Another Photo Dump For Ya!

I know I said What I'm Loving Wednesday would be back this week but in the light of recent events I'm just not super thrilled about much this week! Emotions are at an all time high and I'm honestly speechless with the events happening in our nation and world. The only place I've been able to find comfort or understanding is in the arms of my hubby with Baby Reef in my lap. It's a place I never want to leave.

Since I don't have much to share, for today I'll post photos from our Easter lunch at my mom's house! My mom did a fantastic job as usually with her tablescapes, food, and our annual Easter egg hunt {that I did not take photo's off because I was too busy participating in it}! Enjoy!

The Drink Station! Love a good ole Mason Jar! Country Living! 

Tablescape with Carrot treats! 

My mommy and Cousin Mason have bunny ears! 

This was our first furchild together! His name is O'Neil and he is the size of a baby lion! He now lives at GiGi's (my mom) house where he can roam the woods and fields and hunt like the lion he is! 

My Momma, My Nanna, and Me! 

The hubby playing on Mason's scooter! Never gives up the chance at being a kid! 

Mom and her baby TinkerBelle have the same hair style and coloring! 

My everything!

Baby Sister was able to come after work!!! Can't believe she graduates from high school in 2 months! 

Hope everyone has a splendid day! XoXo,

Weekend Recap!

Helllllooooo my darlings!!! I trust all of you had a splendid weekend?! For those who commented on Friday's post about my dog bite, I promise, promise, promise I will respond soon and I am not ignoring y'all!!! Life is getting busy with the increasing warm temperatures and home improvement tasks and I can honestly say I did not check my e-mail once this weekend! I did instagram per the usual so here's a recap of our weekend through my IG photos!

Friday evening was our typical relaxing evening in! When I got home I headed to the gym to get in a hard workout! I clocked a one mile run on the treadmill, one mile on the elliptical, and three miles on the bike! I then came home and made Poppyseed Chicken {minus the poppyseeds because we were out of them} while the hubs spent the evening doing an online driving improvement course {Can we say too many speeding tickets?!}. After dinner, Baby Reef crashed, the hubby studied and then studied some more, and I got started on painting some wine glasses! It's funny how Friday nights are so different than they were several years ago! I certainly wouldn't trade them now for anything.

Our Friday Night! 

Saturday, the hubby woke up early to cover some more driving improvement lessons. While he studied, I went for a refreshing one mile run. Early afternoon consisted of going to watch the hubby coach a baseball game! Sadly I didn't take any photos! I took Baby Reef and while he was on his best behavior and I was so proud of him for being calm, keeping my full attention on him made it hard to whip out the camera and take photos of the game! 

The hubby and I decided after the game that we would treat ourselves to dinner out which we hadn't done since February {due to lots of family get togethers}. We had a gift card to a somewhat new restaurant in my hometown, Suffolk, named Harper's Table! It was a super cute place and the food was amazing!!! We started with Pork Belly Biscuits and shared a Fuji Apple Salad. For our entrees Todd had the Sea Scallops with roasted cauliflower, thompson raisin puree, pecans and brown butter and I had the Chesapeake Bay Flounder with fennel, new potatoes, peas and a chorizo vinaigrette and we shared a side of hand cut fries & bacon mayonnaise! For dessert we had a homemade donut with a maple glaze and buttermilk ice cream and corn pudding! It sounds like A LOT of food but they are smaller portions which I love {not tapas small but the correct portion small}! This restaurant reminded me of the restaurants we ate at while in Charleston, SC last summer! I loved everything about it and the fact that I felt as though I was on a mini vacation but I was only thirty minutes from my home! After dinner we came home and crashed from a legit food coma! 

Beautiful Morning sky during my Saturday morning run! 

When renovating and creating Harper's Table, they found this original painted ad that was covered up by a border wall! 

Yesterday, we slept in a bit later than I would have liked, however I know I needed the extra sleep! One thing I love about my hubby is that he is a master breakfast chef! He can whip up any breakfast related dish and it's always fantastic! He treated me to fluffy chocolate chip pancakes and bacon! The pancakes were to die for! Seriously, I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had any in some time, but holy moly they were amaze balls!

This is the hubby's plate as I devoured my pancakes before even thinking about snapping a photo! 

After our late breakfast, the hubby headed to take his driver improvement test! This allowed me to start working on things around the house: laundry, dusting, straightening up, creating the grocery list and starting the removal of the wallpaper border in our kitchen! Once the hubby came back home {with a A on his test} he gave our yard some close attention with some good ole dandy yard work!

Starting to remove the '80s wallpaper border!

Later in the evening, I headed to good ole Harris Teeter to do some grocery shopping and was so excited to pick up some pretty tulips to brighten the coffee table as well as some scrumptious fresh fruit! Strawberries and Watermelon scream warm weather and I love that I can add them to my breakfast routine now!

Watermelon, Strawberries, and Tulips! Gloriousness!

After putting the groceries away we decided to head out for a nice evening walk with Baby Reef! We don't walk him often because in the past he would pull and drag me along {even with the gentle leader} but after seeing how well behaved he was Saturday at the ball game we figured maybe he has matured a bit! To our surprise he most definitely has matured! The walk was great {and over a mile long} and I loved being able to do it as a family! Maybe I will be able to take Baby Reef on my runs here sooner than later! 

