Layers of a Sandwich

fashion show. fashion show. fashion show at lunch. for my blog.

2012-02-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

I ventured out early this Sunday. For none other than THE JASON WU COLLECTION FOR TARGET! Naturally there was a line outside the store, waiting for the doors to open. And I felt bad for the man who was there to do some everyday grocery shopping before the Superbowl and had no idea what was going on. "You here for the Jason Wu collection?" "Aww man! I'm just here to do some shopping!" Bahaha. Hilarious.

Some people were jerkfaces and just grabbed everything in sight so that they could go home and sell it on ebay for a ka-trillion dollars. And other people (ahem, me.) (and the nice lady I talked to by the fitting room who has 3 daughters and was there for support. so sweet.) just grabbed their sizes in whatever they could reach, tried it all on, and bought what they liked while surrendering the stuff they didn't want to those waiting by the fitting room for the discards.

I was given a budget (a VERY GENEROUS budget at that!), remained reasonable and level headed, and came home with 3 new items to add to my wardrobe AND under budget. It was a fantastic day. Like a really, really, wonderful, super great day. (Thanks again Rye, for letting me splurge a bit and get some new clothes)

I have 3 sisters. So it's only natural that when I buy new clothes, I want to come home and put on a fashion show. Ryan is just the sweetest, so he kind of puts up with me and will sit and watch, but he doesn't last too long. Or notice the little details. Or ask for a spin. Or you know...do the girly stuff.

So, you ready? You want to see what I got?
Fashion Show? Fashion Show? Fashion Show at lunch?

Item number one: Black Accordion Skirt.
I'm super pumped I got this skirt. I've wanted an accordion skirt for a really long time now, but every time I've seen one it's either a hundred bucks or too long or too short or a terrible color. I've had such a hard time finding the perfect one. And then when I saw this one in the preview of the collection, I knew I wanted it.

Drake REALLY wanted to be in the fashion show too.
He photo bombed several of my photos.

I was really lucky to snag that beauty too. When I got into the store, there were only 3 left. A 14, 16 and 6. Me and one lady reached for the size six at nearly the same time. She was so gracious and let me take it. (I offered to give it to her too, I wasn't a total jerk or anything) It's a little big, because I'm not a size 6, (not sure why I'm sharing this info) but it's meant to be high waisted, so it just sits lower on me. Which is totally cool with me. I love it.

It's a super good twirl skirt.
Love.

Pretty little details.

Item number two: White "Tie" T-Shirt.
This shirt wasn't in the preview, so I didn't even know about it until I got to Target. But I was super excited when I saw it. I love tie-shirts. A little bow? A bit of whimsy? What's not to love?
No joke, every time I shop in a vintage store, the first thing I look for is tie-blouses. I've wanted one ever since I saw "Hairspray"


That's not me. Or Jason Wu. It's Tracy Turnblad. And if you didn't know that, you need to go watch Hairspray this second.

with my toms wedgies.
I call them wedgies, cause it sounds like a 10 year old boy.

Little wheels.

Item number three: Blush Tie-Blouse.
I may or may not have squealed out loud in the fitting room when I tried this on. I was also not the only girl squealing or giggling there. I felt right at home amongst these ladies. Haha.

I went all out and did the whole socks with bare legs and shoes combo. Which turns out, I love. (Those socks are pretty lacey ones, you can't really tell from the picture. But trust me, they're not just sports socks or something silly.) I realize it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't care cause I like it and that's all that matters.

Pretty little details.

Pretty little details number two.
(Thanks for the photo fix, Julie!)

Sigh....so pretty. They're almost too pretty to wear. Almost. Psh.

ryan's birfday present.

2012-02-01T21:52:00.001-05:00

This past summer, Ryan saw a basic painting of a bike at the art fair in our neighborhood park. It was $800, so we looked at it for a total of 25 seconds. As we were walking away, I was like, "I could totally paint that. And then we could still eat this year." So Ryan told me that's what he wanted for his birthday.

But he forgot about that. I couldn't believe that he couldn't guess what I was getting him. That might have something to do with the fact that I'm the best guesser in the whole wide world, but seriously? How can you not guess it when you specifically told someone what you wanted 8 months ago?

I think it turned out pretty nice. I didn't get the reaction I was expecting from Ryan, but he has reassured me that he likes it. It's hanging above his desk, so I guess that counts as liking it.

Isn't he the cutest PA student you ever did see?
I make a pretty mean stylist, as well, if I do say so myself.

Painting is my favorite craft. I enjoy sewing and now knitting, but whenever I paint...I just...really love it. When I was little, my dad found a small newspaper clipping behind my bed. It was a classified ad for art lessons. He asked me what it was, why I had it...I said, "It's my dream." So he signed me up for art lessons (what a great dad) and it's stuck with me ever since. Even before that I always loved my art class...There's a picture of me and my childhood best friend carrying a painting of a butterfly I made onto our bus after Kindergarten. And my grandfather had a picture I painted in 5th grade hanging in his kitchen for years. I mean YEARS. [That meant the world to me, too]
You know when people say when you do what you love for a living, you're not really working? Well in my case, that would be painting.

what i've been watching.

2012-01-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

Since I've basically done nothing but lay on the couch for the past week and some days, I have watched hours and hours of TV.

1. ID
First of all, I'll admit it. I have a problem.
I am completely and utterly addicted to the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel.

I am obsessed with Dateline, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Disappeared, 20/20, etc. I am absolutely fascinated [almost] every episode. I won't go into details because I know most of you won't be nearly as enthralled as I am. Although, I can not for the life of me understand why not.

Which makes me think...I am pretty sure I should have gone into forensics. What a cool profession. Not that I like blood or think death is cool, but I like the problem solving/logic/putting the puzzle pieces together involved with solving crime. I guess I'm only 23, so I still could do that. But going back to school? Haha, worst idea EVER.

2. Catch Me If You Can
I've also rediscovered my love for the movie "Catch Me If You Can"
I love it. I love the time period. The style and fashion of the 60s. The story. It's all good. If you haven't seen it, watch it. Annnd, it's not even a chick flick.

Oh hiiiiii, Leo.

One of my favorite scenes is (don't worry, this scene is completely irrelevant to the storyline) when Frank is at the movies. Only because all the men there are in suit jackets and ties. Ahhh...those were the days. The days I've never experienced, but the days nonetheless.

3. The usual stuff
Project Runway All Stars (aka, MONDO! The cutest designer to ever be on Project Runway) However, I'm getting sick of hearing the word "garish". C'mon people, there are plenty of other adjectives to chose from. But that's not from Mondo. Mondo can do no wrong. He is literally the cutest designer ever. He's always styled to a T. And he wears these little shorts that just slay me and make me love him even more. And he's so little standing next to his models. I just want to pick him up and squeeze him and make him be my best friend.

Oh, Mondo!

New Girl. Have you been watching New Girl? Because it is my favorite favorite show. I absolutely love it. I don't feel that I need to express my love for Zooey now. You know how I feel.
New episode tonight. Don't miss it.

Last Man Standing. I like this show for 2 reasons...1. It's about a man who is married with 3 daughters, so it reminds me of my family/childhood/Dad and 2.Tim Allen. Lots of people really don't like the guy, but I love him. Because he's not only from Michigan but he loves Michigan. He always promotes it in his shows by wearing different Michigan college shirts PLUS he's the voice in the Pure Michigan commercials.

I mean...how can you NOT love Tim Allen after that?! I guess if you don't love Michigan then those commercials probably don't stir up too much pride in ya.
Pure Michigan commercials make me cry. I love where I'm from.

So if you ever find yourself sick and laying on the couch for days on end...you've got a nice list of what to watch on the telly. You're welcome.

how to lose 10 pounds in 6 days

2012-01-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

Pardon my lack of posts the past few days. I've been rather busy, you know wishing I was dead rather than suffering from a cold slash sinus infection. The usual.

I've decided that a sinus infection is the most annoying pain in the world. My cheeks hurt. My forehead hurts. My entire skull hurts. My jaw hurts. My lymph-nodes are freaking massive and hurt. Even my teeth hurt!! My teeth, people!! But the worst part is there is nothing I can do to alleviate the pain! I've tried it all. Except for the suggestion of one man, to DRINK one's urine. Um, excuse me. Are you joking? THIS GUY DRINKS HIS PEE! AND he uses it in his neti-pot!! WHAT IN THE WORLD?! I thought it was a joke, but I looked up "Urine Therapy" (as he so adoringly called it) on google...and yep. Those nutsos are totally serious.

I had a teacher in Germany that used to eat chalk. Like a lot of chalk. I think he ate 2 sticks a day or something? And he swore by it. He hadn't suffered from any illness in a super super long time. Maybe I should try that...we do have some chalk...and it's not like I can taste anything anyways...

What am I saying? I am losing my mind.
Someone please help me.

Anyways, so I was looking at my shoes today. Because what else am I supposed to do when I can barely get off the couch? And I realized that I never shared with you all what I got with my $50 giftcard to Ruche that I won from Selective Potential!

I got these cute little guys!!

Super cute! I love them!

Also...I discovered something that is truly amazing. No joke, you will all loooove me after this. Well, at least the ladies. I don't remember where I read this trick, whether it was on pinterest or some other blog but that doesn't matter. You know how when you buy berries you have to eat them in less than 3 days or they get all moldy smushy nasty? Well, when you first bring them home, rinse them in 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water. They'll last waaaaay longer. I guess the vinegar kills the mold spores that have already formed on the berries or something...?

I put about 3 tablespoons of vinegar in a bowl and then filled the rest up with water. I left the berries in their plastic container and just plopped them in the bowl. I made sure that all the berries got rinsed, and kind of swirled the container around in the bowl. Then I rinsed the berries under just fresh water because I didn't want any vinegar taste remaining (even though what I read said it doesn't leave an aftertaste because you dilute it with water). I still have some of the strawberries in my fridge and it's been like 2 weeks since I bought them. Granted, normally I would eat strawberries way before 2 weeks, but I've been sick.

Proof. This strawberry has been in my fridge for almost 2 weeks.

Sorry that's all I have to share with you. Kind of boring. Sitting on the couch for a week is very uninspiring. Shocking, I know.

diana cam pics, take 2 [and 3]

2012-01-19T21:34:00.001-05:00

I just got my second and third rolls of film from my Diana developed.
Roll 2, mostly pictures I took with the lens cap on. Awesome. Not really.
I did get a couple good pics from that roll though so it's all good. But I'll never know what I didn't capture.
Roll 3, blew my face to pieces. In a good way. Like, "OH MY GOSH THESE PICTURES ARE SO AWESOME MY FACE IS BEING BLOWN TO PIECES! DIE!"

Side note: the guy who owns the place I get my film developed and prints from said to me, "Enjoy! Film is magical!" And I knew that I was giving my business to the right place.

So...wanna see my faves?

My Dad and Mom at John's Roast Pork (with light leaks)

Drake at the dog park (over-exposed, but still cute)

Disney Magic

Flowers from Clark Park Farmer's Market

Clark Park (West Philly love)

I wrote about this one here. Thought you all (well, Julie) would want to see how it turned out.
Not too shabby. Ryan really likes it.

Okay.
Now.
Are you ready to stop breathing? Because of my incredible Diana camera skills?

These are my ultimate FAVEY-FAVES.

Scooter

Levels of abandoned building

A.L. Levis. and light leaks
Soda Water Ice Cream & Light Lunch

BEETLE! and LIGHT LEAKS!
#1 Favorite

Take a moment and compose yourself. I know..they're overwhelming.
Hey, member yesterday when I said I don't like to toot my own horn? Well, guess that went out the window.

what's cookin' good lookin?

2012-01-18T21:37:00.002-05:00

Ryan asked me that today. And I responded chicken.

Anyways, for the most part I enjoy cooking. I'm not the perfect homemaker [read: I have the hardest time keeping our apartment clean, I feel like it's a never (never NEVER) ending task...cleaning the apartment and it's just the two of us!] but I'm pretty good in the kitchen. Not to toot my own horn, haha.

When it comes to cooking dinner, I mostly just "wing it." I read a lot of different recipes and take parts of one and this from another and that from a picture I saw and mix it all together...and badda bing, badda boom, ya gotch yourself a fine meal.

Last week I made our favorite creation to date. It doesn't have a name. But it rocks, don't judge a book by it's title. Or something like that.
And it's pretty simple to make.

Here's a rough recipe if you want to try it...
Chicken
Chicken Broth
Mushrooms (fresh)
Baby Spinach (fresh)
Onion (fresh as well...but I don't think you can buy canned or frozen onion)
Tomatoes (I used canned diced tomatoes, but only because I had them on hand already)
Neufchatel Cheese

First, I thinly slice some onion and put them in a skillet on low heat with a small amount of chicken broth (like a tablespoon or two). Cover. Cook until the onions are translucent and softish.

Then I add sliced mushrooms (I cut up 7 for our meal, but I love mushrooms and could have easily added more) and baby spinach (almost half a bag, it seems like a lot but it cooks down) and a little more chicken broth (about 1/4 this time). Turn the heat up to medium. Cover and cook until spinach and mushrooms are well...cooked.

Before being cooked

Then I add diced tomatoes, not with all the juice though. I drain them but save the juice in case you need to add more (if it's not "saucy" enough). Cook for a few minutes. Then add between 1/3 and 1/2 of the brick of neufchatel cheese.

Let the cream cheese melt a bit, and stir it in the mixture.
In a separate pan, sear a chicken breast (I cook with pre-cut tenders, so I used 3 of those) and cut up to bite size pieces.
Add to sauce mixture, let it simmer for a bit.
Then spoon it onto some egg noodles, rice or quinoa, (egg noodles are the best) add a little side dish and voila! A lovely dinner!

when i grow up

2012-01-16T23:28:00.001-05:00

When I grow up, can I please be Betty White?

I caught some of her 90th birthday celebration/tribute on tv tonight, and she is just the sweetest. She's so cute and funny. I love her. I also saw her on People's Choice awards a few nights ago, and when the audience was giving her a standing ovation (when someone mentioned her 90th coming up), she was sincerely touched. Same with tonight, she was so thankful to every person who said something to/about her. She was just so genuine. And cute. Because she's Betty White.

Going in to pet the puppy. Adorable.

Plus also (shout out for the Junie B. Jones fans), she was a freaking babe back in the day!

Betty! Who knew?!

pardon the dust. or the digital equivalent of dust.

2012-01-15T22:32:00.003-05:00

I'm working on changing my look again. I know I just did this recently, but I was never fully satisfied with how it looked. I know I'm not a professional blogger by any means, but I felt like everything looked really amateur and it bothered me. I'm not sure if I'll ever be happy with something I create but I'm gonna give it a go. You might see a few different looks over the next few days. It's all a work in progress.

jason wu for target.

2012-01-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

Oh. my. goodness gracious.
Kill me now.

I am excited and jittery and doing that shaky-clapping my hands and squeeling thing I do when I get super ecstatic.
You know why...
Jason Wu.
For Target.

It's TO DIE FOR.
I want basically every single piece in the collection.

Oh my goodness. It's pathetic how excited I am, but I can't even type. I can't even form words to describe my feelings.

Here, lemme show you my favey-faves of all the looks.

Siiiiigh...it's beautiful right? I love it all. Socks and shoes included. (But not the hair. What the heck is the deal with girls and these dumb milkmaid braids. A little advice: you look stupid)

I used to not think I really had "a style", you know like when people see something and go, "That is SO so-and-so?" I felt like that couldn't be done with me because I was kind of all over the place.
But hello, this collection screams me.

I already have plans to get up bright and early on February 5th and head to Target before church. You may think I'm crazy, but do you remember Missoni for Target? It was insanity. And the Target website crashed. People were nutso for the stuff. And I mean, did you SEE that collection? 100x better than freaking Missoni for Target. So, I'm just insuring that I can at least get one thing from the collection. Or 15. You know, either one, but preferably the later.

(You can view the entire lookbook here)

change. "vacation." a trillion pictures. not really.

2012-01-11T01:08:00.001-05:00

Holy moly. I feel like every post now-a-days is like... "whoops, haven't blogged in a few weeks...and here are my excuses why..."
Sorry all 10 of my regular readers.
It's about to change.

I think New Year's resolutions are a waste of time and energy. And they make the gym packed for the first 3 weeks of January and messes with my schedule. I thought maybe that was only a college thing, but our tiny gym in our building has been PACKED lately. Not cool. Annnd back to my point...so, I don't really make resolutions. However, this year I started making little changes for the better in December.

