Saturday, August 17, 2013

Little Life Things (Week of 8/9/13 - 8/16/13)

August 9 - August 16


This has been what seems like the longest week ever!
  • Took Abby and Jack to the vet
  • Made a delicious new recipe- cashew chicken in the crock pot
  • Went shopping for new clothes and shoes because..
  • I STARTED MY NEW JOB/CAREER!!!  I went to orientation Mon-Wed, was officially approved on Wednesday, Thursday was the official start of my contract, which I actually signed and got my badge on Friday.  It has been extremely exciting and wonderful.
  • Went on a run just for the heck of it- if I'm going to be getting home by 3:45, might as well make the most of the afternoon and the lovely weather, right?
I love having fresh flowers, and now I have TWO vases of them!

A gift from my new job, welcoming me to the team!

These are sunflowers from my garden- I grew these!

A deer I spotted on my run.  There was a whole bunch of them but this lady was the bravest.

My desk from Thursday, my official start date.


Monday, August 12, 2013

Work In Progress: Aquarium

When we moved from Oregon to Maryland in the summer of 2012, we sent first a pod full of our stuff.  Scott's dad gifted us his aquarium- a 75 gallon beast.  The thing sat in our living room for a year, gathering dust.  We even decorated it for Halloween, filling it with pumpkins and spider webs.  I was nervous to fill it- nervous that something had jostled or cracked in transit, and we would end up with a flooded house or a hole in the floor when it fell through.

A few weekends ago, we finally had the time and decided to put the effort into getting the aquarium set up.  It started with some water (and one minor leak, which Scott quickly fixed), and then a few plants, and then a few more, and then a few fish.  It's a slow process, but worth it.  I've also done tons and tons of research on what kinds of fish we want, which ones live peacefully together, etc.  I love research, so that part has been fun for me!  I can't wait until the tank is full of beautiful, colorful fish!

Filling the tank, slowly but surely.

Water goes in (and some comes out- but don't worry, Scott fixed it.)

Filled tank, cloudy, pre-plants.

First batch of plants.

Close up of first batch of plants.

My Marimo ball!

Close up of our second batch of plants.

Second batch of plants.

Fishies!

Two of the three fish, and some plants.

Fish and Marimo ball.

That's everything so far!  Very exciting, I know.  There are three fish right now, but it's hard to get a photo of all of them together.  It is a 75 gallon tank with 3 tiny fish inside, after all.  They have plenty of room to roam and/or hide.  Cross your fingers we don't lose them, and keep an eye out for updates in the future!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Little Life Things (Week of 8/2/13 - 8/9/13)

August 2 - August 9


  • We put together our aquarium!
  • Went on a movie date
  • My sunflowers bloomed in the garden!
  • Got my new license with my new name

Favorite iPhone Pics of the Week
One of my new sunflowers

Mother duck and ducklings crossing the road

My new Marimo ball in our aquarium

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Our Wedding Day: Personailty in the Details

Everything I do is personal.  I try to fill my home with items of meaning.  I spend time on DIY and craft projects when I could easily just buy a similar item in the store- not only because I'm cheap frugal on a budget, but because I live for that personal touch.  Weddings, by definition, are personal.  Planning mine was one of my favorite things- it was all about Scott and I as individuals and as a couple.  Everything was chosen with a purpose.  I'd like to share some of the details, and the stories behind them.

My jewelry.  This was my something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue.  The pearl necklace strand was given to me by Scott on our first Valentine's day in 2009.  It was my something old.  New and Blue were both covered by the earrings- a gift from Scott a few days before our wedding and worn for the first time on the day.  The bracelet was Borrowed from my mom and is a funny story in itself- I had asked my mom if she had either a pearl or diamond bracelet that I could borrow.  She responded with, "no, but your dad can buy me one for you to borrow."  I thought she was kidding.  Until she showed up a few days later and asked if I was ready to go shopping. 

My hair piece.  I wanted to replace my veil with something sparkly and beautiful.  My parents and I sat one night and looked at dozens before we found this one- perfect.  Rhinestones to match my (many) earrings, pears to match my jewelry.  I knew I wanted flowers, and they look like cherry blossoms to me- something that I love so much I have it tattooed on my body.  Perfect.