What did y'all get into this weekend? It was beautiful here in my area and I'm beyond thankful for it! The house is still a work in progress but I feel accomplished on what we did do this weekend! Here's to more fantabulous weekends! Cheers! XoXo!  

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Alrighty loves, I'm not going to lie, this is going to be a short and sweet post! I have my monthly migraine and I'm really just not in the mood for staring at the computer for too long! What am I loving this week?! Certainly not this headache!

1.  I ran 2 miles yesterday! Yes, you read that correctly! I, Lauran, ran two miles, nonstop yesterday! I'm pretty positive that was the first time I've EVER run two miles straight! I may have ran it in high school but I can't remember so it definitely doesn't count! I'm still in utter disbelief but I'm also super proud of myself! On another plus side, my hip isn't bothering me anymore either! Bring on the miles!!! I've already clocked 4 miles total for the 30 Miles in 30 Days link up!

Nike Running App! Some of the red spots signify me running in place for passing traffic or slowing down. I did not stop or walk at all! 

 2. The Dashing Dish Blog! I ran across this blog yesterday while doing some research on "clean eating". This girl has it going on! Loads and loads of amazing recipes and a whole tab dedicated to clean eating! She has the most amazing faith in God and watching her video promo and listening to her story is inspiring!! I can't wait to try some of her recipes and hopefully share them with y'all!

3. The Origami Owl necklace my momma gave me for Easter. Even though I told her I didn't want one she couldn't resist buying one for me and filling it with little treasures! An "L" for my name, a heart to represent her love for me, my birthstone, and a dog paw for Baby Reef! She also added a pearl charm as well! I'm looking forward to filling it with more sentimental goodies!!

My sweet necklace!

4. Baseball is officially back! If you are a fan of baseball you know Monday was Opening Day!! Baseball is HUGE in our home. My husband played his entire life, played in college, and now coaches at his high school! I like to refer to baseball as his "other wife" but when I'm annoyed with it I'll usually refer to it as his "mistress"! From now until the playoffs in October, some kind of game will be on nightly. It's such a familiar sound; announcers, the cracks of bats, and the roar of the crowd! I'm praying the Braves have a great season and I foresee they will with the Upton brother's joining the roster this year! You know they are from my neck of the woods right?! That makes me love them even more!!!

5. The home next door to us and the home two doors down are for sale! I hope I don't have to eat these words later but I really am excited about the possibility of having new neighbors!! The townhouse next to us has been empty for about two years now. An elderly woman, who was sweet as pie, lived there but she ended up moving in with her daughter and the house has been empty ever since {it's also the house where I scored that awesome vintage tufted ottoman I told y'all about here}. The town home on the other side of that one just went on the market yesterday! That home has been a rental and has seen its fair share of tenants! I'm looking forward to the possibility of some nice young families moving into both of them! Fingers crossed that they will be as awesome as our neighbors across the street! So, who wants to be our neighbors?! Seriously, if you are looking in the Hampton Roads area add them to your list!

For sale signs! Come on and be our neighbors!!!

Happy Hump Day!! I'm off to pop some more exedrin in hopes this headache goes away!!

On a side note, if any of you follow Perfectly Imperfect Jenn than you know she lost her beloved pup child Daisy on Monday! I am planning to do something nice for her to show her that all of her blogging buddies care deeply and are heartbroken for her! If you would like to partake please let me know!!! I'll be putting a group email together to send out the details later this evening!! 

XoXo!

Weekend Recap!

Here we are, staring Monday straight in the face, again! Have you noticed how we all seem to live for the weekends?! Counting down the days starting on Monday, complaining how the week is so long and then moaning and groaning about the weekend flying by?! It's sad that we seem to live our lives for the weekend! Buuut why wouldn't we?! It's two days that we have off to jam in all kinds of "to-dos" "must-dos" and fun stuff! I want to try harder at not wishing my weeks away just to get to my weekend! Wishing it away is wishing time away and quite frankly I would like it to slow down just a bit! It's already the mid to latter part of March! Didn't we just celebrate New Years?! Anywho, enough of the serious philosophical thoughts... what kind of St. Paddy's Day shenanigans did y'all get into this weekend? Me?! Buying Bailey's Irish Cream flavored Irish colored French Macarons were about as crazy as I got for St. Paddy's Day!

Friday evenings for us, are usually relaxing nights in! We eat dinner at home, sip wine {for me} and beer {for the hubs} and chill out from our hectic weeks with the pup in front of the TV! This Friday was no exception, though I did grow a wild hair up my rear and decided it was time to tackle the daunting task of cleaning off our office desk. I kid you not, when I say, that there were bills {that have been paid, just needed to be filed} piled up on the desk since before Christmas! Ugh please don't judge! I've been procrastinating on buying a file cabinet and instead of putting everything in their designated folders, I've been piling it up on the desk! Well, I decided to pull out the folders and file it all away. While doing so, Baby Reef decided it would be a grand idea to nap... right in the middle of all my files. He even was brazen enough to move some folders and papers out of his way so he could make room for his napping spot! Silly Silly boy!

