I Love You Because....

I love you because you believe in God.

I love you because you look so darn good in a suit.

I love you because you are a good friend not only to me but to your own.

I love you because you get a real Christmas tree with me every year and you hate every minute of it.

I love you because you go to White Sox games with my whole family when you like the Cubs.

I love you because you get up to close the window in the middle of the night when it's raining while I pretend to be asleep.

I love you because you drive me anywhere and everywhere I want because I. hate. to. drive.

I love you because you go to weddings with me for people you have never met and you hate weddings.

I love you because you dance with me at said weddings even though you hate to dance.

I love you because you have no rhythm.

I love you because when you hear Journey in the car you turn it up.

I love you because you think I'm beautiful even when I'm stuffing my face with pizza and sweets...and I love you because you listen to me complain about why I shouldn't have eaten those things the next day.

I love you because you look genuinely sad when I leave in the morning...and excited to see me when you come home.

I love you because you have learned that only two-handed hugs are acceptable.

I love you because I can have serious, intense conversations with you...and then in the next sentence talk about how you like to eat poop sandwiches.

I love you because I've never laughed so hard with anyone else.

I love you because you tell me bedtime stories when I'm not sleepy.

I love you because all of your stories start off, "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess...." and they are always about me.

I love you because you don't get mad when I say I'm bored every night in the summer when nothing is on TV.

I love you because you rub Neosporin on my cuts and scrapes and put on my bandages for me like I am 5 years old.

I love you because you are always on my side.

I love you because you go to the Dr. with me and sit in the waiting room for 2 hours with nothing to do.

I love you because you talk to me about Days of Our Lives and know everyone on the show and what their story lines are.

I love you because you know all of the new gossip on Jon and Kate but you claim to not care.

I love you because you are the most hard working and ambitious man I have ever met...but I love you more because you have a wonderful balance of work and family.

I love you because you want to have kid(s) with me.

I love you because when we go to get ice cream you know exactly what I'm going to order before I do.

I love you because you will fix the running toilet even though you taught me how last week.

I love you because you turn the sound down on your zombie video games because you know it scares me.

I love you because you inspire me to be a better person.

I love you because you encourage me with every problem and truly care about my feelings like no one ever has.

I love you because you're you.

Summer Wedding!

Ah...how the weekends fly by, don't they? At least it's a short week though!

Friday, Matt and I headed back to Indianapolis for our first wedding weekend of the summer. We got in late and rested up for our big day on Saturday. We started early with one of my little cousin's baseball games and a visit with my mama. Then we got ourselves all cleaned up and headed out the door for the hour drive to Bloomington for the wedding. On the way, we stopped at Oliver Winery! Um, did you know they had FREE wine tastings? Yeah. You read that right. I said free! Best. idea. ever. Credit goes to hubs on that one.









They had a gorgeous outdoor area where you could picnic! We are definitely doing that next time we are in town. Oh, it was just perfect there!! I could've stayed all day.








But we had to get a move on! We stopped for a late lunch on campus, had to change in the car (ha!), but we made it to the wedding on time. And what a beautiful wedding it was! It was held in the lobby of IU Auditorium and it was such a perfect spot for the amount of people they had. Here are a few shots from the ceremony.

The beautiful bride walking down the aisle


Married!

They had a cocktail hour outside while the couple finished up their pictures. Sounds like a great idea...not so much. It was over 90 degrees outside and everyone was melting. Matt spotted a shaded area which was much cooler...so we parked it there until the reception.

The reception was super fun and I got to see a few friends from high school that I haven't seen in years! I drank way too much wine, danced way too much as well (the three blisters on my feet can attest), completely passed out the entire drive home, but I had the best time with my long lost friends.

This is the bridal party as they were being announced at the reception. They came out like they were in a band with blow up guitars, wigs, and sunglasses. It was awesome!


Matt and our friend Jill...who literally makes ALL weddings 10X more fun


Love him!

I will, however, not be drinking even a sip of wine this weekend at our next wedding. Apparently the recovery time for such evenings has quadrupled since I turned 26 and I am honestly STILL not feeling 100%. Crap.

So what did I miss!?! How was your weekend??

Wedding Weekend #1

It's Friday!!!

