craft prep

 Judging by the looks of all this stuff there’s about to be some major crafting going down this weekend!!

I finally told myself to put up or shut up (yea, I yell at myself sometimes) and make some of the pretty things on my to-do: diy edition list. I ventured out to Michael’s yesterday and after wandering the aisles for about an hour I came up with all of the left over supplies that were needed. The employee’s probably thought I was crazy because I walked up and down the paint aisle about 20 times before realizing that the fabric paint I needed was on the opposite side of the store. I also managed to not buy any of the items from the super adorable fall/Halloween collection so I’ll give myself a pat on the back for that. I can’t promise I won’t drag hubby back there for a few things though. I need something new to ring in my favorite time of the year.

Anywho, I only have a rough (and I stress rough) idea of how to make these projects happen so…wish me luck. The project agenda consists of:

- a bicycle print skirt inspired from this cute as sin DIY

- a suede bow belt just like this one (also seen paired with the last DIY, obviously this outfit was way too cute to not copy)

- black and white striped ballet flats (because 3 pairs of plain black flats were just too much..one needed sprucing up)

That’s all I’m doing for now but don’t get your hopes up. I’m not making any promises that all 3 will get finished and not because I’m lazy or busy. I’m just anticipating some sort of disaster going down in my living room. Optimism- not one of my strong suits.

murphy update: week 3, murphy needs

Everything's going pretty well on the Murphy front and not much is new. Some adjusting needed to be done to his walking schedule but once that was happened he magically discovered that the world is his potty..even my neighbor's front lawn. Awesome.

Besides that he's hopefully *crosses fingers* going to be vaccinated this weekend and why does this make me excited, you say? Well, this means he can finally be around other dogs. I'm already setting up a massive play date that will include all of the new best friends he didn't even know he has (aka- all of my friends dogs).

Anyway, onto the matter at hand... the weather is quickly cooling down and fall will soon be here. Since Murphy is lacking a sturdy winter coat one will need to be provided for him. This obviously makes me verryyyy happy being that I'm a lover of all things shopping. Here are some of the cold weather gear that I believe my puppy boy must have-

 

 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 

There's also going to be a winter parka and a Patriot's jersey (courtesy of daddy) coming his way. It's very likely that Murphy will end up with a more extensive wardrobe than I do. Oh well.

weekly wednesday weigh in

Do you know what happens when I’m doing well for a few weeks and everything’s awesome in the weight loss department? I start getting a little too lenient, taking my past successes for granted. And that’s precisely what I did this week. Even with my half hour a day walks and endless playing with the Murph-meister paired my (slightly less severe) stress related lack of food I still managed to gain a pound back.

But man, did I deserve it!

Saturday night was the worst. We went out to celebrate birthday’s for these two crazy kids.

And what do I do when I’m on the deck of a restaurant with the Long Island Sound underneath my feet and boats are docked as far as the eye can see? Order a heaping mound of fried sea food, duh. I mean really, what do you want me to do when there’s a giant bottle of tartar sauce on the table? My menu choices included fried calamari (to which I said screw the marinara for dipping when there’s tartar to be had), cheese fries, and onion rings…all to share of course because well, I’m a lady. You would think I would have ordered a side salad as my main course after all that madness but nope. A fried clam strip sandwich, with more fries, was what I went with. It was all so wonderfully delicious but when I was about half way through my sandwich I hit a food wall and thought I really may die if I took another bite {note to self- appetizers are not necessary at Jeremy’s Ale House}.

Since we all felt like Fatty McFat’s when we left we thought it’d be best to walk the Nautical Mile to you know, help digest our food (or make us feel less guilty about the damage that we just inflicted on our arteries- whichever you prefer) but of course we came across Pip’s and just had to stop in for ice cream. My stomach still hasn’t forgiven me..

A second runner up to Saturday night’s weight loss suicide mission was Friday night when we went to check out a new cupcakery and I happily polished off a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake that was rather large (aka I could barely fit it in my mouth). Everyone else said they were too sweet and too big. I didn’t see the problem.

Sooo, yea. After recapping this past weekend I think I’m going to take my 1 lb. gain and not complain about it at all. I’m lucky it was just a pound.

