fill in the blank friday!

I can't believe it's already New Years.... I never really felt like it was Christmas because I was stuck in bed for a couple weeks because of my wisdom teeth surgery, so I'm definitely not feeling the New Years vibe.

1.   New Years is    refreshing- it allows you to get rid of the old and bring in the new   .

2.   One of my New Year's resolutions will be   to advance my career somehow - get a new job, learn new skills, try harder to be more confident in my abilities      .

3.  A New Year's resolution I've made in the past was to   lose weight - that's a given for any year, and last year between march and may i actually did lose around 10 pounds, and I managed to keep most of it off until november and december when the holiday eating started and I gained back about 5 pounds, so now I'll be back at it in the next few weeks.

4. The most time consuming resolution I ever made was   write a young adult novel and I wanted to write every night- that didn't last very long    .

5.  This year I will be spending New Year's Eve    most likely doing nothing. I'm still recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery, and I don't feel like going out .

6.  If I could wish one thing for my new year it would be    to be more confident in my abilities  .

7.  2012 is going to be    a year of career changes (I hope!)  .

what i got for christmas

i've gotta tell ya, having a wishlist really made this christmas great, because i got so many things i had been wanting for a long time.  a lot of them were even featured in my "what i want wednesday" posts.

Too bad I haven't really been able to enjoy any of my gifts, because I had my wisdom teeth out last Tuesday and I'm still in a lot of pain, and I learned the hard way that painkillers make me really sick.  I couldn't go to holiday festivities, I couldn't even get out of bed on Christmas morning, I opened my presents in bed.  I'm back at work today (begrudgingly - I was supposed to come back yesterday but couldn't) and still in a lot of pain, but my friend Aleve is helping me get through the day.  I do have one pretty funny picture of my super swollen cheeks, but I think we'll keep that one to ourselves.

from wireddesign on etsy

I got the ring I had been wanting for a while from my hubby, I love it!

found at uncommongoods.com

I got the Daily Fact Calendar that I shared in my last post!  It's pretty cool - it does take a lot of rubbing to get the fact to show up, but maybe i just have cold fingers?  from my mom-in-law

found on amazon

Got the Orla Kiely book from my mom-in-law, it's full of pretty pictures and how orla got started, so i'm excited to read it.

found here, but no longer in stock

I got the yellow Old Navy Peacoat I wanted from my grandma!

from zgallerie

 I got the Silver Nest Table Runner from Z Gallerie from my mom, love it!

I also got 6 (yes SIX) scarves between my bday and Christmas, so I think I'm all set on the scarf front.

I got boots from JCPenney that I wanted, but they ended up being too small and they didn't have them in stock anymore, so I got the money and got these Cathy Jean boots for $35 the day after Christmas:

from cathy jean

I also got this fabric design book, this toast-shaped egg mold thing, this sweater (it's not as long as it looks like on the girl, which is disappointing but it's still cute), this coffee maker (I ruined the surprise on this one and actually opened it a couple weeks early) and lots of other fun stuff!

what i want wednesday!

With the holidays fast approaching, my wish list has been getting pretty full lately.  I can always find a million things I want as long as I keep up with my wishlist and pinterest - as opposed to having no idea what I want and then getting presents that you'll just take back to the store anyway.

Really, if you don't have a wishlist, start one asap! It's so easy! I use amazon, but there are a ton of sites out there that let you make a wishlist - you just install a button on your browser toolbar, and whenever you see anything you like, you just click "add to wishlist" and it's done!  Here's my wishlist.

I know a lot of people just use pinterest, too, and just have a specific board for their wishlist.  Also super easy because there's a toolbar button that just says "pin it"!

So anyway, here are things that I've been loving lately!

This perpetual calendar from uncommongoods.com.  You use your finger to rub the black part on each date, and the heat makes a fact about that day visible, then it switches back to black after a minute.  And it's laminated so you can write with a dry erase marker on the dates, then erase them and start over the next year!  Fun, huh?

This cookie jar from anthropologie.  It's out of stock but I'm sure there are other pear-shaped cookie jar/ceramic things out there somewhere.

2012 Mountain Calendar by pamlostracco - love this.  i think i might have to buy it for myself.

This beautiful photo from CarolynCochrane on etsy

Pretzels, chocolate, caramel, and pecans - these are so good, yall.  My mother-in-law made them a couple years ago, and I loved them, and I've made them a couple times since then because they are so good.  Just put rolos (yes, the candy) on top of a pretzel, then put in the oven for 5-10 minutes, then just press the pecans down on top and they're soft from the oven so they just smoosh (smush?) down.  So easy.  Unrolling all the rolos is a little time consuming, get a little elf to help with that part.

fill in the blank friday!

