Tuesday, August 28, 2012

WEDDING WEEKEND: BROOKE EDITION


This weekend we went headed to Davenport for the second time in three weeks. As much as I want to hate this drive, I can't. The drive may be awful, but it is always worth it.


This weekend was Brooke's wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding! They had beautiful weather, venues, and an awesome bride. I'm so happy for the two of them. Here are a few pictures from the day (taken with my iPhone again because my camera batteries died... when will I learn?!?).


Also, as a special bonus, you get a video of my good friend Sarah (and Brooke's Matron of Honor) singing her toast! I had no idea that she was going to do this, and it took me a few seconds to get the video camera ready once I realized what she was up to. Sarah, you did a great job!


One more thing... I think her brother looks like Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones. I was kinda starstruck the whole time. I hope he didn't notice my stares! Sorry!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

HOUSE TOUR: UPSTAIRS

Once again, here is my house! I know it still looks like we just moved in and haven't done anything, and I guess that's not too far off. Every time I think of things I would like to do to any part of the house, I start singing "If I had a million dollars..." If only!

First up, the bathroom in all of its glory! See the paint sample on the wall? I call that progress! Even if I did paint it back in June...


Welcome to the bedroom. Not much to see here. I do want to let you know that I worked very hard in this room to shuffle the clutter from one corner to another to give the illusion that we are organized. You are welcome.


I know, the office is a mess! I have a plan though. It may take a month or years, but it will get there. Just you wait and see!


I saved the best for last. No, really! The guest bedroom is probably my favorite room in the house. Know why? Because it has the least amount of mess, and needs the least amount of work! At least my guests will feel at home.


I hope you enjoyed your tour! I will keep you posted on all of the updates. They will be few and far between, but it's all about the journey.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

FOUR EYES

Well, I have been thinking that it's about time that I get some new glasses. The ones I currently have and much past their prime. I've been oohing and ahhing over Warby Parker glasses for awhile, and I thought it was about time to do a trial run. I let Andrew pick out my five home try on pairs. I think he did a pretty good job. Maybe too good... I can't seems to make up my mind. Help?





I don't know how you guys put up with me and all my crappy photos. Thank you!

Monday, August 20, 2012

WEEKEND RECAP: AUGUST 17-19

Well this weekend was our "official" housewarming party. Andrew and I had invited a bunch of his friends from HS to come on over for a weekend of good food, drink, and music galore! And we covered all of it.


Friday: We took Alex to the local watering hole (aka Side Door Lounge) before Tom, Flannery, and Steve arrived. We then spent the rest of the night drinking, catching up, and trying to keep Coby from loving on Tom too much.


Saturday: We headed to the Old Market for a traditional tour of Omaha complete with a meal at Wheatfields. We shopped and then headed to Benson to shop some more! Shopping made us hungry for drinks and bags in the backyard, which then made us hungry for real food. Fire up the grill! We ate dinner and made sure to leave plenty of time before the Murder by Death concert to head back to Benson for some games and booze at Beercade and Krug Park. The concert rounded out the night, and it was by far the best MBD show I have seen yet. But much to Andrew's dismay, they still didn't play End of the Line.


Sunday was spent cleaning and recovering. It was some much needed down time!

Thank you to those of you that came! To those of you that couldn't make it, we will see you in September for our second "unofficial" housewarming party when we have a large group crash for a local wedding. Hooray!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

OUT OF THE FUNK


The past couple of days, I have felt like I have been in a funk. Like nothing was going right, and my self-worth was really low. Here is a short list of things that were on my mind/stressing me out/bringing me down...
  1. Working on a new project (yet to be named on the blog), and getting nowhere.
  2. Home DIY projects have been falling through.
  3. My house is not blog worthy. (This is what happens when you compare your house to other bloggers houses and all of their cute decorating/ideas. Who has time/money for this?)
  4. Self motivation to work out has been nonexistent.
  5. My close coworker, Suzie, retired. Without a replacement for her at the moment, I'm staying much busier (or more stressed, whichever). 
  6. My blog posts have been sparse at best. (I feel like I have no free time...)
I had been so caught up in everything that was worrying me and bringing me down I had lost sight of what really matters. After throwing myself a nightlong pity party, I sat down to watch an episode of NYMed on ABC. One of the stories was about a girl named Lyndsey who has cystic fibrosis. She is 26 years old, and she was waiting for a lung transplant. I had to stop watching by the time they got to her surgery day. It made me a wreck. What was I so worried and upset about again?

