The One With a Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday!

Things that are making me happy today:

1.) Attending my first craft fair of the year with my mom in LaCrosse this week.

2.) SNOW! The first couple snows of the season are always my favorite. So fresh, clean & white. After Christmas, I'm over it, but right now it's magical.

3.) Spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's sweet family (all 50+ of them).

4.) My sister returns to the US in 27 days. (Who says I am counting?)

5.) Buying the last 2 Harry Potter movies on DVD so we can have an EPIC marathon next week.

6.) Hot apple cider.

7.) The Packers are 9-0! (They beat the heck out of the Vikings last week. Dad would be so proud.)

8.) Pinterest.

What's making you happy today?

The One With a Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday!

Things that are making me happy today:

1.) Cool weather.

2.) Had a BLAST on a scrapbook retreat with my friends last weekend & finished 11 pages!

3.) I get to spend 3 weeks off of work & with my family over the holidays.

4.) Finishing 80% of my Christmas shopping on amazon with one fell swoop of the debit card. :)

5.) Watching movies with my boyfriend & snuggling on the couch.

6.) Seeing my mom next week! It's been too long.

7.) The Packers are 8-0!!!!

8.) We are getting busier at work because of the cold weather and it makes my days fly by.

What's making you happy today?

The One With a Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday!

Things that are making me happy today:

1.) These two books.

2.) We visited 5(!) State Parks on Thursday! It was awesome.

3.) Even though I'm supposed to be on a yarn diet......I snuck 9 skeins in this week. The BF may only know about half of them.....

4.) Planning for a scrapbook retreat with my friends in November.

5.) Emailing my family and talking about the holidays.

6.) Working on my saroyan.

7.) Cool weather has FINALLY arrived in MN. I'm wearing a sweatshirt & loving it.

What's making you happy today?

The One With a Happy Saturday!

Things that are making me happy today:

1.) This book.

2.) The gorgeous trees in my area. It may still feel like 80 degrees, (EW) but atleast the trees are changing colors.

3.) Next week, the boyfriend and I are taking a couple of days to go and visit several State Parks close to us. One of the things on my bucket list is to visit all of the State Parks in MN, so this is a Big Deal.

4.) Honeycrisp apples. YUM.

5.) The Sing Off. One of our absolute favorite shows. We wait all year for it to start up again and this year it's going for 3 whole months instead of just 6 weeks. Yay! If you haven't seen it, you MUST. So much talent, it's ridiculous.

6.) I have been smoke-free for over a year now! SO proud of myself. :)

7.) Knitting this.

8.) Super cute banner class I'm taking on Monday at VIP Scrapbook.

9.) Cooler weather coming next week. Fingers crossed!

10.) My boyfriend.

The One Where I Remember

9/11/2001

I was at North Hennepin College, in history class. I remember walking out the door of class and my friends were there waiting for me. They told me that a plane crashed, and I just brushed past them. I was much more concerned about having a cigarette before my next class. Every tv in every hallway and classroom was on and tuned to the same channel. We watched together, and I realized the enormity of the situation, my cigarette long forgotten. I made phone calls to all of my family, boyfriend and friends. I remember being extremely worried and wondered what it meant, what it would bring, what we would do. I think about that day often. I will never forget.



My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who lost their loved ones that day.

Where were you when our world stopped turning?

The One Where It's Almost Fall

This blog post was inspired by the Fall post that my friend Cynthia just posted on her blog, making me so very excited for the upcoming season.

Enjoying pumpkin spiced chai on a chilly morning. Long drives on country roads with the windows open, peeping beautiful changing leaves on the trees. Football games where you can see your breath. Pumpkin patches and apple orchards ripe with colors, fruits & children playing. These are some of my most favorite things about Fall.



I know that many people love Spring and Summer a lot and feel sad when they are over. I am one of those people that wait patiently through those two "S" seasons to get to my favorite season of all: Fall. One of my very best friends "hates" Fall (because it brings Winter) and I feel so sad for her. There is so very much to love about the season.



How can you not love these pictures and the feelings they invoke? Fall makes my heart feel full and happy.



