Sunday Special - My Daddy

I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've done a Sunday Special.  Ryan and I have been quite busy!  But I have been planning this one since my last Sunday Special anyway, so here it finally is:


I decided to dedicate this special to my father.  My dad, Paul, has been such a rock in my life.  I feel so blessed that I have been able to have such a good father-daughter relationship, because I know that some of my friends cannot talk to their dads they way I can talk to mine. I have always felt so loved and so appreciated, and for that I am grateful.  Sometimes, I swear my dad tries to embarrass me in front of my friends...lol.  Well, at least when I was younger, I thought that A LOT!  He's always telling really cheesy jokes and trying to act "cool"...kind of like the dad in Modern Family.  But he always knows how to make me laugh, even when I was trying to be really mad at him.  I love you dad, thank you for always being there for me and making me smile when you've know I needed to.

Dad, me and Emily

Barenaked Ladies concert Summer 2009

Barenaked Ladies concert Spring 2010

Emily and Dad during our Florida vacation!

Toasting at my wedding

Walking me down the aisle, I love you dad!

I Am Thankful For...

Today is wonderful day full of good food, good football, and wonderful family!  Before our festivities begin, I just wanted to take a moment to share some things I am thankful for!


1.  I am thankful for my job.  It might not be my ultimate career choice, but I am happy where I work, I have great coworkers, and I am so grateful that through this tough economic time, we have both been blessed with steady jobs that allow us to lead a comfortable lifestyle.


2. I am thankful for my husband.  I know this is an obvious one, but we've only been married 7 months, so it's still fun to say "husband"!  Even before he was my husband, I always felt so lucky to have him in my life.

3. I am thankful for my family.  We aren't perfect, but we're overflowing with love and I have benefited so much from that.  

4. I am thankful for my friends.  You all know who you are!  I'm not going to be able to post pictures of all of you right now, but thank you for always knowing how to be there for me when I need you and making me smile.

5. I am thankful for memories.  I feel so blessed to have known people in my life who are no longer with us.  I miss them so much, but love my ability to remember the good times and I know that they will never be forgotten.

Harry Potter 7 Part 1

I'm not going to give a full-out review or anything.  One, because I don't have the time and two, because most of you haven't even seen it yet!  

I went to the midnight showing last night, which is making this morning crazy!  I am working 8-1 today and then going to be in the car from 1:30-6:30! :(

Let me just say this about HP: AMAZING! Not only was it, in my opinion, much better than the sixth movie, but the ending got me soooooooo pumped for the final installment...which unfortunately does not come out until July!

Side note: Why will I be in the car from 1:30-6:30 you ask? Girls weekend in Omaha!! Brooke, Ashley J, and I kicked it off last night at the movie, and today, when Brooke and I are off work, all three of us are heading to Omaha for the 1st Annual Girls Weekend!  I would share the awesome agenda, but I'd rather just blog about it Monday :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Vintage Etsy Treasury

I decided to try my hand at creating a treasury on Etsy.  I compiled a collection of vintage items that I would want if I could have them all :) It's definitely a WISHlist because I wouldn't even fit in some of the clothes/shoes. LoL.  But I love it, enjoy! 
Click here to see some awesomeness.

Monday Morning Playlist

I need a little energy boost on Monday mornings...and I don't really drink coffee, so music it is!  Here are some songs that wake me up and get me ready for the day :) ENJOY!

Saturday Swoon

I don't really have a lot to say this morning, because I'm lame and feeling uncreative at 7:00 before work.  So I thought I would just list some things I love, some of my favorite things.  No pics this time because I'm using the baby computer, but maybe I'll come back later and add some.

1. I love Yahtzee

We just bought Yahtzee at Walmart for $5! So far, Ryan and I are tied in the number of games we've won, but he is beating me in points.  This will all change soon...it's on! :)

2. I love when friends randomly decide to visit

My friend, Ashley L texted me on Wednesday night, close to midnight! We were texting back and forth and then she decided she wanted to come visit this weekend! HECK YEAH! She is sleeping on my couch right now! :)

3. I love Fantasy Football

This is my first year being in a FF league and I think I am more competitive than my husband! It's been a lot of fun and definitely gets me more pumped for Sunday game days!

4. I love "How I Met Your Mother"

I literally just started this show about a week and a half ago...I'm already in the middle of season 3.  I can't believe I've been missing out this long!

5. I love Omaha, NE

Not only do some of our best friends live there, but it is a fun city! There is a lot to do, a lot of great restaurants, a rockin' farmer's market, sweet secondhand stores, etc. It's a city, without feeling too big and it's affordable! But it's looking like my hopes of moving there aren't all that realistic.

I think that list is long enough for now :) I'm sure I will share more stuff in the future.  What are some things that you love?     

Stylish Blogger Award!