I am so ridiculously excited for this weekend! Matt and I are heading home to Indy tonight for a wedding this weekend. (I know...traveling again! Just wait until you here what we're doing next weekend!) One of my good high school friends is getting married in Bloomington...which is about an hour away from where our parents live in Indy.

The wedding is on the campus of Indiana University which is where Matt went to undergrad. I'm excited to spend some time there before the wedding to walk around and check out the campus. I've been to IU a few times...but those visits were more for the purposes of going to bars and house parties during my college days! I saw nothing of campus :)

It should be a really fun wedding and I am so excited to see my friend Dana get married. She and her family are, no joke, the nicest people I have ever met, and I cannot wait to share in her special day.

Here are Dana and Paul in a pic I janked from her Facebook :) Hope you don't mind friend!

Back with lots of pics and a full recap on Monday!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Your Questions Answered-Random Edition

Here they are...the last set of questions you asked!


Mrs. Southern Bride & JLC from French Kiss asked, "Where do you like to shop?"

Want to know a secret? I don't really shop. WAIT...please don't stop following me! Here's the thing. It's not that I don't like to shop or that I don't want new clothes or shoes or purses...I hate spending the money. I honestly would rather put my money in a savings account than buy a new dress. Sad, I know. I get e-mails from Rue La La and Shop It To Me and I haven't bought one thing. Besides my wedding dress or maybe Prom, I don't think I have ever spent over $65 for a dress in my entire life. I just don't buy clothes for no reason.

But, if I'm going to an event, I need a new pair of shoes in a different color, or something else for a specific purpose I tend to look at H&M, Target, J.Crew, Old Navy, Banana Republic, or maybe Gap. Outlet malls are my friend.


JLC also asked a few more questions!

"If you had only one day to live, what would you do?"

I would definitely spend a lot of it in prayer asking God for forgiveness from my sins and thanking Him for the time that I did get here on this earth with the people that I love...and asking for His love and care on my journey to meet Him in Heaven. I would spend the rest of the day with my husband making sure he knew just how much I loved him and how being with him has changed my life for the better.

I would not work out.

"What country would you most like to live in?"

Honestly, I'd live in the United States. I know that is not the adventurous answer you were looking for...but it's me! I do really enjoy traveling, but the language barrier makes me nervous. Also, once I'm away from home for like 3 days, I'm ready to come back. I'm also really weird about trying new foods so I would be bad in a foreign country for an extended period of time. I once went to Holland and survived on Twix bars for breakfast and lunch for a week!

But, I would love to visit France, Italy, and Greece. Anyone want to be my translator?? Ha!

"What's your fave film/book?"

Some of my favorite movies include Dirty Dancing, Juno, & School of Rock. I hesitate to say Twilight was the best book I have ever read, but it is definitely one of my favorites. I also really enjoyed The Middle Place. I'm currently forging my way through the Bible for the first time cover to cover. I'm really excited about my progress and everything I am learning!


Tasha from Biology Gal asked, "Since I'm a science person too, just curious what type of work do you do in the lab?" Angela from 20-Something Dreams also wanted to know what I did for a living.

You two are in for a treat! Not. Ha! I work for a science based products and services company. Our particular branch in Ohio manufactures parts for jet engines, mainly for the military. The lab here consists of three people and our job is to test these manufactured parts before they are shipped out to the customer. All of the parts require different tests, but mainly we do thermal analysis, acid digestions, and peel strength testing. Basically, I get to walk around all day in a lab coat with my safety glass on and my steel toed shoes playing with sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. You can usually find me sporting a bright yellow spill proof apron, a face shield, and aqua green nitrile gloves. Super. Sexy.

It gets old doing the same tests day in and day out, but it pays the bills. My degree is actually in biology and I would LOVE to get back into that field. I was planning on going to medical school for, well, forever, but then had a change of heart during my masters program and decided that I didn't want to spend my years dealing with more school. Well, what's a girl to do with a masters in biology?? I have no idea. Suggestions, please!


Angela also asked, "What are your guilty pleasures? Sweets? TV shows? Shopping items?"

I've covered my go to anti-diet foods and my shopping habits but I do have a few must see TV shows. I'm a soap opera junkie and DVR Days of Our Lives everyday...and have since I was in elementary school. I do admittedly watch Jon and Kate Plus 8, The Office, 30 Rock, Grey's, & The Biggest Loser. I've drastically cut back on my television in the last year or so, but these shows made the cut.