I always look forward to September 1st because I bring out my autumn decorations for my home on that day, even if it happens to be 90 degrees. And Halloween is my favorite holiday; it's just so much fun!

All images taken from my pinterest (Need an invite to pinterest? Ask me! :)

What is your favorite season & holiday? Why?

The One With a Giveaway

Well, it's not me giving away the goodies, but another blogger that I've been following for many years. She has a cutie-cute babe named Scarlette & she's a rockin' scrapbooker too. So go here, check out her blog, and sign up for the giveaway! It's as easy as that. And who doesn't love beauty products?!

The One With Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 8/2 is 10 Favorite Romantic Comedies. These are my favorite kinds of movies, so it was really hard to narrow it down to just 10.

1.) 50 First Dates
2.) Sweet Home Alabama
3.) The Holiday
4.) Going the Distance
5.) Wedding Crashers
6.) Couple's Retreat
7.) 10 Things I Hate About You
8.) Forgetting Sarah Marshall
9.) Knocked Up
10.) Love Actually

Want to participate in Ten on Tuesday? Sign up here.

The One With a Meme

A couple of my blog friends did this meme a few days ago and I thought I'd join in.

Age: 30
Bed Size: King
Chore You Hate: Vacuuming
Dogs: Corgis & french bulldogs have my heart :)
Essential start of your day: Music in my car on my way in to the office
Favorite color: Blue
Gold or silver: White gold
Height: 5'3"
Instruments I play (or have played): Clarinet (17 years ago, yikes!)
Job title: Office manager
Kids: Someday
Live: Southeastern MN
Mom’s name: Jean
Nickname: Jess
Overnight hospital stays: None
Pet peeve: Bad drivers, people who don't watch their children
Quote from a movie: Oh I could never pick just one
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: Two younger sisters & a younger brother
Time you wake up: between 8:07 & 8:37 am
Underwear: Bikini
Vegetables you dislike: Cooked carrots--but I love 'em raw!
What makes you run late: Hitting the snooze
X-rays you’ve had done: Teeth, wrist
Yummy food you make: Meat wrapped in meat, on top of meat. (I should share that recipe here!)
Zoo animal: Penguins, giraffes, hippos

Did you play along? Leave me a comment and I'll check it out! ;)

The One Where It's Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, we are back from vacation. Let me just tell you, it was 10 much needed days away from work, our disaster of a house and the real world. We had such a blast and really did not want to come home on Friday.

We went to 2 baseball games, one in Milwaukee and one in Chicago. I visited 2 knitting stores & came home with what seems like a metric ton of new yarn (yarn diet starts NOW). We spent a lot of time with family, which was fantastic. We went to Summerfest and the Navy Pier.

All in all, it was a wonderful get away that the two of us greatly needed to recharge after what seemed like two months of working 55+ hour weeks, moving (twice!) and just a general lack of relaxation.

I will be back soon with lots of pictures of everything that we did, but for now it's back to reality. How is summer going for you? I cannot believe it's almost half over already!

The One With My Sister

My sister decided to go to Denmark for 6 months to work, but she was nice enough to come and visit me right before she left. I didn't even scare her off when I told her that I was moving 3 days before she was visiting.

We visited Kristen's Knits and all of this yarn may or may not (MAY) have come home with me....



I couldn't resist! And it's a good thing too, since I just found out they are closing. That beautiful pile of fluff includes Spud & Chloe Fine, Supersocke (which my amazing sister bought for me!), Mirasol Nuna, some local handspun and Cascade. I just want to dive into that pile and sleep for hours.

As you know, there has been a bit of a craft & knitting shortage around these parts. No more! I have been knitting up a storm, in fact, I present you with:





My latest WIP. It's just a simple shawlette, but it's brought my knitting mojo back in full force. I love the yarn, the pattern is so simple and I can watch tv and do other things and easily pick it back up again if I have to set it down.

Not only did we visit my LYS, but she brought me an entire box of yarn! Destashing at it's finest, people. I am so in love with everything she gave me and now I must get on with teh nittingz. All that yarn won't knit itself. Oh look! My kitty!



Ok, ok here's a better look at the box. It was so generous of her to bring it all to me and now I know she's expecting I have several FO's by the time she returns to the United States in December. Better get crackin' on that....