Emily from Today Tomorrow Thursday chose me...ME to accept the stylish blogger award.  I'm pretty pumped because I don't even have 15 followers yet, but you can bet I follow plenty of blogs to pass this on :)

In order to accept the award I must list seven facts about myself and then pass this award on to fifteen other bloggers!So here we go:

Seven Facts:

1. I recently had surgery to remove my gallbladder, I'm still out of work, but feeling fabulous!

2. I am officially involved in four weddings next year and so excited for them all.

3. I just got my first email from my soldier through Adopt-a-soldier. I highly recommend this program to anyone who likes to send letter/packages (hint hint Emily!)

4. I know this is not unique, but I LOVE etsy. It is one of the shopping sites that is not blocked at work and I spend a lot of my down time on it.  I'm not even crafty enough to have my own store!

5. I own all four seasons of Dexter, my favorite show that is still on TV

6. I have never seen one single episode of Jersey Shore

7. I got my wedding album yesterday and it made me cry!

Fifteen Bloggers (In Alphabetical Order):

1. A Meandering Memoir

2. Biscuit

3. Buzzings of a Queen Bee
4. Decor Adventures

5. Faith Olivia Perry

6. Iowa Girl Eats

7. LDC Designs

8. Linda Loves

9. NerdGirlBlogging

10. Something Beautiful

11. Sometimes Sweet

12. Thrifty Decor Chick

13. The World In Focus

14. Throw Grammar from the train 

15. Unkamama

Meet Me On Monday!

Questions: 

1.  What is your favorite kind of pie?
2.  Have you ever ran out of gas in the car you were driving?
3.  How many languages do you speak?
4.  Do you take daily vitamins?
5.  What is your worst eating habit?


1. Banana Cream Pie....yummm
2. Yes! It was super embarassing and the guy behind me had to push me out of the middle of the intersection and I had to wait 45 minutes for Ryan to bring me gas! :(
3. One fluently, one fakely, and one that I totally forgot (but used to be good at!) In that order, English, Spanish, and French.
4. No...but I should.  I'm totally buying flinestone vitamins today!
5. Eating too much?

Sunday Special - My Mommy

I know that I have already blogged about my family.  But the Sunday Special series is about a person or group that is important to me, so I can't imagine leaving my parents out of the series! (Dad, you're next!)  My mom, Beth, despite even the obvious reasons, has been very important in my life.  She has always supported everything I do and been my biggest fan.  And lately, she has been my friend too.  I feel so lucky to be able to have parents that I also consider my friends.  Even though Ryan and I did not move to North Carolina, and are living so close to home, it has been a blessing for my relationship with my mom.  We have lunch dates and shopping trips and I am so glad for this time that we've had.

I love you mom, thank you for always being there for me, as a mother and a friend.

The family, before Alex obviously

In San Francisco!

Adventureland 2008

Bridal Shower

Putting my earring in, wedding day

At the fair

I love you mom

Thought I Should Share

There is an awesome giveaway happening...one of the perks of joining the blogosphere!  You can check it out here. Maybe I should have one...yeah, maybe when I have more followers! LoL

Five Question Friday

1. Do you believe in ghosts?
2. What's the best movie you've seen in the past month?
3. Do you have a mantra? A quote to live by? Or an overarching belief of what you strive to be?
4. What is your favorite guilty pleasure song?
5. What is your number one November goal?


1. Nope
2. Ok, don't make fun, but Secretariat
3. "Breathe, just breathe"
4. I don't care how much it is overplayed. "I'm Yours" Jason Mraz
5. Finish my Christmas shopping


You know the drill, comment with your answers or post your own "Five Question Friday" on your blog.  (Hint hint Shae, here's a post for you!!) =)

Halloween Weekend

Twas the weekend before my surgery, and all Sarah wanted to do was have fun!  So we did :) We started the weekend off with a night in Des Moines with Nick & Emily.  Love these crazy kids! ;) We played Sequence and Hearts, had some drinks and ate Emily's yummy snacks.  We also watched The Descent...my first time seeing it, FREAKY! Here are some pics from our night in DM.

Emily's taco dip=delish!

Love youuuuu

Playing hearts

Love birds <3

My drink of the night...of course

Booo Packers!

In the morning, we headed to Omaha where we stayed with Ashely and Andy!  We went to lunch at Wheatfields, where everything on the menu looked to die for.  We all got great food.  My burger was the size of my head and Andy's meal was served on a cutting board!

My yummy cheeseburger

Andy's meal

Then Ashley and I went shopping and found some cute clothes for her engagements pictures this coming weekend! When we got home, I had Ashley and Andy open their special surprise.  Enjoy the reenactment photos :)

We finished off the day with a costume party/bar adventure.  I didn't end up drinking much because of the upcoming surgery.  But it worked out because I got to drive us home and we blasted the home intruder song on the way home with the windows down! "Hide yo kids hide yo wife" Good times!

Geez Favre, no one wants to see your junk!

I am truly in love with Ashley's stache

Sunday was pretty chill, we made some snacks for football and Ashley and I ended up napping before Ryan and I had to head home.  It was a great weekend and great way to keep my mind off of surgery.  

Sleepy Calypso

Tortilla roll-ups I made :)

Thank you friends for a fun time!!