Monday, September 29, 2014

Weekend Recap: Wedding & Puppy

I had a good weekend, but as usual, it ended way too quickly!  

FRIDAY: I ran some errands after work, then came home and took Admiral for a walk.  I started putting out my fall and Halloween decorations.  I'm still not quite finished, but it's looking good!

SATURDAY: I worked Saturday morning and then came home and got ready to go to a wedding.  Kevin was an usher in the wedding, so he was already there.  The wedding was outside and the weather could not have been more perfect.  The bride was beautiful, the food was delicious, and we had a great time!










SUNDAY:  We headed to over to my parents' on Sunday morning because on Saturday night, they got a new puppy!  He is an 9 week old Goldendoodle, and he is the sweetest little guy!  They haven't "officially" named him yet, but they have been calling Rambo, and I think that might stick.  We stayed and played with him for a while and then headed home.  The rest of the night was filled with grocery shopping, laundry, and watching football.  


I didn't run at all this weekend, so I'm really hoping to get back on track this week....starting with tonight.  Hope you had a great weekend, and happy Monday!

Weekend Recap

Friday, September 26, 2014

Oh hey Friday!

I didn't write a Friday post last week and I missed it.  I love sharing my random favorites with you on Friday....so here we go!

ONE.  I'm headed to a wedding tomorrow (which makes 3 so far this year...one more to go) and my hubby is in the wedding, so I'm excited to see him all dressed up in a tux :)  The wedding is outside and it looks like the weather is going to be PERFECT for it!  Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to wear...

TWO.  I'm hosting a Pinterest Party next month with my girlfriends and I'm super excited!  I haven't decided what we are going to make yet, so if you have suggestions let me know.  I'm thinking something that isn't too messy and doesn't take too long...send any ideas my way!

WORD!
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THREE.  ArtPrize started on Wednesday in Grand Rapids!  Here is the explanation of what ArtPrize is, right from their website:

For 19 days, three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, become an open playing field where anyone can find a voice in the conversation about what is art and why it matters.  Art from around the world pops up in every inch of downtown, and it's all free and open to the public.
What makes ArtPrize Unique?
Open Call for Artists and Venues: Anyone over the age of 18 can be an artist and any space within the ArtPrize district can be a venue.  Anyone can participate.
Independently Organized: The entire ArtPrize exhibition is independently organized by venues and artists who connect through artprize.org.
Public Vote and Juried Awards: Two grand prizes worth $400,000 and eight category awards worth $160,000.  Half decided by public vote, and half decided by a jury of art experts.

I love being able to walk around downtown on my lunch hour and check out some of this amazing art.  You can see some of my photos from last year's ArtPrize HERE.  You can see more about this year's event on the ArtPrize website HERE.

FOUR. I've been doing the Tone It Up Frisky Fall workouts this week and I have been S.O.R.E.  It's been a good kind of sore though.  I love that these workouts can be done at home with very little equipment.  Admiral always has to be near me when I'm working out, and I turned my back to adjust the volume on my laptop the other night during a workout, and he decided to make himself comfortable on my yoga mat.  He's such a sweetheart...always has to be close to me!


FIVE.  Last week, I came home to find HGTV Magazine in my mailbox.  My mom surprised me with a subscription :)  I really love that magazine, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you should!

Have a great weekend!



Linking up today with September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for oh hey Friday!



And Momfessionals for Friday Favorites!
Momfessionals

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Tour Through Blogland

I want to thank Sam from The Junk House for nominating me for the Tour Through Blogland.  I love reading Sam's posts about all of her DIY projects and home projects.  I love the way she updated her entry way and console table, and the stripes she painted in her office look amazing and have me wanting to paint stripes somewhere in my house too!  So thanks again Sam for nominating me.


This is basically a chance for bloggers to share more about themselves, their projects, and their blog.  It's a great way to meet other bloggers and find new blogs to read too!


1) What am I working on now?
I'm not really working on any particular project right now, but I am getting ready to decorate my house for fall.  I have plans to do a lot with my front porch, but I need to get started on it ASAP!  I'm picturing a couple of mums, pumpkins, lanterns...I can't wait to get it done!


2) How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I'm probably considered a lifestyle blogger, so the main way my work differs from others is that it's about me.  As far as my work goes, all of my projects are done at the smallest budget possible, so you won't see me buying many name brand items unless I get a super deal.  That goes for clothes, home decor, projects, etc.  I try to be frugal and do my projects on a "real world" budget.  When people spend $700+ on a rug, my jaw hits the floor because I can't imagine spending that much money on a rug, when I know I can find something else for a fraction of the price.


3) How does my creative process work?

To be honest, I don't consider myself a very creative person.  But I can see an idea on Pinterest and totally recreate it!  My favorite Pinterest project so far has been the wedding card box I made for our wedding.  I never saw one in stores that I loved, so I went to Pinterest for ideas and created one that I LOVED! 

See the DIY tutorial HERE.

One project where I really felt "creative" was when I stenciled our headboard wall.  I love the way it turned out and feel like it's a pretty unique feature in our bedroom.

Stenciled Wall Tutorial HERE.

4) Why do I write/create what I do?

Originally, I started this blog to document our wedding planning process and home buying/owning process.  I was able to keep friends and family that were out of town, up to date on everything that was happening in our busy lives.  I fell in love with blogging and decided to keep going after our wedding was over.  Now I'd love to move more toward DIY/home blogging, since those are the types of blog posts I love reading the most.  And I have SO many ideas for our house, so I'd love to be able to document and share that with anyone who might find inspiration from it.

