r e l a x i n g

So like I said, it's been a long week... and as the week goes on I am starting to feel more and more like crap. (hoping it's just exhaustion and that i'm not actually getting sick) When I got home today vince knew I wasn't feel good so he offered to make dinner (what a nice guy) and told me to just relax. So, that's exactly what I am doing ALL night long.  

photo by:rafibashir79 

I'm curled up on the couch with all my favorite things... my snuggie (you know the blanket with sleeves.. it's dorky, but I love it), my book, Ty sleeping beside me, and the best part: a cup of hot tea compliments of the hubby <3 (i have a slight obsession with tea) I don't plan on moving from this spot the rest of the night and hopefully by tomorrow I'll be feeling better :)

something sweet

photo by: jek in the box

it's only wednesday and it's already been a long week... i am not normally a dessert person, but I could really go for something sweet right now ;-)

(i really want one of these posters for my office)

Weekend of Painting and Decorating

Guest Bath - Before:

After:

 

GUESTROOM - Before:

 

After:

 

Next on the to-do list.. our master bedroom and bath :)

Grey's

Grey's Anatomy comes back on tonight for a 2 hour season premiere, and I am SO excited. Vince and I both LOVE IT! :)

and really, what's not to love about McDreamy? ;-)

Learning to Cook

Before getting engaged I very rarely cooked... and when I did I didn't enjoy it and was never any good at it. However, once I got engaged my mom told me I needed to start learning and once I did I would like it more. So, in order to make me learn my mom put me in charge of the meals at our house a couple days each week. (she was rather excited about this idea, I was not) I would plan out a couple meals, go grocery shopping (ugh), then of course actually make the meal, and then the worst part was doing the dishes afterwards. Now, I wish I could say I made fabulous food and was great right away, but that would be a lie. There were plenty of times I would spend way too much time in the store looking for one small ingredient, get frustrated and just leave and order dinner (seriously).. or I would cook and pull things out of the oven that were either over-cooked, under-cooked, or looked nothing like the pictures in the cookbook.

Needless to say it could be really frustrating... BUT the more I cooked the better I got with it and eventually I even started to enjoy it (a little). Now don't get me wrong, I am still learning to cook and I still have a long ways to go before I am as good as my mom... but at least it's not something I dread anymore. I actually like coming home and making dinner for us (except for on weekends, I refuse to cook on saturdays). Plus Vince and I do the grocery shopping together now (which makes me not mind it as much) and he usually even cooks once a week which is a nice treat to come home from work and just get to r e l a x. And the best part, we have a deal that whoever does the cooking, the other person does the dishes. (love that) So my goal now is trying to make some of my own recipes, or at least making adjustments to other ones instead of having to follow everything step by step... we'll see how that goes ;-)

Now if only I could learn to love doing the laundry..

My Heart <3

With my best friends, at one of the best places on earth... what more could I ask for?

one of the best weekend I have had in a long time... can't wait to do it again <3

Not a City Girl...

I live about 45 minutes (without traffic) outside of philadelphia and until this week I had never drove into the city before. (not that I have never been there, we go quite a bit.. but I have always either been riding with vince or my family) So to be honest I was a little nervous about driving and dealing with all the crazy traffic, the intense drivers, the one-way streets, the parking...


Well, yesterday I had to be in center city at 10am to drop off stuff for an event, then that same night I had to go back to the city for a banquet at the University of Penn Museum (REALLY neat building!), and then this (friday) morning I had to be at the Union League (GORGEOUS!) for a breakfast seminar starting at 7am. First off, let me start by saying that the places I went were very nice and I had a good time at the events... BUT oh my goodness... the pain of driving there was enough to make me want to pull my hair out...


lets start with the first trip shall we... obviously knowing that driving at 10am would involve some of your typical morning traffic I made sure to leave my house with plenty of time to get there (or so I thought). So I left at exactly 8am and after 2 hours of sitting in traffic I got to the city at 10am.. and I thought perfect I'll just park real quick and run in and drop this stuff off... yea if only it were that easy. Instead I drove around in a circle (no joke) for 30min, always ending up in the wrong lane at the wrong time so I could never turn where I needed to turn, almost hitting a couple bikers riding between cars (not to mention the pedestrians walking out from every which direction) all before even finding the right building and then I had to park a few blocks away and pay $10.50 (and I was only in there for 10min TOPS!). ughh so I thought OK my first trip alone to philly wasn't perfect, but I did find the right place and managed to do what I needed to do.. so I'm sure tonights trip will be easier...


well my 2nd trip that day to the city I was able to find the place very easily (yay me!) but the traffic getting there was INSANE. It took me 3 HOURS to get there.. are you kidding!?! it wasn't even rush hour this time! And of course another $18 for parking.. fabulous. There was even traffic getting home at 11 at night! So, learning from my mistakes... I thought it would be best to make sure to give myself plenty of time to get there this morning for breakfast. I got up at 4am (ugh) and left my house at 5am.... and then got to the place and parked by 6:10am, which meant I had 50 min to kill before the thing even started. (and I couldnt just sit in my car, because at the parking lots in philly you get out and they park your car.. this time for $26) Since everything around me was still closed I walked a few blocks until I found a dunkin donuts and could at least get something to drink to kill the time. But really, how are you ever supposed to plan on being somewhere at the right time with traffic that is so hit or miss??


