The Kristen Chronicles

International Crush Day

2010-02-25T11:27:00.002-05:00

Somehow I missed this last week (probably because I've been neglecting this blog like a horrible person and instead eating and writing about it elsewhere). It was International Crush Day! Everyone has a crush (or ten), and this post is dedicated to all the bloggers I admire.

First and foremost, my kindred spirit and best friend Sam, who I obviously adore and have a girl crush on. She's the most kind, thoughtful, and creative person I know. She can talk me into anything (literally anything) because her excitement is contagious. I'm going to snuggle with her so hard when I see her in 15 days (!) in Disney.

Then there's the dear Lilu, who I love even more right now because she's working on a redesign of my foodie blog. I love my little slice of the interwebs all about delicious food, and I can't think of a better person to make it look as fabulous as I feel about it. Plus she's freaking hysterical and is from MA. Can't get much better.

I have a personal favorite, and virtual crush, on Restaurant Refugee. Any man that can describe a love for cufflinks and cigars the way he can obviously brings to mind images of time gone by. And he knows food. It's what he does. Tremendous amount of respect for that. Plus, the stories of his worst clients make my jaw drop.

I could certainly go on with my list of bloggers that I love, but that list would probably be a mile long. Instead, I'll stop here and ask for your suggestions. What are your favorites? What blog out there have I been missing?

Silly Question

2010-01-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's been a few months now since the wedding. When we first got back, the question was always "How was the wedding?!" or "Did you love Ireland?!". The answers are "Amazing" and "We LOVE Ireland". Now? The question we get most often is "So, how's married life?".

I've probably asked this question to others before, but now hearing it all the time I feel like it's a really silly question. What is someone really supposed to say to that question? Married life has been great, but not really any different than what it was before. This made me think, what actually has changed?

The answer, not much. We still live together. Still have the same jobs. Still live in the same place. Still love each other just as much. We just get to say "This is my husband... " or "Have you met my wife....?".

So really, what's different? I thought about it and figured it out. Now we have nicer things. We're young professionals, and we haven't gone crazy on buying fancy kitchen appliances, or even matching silverware. The wedding changed all that. All we had to do was create a registry and suddenly we have more plates, glassware, napkins, and martini glasses than two people can handle.

There's the answer. How's married life? Well, now we have nice things. And each other :)

Bad Blogger

2010-01-22T22:34:00.002-05:00

I've been a horrible blogger lately over here. It's been weeks since I posted! Shame on me.

But, I've found a new love. Well, maybe not new, but I see this love in a new way. That love is food. So really, the love isn't new, but my outlet for expressing it is. I started a new blog that I am absolutely loving: No Sincerer Love. This blog is filled with reviews, recipes, food suggestions, taste testings, and anything else I can think of that's food related. Dane is helping me out with this new project, which is also really fun. We get to work together on it and I'm loving that we have a new way to share something we both really enjoy.

We're always looking for new ideas. Have anything you want us to try? A restaurant we should try? A favorite wine we need to have? Let us know!

Promise, I'll be better over here. Scouts honor.

Wedding Recap

2010-01-04T13:23:00.014-05:00

I was so busy with reflecting on the year that I realized I never actually got around to posting pictures from our wedding in November. We had such a great time planning the wedding and the day of the big event was wonderful. We're so grateful to everyone that was able to make it and spend the day celebrating with us!

Our photographer was amazing and sent me 2 DVD's with 1,200 photos on them. I'm just going to pick a few that are my favorites to share.

This totally looks like a magazine ad to me. Let's just put the name of whatever hairspray that is and put this in print. I'll happily accept any payment for the use of my image.

Yup, I wore my Sam Adams jacket while getting ready. Because I take pride in my beer.

Our photographer took my shoes and bouquet and ran off for a little while. This was what she was doing. There's a ton of different angles and combinations of things. I love that she got the little details of the day.

The Gallo girls are FIERCE. Eat your heart out Tyra.

It's official! The new Mr. and Mrs.!

Our pastor had the best idea. He got married about a year ago to his wife, who is from Estonia. When they went back to Estonia for a ceremony there, part of the tradition was to have a picture with everyone outside the church after the ceremony. He suggested this to us and we loved the idea. There's no other time that you get everybody in one shot. Our original plan was to do it outside, but with the sun setting earlier in late November we opted to move it inside just in case it got too dark outside. I love this picture!

We had the best bridal party ever. I had both my sisters as maids of honor. Really, there was no way to choose one of them. I'm too close with them both to pick one over the other. So we made our own rules and I had two maids of honor, while Dane chose two best men. His two friends from Penn State completed the bridal party. We had a blast with this group.

Our first dance, after much debate, was "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. We both love the song, and it's a little more upbeat than other songs. It was perfect for us.

It was really important to us that our guest have a great time. Judging by this picture I would say that they did! I love that our friends from all different parts of our lives got to come together.

I think this was us dancing to "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. When it came on Dane asked me to dance even though everyone had already sat down to dinner. We were the only ones on the floor and it was perfect.

There are so many more, but I won't go crazy here. We really got to enjoy the whole day and it was exactly what we wanted.

Now if I just had another occasion to wear my dress again...

Best of 2009: Stationary, Laugh, Ad, and Resolution

2010-01-02T11:38:00.003-05:00

I'm wrapping up the best of 2009 with this post. I love that I got a chance to reflect on this past year through this blog. Gwen Bell's prompts were great for each day and made me think about things from this year that I would otherwise never have thought of and recognized. So here it is, the final chapter of my best of 2009.

Best Stationary

Anything from the Paper Source. Anything at all. We used their paper for everything for the wedding. The save the dates were sent with their beautiful envelopes and cards with a personal note to each person, the invitations were coordinating paper in soft white, and out thank you cards are also from Paper Source. The best part was that the beautiful paper let us print our own design on all of our stationary and we made it our own.

