life update

Well, it's no surprise that I've been MIA on my blog (and probably yours, too) for a few weeks now. I suppose it really hasn't been that long of a span, but it feels like it.

I can't make any guarantees I am back for a normal batch of postings.

My goal is to keep up the Tuesday Readings posts and possibly projects that might come along.

It's been days since I've even been able to get myself to the "new post" page. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling a draw to blogging right now. I can't seem to understand what's on my heart and in my head right now, let alone try to type cohesive sentences about it.

I wish I could keep up to date with you all. My Google reader is over 1000 posts at the moment and I'm a little overwhelmed with life in general. I'm sure I'll hit the "mark all as read" soon and maybe then I can catch back up.

I'm appreciative if you've stuck with me, for those new friends I've met this last year and I apologize for not getting around to reading all of your lovely posts.

I hope to be back...not sure how soon, but I'll be around.

Weekend Update: Sept 30-Oct 2, 2011

Really, I don't have much to share about this weekend.

Friday afternoon/night Rachel + I shot our cousin's wedding (well, our mom's cousin's son...) and it was cold, rainy, gorgeous and so much fun. We danced, hung out with our family and stayed for the whole reception (that doesn't always happen). Can't wait to see the pics!

Saturday I slept in, had a horrible headache almost all day and did lots of laundry. Seriously, that's it. Oh and I tried getting caught up on some blog reading and I made chili for dinner. It was yummy. Josh and I finally got to spend more than 40 minutes together that night as well, since we had been pretty busy the rest of the week. It was nice just spending time lounging with him.

Sunday Josh and I were on band duty at church, then we had lunch, took a way long nap, and now it's almost 730 and we're just waiting for our Pizza Hut to get here.

The last three days have been cold (in the 40's - 50's), rainy, gloomy, kinda fall-ish, and fairly lazy (except for Friday). It's supposed to clear up this week in Erie and get warmer again, but I mean, let's face it. It's October. It's fall.

I'm looking forward to a not crazy week at work. No bids due, just time to get caught up on projects and get a lot of stuff out the door!

Hope you had fun and relaxing weekends!!! Next weekend will hopefully have some better weather so maybe we can get some fall fun in!

busy busy busy

I've been pretty MIA for the last two weeks - I had blog posts last week but they were all scheduled - and haven't been able to post anything for this week let alone be able to read all of your lovely blogs! I've also got some new readers out there which means expanding my blog reading as well, so I've missed catching up with you all the last few weeks. I've been working late every day this week plus I have wedding to shoot this weekend and I'm singing at church (so that means band tomorrow and a nap on Sunday).

Hope you're all doing well and I'm looking forward to be back next week with some fun things to share!

mid-week update

Some things I've been thinking about this week:

• Tonight I babysat my sweet niece Chloe and got to spend some time chatting with my brother-in-law, Brian. It was nice catching up with him and it's so awesome to be able to get along with my sister and her hubby so well and to call them friends - not just family.
• I'm still definitely interested in doing some sort of Bloggers-Bible something. I'm really hoping to focus this for women - specifically young/young-married and currently without children. I'm not trying to squeeze people out, but I'd like to do internet-Bible-study-type thing with like-minded females who are in the same situations as I am. I have three ladies interested so far, so if you are also interested let me know! I've been tossing ideas around in my head on how we can do this. My thoughts are to have passages to read weekly and to encourage one post a week - about the passages, what you learned, what you question, etc. Anyway - more on this when I get my head wrapped around it.
• My husband is great. He works hard to provide for us and keeps us in check. He doesn't have the benefit of two days a week off, so spending three days with him this past weekend was just so wonderful. 
• I've been really feeling like I need to get my eating and health under control recently. I have a hate-hate relationship with exercise and a love-love-love relationship with food, so it's quite a struggle. I wish I could get motivated about exercise and eating healthy, but what excites me is napping and chocolate.
• This weekend I have a baby shower for a friend of mine that I worked closely with for 2 1/2 years. I also have plans this weekend to see a friend of mine (and her new baby) that I was close with years, but probably haven't seen in almost 2 years!

So. That's what's been going on in my head this week. What's been going on with you?

nail polish winner @ Joy the Baker

OH MY GOSH. I can't even tell you how excited I am. I won 4 nail polishes courtesy of Joy the Baker from her blog post giveaway last week. Somehow, out of almost 2,000 comments...I won!! I can't even believe it. Funny too, because I just spent another hour tonight taking off my nail polish just to reapply the same color right back on.