I only added this picture to break up the monotony of all the text

Our small group read the book "The Divine Mentor" by Wayne Cordeiro which is about why it's crucial as Christians to read your Bible daily. He goes through the "soap" method and journaling and yadda yadda...it was a good book and since then I have been almost daily reading my Bible. Our small group started with a 21-day challenge...read your Bible for 40 minutes for 21 days in a row, because "they" say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I took this challenge one step further. I made a print out sheet of the next 21 days and included work-outs and organizing a part of our apartment as a part of my challenge.

Yep, this one too

And well, 21 days is manageable. 1 year, not so much. I did pretty good with my 21-day challenge. And now that I have reading my Bible and regular work-outs under my belt, I've made myself a new calendar for the month of January. Which includes...of course...2 blog posts a week. Not because I feel like I have to, but because I want to. I really do enjoy blogging, I do it for me (obviously, I've been blogging for years now and I literally have 10 people who read this). I don't want to not do something I love just because it takes time.

Moving on.
Ryan and I went on "vacation" slash visit-everyone-on-the-planet-trip. We were living out of suitcases for 3 weeks. I packed a suitcase 6 times in less than a month. I repeat 6 FREAKING TIMES. It was insanity, and something I never want to do again. Not to say that it wasn't fun! We did get to see almost everyone we wanted to, and even if time was short with people it's always better than nothing!

Oh, and I also was super sick for a week and practically died. So that was nice.

And here's a photo summary of our trip. Kind of.

Lunch with our dear friends at one of the many fantastic GR restaurants

Cookie decorating with sisters and nieces and nephew

All of Ryan's Grandparents. Who are so different, it cracks me up.

We had an intense game of Bocce Ball. Exact measurements were required.

I repeat: intense game.

He's adorable. Or if you speak Julie, "dadorable"

WALT DISNEY WORLD! FO' FREE!!

Okay. So I know I always say Ryan is still a child at heart and it shines bright in most situations, but well...I looked like most of the 6-old-year girls there when I saw Cinderella's castle. Most definitely an audible gasp. C'mon though, how could I not?! It's CINDERELLA'S CASTLE.

Bug's Life 3D Show at Animal Kingdom

CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT NIGHT! WITH FIREWORKS!

You know what else turns me into a child? Fireworks. We knew this before Disney. But oh, guess what, there's fireworks at Disney. BEHIND CINDERELLA'S CASTLE! And a freaking fairy with lit-up wings zip lines from the tippy-top of the castle across the park. WHAT?!
While at Disney I also decided that my dream job would be to be a Disney Princess. Probably Snow White, but I think you have to be kind of Asian for that job. Not because I think Snow White is Asian or because I'm in anyway racist...but because I know Disney has crazy standards for those princess roles and all of the Snow Whites I've seen are kind of Asian. But I would settle for being a stilt person in the Lion King Show. Just gotta learn how to dance and jump with stilts. Should be no problem.

As you can see, we had fun.
More importantly though, I hope you noticed I got bangs. I figured it was a logical next step for my obsession with Zooey Deschanel.

chocolate tour

2011-12-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Ryan went on a chocolate tour of Philadelphia. A groupon/living social deal that we bought last year and waited until the very last day to use. Typical.

We walked all around Philly, learning about and sampling chocolate at various places. It was a fun day, and obviously a delicious date! We also discovered a few little treasures in the city that we never would have stumbled upon otherwise.

My favorite, the champagne truffle! Yum!

You can see the pictures of our tour here. (This post is mostly for our moms, cause I know nobody else really cares, haha)

flea market finds

2011-11-28T22:51:00.001-05:00

I found an old frame at a flea market a few weeks ago, it was ugly. And I think Ryan and Beth and Scott thought I was nuts for wanting it.

But jokes on them cause look at the beautifulness I turned that sucker into!

BOOYAH.
An old frame turned chalkboard! An idea I got from pinterest.

We also got that old matches holder (turned chalk and eraser holder) at a flea market. Not sure if I'm gonna leave it like it is or paint it. I like the "MATCHES" written on it, but it's kinda rusty. Ugly rusty. Not pretty rusty.

I like to write nice things on it.
Such as, "All you need is love. And food. And water. And lots of other things." or "'I love The Smiths!' -Summer, 500 Days of Summer" or "Do FRIES come with that SHAKE?" Which may or may not be on there right now. Which also may or may not have been there when our favorite maintenance man came to fix our dishwasher. Aaaaand...he may or may not have asked me, "The real question is...What kinda shake you talkin' about?!"
He's awsome.

We also got some little trinkets to put in our letterpress tray.

(Which has found a home!! More on that to come later.)

Have no fear, I totally realize that it looks disgusting. My flash brings out the nasty! I promise it doesn't look that terrible. I spent a long time cleaning it out.

date night

2011-11-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ryan and I went on a long overdue date night a couple of nights ago. We went to Dave and Busters and essentially spent $20 to get some candy, but we had a blast while doing it. That's all that matters.

We also sat next to the cast of Billy Elliot, the Broadway musical that is in Philly for a few weeks. And saw the sweetest old couple playing the "Deal or No Deal" arcade game :)

Ryan learned how awesome I am at silly arcade games, due to my years of experience at Chuck E. Cheese. Years that may or may not have ended only 2 years ago, at the young age of 21.
I ROCKED at Smokin' Token and was strangely addicted to Token Roulette, haha. Which is why I don't want to go to Sugar House Casino, even though Ryan insists we wouldn't waste more than $10 there.

I also forgot my camera in the car. I said, "If we see one of those photo-booth-sketch-your-picture things, we have to do it so I can have at least one picture of tonight!" And then just my luck, we spotted one!! And just my luck, this is what our picture turned out as.

HAHAHA! Can you see us? Cause I can't!

Afterwards we headed over to Franklin Fountain, because my mouth had been watering thinking about a Mt. Vesuvius sundae all evening. And then we got there, and just my luck (a trend for the evening), I only had $4 because I had to use my $10 bill for parking. Gosh darn parking. So after digging out some spare toll-booth change from the car, we mustered up $7.00 and got a couple scoops of coconut and black raspberry ice cream to share. Ahhhhh, fantastic. It was no Vesuvius, but it was still delectable. I love Franklin Fountain. It is expensive, but SO WORTH IT!

And then I asked our night security guard to take a picture of us in the lobby, so we'd at least have 1 picture of the night :)

We're super cute, I know.

snackie

2011-11-22T11:35:00.000-05:00

This is our favorite snack lately.

Pears (sometimes bananas too.)
Plain greek yogurt (Chobani or Fage are the best. Don't even bother with Activia or Dannon Oikos. I'll save you some time and tell you they are sick-nast.)
Honey.
Chopped pistachios.

Yum.

upitty, up, up, up.

2011-11-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

I've taken an unintentional-turned-intentional break from blogging. I've said this before, but I really don't like blogging when I'm not inspired. And lately I've been in "a mood." And everyone and everything are getting on my nerves. And I'm sick of life and disappointments and blah-dee-blah-dee-blah. Ugh. So I stopped blogging because I knew my posts would quickly turn to something like...
"Life is stupid. And I hate Philadelphia. What are YOU doing here, reading MY thoughts?! AHHH!"
I thought a little breakski would be best for all involved :)

Anyways.
In the past 3 hours I have become obsessed with Up. Haha. Yes, the movie. Yes, 3 hours. I mean, I've always loved the movie, even though I'm guaranteed to be bawling within 15 minutes. You know what reminded me of my imense love for Up?

THIS PHOTO SHOOT!

Photo credit: the goodness and blue lily photo

(I'll give you a one-photo glimpse into the shoot, but be sure to visit the blogs linked and look at them.)

Oh. My. Goodness.
I die.
I can. not. handle the amazingness of that photoshoot.
So much so, that I'm using "amazing" to describe something...which is something I almost NEVER do (mostly because it bugs me, but this scenario is actually fitting of the word.)

First of all, I NEED THAT HOUSE. I need to own it. I need to live in it. I need to mow its little lawn and sweep its little porch and make cookies in the blue oven. I should probably also change my name to Ellie and force Ryan to go with Carl. Because it seems fitting, and that way we can keep the mailbox.

Second of all, I diiiieee. Again. Because I seriously can't get over these photos. I want to be them.
GAH!

Up next (pun totally intended, bahaha)...
THIS CHILD.

Photo taken from my modern met (although, this can be found practically everywhere)

(Same as above, be sure to visit the link cause there is lots more of that cuteness!)

I know he's been blowing up pinterest and facebook for a while, but he is so cute I can't leave him out. Oh my goodness. He motivates me to look into kidnapping (not really.) (But maybe, kind of.)

So now that I have rediscovered my love for Up...I have also discovered that WE DON'T OWN THE MOVIE?! WHAT THE HARICOTS VERTS IS GOING ON HERE?!
(Hee hee, we had haricots verts with dinner and I've also become obsessed with saying it...haricots verts...haricots verts...haricots verts...I really like to say it in an English accent.)

apartment tour: part 1

2011-10-25T20:51:00.001-04:00

Member when we moved in June and I never showed anyone what our apartment looked like? Fantastic.
I'm not really one to upload pictures of my daily life to facebook and such, which is why I never put up pictures of our apartment. (Side note: you know those people who upload a picture of a doctor's office waiting room and their like, "At the doctor's office!!"? I can't stand those people. I wanna yell, "NO ONE CARES!" I don't see why people need to have every second of their lives documented on facebook/twitter/foursquare. It's kind of...well, actually, it's really stupid. And almost pathetic. Okay. Rant over.) ...but I've come to the realization that my family would probably enjoy seeing where I live. So here we go. Apartment Tour. Part 1 of 2, because I'm cool like the producers of Breaking Dawn who decided to be greedy and split that strange,strange book into 2 strange movies, just to get more money from the fangirls. I'm definitely a fan of the Twilight series, (I'm not ashamed to admit it!) but c'mon guys. I'm not buying into all that hype and paying over $30 to see 2 dumb movies. Annnnd, 2nd rant now over.

I'm really only doing this in 2 parts because our bedroom and dining room are our disaster areas. Our bedroom slash Ryan's "office" is crowded and a random collection of furniture. I kind of hate it. By kind of, I obviously mean really. And our dining room slash my crafting space is a cluttered over-packed mess. I might eventually show you those rooms, but please know that I don't like the way they look :)

So here we go, for reals this time...

The kitchen.
I loooove our kitchen. SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT from our last place, where everything was uneven, half the cabinets wouldn't close, oh and it was infested with house centipedes. Yes, this is so much better!

Yes, I have 3 dish brushes and a sponge...and a dishwasher. I'm extremely picky on how dishes are washed.
And all that crap in the background (in the "dining room") is stuff that we still need to hang/find a home for. Hahaha. We're not taking our time or anything.

The wooden bottle carrier on top of the cabinets won't be staying there, and the "S" inside of it won't be staying there either. It was just a temporary home until I do what I actually want to do with it.
Moving on.

The living room. And/or space, since it's not actually a separate room. (Our kitchen, living room and kitchen are all the same room, just separate spaces)

The bookshelf is kind of a hodge-podgey catch-all. But whatever. Also, please love that Drake's monster is still living on the top. It'll probably be done after 2 more play-times.

And the bathroom.
I don't know why anyone would want to see our bathroom, but whatever.

super cute

2011-10-20T14:14:00.001-04:00

Look what I finished today!! I'm not sure what sewing project this is, I've lost count. Wait, I just counted. This is the fourth one (out of six) that I've finished, two are still in the process [apron and button-up blouse, and let's be honest, that blouse is probably never gonna get finished, cause I really don't love it]

Ryan's Nana sent me a package with a pattern for this bag and fabric that she picked out special, just for me!! She's the sweetest Nana EVER!
It was super easy. But, I tried to make mine completely reversable (all the seams on the inside, between the lining and the outside fabric.) I had it mostly figured out after several mistakes, but there was still a seam that would be on the outside. So I got frustrated, took it all apart and then re-did it all. I made it much harder than it needed to be. Haha. From start to finish, I would say this bag would only take a couple of hours.
Super cute, right?

Speaking of super cute...

Michigan Photo Dump

2011-10-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

I went home.
It was glorious.
This is a photo summary of my trip.

(I actually did a lousy job of taking pictures, and a lot of stuff was left out. Like when I was first greeted at the airport by my fantastic in-laws AND cider and donuts. No better Michigan welcome than that!! And my first meeting with my little nephew (my sister got a picture though, it's all good.) Or a picture with my younger sister, my oldest sister, my dad AND my grandparents. Or the delicious lunch out I had with my Mom (in-law) and brother (in-law). Or the awesome volleyball game I went to. Or the yummy pie Lindsay and I made...I'll have to do a better job next time)

Releasing Sky Lanterns at Julie's Church.

Me and my cousin, Livy

Group cuddle for fireworks

(These were taken at an event at the church Julie is working for. They had a concert/food/games/fireworks fun night. It was so much fun. And releasing those lanterns was SO COOL! Like not only a highlight of my trip, but probably a highlight of my year. They played "Light Up the Sky" by The Afters while we all lit and let go of our sky lanterns. I can't really describe it, but it was almost magical. Such a perfect night.)

My friend, Jenna's, Artprize photos

My friend, Emily, and I

MY NEPHEW and I, just chillin' on the couch. (I look kind of sick, but he's so cute that I figured no one would be looking at me anyways)

Linds, during our walk downtown

YUM YUM TREE. Best Brighton Restaurant EVER.

Eating our ice cream, walking around Brighton with my Mom and Xavier

Katie and Me

(Katie is the bestest best friend in the whole world. We weren't able to meet up while I was on her side of the state for the weekend. So she surprised me and came to Brighton and spent a couple of days and a night with me there. Love her.)

Lindsay and Xavier

Isn't he the cutest?

CRAZY dog Louie, attacking the dog statue that he despises

Katie and Me, lookin' cute at the apple orchard


My mom and me, same scenario as above

Game day

What a cute niece I have!

The flash may have surprised him

My other cute niece!! I'm one lucky aunt!

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather!

Louie's awesome face when you scratch him

The finished quilt!!!

And that was my trip to the good ol' Mitten!

linvilla orchards

2011-09-23T23:55:00.000-04:00

Did you watch New Girl? Did you love it? More importantly did you LOVE Zooey Deschanel? Super adorable, right? I'm so excited for this show, I was not disappointed at all by the pilot. Well...maybe a little bit but that's only because I watched the trailer like 8 times a day, so I had all the funny parts memorized. And the ending, when all the boys sing to her? Awwww, loved it! By the way, you're welcome.

"Project: Transform My Closet into Zooey Deschanel's" is in full force and going good. Except, my computer is refusing to open files on my memory stick. Which is odd. It's only for one of them, and of course it's the one that I took pictures of my outfits on. So....you can just trust me that I'm awesome.

The first day I remade this outfit:

I didn't love my remake. Probably won't wear it again. Mostly because I couldn't find my solid navy blue tights, so I had to go with my lace ones. and patterned tights were not the look I was going for.

Day 2, I remade this outfit:

And it was a huge success. I wore a red sweater instead, because I have red shoes similar to her green ones. And black shorts. I loved it. Which is more than I can say for our sushi meal. Eww. I have tried and tried to make myself like sushi, but UGH! I don't know how people love it. (At least it only cost us like $11, thanks to our AMAZING Groupon...$1 for $50 worth of sushi!!)

In other news, I took Ryan on a little surprise date last week...to an apple orchard!! Mostly because I was really wanting some warm donuts and cider, but also because I knew it would be fun and a little taste of our Michigan home. And lucky for you, the pictures from it are on an acceptable memory stick.

And then we got there and they were out of donuts for the day and I cried.

Well, almost. But I most definitely cried on the inside. So, we settled and got 2 cookies instead. AND GET THIS...Ryan got chocolate chip and I didn't!! What has happened to this world I thought I knew?

And we also each got a little treat. I got caramels, because I love caramels and it seemed fitting for an apple orchard treat. Ryan got those candy buttons on paper because he is still a 5 year old at heart (I've mentioned this before). He seriously LOVES those things, and we both got so excited when we saw them. Hahaha.

Yummy

Silly

Then we walked around. And fed some baby deer!! Awww!!

And...uh...the end.

Zooey Deschanel. Yes, again.

2011-09-20T01:16:00.000-04:00

I know I just gushed over Adele, but have no fear. I'm still madly obsessed with Zooey Deschanel. She actually has me considering growing my hair long again. Well, not she per se, but pictures of her have me considering it.
I've been spending an embarassing amount of my time looking at pictures of Zooey recently, mostly because the trailers for her new fall show, New Girl, have me so excited and I need more of Zooey in my life until the show premieres.
Have you seen the commercials for it? Check out this trailer:

I'm in love with her little theme song for herself ("Whose that girl? It's Jess!") and the "Whoa! Cute guy alert!" part where she moves her glasses (yes, I attempted to spell out her sound effects several times but decided it was in everyones best interest to leave that out of this post.)