P.s- I’m starting to count points again as of like, right now. I’d still like to keep the 4 lb.’s I have lost off, pleaseandthankyou.

on repeat

This song has been stuck in my head all day now..and I don't really mind it one bit. I must say it's growing on me rather quickly. Oh, and seeing the super awesome music video just made me love it that much more.

I miss discovering new music. I need to make more of a habit of doing it..

fruit & mousse

We have a new obsession ‘round these parts. And I don’t mean “oh, we had it this one time, it was so good. I can’t wait to have it again” type obsessed. I mean obsessed like we’ve been eating this combo every single night for a week straight. Well, skinnyminny hubby eats it every night..I aim for every other night.

I stumbled upon fruit and mousse, or “foooot and moooos”  as we’ve been calling it, purely by accident. After this party we had right here was over and the leftovers were up for grabs no one wanted the lone container of whipped cream. But I’m not talking about cool whip. It was freshly whipped cream, or shlag (as it’s known in my very German family) and we all know you don’t let a good tub of shlag go to waste. I felt like it was my obligation to bring it home.

Once it found its way into my fridge I had my doubts that we would be able to finish it. I mean, it’s not like whipped cream is a normal part of our diets. I tossed around a few ideas in my head (Cupcakes with a fresh whipped cream topping? No. Continue to whip it and make fresh butter? Mmm, but no.) and then I remembered these Dove Chocolate baking bits I bought way back when. It was like the consultant’s voice from the chocolate party was in my head saying “melt these down, stir into some whipped cream and it’s like instant mousse.” I mean, how could I not remember that? That was the whole reason why I bought them! Little did I know I was making magic when I started melting the chocolate for this delightful little treat. The mousse turned out so light but still had a good chocolate flavor and the idea to chop a few of the peanut butter filled bits to stir in at the end was nothing short of brilliant. It paired way to nicely for our own good with the tray of fruit that was also stuffed into our party leftover bag.

Thankfully, the box of baking bits had 2 bags in it so a second batch was only a trip to the store and a pint of heavy cream away. It came together just as nicely as the first and but unfortunately, went twice as fast. Now I’ll have to find a substitute for the baking bits since I have no more and chocolate parties aren’t exactly a common occurrence for me (as much as I’d like them to be). It’ll be a tough, but tasty, job.

murphy update: week 2, the great outdoors

This week my motto has been “Screw those stupid vaccines, this dog needs to go outside!”.. so outside we’ve been going. But only for a morning potty break and a short little walk to start some leash training (maybe, if he’ll ever listen). I’m not brave to completely disregard the fact that my dog is still missing some vaccines and therefore susceptible to whatever strange diseases he’s not protected against but I talk a big talk, right?

He’s been making definite progress on his walks since starting last Friday when everything and anything found its way into his mouth. I’ve found out he’s especially fond of cigarette butts and wild mushrooms. Wonderful. He’s starting to learn the command “Leave it” but that seems to only work when it’s said before whatever he’s after goes into his mouth. Once it’s in his mouth Leave it then means run away as fast as I can. Then I spend the next few minutes reeling him in like a fish with the leash, prying his jaw open, and pulling out whatever he’s captured if he hasn’t swallowed it already. This is what my morning’s are now filled with. Once upon a time they were relaxing…

And did I mention he’s not eating? Yea, that’s started..and I think it’s due to the parasite medication he’s been on. Of course he has a parasite. Everything that could go wrong with this little guy did because nothing could ever be easy..nope, not for me. So, needless to say mealtimes have been stressful because he now has 2 medications he needs to take with food that he doesn’t want to eat. But he did manage to make a liar out of me at the vet’s office when he scarfed down a platter of food they brought him when I went there claiming he wouldn’t eat. Little brat. I guess he’s just gonna get spoiled with the foods he actually wants to eat till Saturday when he comes off all the meds. Then it’ll be puppy kibble or bust.