Wow. I'm so excited, I just had to share my excitement with you all! Especially because I may be doing my own nail polish giveaway next week! (Check back early next week for details)

Yay! Winning!

current obsessions: June

I thought this might be a fun new "series" to post - what I'm loving, obsessing over, craving, etc - monthly post.

Here are my current (JUNE) obsessions + loves:

• new DEATH CAB cd - Codes and Keys
• spiked orangle creamsicle smoothies
• our new red chairs (though I should probably finish up the four in the basement...)
• olioboard (you can view my profile + boards here)
• the first buds on our tomato plant
• thrift stores (more on that later)
• freshly cut flowers on our tabletop
• rearranging our kitchen (okay, this is probably an ongoing obsession)

peach scones

my mum decided to stop by for a "quick" visit on Saturday after her garage sale-ing adventures. i had offered to have a tasty treat for us, but never made anything the night before. i searched online for something quick involving peaches, preferably that wouldn't need to be done with yeast or any fridge/freezer time.

i found this recipe for peach scones from King Arthur Flour. they tasted pretty darn good, though they didn't brown up like they should have and didn't shape up very attractively. i think i mixed them too much after adding the peaches (because i felt like they weren't incorporating), so i had too much peach juice spread throughout. i also meant to brush with milk and add some sugar crystals on top, but totally forgot until it was too late. the flavor of the scones was yummy, though and i suggest you make them. just remember not to over-mix after the peaches go in and to add some pretty sugar on top.

these peaches are seriously amazing. i got them from Mason Farms this past Thursday and they are so tasty. not sure where they are from though, too early for peaches in Erie...

also, we had another batch of crazy clouds, hail and tornado warnings in Erie on Saturday. the tornado warnings weren't very serious as there weren't any touchdowns reported, and all the action was much more south than we were located.

however, this hail was nuts. i mean, crazy-sized chunks of ice being chucked from the sky, bouncing off everything and sounding like someone was pelting rocks at our door. craziest thing i've ever seen. i apologize for the nuts-o pics, mum was in front of me and i was shooting from behind the screen door.

WANT: Moleskine Recipe Journal

Moleskine Recipe Journal. Image and info here.

so, i've seen these on two blogs now, and i want. first, it was Monday of last week on Sprinkle Bakes and then it was two days later on We Are Not Martha (um, where they got to meet Kelly Ripa!).

i know you can get them online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but i really want to check it out in person. my hope is to check out B&N this weekend to see if i can find it. any one have one? what are your thoughts? right now i keep any recipe alterations (when i make different serving sizes) or created recipes in just a boring notebook.

also this weekend, my goal is to paint two of our six dining chairs in red. my hope is to get a feel of the process, how long it takes and see the end result in red (mostly to confirm that i in fact want to paint the other four that way). seeing as we really only use four at a time, i have no problem with two being a different color, if in fact they don't turn out how i am picturing. so, i hope to have more pics and fun things on that.

happy Thursday, people! one day closer to the weekend...

weekend update

i really thought i'd come to this week with some pretty pictures, recipes or design-fun, but unfortunately, not much of that happened this weekend.

we had a great night on Friday at my brother-in-law's 30th birthday party! i made buffalo chicken wing dip (yummo!) and forgot to put a card in my camera. we had tons of food and just hung out, ate and then josh, brian (brother-in-law) and dustin had a little Muse cover-band concert.

saturday was a beautiful day and i took full advantage of sleeping in, took a walk, got inspired and made a list and plan for painting the chairs and table we received from josh's Gram and we had burgers and veggies on the grill. delish! oh, we also went to the store to pick up something for those dang bees, but unfortunately they are strong and so far seem immune to our attempts at ridding them. i suppose we should try again, or our landlord should get rid of all the rotting wood fences so they are gone for serious.

sunday josh and i were desperate for a lazy day together, so we slept in again, had breakfast together and just laid around all day, then i realized how gorgeous it was outside so we took a drive and a walk at the peninsula. also, i finished a book. and by finished, i mean i had only 10 pages read in the morning and it was done by 9pm that night. water for elephants. book club. amazing. had to finish. since the movie just came out, the SKANK book club is going to see it in June for our discussion day. i can't wait! it's gonna be suuuuper fun.

anyway, so here we are. another work week. remember when you were in high school and you could look forward to summer and vacation? i want that again!! (i didn't have that luxury in college as i always worked through summer vacay, though i never worked 40 hours, so it was still fun.)

shoutout: thanks

i just wanted to give a big thank you to all you new readers/commenters out there. i really appreciate my friends for loving on me [even though they know alllll about me] and you new readers who only know me for my crazy blog-food-designer life. your encouragement and comments always make me happy and brighten my day!