Baby Reef in the midst of all my organizing and filing! 

Saturday we slept in which was glorious since we had a morning rain shower come through and it was incredibly grey out. When we woke up, the sun was trying to peak through and the hubby headed off to baseball practice! Meanwhile I decided to accomplish a few things outside of the house since it was turning into a beautiful day! I packed up the car with stuff that has been taking over our dining room to donate to Goodwill and I grabbed my Tory Burch's and a pair of hard worn heels to take to the cobbler for some sprucing up and repairs. Mind you, I've never been to this cobbler, or any cobbler for that matter, and I wasn't sure if they would be able to fix the heels or my TB's. When I walked in the man at the counter stared at me intently, making me feel really uncomfortable. I explained to him that I had never been to a cobbler before and I wasn't sure if my shoes were fixable. He didn't say anything, just kept staring. At this point, even with how uncomfortable I was feeling, I felt I couldn't just turn around and leave. I pulled the heels out first and he paused and looked at them and said they weren't fixable; fine I'll just buy another pair. I then pulled out my TB's and explained that they were very special to me, and I just really needed them spruced up if that was possible. Meanwhile he is STILL staring and looking at me as if I am ET, himself. He took the shoe and said "I can polish them". At that point I was so eager to get out of there, I said OKAY, gave him needed information, took my ticket and ran! Once I got in the car all I kept thinking was I hope he doesn't hold my shoes hostage or something... I should've never left them with this dude! I mean he was just creepy. Thank goodness Baby Reef was tagging along in the car to help with my anxiety attack I was having! I will give the guy some credit! They did a nice job polishing them and they look very much to being almost brand new!!! I plan on taking them to another cobbler the next time they need some attention as to avoid the creepy guy, though. I'd rather not deal with the unsettling feeling again!

Once I dropped my shoes off, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some bread for the appetizer I was making for my best friend, Tatiana's birthday celebration later that night! Then with the windows down, music up, and a doggy hanging out the window, we headed to Goodwill! We dropped off quite a few things and I was immediately relieved to see it go! It was causing too much clutter in the house and needed to go months ago! I'm still purging and organizing so this will not be the last trip but knowing this batch is gone helps relieve some of the purging stress I have right now!

After dropping off the donations, Baby Reef and I headed into Old Towne Portsmouth to visit a local bakery, Artisans Bakery! I had inquired on their Facebook page last week if they sold French Macarons and they informed me that they would have St. Paddy's Day themed ones this weekend! They then commented to me Friday saying they were available for purchase during the weekend! I'd never been there before so I was really excited! Seriously.... cutest place ever! It's a full service bakery/cafe in a historically built home! Absolutely adorable and I can't wait to go back and grab lunch sometime, coffee, and more macaroons! I bought a dozen of them to take to the birthday party later that night! They were green, orange, and cream colored and Irish Bailey's flavored! Annnd they were tasty to boot!

Bailey's Irish Cream Flavored St. Paddy's Day inspired French Macarons! 

When we left there with the goodies we headed to Starbucks so I could use my gift card towards a Chai Tea Latte {my favorite!}. Once Baby Reef said his hello's to the Drive Thru girls we headed to an older neighborhood in the area to check out homes for sale! I love love love the Old Towne area with it's historic 18th century homes and gorgeous architectural buildings! I would love nothing more than to buy a home {renovated or we renovate ourselves} from the early 1900's! They have such character and charm and contain so much history! It's just difficult to find these houses in safer areas and in good school districts. Nonetheless it was really nice to just cruise with the pup and look at the beautiful homes!

Later, once we were all spiffy and ready to go, the hubby and I headed out to Tat and Kevin's house! Tat decided she wanted to have a "wine/cheese tasting" birthday celebration and she did not disappoint with the spread! Lots and lots of artisan cheeses, salami, nuts, olives, fruit, french breads, and even dark chocolate and of course more than a few of yummy wines for us to try! After all the girls caught up with their girl talk in the kitchen, we joined the the guys for a game of LCR. If you don't know what that is, check this out! I had NEVER heard of it but -oh my lanta- how fun! I'm not much of a gambler so it's not something I think would play ALL the time but it was definitely a good way to add some innocent fun to a party!

The Birthday Girl!

The amazing spread! 

Some of the delicious wine!

Tat and Kevin's sweet puppies Bosley and Kenya! They just so happen to be brothers and are the sweetest little souls! 

LCR

Tat and I have an appreciation for some of the finer things in life and we share an obsession for Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutins! We also share an unhealthy obsession with Paris too! Neither of us have a pair of Louby's but we often chat about buying our first pair one day! Because we share this love, I haaaaad to buy her this wine bottle holder {this isn't the exact one but very similar}! She loved it and I told her that was the closest I could get to giving her the real deal!! I hope when we both can buy our first pair, it's an experience we can have together! And yes, it is that serious when it comes to Louby's and LV!

I had to but the polka dot gift wrap paper! 

