Wednesday, June 29, 2011

BLOGVERSARY

My little blog turns 1 today, and I want the world to know! Wow! It's crazy to think that I have been doing this for a year!

It took me awhile to figure out what kind of blog I wanted to be, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. This year, you have been along for the ride as I:

July- Spent time in Florida with Andrew's family & went to my family reunion



August - Moved into a new apartment & got a tattoo


September - Got engaged!


October - Watched Andrew's facial hair get out of control


November - Made a list of what I was thankful for
December - Went to my first hockey game
January - Decided on a honeymoon destination

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February - Turned 25! & watched Tim on American Idol

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March - Found out the kitties have serious health issues & worked through marriage prep issues


April - Addressed my quarter-life crisis & watched Andrew learn to juggle
May - Ran my first 5k & visited Vegas with my family



I'm so glad that I have this blog as a keepsake, a journal, and an outlet for whatever is going on in my life. And I so blessed to have supportive friends, family, and readers!

THANK YOU!

Friday, June 24, 2011

BOOTS

It's no secret that I have been wanting a pair of cowboy boots foreeeever. That's why I was so excited to find out that my friend, Emily, wanted us to be wearing boots for her wedding. Ok! You don't have to tell me twice. That same day, I placed an order on etsy for a pair of genuine cowgirl boots. And yesterday, they came in the mail!



I have already broken them in by taking them out for drinks and they are perfect! I couldn't be more thrilled! Now if only I had a flannel shirt.... and maybe a horse.

BOOK REVIEW: MARY HIGGINS CLARK & TINA FEY

Two Little Girls in Blue - Ever since I was in Jr. High, I loved reading Mary Higgins Clark. They are such easy reads and the plots have always been up to par. This is the exception. I am convinced that she was on a deadline and took the easy way out. And here are the reasons why:



- The kidnapped twins were conjoined by the finger at birth and therefore have a special connection so that they can "twin talk" and feel each other's pain even while miles apart. Right...

-There were two other couples in the story that also had tragic stories of losing twins making them suspects. Give me a break!

- One of the kidnappers just happened to be the personal driver of the mayor who volunteered to be the go-between for the family of the twins and the kidnappers. How convenient...

The pieces fit so perfectly together. Barf. This isn't a mystery! How about you just open your eyes! Or maybe just ask your daughter where her twin is (they have "twin talk", remember?) What a disappointment.

Last night, I started reading Tina Fey's new book Bossypants! After being on the waiting list at the library for ages, it is finally my turn. On the way home from picking it up from the library, I couldn't stop laughing at the "reviews" on the back cover.



Now I am 40 pages in, and I'm still not thrilled. WHAT? I know... I'm disappointed too. I refuse to give up though. I didn't give up on M.H.C. and I won't give up on T.F. either. Don't let me down! Full report soon.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

SCARY SKIES

Check out the view from my porch last night.



Please keep the people affected by the severe weather and flooding in your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, June 20, 2011

BRIDAL SHOWER & CAKE TOPPERS

The invitations for my bridal shower are out! Finally, we can cross that off the list. I know what you are thinking... why is she sending out invitations for her own bridal shower? Well, becasue I can, I volunteered to assist my wonderful shower planners with design and dispersing the invitations. They are doing enough already! I couldn't be more thankful that they are throwing this shower for me, and that I am able to invite so many of the people that I work with everyday. It was the least I could do...


I wanted to go with bright and colorful for the bridal shower, (I even requested jello cake and punch and then we all had a good laugh about how small town that seems) and I think the invitations reflect that theme! Sidenote: Sometimes when I make this kind of stuff, I think to myself, maybe I could make some money doing this for other people?

What other crafty things have I been up to? Check out the start of my cake toppers!

Please ignore the the splatter on Andrew.

I thought for sure I would screw this up and have to call in back-ups (aka an etsy.com purchase), but they are off to a good start!I can't wait until I can add all of the little details. Now I just have to wait for this coat to dry...

I have also spent some time working on the bm gifts. I would love to show some pictures and tell you about the trials (and fails) of this venture, but that will have to wait until after they actually get them! Here is a little sneak though :)

This may be part of a fail.

Now, here is a list of things that I can't find inspiration for/make a decision on:
- Table numbers
- Seating chart display
- Ceremony programs (can I just not do these?)

This week, I plan on doing more work (aka surf the internet for ideas until my head hurts) on the ceremony programs and table numbers. I want to stick with the doily theme that we created on the place cards. What? You haven't seen them yet? Check out Andrew's handy work. Yes, I said Andrew's handy work. He stamped all of these! By himself. Score!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

SUMMER BUCKET LIST

Andrew and I have a bucket list for the year, but I don't think it would hurt to do one for the summer too! There is nothing wrong with wanteing to have fun and I just love making lists.