i don't know about you, but i'm looking forward to the weekend! we're celebrating my brother-in-law's 30th birthday tomorrow and i've done some pretty unadventurous cooking this week (hotdogs...salad...baked beans anyone? sometimes a person needs these simple things in one's life) so i'm looking forward to more fun foods this weekend!

have a great one!

margaritas are awesome

here's a super simple margarita recipe.

you need:

pre-made mix

sugar (or salt)

lime

fancy glass (okay, mine is technically for a martini...oh well)

steps:
open bottle, take a few sips (you know, to make sure you like it)
pour sugar/salt onto dish
wet glass (water, lime juice, etc), dip glass in sugar
pour in deliciousness
add lime wedge to be extra fancy
enjoy :)

label help

so recently i've been really trying to pare down the labels i use on posts. i find that i tag things that i may never write about again and that no one would really ever search for. based on what i desire to write about and share, i feel that i should be able to create better focus in my posts (and hopefully better posts) by removing unnecessary labels.

i'm looking for advice here people. how do you categorize what you write about? do you tag posts specifically, like "momentum fabrics," or do you keep things more general like "fabrics?" i'm looking for advice!

i love have the labels column on my blog, but hate seeing a bunch of random tags that i may never blog about again.

what's your system?

new design!

that's right! new design. it took me forever (okay, like 2 hours - not forever) to figure out the stupid sizing of my header. i'm just glad it is filling up the whole area now and i suppose i can just use this as a template if i change it again. yes! i was just ready for a fresh new look!!! thoughts??

2011: goals

i had a whole post dedicated to goals and hopes of achievements for this year, then i looked at my goals for 2010 and realized they were all the same and completely left un-achieved and i felt a little depressed and lousy. 2010 was a great year for me - don't get me wrong. i would not change a thing. but seeing a list of goals untouched after a year has gone by can be a little...disappointing.

so, my one and only goal for 2011 is this:

stop saying you're going to eat better, starting next week - and just do it already.
stop saying you're going to take advantage of that wii fit - you're never going to beat Josh's scores without plugging it in.
stop saying you're going to learn a new skill or expand your mind - and sign up for a class, read a book, go to the library.
stop - i'm sorry, but - being a discontent lazy-ass and do something about it!

so. here's to 2011. a year of doing!

memorable moments: 2010

2010 was probably my best year yet. awesome things happened this year.

JANUARY: Rachel's baby shower.
FEBRUARY: the only sad moment - my grandfather's passing. we are joyful though, because now he and gramma koos are in heaven, dancing together.
MARCH: birth of Chloe! we are so blessed to have her in our lives. it's amazing how quickly they grow and learn in the first year (we're at 9 months). she is now crawling all over, almost walking and babbling non-stop just like the rest of the ladies in this family. oh, and getting mad when we say "no" or take things away from her :)
APRIL: roomie bought a house! i think we failed to do the majority of the things on our "must do before kc moves out list."
MAY: some of the best bridesmaids ever: bachelorette party in ORLANDO, FLORIDA! i cannot express how amazing that weekend was and how i will always remember it! it was such a joy to be able to spend some time w/ my friend Alicia who lives in FL and was unable to attend our bridal shower. josh & i also were privileged to have our engagement photos taken by my amazing sister, Rachel this month.
JUNE: bridal. shower. amazingness. my family and friends. rock. josh and i were so blessed at the shower and we love using all of our amazing gifts!!
JULY: not much happened this month, i believe Josh had his bachelor party in NY City this month. i'm glad he was able to do that with his friends. most of my life in this month was planning for the WEDDING duh, and enjoying the summer.
AUGUST: wedding. what can i say? it was hands down the best day ever. everything was more amazing than i could have imagined. we had so much fun the day of and were again so blessed by our family and friends who came, helped, baked, were generous, danced with us...and then the honeymoon? AMAZING. can we please go back?
SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER: not much happened these last few months, and that is totally okay with me. Josh & i have been enjoying the married life and right now just enjoying the holiday and time off. we had a great time with our families for all the holidays!

<<edit>> josh reminded me: some big things DID happen in SEPT-DEC 2010:

*NOVEMBER: visited Josh's aunt & uncle in Maumee, Ohio

*DECEMBER: my poor green civic was rear-ended (with me in it) and verdict: totaled. Josh and i bought a beautiful black Subaru Impreza hatchback as our brand new car. we love it!