Best Laugh

I really love to laugh, so I don't know if I can name one time that was my best laugh of 2009. I'm lucky to have friends, family, and co-workers that make me happy and make me laugh all the time.

The one time that does come to mind was a car ride with Becca. We were headed to a jewelry party and got a little lost on the way there. When we found a Boston House of Pizza somewhere in the suburbs, Becca lost it and, laughing hysterically, yelled "BHOP!? WHERE THE HECK ARE WE?!". I lost it too at that point, and the rest of the car ride was filled with tears from laughing so hard. We did make it to our destination. Eventually.

Best Ad

My favorite ads are definitely the ones featuring Mac and PC. Every new commercial that comes out is smart and funny. Being a Mac girl myself, I can obviously appreciate the point being made too.

Best Resolution

Two years ago, I made a resolution that I would not make any more New Year's resolutions. I have to say, it's the only resolution I've ever kept.

I'm excited for 2010 and can't wait to see the changes that will happen this year. Here's to a happy, healthy, and fun new year! Cheers!

Best of 2009: Lesson, Gift, Aha!, and Social Web Moment

2009-12-31T11:34:00.002-05:00

Best Learning Experience

A combination of things taught me this lesson: do what makes you happy, even if it means taking some risks (actual or perceived risks).

I've always been a people pleaser. I like harmony in my relationships and have always tried to make everyone around me happy. This is exhausting and sometimes (often) meant forgetting about my own needs or wants to make sure everyone else was taken care of. When it's little things that can make someone else's day, then it's just a good feeling. But when it meant forgetting my own goals, I realized it wasn't a good feeling.

Wedding planning really helped me figure out the difference between the important things and the things that could just make others happy too. My mom (love you Mom) was absolutely convinced that I NEEDED an aisle runner for the church. I didn't care or want one because they usually just get caught underneath the dress and pulled along down the aisle. But when the limo company offered to roll one out, we opted to do it and make my mom happy. A little thing that made someone's day.

But, the big discussion that we really struggled with was whether or not to get married in a church, and if we did, what denomination. Without going into details, we ended up in a church, in a denomination that Dane and I identify with, but not necessarily my family. This was important to us and we found what felt like our niche. Countless times I heard (especially from older more traditional relatives) why we shouldn't get married there. My first reaction was to make different plans and go to the church that they wanted. With Dane's help on this one, I held my ground and we ended up with exactly what we wanted. No compromise on that one and it made us happy. Everyone else had to keep their opinions to themselves. And the best part was that it worked out beautifully.

This summer (and I know I've only mentioned this a million times), when Sam and I opened our Etsy shop was another learning experience for me. When I found Etsy I was in awe of all the gorgeous creations that others were selling. I didn't think I could ever find my place among them. What if it wasn't good enough? What if we never got a sale? But we took a chance, and we're loving every second of it. Who would have thought I could sew for the first time in April and have a shop by July?

The point is, risks can be personal relationships, finances, self confidence, or beliefs. But that doesn't mean you should let them keep you from doing something that will make you happy.

Best Gift

Easy one. My sewing machine was a gift to myself and it's become something that I can no longer be without. I don't know how I went so long without it! I love being able to look through fabrics and find ones that suit different people perfectly, then be able to take them home and create beautiful items. Sewing has also given me a different perspectives on buying things, which has been good and bad. When I see a bag I like, instead of looking at the price tag, I now look at how it was constructed to try and figure out how I can do it myself. It's a good feeling to know what you can be capable of if you just try.

Aha! Moment

Though I'm not sure when this actually happened, it may have been one moment in time or a culmination of different things, my aha! moment came when I realized I have options in my career. And that just maybe, I would want to make some changes.

I guess between the wedding and working with the SnowBall, my interest in event planning really blossomed. At my current job I've planned all kinds of events and it's always the most rewarding feeling to see everything come together. These two big events this year let me focus just on the event planning process and made me think about making some changes.

Right now, I'm happy with what I'm doing, but I've realized there are options. And I can always make some changes.

Social Web Moment

This year I discovered Twitter. I never understood what the big deal was. I couldn't figure out what the draw was in following people's thoughts in 140 characters or less.

Now? Can't live without checking it at least a few times a day. I get my news and updates from Twitter, find out what friends are up to, get notified of new blog posts, and can waste hours of time. Twitter is what informed me of the death of Michael Jackson, the passing of Thornton's, and allowed me to be in contact with my KS when she moved. Thanks Twitter.

Best of 2009: Person, Project, Startup, Web Tool

2009-12-29T12:51:00.002-05:00

New Person of 2009

The best new people for me this year are my relatives in Ireland. On our honeymoon we finally had the chance to meet these people I'm related to and it was wonderful. They welcomed up with open arms. Going to another country and staying with people you've never met before may sound a little scary, but I knew from the first time I talked with my cousin that it was going to be great. We got to see what life is like for them in their little village and they showed us what it means to be family (no matter how distant or far apart).

Next up, seeking out my relatives in Italy.

Best Project of 2009

By far the project I'm most proud of is We Are Kindred Spirits. I know I talk about it all the time, but going from never having used a sewing machine to opening a shop on Etsy in a matter of a few months was really incredible for both me and Sam. I love every piece I make and find meaning in creating custom items for people. I hope our little project continues to grow so I can keep enjoying it!

Best Startup of 2009

This is just getting started, but I have to say my favorite startup goes to the photographer we used for the wedding, Jessi. She is incredible and had never done a wedding before, but is talented and was eager to try. After Dane and I met her back in July, we knew she had the perfect personality to work with us and had an amazing eye for finding moments that might pass other people by. We ended up with the most beautiful memories of our wedding day, and I truly hope that working with us will open doors for her.

