So what Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying So What......

•  If I cannot stop thinking about the weekends in December and all of the fun stuff we have planned: a trip to Amish Country, an ugly sweater party, Christmas cookie baking and lots of time with family.
• If I am planning a trip for our 5 year "dating" anniversary.  I don't think we'll be doing a summer vacation so a weekend at a cabin with a hot tub is just the ticket!  We used to go to Hocking Hills every year in February so I guess its more of a tradition than a dating anniversary thing.
• That there really isn't much I want for Christmas.
• That I retract that last statement, I want a million dollars to shop at Joann Fabrics so I can do more crafting.
• If I'm just now thinking of hand-made gifts I want to make for Christmas, darn Pinterest!!!!
• That I already have all my Christmas cards ready to go and I was too cheap to order photo cards.
• That not only is everyone getting Christmas gifts from us that involve wedding photos but probably something home-made too.  I'm being cheap this year.
• If Andrew already has his Christmas gift because I let him pick it out on Black Friday when we were at Lowes.
• If this whole thing has turned into stuff about the holidays....whoops!
• If I am an old lady who loves to knit and be in bed by 10pm!

What are YOU saying so what to this week?  Link up over here at Shannon's blog!

4 day Thanksgiving weekend recap

Having four days off work was amazing, and add onto that, getting out of work early on Wednesday!  I was so happy!  So here's a recap of our whirlwind weekend:

Wednesday night: I FINALLY GOT MY HAIR CUT! I will have to post a pic soon when I don't feel like a blimp from over-eating and aunt flo.....but its a just above the shoulders bob and I colored it a rich brown, but its not too dark.  I think she cut off around 3-4 inches and I really only grew it out for the wedding and couldn't take the length any longer.

Thursday was Thanksgiving with my family, at my grandparents house.  This was our first big family event since my Grandpa passed away, I worried all day about how sad it would be but it was actually a lot of fun, though it was hard without him there.  We ate, talked, drank and laughed our heads off and went home with lots of left overs.  

Friday we did a little shopping when we dragged our butts out of the house around 8:30am.  Most of the stores we chose to go to were not that busy and some of the early bird deals were still going on.  We didn't get any gifts, mostly things for the house and ourselves, I did get all my wrapping paper/bows/ribbon thanks to an awesome sale at Joann ETC so at least that part is done.  We met my brother and his fiance for dinner that night and had them over to watch Elf, we were all passed out by 11 because we're old and lame.

Saturday was Thanksgiving with Andrew's family, they made it a Greek food theme which I was not at all thrilled about.  I don't really like Greek food and his family went vegetarian last year....needless to say the meal was not my favorite and I ate again when we go home.  We visited with his great aunt who wasn't feeling well enough to join us for dinner and headed home for another lame night sitting on the couch.

Sunday I cleaned my house, cooked a ton of food and had my parents over to watch the Steelers game.  They played like $*it and lost to the Browns, which was depressing and miserable.  But it was fun having my family over.  After everyone left we finished putting up our Christmas lights, here is a blurry instagram of the house and one of Mr. and Mrs. Claus on the porch.  

 

I was not at all ready to get back to the grind today, but I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished at home this week and I'm excited to spend time with my mom and a friend this weekend and get our tree on Sunday!!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thankful

I've been doing the "days of thankful" on Facebook and I've spent all month posting about things I am thankful for such as.....

Coffee, my crockpot, my husband, my in-laws, my family, my job, our home, all the talented people in my life, bargain shopping and my pets.  I know its a good exercize this time of year to tell people what you are thankful for and I'm sure at dinner tomorrow we will go around the table and share something, and my mom will cry.  This year is going to be rough, it will be the first holiday without my grandpa and he loved the holidays.  I knew I had to write this post today because tomorrow I will be a heap and I'll be busy cooking all morning, laying around watching the Macy's Parade and enjoying a morning with my husband.

I'm thankful too for this blog, no matter how few comments and "looks" I get, its a place for me to let it all out and I need that sometimes.  I'm thankful for the other blogs I read as a way to see other people's lives that are similar to mine, keep up with friends who are far away and to get ideas/make myself feel awesome because I can't spend all day crafting and doing awesome things with my imaginary children.

I'm thankful that despite what my family has been through in the last four years, we are stronger than ever.  Through job loss, illness, death, grief and sorrow we are always a strong group of people and I couldn't be happier that I also married into an amazing family. 