I'm so excited! I hope the show isn't a huge let down! It premieres tomorrow, don't miss it!! Cause then you probably won't know what's going on in my blog, cause I will most likely be talking about it for days.

Annnnnyways, as I was saying before the trailer got me all sidetracked...
I've been feverishly looking at pictures of Zooey lately. And after a while of doing that I thought of a really cool challenge for myself...pick 7 pictures/outfits of hers that I adore and try and recreate them with what I have in my closet. A week of lookin' like Zooey is a week of lookin' and feelin' freaking awesome. And I love getting inspiration for others and using stuff I already have in my closet but mixing pieces in ways that I wouldn't think to do myself. I've actually found some of my favorite outfits by doing that! So I started "pinning" (don't know about pinterest? sorry, I'm not gonna explain it) lots of photos of Zooey....and then I realized, this isn't going to be that hard of a challenge. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that I have lots of Zooey pieces in my closet? C'mon guys, help a fan-girl out!

Soooo, are you so excited to see my Zooey-look-alike outfits? You better be. I think I may start tomorrow.

Oh, and Zooey. Zooey. Zooey. Just so that you have to read that name 3 more times, because I don't think I said it enough in this post. (Yep, sorry about that.)

Also.

2011-09-14T23:25:00.000-04:00

Oh, and also, I have a story for you.
One time, Ryan and I got our pictures taken by the FABULOUS Bryan and Mae. And then those two took pictures of Tieka and Brett. And because of that post, I started following Tieka's super awesome style/fashion blog. And then one day, I entered a giveaway on her blog to shop ruche, an online clothing store which basically rocks my face off. AND THEN TONIGHT, as I was reading the latest post, I noticed a little picture of me at the bottom. I thought to myself, "Hey. That's me. ... Wait a second, THAT'S ME!"

Check it out over at Selective Potential.

Turns out I WON!!! I'm so excited!!!

On another note [but kind of the same note, just a different story]...about 3 or 4 years ago, I won an ipod through a contest at school that I didn't realize was a contest or that the prize was an ipod. AND I FREAKED OUT. And every once in a while I remember how AWESOME that was, and I say to Ryan, "Remember when I won an ipod? That day rocked." And now I'll be able to say, "Remember when I won that $50 to shop ruche? That day rocked!!" Hopefully this little high will last me 3 or 4 years as well :)

my Adele love affair

2011-09-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

I'm slightly obsessed with Adele.

She is seriously so talented. And I am pretty much in love with her. I told my bestie (who is also in love her) that she makes my heart soar. Congratulations Adele, that is a hard task to accomplish. She has also been added to my list of concerts I will attend. Which is another hard task to accomplish. Really hard. Considering I have like 3 or 4 people on that list. (Which includes (in case you're curious): Elton John, The Civil Wars and someone else I can't remember. Sorry dude. Guess you're off the list.)

And bonus, the girl's got MAD style.

So cute, right? And if those images didn't convince you of her awesomeness, prepare yourself. Cause you're about to fall in love.

First up: Set Fire to the Rain

Second: Someone like you, A live video for you, so you can hear how truly talented she is.
And this song? Totally breaks my heart. I just want to sit down and cry with her. I think an artist is [or should be] considered successful when they can have their audience feeling the exact emotions they want them to. Whether it's music, or photography, or painting, or whatever. Again. Adele = super talented woman.

Do yourself a favor and actually listen to those songs.
You will not regret it.
Also, do me a favor and get this vinyl record of Adele's latest album, 21, so I can hear her beautiful voice booming from my vintage record player. All day every day. And be happy forever. Thanks. You're a doll.

Flea Market Finds

2011-09-11T20:29:00.000-04:00

So, I basically found everything I've ever wanted at the Flea Market on Saturday. Well, minus 2 one-way tickets to Uganda. But that's a difficult find for a flea market, so I'll let it slide.

Exibit A: An old wooden bottle carrier. Hi. Love.


Oooo, dreamy

Exibit B: Old Letterpress Tray. $15. Wait, what?
Yes, $15.
I've only been wanting one since the beginning of time. Or something like that.
It may or may not need lots and lots of cleaning.

Exhibit C: Johnny Cash record and magazine holder
Actually, I wouldn't say either of these were on my list of everything I've ever wanted, but we liked the magazine holder and it was cheap, so what the heck. And we needed the record to test out my record player. But hey, nothing wrong with bringing a little Johnny inta your life.

I'll probably spray paint that a fun color. Oooo, I'm so excited!

I wonder what Ryan thinks when he flea market shops with me. Ryan is attracted to things like...oh, I don't know...junk. And bigger ukuleles than the one he has. And he always asks me what I'm gonna do with the stuff I want. And I'm always like, "I don't know." But then he doesn't let me buy it so I have to make up stuff on the fly. Which I am getting pretty good at if I do say so myself.

And just for kicks...

Our adorable, curious little pup. Who I am far too attached to.

what we did in philly: old city stuff

2011-09-10T19:22:00.000-04:00

We cleaned our apartment from head to toe yesterday. It felt so good to have the entire thing completely cleaned. When I clean during the week, I do an area a day (if at all, who am I kidding? Haha). And we're slobs, so we rarely have the entire place clean at the same time. In celebration of our work, we went out for burgers and beer at Eulogy.

We discovered Eulogy when we first came here to look for apartments. We asked the guy working the desk at our hostel where we could get a burger near by and he sent us to Eulogy. We loved the burgers and their huge, and I mean HUGE, selection of beer. It's crazy. Over 300 bottled beers and 21 draft beers.
We've been wanting to go back ever since and have just now made it out there.
Ryan got a Founder's Dirty Bastard (cause we love our Michigan roots) and I went for something a little girly with a Timmerman's. I don't remember the name, but it was a lambic beer...raspberry :)

After dinner, we walked over to the Franklin Fountain. Which is only the most adorable ice cream and soda shop ever. Maybe I only think that because I really should have been raised in the 50s. But seriously, this place was like my heaven. I took lots of pictures in there. All with my Diana cam. Anyways, we split the Mount Vesuvius because that's what they are kind of known for.

AND OH MY GOODNESS. It was MARVELOUS. I loved every. single. creamy, fudgey, brownie-ey, homemade ice cream and whipped cream goodness filled bite. One of my ideal desserts for sure. Aaaand now my mouth is watering.

Best date night in a while. [Actually, only date night in a while]

Diana Pics, Take 1

2011-09-08T14:24:00.000-04:00

I got my first roll of film from my Diana cam developed!!
Here are some of my favorite shots:

And this is my all time favorite from this roll...an accident, and I was kind of bummed cause I wanted a picture of just that ice cream truck, but I got over that pretty quickly because, well it's a beaut obviously.

Not too shabby for my first roll. A lot of people end up with a lot of black images because they forget to take the lens cap off, so at least I did good there. I did have several double exposures though. So apparently I forget to wind my film a lot, not just that one time where I took 3 or 4 shots with out winding. Hahaha. Go me.
Can't wait to get my next roll developed!!

home decor

2011-09-06T15:59:00.000-04:00

Since we've moved, I've been much more into decorating and making a rental apartment as "ours" as I can. I've been looking for various home decor and we've made a few trips to Ikea. But most of the time, I'm underwhelmed by most of it. I feel like everyone has the same stuff, and that by trying to decorate your space and making it your your own, it'll end up that you've made your place look like everybody else's. (I don't think it's proper English to end a sentence in "else's." Whoops.)

So I'm slowly decorating our place. I look for little bits and pieces at antique shops, thrift stores, flea markets and various stores around the city. I look for stuff that's a little more unusual and not so common. I look for stuff that I (we) like, and I don't care what other people think. I remember growing up and my mom would come home with the strangest things and use them to decorate and we'd all be like, "Mom! You can't leave that there!" And she'd be like, "I like it and that's all that matters! Nate Berkus says decorate with things you love." Well Mom, you were right.

Here's what I've done/got so far:

I had been looking for a glass dome for quite a while, and I spotted one hidden under a table at an antique store a few weeks ago. I was so thrilled! I bought it without even the slightest idea of what I was going to do with it. But it didn't take me long to figure out once I got home. I've been looking for an interesting way to decorate with my grandpa's old player piano rolls, so I knew that I was going to combine these for an awesome little display. Added some twine and WAA-LA! I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! (Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea)

I saw this globe at my favey-fave favorite thrift/vintage store. I didn't buy it right away, because I wasn't sure what I would do with it. I just knew I liked it. But that night, while I laid in bed unable to fall asleep, I had an idea. I said to Ryan, "I want to get a globe I saw today. And draw a picture of a bee." And he was like, "A bee? And I was like,"Yes. A bee. It'll be cool. I promise." And he was skeptical, as he always is, cause that does sound a little strange (ye of little faith.)

So Ryan went back and bought this globe for my birthday, then I ripped out a page from an old book that I had, drew a bee on it and framed it in this simple black frame.

That owl thing is a planter, just doesn't have a plant in it yet

And these are just some odds and ends that I've acquired. Mostly from my favorite thrift store or thrift/vintage store (they are different stores) and some from my mom (both given and stolen/borrowed). Some of them have found their home, but others are just randomly placed on our shelves. Haha. It'll all come together.

(Side Story: While I was at the thrift store, buying that little Michigan sign thing, guess who I saw!! JAY FREAKING MCCARROLL!! (For all you non-project runway followers, he's the winner from the first season.) I've also seen him at my favorite fabric store. I didn't say anything to him then, but I promised myself that the next I ran into him I would say something. And then I saw him and I essentially freaked out. My mind was a complete blank. I was with my friend, Beth, and she was laughing at me because I'm so pathetic. That's all. Oh, except, I think Jay McCarroll and I should be friends. I mean, we shop at the same fabric AND thrift stores. What are the odds? The whole "I can't speak when you're around thing" would just be hurdle that we'd have to get over.)

And at some point...I want to do this...

PAINT A PIANO A BRIGHT AND FUN COLOR!! I have "the rights" to my grandpa's piano, which my parents are holding onto for me right now. So when I can eventually have it in my own home, I might try this. We'll see. The piano is pretty special to me, and I don't know if I'll be brave enough to paint it. But how awesome do those pianos look? Isn't that fun?

stamp of disapproval

2011-09-04T22:56:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty open-minded and I can be fairly easy going, BUT there are somethings that I just can. not. stand.

Number 1: Adult Pigtails

(being worn in public. I have to add that cause I can be found in pigtails many times when I'm stuck in the apartment cleaning or doing laundry, haha.)

Ladies...if you are having trouble doing your hair and thinking about reverting to the "classic" pigtail look, ask yourself these 2 simple questions:
1. Am I under the age of 9?
2. Am I Zooey Deschanel and/or Summer in 500 Days of Summer?

If either of the answers to these questions is no...then DON'T DO IT. Pigtails on adults are not attractive. And if you think they look cute, you're wrong. They are hideous and I completely disapprove of them. (Unless you're Zooey Deschanel. Because in that case, you can pull off anything. Keep doing your thing, girl!)

Number 2: "Man Caves"

I hate the phrase.
I hate the idea.
I hate them.
First of all, if a guy needs a room just to himself, then it can be his room. Why must it be called a "MAN CAVE?" I absolutely hate it. Second of all, why not design and plan your home to be a place that everyone can enjoy? That way you don't need to send your husband to a dark and dingy "cave" for him to enjoy himself. It's ridiculous.
There are so many times that I can't even sit through an episode of House Hunters because every freaking couple needs an extra room for a "man cave." Ugh, kill me now.

Number 3: Announcing You're Pregnant on Facebook by Showing a Picture of Your Ultrasound Image

Hi. No one wants to see your uterus. Thanks.

P.S. I got my gifted laptop!! I'm back to the blog world :)

ramblings of recenties

2011-08-06T03:07:00.000-04:00

Can I just ramble for a post guys? Oh what's that? I always ramble? Get over it.

First of all, I've had a breakthrough. I say this with extreme caution...but...

I actually liked Philadelphia on Thursday.

GASP! I know, right? Who IS THIS person who has hacked my blog? But really. It was odd. Ryan and I had rented a car and were driving to Ikea and I just was happy. It was so strange. I haven't been just happy in...I don't even know how long. I had this sense of pride and I just wanted to show people where I live. WHAT? Crazy right? And the weird thing is that there was no reason, at that point, for me to be enjoying the city. All the fun stuff of our day was yet to come. My digital camera wasn't charged, so I relyed on my Diana. Which I also forgot to wind after 3 consecutive pictures. Fantastic. The joys of toy cameras. So I guess you all will never see from my eyes what we did.
But lucky for you, I'm pretty handy with the google, and can find some supplementary images to spice up this post.

First we went to Ikea. Ooooo baby. You know what? Ryan and I are almost completely moved in. Haha. Are we pathetic or what? Yes, we moved here on June 15th. But give us a break. We have completely opposite schedules (which would explain why I am updating my blog at 3 o'clock in the morning) and are rarely home at the same time.

This is a map of Ikea Philadelphia. Told you I was good.

This is across the street from Ikea Philadelphia. It's really cool.

Then, I was scandalous and snatched picture of someone's old Toyota with my Dianes. And then I forgot to wind the film forward. Wind the film forward? I don't know if that's the right way to say it.


It was this kind of car. But my picture was gonna be way cooler.

THEN....THEN! We stopped at this old abandoned building that I kind of love. I noticed it last time we went to Ikea. And this time we stopped there cause we had some extra time before the car had to be returned. I took two pictures there, and didn't wind the film after either shot. Terrible. I am still kind of holding out hope that it was cloudy enough out that having 3 exposures in one frame won't totally ruin it. My sister, who actually knows something about photography, told me it'll just be black. But then she said it might still be cool. Toying with my emotions is not a game, Julie!

Then. We came home. And then we left again.
We headed out to Cavanaugh's Riverdeck with some friends for 39 cent wings (HEY-O!) and just a nice night out.

Then we went somewhere else for karoake.

I hate posts like "we did this. then this. then this and this and this."
So glad THAT is over with.

Next on my list of ramblings?
I love our dog. It's kind of ridiculous how much I love him. He just makes my life that much better! He's so funny! Lately, he's been sitting on our window sill all day. (I promise, I'll upload pictures of our apartment at some point, so that you can "visualize" all this). He runs up our chair to get up there. Today he started bringing his toys up there with him. And then tonight, his new game was to bring his ball up there nudge it off with his nose and just watch/listen to it fall. Then do it all over again. And again. And again and again. What a weirdo! How is that entertaining by any means?

I also made Drake a toy. Cause I wanted to and I needed a break from the quilt I'm making for my nephew. (Which is taking me soooo much longer than I ever thought it would. I am almost done though! Wooo hooo! Xavier, you're pretty lucky, cause this is probably gonna be the first and last quilte made by me!) Anyways, so I bought a sweater at a thrift store for $1 and then used some bits and scraps of left over fabric and came up with this...

A little monster! Isn't he cute? I wanted it to look rough and hand-made. I really like it. And so does Drake. I put it on top of the bookshelf after his 5 minutes of play time per day (I would be really mad if he ripped it up in 3 minutes after I stitched it together by hand, so he only gets to play with it in limited quantities.) And then later on, he'll be doing other things and then will randomly think of it, run to the bookshelf and start whinning like mad. He's insane. He really is.
Also. Ryan and I are convinced he has dog-OCD. It's a real thing.
Enough about Drakey-baby.

Next. I want to cut my hair. Again. Like THIS!

GASP! Isn't she the most adorable thing? I neeeeed it. I had a cut kind of like this before, but I feel like now I have the right style and "sense of who I am" to really rock. it. out.
See more pics here.
Do you think I can pull this off?

Um. I think that's all.
Unless you want to hear more about Pete's. Didn't think so.

stick with me.

2011-07-28T01:52:00.000-04:00

Have I ever mentioned that I have the best in-laws ever? No really, I do. I'll fight you on it. And so will my Aunt, cause she thinks they're the best too. They are fantastic and I am seriously so blessed to have them as my "additional" Mom and Dad.
So anyways, I was all prepared to try and bribe my father-in-law to buy me a new laptop. Did you see that whole, "Buy a PC, get an X-box" deal? Yeah, well, you see my father-in-law has been practically bursting at the seams to get Ryan an X-box. [Boys and Call of Duty. Ugh.] So I saw that commercial, and the gears starting turning. We were talking on the phone a couple of days ago, and just as I was about to present my marvelous plan he's throws me this curve ball...
Dad: So, do you want my "old" computer? That one I practically just bought?
Me: YES! (In my squeaky-I'm-too-excited-to-talk voice)
Dad: Oh, and it has the latest and greatest version of photoshop on it.
Me: I love you.