Best Web Tool

The best tool is my iCal on my iPhone which can sync with my Google Calendar. I can't remember things to save my life, so having my schedule in the palm of my hand at any given time is great. Anything worth remembering goes straight into my iPhone, along with all the details, and if needed, a reminder (which is needed more often that not). With everything that I juggle in my life this simple way of keeping it all together is a life saver. Thank you Apple and Google. I love you both more than you know.

Best of 2009: Tea, Word, Shop, Car Ride

2009-12-21T11:08:00.002-05:00

Tea of the Year

I'm a huge fan of tea. My mom has always been a tea drinker. As long as I can remember my grandparents have usually preferred tea over coffee. My grandma always yells at my mom for leaving her tea bag in for too long.

My favorite tea of this year is Rooibos from Ula Cafe in JP. I've enjoyed many conversations with friends over a cup of this tea and it's always delicious. The tea is actually very pretty dark reddish color and slightly sweet on it's own. Between the color, flavor, and aroma, rooibos is absolutely my favorite.

Word of the Year

At the beginning of the year I chose my "One Little Word" for 2009. Breathe. I don't know that I've paid enough attention to it this year, at least not consciously. My year was filled with so many changes and exciting things that I wanted a word to remind me to take a step back and appreciate it all, to let things happen, and to not sweat the small stuff.

Now looking back on the year, although I wasn't constantly thinking of my word, my word has great meaning to me. I've never been great with change and this year came with tons of change. I feel like I've been able to handle the unexpected with more grace than I can usually muster, and learned to roll with the punches. Having Dane in my life has helped me immeasurably. He has a calming effect on me and makes embracing my word much easier.

Shop of the Year

This goes to The Vintage Pearl. I discovered this amazing crafter through several other blogs and fell in love with her customized jewelry. My first purchase from her shop was for my Mom. It was the circle pendant with the names of my sisters, me, and my parents. I gave it to her for Mother's Day and she absolutely loved it.

Knowing how much I loved it, Dane bought me a pendant with our names on it later in the year. And a few months later, I entered and won a giveaway on her blog which got me another necklace! I love seeing the new things this talented woman comes up with and I'm sure I'll continue to spend money there next year.

Best Car Ride

There's actually a few that I can think of. First one that popped into my head was the car ride back to my parents' house after our rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. My newest favorite song came on and my sisters and I blasted it and sang the whole way home. It was just one of those fun moments together that we could be silly and let loose before the craziness.

Next comes the trip to Penn State in October. It was a really long drive, but for me it was filled with so much anticipation. Besides going to a Penn State game, which would be my first college football game, I was going to get a chance to experience what Dane so often talks about. Penn State will always be a huge part of his life. All his closest friends are those he met in college. I wanted to see what it was all about. The drive down was really beautiful and filled with fall foliage to look at. At the end of the drive was an amazing trip.

Last, I have to add the recent drive to Vermont to visit my best friend. Dane and I went on a very impromptu trip to see them where they grew up despite the blizzard that was threatening and last minute planning. Driving through the snow covered mountains up to the northern kingdom of Vermont was gorgeous. It was almost hard to pay attention to the road when there was this amazing landscape in front of you the whole time.

Best of 2009: New Food, Change to where I live, Rush and Packaging

2009-12-16T09:15:00.003-05:00

Best New Food

Pomegranates. I was always intrigued by this fruit, but not quite sure how to eat it. At the beginning of the year one of my roommates brought one home and I was hooked. Now having a pomegranate is huge treat for me. I don't eat them often and when I do it's heaven. Plus, it's kind of fun to eat and beautiful at the same time. The color of a pomegranate makes it feel decadent to me. I've also developed a love for anything with pomegranate in it (include pomegranate margaritas).

Best Change to the Place I Live

The biggest and best change to the place where I live came from moving out of an apartment with two roommates and into an apartment with my fiance. I absolutely loved my old apartments. My roommates were awesome, we were always entertaining people, and the neighborhood was constantly full of surprises. After being there for almost 2 years, plans began to change for all three of us and somehow at the same time we were all ready to move out and onto something new. This definitely came with some sadness when we said goodbye but also excitement for our new plans.

Dane and I moved into an apartment only about a 5 minute walk from my old place. It took us almost 2 months of apartment hunting to find the perfect place. We love it there and have done our best to make it our own. The apartment is still a work in progress even though we've been there since April. There's always new pictures to hang and rearranging to be done. (I definitely get this from my mom. She's a constant re-arranger. When I come home I often find couches in different places, new curtains hung, or a painting that wasn't there before.) It's our first place together, and it was the best change of the year for me.

Best Rush

This is probably not a typical answer. First I thought of when I got my tattoo, but that was in 2008. Then I thought of when I walked up 100 stairs to kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland (only a rush because I thought I was going to have a panic attack). Then I thought of my wedding, which was a rush, but in a different way.

My best rush of this year came from talking with my Kindred Spirit, Sam, in the conversation where we decided to open our Etsy Shop. We've both always been crafty. We learned to sew together (still a work in progress, there's always something new to learn!). We finish each other's thoughts. I told her I was thinking about it and asked if she'd want to do it. She was ecstatic and our conversation was something like this:

Me: So I was thinking about opening an Etsy shop. And I think we should open one together.

Sam: OHMYGODYES!

Me: AHHREALLY?!

Sam: I'MSOEXCITED!

We got a little rowdy. Pretty sure no one around us knew what on earth we were talking about because we went into crazy girl mode. Seeing it come together and getting our first few sales have been a huge rush for both of us. I can't wait to see it continue to grow!

Best Packaging

Again, this one goes out to Sam. For our engagement party, Sam and Jason bought us a bunch of fun things made even better by how it was wrapped. They found a bag with Darth Vader that talked when you pushed a button and it was incredible. Being the huge geeks that we are, they could probably have given us just the bag and we would have been very happy.

