouldn't still call you that, but thank you bunches for randomly mowing the hayfield that was my backyard.  i much appreciate having a nice shady spot to hangout in now, with my fabulous new/old quilt and a book. you're the bestest ever.  dear sewing machine: we should hangout soon.  dear etsy: i'm sorry you've been so sorely neglected as of late.  i've been lacking inspiration... dear fiance: thank you for your unwavering belief in me, and your unconditional love. you mean more to me than i can put into words. 

linking up {as ever} with:



A real firecracker.

The 4th of July is, ya know, America's Independence Day.

{seriously, we can't just pick an honorary day so we get a long weekend?! dammit}

But it's also my mom's birthday!

And this year, she turned 50.

Naturally, we had to give her a huge suprise party :)

mom & my youngest brother (who is also the tallest!)

mom and her epic birthday cake.

And, because this is now my mom's catch-phrase:

Hope everyone had an awesome 4th!

Or an awesome day, if you're not American and didn't celebrate our independence.