And how am I doing? I’m tired. I’m stressed. I feel like my life revolves around this 7.5 lb. little maniac. But I love him and I keep reminding myself that he’s just a puppy. Soon enough he’ll be all healthy and he’ll calm down. He’ll start to become more independent and require less attention and then I’ll yearn for these days when he needed me oh so bad. He’s already started to prefer spending our little “wind down” time at the end of the day on the mattress rather than on my chest. That was the one part of puppyhood I wasn’t ready to let go of quite yet.

weekly wednesday weigh in

Yeaaaaaaaaah buddy!!!!

That’s exactly what I said when I stepped on the scale this morning. I couldn’t believe my eyes..I’m another 2.5 lbs. down. That’s from like 2 weeks ago but whatever. It’s still amazeballs.

I actually started to set myself up for failure as I was heading to the bathroom saying such things as well, you know you’ve been living off of French toast for breakfast all week and that half a sandwich you ate last night had A LOT of bleu cheese on it. Oh, and let’s not forget about buffalo chicken/shepard’s pie combo you had for lunch and what were you thinking drinking that frozen raspberry coffee concoction? After all those loving, confidence boosting thoughts I considered backing down but I was just way to curious for my own good. I HAD to know. And thank god for that curiosity because that loss made my otherwise stressful, busy morning much more happy.

And who do I have to credit for this now total 5 lb. loss?

This little furry ball of energy right here. I spend most of my days running around after him..mostly to make sure he doesn’t pop a squat anywhere other than his wee wee pad. There’s also those almost hour long walks he just lovessss to take in the mornings. Then there’s the fact that I haven’t actually sat down and enjoyed a full meal in almost 2 weeks because I’m worried about something that’s going on with him. But hey, if that’s what it takes to knock this weight off then I’ll take it. Nothing else seemed to be working anyway.

So thank you Murphy for making mama thinner uhh, healthier. Yea, I meant healthier. :)

nightmare before christmas invitations

These are only the 2nd set of invitations I’ve had the pleasure of designing and well, I’m pretty pleased with myself. I think I like them more than the first set I did because they didn’t take half as much time but those pretty baby’s had to be made from scratch.. 

..yea, I cut out all those hats and glued all those ribbons. It was work. But hey, I needed them in the worst way for my Alice in Wonderland shower.

Anywho, one of my friends/co-planner’s and I got lucky on a trip to Michael’s and found these printable boxed invites that fit the Nightmare Before Christmas theme we’re doing for our friend’s wedding reception perfectly (oh, and they were on clearance. High five for $10 invitations).  So, maybe there wasn’t all that much to design but I was proud that I was able to find the appropriate Nightmare font and the poem I used at the top was beautiful and sooo fitting to their relationship. And I did give myself a nice pat on the back for getting all that stuff to fit into the fairly small space that the invite had to work with.

But unfortunately, my printer has a mind of its own and does what it wants sometimes..hence there being bows on about 6 of the invites. Randomly, my printer would move the spacing up about an inch or so and since we had NO extra invitations we went to plan B- white out the poem and disguise white out marks with bows. I thought it was a ingenious idea…better than going back to Michael’s and spending another $10 on a second box o’ invitations.

Now that those are done I’m excited to move forward with the rest of the planning- menu’s need to be selected, décor needs to be decided on, ipod playlists need to be created (and of course there’s what I’m most excited for- dessert baking/decorating and signature drink making). OH the fun the next month will be!

birthday breakfast

French toast stuffed with vanilla raspberry cream cheese and strawberries, topped with banana's foster, blueberries, syrup, and a touch of powdered sugar. This is a breakfast that a dear, sweet husband deserves on his 30th birthday.

Hubbykins- On your birthday I want nothing more than to let you know how much I love and cherish you. I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with and each birthday we celebrate together gets better and better. I hope your day is awesome old man.

murphy update: week 1, potty training

It’s been a whole week since this little guy has made us into a “family” and I couldn’t be happier..or more exhausted. I swear, I now feel that I have a pretty good idea of what it’s like to have a baby because he’s pretty needy (and he may or may not get treated like one..sometimes).

We’ve found out that he can make it through a day of us being gone for work without getting all nuts, that he does not like the vet one bit, and his natural defense to getting scared at that vet’s office? Falling asleep. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention he HATES taking medication for his kennel cough.