So there you have it. Not only do I have the greatest in-laws ever, but I'm also abouts to have me a new laptop! Wooot woooot!
Stick with me guys. Just another month or two and I'll be back to regular really regular updates. Ones with pictures and stuff. I can't wait.

In other news:
1. I finished my first roll of Diana film. Oooo. I'm so excited to get it developed! Aren't you excited to see the pictures? You better be. Or I'll punch you in the face.

2. I get yelled at at work everyday. You know what I got yelled at for today? Getting a customer red pepper flakes and garlic powder for his pizza. The stuff that he asked for. Specifically. You know what I got yelled at for a couple of days ago? Answering the phone. These people know how to run a business, let me tell you.
Also, I cried today because I realized I won't be able to quit as soon as I thought I would.
Sometimes life really sucks and you just want to kick in the shins and be like, "STUPID LIFE!" But you can't.
Cause life doesn't have shins.

Stupid.

2011-07-20T00:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Comcast,
I love you. I really really love you. If you were a boy errr, my husband, I'd kiss you. A big ol' wet sloppy kiss, cause I'm silly like that. Remember that one time that you kept me waiting over 3 weeks to set up our internet and then finally gave us the news that you don't have the rights to this building? Remember how you knew that all along and just kept us sitting here waiting and waiting aaaannnndd waaaaaaiting? Remember how I don't love you at all and I would never ever kiss you? Even if someone bet me one hundred bucks. I would actually break into you're shiny skyscraper headquarters and vomit on your toilets and spit on your floors. And the maybe steal a tv or two.
Love,
Nancy

So. I'm back. ish.
Yes, we finally have internet.
Yes, my dog did chew the power cord for my computer. So I essentially still live with out internet. I can use Ryan's laptop to check my facebook and email and such, but it takes me a while to put together a blog post and I don't like to be a computer hog.

I have lots of posts in my head. Posts have been piling up for months now. We'll see if I ever get to them, I might just start with the present and never "catch-up" with all the posts I've missed. Except, I'll most definitely be posting the pictures of a new dress I got that is just darling. My friends grandmother complimented me on it and said that she loved my style. Most people would probably be like "Oh no, I better change something." But for me? A grandma complimenting my style? Perfection.

Also.
If you ever come to Philadelphia, do me a favor and don't go to Pete's Famous Pizza. They don't deserve the business. One passerby on the street said what I feel perfectly, but the language was too foul to pass on. Use your imagination. And while you're at it, pray that I will be able to quit. quit. QUIT. soon. More on that later.

my long list of excuses

2011-06-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

Want to hear my list of excuses for why I haven't updated my blog?
Thought so.

Excuse #1: I went to Michigan for 6 days, and it pretty much wreaked havoc on my day-to-day schedule. I have gotten into the vicious cycle of taking naps during the day and then not being tired at night, so then I don't get enough sleep and then I'm tired and need to take another nap the next day. Ugh.

But Michigan...it was great. Besides the whole "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"-let's-take-24-hours-to-get-home debacle. Don't even get me started on that. But I was in my cousin's wedding, had a blast dancing the night away with some of my younger cousins. I got to see family and friends. Travel around the ever-glorious Grand Rapids, which will forever hold my heart. I chopped my hair off. I bought a fantastic new-to-me vintage dress. And I ended the trip with a nice long motorcycle ride with all 4 of my parents :)

And as great as it was, being home was also so terrible. I knew I was homesick, but being home made it that much worse. When I left my best friend, Katie, I was literally sobbing in my car. Thankfully I had to sit in a long line of traffic before actually driving. But still, I'm sure the people next to me didn't know what to think.


Yeah, we're pretty much exact opposites

Excuse #2: Pete's Famous Pizza owns my life.

'Member how I only work around 25 hours a week and get my weekends off? Yeah...not so much anymore. Apparently since I live so close, I'm the go-to girl when the restaurant needs another person. I was called in on every. single. one. of my days off last week. It was terrible. I have accomplished nothing. Except growing a hatred for that dang place.
[Have I not mentioned that I got a job? Probably because I'm ashamed that I'm working at a pizza place. It's funny (read: humiliating)...you go to college, waste SO MUCH money, SO MUCH time just so you can do exactly what you did in high school for minimum wage. Fantastic.]

Excuse #3: See this beautiful stack of fabrics?

Well, I'm working on making those into an adorable quilt [that I might want to keep for myself] for my future niece/nephew (who is now really overdue. But I kind of appreciate the lateness, cause it gives me a little more time to get this quilt done.)

Excuse #4: We're moving!! This really shouldn't be a valid excuse, because you know what? I have done absolutely nothing to prep for this move so far (see excuses 1, 2, and 3 above) except reserve a U-Haul for the day. Go me. Oh, and look for stuff to decorate the place with. Duh.
But I will be packing stuff up starting tonight errSaturday..
And you know what else? Our new place...evenly painted walls. A bathroom that I don't have to wear shoes in. Non-disease ridden carpet. Baseboards that are actually attached to something. BUG-FREAKIN-FREE.
I cannot wait.
And bonus. My one friend here, lives 7 floors above us. Hey girl!

Excuse #5: I've been pretty into my most recent read. Like really into. I actually had to stop reading the other night because I was going to cry. I have never cried while reading. Who does that? Well, besides my mom, who read the ending to "Where the Red Fern Grows" to me when I was in 4th Grade because I was sick of reading. And I then I couldn't even understand her because she was sobbing so much. Uh, thanks but no thanks.

I'm reading the last book in the Hunger Games series, "Mockingjay". Which is pretty much going to be the next teenage girl craze, post Twilight fever. And I'm pretty sure Claire's will be selling "Team Peeta" and "Team Gale" shirts (I still can't decide who I like better. Oh by the way, I'm pathetic.)
But that's okay, I read for entertainment, not for smarts.

So there you have it.
Sorry it's been so long!

when life gets boring...

2011-05-23T22:41:00.000-04:00

...I do things to make it interesting.

Last week, I found myself brushing up on my American history by watching "Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie." I miss my high school history classes. And it was nice to still have a little flicker somewhere in my head every time they showed the name of an atomic bomb test. [Did you know I used to know all of the names of those tests, where they were performed, what was being tested and what the results were? Crazy, right? Now I just have little flickers of that past knowledge.]

And a few nights ago? I straightened Ryan's hair. Because it was really long and well, I was bored.
He was all, "Hi. I'm Ryan. I'm in a band."
No he wasn't. I made that up. But that's what he was like in my head.
Mostly, he just looked like the Beeeeeibs.

And it was funny and made us laugh.

And sometimes I just make up games to play with Drake. Games like, "Blow on His Face Until He Growls and/or Lunges at Me" or "Make His Ears Go Foldy-Forward " or my personal favorite "Run", which consists of us chasing each other around downstairs.
He puts up with a lot.

Other times I lust over things I want, but will probably never buy because I ~~'m cheap~~ know my money can be spent on much more meaningful things.

Dear Mom, Please find me a chair like this garage saling.

So, what do you do when you're bored?

my modcloth wishlist.

2011-05-14T21:36:00.000-04:00

What? You haven't heard of ModCloth? You mean, you aren't as obsessed with vintage clothes as I am? C'mon guys. For those of you that haven't discovered the joy that is ModCloth, it's a fantastic website that sells vintage/retro/vintage-feeling clothes. And it's "run democratically"...so the people who shop there get to vote on potential inventory. Ingenious right?

So since I've learned that sometimes people like to give me stuff when I post it on my blog, I thought, DUH! I should post my wishlist and then maybe one day I'll open my door and I'll have a bunch of new clothes sitting on the stoop. What a wonderful world that would be, right?

So here is my ModCloth wishlist. In no particular order. Enjoy.

1. Bow wrap dress. I love bows. Like really really love bows. And turns out, so does the stylist for Emma Pillsbury. My love for her runs deep.

2. "Brilliant Business Plan in Indigo" Adorable, no? [If someone in this joint would ever hire me] I'd be the best dressed business woman you ever did see!

3. Craving Curry Skirt.

4. Dial Me Up Cardigan. You know what? Everytime I buy a cardigan (which is much more often than you would think, my wardrobe is just about 50% cardigans) I have to say, "Shake your party-cardy!"

5. Life of a Sparrow Dress. That Peter Pan collar...kills me.

6. Yacht to Trot Shorts. Except, these are too pricey for shorts, in my opinion. But still ridiculously cute.

6. Owl ring. Oh, you haven't heard? I've developed a mild obsession for owls. And I'm not really sure why. [Wait til you see my most recent thrifting treasure]

7. Take a Shine To Top.

8. Beach Blanket Bingo Bathing Suit. I've actually been eyeing this beauty for a looong time now. I have the hardest time finding bathing suits and still being modest, but I think this would certainly do the trick! And it's so adorable! I love it!

So yeah. If I had a lot of money, and had to spend it on myself, these are precisely the things I would buy.

And I'd probably go back to Retrospect and buy that record player I saw today. It was pretty fantastic and was dying to be in our home... trust me, I know these things.

victim of the trend.

2011-05-10T22:04:00.000-04:00

I have fallen prey to the hipster trend of using plastic toy cameras.

Look at my new friend! Isn't it a beaut?

This is my Diana F+ camera. I've been wanting one for a while now. One of the blogs that I follow had a post that included a picture she took with her Diana Mini. I saw the picture, and it was like...well...I felt like this:

[(500) Days of Summer, anyone? I know I've mentioned this before, but seriously. That movie rocks. I think it's about time I watch it again. It's been a whole 3 months.]

Anyways, it was at that moment that I knew I wanted a Diana camera. But they're pretty pricey, so I knew it just wasn't in the cards for me. At least not for a while. (You know what? I hate that saying, "It wasn't in the cards." Very odd that my fingers so smoothly typed it out.)

It's been at least 6 months since I started wanting this camera. I have a confession. I would go into Urban Outfitters just to look at the Diana cameras. I think I even went there 3 times in one week. Pathetic? Maybe. In love? Most definitely. Kind of desperate and poor? Of course.

And then one day I came home, and Ryan had surprised me and used some of his birthday money that he had saved and bought me one!
[Boys can be nice sometimes]

Be ready for some future posts featuring my Diana photos :)

heroes.

2011-05-08T23:04:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I know that I am like ridiculously behind on television shows. But we don't have cable. So deal with it.
My newest tv obsession? HEROES.
This show is awesome. Like...whoa. Really awesome. I only discovered it yesterday and I'm already on episode, well, I'm just gonna keep that to myself. [I did clean the oven/stove and made a fantastic dinner, so I have done other things besides watch tv]
Not only is the storyline great, but the show also has some little "bonuses" that make me love it that much more:
1. Mohinder.

Mohinder. Mohinder. Mohinder. I love that name. I could say it over and over and over again. I might need to get a little pet and name him Mohinder.
[While looking for a picture of him, I think I may have seen some pictures that reveal part of the future storyline. Ahhhh! Dang it! It's like when I look ahead on the Netflix and read episode descriptions for future episodes, and then I know what's gonna happen and I wonder why I ever did that in the first place.]

2. Peter Petrelli. Another name I like to say over and over again. Peter Peterelli. Peter Peterelli. See? It's catchy! And not only do I like his name, but hi. It's Milo Ventimigilia (aka Jess from Gilmore Girls. Member? I'm a walking version of imdb.) And I like his hair.

Ahhh! I saw future pictures of Peter Petrelli too. I'm now reconsidering this post.
And also? Looking at that picture, I'm not sure why I like his hair so much. I promise it does look good on the show.

3. Jayma Mays has a short role on the show.
You know Emma Pillsbury? You know how I looooove her? Yeah, that's Jayma Mays.
AND she's a sweet little southerner on Heroes. Emma Pillsbury with an accent? Adorable.

You know what's funny? Her character on "Ugly Betty" was named Charlie AND she plays Charlie in "Heroes." I don't even think she looks like a Charlie. Hello people, it's Emma.

4. THE MUSIC. It's not your typical dramatic tv show music.

This one reminds me of Slumdog Millionaire. Which is only one of my all-time favorite movies. (Just listen to the beginning, not all 7 minutes of it.)

And this one? This one is just nice.

And now I'm abruptly ending this blog post, because so far on every search I've done to find pictures/videos, I've seen things that happen in future episodes and I'm not happy about it.
Moral of the story? Watch Heroes.

pottery

2011-05-04T19:39:00.003-04:00

I've made a friend here in Philly. Her fiance is in the same program as Ryan. She's from Michigan as well. We have little dates every week and talk about how miserable we are and how nice it is to have a friend. It's fantastic. She's fantastic.

On a recent date, she mentioned that her and her beau were going to paint pottery and my jaw dropped. I've been wanting to paint pottery for a while now, but the closest place I could find was in Jersey. And there's no way I'm traveling to "dirty-jersey" to paint some dried clay. No way. But I was wrong, cause they found one on the South-East side of the city. She invited Ryan and I to join, so we made it a double date.

I had been talking all week about how I was going to paint an owl, so I lucked out when I found this little guy:

Ryan painted a hedgehog because it was inexpensive. Haha. What can we say? We're poor newlyweds!

And look how cute they turned out! (Well, pre-kilnage. I just made that word up.)

you capture: pink

2011-04-28T16:15:00.000-04:00

This week's theme was "pink." I walked out the door, and BAM! The alley next to us was covered in beautiful pink blooms and fallen petals. I'm not very pleased with the shots I got, not only are they blurry but in comparison to the beautiful walk down the little alley these pictures are really ho-hum.

At least spring has finally arrived, right? Although that's more like summer over here! We completely skipped spring. It's been 80-something degrees all week!

2011-04-25T22:22:00.002-04:00

P.S. I'm working on "updating" my look, so my background and header will be changing a lot in the next day or so as I get things figured out :)

thrifting treasures

2011-04-25T20:53:00.002-04:00

Hi. Please love this book that I got thrifting this weekend.

Is it not the most fantastic thing ever?
It's full of really awesome illustrations and [not that funny] jokes like:
What goes up to the door, but never comes in? The sidewalk [hahaha!]

My feet are sticking out of the covers and they're cold!
Well, why don't you pull them in?
What! And have those icy things in bed with me? I should say not! [hahaha!]

And my personal favorite...
Timmy: Let's play school!
Jimmy: Okay, let's play I'm absent. [hahaha!]

And this is my favorite page. Because of "Riddle Me This." I say that all the time and am a firm believer that it is one of the best phrases in the English language. [Yes, I realize I just started sentences with "and" AND "because" but who cares. You are not my 4th grade English teacher.]

Notice how none of these are actually riddles

I also got these photos, which make me swoon. I just love that girl in her high-wasited pants and cat-eye glasses, leaning up against that car. Quintessential late 50s. And the couple on the beach? Love. Love, love, love. Don't you just want to be them?

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with these just yet, but I couldn't pass them up. They made me feel happy.

what we did in philly

2011-04-21T18:36:00.000-04:00

This "what we did in philly" post has been long anticipated. Long, as in since before I even started these posts. As in, since before we even MOVED here. I would say that this has been the most anticipated one, but I have one more thing in Philly to do that I think will trump this. We'll see.

When we came here last July looking for apartments, we passed "Philly Cupcake, The Cupcakery Boutique" and I died. But before I died, I knew I had to freaking go there. Surprising it has taken us this long to actually go there, huh?

We stood in there for at least 10 minutes. Mostly because I could not decide what delightful treat to get. But also because I want to live there and had to expand my short visit as much as possible.
My dream life? Making cupcakes and holding African babies. Sounds perfect, right?
Annnnyways, there were so many cupcakes that I wanted...Death by Chocolate (obviously), Twix Dream, Cookies 'N' Cream, etc. They all looked freaking fantastic. I finally decided on Coconut with Key Lime.

Don't worry, it tasted just as good as it looks. Holy cow. This cupcake rocked my face. My mouth is watering just thinking about it's delightfulness.

Ryan is still a 5-year old, so he got a rice krispie treat on a stick covered in sprinkles. A crazy-expensive rice krispie treat on a stick. Sigh.

We will SO be back to Philly Cupcake soon. I don't think my life will be complete with out regular visits now that I've seen the light.

favorite outfit

2011-04-18T22:18:00.000-04:00

This is my new favorite outfit.

I rocked it out a couple of weeks when our weather peaked at 78 freaking degrees. I was actually hot and probably should have ditched the tights. I guess I'm just a skeptic at heart and thought there was no way I could pull off a tee shirt and cotton skirt in the middle of April. But oh hey, I did. And I was sweating like it was my job. (Hey, can I get paid for that? Cause if so...my deodorant is out the window. Okay, too far. I know.)