Best of 2009: Challenge, Album, and Place

2009-12-15T15:59:00.003-05:00

I really love this best of challenge. I'm slacking a little bit, but here's the latest installment.

Best Challenge

I honestly can't pinpoint a specific challenge that I faced this year, but thinking back I feel like I've made a concerted effort to be much more conscious of my need to please everyone. The need to please is so natural to me that it's incredibly hard to control, but always ends up making me crazy in the end.

You hear all the time that "you just can't please everyone." For some reason, that's never stopped me from trying. What can I say? I like harmony in all my endeavors. However, I really felt this taking a toll on me. Why did I have to end up in tears because I felt like I wasn't making other people happy? And I'm not talking big things here like being there for family and friends or staying at work late to help out. I'm talking "Ohmygosh I'm out of candy for my desk. Need to get more for anyone who comes in to make sure they have access to sugar." Why do these things matter? I like to think it's because I'm a good person, but honestly it's exhausting to feel a need to cater to everyone else's whims.

Planning a huge event (wedding!) this past year helped me be able to say 'no'. When others told me I simply "had to have" a certain color or a blusher veil or my hair done a certain way I figured out how to assert myself and my own wants. This included me saying no to members of my family (ahem, mom and sisters, cough cough) which is incredibly hard to do for those people that I love. I won't say I'm cured of my insatiable need to please, but I can say I really feel like I can more easily figure out what is a priority and what is reasonable to worry about.

Album of the Year

Coldplay immediately pops into my head for this one. I realize Viva La Vida came out in 2008, and I got it immediately, but I still feel like it was my album of the year. That album took me through most of the year and no matter how many times I listen to it, I still love every song.

Best Place

The Sam Adams Brewery. I can't count how many times we've brought friends and family here when they come to visit. No matter how many times I go, it doesn't get boring. I could give the tour myself at this point but who can turn down a free tour with three free samples of Sam Adams at the end? This is by far the most requested place to go when we have guests. We've become a fan of the monthly open houses as well. We've been to a few and all feature free beer and a different theme. Being so close to where we live, Dane and I take full advantage of it!

Best of 2009: Night Out, Workshop, Blog, Zen Moment

2009-12-08T17:11:00.001-05:00

To continue the Best of 2009 posts. I was thinking maybe I'd keep up with one a day, but that's not going to happen, so they're going in bunches!

Best Night Out

The night that pops into my mind immediately is my birthday outing, complete with snails. I went out with Dane, my dearest Sam and Jason, and several other friends joined us along the way. The most memorable part of this evening? The snails we found on the way to the subway station. Why were there snails crawling around the city? This question got all the more fascinating after a few rounds with a few good friends.

Best Workshop of Conference

I'm going to go ahead and amend this one because I only attended one conference this past year, and I was presenting at it. Instead, my favorite professional development opportunity came in the form of becoming a member of the planning committee for a regional conference that will take place in March. This is my first time on a planning committee and I'm so thrilled that I've been able to start work on something like this!

Best Blog Find of the Year

2009 was a year of amazing blog finds. This year I got to meet some amazing blogettes, attend some fabulous gatherings, and enjoy new connections. My best blog find of the year has to go to We Are Not Martha. I started reading this blog early in the year, and in July got to meet the ladies behind all the recipes and fun. It was my moment to be a groupie, and I lived it up. After meeting them, they were kind enough to work with me and my Kindred Spirit to put together a giveaway for our Etsy shop. It was an amazing opportunity and they continue to be one of my go to blogs for yummy food and new ideas.

Moment of Peace

Get ready for me to be totally mushy. If you can't handle total lovey doveyness, then stop reading.

My moment of peace happened on my wedding day. The weeks and months leading up to it were filled with errands, get togethers, to-do lists, and decisions. I was sure I was going to be nervous the day of the wedding. After all, there was so much lead up to this day isn't that what's supposed to happen?

After getting my hair done, getting dressed with my maids of honor, taking pictures at the house, and eating lunch I still wasn't nervous. But then, the limo pulled up. And there were those nerves. Not bad, but the butterflies were definitely fluttering in my stomach. It was a short ride from the house where I grew up to the church. I sat in the limo as everyone else got out and got ready to walk inside. I had to be the last one in and hidden so no one could see me before the doors opened for the big entrance. I watched my new sister in law walk down the aisle with her son, our ring bearer, my sisters and maids of honor make their way to the front of the church, and then it was my turn. I took my dad's arm and when those doors opened and I saw my Dane those nerves were gone. Everyone was there to see us, and my wonderful husband was tearing up and all I could feel was happy.

Cheesy right? But true.

Best of 09: First Four Days

2009-12-04T10:52:00.004-05:00

I love ideas like this. Take the time to reflect on a year. For me, a really great year. First read about this Best of project here, and then found where it originated here. I'll combine some of these topics, but anything that gives me a chance to look back on some memories (i.e. my Project 365) I will sign up for!

So without further ado..

Best Trip of 2009

This one is too easy for me. Hands down the best trip this year was our honeymoon in Ireland. We left the day after our wedding and stayed for a week. We experienced Dublin, more Guinness than a person should consume, and met family who were so welcoming and kind.

The country is beautiful, everyone we met was friendly and talkative, and the food was fantastic. Don't let anyone tell you the Irish don't know how to eat. Beef stew, fish and chips, potatoes, bacon. Really, what else do you need?

Besides the wonderful country, it was a chance to spend plenty of quality time with my new husband. I loved getting to experience a new place with him. Having each other to enjoy this trip with made it perfect.

Best Restaurant Moment of 2009

The first thing that comes to mind for me is my Bachelorette dinner at The Melting Pot. I didn't want to do anything special for a Bachelorette party, it just wasn't that important to me. But my sisters, being the wonderful Maids of Honor that they were, made me pick something to do and I came up with a day at the spa for facials and dinner at The Melting Pot for fondue.