Yea, that and his 3 a.m hacking fits have been tons of fun, let me tell you.

His potty training is well…getting better. He’s still exclusively on a wee wee pad and the number of his accidents are dwindling down from the 13 (yea, friggin 13!!) he had in various spots around the living room last Saturday thanks to this marvelous spray right here.

Best $5 I’ve ever spent. He now only will miss the pad when he halfway walks off it and at least that shows that he gets the idea of it. His aim just isn’t spot on quite yet. Oh, and there was that random poop he took in the hallway..I still don’t understand what that was about? Just wait till Saturday though. That’s when he’s starting to go outside to do his business. I wonder what the neighbor’s will think when I’m outside saying “go potty, gooooood boy” in my high pitched puppy talk voice at 7 a.m?

Speaking of the command “go potty” he’s now learned to equate that term with his apparently super yummy, drool inducing liver treats. He will now stand on his wee wee pad and look straight at me, waiting for me to say those magic words. Once I say them in a questioning, not rewarding, tone he will then LEAP over to where I am and jump around excitedly, expecting a treat. I wonder when he’ll learn that he actually has to do as the command says and go potty before a treat is deserved?

Oh and p.s.- after this happened for the 3rd time I stopped saying go potty. I didn’t want to keep getting his hopes up. I now just look away and keep my fingers crossed that he won’t move and actually pee.

And how am I feeling? Pretty sleep deprived. I’m still basically getting a full night’s sleep but it takes a lot of energy to keep up with a 3 month old puppy and I’m pretty sure I’m sleeping a lot lighter than I used to. A cough would never wake me up before but now when I hear him hacking (poor thing) I’m immediately up and keeping an eye on him..just to be sure he’s ok. I’m still very much happy about our decision to get a puppy and even more happy that we chose Murphy in particular. I knew it was going to take work..and tons of it..but it’s all very much worth it to have this adorable face fall asleep so peacefully on your chest.

shopping problems

{Disclaimer: This post was originally intended for Thursday, LAST Thursday. How awful that it’s now Tuesday. But I’ve been just a wee bit preoccupied being obsessed with uhh, I mean training and caring for this mushbucket puppy butt right here..

How could you not want to spend 24/7 with that face?}

This is something so trivial and shallow but guess what? I’m gonna write about it anyway… deal with it.

I have a running “want list” where I keep track of the wonderful items I find while browsing online that I well…want and can’t necessarily afford at the current moment. Right now this, this, this, this, this, and this are currently on the list (along with plenty of other goodies, I'm sure)

You would think once I had some spare cash I’d pick the next few items that have been on the list the longest, or needed the most, and purchase them, right? Could someone please tell me why I just bought these

when they haven’t even made the list and quite honestly are not that necessary? Well, the boots have a purpose but the other 2 were purely bought out of want.

It’s completely irritating every time I do this. I’m caught off guard by an inspiring outfit in a photo or find things for a great deal and poof..the list disappears. Then almost instantly after I hit “confirm order” my brain reminds me that oh yea, I do have this list that hasn’t had anything bought off of it in months. Yes, months. Lord knows I’ve made plenty of purchases since summer began so why has nothing come off the list? Hmm? What kind of explanation do you have you horrible, irresponsible shopper?

Problem is I don’t have one. I just make hasty decisions without putting any thought into them when I’m blindsided.

From this point on I’m going to attempt to make smarter, more calculated shopping decisions. Or at least try to.

new addition

I had this really great (ok, maybe only mediocre) post almost ready to go yesterday. Just had a few more thoughts to add, get it wrapped up, and add some pictures. Then I got distracted..

 by this adorable little mush face that now belongs to us!

Yup, we FINALLY got a puppy. Only took about 16 years from the time I was 10 and originally figured out that I wanted one. Not so bad.

So, let me introduce you.

 His name is Murphy and he's a 13 week old brown and white Boston Terrier. His favorite hobbies so far include hanging out in his bed,

 eating his rope and skunk,

sleeping in strange positions,

 and of course peeing 3 inches away from his wee wee pad. Sorry to disappoint but that hasn't been caught on film.

