Romper Love, Among Other Things.. ON January 30, 2010
Filed Under: love, photography, shopping, that's life!   645 words

As you all know, I’m a shopaholic. I try to contain myself – but when I see something lovely, from the Spring line in a store that I love, while I’m dreaming about warmth and Hawaiian sun in June, and then the girl in the fitting room mentions that half the people that work there have been eyeing that ONE item of clothing that was returned from an online purchase because it’s ONLY available online…. bye, bye self control.

I’ve been wanting a “romper” for quite sometime and thanks to Wet Seal and someone who bought it online and returned it- it’s mine! I am not a big fan of online shopping because I see a lot of things that I THINK I would love, try it on, and definitely decide it’s awful and what was I even thinking? So- this isn’t something I would’ve ever ran across and bought without first trying on.

I’m also a huge fan of headbands (you knew that) and as I made my way to the register I saw this and thought it would go perfectly. It also happens to match what I wore out tonight:

I should’ve taken a picture of the boots that I wore out. It snowed around 5 or so inches last night and these were definitely not the smartest choice of footwear. I did it though! Didn’t break my neck either!

Nate held my hand any time there was street crossing involved. We had a really nice evening out- hit up a furniture store (although we can’t exactly purchase any until we have a house because there is no where to put it!), went to Best Buy, the mall, and TGI Fridays. TGI Fridays has this food special going on right now where you get a three course meal for $12.99- which is awesome, right? Well I really didn’t realize how not hungry I actually was. I brought home more than half of my food.

First there were the Crispy Green Beans:

Then, the Petite Sirloin with Broccoli & Sweet Potato Fries:

And finally, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake:

Most of that food is in the refrigerator, and will most likely be consumed in two hours. Shew! I don’t know what I was even thinking because I don’t eat that much at once.. ever! So much for feeling accomplished with my 24 minutes on the Wii Fit today!

Oh and, there is something exciting going on at 1:30PM tomorrow. You can probably guess what it is but if you want to read about how stoked I am you can head over to The Luckiest Love in a bit! (I haven’t blogged there yet!) I will also be posting part 2 of the Nate & I love story either tonight or tomorrow. I spent some time before heading out earlier looking up some pictures to incorporate into that post! Fun times! Okay- time put on comfy clothes!

A Couple Things ON January 24, 2010
Filed Under: recommended, site related, that's life!   541 words

Sorry for the lack of updates! There’s been a lot going on between work and Nate’s Grandma being in the hospital. It’s just been a little abnormal around here. I kept feeling as though I wanted to write blogs every day this past week about her condition but I decided there was no sense in dragging everyone along on the roller coaster ride. There was a night or two where we feared the worst, but I’m happy to say that as of right now she out of ICU, back in the stroke center, and slowly recovering. Those of you who kept us in your prayers- thank you!

On a happier note- we have a new wedding blog! Please bookmark it/become a follower! =) I got really frustrated with the free wordpress blog I had set up for it. I just couldn’t customize anything the way I wanted it and I think I really just started it a little too early in the first place. None of the plans that I blogged about during the beginning of our engagement ended up working out. So I just needed a fresh start because all of the puzzle pieces are coming together finally! Yay!

Nate and I had a nice day today- minus the fact that I’m sick AGAIN. This is probably the third time that I’ve been sick in less than 2 months. Ridiculous. I’m so tired of it. I tried to fight it by getting up early and getting ready. We had lunch at Olive Garden and then drove around and looked at houses. I will probably do a little post on The Luckiest Love about our house hunting if I find pictures of the two houses we’re really interested in! It’s so exciting to drive through all of the neighborhoods in the area that we’re looking at and think… one of these.. one of these will be ours. Such a weird feeling!

We ran into Target on the way home to grab one work day’s worth of food because neither of us had what it took to go to the grocery (lol) and while we were there we happened upon the second season of One Tree Hill (YAY) and this:

Tazo Tea, Spiced Black Chai Tea Concentrate. All you have to do is mix it with an equal amount of milk, pour it over ice (if you like it cold), and voila! Instant yummy goodness. I purchase an Iced Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks on the regular for about $4 a pop. I’m not sure exactly how many glasses I will get out of this yet but it’s obviously more than one and at $3.99 for a 32 oz container I think I’m much better off making my own! It’s literally tastes exactly the same.

