Something's in the Water...so I'm not Drinking It!!

Something is in the water!
I was sitting here tonight thinking about how many people that we know who are having babies right now.  It's crazy!  Seriously, I counted...16 babies!  The funny part is they are pretty much all due between July and September, which means that you know it must have been a good holiday season ;)  We are definitely NOT going to be a part of the group...we have a few other things we want to do before we start to settle down and start a family (Like going to VEGAS next month!!!!).  Don't get me wrong, we both get caught up in the thought of it sometimes, but we are really good about thinking realistically and we know we should wait a couple of years.




So, speaking of VEGAS have I mentioned that we are going really, really soon??!!  Less than three weeks, ahhhhhh!  I can't wait.  I have not been on a vacation this long in YEARS, since high school spring break.  I really enjoy flying, and I am looking forward to getting to experience a new airport this time, in Salt Lake City.  We catch our connection there on the way.  On the way home we fly through Atlanta, which I have been to before.  We will be there for 8 days/7 nights.  We have some ideas of what we would like to do while we are there, but are not going to plan out too much because we want to be able to relax, and go with the flow of things.  We are going to be there long enough that we can take a few days to just relax by the pool, take an afternoon nap, and then go exploring that night.  I am really excited to visit all of the casinos, and I am going to try to make sure I start out easy and limit myself with money.  I want to try some of the machines but I also want to go to the live tables and play some blackjack!  The craps tables always look fun in the movies, too.  We have planned out the Monday that we are there to be our "Groupon" day, since we bought tickets for an ATV tour of the Ring of Fire, and also got tickets for a show that we are going to that night.  It says that it is a combination of a comedy/burlesque show, which sounds like it should be interesting and probably very "vegas".  I would also like to find tickets to another big show while we are out there.  Something like Cirque de Soleil or Blue Man Group.  One other thing that we know we really want to do is go to a famous chef's restaurant for dinner.  Yes, this will be a pricey dinner but I think it would be awesome!  I am a huge fan of Top Chef, and April really likes the Food Network so there are lots of chefs to choose from.  Here are some of the restaurants:

 from Andre Rochat (French Cuisine)
from Emeril Lagasse (Cajun/Seafood)
 from Mario Batali (Italian)
 from Wolfgang Puck (Steakhouse).  He has several in Vegas
 from Todd English (Mediterranean)
 from Alain Ducasse (French/American)
 from Bobby Flay (Southwestern)

and, last but not least...probably my favorite chef's restaurant:

 from Tom Colicchio




Goodnight! xoxo

House Projects

Wrote this one last night before my computer battery died and I didn't notice...

Well, as you know from visiting our house or reading past blog posts, we remodeled our kitchen this past Fall.  I absolutely love our new granite and cabinets, but the finishing touches have yet to be done.  We had a really busy winter and spring has been flying by, plus we are taking our big Vegas vacay this May.  I am hoping that as soon as our bank account recovers from the casinos (or maybe sooner if we win big!! Haha) that we can finish up the new light over the peninsula and the backsplash.  My previous job gave me so much knowledge and exposure to the kitchen design field, so it is hard for me to decide on what I love, and what won't break the bank.  We are definitely not making the six figure salaries of my old clients!  Although being a designer does have its perks and discounts which I am always grateful for :)

I really want a good work light over the peninsula because it is caught between the two areas where our lights currently are.  I browsed online and think I have found some winners.  I will post pics later.

For the backsplash, I definitely want natural stone because it looks the best when you have real stone countertops.  Since our granite has a lit of movement, it will be something more muted.  I want to accent it with glass tile.  At my old job I found a glass series that I fell in love with, so I will have to see what deals I can find for it.  There is also another line that we bought for one of my last clients before I left that I really like.  In pictures I wasn't sure about it but it was beautiful in person. 

I have also been thinking about refinishing our coffee table.  I think I would like to paint it, and the replace the glass in the middle with glass tile mosaic.  It will give some color and interest.

That's all for now, goodnight!

Crazy Week Ahead!

So much going on this week! Tonight Jake had a softball game and I'm watching my current fav TV show, The Voice :) I'm loving Erin Willett, Ashley De La Rosa, and Lindsay Pavao. I probably spelled all of their names wrong.