We knew we were getting close to adding a puppy to our family in June when we knew we would renew our lease. It took about a month to get the okay from our superintendent but about 2 weeks ago we got the go ahead.

I had planned on calling around yesterday while at work to go out looking. On Wednesday Ryan had said hey, why not call now? I immediately called 4 places but nothing felt "right". I finally checked the puppies available online at a nearby kennel and I see his tiny cute face. And he was brown..I had been dying for a brown one but I knew they were rare and it'd be unlikely.

We ended up driving over there that night and I fell for him in an instant. Thankfully, we were able to bargain his cost down to a place we were okay with and that was it. He was ours.

It was hard leaving him there but I knew it wouldn't be fair since we had to work the next day but the minute we could we bolted over there and brought him home. It's been a lot of tiresome work (for all parties involved) but I think me, Ryan, and Murphy are all going to be really happy together.

weekly wednesday weigh in

I'm going to cut to the chase and be completely and utterly honest right now...

I didn't do well at all this past week. And I was too scared to face the error of my ways on the scale this morning.

Phew. It feels better to get that off my chest.

But I feel the need to clarify that when I say I "didn't do well" that it doesn't necessarily mean that I was stuffing my face with all foods carb filled and fattening. The first and last few days of the week was actually filled with some healthy stuff. It's just I completely ignored my point's tracker..which is never good.

Saturday and Sunday were the days the most damage was done. A total of 5 (non lite) beers were drank. 3 slices of hero, a chunk of coffee cake, and copious amounts of BBQ mac salad (oohh it's soo good) all were eaten. And let's not forget that this is what I called lunch on Sunday...

That would be a chocolate chunk cookie with 2 scoops of maple pecan ice cream topped with banana's and whipped cream from Krisch's. It was so friggin delicious and if you don't mind your arteries crying out for help afterwards I highly recommend you go get one.

So yea, I'm back on the wagon starting this morning. My point's tracker is up to date and baby carrots are packed for my mid-morning snack. I have to continually remind myself that I have a goal of losing 10 lbs. by October to fit into already purchased and really adorable outfits in Boston to keep myself on track. Since I'm being honest here kids that, and not my health or any of that other stuff, is what's most important right now.

surprise!!

Saturday was my father in law's surprise retirement party. Finally, all of our planning and hard work was going to pay off!

The diversion consisted of hubby and my brother in law taking him out for a "guy's day" at the fire department raced while he thought us girls were out shopping and having lunch, or whatever us girls do (as he says). Little did he know we were actually unpacking cars, setting up the backyard, and going to great lengths to ensure that the beers were ice cold (priorities, priorities).

Within minutes of him walking through the gate the last of the 25 or so guests arrived and the party began. He was thoroughly surprised and was more than thrilled to see everyone. The two days of cooking and being drenched in sweat from setting up (because we chose to have this party on the most humid day EVER) was all worth it when every time I crossed paths with him and I either got a hug or a "you did good, kid". That was the best reward.

 Oh, and did I mention his retirement gift from all us kids? A family cruise!! I can't wait to start planning out first (and probably only) vacation of 2013.

summertime failure

That's exactly what I am. Remember that time I made a list? A list of all the awesome things I wanted to do this summer? I haven't even done half of them. Not even close..

Since it just finally dawned on me this morning that oh yea, it's August that previous thought also hit me as well. That means only 4 more weekends (since this weekend is out for any fun excursions) until Labor Day and the official end of summer. I really better get a move on seeing as I've only been to the beach once and haven't even had any Mister Softee. What a shame.. 

There have been some successes though

We took an amazing vacation

We went camping for the first time

And oh yea, I went to the beach that one time..

I still have 4 more weeks.

ponderings

As I’m sitting here, relaxing in style (no, not really. I’m actually at work now doing anything but relaxing), I’ve taken the time to compile a list of some of the questions that have been on my mind as of late.

And here we go…

Why is the mail at work opened before it gets to us? Are they getting for anthrax or letter bombs? That would be considerate..

Why is the pork at BJ’s Wholesale more expensive per lb. than Shop Rite’s? I thought buying in bulk was supposed to be cheaper?!

Why am I so excited that my post on Facebook got 58 comments? This does not mean I’m popular..this only means my 3 friends decided to use that space to have a conversation.