Mrs. Ruby from Ruby Red Slippers asked, "What is your most embarrassing moment?"

Okay. Fine.

Before Matt and I were married, his mother was talking to me about some clothes that she had made for him. Well one of the items was a pair of boxer shorts and I was like, "Oh, I've seen those before!" I tried to play it off like I had seen them when I did our laundry together one time, but I don't think she bought it. Idiot.


Krystyna Lizabeth from everything happens for a reason asked, "What is your favorite part about living in Ohio...or your least favorite!?!"

Ha! Well if you've read my blog for more than 2 days you know that I don't like much! Okay, okay. Perhaps I am being a little hasty. I do like only living one state away from my friends and family and being within driving distance. I LOVE our neighborhood and the city we live in. Although downtown Cleveland leaves much to be desired, I do appreciate that they have sports teams to watch (giving me the chance to see Chicago teams when they come to town!). I also am a huge fan of the West Side Market downtown where they offer tons of fresh meats, fruits, and veggies for cheap! Oh, the lake, I like the lake! Although we don't venture out there often, I do enjoy being able to go to the Lake Erie Islands and pretend I am on vacation for the weekend.

I won't ramble on about all the things I don't like...but my least favorite has to be the weather. Although I grew up and Indianapolis and I am completely used to having horrible winters, I am over it. I hate the snow everyday but Christmas. I hate driving in it, walking in it, being out in it at all. It is only warm like 3 months of the year. I mean, this morning it was 60. It's almost July people. I need to be somewhere where it is 80s year round! And shoveling snow blows.


Cristina from Another Day in Paradise asked, "What keeps you motivated to work out?"

My fat? Ha! Well, it's kind of true. Just looking down and seeing it everyday makes me want to hit the gym. I will say that attending Weight Watchers meetings has done wonders for me. Actually having to weigh in front of someone who knows my name keeps me accountable. I also do a fitness challenge with my best friend from Indy to see who can work out the most in a 10 week period. There a point system we use to keep track and it helps us to avoid the bad foods and hit the gym!

Also, just belonging to a gym motivates me. I know I am paying for it so I might was well go.

I also get a ton of inspiration from blogging. There are so many people I look to when I feel like giving up. Some people are just starting out like me and others are old pros who are awesome at giving advice. Here are links to some of my favorite blogs that are written by fabulous women who are always pushing me to keep going: French Kiss, Just Another Day in Paradise, Mrs. GI Joe, not all those who wander are lost, Post Smith, The Shabby Princess, & Chic Runner.


Anna from Pocket Full of Pink asked, "What is on your iPod while you run?"

Y'all will get a kick out of this answer! I am not really a fan of rap music or anything that is "in" right now. I have a mix of country, oldies, and rock on my iPod right now. Some of my favorites at the moment that really add a little pick me up to my runs include:

Mickey by Toni Basil
Party for Two by Shania Twain and Billy Currington
I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
Settlin' by Sugarland
Bye Bye by Jo Dee Messina
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany
Bang the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren
Gimme Some Lovin' by The Spencer Davis Group
Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blues


The Reality of Happily Ever After asked, "If you had to describe yourself as any character in a movie, what movie would it be and what character?"

This was the hardest question I had to answer! I thought long and hard about it, and you know what? They just don't make movies about girls like me.

I had the highest GPA in my class in high school, but I wasn't a nerd who didn't have any friends. I was an athlete but not good enough to play where I wanted to go to college. I wasn't unpopular, but I didn't really hang out with the popular kids outside of school. I wasn't misunderstood or always getting into trouble. In fact, I was quite the goody goody. Although I didn't have any serious boyfriends before Matt, I wasn't a girl pining away for her Prince Charming. I knew he was out there and I would find him someday.

My story would not make for an interesting movie. I'm just your average girl!


Brittany Ann from Living in the Moment asked, "What inspires you?"

This quote has always inspired me. I actually used it in my high school graduation speech. "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

I am incredibly inspired in church by God and the people in the congregation to live my life for Him. My husband inspires me daily to be the best person I can be for him and our future children. And lastly, I'm inspired so much by my bloggy friends! You ladies keep my butt in the gym, keep me focused on what is really important in life, and have provided me with friendships I so desperately needed.