1. Go to a drive-in theatre - Doesn't this sound like the perfect summer activity?!?! There is one that isn't far from Andrew's parents house, but maybe I can find one a little closer to Omaha.



2. Yoga Rocks the Park - Doing yoga outside with a bunch of strangers? Sign me up! If you haven't heard anything about it, check out the website. Omaha just went up on the cool-o-meter.



3. Taco Ride - This was on my bucket list last year and it fell through the cracks. Maybe Andrew will get the bike that is on our wedding registry and we can finally make this little dream come true.

Only three things? Yup, only three things. The calendar is already packed with weddings, parties, and other fun events so we don't want to over do it!

What is on your summer bucket list?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

WEEKEND RECAP: JUNE 3-6, 2011


Highlights:
- Surprising Emily for her 25th b-day (She had no idea!)
- Racoon River Brewery - really good food
- Getting chairs reserved for the wedding ceremony
- Watching a new show "Game of Thrones" (If you aren't watching this, you should be)
- Iowa Cubs game - they won!
- Brunching with Mallory
- Getting back to Omaha early enough to get stuff done

Lowlights:
- Not being able to do much at my dress fitting. They can only cut my dress once....
- $8 beers at the baseball game.
- Emily being hung over all weekend. You can't even be mad though! She had no idea we would be there.
- Having to leave DM. I love that city.

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Now for the best story of the weekend. Drum roll, please. I met Curtis Stone! Yes, the Curtis Stone from "Take Home Chef." I may or may not have acted like a giddy teen after meeting him. Just maybe... Here is how is all started.
Ashley: (sarcastically) Hey look, it's Curtis Stone.
Sarah H.: No, I think that actually is Curtis Stone.
Ashley: No, it's not.
Sarah: (yells) Hey, Curtis!

And then he waved at us! We followed him into Fong's Pizza, introduced ourselves, and recommended the crab ragoon pizza. It was swell. :)

Saturday, June 4, 2011

PANDA CAKE POPS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY! I am not posting this until today, because they were for Emily's surprise birthday party yesterday. So Emily, were you surprised?!?! I was surprised at how hard it is to make cake pops. Holy cow.


From having them fall apart while dipping, to the edible marker not writing on the candy coating, these puppies (errr... pandas?) were a pain in my rear.


So like I said before, the edible marker was a complete fail. To top it off, there were no candy writers (yes, these are different than edible marker, who knew?) to be found within 25 miles (I might be exaggerating) of 68154. So I substituted with black dye that I put into my regular candy coating. DON'T DO THIS. It's harder than heck. I had to use a toothpick to try and work out the eyes and mouth. Yikes.

 

In the end, some of them turned out better (see above) than others (see below). But they did look pretty darn cute all together. I think next time I will try to start with something a little simplier. And if you were wondering, there is no way in h--- that I will be making cake pops for the wedding.

 

Now, if we could please have a moment of silence for the cake pops that didn't see the light of day. I call this masterpeice "cake pop graveyard." It was a collection plate of every cake pop that fell apart. All of them except for the one sticking straight up. I didn't have any styrofoam left for this one to dry in so I substitued with the graveyard. Don't worry, it was just Andrew's cake pop.

 

If you plan on making cake pops in the future, please let me know so I can pray for you in advance.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

Just look at that cover! How can you not already be in love?!?!

I had never actually read anything about this book (plot, reviews, etc.) but I did know it was on the best sellers list. You just can't go wrong, am I right? And boy was I surprised when the voice of the narrator was actually the dog. You always wonder what your pets are thinking (and in my case, sometimes even talk for them), and through this book you now have the inside point-of-view. Throughout the book he mentions that all he has are his gestures, and he uses them wisely. He stands by his owner through thick and thin, he lets him know when his owner does something he doesn't like, and he never lets his owner quit.

This books takes you on the journey of a family and their dog as they experience loss, judgement, and triumph. Basically everything you could ever ask for in a book! By the end of this book, I was very attached to this fictional dog, and there were a lot of tears. I'm such a sap when it comes to pets.


These are some of the bookmarks I got while wondering around in Vegas and daydreaming of going to LOVE show. The next time we are there, the Beatles show is a must.


I bought this bookmark a couple of weeks ago. This verse has had a lot of meaning for me lately. Plus, it's cute. 

So, enough about bookmarks. What book should I read next? I really can't wait to read Tina Fey's new book (too bad the waiting list is so long at the lib). What are you currently reading?