You know why I love this outfit so much? Cause it mixes together like all my favorite things.
Case-in-point:

Cowboy boots.

Patterned tights.

Easy breezy [high-waisted] skirt

Little bow details

I mean...clearly, what's not to love?

silly things

2011-04-14T20:42:00.000-04:00

silly thing #1
Today I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. They left a voicemail.
"Hi Mom. It's me. I'm not sure what's going on with your voicemail message, because it was not your voice OR your name! So...call me back!"
Hi girl. You're are incredibly stupid.
I'm tempted to call back and leave a message that's like, "Hi Ryan! It's me! It's so weird, because you're voicemail message was not your voice, or your name. It's almost like I called the wrong number and am too dense to realize that after hearing some stranger on the voicemail message. So...call me back!"

silly thing #2
Everyone mistakes me for a mormon. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me if I'm mormon. Not like my entire life, just here in Philly.
I had an old Greek woman tell me numerous facts about Utah. I just pulled the whole "smile-and-nod" maneuver. Then a woman says to me, "She thinks you're from Utah because your Mormon." And then someone saw me drinking coffee and they're like, "Wait. You drink coffee? I thought you were Mormon." And the stories go on and on and on.
Yesterday Ryan had a meeting with his advisor.
You know what she asked him?
"Are you Mormon?"
I guess we just give off that vibe.

silly thing #3
Ryan and I like to make little bets every once in a while. Ha. That's a joke. We make bets all the freakin' time. Mostly because I'm always right and he never believes me. That's where the bets stem from.
Anyways, last week, Ryan bet me in his sleep. It was awesome. Not only because it was extremely funny, but I also got $5 from the deal. Here's how the bet went down...
Ryan: There are dogs everywhere in here. There are so many under the bed.
Nancy: No there aren't. Go back to sleep.
Ryan: YOU WANT TO BET?!
Nancy: Yes. Yes I do.
Ryan: $5. [Checks under the bed] Dang-it! I owe you $5.
Nancy: I know.

silly thing #4
I caught our taco shells on fire tonight. I also learned that I am not very good in emergency situations. Especially when fire is involved.

mini-date

2011-04-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

It was 78 degrees. Or something near that ridiculous.
I was missing spending time with Ryan so I texted him.
"Want to go on a mini hour-and-a-half date with me when you get home from school?"

We took a walk to Borders. Which is going out of business and having a "HUGE Sale." Like bright yellow signs in the windows that say "EVERYTHING MUST GO" and postings around the store that clarify that the fixtures are not for sale. It was supposedly that kind of sale. Except, we were sorely disappointed. The most we would have saved on some books was like 1.70 because they were only 10% off. Big deal, Borders. Your dumb signs were very misleading. And I would wish you to go out of business, but oh, that's already happened.

Then we went to Rita's.

Oooooo, Rita's, I've missed you.
Rita's Water Ice [read: wooder ice, cause people talk real good here] is a staple in Philly.
"Water ice?" you say, "Why, that's molecularly impossible!"
Yes, water ice. I know it makes no sense. Philly is kind of stupid [have I mentioned that before?]
But regardless of the stupidity of the name, water ice is spectacular. It's a slushie type dessert, with the consistency between an ICEE and Italian Ice. And the flavors rock my face off. We normally get one mango and one blueberry and then switch half way through. Yum.

I had good intentions to get a couple of pictures of my water ice, but by the time we got home...my cup looked like this.

So....sorry. Guess you'll just have to come visit and try some for yourselves ;)

old lady

2011-04-05T20:26:00.000-04:00

I'm an old lady at heart.

I wear brooches.

I love doing puzzles.

I enjoy watching Matlock.

And this is what our Friday night looked like.

what we did in philly

2011-04-02T12:09:00.001-04:00

Finding a good fabric store in Philly has proven to be much more difficult than I had expected. I found some stores where I could purchase fabric, but nothing that I really liked. Everything was plain or just really boring. Very few patterns. And then Julie and I found a store that at least carried some patterned fabric and I liked plenty of them. But it still is 2 bus rides away. So when a girl in our small group mentioned a fabric and yarn store (well stores. I know that doesn't make sense, but really it's 2 stores. But it's actually kind of only 1 store.) that was only a mile away from us, I knew I had to check it out.

Turns out...
I love it.
And I'm determined to work there.

Blog readers...meet my dream come true.
Blog readers, this is Spool.

Spool and Loop are separate stores, but they are owned by the same people and it's kind of like a nice little partnership between the two. Which is why I say it's 2 stores. But 1 store. But really 2 stores.
Spool has a fantastic selection of fabrics. Not just any fabrics though. Like really really cool fabrics. And I realize I sound like a 10 year old being like, "COOL!" but there is no other way for me to describe their collection. I just loved everything in that store.

AND PLUS they have sewing classes! You can sign up for a class based on the final product you want to make. So they have a-line skirts or wrap dresses, etc. And I could totally teach some of those classes.
[Keeping my fingers crossed that one day I will.]

Oh, and it's in such a cute area of town. We had fun just walking around.

Look what I found, Julie!

Later that evening, we headed back out on the town to our favorite ice cream shop, Scoop DeVille. It's kind of like a Coldstone Creamery, but I like it way better.

I know I'm really good at taking pictures. You don't have to tell me.

They mix together the ice creams/toppings you want into a soft-serve consistency. Or you can choose from their extensive menu of mixtures they recommend. Which is what we do. Ryan got Snicker Doodle Dough and I got something that I can't remember the name of. But it had chocolate ice cream and caramel and marshmellow goo and everything else that's good. It was fantastic.

And that's what we did in Philly!

things i love right now

2011-03-29T22:26:00.001-04:00

1. My new canvas.
I save the best for first. Because I love this and I can't wait to share it. My sister painted this for me...

Isn't it so cool? Just in case some of you don't see "it"...it's this picture in red and black:

See? Told you it was awesome. I la-la-la-la-love it. So don't ask Julie for one, cause then I'll be mad at you for stealing my cool gift.

2. Pretty new-to-me jewelry.

The colorful gem brooch was a gift from my parents, my mom picked it out when they were at a flea market/antique mall something or other...thanks Mom and Dad!!
[I'm just rakin' in the awesome gifts, I know.]

3. My cowboy (girl?) boots.

I got these as my big Christmas present in 2006. I've always loved them, but I never quite knew how to pull them off. And then one time I had the confidence to wear them and a certain someone's brother made fun of me and I was scared off of wearing them for a while. Well, now I'm really really loving them and want to wear them all the time. With skinny jeans. With tights. With skirts. With everything. I love them.
Also I'm pretty much in love with that picture. It's a little blurry, but still. I love it.

4. My Polaroid Camera

When my Grandpa passed away, everyone in the family made a list of the things we really wanted, in order of priority. This polaroid camera? Number one on my list. That probs [probably, to those who are unfamiliar with my shortening of the word] sounds really bad. Like I was really selfish and didn't care about getting things that had meaning but:

a. You don't know anything.

and b. This camera holds many memories for me.

Moving on...I'm SO HAPPY that I put this camera as number one. I absolutely love it! If only Polaroid film weren't so expensive I could use it much more often. Birthday idea. Wink, wink. [Except it's seriously over $100 for film for this camera, so...it'd cover birthday gifts for the next 15 years or so.]

5.Fantastic new-to-me shoes.

Oh. And Drake's paws, not because I'm particularly loving them right now but because he has to be right next to me as much as physically possible.

6. People who bring their puppies to the dog park.
I'm pretty sure everyone loves them actually.

So first we saw a boston terrier puppy. He was probably a couple of months old. And so cute.
And then we saw a little bull terrier puppy. I know, a lot of people think bull terriers are ugly, but I kind of like them. And as puppies? Duh. They're cute. AND THEN...this past Sunday...there were 2, 8-week old American Bulldog mix puppies. AND THEY WERE PRECIOUS. And I pet one, and it did it's little puppy whine and I died.
Hi. Come home with me.

7. My computer.
Which has crashed on me 4 times today...and counting.
Oh wait. Wrong list.

8. And most importantly...friends who take pictures of "my kids" on the other side of the world while in Uganda.
This week I received photos of David and Patience from some fellow volunteers who were kind enough to get pictures of them for me on their recent trip back to Uganda. I can't share the new pictures with you (because of their child protection rules) but I can share photos of them that I've already put on this blog.

Patience has got an awesome 'fro goin' on now. And apparently David is growing into quite the gentleman. Watch out ladies of Uganda. He'll steal your heart.

NYC with the seester

2011-03-24T00:07:00.000-04:00

Ahhh, it's been a few days since I've even picked up my computer. Let alone, gotten around to updating my blog. And for this post, we're goin' back a few weeks. When my sister was here, we took a day trip to New York.
New York, sigh...how I love thee.
I've only been there twice, but maybe I fall in love quickly, okay?! Leave me alone.

And both times coming home from the Big Apple, Philadelphia just looks disgusting to me. And I'm all, "Ugh. I hate you, Philadelphia."
You see, I see New York like this:

It's all bright and shiny. And fantastic. And full of life.

And this...this is how I see Philadelphia:

Dirty buildings, abandoned buildings, litter and Phillies Fans. And ya'll already know how I feel about SEPTA and their excellent services. And on top of that, people here are straight up mean. City of Brotherly Love? Yeah right.

Anyways, moving on.
Julie and I had a fantastic time in NYC. The weather was pretty lousy, but we crammed in as much as possible and pushed through the mist and cold weather.
Our first stop was Battery Park (to see the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island from a distance) and Ground Zero (which like I said before, is a construction site now)

That little darker-grey thing in the distance? That's the Statue of Liberty. Like I said, we had lovely weather.

Funny story, we took the subway down to this part of the city. As we were swiping our cards the subway pulled up, so naturally I ran to catch it, and well, Julie...Julie didn't. So as the doors are closing I'm on the subway and I see Julie's face in the windows of the doors. And utter panic took over that face. This will sound mean, but it was hysterical. And she was freaking out and I was like mouthing/yelling "Get on the next one!" And then this guy says to Julie, "Uh, you can still get on this car." (the doors were still open there)
I laughed the entire trip. And I was just by myself in that subway car, and I'm sure everyone thought I was crazy.

Next we headed uptown and stopped at Papaya King for lunch and then hit up Central Park. Where we proceeded to get semi-lost and walked in the rain for a really long time. But then we ended up going to "Strawberry Fields" so that was okay. And it's me we're talking about here, of course we got lost! I'm just glad it was me and Julie and not me and Ryan...cause heaven knows we'd still be in that mess.

"Am I in this picture?"

Yes. Yes you are.

Then we went to Greenwich Village. Which is only the cutest little village ever. I want to live there right. now.
We went there to see the building they show in Friends, where Monica/Rachel and Joey/Chandler supposedly live. And we went to see "Waverly Place." Because yes, as a matter of fact, my life has become so horrible that I've stooped to watching "Wizards of Waverly Place" and guess what? I kind of like it. Oh, the humiliation!

"And cue the appppplause!"

AND THEN...we walked all the way to the Empire State building to see our friend Elisabeth. Because she's a doll and we love her. We had a fantastic 18 minutes with her (she's a busy girl, and it was mid-terms week.)

Oh, and when I say we walked to the Empire State Building to see our friend...I totally mean we went INSIDE the Empire State Building. And had Starbucks there. And took the elevators there. And I'm being silly, I know. But it was cool.

And then we walked to Times Square. And went to Forever 21, which was crazy overwhelming. 5 floors of pure chaos, packed to the max with racks and racks of clothes.
And we passed Bryant Park and the Public Library on the way...very pretty.
At this point it was pouring rain. And we were sopping wet and cold. Which is why my descriptions are getting more and more sparse.

Then we ate dinner. And took really awful pictures of ourselves. Which I would rather not share, thanks.
Then we left to catch the bus.
The End.

mock thin mints

2011-03-15T22:01:00.001-04:00

Like everyone and their mom, I love thin mints. But we didn't get girl scout cookies this year. And my craving for thin mints has been getting worse and worse.
So I did something about it.
I whipped up what I affectionately call, "mock thin mints"

They're ridiculously easy, and I'm sure there are better "recipes" out there for a thin mint taste-alike, but I wanted something easy. And something fast. (I don't classify this as a recipe because they're that easy)
Here's what I did:
1. You'll need graham crackers (I wanted the chocolate graham crackers, but the store didn't have those), semi-sweet chocolate chips, PEPPERMINT extract and chocolate frosting. The frosting is optional. But I've learned that if frosting is ever optional, the right option is to use it.

2. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the graham crackers. Lick the knife afterwards. Duh.
I broke our crackers into quarters, you could do it smaller if you want to get more of a thin mint size.

3. Melt a small amount of the chocolate chips. I only had one full graham cracker (so 4 little cookies) to cover. Don't melt too much, or else you'll have a lot left over. And then you'll have to just lick that sucker clean. I know, life is tough sometimes.

3b. Look at this little guy and tell him he's the cutest puppy you ever did see. Because he is. And also because he has low self esteem and needs to be told that every hour or so.
I made that last part up.
He just happens to be by my side 24/7 so he hears it often.

Hahaha, loooove those ears.

4. Add a few drops of peppermint extract. Be sure to use peppermint. Not mint.
[One time Ryan and I made ice cream with mint extract and it tasted like frozen toothpaste. It was nasty. Actually, it's probably still in our freezer.]
If you add too much extract, the chocolate gets all bumpy and un-spreadable. That's what I did. And that's why my cookies look like crap (you'll see)

5. Spread that chocolate all over the graham crackers. Top. Bottom. Sides. Yum.

See. My cookies look terrible. I added too much extract, so my chocolate became really thick and I had a hard time spreading it evenly.

6. Place them in the freezer for a bit.

7. Enjoy. With a cold glass of milk.

inspired by 500 days of summer

2011-03-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

I am in no way a fashion blogger.
I have very little desire to ever be a fashion blogger.
But some of you had so little faith in my vintage clothing, so I want to start showing you how I'm wearing the pieces I buy.

Member that ivory vest I bought at the Sazz Vintage sale a couple of months ago? I included a picture of it in this post. Here's how I've been wearing it lately:

Pay no attention to my unruly hair. Thanks. [I hate long hair]

I was inspired by the karaoke scene from 500 Days of Summer, where Summer wears this:

Obviously Zooey Deschanel is waaaay cuter than me, but whatever. I've accepted it.
The vest and brooch are both vintage, and the scarf (worn as a belt because it's too long to wear in my hair) was thrifted. It has no tags on it, so I'm not sure if it would be classified as vintage or not.

If you still haven't seen 500 Days of Summer, get on that. Now. I'm giving you one month to see it or else... (open ended threats still work, even over the internet, right?)

homemade dresses

2011-03-11T19:52:00.000-05:00

Julie and I made these dresses.
Super easy.
Super cute.
Pretty cheap.

I'm pretty much in love with mine.
And I already have plans to make another.

Oh, you love them too? And you want one for yourself? Okay. I'll make you one for $45.
Gosh, I'm such a savvy business woman, no wonder everyone wants to hire me here.

what we did in philly: sister edition

2011-03-09T20:56:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Nancy and I sometimes neglect my blog.

There. Now that that is out of the way, we can move onto more important things.

My younger sister, Julie, is visiting for the week for her spring break. The week is already half over, but we've had so much fun and done a lot of things.

We went to the Art Museum...

View of the city from the entrance to the museum (the clouds were very low, we couldn't even see the tops of some of the buildings)


I painted a picture in 5th grade, with this Van Gough as my inspiration, which my Grandpa treasured and hung in his kitchen for years. Oh and also, I really liked my outfit.

...and forgot an umbrella. So we arrived back home looking like we had jumped into a pool fully clothed.

Attractive. We know.

We went to Rittenhouse Square and then did some shopping.


Dear Anthropologie, I would very much appreciate it if you would lower your prices by, say, I don't know, 75%. Also, it'd be nice to live in one of your stores. Rent free.

We took the typical tourist pictures at Love Park. And admired the beauty of City Hall (have I mentioned how much I love City Hall?)

I took her to see the Liberty Bell (or as the Chamberlin clan refers to it: Llliiiiiiiibbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrttttttteeeeeee Bbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllll), Independence Hall, Christ Church (where Ben Franklin is buried), Elfreth's Alley, Betsy Ross' house, the first post office, and my favorite vintage stores.

We went to the U.S. Mint to watch coins being made.
And that was a waste of time.
Then we rushed through the Federal Reserve money exhibit to get a free bag of shredded money.
Why? Because it's in our blood to want free and useless things.