Whoa! Done!

Thanks again so much for your questions and for following my little blog. You all mean the world to me and I am so thankful you spend a little part of your day here!

Your Questions Answered-Food Edition

This next round of questioning has to do with one of my very favorite things...food!


Dollface from Inner Workings of a Real-Life Barbie Doll & Becca from Mrs. GI Joe asked, "What made you want to be a baker?"

I started decorating cakes only about a year ago. I was on the lookout for a hobby when I stumbled upon a course list at JoAnn Fabrics and noticed they offered cake decorating classes. What could be better than decorating cake with icing and then getting to eat it? Um, nothing. So I signed myself up for a class and ended up loving it! I took one more class through Wilton but I have mainly just taught myself through reading information on the Internet and practicing.


Dollface & Lucy Marie from Lucy's Life wanted to know my favorite thing I have ever made.

I have been fortunate enough to sell quite a few of my cakes to my co-workers as well as Matt's and I also did my sister's wedding cake. I couldn't really pick a favorite...so I picked 4! Hope you don't mind :)

Birthday cake for a co-worker's son (my 1st shaped cake)

4th of July cake (my 1st stacked fondant cake)


I made this for a cookout for Matt's work


A practice of my sister's cow themed wedding cake
(couldn't find a good picture of the real one...but it basically looked the same)

DAR from Just Another Day in Paradise asked, "What is your favorite kind of cake to make?"

My personal favorite cake is just plain old white cake. There's something about white cake with buttercream icing that just hits the spot for me. I'm a big fan of cupcakes as well so as to prevent myself from eating a whole cake in one sitting :) I don't personally LOVE the taste of fondant, but I love using it on cakes because I am completely obsessed with them looking as smooth as possible.


DAR also wanted to know, "If you cheat on a diet, what do you cheat with?"

Great question! Here's the thing. Most of the time, I am really good about sticking to Weight Watchers. I count all of my points, I work out regularly, I go to my meetings, and Matt and I don't really go out to eat all that often. However, there are definitely times when I think...okay...today...you don't count! Once I've decided that a day doesn't count, it's over. I eat literally everything in the house that is bad that I have been dying to eat for weeks. My thought process is that it is better to have one bad day than spend all your days eating crap. Don't know if that's true...but I really don't care :)

Some of my favorite things to grab on those days are BBQ chips, ANY chocolate we have in the house, anything I can dip in peanut butter, and of course...pizza! I have an issue with pizza. I simply cannot leave any leftovers. I am convinced it stems from growing up in a family of 5 consisting of a food loving father and brother...where if you didn't eat fast....you didn't eat at all. We could NEVER count on our leftovers to be there in the morning. I feel like if I don't eat my whole 1/2 of the pizza, it won't be there when I wake up!


Mrs. Southern Bride asked, "What is your favorite restaurant?"

This is so hard to choose! When we are going fancy, my favorite is The Melting Pot. I mean, give me a pot full of cheese, some lobster, and another pot full of chocolate and I'll pay you whatever you want. And, I'll even cook it myself!



If it's a casual night, my favorite restaurant of all time is El Rodeo...obviously a Mexican chain. It first opened up in my home town when I was in high school and I fell in love. They have the absolute best beef and cheese dip for their chips in the entire world. And anywhere I can get a couple soft tacos for $3 is a winner in my book.

More recently I have discovered their margaritas...which are to die for. One 32 ouncer and I'm down for the count.



Unfortunately, all El Rodeos are not the same. Although I have found three here in the area, the beef and cheese dips do not even compare to the one at home. Thus, my go to dining establishment here is Chick-fil-a! Best. chicken. sandwiches. ever.


A NYC Housewife-In-Training asked, "What is your favorite dessert, besides Oreo Truffles?"

Ha! I do heart me some Oreo Truffles, but my all time favorite dessert is cheesecake. I love the silky smoothness of it and it's just so creamy and delicious! If I'm making my own, I prefer plain...but if I'm going all out at a restaurant...I love the ones with peanut butter in them like this one at The Cheesecake Factory. Now there is a piece of cheesecake I can get behind! Yum!

source

Perplxin Texan asked, "If you could be any type of sweet (candy, ice cream, etc.) what would you be and why?"