And now- it’s time to pull up the houses online that we found earlier! Have I mentioned how fun this is?!

The Weekend > This Week ON January 19, 2010
Filed Under: seriously, that's life!   292 words

The weekend went by in a snap- like always! It was fairly eventful and definitely not one that will be forgotten any time soon- unless, of course, I develop a late case of amnesia from running face first into a street sign at a pretty fast pace due to the down-hillness of the street (no, I’m not making this up. I only wish I was) while talking and not watching where I was going. Aside from the part of Saturday night where I sat on a stool at the top of Jackson & Kristie’s staircase sobbing and watching blood drip off of my head and into my cupped hands while Nate and Kristie ran around frantically for a wet wash clothe and Neosporin after demanding that I DO NOT LOOK AT IT … after that… everything was fine. I spent the rest of the night feeling like someone smacked me in the forehead with a metal bat.. but I didn’t let it get me down. Embarrassing, but pretty funny looking back on the whole thing. (I bet you think I was drinking, BUT I HADN’T BEEN- I just walk into street signs, people!) I’ll post a couple pictures at a later date from the night.

In more important news, Nate’s Grandma had a stroke early Monday morning. She was scheduled to have open heart surgery today, actually. So, it’s just a really scary situation. She’s doing a bit better now and is definitely improving every day but she will most likely be in the hospital until the end of the week. Please say a prayer for her and for the rest of the family. This is shaping up to be a pretty hectic week all around so forgive me if I’m absent!

Hello Weekend! ON January 15, 2010
Filed Under: fashion & design, music, photography, recommended, shopping, that's life!   937 words

In honor of the weekend- I bought comfy pants from Aerie with a little bit of my gift card that I got for Christmas. They’re just like my white leopard pair that I LOVE so I had to buy these when I saw them on clearance (the leopard ones are also on clearance now too! UGH.) I’m saving the rest of the card for something from the Spring line! =)

Today was a long day at work! Man, I felt like I had never been more ready to get the heck out of there. I left a little before 5pm so I knew traffic was going to be insane- but I was not prepared for my normal 15 minute drive to take OVER an hour. I still don’t know what was causing the back up but it was beyond insane. Nate and I went out to Ruby Tuesday and strolled the mall for a bit once I finally got home- he knows how to calm me down. =)

Did I mention that he made me coupons? I don’t think I have! When we first got back from Florida I was in pretty bad shape. Sometimes this happens to me when I go home and the longer I’m there on vacation the worse it is when I get back. This particular time was maybe worse than any other time- not sure what the deal was but it was a hard few days getting back into the normal swing of things. So, Nate made me a coupon book of things I might like him to do to cheer me up and I can give one to him whenever I want and he/we will do it. It’s the sweetest thing ever and he thought of some really good stuff and put cute little descriptions on each one. For a few examples there is one for him to clean the bathroom, one for us to “shop till we drop”, and one for us to have a weekend get away to a list of fun cities (like Nashville!). They never expire either and I can use them over and over. AWESOME! Haha. I haven’t used any yet.. but he gave me a foot massage last night and I think that’s one of them so we’ll count that!

And lastly, two recommendations. One in regards to fashion, and one to music!

Sweater Tights:
If it gets remotely cold where you are, invest in some sweater tights. They are cheap and ridiculously cute with skirts and even the right shorts.. which are normally kind of hard to wear in the Winter. It’s been way too cold here for tights lately so when I saw a high in the 40s today I got way too excited to be able to wear them again. Although, last weekend when it was in the teens I did manage to wear leggings underneath a pair of bright yellow hose.. but they weren’t very sheer and I was wearing boots to cover the really strange cankle looking deal I had going on!

Ingrid Michaelson:
I’ve been hearing her songs on Pandora and I love them, but today I heard this one for the first time. It’s adorable and I love her voice!

That is all! Going to get my mounds of laundry done, watch some One Tree Hill, and get some sleep! Can’t wait for the hockey game tomorrow night!

Try To Keep Up ON January 14, 2010
Filed Under: friends, photography, recommended, that's life!   889 words

I want to start by answering my first question from Formspring (I’m so excited)! I’ve received a few really sweet comments so far, in addition to the question I’m about to answer, and I want to say thank you so much to those of you who think enough of me and my blog to write such nice things! I would blog even if I had no visitors, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love knowing that people enjoy reading! On to the question…

“you have such a good sense of fashion! i feel like all my clothes are so childish so i want to have a wardrobe-makeover, have you got any tips?”