Tomorrow we will be busy at work finalizing plans for our networking event that we are hosting on Wednesday afternoon, and then coming home to work on fixing our garbage disposal with the help of my Dad, and hopefully making it to Jenna's soccer game at Northwestern! After that I will be coming home to make pasta salad and fruit salad for Wednesday's lunch event.

Then Wednesday, obviously is the networking lunch, then meeting with our insurance agent to finalize our Life Insurance (blah--the joys of being a grown up!), and Jake's softball game later that night.

Thursday is work, meeting with the ADPi alumni group that I am volunteering with to help get donations for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte's Girl's Night Out event Silent Auction, and then coming home to tidy the house up a bit and cooking dinner with Karen!

And then Friday (TGIF!!) will be work and the IIDA DesignWorks awards gala at Mez. After that I will be meeting up with all my college girls who are coming in to town this weekend :) It has been forever and I am so excited to see them again.

If only I can make it to Saturday!!

Weekend Review...

We had a great, jam packed weekend!

On Friday, I had the day off of work so Jenna, Jake's little sister, and I went shopping for her prom dress.  We found some good options but did not end up purchasing anything. 

On Saturday, I got up and ran some errands at Southpark, found Jenna a prom dress in BeBe, got my hair cut, and then headed back to Rock Hill to watch Jake in a softball tournament.  I was long over due for a trim and Lauren at Ulta always does such an amazing job!! She always gives me a free blow out at the end because she likes all of my layers and the way my hair will hold a curl.  I also dyed my hair, which was supposed to turn out a lighter brown, but actually ended up my exact natural hair color, which I surprisingly am loving.  I liked it really dark but wanted to change things up since the weather is getting warmer and sun is out more.  My parents came up to visit and got to see Jakes softball games that afternoon.  It was fun for them to see him play, and his team did really well, coming in 4th out of twenty teams. 

Sunday we had a beautiful Easter service at church, and then headed out to Brody's birthday party.  He is looking like such a little man, all the baby fat is going away! It is still so crazy for me to see friends' or family's children and to see that parent's features in the child's face.  It makes me wonder what mine and Jake's kids will look like someday :) I can also now post pictures of our present for Brody, the other piece of artwork I have been working on lately...I am typing this on the iPad app so I'm not sure where the picture is going to be added in.  The lighting is not the best but you can still see...

That's all for now, Goodnight!

Easter Weekend!

I am so looking forward to this weekend! I think we are going to have so much fun. My bosses are awesome and decided to add Friday as a vacation day so tomorrow is my "Friday" :)

I am looking forward to relaxing, sleeping in on Friday morning, getting my hair cut, and all of the Easter/Brody's birthday celebrations! Our church does a sunrise Easter service at a house of one of our member's on the lake, and as beautiful as I know it will be I doubt we will make it. We had all intentions of going last year and couldn't force ourselves out of bed that early (7:30am service). This year I'm sure will be no different, but that is okay because we will be in the regular service with our friends and will get to see Miss Reina on her 1st Easter! After church on Sunday we are celebrating our "nephew" (really 2nd cousin) Brody's 1st birthday, which is really on the 13th. What a lucky little boy to have his first birthday on a Friday the 13th :) People laugh, but ever since Jake and I started dating I have always loved Friday the 13ths and thought of them as lucky since that is when he asked me to be his girlfriend <3 and as we all know that has turned out quite well!!

In other updates...we got our flowers planted in the front yard. We have a few large weeds that I would like to do something about but I do not have the energy to try to tackle right now, haha...Truth is, I am not really a plant person or yardwork person. However, I can do well with flowers. I just prefer to stay out of the dirt/bugs that live in it.

That's all for now, off to bed to have a productive day tomorrow.

Goodnight!

10 Lessons You Want to Tell Teenage Girls, but Know they Have to Learn the Hard Way

Came across this today and thought I would share...

1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.

2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.

3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.

4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.

5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.

6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.

7. Smoking is not cool.

8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.

9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.

10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough.

There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough.

You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it.

You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them.