We ended up going out a few nights before the wedding with myself, my two sisters, and my mom. I was the only one who had been to the Melting Pot before and the concept of sharing and dipping food in cheese seemed to be beyond comprehension for my sisters. That was until the cheese came out. Then they were in heaven. Not to mention that it was Tini-Tuesday and all martinis were $5. I had the Blood Orange martini, and my sister the Yin-Yang martini.

I felt like this was one of the first times I sat and relaxed at a girls night out with just my mom and sisters. It was hysterical watching each other rescue lost pieces of food that fell into the cheese and trying each others cocktails. I can't think of a better way to have spent the time. And of course the food was fabulous, but for me it was all about the company.

Best Article of 2009

I don't know if I have one particular article in mind, but instead more of a news story. For me, the best stories came around the inauguration of Barack Obama. From watching his speech to seeing what Michelle would wear to the ball, the inauguration of our 44th president was historic and beautiful. Throughout all the coverage I can just remember thinking how amazing it was. It was the start to a new chapter of our history.

Best Book of 2009

This year actually marked a return to reading for pleasure for me. After graduate school, it took a while to get back into the habit of reading for myself. Those hours and hours spent pouring over textbooks and taking notes took their toll on me, and I wasn't very excited to spend my free time reading when I could be doing other things.

A huge perk in my current position is having the summer off, and I used that time to catch up on my reading. It was something I realized I had truly missed. In about two months I read The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Lovely Bones, My Sister's Keeper, Road to Perdition (a graphic novel, first one I've ever read) and re-read Angels and Demons.

I also listened to two books on tape, the first time I've done this. Both were Harry Potter books and my favorite book of 2009 would have to go to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, I read this book back when it originally came out, but I loved listening to it again. Dane and I would listen to it in pieces on our long drives from NY to PA to MA when we went to visit our families. It was the perfect thing to get absorbed in while on the road. It was fun for me too because Dane had never read any of the books, only seen the movies, and his reactions to the story line were so great. We are huge nerds, and this is right up our alley. Every one needs a little magic now and then.

DIY's of the Big Day: Part 2

2009-12-03T22:48:00.004-05:00

Promise there will be more wedding updates and pictures to come!

I'm just so happy with the way things came together and had the best time with all the little details for the wedding, I have to share some more of the DIY projects we did for our finishing touches.

I made my own hair combs from silk flowers and crystals. I took apart the white silk flowers, sewed some layers together, sewed a crystal in the middle, put it on some felt and attached it to a metal comb. My sisters saw these and decided they wanted them too. They were actually pretty easy to make, so I got what I needed and whipped up 4 combs for them in an evening while watching TV. They wanted orange flowers and crystals in the middle like mine. This was before I attached the flowers to the combs.

I also made the ring bearer pillow. I found this fabric that I love (which I also used to make my sisters' wedding day emergency kits) and bought a ton of it. Still have some left over actually. I made the buttons with one of those little kits you can get at Joann's for about $3. I just attached the ribbon around the button so we could tie the rings on. There was no way those were going to stay on there with Dane's 1 year old nephew holding it!

Then I had to make Abby's flower girl basket fancier. I bought the basket for $3 at a craft store, then decorated it with ribbon and some rhinestones. My little goddaughter had to have some sparkle when she walked down the aisle! She caught on pretty quick that she had to take the petals out and put them on the floor. In fact, she walked all over the house putting the fake flower petals in a trail.

We bought our unity candles at IKEA. Best prices for a pillar candle and two tapered candles that we found. But they were plain, so I jazzed it up. I used orange satin ribbon and the same rhinestones just to make it a little different.

And last, but not least, our cupcake tiers. We bought cardboard tiers online and they were perfect but they were plain white and made of corrugated cardboard. So I bought some pretty orange printed scrapbook paper and blue ribbon. I cut and attached the paper on the tiers and glued the blue ribbon around each tier to hide the cardboard. More pictures of the finished tiers to come!

All these little details may be something only we really noticed, but it was these little things that helped pull our day together. Each thing was fun to do and we worked on it together.

If anyone needs any help with wedding accessories let me know!

and she is married

2009-11-23T20:13:00.002-05:00

hello friends, family, and blog lovies, it's becs covering for the lovely MRS. ZDUNOWSKI who got married this past weekend! I'll have a bunch of wedding-related updates coming while Dane and Kristen enjoy some Guiness and some leprechauns in Ireland. But for now, enjoy this beautiful photo (stolen from Scott and his iPhone) of the ceremony. Congratulations to the beautiful couple, it was an incredible and beautiful day. xoxo

The DIY's of the Big Day

2009-11-13T12:36:00.004-05:00

I'm crafty. I love doing things myself. Why pay someone else to do things for you when you can have all the fun to yourself? For our wedding this has meant that we've taken on additional things all in the name of craftyness and fun. This past week things have really started to come together and we're in the process of all our final preparations. I'm in love with what has been created for our big day and wanted to share it with you all.

Our good friend designed all the paper items for the wedding. That included the invitations to the engagement party, save the date magnets, wedding invitations, table tents, kissing menus, ceremony programs, and reception seating assignment poster. He is amazing and is able to tolerate me. I just printed these off on Wednesday and LOVE the way they turned out! Our tables are named after streets in Boston, where we met and currently live. I bought the table tents at the Paper Source, wrote the description for each street, Scott designed them, and I printed them on my home printer.

Then, of course, are our Kissing Menus. I've loved this idea since the second I saw it on another blog. I'm really excited to finally have them done! I still want to mount them on another layer of dark blue cardstock. We'll see if I get to it.