At first I was going to say just plain old chocolate. Almost everyone loves chocolate and it goes with everything. It is simple, delicious, and super satisfying. But, sometimes I am mad at chocolate for tasting so good but being so bad for you! So, I've decided that I would invent a chocolate with 0 calories that tasted EXACTLY like the bad for you chocolate and I would be that! This way I would be rich for inventing it AND everyone would love me! Ha!


That does it for your food questions!! I'll be back tomorrow with my last set!

Your Questions Answered---Marriage Edition

Thank you all so much for asking so many wonderful questions!! I've had to split them up into several posts because either you were wanting to know WAY too many things about me OR I simply write too much! I'm convinced it's the latter. I didn't want you to have to suffer through one huge long post...so for my 1st post I will focus on questions about me and my Matty!



Tasha from Biology Gal and Angela from 20-Something Dreams wanted to know, "How did you meet your husband?"

I did a post on this a while back, so you can click here for the whole story! It's a good one.

We met during the summer after my sophomore year of college. I was at home in Indy visiting my good college friend, CJ. Her brother, Robert, was in town for the week from Colorado and guess who was over visiting him?? Matt!! Matt and Robert have been BFF forever (it's really cute)! So, I guess we met through mutual friends??

He wasted no time asking me out and with a little (lot) of persistence on his part, I officially started dating the man of my dreams!


Tasha also asked, "Where did you go on your first date?"

Our first date consisted of a wonderful Italian dinner at Maggiano's in Indianapolis where I ate an entire order of Chicken Parmesan and Matt ate two bites of his spaghetti. He claims he ate more and that they just gave him a lot of food, but that bowl sure looked full when we put it into the to-go container! We ended the night with a stroll in a local park. And do you want to know something cool?? The 6 year anniversary of our first day...is TODAY!

Later that week though was when I knew he was a keeper. He made me dinner all by himself...and baked a chocolate cheesecake for dessert. "Okay, fine. I guess I'll do the whole long distance thing, but you have to promise to keep making me cheesecake!"


Jackie from And So It Goes and Anna from Pocket Full of Pink asked, "How did Matt propose to you?"

Matt and I had been together 2 1/2 years before he proposed. That ENTIRE time we were long distance. Yeah, I know. Rough. I was in Indiana at Purdue and Matt was in Virginia at law school...then I stayed in Indy for grad school and Matt made the move to Cleveland to start his job in September of 2005. Let me tell you, the phone was our friend!




Matt proposed Christmas Eve of 2005. Ever since I was a kid we have spent Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. Once my grandmother passed away, we started going to Chili's for dinner and ending the night at my parent's house for presents. Matt's parents also now join us for this event every year. So we ate dinner and opened presents just like any other Christmas. Then Matt asked me if I wanted to take a walk. I thought it was a little fishy since, um, it was night...and kinda raining...and December!?! But, who am I to say no to this man??

We took a stroll around the block and we stopped underneath a light pole in front of my elementary school. I'm sad to say that I don't remember every single word he said to me that night, but I know it was something along the lines of loving me and wanting to be with me forever :) Then he got down on one knee in the rain and asked me to marry him. With a little tear I said yes! We headed back to the house and got to immediately share our good news with both of our parents and my dad's whole side of the family. It was truly a special night!

I guess Matt had originally planned to take me to the canal in downtown Indianapolis which is where we spent one of our first dates...but he thought I would give him too hard of a time for wanting to go there in the rain. Probably true :)

1 year and 9 months later...we were man and wife.




Newlywed Next Door asked, "What is your favorite thing to do with your husband on the weekends?"

Ha! We both laughed when we read this question. Our weekends are usually VERY casual. Unless we are traveling out of town, we rarely have weekend plans...so our typical weekend goes as follows:

Saturday: Morning workout; grocery shopping
Sunday: Church

This doesn't look like much...but our shopping trips are not just a quick trip to the store. We are both huge believers in Wal-mart, but there is not a Super Center in our town. We drive about 20 minutes to the Wal-mart a few towns over to get the majority of our shopping done there. Then we head to Costco for a few bulk items and occasionally have to stop at an additional store for items that Wal-mart did not have. As you may've guessed, this shopping extravaganza takes up a large portion of our day. We have recently discovered the genius behind shopping for 2 weeks at a time...so thankfully this craziness is now somewhat limited.