And just because I can, here is a picture of our GIANT new TV and TV stand. I love them both. And you can see that I watch many intellectual shows. That 70's Show, anyone? My TV's were all ridiculously old and we got crazy good prices on the stand and the set itself.



I will post pictures soon of our new place. My boyfriend is moving all of his stuff down next week, so it is still a bit of a work in progress around here but we are loving it. Grilling out on our deck has been fabulous. What have you all been up to?

The One Where The Dust Settles

Sorry I've been MIA, but packing and moving has consumed the last month of my life. We finally got all of my stuff moved yesterday (with the help of some amazing friends)! The boyfriend moves down at the end of the month and then it's no more moving for 5 years!! Atleast, that's what I told him, and he whole-heartedly agrees. We have too much stuff. So, you can expect some pictures soon, but only after my couch has been turned right side up and my underwear found.....let's hope it's not too long! Hope you are all well.

The One On Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! The boyfriend and I made chicken enchiladas and rice for dinner and followed it up with tortilla dessert cups. They were awesome!! Here's the recipe if you want to try them. They turned out fantastic and we all had seconds. All images and recipe found here.



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10 flour tortillas (6 inches)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup cold fat-free milk
1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix
2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray; sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Turn tortillas over; repeat on the other side. Cut each tortilla into four wedges.

For each dessert cup, place round edge of one tortilla wedge in the bottom of a muffin cup, shaping sides to fit cup. Place a second tortilla wedge in muffin cup, allowing bottom and sides to overlap. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Cool completely in pan.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Beat in cream cheese on low until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Carefully remove cups from pan. Pipe or spoon about 3 tablespoons filling into each cup. Drizzle or pipe with melted chocolate. Refrigerate for 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 20 servings.

So, SO good! Let me know if you tried them!

The One Where I Ask For a Favor

A knitting friend and fellow blogger posted this on her blog. If you can, please repost this on your blog. It would be so greatly appreciated.

Guys, Mac needs some help.



His heartbreaking story (direct copy of the knitter’s forum post):

Hey everyone, a friend of mine is involved in a Chicago-area rescue group, Alive Rescue, and they currently have a pitbull mix who is in desperate need of a foster home. He’s currently being boarded in a kennel, but he’s extremely stressed under those conditions. Alive has been told that they have until Friday, 5/6, to find him a new temporary home. If they can’t do so by then, they’ll have to euthanize him.

Here’s the info that I’ve been given, as well as some pictures. If you’re interested in helping him, or know someone who can, please please please let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the necessary people. Thanks!

ETA: Mac is 3 years old and about 60 lbs.

“Hey! I’m Mac. A couple years ago, ALIVE took me in & adopted me into, what appeared to be, a loving home. While I was with them, they put me through shock collar training. The training made me afraid of other dogs & afraid to bark. Now I am dog reactive because I think I will get shocked. They are working really hard to get me socialized again and back to the dog I was. Unfortunately, I am SUPER stressed at the boarding place I am staying at and have been given until Friday to find a new place to live. I’m super loving & great with children! I just want a family that will treat me with kindness.”
“Right now I need a long-term foster home and ALIVE has until Friday to find a place for me to go. Ideally, it would be a home with no cats or other dogs. I’m super mellow and just need a temporary place to stay until my forever home comes along. ALIVE Rescue will provide you with all the necessary supplies to care for me too! PLEASE HELP ME! ”

Please contact ALIVE Rescue if you’re able to help, or please pass this along to anyone else who might. I’d hate to see Mac’s wonderful smile disappear.

Thanks so much.

The One With The First Glimpse

.....of our new house!! Well, besides facebook, that is! I will post pics of the inside soon, but here's the outside. Isn't it adorable? We are so excited for a garage, a deck, a yard & more bedrooms than we need. May 15th can't come soon enough, especially with the price of gas. It will be awesome to not have to drive an hour and a half each week (well, as soon as BF can find a job.)

The One With Some Music

I've been loving this song by a brand new artist, Redlight King. It's so freaking amazing.....have you heard it yet?