Yesterday we did absolutely nothing! And when I say nothing, I really mean nothing! The weather was grey and damp all day which made if difficult to get motivated! I did manage to watch Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married, Too? on TBS! I have to give Tyler Perry credit... he makes some movies that really pull at your heart strings! I haven't seen all of his work, but the ones that I have seen always move me, usually to tears, but they do make me laugh too! I did give myself my weekly manicure as well, but other than that and watching the movies, we literally did nothing!

My manicure - Essie Pink Lemonade 

How was all of your weekends?!?! It felt good to be somewhat productive on Saturday! The winter weather has a way of making me want to stay in bed under the covers so it was great to get out in the warm sunshine and accomplish some things! Hope everyone is having a stellar Monday so far! XoXo!

Friday's Letters!

Friday is here! Hallelujah! I feel really repetitive when I say this has been the longest week ever, but really, this one has! Not so much long in time, just crazy emotionally draining days that make the week seem to last for forever!  I need this all girls slumber party I'm attending tonight and I have no doubt it will offer copious amounts of wine too, which is quite therapeutic in my humble opinion!

Via

Dear PMS, You are a Bitch. Plain and Simple. You make me behave in ways that are shameful. You would think by now I'd know how to handle you, but seriously, you are different every month and I can't keep up! You make me a horrible person and I hate you! Dear Memorial Service I Am Attending Today, Please know I will be an emotional wreck. Not only is this my boss's second family loss in two weeks but it's also her teenage daughters! I can remember, like it was yesterday, losing my grandparents in high school and I was around her age. It was difficult and I was sad for so long! I'm not sure I can bare to see either my boss or her daughter this afternoon, but I hope they know how much they are loved! Dear Harris Teeter, You really make my grocery shopping experience so much fun!!! Your produce section may be my favorite part of the entire store {next to the wine aisle, of course}. You carry the most vegetables I have ever seen and some I have never even heard of! I am always eager to browse what you are offering and try new things! Tonight I grabbed some brussel sprouts along with our normal veggie staples. The hubby and I have had them before but they are not a common vegetable in our home and I've never tried actually cooking them. I'm really excited to add a new vegetable to our meal plans... that is if they come out tasting well! Dear Ballard Designs, You make my life complete! I love everything in your catalog and wish I had an unlimited budget to buy EVERYTHING and fill my home with all your wonderful goodies! I definitely hope to revamp our outside patio this summer and include some items from your outdoor collection! Dear Dancing with the Stars Season 16, I'm going to be honest with you, the only reason I will be watching you, is to support my Brit Love, Lisa Vanderpump!  She really is breaking out from The Real Housewife franchise and making a name for herself outside of the wives! With Vanderpump Rules and now Dancing with the Stars under her belt, that woman really can do it all! I am always in complete awe of her {and her closet} and I am beyond excited to see her dance her booty off!!

Enjoy your weekends, darlings!!!! See you Monday! XoXo!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm currently in the process of brainstorming a new regular post for Wednesdays! As much as I enjoy, "What I'm Loving Wednesday" I want to create something more my own. Something that could possibly turn into a link up and something a bit more substantial. Until I can come up with the perfect theme for my future Wednesdays, here is what I am LOVING this week! What are y'all loving??!

1. I am, hands down, totally in love with this Subaru commercial! If the hubby and I have a little girl when the time comes for us to extend our family, I know he is going to be this kind of daddy! He tries to be so manly and tough now, but throw a little girl in his life and she will have him wrapped around her little finger! This commercial makes me a tad bit eager to see my soul mate as a daddy! This commercial also makes me cry!



2. Last nights season finale episode of White Collar. HOLY CRAP! As always they leave you wanting more and now I have to wait until THE FALL for season 5! Really?!?! 6-7 months?!?! Oh well, looks as though GraceLand may become a great substitute this Summer! White Collar may be over for now, but that's what seasons on DVD are for, right?! And what's not to love about that?!

3. The YAAA! Black Tie Bowling event this past weekend! It was a pure blast!!! I learned that I am a HORRIBLE bowler, old ladies love my hubby, and we seriously have some pretty stellar friends!! The hubby and I can't thank the rest of our team enough for joining us in helping raise awareness for Alzheimer's! How cute were we all?! If you are at all interested in YAAA!, Please visit www.alz.org for more information on how to join and/or start a chapter in your area!

4. That I am reverting back to my twelve year old self and attending a slumber party this Friday night! My girlfriend, Whitney is hosting a little girl night at her home and I am super duper excited! This has been written in my schedule for over a month and I've been counting down the weeks and days! I need some girl time and this will be perfect! 

5. Winning Baby Reef a BarkBox!!! A friend sent me an email notifying me of a give away a blogger was hosting last week! Rebekah received two Bark Boxes {think Birchbox but for a dog} and decided she wanted to give one away! Baby Reef was chosen randomly which made this my first blogging contest win!! The BarkBox arrived yesterday and Baby Reef made out with some fantastic treats and a few new toys! I may just do a post on the whole box next week! 

Hope you all are surviving this week well! Unfortunately, due to uncontrollable circumstances, I'm a bit bogged down at work but the fun of this upcoming weekend is getting me through it! If you could, please say a small prayer for a dear friend and co worker of mine, I would greatly appreciate it! XoXo my Darlings! 