On Sundays we travel 45 minutes to and from church in the mornings, again a large portion of our day. We have contemplated going to another church that is closer to home, but our pastor is just too fantastic not to travel to hear. It's totally worth the drive, but we usually just crash once we get home.

So I guess on a regular, normal weekend...my favorite thing to do with Matt is to sleep in! We both get up at 4:45 am during the week...and 6:30 am on Sundays...so Saturdays are my favorite. We wake up slowly and lay around chatting and sometimes watching TV. Property Ladder is our fave. It's so relaxing and a great start to our weekend.




Becca from Mrs. GI Joe asked, "Are you ready for kids now or do you want to wait some more?"

Becca, I was ready for kids yesterday! I have been a little baby crazy for about the last 6 months, if not longer. It's so funny because during our pre-martial counseling, I was the one who wanted to wait 5-10 years to have kids! Well, that lasted like 1 year. I'm not sure what it is but I want so much to be a mother.

Matt is slowly but surely coming along and God willing we will start really trying early next year. This is good for both of us...seeing as he has financial and stability concerns and I'd like to lose a little of this weight first...so I don't have such a daunting task ahead of me after the baby comes!


DAR from Just Another Day in Paradise and Angela asked, "What is your favorite thing to do on a date?"

I love doing things with Matt that allow us to talk. We spend a lot of our day apart...and I have a LOT to say :) Besides the fact that it is so dang expensive, this is a big reason why I don't like going to movies. I like to be chatty!

So going to dinner is a favorite activity of mine..or for ice cream. Basically anything that involves food, I'm into. I also like to go golfing and bowling even though I am fairly horrible at both. I love hanging out with him in ways that are out of the norm for us.


Alrighty! I'll be back tomorrow with another round!

Father's Day!

Don't the weekends just fly by!?! It makes me have a sad face...but then I think about what we did this weekend and that makes me have a happy face!

Matt and I headed down to Cincinnati to my aunt and uncle's house on Friday evening where we were greeted by them, their four kids, my parents, my grandmother, and a puppy! Lots of family and so much fun! It was a little late, but we enjoyed visiting with everyone before hopping into bed.

Saturday morning, my sis Jessi and her hubs Dave arrived! Yeah! My uncle Kevin cooked us the most fantastic breakfast consisting of tons of bacon and yummy biscuits and gravy. I haven't had a homemade breakfast for quite a long time...so it was such a treat! Then it was off to The Beach!




This waterpark was a TON of fun! It was reasonably priced, not super busy, and the weather was fantastic.




Matt, Dave, and I went on basically every slide in the park. My sister does not have what you would call an adventurous soul, so she waited patiently while we had our fun. She did partake in the Lazy River as well as the Wave Pool though.







There was hubs on the slide as well as Matt and Dave riding backwards down the larger slide. They had a blast!

After we had sufficiently burned ourselves, we headed back to the house to get ready for the game...Sox vs. Reds! But first...dinner at Skyline! How could you go to Cincinnati and NOT go to Skyline?? Yum!




We arrived at Great American Ballpark about an hour before the game was scheduled to start. Turns out this was The Civil Rights Game so they had a ceremony beforehand. Although it forced the start time back almost 45 minutes...they did have guests including Bill Cosby, Hank Aaron, and Muhammad Ali...so I guess I'll allow it...just this once.





It was SO hot! It was in the 90's that day and we were sitting directly in the sun for hours! We did have absolutely perfect seats...and when the game finally got started...I was primed for catching a home run!


And guess what?? I ALMOST did! Two balls game right into our section...super close to our seats! We even made Sportscenter!! Well, almost all of us did. Guess who stayed in his seat and didn't even stand up when the Sox hit a home run right by us?? Um, yep. My husband. You can clearly see on TV where there is a significant gap between Dave and me where Matt would've been had he gotten off his lazy butt and cared just a little bit about the White Sox kicking some serious Reds booty!

Although it wasn't pretty, we pulled out the win for one of the longest games EVER! We hit the sack as soon as the highlights were over on Baseball Tonight :) It's so fun seeing yourself on TV!

We left to come home on Sunday morning after spending a little Father's Day time with Papa...but hit up the outlet mall on our way home. Great. idea. I picked up two pairs of Bermuda shorts, a new shirt, and some flippies! Matt found a few new dress shirts for himself...so it was definitely a successful trip!