How about this one? Their voices are incredible! I first heard it on Jaime's blog and I've been obsessed ever since.



Any new music that you are loving? I always love to hear new bands and songs.

The One With a Little Catch Up

Just a little catch up post since it's been so long. Currently, I am....

Loving.... Pinterest. I cannot get enough of this website. The inspiration is incredible. If anyone wants an invite, please leave me a comment! I'd be happy to invite you. Be warned, it is very addicting! But so much fun.

Excited for... May 15th!!! The day we get the keys to our new house!! We literally drive past it atleast 5x a week, we are that excited. C'mon May 15th!

Worried... about my boyfriend finding a job. He will continue to work an hour and a half away until he can find a job closer to me and our new house. He has applied to a few places but hasn't heard anything yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but it has been keeping me up at night.

Creating.... not enough! I spend a few hours each day dreaming of having time to create again. I am hoping to do some scrapbooking in a few weeks, but my knitting has been sadly neglected. I can't wait to move in and get settled so I can play again. I have so many ideas but no time to put them into action.

Hating... the weather! I know, it's only April. And it's Minnesota. But still....we were teased with some amazing days a few weeks ago and my flip flops came out. I haven't worn them since, but haven't had the heart to put them back away. I just want Spring to be here SO BAD.

Wondering... what this summer is going to bring. I know we have lots of plans and fun things/ideas in our heads, but I wonder how much we will be able to do. We are very excited for warm weather and road trips, farmers markets, camping and being outdoors.

Craving... Summer fruits. We had some watermelon and grapes today but they weren't quite perfect yet. I love Summer fruits and veggies!

Hoping... that the move goes smoothly. Oh and that I get to see my sister in May!

Watching.... Just Go With It. Due Date. Four of a Kind. 127 Hours. The MN Twins. How I Met Your Mother. Storage Wars. American Pickers. Wipeout. Make It or Break It.

Reading... Sing You Home. The Dry Grass of August. Octoberfest. Trashy magazines. Real Simple. Pretty Little Liars.

Looking forward to... Spring and Summer. (and moving to our new home!) I am ready for short sleeves, capris and of course, flip flops!!

What are you doing currently? I'd love to hear. :)

The One With Vegas, Baby!

Well, a week from today I'll be joining the dirty 30 club. Luckily, I'll be in Vegas, living it up in the warm, sunny desert. I plan to have some drinks, do some gambling and eat some decadent food. The boyfriend and I have big plans for our vacation--we will be in the southwest for 8 days & 9 nights! I am MORE than ready to get out of the cold, slushy, snowy midwest and into the warm, sunny desert.

We plan on seeing several shows, including: this, this and this. We've heard amazing reviews about all of them, and there are SO many wonderful shows out in Vegas. It was very hard to narrow it down to only those 3.

We also are planning to go to BLT Burger and have a Twinkie(!) shake and a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3.

We both love to gamble and we plan on hitting up many casinos to try our hands at blackjack (our fave!), keno, roulette and lots of fun slot machines. We will be visiting Death Valley National Park, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead & the Hoover Dam while we are in the area as well. I have been doing a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of research about our trip and I can't believe how many beautiful and historic places are in the area! So many people think Vegas.....oh that's just for gambling, drinking, etc. But there are so many interesting things to do, even if you don't gamble!

So, it looks like it should be a stellar birthday vacation. My amazing boyfriend has really gone all out with the planning and I can't belive I'm so lucky to go somewhere so awesome to celebrate turning 30.

Have you been to Las Vegas? What sights do you recommend seeing while we are out there? Any casinos we can't miss? Places to eat?

The One With 8 Things About Me

8 things about me.

I was tagged by the lovely and oh-so-crafty Cynthia, so here goes...

1. When I was 10 years old, I won the spelling bee at my school on a Friday and then broke my wrist on Saturday. It was an eventful weekend, to say the least!

2. My favorite holiday is Halloween & my favorite season is Fall. I look forward to both literally ALL year long and am so sad when they are over.

3. Two of the goals on my bucket list are to visit all MN State Parks & all National Parks. When we go to Vegas in 3 weeks, I'll be able to visit atleast 2 National Parks! This makes me giddy.