The last thing I'll share in this post is the gifts I made for my sisters. They never read my blog, so I'm not worried about ruining the surprise. We talk too much and already know what's going on in each other's lives. I wanted something personal and since I love to sew, I knew that their gifts would definitely be unique. Part of the gift is a personalized makeup bag with their initial on the front and a heart on the back. Inside I included a wedding day emergency kit: Tide-to-go, Shout wipes, bobby pins, hairspray, Q-tips, bandaids, deodorant, Purell, and tissues. There are a few more goodies in there, including their real gifts from me. The emergency kit is really just a bonus. Oh, and I used the same material that is I used to make our ring bearer pillow!

Projects still on the to-do list: Programs for the ceremony, Seating assignment poster, centerpieces, Candy bar for favors.

I really love the personal touches this gives our wedding day. It's going to be so amazing when it all comes together!

Dreaming...

2009-11-01T11:17:00.005-05:00

The wedding is coming up quickly! I could not be more excited. Almost all of our larger things are taken care of (caterer, florist, cake, dresses, tuxes, favors, photographer, DJ) so now it's down to little details. I'm making my sisters' gifts, finalizing programs, and getting favors together. Mom is in NY working on the centerpieces because she's awesome. We just finished the seating arrangements and will probably spend the day running errands.

I actually feel like we have this totally under control. The whole process has been really smooth and not stressful at all. I can't even count how many times I've been asked about the wedding. "Oh wow, it's coming up! You must be stressing out!" or "Have you started to freak out yet?". Not sure what experiences these people had with wedding planning, but this has not been difficult for us. Dane has been wonderful, so I'm not doing it alone. It probably helps that event planning is part of my everyday job, so I had a good feel for how to go about things.

If nothing else I've realized the wedding industry is crazy! There's so much pressure on brides to make everything "perfect". This is "your big day" and you'll never be able to do it again. I hate being told that this is my day and that the groom doesn't matter. Without my groom, there would be no wedding! I certainly think that counts for something. We've taken this on together from the beginning, which has made it fun to decide how to make this wedding our own.

Now that being said, I have had some weird dreams lately about the wedding, and last night Dane even had one. In every dream, something goes wildly wrong. Is this just stress manifesting itself in an unconscious way? Or is this my overactive imagination? Not sure, but here's some of the dreams so far...

I'm running errands the day of the wedding. It's early in the day. Suddenly it's 3:30 PM and the wedding is supposed to start at 4PM. I am not changed, my hair is not done, and am scrambling to make it all work. I end up late to the wedding. Dane is freaking out because he thought I wasn't going to come. Then I wake up.

I'm with my sisters and my mom. We've missed our hair appointments. It's 3PM when we get there and they are closing. Luckily my stylist is nice enough to stay and do my hair, but it's rushed and not at all what it's supposed to be. Then I wake up.

We are at the reception site the day before the wedding. We've brought over our favors and centerpieces, and are setting things up. The site was not our actual reception site, but in my dream it was. People start arriving. I'm confused because it's the day before the wedding and no one is supposed to come until the following afternoon. In the room where we are setting up there are now about 50 of our family members trying to help, but getting in the way, knocking things over and being loud. I run out of the room looking for Charlie (our catering manager) and beg him to make everyone leave. Thankfully he does, and start setting up again. Then I wake up.

Dane's dream: He's getting ready for the wedding with his two best men. After getting dressed and ready in their tuxes, the two best men start playing with eggs. They are throwing them around and catching them. Dane asks them to stop because he doesn't want to get egg on his tux. Then one of his friends throws an egg to him unexpectedly and he gets egg all over his tux. (During this one, he was actually talking in his sleep, and he said loudly "Oh my god!", which woke me up).

If this is the worst that will happen leading up to the wedding, then it's just fine with me. Things will get busy as we get closer, and especially over the next few weeks with everything going on for me at work and personally. I know there will be stress. It seems like an inescapable fact. But, I have an amazing future hubby to keep me calm and a wonderful supportive family and family-to-be to keep me centered.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else?

Creating our Kissing Menus!

2009-10-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

I was looking at my stats the other day, and "kissing menu" is always the number one search term that brings people to my blog. This is all because of one post I did last year, right after we got engaged when I discovered what a kissing menu is and decided I absolutely had to have it at our wedding.

What I have now found over and over and over is the same examples of a kissing menu. Which are adorable and where I got my idea from in the first place, I thought it'd be nice to include what we are doing. Though very similar, we definitely put our own spin on it and I'm so happy with what we came up with. This consisted of a night where we actually looked up words that rhyme with "Dane" in order to make the first line work. I considered doing away with the first rhyming part, but I know some of my older relatives will have no idea what the kissing menu is all about unless I put directions. It's totally cheesy and I LOVE it.

For those of you who will be attending our wedding, consider yourself forewarned. You have about 26 days to think about what you'll do at the wedding!

To request a kiss from Kristen and Dane, you would usually clink your glass of champagne.
But here on our wedding day, we have thought of another way. We know that each one will help us all have more fun
The Kiss for a Kiss – Show us your best kiss and we’ll show you ours!
The “Frankly My Dear…” – Recite a movie quote about love to us
The Fred and Ginger – Show us your best dance moves
The Force – Try to stump us with a Star Wars trivia question!

Get thinking about what you'll do. It's coming up really quickly now and I can't wait!

John's Creative Juices of a Proposal

2009-10-26T06:00:00.003-04:00

Please allow me to introduce John, my blog swap buddy! He'll be guest posting here today, check him out at his blog (where you can read my guest post too.) Let's give him a warm welcome!
______________________________________________

The month of June for this year is over and February is still three months away. But the wedding bells ringing are not yet over. You see our friend here Kristen is tying the knot with Dane next month. At this time, I think everything is almost done for the big day. I really don’t have any idea of what’s the motif of their wedding yet or what’s the menu during the reception dinner but I’m having this hunch that it is usually the girl who has the upper hand for this occasion. Well, I don’t think Dane has any problems with Kristen minding the every detail of the ceremony. Besides, prior to this wedding preparation, Dane has had a fair share of planning for something that has lead to this event in their life. I mean the wedding would not push through if Dane didn’t propose to her. I haven’t checked yet the whole blog of how Dane proposed to Kristen but I am thinking that he is romantic enough to pop up the question creatively. I’ll check later of how he did it. As I was saying, the wedding proposal is usually the part where us guys try to be romantic as possible. It is when we try to squeeze our brain for our creative juices to come out. And I’m about to say something about it.