First of all, thank you! I absolutely LOVE fashion so to hear that even ONE person thinks I have a good sense of style puts a huge smile on my face! The one tip that sticks out in my mind the most on giving yourself a wardrobe makeover (without spending a ridiculous amount of money) would be to buy KEY pieces of clothing that you can mix and match. I struggled with this at first when I really started wanting to change my style and I would buy things that wouldn’t go but with one or two other things so I’d end up wearing it only once or twice once I no longer liked that outfit. I say, check out magazines and online shops (forever21.com & modcloth.com are two of my favorites!) and see how certain outfits are pieced together on the models. You can gather a lot of inspiration that way- and remember- you don’t have to spend a lot! A solid color v-neck tee can be worn with jeans casually, or you can dress it up with a high waisted skirt (with maybe even a thick belt) for a completely different look (if you like that style as much as I do!). I love accessories (and shoes!) too and I think they add A LOT to and outfit- but I wont ever shut up if I get into that! Haha! I hope this helps! And if you can- get rid of one those “childish” feeling items of clothing for every new item you buy! You’ll be rid of them in no time!

That was fun! Ask more questions, people! I love it! You know what else I love? Christmas presents in January. Ashley and I didn’t get to exchange presents before I went to Florida for Christmas and when I got back we had conflicting schedules. We could’ve done it the night we went out to Applebees but we wanted to have time to hang out at her house instead of just- wham, bam, thanks for the presents. So, Nate and I went over to her house last night just for that. Ashley’s Mom takes pitty on Nate every few months and cuts his hair while we’re over so he got a hair cut.. and I got fabulous presents. Here’s my favorite one of all!

She also got me a leopard print bracelet from Aerie, a headband to match the shoes, and a thong (she always buys me a thong! it’s her trademark!) I always feel like I get better presents from her than she gets from me, but I think we’re pretty even this year! I could tell she loved her gifts and that made me so happy! I stress out about presents.

This weekend is going to be so much fun. The week honestly went by pretty quickly. I thought that it would be the opposite because any time that I have something to look forward to on the weekend it feels like it takes forever to get here. Last weekend was also fun, and spent in the same place that this weekend will be spent! We are going to a hockey game with a huge group of friends. I can’t wait to take pictures, because I did a really terrible job at that last weekend! These are the only pictures that I managed to take.. poor Jackson isn’t even in any of them!

I love this picture of Nate and he hates it. But, I think he looks so cute in the clothes that I got him!

Kristie and I being weird. What we do best.

There were a few more pictures but they were mostly all the same. You get the idea! I wish I had taken more at different places. Grr.

And lastly, I want to recommend a snack food that I have fallen in love with thanks to my Mom! These:

Tortillaz by Quakeroats – click here to read the nutrition facts. The particular flavor might not be appetizing to a lot of people, but I love avocados and guacamole so they are perfect for me! They are so crispy and as a plus, they are better for you than chips.

Things I’m Loving Tuesday ON January 12, 2010
Filed Under: Featured, that's life!   722 words

I’ve decided to start a little Tuesday tradition because, to be honest, I find Tuesday to be one of the hardest days of the week to get through! This is due to the fact that I work 10am-7pm on Mondays and Tuesdays so Monday sucks all of the relaxation and rest that the weekend gave me right out and leaves me absolutely drained for Tuesday. I know I can’t be alone in this feeling, so- I’ve decided that we need a pick me up. These things may or may not excite you.. but here are some things that I’m loving..

ONE:

Pastel vintage looking nail colors! I asked for China Glaze’s “For Audrey” for Christmas and I have been obsessed with it ever since! Not only is it so pretty on, but it lasts forever! I work with my hands constantly all day, every day and after 5 days it’s barely chipped on the edges at all. Perfect color and good quality, what more could I ask for? I definitely don’t have the kind of motivation to paint my nails every few days so the fact that it stays on is beyond wonderful.