This photo means a lot to me.  My mom, fastening my necklace.  On her hand, you can see the ring my dad gave her on their anniversary.  On her wrist is a bracelet worn by her mom, my grandmother, as a young woman.  It was given to my grandmother by her father on her 16th birthday.  Notice that it also has pearls- we liked that it drew a parallel between my mom, my grandmother, and me.

Scott's cufflinks.  A gift from my to him on the morning of our wedding.  We are gamers!  I wanted something to represent that without being terribly overt and/or tacky.  I found these cufflinks and bought them right away. 

The charms on my flowers.  Every year I try to go to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival.  When I am able to attend, I always seek out the coin folks.  I've done this for years and have quite the collection.  I can look at the designs I chose that year, and know exactly where I was in my life.  The one with the dolphin on one side and wolf on the other- definitely right around 5th grade.  The summer prior to the wedding, I went with Scott to the ren fest and bought this coin, knowing I would want it attached to my bouquet.  On one side, an X, our new shared initial.  On the other, a Knight in Shining Armor- tongue in cheek and self explanatory, I think.  I also had the florist attach a flamingo charm.  I love flamingos and have amassed quite the collection of flamingo related items.  This charm was a gift from my grandparents.     

The boys wore chucks for the whole event.  I switched into mine after the first dance and wore them for the rest of the reception.  While our groomsmen wore regular grey chucks with purple laces, Scott and I had our wedding date embroidered down the back. 

So there you have it.  A glance into a few of my favorite details from our wedding day.  Subtle things, I think, that our guests might not have noticed.  But that's okay.  I look through the photos and I see these things and they bring a smile to my face. 

Please note that all photos were taken by our wonderful photographer, Melissa, over at MB Photography.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

In The Garden: Sunflower Progress


I was kicking myself the whole drive home because it suddenly dawned on me that it is already Tuesday and I have no posts planned for this week!  I was trying to come up with something, when I walked outside with Abby and... MY SUNFLOWERS BLOOMED.  It was a blogging miracle.

The first row of sunflowers have popped open.  They're picture perfect traditional looking sunflowers in miniature.  Golden yellow petals, coffee-brown middles.  They're beautiful.  The second row has buds ready to pop as well, and one of the guys in the back row- well, it's as tall as I am!  So I'm expecting a lot of action in this garden within the next few weeks.  For now, please enjoy the many, MANY photos that I took of this most glorious and happiest of occasions.

The garden.  That tall one in the back- yea, over 5 feet tall.


Abby's prettiest face.

This gal is still working on opening all the way.

Shorties in the front, mammoths in the back.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Little Life Things (Week of 7/26/13-8/2/13)

July 26 - August 2

Abby turned 4!

  • Scott and I hosted a small family cookout in honor of my Dad's birthday.  
That's my little brother's best side.
  • We discovered a LARGE hole in our back yard!  Covered it with a plank of wood so Abby won't crawl in and get stuck until someone can come look at it.
  • Built the most AMAZING table with my dad.  I'm obsessed with it!
  • We got our wedding photos!  I am SO excited and CANNOT WAIT to share them!
  • Went on a Michael's binge!  Had to buy a bunch of gorgeous new frames for our wedding photos <3
  • Celebrated Abby's birthday.  She turned 4!  
  • Got my rings soldered together so now they are one ring to rule them all.  It cost all of 20 bucks, took less than 24 hours, and it absolutely THE BEST.
  • Got my personalized/autographed copy of American Gods back from my friend.  I was unable to make it to the signing (still kicking myself over that) but my gracious frient took my book for me and god it signed.  
Favorite iPhone Pics of the Week

Jack photobombed a photo of one of my favorite corners

MELTED.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Nails of the Week: Neon and Polka Dots


It's an 80s flashback!  Neon colors, geometric patterns, polka dots!  I was feeling really bright this week, so I took it out on my mani.  This was another quick and easy one- the only tools needed were some scotch tape (to make the lines crisp) and my handy-dandy dotting tools.  And voila!  Fun and funky.



Just in case you're wondering, the polishes I used were:
China Glaze "Sunshine Pop"
Venique "I'm a Sucker for Wedges"