It's Gettin' Sweet, Spicy, and Fishy Up in Here!

For one of my Bridal Showers, almost two years ago, the hostess arranged for each guest to bring their favorite recipe to add to a new recipe box for our kitchen! I made out with quite a few yummy appetizers {including 3 separate recipes for Buffalo Chicken Dip hehe}, some scrumptious main dishes, and even a sweet dessert bread! In all my kitchen gloriousness, I've only made one dish out of the recipe box in the two years that I have had it! I keep adding recipes to the box, I just hadn't taken a chance on cooking a meal already in the box! All of that changed this past week!

While meal planning for the week and sifting through recipes I decided to give the recipe box a try! I have also been on a mission to get the hubby to eat and enjoy salmon! I love, love, love this fish and want to incorporate more of it in our dinners however, the hubby is not salmon's biggest fan! That's where this recipe comes into play! I felt there was enough sugar, spice and everything nice to appeal to his tastes buds and I was about 95% accurate! He ate all of it which was a huge win in my book!

The Recipe Card

What You Will Need:

Salmon - Cayenne Pepper - Brown Sugar - Honey - Chili Powder - Sea Salt

Fresh Salmon Filets or Flash Frozen Salmon Filets {I used Frozen}

Chili Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Sea Salt

Honey

Brown Sugar 

As you can see from my recipe card there were no measurements so you basically have to eyeball it to your liking! For instance it called for a "pinch" of brown sugar but I used about a tablespoon on each filet to ensure more of a glaze for the fish. I also cooked this in a skillet pan on top of the stove instead of in the oven which allowed for the juicy glaze as well. 

Directions:

Place Salmon in pan skin side down {my frozen filets didn't have skin so I just placed them in the pan}

Cover both salmon pieces entirely with Chili Powder {pretty vigorous amount}

Then follow behind with a light sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper

 Lightly dust with Sea Salt

Drizzle entire filet with Honey

Top with Brown Sugar

I then covered the pan and cooked the Salmon until it flaked.

Cooking in the pan. The honey, brown sugar and juices made a sweet glaze to offset the spicy Chili Powder and Cayenne Pepper.


Once the fish is cooked thoroughly to your liking, plate it and serve with sides of your choice! I whipped up white cheddar mashed potatoes and fresh green beans as our sides! 

Honey Chili Salmon!

This was a super easy peasy meal to make and would work perfectly on any weeknight!! I didn't time it but I'm certain it didn't take more than 20 minutes to prepare and cook! Easy, Yummy, and the Hubby ate it! Certainly a successful dinner in my house! I'll for sure be using this one again! If you end up trying it be sure to let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts!! 

XoXo! 

Spring is Near & March 2013 Mini Goals are Here!

March is always an exciting and LUCKY month to me because it means Spring is right around the corner!! Warmer days will be here before we know it {at least in my area of the world} and I'll be able to enjoy driving around with the sunroof open and the warmish breeze in me hair! Ohhh it's so close I can almost reach out and touch it! As usual, with a new month comes new goals and new sponsors, so be sure to check out the side bar {if you are interested in sponsoring I am currently booking for April and May for FREE}! I really excelled last month and have to say I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish! Some goals were carried over in hopes to continue improving upon them! I hope March is just as stellar and productive as February.

Via

1. Continue to purge and organize the house, one room at a time and donate all to Goodwill. As I've said since January, this is a continuous task throughout our home! I hope to pack up a car load and drop off quite a few things to Goodwill Thursday evening! Our dinning room is a bit junkie since I have a HUGE donation pile building in there! I'd like to have my dinning room table and room back to normal!

2. Finish reconstructing my resume. This should really be a top priority to me and I hope to finalize it as much as possible, but also, to design it so that I can easily change information to fit specific career applications. I know once I finish this, I'll be more eager to search and apply to job opportunities that fit what I would like to do for the rest of my life!

3. Arrive on time to work, every morning! This will be continuous until I learn to get up on time, get myself moving and out the door and to work on time! I'll be honest, it has turned into a joke at my office but I enjoy going out for my hour lunch break and when I'm late for work I usually don't take that hour to leave. I'd like to power walk more during the week on my break or even sit in my car and read a book just to regroup and get out of the office for some personal time.

4. Stay off of the phone and computer on evenings we are both home. It is so easy to be distracted with the computer and our cell phones when we are sitting down and relaxing in the evenings together. I really want us to give one another 100% of our attention in the evenings when we are talking about our day's events, our schedule for the upcoming week, or plans for the weekend! It gives us time to unwind and connect daily without outside distractions. We can use cell phones and computers all we want when the other person is not home, is sleeping, or is not in the same room, however, when we are sitting together, talking in the same room, technology is off limits!

5. Update our iPhones. To say we are techno- illiterate is an understatement! I try to keep up, teach myself, and learn the ins and outs of the technology products we use regularly, however, for the most part it's all completely over my head! We both have had our iPhones for over a year and a half and while I did update mine once, about a year ago, the hubby has not updated his, AT ALL! He can't even access the Twitter App on his phone because it needs to be updated! I've been apprehensive to do the updates because I hear people always complaining about losing their contacts! That makes me more paranoid than it probably should! Seriously, if anyone knows how to update the iPhone without losing contacts, I'm going to need you to give me a play by play on how to perform the update! Please and Thankyou!