And now...back to reality! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Papa!

Today is a very special day...Father's Day! I was so lucky to actually see my dad this weekend...and seeing as we live 5 hours apart...I feel very fortunate to have had this time with him. He is one of my favorite people in the entire world...and I couldn't have asked for a better dad. He's fiercely loyal, hilarious beyond words, and always there for you when you need him.

So to celebrate, here are some pics of my dad...the man with all of the qualities I looked for in a husband...on the day I married the one I found.












I love you Papa! Happy Father's Day!!

100!

Two posts in one morning...I know...nuts!

But this week I reached 100 followers! What a milestone that is in the blog world!

I never in a million years expected any near that number of people to want to read my blog. Did you know that up until I met my husband I didn't even know what a blog was? When Matt said he read something on a blog, I laughed and told him to stop making up words. Yep. I was VERY out of the loop.

Well, I am crazy thankful to Erin at Blue-Eyed Bride for inspiring me start my own blog. It has literally been life changing for me to connect with so many people this way. I never imagined making so many wonderful friends! I just wish I could meet you all! Ah...someday...I'll hunt you down state by state! Road trip anyone?

Anyway, since I've got a few followers now and a good 4 months of blogging under my belt, I thought I'd do one of those "Ask Me Anything" kind of posts. Anything you've been dying to know about me?? How about the hubs...he's pretty interesting?? Bet you didn't know I knew Erin in real life, huh?? I know...I'm full of mystery! Go ahead...ask away!




Feel free to leave a comment on this post or e-mail me (you can find the link to my e-mail in my profile) with any questions you have. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say! I'll post answers when I return next week.

Have a great weekend!!

Homemade Toffee!

This week Matt decided that he wanted to make his own toffee! Great idea honey! I knew I liked you...

He also found this awesome website with the recipe...but I would highly recommend the site for other recipes as well. It looks really neat and the person who runs it seems to put a lot of work into his dishes. It is extremely informative. AND...he's an engineer...which I heart because I went to Purdue...but that's beside the point.

So here's the ingredients. I'll put what we actually used in italics!

English toffee (makes about 1.5 lbs)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. water
1/8 tsp. salt (omitted because we used salted nuts)
1 tsp. vanilla
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (omitted...we were out!)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (used peanuts instead...and we added them into the toffee just before we spread it on the mat so the peanuts would be coated instead of just sitting on top)

We also decided to only make a 1/2 batch. Who needs all of that toffee around the house calling my name while I sleep?? Not me!

Well the toffee turned out fantastic! Check out the link above for the actual recipe.

And...we got to use my new Silpat! What a great gift! This is before we broke it into pieces.



I will say that I would recommend using some sort of unsalted nuts. Our toffee had a little bit of a funny taste to it that we finally nailed down to the peanuts and not the actual toffee. It was just too salty and I thought it also made it taste a little burnt.

You live and learn I guess...but it's still super good and really easy to make!


We're leaving after work today for Cincy! So excited to see my family!! Hopefully the Sox can pull a freaking win out of their butts tomorrow since they've been sucking so bad lately. I think they're due :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

XOXO

Diamonds!

When you were engaged (or maybe even before you had a man...um, me!) did you ever go to those websites where you could build your own engagement ring?? I SO did. I had a bunch of designs picked out but I could never choose which one I really loved. Hubs actually ordered my engagement ring online and designed it all by himself. Pretty snazzy, huh?




Funny thing about this ring...when he proposed, it was a size 5...way too small for even my pinkie! When he placed the order, he figured that I would have the same size fingers as he did. He pulled up a ruler on the computer screen, measured his ring finger with a string, and compared it to the ruler on the screen. Genius, right? Well it turns out that the ruler on the screen wasn't to scale! Ha! This resulted in a WAY to small ring that had to immediately be sent back and re-sized. No biggie in the long run though. I am in love with it...and the man who gave it to me!

Well, I was recently introduced to Abazias Diamonds. What an awesome website they have! Not only can you design your own engagement ring (which is my personal favorite aspect of the site) but you can also scope out tons of other types of jewelry including earrings, bracelets, watches and more!

So my 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up in September. Do you think Matt will get me a beautiful diamond ring for my other hand? What if I offered to design it myself? It's super easy to pick out the shape of the diamond as well as your price, carat, clarity, and color range. I'm sure I could find something absolutely perfect!