TWO:

Electronic devices that support and help you manage getting healthy! I have a phone with the Android OS and that application store is loaded with amazing apps. There are so, so many of them that it’s hard to find the good ones! Well, let me introduce you to one of the good ones: Calorie Counter by Fatsecret. I just downloaded this to my phone and already I am hooked! You can look up the calories in almost anything- including a TON of popular restaurants and their menu items. It also comes with a food and exercise diary where you can record your habits and progress. This is definitely going to aid me in getting healthy!

THREE:

FormSpring – Web Form Builder

FORMSPRING! Okay, you either know all about formspring or you’re totally oblivious! Either way, I’m going to tell you about it. Basically it’s just an easy and fun way to receive anonymous comments or questions through a little form that you can incorporate into your website. I had been thinking about putting one up after seeing a lot of success and fun questions being asked to authors of some of my favorite blogs! So what do you think? Feel free to ask me questions and if I start to get enough I will start dedicating posts to them regularly! I really love interacting with people through my blog and I feel like I have a lot of very quiet readers!

FOUR:

Discovering new blogs that I LOVE to read and sharing them with others! Well, one of them is new! But I still heart the other two! <3

FIVE:

Sleeping. Night night!

Back In The Swing Of Things ON January 7, 2010
Filed Under: friends, photography, that's life!, videos   280 words

Had some friend time last night- much, much needed! I was so excited to see my Ashley!<3 We'd been planning a night out for me, Nate, Ash, and Matt (a mutual friend) for quite a while so it was much anticipated fun!

I had to throw that classic bathroom picture in there. We do this pretty much anytime we’re in a bathroom together .. because, we’re nerds.

So yes- life is back to normal. Work is back to normal. And it’s snowing tonight, A LOT! And I’m excited! I have a love/hate relationship with snow and I’m very bipolar on this topic. Right now, I’m excited about it. Talk to me tomorrow, though- I could have a different opinion. But, tomorrow is Friday and I’m doubting that there is much that would be able to get me down. We’re going out of town to visit friends on Saturday, I believe. Weekends in Cincinnati always make for good times and good stories!

And as promised… here is the video from our travels home. I know that I said I’d post it in the last blog later on but.. I’m changing things up. I’m all over the place tonight. Try to keep up. (and yes, I’m not wearing any makeup. shh!)

Time for some One Tree Hill and cuddles under the heat blanket with Nate.

On The Road Again ON January 6, 2010
Filed Under: that's life!, travel, videos   876 words

No time to blog tonight. The past couple of days have been rough. I was really upbeat in this blog I wrote on the way home.. but I sort of had a bipolar LOW after getting back and going into the next day. I’m better now. But anyway, enjoy the optimism in this blog that I quickly forgot about later. Haha! Oddly enough, I wrote this at 1:03PM on 1/03:

Well I can’t use the internet (unfortunately) on the ridiculously long drive from Florida to Kentucky but, I CAN type a blog out and save it to be uploaded later! Yes, when I realized that I could do this I got overly excited. It really doesn’t take much for me…

We left my home town last night around 6:30pm and just as usual- it was hard. Leaving never gets easier. It’s worse when I’m leaving the warmth of Florida and returning to Alaska .. well.. Kentucky.. but it may as well be Alaska. You’ll hear me ramble about that in the video posted along with this blog. We left in the evening because Nate wanted to watch the Kentucky/Louisville basketball game earlier in the day and that was fine with me because I gained more time at home. I took my Mom and Sam out to lunch at Roadhouse Grill and then my Mom and I browsed Bed, Bath, & Beyond (where I found the most beautiful bathroom decor EVER!) and had coffee at Starbucks (which made me completely on edge about traveling in the dark).

Here we are enjoying our liquid panic attacks:

By the time we got home I had to pack a few last minute things and then it was basically time to leave. I brought an insane amount of stuff back with me- christmas presents + shopping + more junk from my past life. I really don’t think I can explain exactly how much shopping I did while I was home. Normally, I would feel really guilty about this but I got such good deals that there is just no way that I can. In light of the new year I plan to completely go through every piece of clothing I own and donate about half of it to Goodwill. I have a very addictive personality that does not allow me to let go of things easily. I have, “Oh I’ll wear this *someday*…” syndrome, real bad, and it just has to stop. In the past my clothing and fashion styles have changed a lot from year to year, but I feel like I’ve finally found a real identity in my love for fashion so anything that doesn’t *go* should stand out a little easier now. I plan to rid Nate and I of *all* clutter/things not needed by the time that we purchase our house. I refuse to go into a new life together with the mess that is our current living space!