We had Philly Cheesesteaks (wid onions) at Jim's.

Annnnnd, that's been our week so far! Typical sights of Philly. Except for my favorite vintage stores, that's a personal touch added by me.

A note to future visitors: my sister was our first visitor, and therefore got the pleasure of having a personal tour with me as her guide. Don't expect to get as good of a tour, because we've seen the city enough times now and it's gets pretty expensive, pretty fast.

dog coat

2011-02-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a green blouse lately. But I've taken several week-long breaks because I get to a point where I know I'm gonna get frustrated and I need to just slow down, take my time, and enjoy making this shirt. So...during this last break I made a coat for Drake. Now before you all start judging me, let me say a couple of things:
1. I will not and do not make our dog wear clothes. He just gets cold, so when it's really cold outside he wears a little jacket and that is all.
2. I refuse to waste money on animals. People who buy like organic dog food, made from 100% filet mignon and fresh vegetables are crazy ridiculous. So this jacket I made...I made it from left over fleece (from a project from 6 years ago...have I ever mentioned I practically save everything?) and a skirt that I bought at Salvation Army on half off day for $2.50.

Please ignore the brown fuzz on our carpet, Drake likes to rip his bed apart and our vacuum doesn't pick it up very well. When you're limited to "vacuuming" your carpet by hand, it happens a lot less often.

I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out.
It's not perfect; there are some obvious flaws. And I would have like to have used a different color velcro, but that's what I had, so whatever. It's good enough for us.

injustice

2011-02-26T18:05:00.000-05:00

We were watching Grey's Anatomy.
The doctor approached the mother and said, "It's time to just hold him. He's going, and you need to hold him."
The mother proceeded to hold her 10 year old son as his life slipped between their fingers.
I cried.
I really really cried.
It wasn't fair.
I didn't just cry because the TV show was sad.
I cried because I know that story is very real to someone. To many.
I know that situations just like that one occur numerous times every day.
No mother should have to hold their dying child.
It's just not fair.

And that moment of crying has had me thinking the past couple of days.
About what's "fair."
(And also, that my heart is much too compassionate to be watching Grey's Anatomy)
About all the injustice in our world.
The people dying from preventable diseases.
The children left for dead.
The people with no access to clean water.
The children in India with no opportunities in life simply because of where they are in the social system; because they are the offspring of a prostitute.
Human trafficking.
Slavery.
Child Labor.
Genocide.
The LRA.
There are so, so many.

It has made me angry.
Just flat. out. angry.

It's like when you hear the statistic, "10 billion would provide clean water to all, worldwide." Which sounds like a lot.
10. billion. dollars.
Then this is added to that statistic: "Americans spend 450 billion every year at Christmas."
And then that 10 billion dollars doesn't seem so big.

And that makes me angry. I mean, can't we all just get together and one year simply give 25% of what we would spend on Christmas and get clean water to everyone? Clean water. To everyone. That's life. That's literally giving life to millions and millions of people. And it's so do-able.

It's so do-able that the fact that it hasn't been done makes me sick.
And so so angry.
This world we live in, it's disgusting.
And it's making me angrier and angrier by the day.

Yes, the problems are too big for one to handle.
But that doesn't mean I can't try.
I hope that when my time here is done, it can be said that I did something to stop injustice in this world.

i whip my hair

2011-02-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

I've listened to Willow Smith's song "Whip My Hair" probably like 736 times today.
Some may say I have a mild obsession.
Some are also stupid. And not my friends.

Things I want to say after you watch that video:
a. My taste in music is kind of funny. Not even 5 posts ago I was raving about "The Civil Wars" and now here I am, loving "Whip My Hair"
b. Does this girl have style or WHAT?
c. Willow Smith is 9 people. She is 9!! Isn't she the cutest little thing? I just want to carry her around in my pocket. Eh, maybe she's a little too big for that. But I at least want her as my neighbor's daughter, and we would hang out all day.
d. My favorite parts are from 2:35ish-2:45ish and 2:51

But really, all I want to say about that video is this:
I. NEED. THIS. HAIRSTYLE.

Granted, I would have to tone it down just a little bit. Because I'm not awesome [read: confident] enough to totally rock it. I would have it a little shorter.
But yes. I most definitely need this hair.

mini deep dish pizzas

2011-02-17T13:23:00.001-05:00

I think I should start asking for money in all my posts.
Cause apparently you all want to give me stuff.
So...lemme send my address along and you guys can send me some moolah. And by some, I mean a lot. Like pay for this month's rent please?
Deal?
Sweet.

(I'm not going to that concert, I really would only go for Ryan's sake. Because he loves concerts. And I don't really. So I'm always on the look out for ones that I would somewhat enjoy so we can go together. And turns out that concert was at a restaurant-type venue. So you have to pay the money to get in, and then you have to sit down and order food? What kind of concert is that? But I am on the look out for their next shows in Philly. I think they come here fairly often.)

Moving on.
I love to cook.
Okay. You caught me. Sometimes I love to cook. Other times, I walk to the corner and pick up a Chicken Parm grinder from Little John's Pizza.
I have two loves when it comes to cooking. Cooking. Not Baking. Because if it was baking...well, I have too many loves to count.

One: Pizza Dough.
Dude. You can do like, anything, with pizza dough. I love it. Plus it's only 99 cents at your local TJ's, so duh I'm gonna use it all the time. Oh and they sell regular, whole wheat and garlic herb. Fantastic.
[Is absolutely loving to eat pizza dough only a Sannes-sister trait? Ryan thinks I'm crazy but I could seriously eat a whole bag of the stuff.]

Two: My Cupcake Pan.
Now you're probably asking yourself, "Hold on a second, I thought baking was out the picture?" It is. I also cook with my cupcake pan. I mean, hello? What ISN'T cuter as a mini? Mini-lasagnas. Mini-meatloafs. [I know that should be loaves, but i don't approve of the word "meatloaves"] Mini-quiches. Mini-cakes. Oh wait. No baking, that's right. Anyways, the possibilities are nearly-limitless.

It was only a matter of time before I mixed my two cooking loves. This week, I made mini-deep dish pizzas. They were pretty good, but I already have ways to improve them for next time.

First I rolled out the dough. [The thinner the better] Then let it reach room temperature.

While the dough was warming I had chopped the "toppings" (mushrooms, onions, roasted red peppers and spinach) and sauteed the onions and spinach. I say "toppings" because they don't really end up on the top, so really they should be like middleings or something.
Then, this took several attempts, I filled each cupcake tin with pizza dough.

Cook for 10ish minutes at whatever temperature I felt like. 350? 375? 425? Eh, doesn't really matter.
(In the future, I will bake the dough a little first and then stuff the cups. I ended up having to hollow out a lot of the dough after baking)

Then I filled each pizza shell with sauce, toppings, cheese and spices.

Bake until the cheese is nice and golden on the edges.

Serve with a side salad, and voila! Delicious little dinner.

always rejoicing

2011-02-16T20:44:00.000-05:00

I've started to read "Desiring God" by John Piper. I'm only 10 pages or so into it, so this is in no way a review of the book. When I was reading last night, a line struck me. A line taken from St. Paul.
Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

Sorrowful. yet. always rejoicing.

I'm pretty certain that we are meant to be broken.
We are meant to have hearts that ache for the same things that ache God's heart.
We are meant to grieve and be sorrowful for those things.
We are meant to shed tears.

But that sorrow? It doesn't steal our joy.
The joy we find in the Lord.
We are to always be rejoicing.
Rejoicing in His never-ending mercy.
His never-ending blessings.
Always. Rejoicing.

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.
It really is that simple.

talent. oh and give me some money please.

2011-02-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

I was blog-creepin' last night. And thankfully I happened upon a blog that introduced me to "The Civil Wars."
Blog, meet one of the most talented musical duos I've ever heard.

The Civil Wars - Forget me not from Green Block on Vimeo.

I know claiming them as one of the most talented musical duos I've ever heard is a bit extreme. But seriously, did you just watch that video? That was just the two of them, with a guitar, strolling down the street and it sounded INCREDIBLE. A lot of people who are famous today for music, only happened upon that fame by chance; they have so little talent. Case in point: Ke$ha. Oh goodness, don't even get me started on the ridiculousness that is K-E-Money sign-Ha (shout out to Jenna for teaching me the best way to say Ke$ha's name)

The Civil Wars have a show in Philly this upcoming week. I was jazzed about it, because I don't typically "do" concerts. I told Ryan I would see Elton John in concert. And Owl City. Possibly Paramore. And that's about it. Last night I added these guys to my limited and oh-so-exclusive list. So I was bummed to find out tickets to the show were $20 per person. Which leads me to the point of this post... (not really, unless you are going to..then yes, this is the point of my post.)
Who wants to gift $40 to Ryan and I to go to the concert? Anyone, anyone? No? Thought so, it's okay. Ryan is gonna be spending the entire day/evening studying anyways.

Speaking of talented, (I like to pretend that I know how to relate this random tidbit of my life into this post, even though it has no business being here) I watched the most brilliant kid in the "nursery" today. He's 2 years old and he was reading, and writing, and spelling and...it was craziness. While all the other kiddos were sticking crayons in play-doh, he was working on his letters because he got bored. He looks up and says, "How do you spell 'clock'? Oh yes, C-L-O-C..." His next learning goal? Chinese.

puppy dog eyes

2011-02-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

Look at what I just captured.

See? I told you so.

SEPTA. stinkin' stinkin' SEPTA.

2011-02-10T22:16:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to push through this "uninspired lull" that I am having. But I'm kind of in a "sick of everyone" type of mood. And this puppy is frustrating me beyond belief, and then he just stares with these adorably pitiful puppy dog eyes and you can't help but fall in love with him all over again.

Annnnyways, a recent experience has left me with the feeling that I need to rant. Just get some stuff off my chest, and out into the internet world.

SEPTA.
Super Expensive and Prone to Traffic Accidents.
Sorriest Excuse for Public Transportation in America.
Not to be confused with septic, however they are very similar.

Okay, okay, SEPTA actually means South Eastern Pennslyvania Transit Authority. It's the way we get around out here in Philly. The trains. The buses. The subway. You know.

Let me just flat out say [in case you didn't it get it from my "other meanings"] that SEPTA sucks. Like really, really, really sucks. The buses and subways/subway stations stank. Like "ohmygosh, I'm going to die because not only have I been holding my breath for 2 minutes now but the smell is still seeping into my mouth and lungs." It is nassstay. I honestly feel like I'm traveling through the city in this


Why yes, this IS the most disgusting bathroom ever.

And then I get home and have to change my clothes almost immediately because they smell so nasty.

Also, SEPTA is practically always late. Like always, always, always. Oh, unless YOU are running 30 seconds late, then they are early. Like that one time Ryan and I left the house 1 MINUTE later than usual for church, and we missed our bus. The bus that we normally have to wait at least 6 minutes for. Sheeeesh.

So, I kinda hated SEPTA from the get-go just because I was spoiled with TheRapid in Grand Rapids. Not only is that the. best. bus. system. ever. with the sweetest drivers you can imagine but BONUS, I got to ride FO FREE! Thank you, Grand Valley State University. And you better believe I took advantage of those free rides. I actually won an iPod my junior year at GVSU for "the most rides saved" utilizing The Rapid. Go me. [P.S. That was like, the best day ever. I still talk about it all too often.] So yes. I was spoiled. Major spoiled.

But I still wanted to give SEPTA a fair shot. And they were doing eh...okaaay UNTIL the Philadelphia Marathon. Even typing that made my blood pressure spike. I'm not going to go into the whole story, but I will say that I checked SEPTA's website to be absolutely, positively 100% sure that the route we needed was still running. On top of that, before getting on the bus we asked the bus driver if he was going to be stopping at the stop we needed. Oh, suprise! Turns out no one knew what was going on and we ended up going in circles on this bus for over 3 hours out in the burbs. It was the pits. Like stinky armpits. Ew. SEPTA.

So onto my most recent grievance.
Last night, I needed to head out to Narbeth for a meeting with small group leaders and hosts. (Oh, Ryan and I are hosting a small group this semester at our apartment.) I look up what bus I need to take to get there, plan to be walking for a while on top of that, still leave myself 15 minutes of extra time AND an extra SEPTA token, just in case. [You never know when you're going to get stranded by SEPTA.] So I head on down to my bus stop, hop on the 44 and I'm on my way.
15 minutes go by.
25 minutes go by.
30 minutes go by.
An older lady comes up to me and says, "You don't mean to tell me I missed my stop!" And I looked at her, and I was like, "Uh. I have no idea where we are." She continues to walk to the front and talks to the bus driver; she finds out she got on the wrong bus. "Aww, poor lady," I think to myself.
45 minutes go by.
I'm about to be late to my meeting.
"Rock Valley will be the last stop. Thank you for riding SEPTA." comes out through the speakers.
The old lady looks at me. "I think I'm on the wrong bus as well," I say to her. She laughs, and laughs and laughs. "You were sitting there so quiet! Here I thought you were just being mean to me, but really we both were so lost!"
The bus driver informs us that there are 3 different "Route 44" routes, we both happened to get on the wrong one.

Did you hear that?
THREE DIFFERENT ROUTES WITH THE SAME STINKING NUMBER.
Who the heck does that?! OF COURSE, you are going to get people on the wrong bus...all the time! Especially when two of those three routes stop at the same stop!
Hey SEPTA, I have an idea! Name all your routes by the exact same number, and see how many confused customers you get. Fun game, right? Yeah, thought so, ya jerks.

So I just rode the bus back home to Center City, and sent yet another email to some of the church members apologizing for my SEPTA misfortunes.

At least I had that old lady on the bus with me, she was a crack up!

And SEPTA? I wish I could dump you. This relationship clearly isn't working. However, you are my only option. And I think you know that. Which is why you keep screwing with me, cause you know I have no where else to turn to. Suckers.

dog

2011-02-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

I don't like to blog when I don't feel inspired to blog. When I don't have words that I want to share. Because then it feels forced. And it comes off as dull. That's no fun. So forgive me about my slightly lacking posts as of late...

We got a dog, as you saw in my latest you capture post.
He's a mutt, so we have no idea what to expect with him. But surprises are fun, right? Right?
His name is Drake. He was already named when we got him, but we thought about changing it. Picking a name that rhymed would be easy, because then he wouldn't have to relearn his name so much...Blake? Eww. Flake? Ha, you have got to be kidding me. Rake? Okay, then I was just getting silly. So then I suggested Duke. It was close enough to Drake that he would be able to 'make the change' fairly easily. But then I remembered Ryan's fondness for calling things dookie, so I knew Duke would quickly be called Dukie and that's a no-go. So then I thought, well, how about Harley? It's not at all like Drake, but I kind of like that name. And Ryan liked it to. So it was decided. Harley it is.

And then we met him. And he was a Drake. The name fits him well. So all that work for nothing. Sigh, my life is so hard.

I've been trying for over a week now to get a good picture of the little guy to introduce him to the blogworld properly. But after several photoshoots, with results like these:

I was quickly losing hope. Luckily for you, I didn't give up [Luckily for Drake as well, because he clearly loooves my photoshoots.] However, I really don't think the pictures that I did manage to get his face in capture him well. He is quite the goofy little guy. Like, I wish I could have gotten a picture of him with his big dopey ears. We love his big ears! He typically has one sticking up and one folded over. Cutest thing ever? Pretty much. He also has some pretty great puppy dog eyes, and boy does he know how to work 'em. But of course, he won't let me capture them, so you'll just have to trust me on that.

He's also such a cuddler. We spend our morning snuggled up on the couch. I would take pictures of that, but duh, I'm a little busy snuggling with a puppy. And that's way better than ticking him off with my camera. Actually, it's way better than most things I can think of to fill my morning with.

We (or I, depending on how much school work Ryan has) take him to the dog park everyday. He is brave enough to run up to the big dogs and get them interested in him, but still too much of a wuss that as soon as a dog notices him he runs back and quivers behind my legs. And then I have these huge dogs running over and crashing into me. Thank you, Drake.

So...that's Drake! Consider yourself introduced to the blogworld, pup!

Also, today at the dog park, I saw a dog climb a tree.
A dog.
Climbed a tree.
It was nuts. And she was supposed to do it, her owner had her trained to. And every so often, she would just run over and climb it, and you look over and see her little face peaking through the branches. I was seriously like, "Uh...is this really happening?"

red

2011-02-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

The You Capture theme of the week was red. I captured plenty of red things, but in the end, I only really liked a few of the pictures. Which is fine, my purpose in participating in You Capture is so that I take my camera out and use it more often.