It's my bday tomorrow!!! Don't forget to use the code BIRTHDAY to get 27% off in the shop through Sunday.  (I'll be 27, in case that isn't obvious!)

Make sure to link up at the little things we do!

1.   The holiday season is     a time to feel the "warm & fuzzies"  .

2.   Snow makes me   excited but since I live in Atlanta absolutely everything shuts down when there is a snowflake - and since we have no snowplows I can't get in and out of my neighborhood and it turns into major cabin fever     .

3.  The best comfort food to eat when it's cold out is    hot chocolate by the fire, so fun!

4. Winter is the best time for    sitting inside and looking at the prettiness outside, but not actually going out in it! haha

5.  I can hardly wait for   all the christmas lights to be up - get on that honey! 

6.  When it comes to holiday gifts I prefer to   get them if it's things i like... that's why i make a wish list.

7.  If I were to rate my excitement about the holiday season on a scale from 1-10, I would say I am at about a    6ish, I'm excited about the season but not so excited about getting my wisdom teeth out right before christmas  .

It's My Birthday (almost)! -- 27% Off!

 

In honor of my birthday coming up, I'm offering 27% off everything in my etsy shop through Sunday! My calendars would make a great Christmas gift!! 

Use the code BIRTHDAY at checkout!

i'm (blank) because...

I got inspired by this post from Little Miss Momma (love her!) and decided to make my own "I'm (Blank) Because" post. 

I'm weird because:

I have a thing for numbers - my birthday is Dec 3 (12-3), my anniversary is Jan. 23 (1-23) - so if my husband ever can't remember 1-2-3 then he has issues.  Also I love the numbers 7 and 3.  I have to set my alarm clock at numbers ending in 7 or 3 (right now it's 6:43).

I don't know if I ever want kids. 

I wear my hair in a ponytail at least 6 days a week - I go to work with my hair wet sometimes 3 days a week.  I'm not a morning person, so I stay in bed until the last possible moment, leaving no time to dry my hair.

I very very rarely wear makeup, I never wear dresses or skirts or heels unless it's a very special occasion.

My go-to meal if I'm cooking for myself is rice and black beans with diced tomatoes and chili powder and cumin.  I could eat that every night (too bad my husband doesn't like rice OR beans).

I sleep as far away from my husband as possible in our king bed - I get hot!

But I'll cuddle with my doggy all night long! haha

I'm a bad friend because:

I'm horrible at keeping in touch - I never call anyone, I'm more of a homebody and I like to sit around and watch TV as opposed to talking on the phone at night.

I'm not good at being sympathetic.  I just don't know what to say to people when I'm trying to console them.

I'm a good friend because:

I love my best friends no matter what.

I'll stick by you and defend you.

I'll cry with you over cheap wine.

With my best friend Lindsey before a Miranda Lambert concert

I'm sad because:

I feel complacent a lot - I tell myself to be a go-getter and have more confidence to work toward things I want, but I rarely ever take the steps to put myself out there.

I wish I was better at keeping in touch with my friends and family and that I was motivated to go out and do things with people.

I'm happy because:

I just got a call from the oral surgeon with my expected out-of-pocket cost for getting all of my wisdom teeth removed, and it came in at a whopping $182! I was expecting more around the $1000 to $2000 range, so you can imagine how much better this is!

I get a few days off work for the holidays.  

At a football game - We're a little sweaty, just overlook that part, it was hot!

I'm excited for:

I just finished my Dreamweaver 2 class and I feel pretty confident that I could make a good website at this point and I still have a few more classes left to take in my Web Design Certificate program.

I get to cuddle on the couch with my husband and my Caesarbear for like 5 nights straight!  And I get to go to the Georgia/Georgia Tech game on Saturday.

Oh yeah, PS I dyed my hair brown, what do you think?  I think I probably need to learn to not look so weird when I'm taking pictures of myself in the mirror.

Have a good Thanksgiving everybody!

fill in the blank friday

Friday kinda snuck up on me this week.  I started my Dreamweaver 2 class on Tuesday so I was in class 2 nights this week, so I'm all discombobulated.  Wow, no squiggly red line, maybe I actually spelled that right haha.

1.   A nervous habit I have is     messing with my fingernails.  I'll rub my fingernail against my thumb.  It's ironic because it's  something my mom does that really irks me, and I've told her before, and now I can't stop doing it  .

2.   Something that makes me sad is   those sarah mclachlan animal rescue commercials.  omg you're killing me!

 

3.  Today I am thankful for    FRIDAY!  and that my dog has made it almost 5 weeks since his surgery without re-injuring himself.

4. My favorite room in my house is    my living room. It's cozy and has a fireplace and a couch and it's where my husband and I spend the (vast) majority of our time   .