*DECEMBER: girls weekend @ lake house in Chautauqua. wine tasting, breweries, fun times, awesome food and good conversation!

kitchen fun

i've been having a delightful time "decorating" our new townhouse. josh has limited me to no pictures in the "computer room" (his computer room, which also has all of his clothes and my little make up table that i sit at for a total of 20-30 minutes a day, usually when he's still sleeping), but i like to take full reign in the kitchen (in moderation!)...

i got these clear jars at Marshall's back when i was in the old townhouse. i feel like they really need fun things like colored jelly beans or other fun candies to go in them, but right now this is what is used and needs a place! i know what's in the jars, but i thought it'd be fun to label them with the font i'm now obsessed with (thanks to Katie for using it on the shower invites, rachel using it on the wedding invites and us using it all over the wedding day decorations) - Albemarle Swash. it's just so fun!

sorry i've been distant...

i've been lacking in blog posting and blog reading/commenting recently. things are crazy in my life, maybe more so than usual! also, i have no internet (or tv...cable...) at home, so that puts a wrench in posting and reading. here's what's been keeping me busy...

• wedding planning. duh!! we bought our rings, finalized the flowers and put down a deposit, met with our wedding coordinator at church, had my trial run with my hair stylist, made some decisions and purchased some super fun gifts for my bridesmaids, been planning day-of schedule, thank you cards from the shower are written and sent, invites sent out & RSVP's coming in, next dress fitting is Monday, i attempted to make myself a necklace and failed, i bought shoes...again...
• roomie moved out so the place is a little empty. a centipede tried to take her spot but, with the help of my dad, i killed it (that is another story)
  
• i've started packing up a few of my own things in the town house
• Josh and i joined cell phone plans and both of us got the new iPhone 4!! totally love it, though the limited data plan sucks major and i still can't type/text on it worth crap. but the display is amazing. cameras and face-time are amazing (when face-time works, that is...)
• work is very busy, which is great, but also unusual at this time of year. things are normally a little more calm now, and they might be if it weren't for the huge project that's been consuming the majority of my time. we're hoping it's finalized and ordered next week and ready for install in Sept-Oct!
• Josh's brother's wedding is this weekend; he's in it and i'm photographing it
• Josh's bachelor party is next weekend, which means he's off for 3-4 days with 4 of his 6 guys to New York City

i'm sure MORE things have been going on than just this, but it's time to get focused. have great weekends everyone!!

a lovely award

i don't think i've ever received a blog award before! (maybe once, in my 8ish years of blogging...), but thanks to the oh-so-lovely herself, Meighan of Fredricka Rose, i get to put my count up to TWO!!! i feel so honored to have received an award from a blog friend!! make sure you check her blog out!!

and to pass on the love myself...

and then i found 5 dollars
superyay!
brian and rachel plus
chaos symphony

not only are their blogs awesome, but the bloggers are amazing!
they are truly *lovely* and i love them!

crazy weekend

this weekend i spent a lot of time with my roomie (seeing "It's Complicated" - hilarious - and out with her and stace to the casino, then dinner with nikkie too in downtown erie). also, let me point out, that the Plymouth's fried giant soft pretzels with cheese and honey mustard are the most amazing things ever created. just wanted to throw that out there.

on Sunday, our church had the awesome opportunity to lead worship after the Erie Otters hockey game, for a "faith and family night." we went straight after church Sunday to loading up our cars, then down the Civic Center where we set up all our equipment on the back of a flat bed truck. after the game and a short word from the pastor of Erie First Assembly, the semi backed us out onto the ice where AJ, our "tech-sound guy" from church (he probably has a better more technical name, but whatever :) ) plugged us into the main system and mixed from the ice. it was a pretty awesome and totally fun experience. i'm sure i'll never get to sing at the Civic Center...on the back of a truck...on the ice...again! here's some pics from the evening...

pic by me, before we went on the ice.

pic by Aaron - on "stage" sound guy. we were probably waiting for AJ - off "stage" sound guy - to hook us up with power and into the system.

pic by AJ - off "stage" sound guy - while we were jamming.

baby clothes

i was at my parents the other night and they had dug out some baby clothes my sister and i wore when we were little tykes in dreary England. some of these cute little bonnets and knitted things were made by my Gramma Grace, my dad's mum, who passed away last April. some of these were so adorable! i was trying my hardest to remember them, and i came across this one and i knew i had seen it before...

granted, i don't remember wearing it, but i remembered seeing myself in it...

yep, that's me. super cute and super happy. and there's sissy above me, with her blonde hair and Gramma Grace's nose. seeing this was so cool to me, holding something my Gramma had made for us over 25 years ago...just so awesome.