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Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday Funnies

When I was a kid I would sit at the table eating my breakfast and reading the funny pages of the newspaper. I always thought I looked so grown up since adults would read the paper in the morning and so was I, sort of. I haven't read the comics for years but thankfully the great people on Pinterest keep me laughing. Here are some of my favorite finds, hopefully they will make you laugh and start your weekend off right.

 This is so me! Sorry Andy.
 Hahaha!
I always wonder about people who do to McDs and order healthy stuff. Kind of like ordering a Big Mac and a Diet Coke. Really?!?!
How awesome would that be?
Doesn't everyone need alone time to veg?
 Yes, I have done this and yes they looked at me like I was crazy. Better than climbing the shelves though right?
 Thank goodness my mom was so good at hemming things when I was growing up. Now I need to learn. 
 Umm...my younger brother does this to me. Is that weird?
 I'm thinking I should print this and frame it somewhere in our home. I'm sure Andy would love it. Ha!
 True story!

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What I’m Loving Wednesday – Wedding Version


Now that we are six weeks out from the wedding, sorry for the constant updates, I figure I can post as many wedding posts as I want. I know this can be annoying for girls not in a relationship or not ready for marriage but one day you with become the all obsessed bride, don’t even think you will be immune because you won’t, and I won’t even tell you “I told you so”.

I’m loving…..that we are at the detail choosing stage of the wedding planning. I’ve always been a detail oriented person and the details are what make your wedding stand out from all the other weddings. The details are how you show yourself and your future spouse through all the chaos. I don't want to give away to much before the big day but here are a couple details that I'm loving.  




I’m loving….my invitations. I was pickier than I thought I would be about the invitations. I wanted something classic and simple but with a little detail that showed some character. I love initials but according to “stationary rules” if there was a monogram on the invite it had to be my pre-married monogram and I didn’t want it to just be about me. So I picked a big S in the middle since my first name starts with an S and my new married last name will start with an S. If that’s wrong, oh well. I love our invitations!

 I’m loving….our reception venue, The Millstone at Adam’s Pond! I went to a wedding reception there years ago and knew as soon as Andy asked me to marry him that Adam’s Pond was where we had to have the reception. I looked at one other place and my mom said there wasn’t any reason to look elsewhere because it was obvious I was set on Adam’s Pond. It has a southern feel and we can be inside and outside and I can’t wait to see everything put together. P.S. For anyone who is thinking about renting Adam’s Pond the event coordinator there is worth every penny. I feel like I’m in very good hands and the reception will go off without a hitch.


I’m loving….the Sh*t Brides Say video. Megan over at Fried Green Pickles, crazy cute blog, posted this video today and I thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately I think all brides have said some of these things and I apologize if I’ve said any of them to you.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Erin Go Bragh


IRELAND

For those of you not obsessed with Ireland like me Erin Go Bragh means “Ireland Forever”. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day week I thought I would do a post about my love of Ireland. I've been slightly obsessed with Ireland from a young age. Not sure why, just always have. It’s really funny because most people respond with, “Oh you must have a strong Irish background then”. Ummm….no, not even close. I’m a strict ¾ German and ¼ Norwegian. I got the Norwegian last name which is obvious when you see my last name has a double AA in it and from the fact that strangers, and some close friends actually, have no idea how to pronounce it.
Anyway, even though I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in my veins I have always be drawn to the 40 shades of green and rolling hills of Ireland. The summer after I graduated high school my mom and I spent 10 days touring Ireland and it is still one of my very favorite trips of all time. I can’t wait to take Andy one day. The people, the sights, the folklore, the music, the accents (be still my beating heart), were all wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone. All my personal pictures from the trip are wrapped up in scrapbooks so I will leave you with some of my favorite internet shots. If Ireland is a place on your “to visit” list definitely make it a priority, it’s totally worth every penny. 



If you go to Ireland there is at least one tourist thing that you absolutely have to do and that's kiss the Blarney Stone. Below is a sign explaining why this stone is so special. 
 Something they don't tell you is that the Blarney Stone is in the weirdest place ever! You have to climb to the top of a castle, think tiny spiral staircase, then lay on your back and slide halfway over the edge to kiss a wall upside down. You are up at least a couple story high and there are a ton of people waiting so there is no time to sic yourself up. Someone does hold on to you, but to you really feel safe with that old guy holding on to you? I did it and I'm glad I can mark it off my list.


Have you been to Ireland or are you planning to go one day?

Monday, March 12, 2012

Monogram Monday

Rub A Dub Dub
The bathroom is one of the rooms I feel you can really show some creativity. You can change the theme or color scheme on a whim. This room can be comforting, calming, energizing, personal, etc. The bathroom is where you get yourself prepped to take on the world at the beginning of the day or where you come to wash away any troubles that the day brought on. And I'm a firm believer you can never have too many towels or too much toilet paper in a home.








Do you have any monograms in your bathroom?

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Research to a Good Marriage


We are 51 days out from the wedding today!!! OMG!!!! Actually, knock on wood, I feel pretty good. I still have a few things to finalize but mostly it’s all in the details now.