5.  I can't stand    misspellings.  especially in public places.  the worst are the ads on the back of the bathroom doors in public restrooms, they really need a spell checker.  

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would    take my husband and I out to a nice dinner. we haven't been able to get out much lately.

7.  The last person I hung out with was    oh my gosh i have no idea, i have really been a homebody lately.  i guess the last time i hung out with people (other than my husband) was a halloween party!  .

Don't forget to link up with the fill in the blank party at the little things we do.

dream home - pinterest style

Pinterest is so great.  I know I've sung its praises before, but it's just such a good organizing tool for all the inspiration you can get on the internet.  Plus I use it to find recipes, gifts, workouts, clothes, vacation ideas...
I pin a lot of ideas to specific rooms to keep my boards organized, but I also have a "Lovely Rooms" board that isn't what I'd put in a certain room in my house, but just because they're so pretty and I like to look at them and ooh and ahh over them.  So here are some beautiful rooms I've found via pinterest.

These first two pictures are all about my love of cabins.  They just make me feel so cozy and happy.  All the wood and the snow outside and the fireplace, makes me want to bundle up by the fire in my PJ's with a good book and some hot chocolate!

via

via

via

Isn't the room above so cute? It looks like both kids sleep up top and they put two mattresses together to span the wall, then they have their secret alcove down below.  I would've loved this when I was little.

via

Isn't this dining room/kitchen awesome? Love the modern table and chairs, and OH MY! at that silver ceiling tile!

via

More of my wood/cabin love coming out.

via

I'm a sucker for window seats.  More of my curling-up-with-a-good-book-and-hot-chocolate fantasies coming out.  I love the dark walls (they look almost teal) with the yellow/green chartreuse accents.  Not a huge fan of that mop on the floor, but look how awesome that chandelier is!

So, what do you guys think? I'd love for you to send me your pinterest links so I can see what you've been obsessing over!

fill in the blank friday

Let's fill in some blanks!

1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is     that it is finally over.  so ready for the weekend.

2.   Colder weather makes me   kinda happy.  I like the "idea" of winter, and I like being inside all cuddled up and I love wintry decorations like branches and snowflakes and CHRISTMAS!      .

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are    hmm, i don't know that anything lately has made me "terribly happy", for the next few weeks our lives are pretty boring becuase our dog had surgery and we can't leave the house   .

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose    flip flops.  as long as it can be warm outside for the rest of my life   .

5.  My personality type is    INTJ. This is what the website said: You are:

• moderately expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• slightly expressed judging personality

6.  I have a serious problem resisting     food.  I have been eating like it's my job lately.  boo.

7.  My favorite color to wear is    grey.  i have a limited color palette.

 

Make sure to link up at the little things we do!

Halloween!

Conor and I as Spartan Cheerleaders (from the SNL skits with Will Ferrell & Cheri Oteri)

At work, my department dressed up as our company's products.

fill in the blank friday

Thank goodness it's almost the weekend! It's been a not-great week, I cried at work yesterday... I won't get into the specifics because I'd just end up going off on a rant, and if someone from work read it I'd probably get fired, so... whatever.  Halloween! Yay!

1.   When I was a kid I wanted to be      a dance teacher, ghost hunter, author, astronomer, tornado chaser, race car driver, singer, actress    when I grew up.

2.   As an adult, my dream job would be   working for myself, doing something crafty that I felt confident with      .

3.  W hen I was younger I wanted to be just like  mariah carey   .

4. The childhood Halloween costume that I remember most was when I was    a gypsy.  I wore the shortest daisy duke shorts I had and a flowy shirt and colorful makeup.  Come to think of it, that's the only halloween costume I even remember, and I love love love halloween.  hmm.   .

5.  My favorite childhood toy was    books (I just called my mom on these next two questions because I had no idea, she said I wasn't a big doll person, and all I ever asked for were books- I loved the Babysitter's Club Little Sister books and Goosebumps) .

6.  The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when I     my mom said I never really got into trouble.  I do remember getting my name on the board in Kindergarten because my friend was talking to me, and I was so upset over it.  I hated getting in trouble.    .

7.  I get daily inspiration from    pinterest, etsy, bloggers  .

 

 

 Be sure to link up to Fill in The Blank Friday on Lauren's blog, The Little Things We Do!

Things I Love Thursday

Just a sampling of things that make me feel good.

This blue and green teardrop/fish/swirly rug.

This mug that turns white and says "Mischief Managed" when it's filled with hot liquid.

This quote from Sweet Home Alabama, my favorite movie.

This snowflake ornament from sometimesiswirl on etsy

This quote.  It cracks me up.

finally!

