feeling the love

Ok, so it's January and the Christmas decorations are down but I'm already looking toward February because, well, it's hard to decorate the house for "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day." The bank is tight for us so I definitely don't want to buy anything to decorate the house for Valentine's.  I looked around the house and I spied 3 decks of cards in our game area.  I pulled out only the heart cards and started arranging them on our dining table to create a heart shape (it's hard to work with rectangles!).  Here's what I came up with:

I've seen people do this same idea with pictures which would be really cute, like here and here.  I'd suggest printing and cutting your pictures into squares to make your life easier.  

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : magazine inspiration

A wedding is basically a big party with a big budget and hopefully a once-in-a-life occurrence.  However, the crazy party planning that happens for a wedding can be reined in for the more frequent get-togethers that happen in our lives.  Birthday parties, girls' nights, poker night, themed events, showers, holidays, etc.  Sometimes we need a little inspiration and while there's definitely a lot out there on the internet I always really enjoy the good ol' magazine too.  

There's a new magazine called Mingle: Creative Ideas for Unique Gatherings.  It seems to be seasonally released (as in only 4 releases a year) because the one I looked through at Barnes and Noble said "Autumn 2011."  Some events in the magazine are too extravagant for my taste and budget but they're fun to look at and get ideas for small things like decor and party favors.  Next time you're at Barnes check it out!

Here are some pages from inside the magazine via their web page:

happy new year!

I saw this thing on Frank Chimero's blog before.  I emailed it to myself but when I tried to search for it now I couldn't find it.  His blog changed so many times in 2011 so that's probably why.  ANYWHO, Frank Chimero is an artist that I like and I've posted his work here before.  I'm getting sidetracked again .... SO, previously on his blog Frank wrote about how he experienced this MadLib-esque list of interview questions that went as follows:

I like ____________________.
I love ____________________.
I want ___________________.
I was ____________________.
I am _____________________.
I will ____________________.
I think ___________________.
I know ___________________.

I thought it would be fun to use the format and tailor it to look back on my year and see how I'd answer those questions.  Some of the questions I had multiple answers for and others I had a harder time answering.  I wanted this record of 2011 to be honest and not too fakey positive because 1. It wasn't a perfect year and 2. That's definitely not how I roll.

I wish you and yours a very Happy New Year and all the best that 2012 can offer you.

Here's how I answered those questions....

12 dates of christmas .... i'm still alive

Ok, seriously, don't get sick this winter.  Whatever the heck is going around is nasty.  2 weeks of being sick (and sick over the holidays mind you) has been just horrible and gross.  Do whatever you can my friends to avoid the bug.  What has helped me somewhat is Mucinex DM (I got the Target brand one).

So the last two weeks have been a blur and I don't think I can remember all the stuff that has happened however here's what I do remember:

Date #4: Take our makeshift Christmas card picture and have lunch.

Date #5: Have dinner and coffee with Mark's old roommate (group date haha).

Date #6: Decorate Christmas stockings together.

Date #7: Watch Nacho Libre again on Christmas day to start a family tradition and go out for a sushi dinner.

Date #8: Drive to WI for my old co-worker's wedding and have lunch at the Milwaukee Public Market (fried cheese curds are divine).

Date #9: Have a sushi dinner in WI (the fish was not bad!) and watch the Laker game together.

sick in bed

Augh.  I am sick yet again.  Rolled out of bed to say 'Hi.'

snowy morning

Aw, lovely morning snow.  We'll see how long it lasts.  It might melt away before the weekend is done.

12 dates of christmas

Date #1: Watch "The Pixar Story" on Netflix at home.

Date #2: Buy Santa hats at the Dollar Tree and then drink coffee and eat Pumpkin Cheesecake (my favorite!) at Barnes and Noble.  Lastly, hit up the jacuzzi in our apartment complex.

Date #3: Eat Thai food and drink Thai iced tea (reminds me of Kayla!) at Nathan's Noodle and Rice in Elmhurst, IL and then forget to bring home the leftovers (doh!).