6. Keep a better track of our expenses. I used to be really good about keeping up with my bank account and account register but then I started using online banking and realized I could have my balance at my fingertips. When I started utilizing the online banking {and opened joint checking with the hubby}, I slowing stopped using my register, therefore I stopped keeping track of all the money I was spending. I'd like to get back to writing it all down and keeping track of it, penny for penny. It may sound a bit particular, but it'll give me a better idea on how much is going out, on what it's going out to, and what we may could cut back on to save more! I hope we can save all our receipts and I can log what we have spent daily. By the end of March we should be able to tell more about our spending habits and how to control the frivolous unneeded purchases!

7. Work on my own reactions when others are rude to me. I don't know about you but it seems here lately we've run into really rude people. People who push through doorways when you are trying to walk through the same door {and they don't say excuse me}, people who don't hold doors open for you when your hands are full or you are a few feet behind them, people who bump into you and don't say excuse me, folks who are blatantly rude and sarcastic in emails or other forms of communication, folks who cut you off in traffic and don't get the thankyou wave and when people are rude when first meeting you to the point that my husband even makes a comment at how rude the person was. Yes, the last one was definitely personal. If my husband says something about the rudeness of the person... well then... you're freaking rude! Normally when I feel I've been slighted or disrespected I am quick to make a sarcastic comment like "Really? There are 5 other doors and you want to walk through the one I am walking through?" very loudly so I know the person hears me. It's not totally nice on my part, however I think it should be brought to the attention of the person that they are, in fact, being rude! Because I know my reactions aren't always nice, I am working on not reacting and keeping a smile on my face! It keeps me from sweating the small stuff, like the person's rudeness. I do believe today will welcome my first test, wish me luck!

8. Find a cobbler/shoe repair shop to spruce up some of my damaged heels and to put life back into my Tory Burch's. For some reason I am extremely hard on my shoes. I plan to show y'all this in a post all it's own of how damaged the majority of my shoes are! My TB's are no exception. I've had them a little over a year and it looks as though they are ten years old! The leather is worn off on the toes, on the sides and on the heels, the insoles are starting to lift, and I have a tear on the inside heel of one shoe! I've loved them and worn them to death! Considering the price tag they come with it's not an option to just to go buy a new pair so I'm hoping to have them repaired and looking like new sooner rather than later! Hopefully some of my shoes aren't too far gone and they can be saved including my Tory's.

9. Keep writing honest and true posts for my readers! Last month I noticed a lot of bloggers posting about how they needed to get back to posting "real.honest.true-to-themselves-posts". While, I feel I haven't strayed from this, I do feel the need to share more of these kinds of posts! From the ones I have written and shared I have received some great feedback and support and I have made some great connections because of it! I want to continue those connections, those friendships and the support! It is inspiring to me and I hope my honest posts and ramblings are inspiring to others too!

10. Try to arrange at least one family lunch/dinner. Our family is huge! As I've shared before we both come from divorced parents where everyone has been remarried. Therefore, instead of four immediate families, we have close to eight! To have Sunday family dinner's is not something I could host, but I would love to have at least one or two families over a few times a month for dinner or afternoon lunch, starting this month! We aren't promised tomorrow and that is becoming more and more evident to me every day! I want us to spend as much time with our families as possible for we never know what the future will bring and how much time we have left with all of them!

I am really excited to have added some new goals to my list this month! I hope I haven't set myself up to fail as some of these are a bit harder than others, but I feel with my persistence and determination I can really accomplish these! Positive thoughts lead to positive results right?!

Hope you darlings are having a fantastic start to the week {I'm not going to say the dreaded "M" word}  and if you have goals for the month of March, please feel free to share!!! I'd love to form a little cheerleading group for one another!!  I am finalizing details on my Favorite Things give-away! It will be occurring this month so stay tuned! XoXo!

February 2012 Mini Goals Roundup!

Is February really over?! I mean, I know that it is always the shortest month of the year, but dear goodness, this one flew by! I'd like to think I did really well with my goals, however, that will be determined once I write them out below!

1. Purge and Organize house, one room at a time. Donate all to Goodwill. WIN/FAIL. I am labeling it this way because it really is an ongoing process! I did donate a car full of stuff at the beginning of the month and I do believe it's time for another load to go!

2. Finish reconstructing resume. FAIL. I did work on some added information but did not complete the entire resume. I think, in my subconscious, that I am scared to actually complete it because that means I will have to actually start applying to jobs, which then means I will sit and wait to hear from companies! Sitting and waiting is excruciating and as much as I aim to be positive about applying to positions, one must also be realistic! Not every job I apply to is going to say yes, which means there will be some rejections, and well, that just sucks!

3. Schedule actual planned date nights with the hubby! WIN! My idea is to plan at least one adventurous, out-side-of-the-box- date night, once a month and that I did! Last Friday, we went to a beer tasting! I blogged about it in our weekend recap! I am definitely, looking forward to planning something fun for March! I'm thinking ice-skating before the temperatures start to rise!