Just finished a big project at work- a price book that normally takes a couple weeks but got dragged on for over two months.  so that was fun.  at least it's done.  now i'm gearing up for halloween! my favorite holiday!  we always dress up as a group in my department at work (I work at a chemical company so this year we're all dressing up as different chemicals!) so that will be for Monday.  My husband and I are going to a halloween party for a couple hours on Saturday - instead of our football game - we have to stay close to home since my dog just had surgery and we can't leave him alone for the 7-8 hours we would probably be gone for football.  we're dressing up as the Spartans Cheerleaders from SNL for our party.

I bought our costumes online, and I just have to say, costumes are way too expensive considering the poor quality with which they are made.  The skirt and pants don't even have waistbands, they have a thin band of elastic.  hmm I just thought about something- I need some Keds to finish off my costume.  A thrift store visit might be in my future.

I'm feeling like today should be Friday... this week needs to hurry up and end.  

randomness

when i was in 5th grade(ish), I remember going to the library and checking out this book: Best Loved Poems of the American People.  It has over 575 poems in it, and was originally published in 1936.  i have no idea why, but i read the whole book.  i've never been a huge poetry reader, but i kept re-checking out this book for a couple months.  i hadn't thought about the book in about 15 years, but the other day i was at barnes & noble and i saw the book and recognized it from the cover, and the memories flooded back of reading this book.  i remembered i had a favorite poem from this book, and i searched the book until i found it again-

Photo of the Rose Garden Door - Johnson Park, Tenafly, NJ found here

Death is a Door

by Nancy Byrd Turner

Death is only an old door
Set in a garden wall
On gentle hinges it gives, at dusk
When the thrushes call
Along the lintel are green leaves
Beyond the light lies still;
Very willing and weary feet
Go over that sill
There is nothing to trouble any heart;
Nothing to hurt at all.
Death is only a quiet door.
In an old wall.

Now, let me remind you, I was in 5th grade.  This was also around the same time I was obsessed with ghosts and "true" ghost stories, and asking every grown-up I knew if they had ever seen ghosts (by the way, my grandma and aunt have pretty extensive ghost-seeing pasts).  So I'm not sure if that had anything to do with me being taken by this seemingly morbid poem, but if you read it a couple times, it's actually really soothing.  There's just an old door in a garden wall, and one day, when you've lived your life and you're ready to go, you can step over the sill and there's nothing troubling or hurtful beyond that wall.  It paints such a serene picture of this old door in an ivy-covered wall.

Random, I know- I just read a different poem and it made that book and poem pop into my head. 

fill in the blank friday!

I'm so ready for this weekend.  I'm done with my 4 saturdays in a row of class from 9-5, and I finally get to go to a football game since i had to miss two.  my html/css class was good, i definitely felt ahead of the curve as far as the other people in my class went.  some people were just completely lost, but hey, at least they're trying to better themselves.  next thursday i'm leaving to go up to a cabin in the mountains with my husband and another couple, so hopefully that will be fun, i'm hoping the leaves are changing to orange and the weather will be brisk but not too cold.  

on another note, my dog needs $4000 surgery for a torn ligament in his knee.  so that's fun.  we're going to see a specialist on tuesday to see what he says about the surgery.  the hard part is going to be trying to get my super hyper dog to stay still for 6 weeks so his leg can actually heal.  and he'll probably need rehab which is probably as expensive as the surgery.  yay.  but i love my baby and i feel like we've failed him as parents by not exercising him as much as we should have, or something.  and just so you know, CCL or ACL ligament tears in dogs are extremely common, and surgery is expensive, so i would probably get some pet insurance if i had a dog.  you always just hope nothing super expensive will ever come up, but from the people i know, there's usually something that happens in a dog's life that will warrant surgery, and having to come up with thousands of dollars at once is a lot harder than just paying the $30 a month.

anyways, on with fill in the blank friday, and don't forget to link up at the little things we do!

1.   Something popular that I can't stand/just don't "get" is     beyonce.  she just really bothers me for some reason and while we;re on the subject i also dislike lady gaga, rihanna, and ke$ha (it just killed me to type a dollar sign in her name, how lame) .

2.   Something unpopular that I secretly love is    high school shows.  I love gossip girl, 90210, the lying game, pretty little liars, the vampire diaries, secret circle.  i can't help it, that's just what i like to watch!  

3.  When I've had a bad day I   snap at people.  i'm not good at holding in my emotions   .

4. I'd prefer   fall   to    summer     any day.

5.  Something that makes me nervous is    trying to market myself, i just don't have enough self-confidence in my abilities .

6.  Something worth fighting for is     freedom.  thanks to all the people who allow me to live my life the way i choose   .

7.  When people think of me, I hope they think    "she is pretty.  she is fun. she is silly.  she is smart."