His and hers red shoes

pretty red recipe box

Red collar for the cutest little puppy, the newest addition to our family

Our apartment has pretty lousy lighting. I get about 15 minutes of sunlight in here everyday, and that's it. I've decided that for my next You Capture, I'm going to be much more proactive with taking my photos outside. That, or I'm really going to learn how to get good pictures on my camera without a flash. I know how to increase the exposure (not sure if that's the right technical term) so that the photo is lighter but it still turns out blurry without a flash. Maybe my assignment for next week will be to do both.

some days

2011-02-02T21:50:00.000-05:00

Before you start:

Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED for those who are in Uganda. Please join me in lifting up Lovelyn and her group, along with their families, during their trip. Also, Dewey and Deb, who were fellow volunteers, who have headed back to work in the Kampala baby home for a few weeks as well. My friend, Anna, has returned from South Africa, but please continue to lift her up as adjusting to being back can be hard.

Also, I recieved permission from Lovelyn to use her pictures in this post.

A few months ago, I was invited to join, Lovelyn (who I was "introduced" to through my friend Anna, who I blogged about here) on a 2-week trip to Uganda. A trip filled with volunteering at various babies homes, feedings, and working with Katie, the "Amazima" girl. Naturally, my heart stopped beating. [duh]

But really, I think I started crying as I read the email. My heart, my sad and aching heart, was beyond thrilled. And then, almost as quickly as my heart started to soar, my hopes were dashed when my brain caught up and was like, "Oh hey. You don't have a couple thousand dollars just laying around, remember?" And I was like, "Shut up, you jerkface. I hate you."
So yes, I had to turn down the opportunity. Which killed me.

The group that I would have been joining is in Uganda right now.
They went to Watoto yesterday, the babies home in Kampala and the villages. The woman who invited me posted a few pictures on her blog of her and the group at the babies home, holding little precious rescued ones. And she posted this picture, which she took out in one of the Watoto villages.

Look at "my" little Alex! She sure has grown, but is still just as cute! (Watoto has enacted some child privacy rules, so names and stories are no longer allowed to be shared, however Alex's story was featured on their website, so I'm allowed to use her name.) My first day at the baby home, I spent most the day holding Alex. She was the first one whose name I learned. I also quickly learned how much she hated eating pumpkin :)

It's soooo good to see pictures like that. Knowing that those beautiful little ones are being raised in a family, loving Jesus and going to school. Seeing the endless possibilities their futures hold, it's wonderful.

But at the same time, pictures like that can bring me crashing down. I see and hear stories all the time of people headed back to Uganda, people who have stayed there for months, and months, and months. Years even. I hear the stories of how fabulously fashioned God's plan is for their lives. I see them loving on those big-eyed brown faced children, and my heart aches.

And I can't help but think, 'Why not me?'

I know God's plan for me is good. I know that my life has tremendous purpose and meaning. I know God sees the desires of our hearts. But sometimes, just sometimes, it really doesn't feel that way. Sometimes, I just wonder why I'm here and not there. I feel like I'm doing nothing here. My presence is of so little value in this stupid city. I can't even get a dang job. No one wants to hire me. Not even Target. Not even Starbucks. STARBUCKS PEOPLE.
I thought I had it figured out, I thought I knew why I was here and not there.
But that plan didn't work out.

So I'm just left here.
Looking at pictures of what could be.

Do you ever just feel....forgotten?
I know God doesn't EVER forget his children, and I know I'm being kind of silly.
But really, sometimes, having faith is really hard. Trusting in a plan that you cannot see is really hard. My high school mentor, who has since turned into a trusted and faithful friend, once described God's plan as a huge mosaic puzzle. You know those ones where you have to slide the little squares all over the place until you get the final picture just right? And a lot of times you have to temporarily put a piece where it doesn't belong, so that the other pieces can find their home. I imagine God in the sky, working on this huge mosaic plan, sliding pieces all over so that eventually, everything will be in the right spot, just the way it's supposed to be. Each one of us represents a small piece in this large mosaic. Sometimes, we have to be swept over to the corner even though we know, we just know, we're meant to be in the middle. And we're like, "HEY! What about ME? I don't want to be over here! I'm a middle piece, remember?!" And God's all, "Oh hey. I run the universe. I know how to do this dang puzzle, and for now that's where I've put you. Trust me." Except He's probably a bit more eloquent than that, He is God for pete's sakes.

And I'm trying really hard to be content where I am. I purposefully read 1 Timothy the other day for my devotions, just so I could read 1 Timothy 6:6 "Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth"

Some days are just harder than others.

that was a bad idea

2011-01-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

We got dumped on last night. Like over a foot of snow dumped on. I think heaven will be like that...knee deep in fresh snow. But no drivers. Especially foreign taxi drivers that spin their tires outside your building for what feels like hours. And then when you finally go out to help them, they yell at you that "they know how to drive!" and then they proceed to hit every. single. parked. car. on the street. Yeah, none of them in heaven, please.

Back to the point...there a few things in life that I like more than snow. Snow, snow, snow! So capturing the theme for this week, "happy," was going to be easy!

PRETTY SNOW!!!!

We took an afternoon stroll down to the Art Museum. When it snows real big here, people go sledding down the steps of the Art Museum. And get this...it's totally legal. Haha. I thought one would get in trouble for doing something like that, but I was informed a few weeks ago that that is far from the case. Let's just say I was blown away that something so scandalous was legal! (And to think I lost at "Never Have I Ever")

So...there were definitely people snowboarding there. And Ryan and I just had to stand back and watch. And then we were both real sad. And then, as we were began our sulky walk back home, the Red Bull truck there started playing MGMT's "Kids." Which, hello, is only the. best. song. to snowboard to. PLUS it is featured in the best snowboarding movie ever made. Ever. ("That's It, That's All." Dude. Duuuude. So good. Do yourself a favor and go watch this. Beautiful right? Told you so. And your welcome.)

So that totally bummed us out. And cast quite the gloomy shadow on the happiness that was fresh snow. Dang you Red Bull truck and your fantastic taste in music for the snowboarders. Dang you people snowboarding on the Art Museum steps [see you next snowfall]

Edward Morra? Bradley Cooper?

2011-01-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

So Ryan and I have been "arguing" about "Edward Morra's Headqurters" which popped up downtown a few weeks ago. There's signs all over advocating Edward Morra "a new vision for New York." (A little bit of misguided foreshadowing: Headquarters in Philadelphia for a guy running for something in New York should have been our first clue)

As I looked at the posters more and more, this Edward Morra guy was starting to look really familiar.
"Hey," I say, "that guy's an actor!" We kept walking down the building of posters, and it was bugging me (oh, and in case you didn't know, I've become a walking version of IMDb in the past few months.) "No, really, what movie is this guy from? How do I know him?"

We continued our walk but it was eating at me, until it hit me, "Oh! He's the guy from 'He's Just Not That Into You'...the cheating, jerky one." Ryan was all, "Yeah, okay, whatever." I came home and looked up that guy's name but was sorely disappointed to find out that it wasn't Edward Morra, but rather Bradley Cooper. Regardless, I looked up some pictures of him to show the disbelieving Ryan.

"See? Don't they look alike?" I say to Ryan. He goes, "Meh, I guess a little bit."

And every time we walked by the "Edward Morra Headquarters" in the past few weeks I had to be like, "Seriously. This guy and Bradley Cooper are like identical twins! I can't believe you don't see it!" And Ryan was adamant on his stance that they only look a little bit alike.

Well, today I googled Edward Morra. It's been really bothering me, and I just HAD to prove that these guys were somehow related. Turns out, there is a new movie being filmed in Philadelphia, where the main character, Eddie Morra, is played by none other than...that's right, you guessed it, Bradley Cooper.

Bahahaha. Ryan and I both feel pretty dumb.

Oh, and also Ryan has agreed to now believe me whenever I say people look alike. Because he NEVER agrees with me when I say that, but this very clearly proved that I know what I'm talking about.

Documentaries

2011-01-24T16:06:00.001-05:00

I sit at home all day. And a lot of times, most of the day is filled with Netflix. Instantly streamed netflix was the. best. idea. ever.
For a while, I was watching a lot of documentaries. And since I am so nice, I made a short list of my top three documentaries. These three documentaries are ones that you must watch. No three movies have ever made me cry more. I truly believe they are films that everyone should see. So get on it.

3. The Cove

This follows Ric Barry (the trainer for Flipper) as he tries to capture footage of the killing of thousands of dolphins, which occurs every year in Taiji, Japan. The movie was really moving. It was sad, but like I said in my post about Greenpeace...they ARE still animals, so even though I was moved, it wasn't enough to get me to send them a $100 check or anything. BUT, it was enough to get me to vow to never go to Sea World or swim with dolphins again.
The thing I liked most about this movie was Ric Barry. I loved that he was DOING SOMETHING. He saw injustice in the world, and he went to work. Way to go, Ric Barry.

2. Born into Brothels
This documentary follows several children who live in the red light district in Calcutta, India. A woman went there initially to photograph the lives of the women, but got sucked in by the adorable and unfortunate children living there. She gave them all cameras, film and photography lessons and let them capture their day-to-day lives.

This film was much harder to watch than "The Cove" because, these are children. People. And they have so little hope to do anything or go anywhere in life. At one point, one of the little girls says, "I keep thinking if I could go someplace and get an education, I wonder what I would become..."
It's truly heartbreaking. And so many people don't even know that there are children living their lives like this all over the world.

Yet at the same time, it is inspiring. Because the woman who helped them wasn't in anyway "qualified" to do so. Like she said in the trailer, "I'm not a social worker, I'm not a teacher..." and yet she was able to give those children exactly what they needed. Hope for a better future. Love.The impossible mission to help these children was made possible. God can use us in so many ways, all we need to do is to be willing.

And the number 1 documentary that you must watch....
1. War Dance
This film really hits home with me because it follows refugee camp children from the war-torn Northern Uganda. They are attempting to not only make it to, but to win the National Music Competition. Just like the others, it is hard to watch at points. But like one little boy says, "...if we don't tell you [our stories], you won't know."

It is the perfect example of taking something horrific and turning it into beauty. Of not losing heart. I love this movie. I have already seen it 3 times, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again soon. It is heart-wrenching, yet so so beautiful.
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
And you must watch it.

you capture: circles

2011-01-22T21:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't been doing You Capture lately. I'm not sure why. I guess I just wasn't inspired by the themes or my surroundings. This week's You Capture theme was "circles" and I knew I just had to participate this week. How fun is that? I thoroughly enjoyed capturing this week :)

#1 Coins in the coin jar

#2 A new fruit to try...a pomelo

#3 The pomelo after being peeled and de-pulped, which was quite the task!

#4 A few of my Grandpa's piano rolls

#5 Pretty new thread

#6 Ryan's birthday treat: chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with homemade vanilla ice cream [Why yes, as a matter of fact, I DO eat my weight in sugar every week.]

#7 Eyelets on Ryan's new shoes

things that make [slash would make] me happy

2011-01-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

1.Sewing projects
I've just finished my 3rd sewing project! A silvery tunic. I absolutely love how it turned out!

Isn't that bow just the cutest? I love it.

My 1st project was a neuro kit roll-up for Ryan. Not to toot my own horn, but it turned out great as well.

My 2nd project was an apron. But I had to put it on hold because In order to finish it, I have to get a few inches of elastic for the tops of the pockets. So, it's just sitting on top of my fabric box for now.

2. My boots

These are my favorite shoes. And to think I almost passed up those purple boots because I didn't want to spend any money (Thanks again, Mom!)

3. Recent vintage purchases
One of my favorite vintage stores in the city had an "exclusive, invitation only" sale last week. I only phrase it that way because that's what the sign on the door said. And maybe because it makes me sound a lot more important than I actually am. I was simply on their email list. But still, the sale rocked my face off because everything in the store was only $5!! The dresses in that store normally start at $40 and can get up to over $100. So...I was super excited.

I got an ivory corduroy men's suit vest (for me, not Ryan), a brick red/orange sweater vest, a plaid red/grey high waist skirt (all from 1970's), a few skinny ties for Ryan (1960's) and a blue/purple paisley dress which screams 1980's. I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna wear that one yet. Cause I have to be sure I'm not channeling something like this:

Yikes.

4. This area of our apartment

I love our living room here. I especially love our fireplace area. I love those tin canister/jugs that my mom loaned to me for a while, our hand carved wood figurine made by my sister's boyfriend as a wedding gift, our silvery "S", my grandpa's frame sheet music, pictures of our siblings, the awesome original artwork we received as a wedding gift from some friends...I just love how it all comes together. And how it looks with our furniture and re-done thrifted coffee table. Our living room is just awesome, what can I say.

5. TJ's Lava Cakes

No, I didn't take this picture. But only because the one I did take is already on my external hard-drive (hardrive? harddrive? hard drive?).

Anyways, chocolate lava cakes are only the. best. dessert. ever. Fight me on it, I don't care. They will always come out on top. And $2.79 for two little pieces of heaven? Sounds good to me!

6. These shoes

Kegerries by Aldo.
Hi. I'm in love with them.
When I saw these in the window of Aldo, I froze. Then drooled. And decided that I needed them. But the "need them" where you just want them really, really, really bad and will wait until they go on super sale and hope they have your size. And then when they don't, you cry, but still live. That kind of "need them."
So...if anyone wants to get a jump start on a birthday present...here ya go. I'll take them in dark brown or cognac, size 6, please. Thank you!

7. This dog.

Isn't he just the cutest? I want him. To hug him and squeeze him and call him my squishy. And pet him and teach him tricks and take him for walks and to keep me company.
Feel free to buy him for me, as well as those Kegerries, and make me the happiest girl in the world [maybe, how do you even begin to verify a statement like that?]

8. This Man.
Because he is living exactly how I think Christ wants us to live and love. Incredible. Incredible. Incredible. I love it.

"Everybody has got 5.5 liters of blood. I am just a human being. For me, everybody is the same. There are thousands and thousands, lots of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It is to give."

I. love. it.

celebrity boyfriend

2011-01-17T20:27:00.002-05:00

Everyone, meet my boyfriend.
Boyfriend, meet everyone.

Chris Brown and I have an on-again-off-again type of relationship (besides the fact that it is always "off-again" because it's Chris Brown and he has no idea I exist...) I mean, I've loved the dude for like, ever, but sometimes I forget that I love him. And then I see something like this:

And I'm all, "Oh hiiiii boyfriend! I missed you!"

Did you just watch that video?
Did you see him dancing?
Are you dead?
I thought so. Cause there is no way you just watched that video and DIDN'T DIE from those dance moves.
Ooooo, Chris Brown, you and your marvelous moves.

And I know, I know, he was abusive with Rhianna. And I should probably be "anti-Chris Brown cause he's a jerk" just like I'm "anti-Kanye West cause he's the biggest jerk ever and I hate him" but seriously...I can't get over those dance moves. So I'll just have to sweep that whole "sent his girlfriend to the hospital thing" under the rug.

Ryan, it will probably be to your benefit to learn how to dance like that. And by that, we all know I mean I want to brag to my friends about my husband's awesome dance moves, so...get on that. Also, I may or may not return your birthday presents in exchange for dance lessons. I know, best wife ever. You don't need to tell me.

cookies and cream cupcakes

2011-01-13T16:14:00.000-05:00

I had a hankering to bake last night. [More so than usual, because seriously, when do I not want to bake?]
All we had in the cupboards were cake mixes and that was too boring for me. I wanted something with a little more pizazz.

So here's how I jazzed things up a bit...

I started out with a box of devil's food cake mix (the small size that you can get for a buck at K-mart, heck yes!), mixed it as usual but added in some sour cream for extra moisture.

After greasing the cupcake/muffin pan, I dipped one side of 6 Oreos into the batter and placed them on the bottom of each cupcake tin.

Then I poured the batter into the cups, like usual when baking cupcakes. And put some crushed Oreos in the mix.

Baked for 20 minutes.

Let them completely cool.

Then I frosted them.

Sprinkled with some Oreo crumbs and voila!

Then I ate them.
And I liked it.

girls night

2011-01-12T21:33:00.002-05:00

For all of you who have told me that I need to make friends, this post is for you. Now you can leave me alone. And don't be all, "I told you so. You needed friends." Because I still stand strong on my statement that I. don't. want. friends. here.

Moving on.
A couple of Ryan's classmates hosted a girls night on Saturday. They included me, a fiance of and a girlfriend of guys who are in the program (so nice of them!) We had a wine and cheese night. We talked and talked, for hours! Girls will be girls, right?