4. Book our June trip to Jamaica. WIN! I am beyond thrilled that we finally booked our trip. However, I did learn in the process that I have to renew my passport to my married name! I'm really glad we booked the trip this month as if we had waited another month I would have been cutting it WAY to close with renewing my passport!

5. Have at least one girls night with any or all of my gal pals. FAIL. This was a fail unless you count a happy hour event put on by the Jr. League of Norfolk/Virginia Beach where I got to see my love, Tatiana! I know, we are way lame for not getting together sooner, but in both of our defenses, we've been busy!! Same goes for all my closest gal pals! Busy schedules juggling work, husbands, pets, kids, outside activities, etc. Do any of you have any ideas on how to work around so many schedules including your own?!

6. Arrive on time to work, every morning. FAIL. I was on time for 5 days out of 19 work days! I know, I know, I know, before you tell me how lame I am, I already know! The funniest part about me always being late for work, is that my WHOLE ENTIRE office knows it! We had a humorous little awards show and I won the "Jeff Gordon Award" which was for the person who is always "racing" to work! Ha yes, I received the most nominations for that award and I got a sweet $25 gift card to Home Depot for it too! Running late isn't that bad is it?!

7. Save my bonus and then some to purchase a long coveted luxury item I've been eyeing for a few years. WIN! This is an ongoing goal since I do have to save more money than what my bonus was, but I do hope to have the item by summer time, if not sooner!

8. Stop expecting so much out of others. WIN for now. This goal is a lot harder than I thought, but I did noticed that when I didn't expect anything from anyone I didn't feel as stressed, upset, or hurt. Trying to remain positive on life and events has allowed me to not be SO hurt by the carelessness of others! It's a bit liberating! I know I am not perfect and that I have and will disappoint others because I don't meet their expectations. It's a bit like the circle of life, in a way. However, I believe if we all stop expecting so much from each other we can learn to accept people more easily for the exact person they are! That doesn't mean that people can totally get away from not doing certain things, but it does excuse them from the little things we tend to sweat that really don't matter in the grand scheme of life.

9. Stay off of phone and computer on evenings we are both home. WIN/FAIL. This isn't that difficult but it is difficult when the hubby isn't trying to reach the same goal for the month! He enjoys his time checking surf report after surf report on the laptop, which then makes me want to check things on my phone! I've stayed off the laptop til after we get into bed for the night! I did make it a point to not be on any electronic device when having conversations with the hubby and talking about our days events. He deserves my undivided attention! Now if only I could get him to turn the television off when I'm chatting about my day!

10. Leave more "honey do" lists to relieve myself of some responsibilities. WIN! This has been a lifesaver and I wish it was something I had started earlier and stuck with! Leaving the hubby a couple of tasks to accomplish each day before I get home, allows me to come home and not stress about all of the tasks I need to do! I made sure to leave him tasks he is good at and knows how to do like, separating, washing and folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, cleaning our bathroom, vacuuming , and changing the bed linens! Laundry and putting away clean dishes has really been the biggest help as they are continuously on going in our home! Not only am I learning to hand over responsibilities, I am also learning to keep things the way my hubby does them. While I did point out that the bathroom mirror was streaky {because he did, in fact, use all purpose cleaner and not Windex}, I had him correct it with the Windex. No, it may not have been 100% as clean as it would have been if I had done it, but he did it and I'm not going to go down behind him and fix it. I know he tries and that really is all I can ask. I'm certain that with more practice he will improve and he'll be happier with me not nagging him and making him feel inferior about how he can't clean a mirror.

So let's count them: 5 Wins, 2 Win/Fails, 3 Fails! It looks as though the WINS won this go round! This makes me smile and I really feel accomplished. I won't lie, I have felt very motivated this month and hope it continues in the months to come! I'm keeping busy, have been active in the gym since the New Year, have changed some things in my diet, and I really feel that they are all correlating in making me feel good! Now... if only I could finish that resume and get that banging career I want... I'd be all set!

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Hope you darlings have a fabulous Friday and weekend! I'll be busy bowling away with the YAAA! group to help in the awareness of Alzheimer's! If you missed my post Tuesday, please take a moment to read it here! We are still accepting donations and would love for you to assist in helping us raise money to help find a cure for Alzheimer's! Follow this link and just click on the green donate button!  Every little bit helps! Even if it's $1.00! See ya Monday!!! XoXo!

Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday, Darlings! I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful weekend! As I mentioned on Friday here, we didn't have any huge plans which was more than welcoming considering we have some jammed packed weekends coming up! It was nice to sleep in, lay around, and just soak in the laziness for a bit!

Friday evening we attended a beer tasting at Bon Vivant Market, a wine and beer shop, in nearby Smithfield {home of Gwaltney bacon}. Now, this was our first beer tasting and visit to this location. Bon Vivant also has a location in nearby Suffolk, which is closer but they weren't having any activities for the evening! As I had made a priority here, I've really wanted the hubby and I to have more adventurous-outside-of-the-box date nights and stray away from the typical dinner dates we are known to have! I thought the beer tasting would be a great first outside-of-the-box date, especially since the guest speaker was Kevin O'Connor from the local O'Connor Brewing Company, which the hubby's employer distributes and to which I just picked up a six pack of, for the hubby, at the beginning of last week! Coincidence? I think not!