By the way, you might be thinking who the hell is blogging here in Kristen’s blog talking about proposals. I am John of Life Inc.and I am Kristen’s blog swap buddy for the “6^th Blog Swap” going on at the 20-something bloggers community. I don’t usually write something about marriage, wedding or engagement proposals but I think that they are the most relevant topics I could work on as a contribution here.

So how about me and my thoughts about all these?

At 23, I still think I’m too young to get married and start a family. I’m still on my way to realizing my dream of becoming one of the richest bachelors here in my country. And so far, I’m still enjoying my freedom. But despite my carefree attitude, I do have a pocketful of cheesiness and romanticism here at my disposal that I’m keeping ‘til that day arrives when I finally realized that I’m ready to start the rest of my life with someone. And since I’m taking over this beautiful blog of Kristen for a day, I might as well share to you the ingenuity and sweetness I’m talking about.

Below you will read the three super romantic wedding/engagement proposals I’ve been keeping up my sleeves. I have never told anyone about it yet and you’re lucky enough to read them here first. So here it goes…

My first idea of a proposal is called “At the top of The Eye”. The idea came from the movie “If only”, the one that stars Jennifer Love Hewitt. By the way, this is the most expensive idea I listed here. The plot: I would take her for a ride at probably the most famous Ferris wheel in the world, in London’s The Eye, not knowing that our friends and families are nearby. I would also bring four mobile phones with me. As the ride starts to climb up to the top, I would play a romantic song with my phone while reading to her a poem. The rest of the mobile phones would be set into speakerphone with our friends and families in the other line listening to everything I am saying. As we reached the top of The Eye, our friends and families would start cheering for me (as scripted) to propose. Overlooking the majestic view of Thames River and the famous landmarks of London, I will ask her to stand while I kneel in front of her and ask her to marry me. Isn’t that romantic? It gets cheesier as I continue with the next one.

The second idea is called “Zorro on stage”. The setting: it has to be in a cozy restaurant with some live performance of soft ballads or jazz in the front or at the center. At the middle of our dinner, I would excuse myself to go to the toilet and don myself with a complete Zorro outfit- mask, sword and cape. I would then proceed to the stage while the light in the whole area is set into dim with the spotlight only on me. Though I don’t have the talent for singing, I would try my best to deliver the song “I want to spend my lifetime loving you” by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena which is by the way the soundtrack of the Zorro movie (the one with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones). I still consider lip synching or having a playback just in case I screw up. After the first chorus, I will go to her and bring her to the stage. I would kneel in front of her, show her the ring and ask her, “Will you spend the rest of our lifetime with me?” After she responded with complete agreement (I’ll make sure she agrees with me), the real singers can go on with the next stanzas of the song while we are dancing in the stage. If you think that’s already romantic for you, wait ‘til you read the last one.

The ultimate proposal idea I have, which is probably the most stupid and yet the most romantic stunt ever is called “A Knight in the park”. Obviously, it has to take place in a city park where they will allow a horse walking around and a sound system to be played or any public place that will accommodate a horse. The plot: in the middle of the day like during lunch hour, I would set a date to meet me at the park or connive with an officemate of her to convince her to go out to the park. Donned in my knight costume, I will ride a horse towards her. While I’m doing this, the sound system should play something from the medieval times like horns or trumpets and drums. Then a pre-recorded voice of mine will play saying something like “My dear princess, I want you to know that chivalry is not yet dead and that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is still relevant.” Then proceed with a short poem still playing out loud and end it with the question, “Will you give me the honor my dear princess, to be my wife?”

Cheesy as it sounds but I am seriously considering the above stunts to propose to my future wife. I really intend to make a public proposal to let everyone know how I am damn proud of my girl that is why all the ideas I presented are to be exhibited in front of many people. I don’t mind spending a fortune in confessing my love and expressing my desire to spend the rest of my life with her. I don’t care how stupid I may look like in the process.

But at this moment, I will have to burst first those bubble thoughts you have and let those sighs of “aw” subside for it will not take place that soon. But who am I to say that I won’t fall in love anytime soon? Just in case I’ll marry that quickly, I would definitely go back here in this blog to tell all of you which among the three ideas materialize. For now, I hope you enjoy reading what I have for this blog. It was tough for me but I hope I deliver.

To Kristen and Dane, congratulations guys! Cheers for the coming years of happiness!

P.S.

In case you want to apply as my girlfriend or be my future wife, click here to know if you are qualified. LOL!

I'm a Snowballer

2009-10-19T14:26:00.002-04:00

A few months ago one of my good friend, Scott (aka Soctt, Scotty, or Scottish), came to me with a proposition. Kristen, he said, you're good at planning things (flattery will get you everywhere with me). Remember that organization I've been working with? Santa Claus Anonymous? I'm the Chair this year and I want you to be the Black Diamond Coordinator. To which I said, absolutely anything for you Soctt.

Then about a week later I wondered what I had gotten myself into when he took me to the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston to show me around. The hotel is beautiful, and of course has some name recognition. He gave me a tour of the rooms and ballroom, and then showed me where the Black Diamond would take place. It's really a blank canvas, which is exciting and daunting.