Well if nothing else.. after 3 trips, 2 good meals, and $54.50 in parking (thank goodness for expense reports).. I learned that the city is not my cup of tea. Even without all the ridiculous driving, just the traffic and craziness in general is not for me. I like my quiet little town where every once in awhile I see a horse and buggy, not taxi's flying around, everyone honking every second, people everywhere.. I know some people love it and to each their own, but I am definitely meant to live in the suburbs, where I can easily visit a city but not have to deal with it on a day to day basis :) 

Not Me Monday..

So I see other people doing the "not me monday" thing and figured I would give it a try... so here it goes..


I did not set my alarm on Saturday to get up early and go for a run and then wake up and go shopping instead.... nope not me.

While out shopping I did not go to wal-mart to pick up 1 thing and end up leaving with a whole car full (including a new bike).. nope I would never buy more than I planned.. not me.

I did not eat taco bell this weekend.. ew, gross. I would never eat that, not me.

I did not buy the hannah montana movie and cry while watching it... nope, not me, I am WAY too old to like that show.

I did not set my dvr to record 2 shows last night and then go upstairs to watch something else why they recorded... nope I am definitely not that obsessed with tv, not me.

I did not promise my husband that I would clean my overflowing closet and then end up throwing out only 1 bag of my stuff, but 3 bags of his to make more room... nope I wouldn't do that..

I did not stay up until 2am last night to finish reading the last harry potter book and then keep hitting the snooze button this morning and complain about being tired... nope I would never stay up that late for no good reason on a work night, not me.

FOOTBALL Season

So summer is ending and fall is beginning and I couldn't be more excited. Now, don't get me wrong I like summer (who doesn't?!), but I LOVE the FALL! And really, what's not to love... leaves change colors, there's a nice fresh breeze (no more super hot and humid days), you can start to layer all your cute fall clothes without having to worry about being too cold yet, you have Halloween AND Thanksgiving (2 of my favorite holidays)... and above all else it's finally FOOTBALL season again! If I was a guy, football would be my sport! haha... I know some girls dread football season because their guys start spending all weekend in front of the tv, but I have no problem curling up on the couch with Vince all Saturday and Sunday watching game after game. With other sports it's different, I don't mind watching an occasional basketball game or going to a baseball game now and then (however watching baseball on tv is like torture to me, thankfully Vince feels the same haha).. but something about football I find so entertaining. 

I definitely like watching NFL games (EAGLES fan obviously), but college football is my favorite. I grew up being a Gators fan, but went to Virginia Tech for school and am now 100% a HOKIE for LIFE. (I'll still cheer on the Gators, just as long as they aren't playing VT). And really there is nothing better than a Saturday game day on a college campus... waking up to mimosas and bloody marys, tailgates starting at the crack of dawn, tons of excited fans in all kinds of crazy outfits and face paint, chanting your favorite team cheers until you lose your voice, enjoying all your favorite tailgate foods and games all day, becoming instant bff's with every fellow fan you meet... the list goes on and on.. but the best part: all of this is before the game even gets started! Seriously, how could anyone not have fun! lol

so if you're someone who doesn't like or even really understand football... maybe once this season just give it a try! if you can't get tickets to go to game, throw a little football party to cheer on your (or your guy's) favorite team. Worst case senario: you'll have an excuse to have a party, and even if you don't have a fabulous time actually watching the game, I'm sure your man will appreciate that you tried ;)

 

Ty and I in our hokie gear ;-)

Our Little Man

He's a 10 month old, 4 1/2 lb Maltese named Ty. He is a hyper, adorable, crazy, lovable, spoiled rotten puppy that we LOVE like crazy.

 

Despite the occasional frustrations of having a puppy (the pain of house training in the beginning months, the climbing on mommy and daddy at 3 in the morning to play, making our shoes into his favorite chew toys, etc) he really does bring so much joy into our house. There is something so comforting about coming home after a long day and seeing his little tail wagging in excitement to see us and I just can't help but smile when I wake up in the mornings to a little fluff ball licking my nose (he does that EVERY morning when my alarm goes off). I know one day we will decide to extend our little family and have some kids, but for now Ty is our baby :)

Introducing my hubby <3

My Best Friend

Vince and I started dating when we were 15 (crazy, I Know) and he has been my best friend throughout these past 9 years. Last November we took the next big step in our relationship and made the commitment to become husband and wife. I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed the whole process of going from dating, to getting engaged, and now being married. Obviously we aren't prefect and there have been ups and downs along the way, but it has definitely been worth it.

I love who we have both become and I am so proud to now be able to call him my husband. We are just beginning the journey of building our lives together and I look forward to seeing what our future holds. <3

So how does this thing work??

OK.. so clearly I have just decided to start a blog. It is not something that I ever really gave much thought to before today, so to be honest I have no idea what I am doing. There are a lot of important decisions to be made before really getting started with this... what color fonts to use/which layout do I want/what to use as my blog title... you get the point. OK, so none of that really matter, but still it is a bit confusing right now, hopefully I will get the hang of it sooner rather than later.

So back to my original point.. I never thought about blogging before, BUT I do read other peoples blogs quite frequently. Well today when I got bored at work and started looking at the blogs I usually check out, there were only a few people who added new posts, so nothing to keep me busy very long. So I figured what the heck, might as well just start my own, and what better time to start then now :) Besides it's like having an online journal, and it might be good to have a place to write down all of my thoughts (whatever they may be at the time).

Now to be honest when I was little I used to start diaries and journals ALL the time, but about 3 weeks into them my entries got less and less until at last the journal was left either under my bed or tucked into a drawer until the next year when I decided to try again. So I am making a promise to myself to actually give this a real try, we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out... wish me luck :)