Oh, and speaking of that post on facebook..why is it taking me sooooo long to use that evil water camera? I really do want my pictures!

Why do people ride their bike/skateboard or walk in the middle of the street then give you the look of death when you honk at them? Last time I checked the street was for cars and the sidewalk was for you and your non-motorized mode of transportation.

Why do I find new cute things that I just “have to have” like every single day? Can’t I ever give my wallet a rest?

Why do people look at me funny when I leave work muttering such things as “gotta get outta here” and “running away..far, far away” while bolting down the stairs? I’m just excited to leave work, that’s all.

Why am I so obsessed with reality tv? Right now the shows that excite me most are Toddlers in Tiara’s and Cajun Justice. I need to reevaluate my taste in television before I get judged by my friends and family.

Why is beer so expensive? I bought 3 six packs and spent $50!! The world would be a happier place if it was free..or at least 50% off.

And last but not least..why am I using my tiltshift generator for every picture I take lately? According to me, variety definitely isn’t the spice of life.

After all those “why’s” I’m now left feeling like an annoying 5 year old asking why the sky is blue.. I guess that’s about right.

solution to a bracelet gone missing

Besides roaming a cemetery trying to locate my deceased mother in law’s gravesite and battling weekend crowds at Target, I spent the majority of the day Sunday browsing Etsy trying to find a bracelet. Not just any bracelet, either. It was a particular bracelet that I intended on buying with a large green stone and pink beads I could’ve sworn I saved to my favorites. Or on my Pintrest. Needless to say it was in neither spot.

I took to Etsy and searched “cotton candy bracelet” (I’m pretty sure that was the name it had been given) and when I came up with nothing I started searching “carnival bracelet” or “circus bracelet” because I knew it had to be something like that. Still, nothing. I then got desperate and started looking for “green stone bracelet”, “pink and green bracelet, and so on and so forth. Nada… So what do I do when I either can’t find something I want (or when it’s too expensive)? I make it.

After a little searching I found out that the stone on the original bracelet is called hemolite and was happy to find that there's an abundance of it on Etsy. I came across the perfect lime green nuggets here

and now all that’s left to do is find the perfect pink bead.This is proving to be a most difficult task. I don’t really remember what the original bracelet had so I’m sort of left to my own devices. I’m not sure if I want to go with wooden, pearl, or crystal beads. Then I don’t know if I’d prefer fuchsia to light pink. Decisions, decisions. I’m going to keep up the search more today and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can settle on something (that preferably won’t break the bank). Then it’ll be bracelet making time! Finally..a quick cheap project that may actually get done..

P.S- I know this is getting pushed ahead of all of my other planned projects but this is such a summery bracelet and seeing as there’s only 1 more month left of summer I kind of need to get a move on.

weekly wednesday weigh in

It completely slipped my mind that I had to weigh in this morning. I got a little too caught up in putting away clothes that had been thrown on the floor, making the bed, then picking out an outfit for work AND dinner later tonight all because when I get home today I will be greeted by not only the usually hubbykins but all of my in-laws as well. Joy! Don’t get me wrong, I love them all dearly but 15 minutes of alone time when I walk through the door would’ve been nice…

Lately I have been so busy, high strung, and just out of sorts that I’ve been forgetting lots of more important things than weighing in..like that my car was in desperate need of gas, that I usually have to cook dinner instead of watch 2 hours of 48 hours when I get home from work, oh..and that there are bills to pay. I tend to get extremely absent minded when there’s something I’m focusing all of my attention on and right now the focus of my attention is my father in law’s surprise retirement party.

The party is coming up soon and there’s really not that much left to do. It’s just a matter of making some food, picking up a cooler (and some more beers to put in the cooler), and then have our distraction tactic and party set up go smoothly. So why am I still stressing? Well, cuz that’s just what I do. I’m a bundle of nerves when I’m desperate for something to go perfectly and the only solution to make it go away is just to have the party be over. So, I’m just going to embrace that I may leave the stove on or forget to lock the door and that I may jump down someone’s throat when they question me about it for the next few days. I just can’t promise everyone else will, though.