4. My favorite drink in the world is Cranberry + Vodka, but I can NOT resist a shot of Jagermeister.

5. I am completely obsessed with books & reading. I never leave the house without a book and I bet I spend more time at my local library in a month than most people do all year.

6. I am pretty sure I love football more than most men. I can't get enough of it. I'm getting really into baseball too, but not quite as much as football.

7. When I set my alarm to wake up in the morning, the end number must be 7. 7:47, 8:07, etc.

8. I always, always wash my hands with ice cold water. I really don't know how or why this started, but I can't seem to stop doing it.

Thanks, Cindy! This was fun. And, since they are pretty much my only readers, I tag both of my sisters! (:

The One With Five on Friday

Five things I am loving today:

1.) This bag. Perfect length, size and color. Found here, on etsy.

2.) Sneak peeks of the new lines by October Afternoon. Check their blog out here and tell me which one is your favorite. I LOVE Boarding Pass.


3.) This chicken salad recipe. The boyfriend and I made it for dinner last night and it was delicious!


4.) This book. I fell in love with the characters and could not put it down. Full review at Goodreads.com.


5.) This website. Yes, it is a total timesuck. Yes, it is probably not appropriate for you to read at work. Yes, please go check it out, if you haven't already. I always come to the party a little late, so you probably already know about it but oh my gosh FUNNY. I couldn't stop reading laaaaaate into the night. Seriously laugh out loud hilarious.

What are you loving or coveting today?

The One With 10 on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday prompt: 10 things on your nightstand.

1.) Book or two, of course!
2.) Lamp
3.) Sleeping meds
4.) Tums
5.) Kleenex
6.) Phone
7.) Clock
8.) Chapstick
9.) Aquaphor Lotion
10.) Remote Control for the TV

If you play along, leave your blog link in the comments, please! I'd love to see what's on your nightstand. :)

The One With Five on Friday

Five things I'm loving today:

1.) This popcorn popper. I absolutely adore my air popper, but it's kind of a pain in the ass because you have to haul it out, clean it by hand, make a big batch, etc. So this would be perfect to just pop in the microwave. It's done in less than 3 minutes and it's as healthy as you want to make it. Looks like it's sold out right now though, boo!


2.) This video. Being a HUGE, life-long Packer fan as influenced by my father, of course I am beyond ecstatic that they made it to the superbowl. My only wish is that my Dad could be here to see it and we were all watching the big game together. But I do know that he has the best seat in the house, that's for sure, and may have had a hand in helping them get there. Next Sunday will be EPIC. For now, please watch the video. You will probably NOT be amused if you a.) are not a Packer fan or football fan in general or b.) have never heard "Like a G6" by Far East Movement. Me, I think it is perfect.


3.) This girls yarn. I have been a long time reader of her blog and Jen hand dyes her own yarn. I have been coveting a skein for weeks. I'm not sure which one to get, she has so many beautiful colors! And she even has PACKER colors, which makes her even more awesome. Visit her etsy shop here.


4.) This owl. Yes, I am still obsessed with owls, even while others may have decided they will go by the wayside for the next cool trend. Me, I can't help but continue to love the little guys. They just make me smile. Found this one in this etsy shop and plan to make him mine very soon. Also, all of her cute critters make me want to learn to crochet even more! I must get on that.


5.) This rug. The boyfriend and I have been spending a lot of time in the past few weeks shopping for furniture and I am obsessing over this rug. I *need* it in my home.


(None of these images are mine and I was not paid or reimbursed by any of these affiliates. YET.:) What are you loving or coveting today?

The One With My New Phone

Yes, I finally joined the rest of the century and got an android phone. This is my LG Optimus....isn't it gorgeous?




I am in love with it! I have downloaded a few fun games, but wondering if anyone has any apps that they love or can't live without? Please share, I would love some tips on fun games or things that make your life easier.

Thanks!

The One With Some Layouts

I went to a retreat a couple of weeks ago and finished 6 whole pages plus a card! I got a ton of inspiration from a certain talented scrapper and was extremely productive. (For ME! One of my friends finished 20+ pages!!)