Thanks for reading along on this Tour Through Blogland.  I nominate Taylor from Tattered to Taylored and Cait from Home Sweet Ruby to continue on with the Tour Through Blogland.  Make sure you go check out their blogs!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Fall Bucket List

I can't believe fall is officially here already.  This summer just flew by.  Today I'm sharing my fall bucket list.  Basically a list of things I want to do this fall before the snow gets here.

- Decorate my house and front porch for fall.
- Make a fall wreath for my front door.
- Carve pumpkins.
- Make some yummy pumpkin seeds.
- Go to an Apple Orchard to get fresh apples, apple cider, and hopefully donuts!
- Do one last day of yard work (weeding, trimming flowers and hedges, etc.)
- Run outside as much as I can...the days of snow will be here before I know it.
- Host a Pinterest Party (this is actually already in the works).
- Go to a football game.  High school, college, professional, I don't care.  I love football and haven't been to a game yet this year.

I Love Fall Leaf Printable
Fall printable found HERE.

A couple of things that aren't on my bucket list, but I know that we are doing for sure this fall include two more weddings and I have a 5k race at the end of October.  We will also spend many nights raking leaves, which is something I'm not really looking forward to, but it has to get done!

What's on your fall bucket list?



Linking up with the SITS girls for the Back to Blogging Challenge.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Wedding Weekend with the Girls!

This weekend I went on a little road trip with my mom, sister, Aunt, and Grandma to a wedding.  The wedding was for my 3rd cousin, who I've only met maybe once or twice, so I contemplated whether or not I should even go, but I thought it would be a fun girls family weekend so I decided to go.

I left my house early Saturday morning and we headed up to our hotel in Torch Lake, MI.  We checked in and then headed to lunch at Dockside.  I had some delicious fish tacos and a couple of beers, before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

On the way!

Me and my sister getting ready for the wedding.



Me, my sister, and my Aunt Liz.


The wedding and reception were at a Township Hall about 15 minutes from our hotel.  The ceremony was short and sweet, and then it was time for hors d'oeuvres before the reception started.  We were excited for the reception and we were ready to dance!  Since we didn't really know anyone there, we had fun dancing and didn't care what anyone thought of our moves :)  We had a blast at the wedding and it was fun to get away for the weekend with my family for a little girl time.


Aunt Liz and my mom "brown bagging it" as they said.


I got home around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and did a couple of loads of laundry before crashing for the night.

I hope you all had a great weekend!




Weekend Recap

Monday, September 15, 2014

Weekend Recap: Concert Fun!

It's Monday...I'm not ready for it to be Monday.  I think we have three day weekends and four day work weeks.  Who's with me?

Last week I won tickets from a local radio station to see Hunter Hayes in concert, so my sister and I headed to the fairgrounds for the concert.  It was definitely cool fall weather here in Michigan, so we were bundled up!  The concert was a lot of fun!  I've seen Hunter Hayes once before and I've enjoyed him both times.  He is super cute, sounds great live, and puts on a great show.  There were a lot of younger girls there (probably 12-15 year old range) so we felt a little out of place, but we still had a blast.  

I tried my first ever pumpkin beer there and loved it, but I can't remember who made it, so if you have any suggestions of a good pumpkin beer, let me know!







The rest of the weekend I didn't really do much.  I did a little shopping on Saturday, watched football, and then Kevin and I bought Season 5 of Modern Family so we could catch up before the new season starts.  We watched several episodes Saturday night.  Sunday was spent going for a run, doing laundry, watching football, and making the first batch of chili of this season.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Oh Hey Friday!

ONE.  TGIF!  I'm taking the afternoon off from work today and getting a much needed hair cut trim.  And then my sister and I are going to the Hunter Hayes concert at some local fairgrounds.  I won tickets to the concert off the radio this week, which was a great surprise!  This is actually the 2nd time I've won concert tickets from the radio.  I won tickets to see Justin Timberlake about 7 or 8 years ago....best win yet!

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TWO.  I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year this week.  The weather has been dark, rainy, and cold, so I felt like it was finally time.  We went from highs in the 80s earlier this week to a high of about 60 today!  Although I love summer and it is my favorite season, I'm kind of ready for boots, sweaters, and bonfires!  I'm just NOT ready for what comes after fall...winters in Michigan last way too long.

April?!  Try May!  I've even seen an occasional snow flurry in June.  If you live in the U.P....... do they even have summer there?? (scratching head....)

THREE.  I don't have a fall wreath for my front door.  I love changing up my wreaths for the different seasons and holidays.  Here are some I've found on Pinterest that I'm just itching to make!

Easy Fall Hydrangea Wreath
Source: A Night Owl

Source: Petite Design Co

Fall Wreath with Acorns - Decorate your door with this beautiful acorn wreath! #diy #autumn #wreath
Source: Tried & True


FOUR.  I'm in two Fantasy Football leagues this year.  Last week I won in one and lost in one.  I'm hoping for two wins this week.  Speaking of winning, the Detroit Lions won last week on Monday Night Football against the Giants which was awesome to watch!  I'm hoping they keep it up and have a great season!

I'm sorry your first fantasy football loss was to a girl!
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FIVE.  Admiral is loving the fact that the weather is a little cooler.  He loves rolling in the grass and playing with his tennis ball.  





Hope you have a great weekend!



Linking up today with September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for oh hey Friday!



And Momfessionals for Friday Favorites!
Momfessionals