Seeing this Christmas break come to an end is so emotional for me. I’m sad, but at the same time it’s so refreshing. This is the new year! This is kind of- IT. The next chapter. It feels like it’s time to get serious about life now. I guess it’s because I’ve been saying, “I’ll deal with that after I get back from Florida.” about … everything. Hah! This includes fun things, like: getting bridesmaids dresses ordered, tuxes ordered, and all wedding details organized and planned. Also in the fun category is house hunting, furniture buying, and working on a promotion at work. However, there is also the list of things to do after I get back from Florida that makes me want to gouge out my eyeballs, like- going to the dentist, having wisdom teeth removed, going to the OBGYN, finding out why I’m half blind in my left eye, and paying around $1000 in ER bills. This is the downside of procrastination, and it’s apparently really expensive.

The overall trip home was great. I sometimes forget how much of my heart still remains in that town. I know that once my parents move up to Kentucky that this will become easier to let go of, though. I’m excited about that. I’m excited that I got the opportunity to be removed from the fishbowl. It’s nice to see old friends, nice to reminisce, and it’s even okay to run into my ex (who I’m on good terms with) at the mall (yep, I did!)- maybe twice a year. But that’s about all I can handle. Having that be my everyday life would absolutely drive me insane. I’m so thankful for my fresh start with Nate in Kentucky, so thankful for the brand new year, so thankful.

I’d be even more thankful for internet and a laptop car charger … WE’RE ONLY TO ATLANTA. I’d be especially thankful to come upon a Steak and Shake, also. And if I could get some music playing instead of the Kentucky Sports Radio podcast that we’ve been listening to the entire time I’ve been blogging.. that’d be awesome as well… Nate. <3

And the above promised video will be uploaded later and added to this post! Too tired to do it tonight. Goodnight!

2009 Vs. 2010 ON January 1, 2010
Filed Under: photography, that's life!, wedding   626 words

Who’s happy to say goodbye to 2009? I sure am! I mean, it was a wonderful year for me, personally. I got engaged to Nate, started planning a wedding, had several good visits home, had my mom visit me!, received huge blessings in the financial department to jump start Nate & I’s life together, spent amazing time with friends, etc etc. But with the good came the bad- family deaths and major changes and surprises in the friendship department. This was a good year, but I’m definitely excited to move on to a new chapter! Not to mention, this is my wedding year!! When someone asks me, “When are you getting married?”, I can now respond with, “THIS YEAR!”. When will I be traveling to Hawaii? THIS YEAR. THIS YEAR. TWENTY-TEN. When am I buying a house?! .. yeah… you get it. (and when I say “I”, I really mean NATE and I. He’s basically a part of me now so in the same way that I never say, “My right arm and I are going to Hawaii.”, I sometimes don’t say, “Nate and I.” Haha! You should just know!) So yes obviously, I’m getting more excited about the wedding because it’s THIS. YEAR. I am going to start blogging more about the wedding plans at Rachie’s request, so watch out!

New Years Eve was a little less exciting here in my home town than I might’ve hoped for. My Mom and my Step-Dad invited an older relative of his out to Olive Garden for her 90th birthday, so Nate and I tagged along! Woohoo! We kind of planned to do something afterward, but nothing came through. So, we played the Wii and rang in the new year on the couch in my living room.

I’m anxiously awaiting our engagement pictures. I have to return a giant invitation book tomorrow that my photographer lent us to look through, so I’m hoping he will let me know what’s going on with them then. He gets a discount on invitations so we took it, I looked through it, Nate could probably care less about invitations (a man thing), and I didn’t see anything that stuck out. I like unique.. and nothing grabbed my attention. Soo, kind of a waste that I took the book and now have to find time to return it.. but I have an excuse to ask about my pictures so it works! We leave tomorrow around 6:30PM to drive back to Kentucky. We’ll probably stop in Georgia and sleep, though. I’m emotional as usual. Going back to work= bleh. Going back to the cold= bleh. Let’s look at some pictures I took yesterday when Nate and I visited one of my favorite spots in my town for sunset to cheer me up! This is also where we had some of our engagement pictures taken, by the way.

As per usual, visit my flickr for more! =) Florida isn’t beautiful, isn’t it? .. Wish us well on our drive back!

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