Last night after a good heart to heart about so many things that I've been stewing about, I am happier than ever that I made the decision to marry Andrew.  It has not been easy for us over these nearly five years, we have had our fair share of ups and downs, but I see things leveling out now.  There are still a lot of places where there is room for improvement but we will get there one day.

And last but not least, I'm thankful to finally get a hair cut tonight after spending 18 months growing it out for the wedding.  I'll post pics soon if its something really drastic.

I hope that all of you have a blessed, safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

That time I got a cat and went nuts on instagram

I decided to look through my Twitter photos last night (do you follow me?! shameless plug apostle922) and noticed I appear to have turned into a crazy cat lady.  I have been wanting a cat for three years and finally talked Andrew into letting me get one for my birthday.  Once the wedding planning got into full swing, right after my birthday in May, getting a cat fell off the radar.  Then after going to four shelters we found Bradley. I discovered Instagram right before getting Bradley so here's how the obsession started.

In Andrews chair, his favorite spot :)

Yes I knit, no I'm not old!

The night we brought him home, after he hid under the couch
for about five hours.

Please don't judge me, I know I'm a crazy cat lady and I do still love my dog just as much.  I need to be more equal opportunity with my Instagram photos.

I guess this is better than pictures of my dinner, Starbucks cup (please read about that here, love this blog) or a selfie.

So what Wednesday we meet again!

 

•  That I haven't done a So What Wednesday in who knows how long, but whatever, I'm sure all of you forgive me!
• If all I can think about is decorating for Christmas and I made a Christmas station on my Spotify yesterday....and to think I used to dread Christmas coming before Thanksgiving.  I blame my years spent working in retail.
• That I told my husband I wanted to decorate the house and he told me to wait a few more weeks because I just put away my Halloween crap Monday night....whoops!
• That I am still lollygagging around about changing my name and have only done about half of the process.  Maybe this weekend if I feel like going to the DMV.
• That I just now got back into my fitness routine, you know right before the holidays.  I call it progress none the less.  I've also dowloaded MyFitnessPal to my phone and my Nexus tablet to keep track of my progress. 
• If I suck at sticking with workout routines, but I need to be more determined this time.  I took a health assessment at work and now that two of my close family members have died of cancer, I need to get my butt in gear.
• That I started on my Christmas cards already.  I'm not going to mail them until after Thanksgiving.  This is keeping me from decorating my house at night.
• If I've been spending almost every night snuggling with my cat and knitting.  Winter time sucks.
• That I've been drinking a lot of coffee again, I was doing good for a while with just one travel mug on the way to work, but these cold mornings make it hard to resist that warm cup once I get to work.

What are YOU saying so what to this week?!  Link up over here with Shannon!

Wedded Bliss Wednesday

Time for another week of wedded bliss Wednesday!  Is anyone else so flipping glad the election is over?!  Living in a swing state sucks, I love not seeing the commericals!

Anywho, lets get down to the questions for this week!

1. When you were a child what did you imagine YOUR Prince Charming to be like?

I always wanted to marry a man who was the total package, hardworking, funny and handsome, just like my daddy - surprise, surprise!!!  My dad is awesome and I would say he and Andrew share a lot of really great qualities.  The only quality Andrew doesn't have is that he is not musical at all!  I wanted my prince to sing me sweet little love songs.

2. Does you husband match your prediction as a child?

He pretty much fits the bill!!!!  He's tall, dark and handsome - works so hard for us and I think one day he will make an amazing father!

3. What about when you were a teenager and knew it all about love, does you relationship match that scenario you had during those rebel years? 

I was attracted to a lot of different guys in my high school/college years, from jocks to bad boys.  I was so boy crazy it wasn't even funny.  I think that Andrew is a good combination of all the qualities in the boyfriends I had that I loved a lot.  I would say I've really been in love four other times in my life, but it just wasn't right and something was always missing.

4. What love movie would you best match your relationship to? Why?

Hmm, that's a really good question.......I want to say we are something like Carrie and Big in the Sex and the City Movie (only Andrew didn't leave me at the altar with a bird on my head).  Cheesy, yes, true well somewhat.  At the beginning, we were both a little freaked out by how much we liked one another and we made some pretty major mistakes but in the end it all came down to love, not logic.  I cannot imagine my life with anyone else, the good, the bad and the ugly, he has always been there for me!

you might have had a redneck wedding.....