The next day, I read a devotional when I got to work. It was about Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). I realized I need to worry less about the details and listen more. I need to slow down, be present in the moment, and realize that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. I need to be more like Mary and less like Martha.

Also, I bought a latte today. Lattes usually make bad days better. I hope you are having a good day, too!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

WEEKEND RECAP: AUGUST 10-12


It's Wednesday, and I'm just now posting about my weekend. I'm not behind at all! This weekend was filled with lots of fun! We went to the Iowa State Fair and then on to D-port for Brooke's bach party. I got to meet a ton of new girls, and we had a great time.

Goat from the movie Big Green?

Highlights:
A whole weekend without the boys
Fair food and beer
Everyone that was at the fair (so many interesting people!)
Dancing
Drunk talks with Emily
Seeing the other girls and meeting some new friends
Cute shops in Moline, IL
Dinner at Azteca
A night on the town!


Lowlights:
Headaches in the morn
Driving home
The samples at the distillery (too strong, I'm such a weenie...)
Being chilly at the ball game (again, weenie...)

On deck for this weekend: Housewarming party!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

HELLO MEXICO

Hello, Mexico!

That is what I will be saying in January! Someone get me a marg!

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Andrew and I will be joining our friends, Sarah and Ryan, on a four night stay at the beautiful Grand Park Royal in Cancun, Mexico. Yippee!


It took a lot of research (thank you, Sarah!), and I got really frustrated a few times, but it's booked. I'm excited to get away to somewhere sunny and warm while everyone else is bundled up at home. I'll be thinking of you while I'm reading my book on the beach.


Our all-inclusive hotel is just minutes away from downtown and other attractions. We plan on doing a lot of drinking, eating, relaxing, swimming, napping, and shopping! I like all of those verbs!


One of the things I am most looking forward to is the trip to visit some Mayan ruins. I just realized that if their calendar was right, I guess I won't be seeing it after all. But no calendar is going to rain on my parade!

Has anyone been to Cancun? Know any spots that we just can't miss?

Monday, August 6, 2012

EXPLORE OMAHA: DOGS, DINNER, DRINKS

Ok, so I guess this isn't exploring Omaha as much as it is exploring our new neighborhood. Andrew and I thought it was high time we took a stroll (and maybe a short car ride) around our neighborhood and take advantage of all it has to offer.

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Thursday night, we took Coby to the dog park were he was the only dog there... It was nice that he was able to run around a bit, but I felt bad for him. He was fine on his own for awhile and then realized that there were other dogs there. Alas, he is a giant dog and the others puppies were in the small dog area. I could see that he wanted to play with them so badly. Poor guy doesn't know his own size! We will have to try it again and hopefully we have better luck.


Friday night, we continued the exploration down the street. At the end of our block, there is a pretty famous hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Mother India. I have heard so many good things about it, and it's usually pretty packed when we pass by. After eating there, I can see why. Holy goodness! If you ever get an urge to go, I will gladly tag along.


We needed something to cool our palate so we went to Side Door Lounge just a few places down. Well, gee whiz. Why did we wait so long? Not only did we miss on Ruby Redbird by Shiner on tap, but we have been missing out on many, many good nights/days socializing with the bartenders, chilling on the patio, and enjoying some good beverages! Also, they make a mean Strip Skip and Go Naked. Whoa!

I'm so happy Andrew and I ended up where we did. I don't think we could have done much better. If you are ever in our neighborhood, feel free to stop by!