We also played this game called "Never have I ever" or "10 fingers" or something. I had never played before. Everyone starts out with 10 fingers up, and you go around the circle and each person says something that they have never done. If anyone in the circle HAS done that thing they said, they must put a finger down. The point of the game, besides getting to know people better than you would in a regular conversation, is to be the last one with fingers still up. Obviously, this game does a great job at showcasing who the "badder" ones and the innocent ones of the group are. I knew that me and a girl named Ashley would be the last ones in the game, because we are both so innocent and naive. I just knew it.

Oh, but guess what?
I lost.

I lost the game.
I was the first one out. The ultimate loser.
I couldn't believe it! I kept being like, "No guys, really, I don't understand how I lost this game! I'm so innocent!"

But I'm pretty sure everyone was out to get me. You see, normally people say "naughty" things, sinful things, that they haven't done. Like "Never have I ever done drugs." Apparently, our game wasn't a normal game though. I lost to things like, having a piercing other than my ears, broken a bone, getting a speeding ticket and...get this...being married.
See? Told you they had it out for me.

why i will never ever give anything to greenpeace

2011-01-10T21:07:00.001-05:00

People make me angry sometimes. Most of the time, it's when I'm watching Prison Break and yet another scum bag has taken advantage of Michael/Sarah/Lincoln/Sucre. And then I'm real angry.

But seriously, sometimes in the real world, people make me angry.

A while ago, when I was out on the town, I was approached by a man who was working for Greenpeace.
He yells out as he sees me walking towards him, "Now there's someone who loves orangutans!" I'm laughed. Obviously. I mean, that's a ridiculous thing to yell at someone. Not only that, but I couldn't care less about orangutans. Plus, they're pretty ugly.
Here's how the rest of our conversation went:

Greenpeace (GP) man: Do you have a minute to talk?

Me: If you're going to ask me for money, no.

GP man (clearly ignoring what I had said): Did you know that hundreds of orangutans are being killed every minute? [He went on to explain how fast food restaurants are cutting down forests for their own benefit, and in turn is killing a lot of orangutans, or something]

Me: Okay. That's sad.

GP man: You can do something about this! For only $35 a month, a donation made through Greenpeace, you can help save these orangutuans!

Me: Yeah, well, my husband and I sponsor a child for that much a month, and that's as much stretching as we can afford in our tight budget.

GP man: A child?

Me: Yeah.

GP man: What about the orangutans? A child is not orangutans. A child is not the environment.

Me: Exactly.

At that point I just walked away. Because that was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
This man was seriously placing the value of an orangutan's life over "my" little Phoebe's! Or any child for that matter!

Stuff like that just irks me. Like those stupid save the puppies Sarah McLachlan commericals. Yes, I understand that lots of animals are abused everyday. Yes, that is sad. Yes, that is unnecessary and cruel. But NO, that is NOT more important than the tiny child who was abandoned and left for dead. That is not more important than the village that has no access to clean water. That is not more important than the family who hasn't eaten a real meal in weeks.
Don't people who donate their money to all this environment and save the animals crap realize how much more there money could be doing? How many lives they could be changing? I just want to shake people up sometimes and be like, "HELLO! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS WORLD?!"

Especially those stupid Greenpeace people.

what we did in philly

2011-01-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

We started this weekend off by going out with some of Ryan's classmates to Alma de Cuba. They go out to a different place every weekend to try out various happy hour specials. Typically the same people pick the places to go, and they are generally pretty pricey, so we rarely go with them. We're looking forward to the day when "happy hour" actually means $2 beers and cheap nachos. But whatever. Back to Alma de Cuba...

I got sangria, and it was not very good. It had like bricks of cinnamon in it. No joke. I finished the drink and there was like rocks of cinnamon in the bottom of it. Sicknasty. Ryan had a "classico" mojito, and he said it was alright. We split the sliders appetizer, which was still overpriced during happy hour. AND they didn't come with fries or chips or a pickle or ANYTHING. What kind of business is this place running? I mean seriously.


Don't be fooled, they look much better than they actually were

We went out for lunch on Sunday at Darlings Cafe. Darlings is just around the corner from our apartment and we've been meaning to try it for some time now. They have won so many awards, so we thought we were in for a gooooood meal.

Oh but, suprise! It was nasty. And CRAZY overpriced. Member that one time we paid $20 for ONE waffle, a kid-sized chicken wrap and a small hot chocolate? Oh yeah. Thanks for that, Darlings.

Ryan had the Herb Roasted Chicken Wrap. Like I said, it was way too small and not very good. Oh and also, Ryan is really good at making pictures awkward, in case you couldn't tell.

I had the Wake-up Call Waffle, minus the cinnamon whipped cream and chocolate drizzle and undercooked, like mostly all mushy batter. Not because I ordered it that way, but because that's how Darlings served it. Excuse me while I barf. Yep, it was that good. I also got a "real" hot chocolate. Apparently "real" hot chocolate must be lousily steamed milk and Hershey's syrup (yes, milk can be steamed lousily. Yes, I am a snob.)
[I wasn't even going to upload this picture, because I look so sick and lop-sidey, but I thought it was an accurate picture of how good Darlings was.]

So, in summary, what we did in Philly was much less exciting and much more expensive than expected.

cookies

2011-01-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today was a lousy day.
Like a bring ya way down type of day.
A no-good, stinky, rotten, stupid stupid day.

Remember when I was talking about my "new direction"? Well, today was a major step in my new direction. Or well, it was supposed to be. Prior to today, things seemed to be falling into place pretty well. I was feeling confident[ish] and excited[ish]. But I came home today completely shattered and crying. I'm not sure what God is doing with me, but it. is. not. fun.

[I have a post all ready to go explaining this new direction.Which I was going to post today, but after it all came crashing down, I'll just publish it whenever I feel good and ready.]

So I came home and made cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies make everything better.

And it just so happens that I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I know, I know, everyone and their mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever. But everyone and their mom are liars. Cause I really do make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Maaaaybe if you're lucky I'll share my recipe one day. Don't count on it though.

Remember when I had, "Less dessert" on my New Year's Resolution list? Yeah, that was funny.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-03T22:13:00.000-05:00

I had an idea one day for a twist on New Year's resolutions. Ryan and I would make a list for each other. Those lists wouldn't be "required" to be followed in the new year, but we could use that list to inspire things on our own list of resolutions. So I made a list of 10 things that I thought Ryan could improve on (but actually it turned into 11, haha) and he made a list of 10 for me.
My list for Ryan included things like: eat breakfast, leave my stuff alone (he has a nasty habit of tucking my stuff away into obscure places and then I can never find what I'm looking for!), clean out the stuff you don't wear from your closet, give me genuine compliments...

Ryan's list for me included: make a friend (haha, Philly's been good to me), make more choices, ask him for help more, have craft time...

The list I made for myself was as follows:
[I'm putting this on here because I know that by having it "out there" in the world, I'll hold myself more accountable]
1. Be a better wife
-Be patient, encouraging and supportive
- Ask for help, make a chore list
- Make some of the decisions
2. Don't be in sweats all day (my fumpiness was getting to me, as you read a few posts ago)
3. Be more social (I halfheartedly put this on my list, because I'm still not really wanting to have friends out here)
4. Make an effort to be happy
5. Do laundry once a week and put it away right away
6. Keep the house clean
7. Have a more regular schedule for devotions
8. Have "craft time"
9. Less dessert (This was really halfheartedly added to my list. And let's be serious, it might only last a week. And by that, I mean I had Oreos last night.)
10. Have a better sleep schedule

We thoroughly enjoyed doing this. I think it was a great exercise for our marriage, cause a lot of times we're afraid to really voice how we're feeling or what we think the other person should do. Or we voice it, but it doesn't really do much to encourage one another. This way was more constructive, positive and actually a lot of fun. We've stuck our lists to the 'fridge', so we look at them numerous times during the day. It's a nice reminder to consciously try to grow ourselves. We're both so excited to see what this new year will hold for us!

NYE in NYC

2011-01-02T22:52:00.000-05:00

Yep, we went to New York City for New Year's Eve (and New Year's.)
Sorry for all the people who were misled and were watching for us on TV, because although we were in the city for New Year's Eve, we were not in Times Square.

Let me start off by saying that NYC totally trumps Philadelphia. Like, compared to NYC, Philly is your smelly little cousin that wets the bed. So, in this analogy, New York City would be Kevin in "Home Alone" and Philadelphia would be Fuller, Kevin's dorky little cousin who drinks too much Pepsi the evening Kevin has to share a bed with him. Yeah, Fuller is cute and stuff. But Kevin is a sweet little kid who can build awesome traps and says stuff like, "Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!"

New York City was cleaner than Philly. It's safer than Philly. It's way better than Philly...I mean, what's not to love? Except for maybe that big rat that ran in front of us while we were walking downtown (and by big, I seriously mean like 10 inches or longer. Thankfully I thought it was a piece of trash blowing in the wind until everyone informed me otherwise.)

Not to say that Philly isn't a great city to visit (please come see us!) but it is definitely not a great place to live. And although we both know that we don't love it here, we will continue to make that best of it and we do have fun here!

Annnnnyways, here's what our little trip looked like:

Our bus got to the city a few hours before my friend was returning from her visit home, so we had some time to kill just by ourselves. We had no plans, just roamed around. We first stopped at a Starbucks to see what was close to us and got a few ideas of what we might want to see that wouldn't be too far of a walk.
We headed to Times Square first. Which was shockingly clean! I was so impressed! (Apparently it's a lot dirtier and smellier in the summer.)
We saw where the ball was going to drop from, but didn't see the actual ball. Which is weird, because apparently it's up there year round. Maybe we're just not as bright as we seem. But if you look closely at the last picture, with just Ryan in it, you can see at the very tippy top the pole it's supposedly on and the "2011" sign at the bottom of the pole.

Then we went to the Hershey's "Factory" aka tourist store (and by "went to" I mean that I took this picture and then we decided it was too busy in there to actually waste our time walking around in it)

Across the street from the Hershey's store was THE M&M'S STORE! Which DUH, I had to go to and look at all the green M&M stuff, and get a picture by the green statue. I really like the M&M's store, and I basically want to work there. But only when I feel like it. I couldn't have a set schedule with them or anything, cause that's NOT fun.

Next we headed over to "Mood Designer Fabrics." And hello, if you don't recognize this, we can't be friends. (Except, I'm pretty sure that by saying that, I'm offending all 5 of my readers.) Mood fabrics is only THE BEST fabric store EVER! It's where they shop for fabrics on the TV show, Project Runway. And everytime they go there, I'm like, "Sigh...I want to LIVE at Mood."
It was closed :(
I was pretty much broken-hearted, but still grateful that Ryan was willing to find it with me (we may or may not have walked past it like 3 times before realizing where it was. That scaffolding sure was tricky!)
"Thanks, Mood!"

Then we went to Papaya's for lunch. And if you don't know what THAT is, don't worry, we can still be friends. It just means that you are one of the very few people in America who have never watched Seinfeld. Or remembers the episode where Kramer leaves the movie line because he is practically dying from his craving for a Papaya King hotdog. And even though we can still be friends, I'll probably look down on you.

Confession: We actually ate at Gray's Papaya, which I thought was the same as Papaya King, just in a different area. But apparently Gray's is one of Papaya King's competitors. So next time, we'll have to eat at the REAL Papaya's.

Then, my friend, Elisabeth, was back in town! So we went to her place for the evening. We just hung out, went shopping for wine for the evening and made some pizza! We left her place around 10:00pm, and went to a small bar down the road from her apartment.

Side note: Elisabeth's apartment is only 6 blocks away from Times Square! And her classes are in THE FREAKING EMPIRE STATE BUILDING! She's pretty much the coolest person I know.

That's us at the bar we went to. The bartender took a really blurry picture of us, but it was the only picture I got of all four of us (me, Ryan, David (Liz's boyfriend) and Liz) so I had to include it! Oh, and bonus! The bar gave us all a free glass of champagne at midnight! It wasn't the tastiests of champagne, but hey, it was free! And when you are basically broke, free is like the best thing ever! Okay, okay, free is like the best thing ever even when you aren't broke.

The next day, Liz and David took us out for a little tour of the town! We had lunch at John's pizza because we really wanted some legit New York style pizza. Mmmm, it was tasty. However, and this may be blasphemous considering I grew up in the Midwest and I now live on the East side, but I don't really like New York OR Chicago style pizza. Call me crazy but I kind of just love a pizza that's right in between the two.
But regardless, John's was good!

Of course we had to take a picture by "Smith's Bar"

The rest of the day was spent essentially wizzing by all the touristy spots. They took us downtown and we walked in Battery Park, where you can see the Statue of Liberty at a distance. We also went to Ground Zero. You can no longer walk right up to it because they are building the National 9/11 Memorial there, and it was very strange walking by it. I thought it would be a lot more...I dunno...respectful in a way. People were just walking by it like nothing ever happened, it seemed not right to me. But apparently, it used to be more of a memorial until they started building. Now it just looks like a construction site and it doesn't really stir up emotions, although it should. Hmmm.

After that, we just walked around downtown because that's Liz's favorite part of the city.
Oh, and we drove by Rockefeller Square...Circle...Center? Not sure, haha. I wanted to see the big tree, and that did not disappoint. Even though we just drove by it and it was like this,
"Okay, you'll see it right in between these buildings up here..."
"There it is! Oh wow, that was pretty!"
I wish I could have that tree in my front yard every year. It was beautiful.

And that was our NYC trip! We are already planning another visit sometime this summer! I can't wait!

what we did in philly

2010-12-30T18:46:00.001-05:00

I decided I'm going to start a re-occuring post called, "What We Did in Philly"
Because that's fun. And I want to.
And it's my blog, and not yours.
So there.

I guess Ryan was feeling bad that we spent so much time sleeping and watching movies over the past couple of weeks because well, that's my everyday life (it's a harsh life, I know.) But I kind of think he was more bored than feeling bad, which was why he was itching to get out so badly.

So, we decided to head out in the city and venture over to Doggie Style, a little dog supply store about a mile away. We found a little dog on petfinder that we wanted to meet, and she was being "sheltered" at that store. But just our luck, we got there and our little pup had been adopted just a few hours earlier. I don't know what it is with us finding the perfect dogs and always being just a little too late, but it's getting pretty annoying.

After that, we went out for lunch. Mainly because we're too cheap to go out for dinner...lunch is cheaper AND you can split a meal! We thought the best way to find somewhere to eat would just be to wander around until something looked good.
Ummm. Best. Idea. Ever.
Because if we had planned out where we were going to eat, we inevitably would have ended up here:

Don't get me wrong. I love me a greasy greasy burger, but I would like to discover more in this city than Five Guys, thank you.

Walking around lead us to this little treasure

Jake's Sandwich Board.
Sooo freaking good. Ridiculously good.
Like, "I want to marry you" good. Except, not really. Because I'm already married. And also, I don't think you can legally marry a sandwich. But, did you hear about that guy in Australia who married his DOG? He legally married his dog.
Back to the point.
So, we get "The Classic." Which is odd that it's the classic, because this place seems to special in their BBQ pulled pork, and this was a meatball sub. But whatever. The description of this sub was, "Homemade meatballs, roasted garlic spread, marinara, topped with mozzerella cheese, onions and baby spinach" Sounds good right? Well surprise! It was freaking way better than it sounded!
(We also got fries and a birch beer, which essentially is root beer but just so much better, because Jake's knows how it's done)

So, clearly we looooved Jake's. And will probably go back there all the time. It was inexpensive, a perfect size to split and SO DANG GOOD.

After filling our bellies, we walked over to Retrospect, about another mile away. Retrospect is probably my favorite place in the city [at least so far]. It's a vintage clothing/home decor/accessories store. I love it! We've only been there twice, and really haven't bought that much from them, but I just find it spectacular! I love to browse through everything. I could spend hours in there. Sigh...
But yesterday's trip was a bust. At least for me. I tried on a bunch of stuff, but none of it was for me. I did like one dress, but I would have to change the sleeves and I didn't feel like adding more to my long list of projects to do on my new sewing machine just yet. We did get Ryan a tie. And I regretfully decided against buying this green flower brooch I liked. I wanted to get a picture of me there, trying on some clothes but it was super busy and there were like 12 angry girls waiting for me to get out of the fitting room. Yikes. So I decided against it.

I did get this lovely picture of me by one of the huge game pieces by the municipal building, across the street from City Hall.

Isn't City Hall just the prettiest? I love it. We learned on our tour that it took over 30 years to complete! It's the second largest masonry building in the world, meaning it's made entirely out of bricks/concrete/marble, etc. No nails or wood.

And then we came home.
And skyped with the fam for Brooklyn's 7th Birthday! Happy Birthday Brooklyn! I can't believe she is already 7!! My goodness!!

And that was our day in Philly!