In the hope of being prepare for marriage I have tried to read up on what to expect. (Research is just how I role, my mom is a librarian and my dad was a professor, it’s in my genes.) I have found some crazy books that I have had to stop midway through, which is something I rarely do. Some books claim that once you get married the lady needs to submit to every whim her husband has and suggests not to bother him or nag him about anything and make your, the house, and everything around him nice and pretty. Umm….I’m not getting married in the 1950s so that’s not going to work. On the other hand there have been books that talk about how women have to hold onto their individuality fiercely in a marriage to prove they haven’t changed at all. I don’t agree with this idea either. I like the idea of becoming a family and I believe two is better than one. Basically I’m not planning to change anything about the way I act after getting married other than signing a different last name to checks and receipts. Maybe I’m just being naïve but I like how Andy and I interact and work together and if it isn’t broken, don’t change it, right? Anyway, I have found some books to be really helpful and have brought up some questions we had never talked about before. Obviously everyone expects different things from their relationships so maybe these won’t be up your alley, but I would recommend them to anyone in a relationship, whether you are married or just dating.

How I Planned Your Wedding by: Susan Wiggs and Elizabeth Wiggs Maas. This book was written by a mother-daughter team who talked about their experience while planning Elizabeth’s wedding. They go through the trials of dress shopping, hair appointments, and finding a commend ground on everything else, which is not easy to do even if the bride and Mother-of have tons in common. This is a great example of it’s the daughter’s wedding but mama is paying for it. Who gets the final say? You can tell the mother and daughter are crazy close, which totally matched me and my mom’s relationship, and this book shows the exciting, fun, frustrating, and memorable moments that come with wedding planning. It’s a quick read that I loved.

Committed by: Elizabeth Gilbert. I already wrote a post about why I liked this book but I’ll give you a recap. Gilbert is embarking on her second marriage and is committed to making this one last. She researches how marriage is viewed in different times, countries, and cultures and what drives people stay married or get divorced. She searches for the answer to the question "how can you guarantee that your marriage will stand the test of time" and I appreciated her quest and general curiosity of how marriage works for different people.

Hitched by: Julia Bourland. Again I’ve written about this book before but I really loved it. It was written for the modern girl who doesn’t want her relationship with her honey to change just because they got married. But stuff will change and Bourland talks about how to deal with things that come up. This book also talked about all the stuff you should do once the honeymoon is over. She has handy tips about how to change your last name, creating a living will, how to handle your finances, and lots of other stuff I never even thought of. I really appreciated that she brought up a lot of different questions that you should talk about with your significant other that you may not have thought to talk about before. Do you plan for your parents to live with you one day, how do you plan to spend your retirement, how do you plan to raise your children (childcare, schooling, discipline)? All important things to know that rarely come up during the fun dating phase.

5 Love Languages by: Gary Chapman. This book was recommended to be by a friend and then it started popping up everywhere. It was all over Pinterest and I found that tons of my friends had already read it and found the concept really interesting and helpful. The idea is that everyone feels love differently and you and your spouse may not feel love the same way. Chapman has narrowed it down to five major ways: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. A person usually shows love the same way they feel it, however if your husband response to a different language he may not be feeling very loved. It’s important to find out which language you are and which one he is so you can adjust how you show love. It all makes sense to me.

Have you read any book relationship books? 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up with Mrs. Jamie over at This Kind of Love!

I’m loving…that the Bobcats won at home yesterday! I just needed to give a shout out to the home team. They’ve only won five games this season so it’s kind of a big deal when they win. Way to go Bobcats!

I’m loving….Oreos! Happy 100th Birthday to Oreos. Can you believe Oreos have been around since 1912? That’s crazy! I love Oreos but not as much as my Dad did or Andy does. I am trying to keep most sweets out of the house because I went a little crazy with the Girl Scout cookies but I think I might have to get some of the Birthday Cake Oreos. Oreos + birthday cake = AWESOME! 

I’m loving ….the dinner I made last night. I discovered on Pinterest a recipe for Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter. True it’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but it was so good and the hardest part was cooking the pasta. Plus if you don’t like asparagus this is a good way to try it because it is so good. (It’s the only way I can get Andy to eat it.)

Here is how you make it: via Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. asparagus
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 lb. penne
- 1 stick of butter, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving


Directions:
1. Wash and chop asparagus into bit size pieces.
2. Toss the asparagus into a gallon sized ziplock baggie and throw in the olive oil, pepper, and salt. Close the bag and shake until coated. (I covered a pan with foil and mixed the asparagus with everything on the pan and it worked fine.) Place on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. 

4. Put vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer until there is about 3 tablespoon. Toss in brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Mix well. Remove from heat. 
5. Cook pasta. Drain and return to pot and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, parmesan, and 1 3/4 tsp. salt. Add a little parmesan to the top of each serving. 
This picture turned sideways and I can't change it back but I wanted to let you see what it looks like. This dish is so tasty and only takes a couple ingredients and minutes to makes. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Monogram Monday!


Stationary is a favorite thing of mine. Yes that may be odd but I was taught the power of a hand written note as a child, plus I worked in a stationary store throughout college. Then add a monogram and I just can’t help myself. See what you think!




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