If you took a picture with your bridesmaids holding guns and the groomsmen holding the flowers.

 If this is the second wedding where you have taken the above picture.  Also please note my brother doing the Captain Morgan leg for no reason!

 If you stood in front of a farm gate for a photo that looks something like American Gothic. (PS: this is one of my favorite pictures)

 

 If you had basset hound cake toppers that were vintage salt and pepper shakers

If your father in law drove you up to the reception on a hay wagon being pulled by a vintage tractor.

And he attached an old couch, bench and two wicker chairs for seating.

I got so many compliments from people about how laid back and fun our wedding was and I think it has to do with the fact that I married a hillbilly and I'm becoming one myself.  I was so excited about our tractor ride, wearing my boots to the reception, having pictures with guns, the whole nine yards. I wouldn't change a thing about what we did, well if I could have changed the weather I would but at least it was nice for the photos till the sky exploded about an hour after that last photo was taken.

Even my mother, who was against some of the choices I made for our wedding, in the end ended up loving every moment and detail. 

Weekend Recap

Interested in the exciting life of an old married lady on the weekend, well here goes!

Friday

• After work, I met two of my good friends from college for Mexican food, drinks and shopping.  It was just what I needed, maybe not too good for my wallet, but how could I pass up a 40% off sale at The Limited that included clearance AND holiday undies from Pink?!  Not gonna happen!  I also needed a new coffee grinder since I broke mine last week.

Saturday

• Andrew was off to the junkyard for car parts and I went to a mass for the recently deceased with my mom at our church.  It was super sad, but I'm glad I went to honor my grandpa.  Afterward, I went to visit my Grandma and took her some Panera bagels as a little pick-me-up, went home to pick up Andrew and did our shopping for the week.  I do love when he goes with me, but I always end up spending more money.  He always finds random stuff to buy, this week it was a beard trimmer.  He's doing No Shave November for work.
• By the time we got home, Andrew wasn't feeling well.  He has a tooth that's been bothering him which the dentist already drilled almost or maybe to the nerve.  He went to another dentist for a second opinion about the pain, but they just have to wait it out.  I was supposed to go to dinner with a friend that night, but opted to stay home just in case he got worse.  He woke up at 2am in terrible pain and I woke up not long after with a migraine (too much box wine maybe?!).  Thankfully the time change allowed us to sleep in a little.

Sunday

• The morning got off to a really slow start since we were up half the night.  I cooked breakfast and we layed around for a little while.  
• We had a family party for Andrew's sister-in-law to go to at 4pm so I started cooking my enchiladas and rice to take and we were out the door by 3.
• We went to bed at 9pm and man did it feel amazing!

On tap for next weekend: probably going to an estate sale or auction and maybe getting back into the habit of going to church!

little wedding details

As another wedding post for all of you who are interested I wanted to post some of my wedding details, or at least my favorites for all of you to see - enjoy!

My broach bouquet, which my mom and I made.

Our rings

Another shot of my bouquet

The dress, hello super important.

Hair pins made from vintage earrings and from The Ritzy Rose

Bridesmaids flowers, which my mother-in-law and I grew

Andrews custom boutonniere also from The Ritzy Rose

Yes, you did see that bountonneire right, its a shot gun shell.  No, we did not have a shot gun wedding, but Andrew does love to target shoot so that's what I chose.  I had seen the Ritzy Rose work in a magazine from my hometown, where they are headquartered and knew I needed something from them for my wedding. I mean, they made Miranda Lamberts broach bouquet so they are AMAZING!

Yes, I really did grow those flowers and though it was a biotch to do, I was proud of my work.

Our rings are simple and sweet, just what I like.  I'm not a big flashy person and Andrew can't wear his ring at work, I don't want that to be the reason he hurts his hand or rips his finger off.  Mechanic work can be dangerous.

My dress, I loved it and it was such a good deal.  I need to get it cleaned stat because it go super dirty.

PS: I obsessively look at my wedding photos about twice a week and since Shutterfly has this awesome 101 free prints deal going, I'm going to order photos for our Christmas Cards tonight.  Can't pass up a good deal!

Enjoy the pics - maybe I'll come up with one more wedding photo post!