He reads my blog...think he'll get my not-so-subtle hint? Here's hoping!

Father's Day Plans!

This weekend Matt and I are headed here:



Cincinnati!

We're (I'm...for some reason Matt likes some other Chicago team which we will not mention) gearing up for an exciting game: White Sox vs. Reds!

We are meeting my parents, my sister, and her husband for a Father's Day weekend reunion. Last year we went to a Sox game in Chicago...and this year we are keeping the tradition alive but moving it to Cincinnati! Lucky for us, my aunt and uncle actually live there and are letting all of us crash at their pad for the weekend. They have four crazy kids so it's going to be a full house...but also a ton of fun!

Before the game on Saturday, hubs, sis and her hubs are going to The Beach! Well, it's not actually a "beach," but it should provide tons of entertainment!

It's a water park with real sand! I'm pretty excited about a chance to get some actual sun! I hope the weather cooperates.

I'm so glad to be spending Father's Day with my dad. He's such an awesome dude and I would not want to be anywhere else but with him on this day. Should make for a fantastic weekend! I can't wait!

Running Update!

So remember when I started running and I was doing the run/walk method? I had an 8 week plan which started off with a lot of walking and a few minutes of running and eventually ended up with just running. It centered around time and not distance. Well, since that plan ended, I have taken up another 8 week plan. This one is not as concerned with time as it is with distance.

I'm currently on week 3 and yesterday I ran my very first ever 2 miler!! I have never in my whole life ran 2 miles without stopping. I know this doesn't seem like a lot...but for me...HUGE accomplishment! I think it was the new songs on my iPod. The change really energized me! I'm excited to keep this up for the rest of the week and hopefully improve my time a little each session.




So, of course, I'm totally pumped to show off my new mileage to hubs when he comes home...so I say, "Guess how much I ran today??" First he said, "5 miles?" I laughed at his guess and then he said, "10 miles?" Ha! Thanks for making my 2 stinking miles look like nothing honey. But I guess I shall love you anyways, since I promised God and all...


And in other news, Heather at Mrs. Southern Bride gave me this lovely award the other day! She is too sweet. She and her husband Josh are the cutest couple ever and you have to check out her blog if you haven't done so already. So go!



I'm going to pass this award on to my 5 newest followers!!

Mrs. W from Keeping Up With the Westmorelands
Angela Darling from 20-Something Dreams
Life of a Savannah Bride
New England Girl
Semjenole from Jen's Modern Life

Thanks for following ladies! And I'm super excited to start learning more about you!!

I Heart Weekends

We had such a lovely little weekend!

Friday evening we watched Gran Torino. Have you seen it yet? Excellent flick. That Clint Eastwood sure is a talented man. Those kind of movies always make me a litty edgy but I thought overall it was really great. And hubs liked it too...which is always a plus.




On Saturday, we headed out with the intention of simply going to the post office, but ended but driving all over the city hitting up little shops and department stores along the way that we have been meaning to go to. Ha! We didn't even buy anything!! It was just wonderful to be outside in the nice weather. And we lunched at Chick-fil-a which is always a treat. They seriously have the best chicken sandwiches on the planet, don't you think?? They were also giving out samples of their new peach milkshakes, which I must say, were simply delicious. And this is saying a lot coming from a girl who really doesn't like fruit in things. By itself...great! In stuff...ick!




That evening I began the dreaded task of updating my iPod. All of my music was on my old laptop which is a huge piece of poop. My dog jumped on it so the monitor will not stay up on its own and it is SO slow! It took me about 90 minutes to finally get to the point where it was transferring songs to my flash drive! Nuts, I know. But I finally got everything transferred and it was such a feeling of accomplishment!

Sunday morning, I copied a few CDs into my iTunes and now I am all set! I even made a workout mix which I have desperately been in need of for months! Let me tell you, it is not fun hitting a wall in your running and then hearing Tim McGraw and Faith Hill belting out "Let's Make Love." Not really a big motivator if you know what I mean.

I went for a little run and spent the rest of the day reading. I finished Something Borrowed! Again, bloggy buddies and their reading suggestions come through. I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to beginning Something Blue soon!

Hope everyone's weekend was fantastic! Can't wait to hear about them!