Our beer glasses! 

The hubby was on board for the tasting so I made the final decision to attend. I was home by six {the wine tasting started at seven and the location was thirty minutes away}but of course I had to change clothes, touch up my makeup, and tend to the dog. We left the house at 6:30 and made it to Bon Vivant at 7:10 {ten minutes late} and from there I knew why they said arrive promptly at seven. The parking lot was full and this store looked smaller than my old 700 square foot apartment. We walked in to about 25 people staring at us in a area we could barely squeeze through! We were given our complimentary glasses and a pour and stood cramped and close as we listened to Kevin O'Connor explain his different beers, the types of hops used in each one, and how he immensely enjoys his beer craft. We also learned the story of how IPA got it's name! If you don't know definitely check it out here!! It's very interesting and being that Im not a huge beer drinker, I enjoyed learning something new! After some more tastings and Q&A, we picked out some beers to purchase and headed out! We ate dinner at a Thai/Asian Fusion restaurant close by and continued on home! Once home we headed to bed as the hubby had the sniffles and wasn't feeling well, not to mention he was exhausted from his work week! Waking up at 3 a.m. every morning, working till 1 p.m., and then coaching baseball the rest of the afternoon until 6 p.m. can wear a man out! To say I worry about him getting enough sleep is an understatement!

Saturday we spent much of the day catching up on sleep and relaxation! We woke up/ rolled out bed at... noon... yes, call us pathetic, but it was raining and we didn't have plans! What else was there to really do?! Once we were out of bed, we plopped our tushies down on the couch and recliner for more laziness! I did give myself my weekly manicure and the hubby ended up napping some more! After a few more hours of all that laziness we had to get ready for dinner with his family. The hubby's Uncle and Aunt had some slight renovations done on their home and wanted to show us as well as have the family all together for a nice meal and conversation. His Aunt made chicken curry which was heavenly and apparently his grandmother's recipe, which I am going to need to add to my recipe book and so we can continue to pass it down through the family! The wine was flowing, the conversation going, and the food spectacular! It really was an incredibly fun evening! While enjoying the fire after dinner, I noticed that Pippa, one of the house kitties was enjoying staring into the smoldering fire. I HAD to snap a photo of her just sitting there, so sweet and still, just staring!

Sweet kitty Pippa staring into the fire!  

I felt like taking a selfie! 

Yesterday, we slept in a bit and then enjoyed cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The hubby had baseball practice at noon so after he headed out I decided I would get myself together and venture out on an area rug hunt! I've been looking for an area rug for the office/library since I began redecorating and haven't had much luck! I knew I wanted a lighter colored rug to offset the dark browns of the furniture, the curtains, and the floors but I hadn't been able to find one within my budget or taste. At the recommendation of Todd's Uncle and Aunt at dinner the night before, I decided to check out Ollie's Bargain Outlet, which is on the same spectrum as Big Lots, but BIGGER! I had never been but, after they told me of their massive area rug selection, I decided I didn't have much to lose! I am beyond glad I went, because I found a rug! I actually found five and had to make a decision on just one! The best part?! It was under $100!!! I'm unsure if I am going to keep this one as I think a few of the others that I picked out would look better but regardless I now know where to go when I need an area rug or runner!

Please don't mind the quality of the majority of the photos as some are Iphone photos! And don't mind the mess of this room either! It's still in the works! 

Laying out the new rug! 

View from the front door. 

When I left to head out to Ollie's I noticed the owners of the town home next to us were cleaning it out and had a few pieces of furniture sitting by the side of the road. One piece was a really great looking antique hunter green upholstered chair and the other was a a light mintish green velvet tufted bench! I immediately fell in love with the bench but noticed it was stained in some areas and needed some tlc. So, I did what any blogger would do... I snapped a photo on Instagram and asked my followers if I should snag it up! I had fourteen YES comments and twenty-one "likes" and considering I couldn't get the bench out of my head as I was looking for the rug, I knew I had to have it! I came home praying it would still be there {you'd be surprised at how quickly things go when they are on the side of the road} and when I saw that it was, I quickly scooped it up and carried it into the house! After rolling out the rug and having my neighbor Catherine's opinion, I set the bench up as a coffee table and displayed a few books and other decorative pieces on it! I have to say I love it! I need to work on cleaning the stains but for now it doesn't look terribly bad!

Bench and Chair being trashed! 

Now it has a perfect place in our home!

Close up. 

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Top view

So honestly, what do you think of the new additions?! I'm digging the bench 100% but I'm still unsure on the rug. I have 30 days to return it so I may give it a week OR I may even go purchase the other two , bring them home, and see which one looks best! No harm in that right?!

Any of you do any home decorating or serious sleeping this weekend?! Enjoy your Monday! If you stayed up late watching the Oscars like myself, you're probably walking around half awake today!! I've got to give myself a legit bed time!! XoXo!