The SnowBall is now in its 23rd year, and is one of the largest all volunteer run events in Boston. Each year, Santa Claus Anonymous hosts the SnowBall, with the entire objective being to raise money for three beneficiary organizations. The SnowBall is really the only thing Santa Claus Anonymous focuses on every year, with the end result being a great party that raises money for children and families in Boston.

So, Black Diamond. Sounds fancy right? That's because it is. The Black Diamond is held before the SnowBall and is for the most generous donors. We are expecting between 150 and 200 people to purchase tickets for the Black Diamond, out of the approximately 1500 that will attend the SnowBall. Now I get to plan this thing, decorate, and assemble VIP gift bags, but here's the catch. NO BUDGET. It's all volunteer run, which means just about everything is donated. Now this is causing some issues for me. I have been contacting places in Boston for weeks now, and only managed to secure 2 donations to the gift bags. I'm really down to the wire for this, as it needs to be basically done before I leave Boston for the wedding in NY in mid November.

That means, blogger friends, that I need help! Who has some connections here that would be willing to donate to this very worthy cause? And better yet, who wants to come?!

I'm so honored to be able to serve as part of Santa Claus Anonymous' Leadership Team this year, and I really want this to be an amazing time. If you are in the Boston area and want to volunteer or attend, just let me know!

Penn State!

2009-10-14T17:51:00.006-04:00

FINALLY, Dane and I went to Penn State! I have been asking him for 2 and a half years to take me there to see a football game. The campus was beautiful, Penn State kicked ass (52-3 was the final score), and I had ice cream for breakfast on Sunday morning. It does not get any more perfect than that.

The drive down took WAY longer than Google maps told me it would take. There was tons of traffic, but luckily we had Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on my iPod to take care of us. Plus, we saw the Jesus truck.

After we checked in, we headed downtown to eat dinner. I desperately wanted to go to The Diner. I'm not capitalizing that for emphasis, that's just want it's called. So we go, wait about 5 minutes for a table, then sit down. and wait. and wait. Then watch the people after us get seated 10 minutes later. and wait. and wait. Then see the people seated after us place their orders. The Diner clearly hated us, so we left, which was disappointing because I wanted one of these really bad.

Oh well. We went to The Corner Room instead and it was great. Then we headed over to one of the many stores carrying nothing but Penn State gear and I met a Penn State icon, Joe Pa.

Alright, so maybe it's a cardboard cutout of him. Whatever. I think we look cute together.

Afterwards Dane wanted to show me the HUB, basically the student center, where he used to spend all his time in college because he was a geek like that. We obviously decided to take advantage of the snacks that were there for the students and purchased two boxes of fresh popped popcorn for the low low price of $1. Greatest deal ever. And I LOVE popcorn. Then we headed upstairs and I met this guy.

This is the remains of Coaly the mule. He's a pretty big deal at PSU, so I was happy to meet him. Dane's actually told me his story before, weird, but true. It was raining and late, so we headed back to the hotel to sleep before the big day.

We got to campus early to park, and I could not believe how many people were all over the place. I had never been to a college football game, or to a college campus that has 40,000 students. It was amazing to see the school pride that students and alumni have for Penn State. We went to the pep rally before the game and got some tattoos on the way out.

Had to show my Penn State pride! Even if I was just a visitor in their midst. Dane likes to tell me I can be an honorary Penn Stater. Then we headed over to the stadium, which I learned is the second largest in the country. We had great seats about ten rows back right behind one of the field goals.

The game was great, even though it was a blow out. PSU won 52-3 against Eastern Illinois. I felt a little bad for them to be honest. At half time the Blue Band did the most amazing half time show I have ever seen. Using themes from different movies they did their formations. For the Batman theme, they formed the bat signal. For Rocky, they formed two boxers fighting. For Star Wars, they made Darth Vader! I was blown away at how great it was.

Oh, and I found the real Joe Pa. Do you see him?

After the game, we met up with one of Dane's roommates from college and his family for tailgating. Then he showed me around campus a bit more. We had to wait in line at the Lion Shrine to get a picture, but I was determined to get a photo with that Nittany Lion.

We were exhausted after our day, and both fell asleep. I woke up to Dane talking to himself in his sleep, but that's another story. The next morning we woke up, and went to the Berkey Creamery. Another legend on that campus for it's homemade ice cream produced on site. It was 10am, but we just needed some ice cream. It was fantastic. If you are ever in the area, get some. Or just go to their website and they'll send it to you. Totally worth it.

We headed down to Philly after that and spent the next day with Dane's family. It was a great weekend, I just didn't want to come back! I obviously want to work at Penn State now.

p.s. 38 days until we're married! So exciting!

Heard around State College

2009-10-09T22:50:00.002-04:00

At The Diner (that's actually what it's called)

Guy: I am just, like, soooo happy. *leans in to girl*

Girl: Um, don't try to make out with me right now.

Guy: Why not? *sadly*

Girl: Because you're drunk and I'm sobering up and starting to see that it would definitely be a bad idea.

Oooooooooooh SNAP!

One Year Blogoversary!

2009-10-08T12:57:00.002-04:00

Well, here it is. Today I have officially been blogging for one whole year. I remember thinking about starting a blog, and thinking I couldn't possibly have anything that interesting to write about and share. Turns out, I had a least a year's worth of stuff inside this head of mine, and it's all here for everyone to read.

I started this blog as a way to keep in touch with family and friends. As much as I love living in Boston, moving here was not easy three years ago. I still miss my family and friends at home on a daily basis and I figured this would be a great way to keep them updated on my daily life and new things I was taking on. That idea has definitely worked, and I get messages from them all the time thanking me for the updates.

And it's become much more than that.

Who knew the world of blogging could open up doors? Or that I would actually get to meet some of those people behind my favorite musings on sites I've been reading forever? I'm really proud that I've stepped out from behind the computer monitor for some face time with some fabulous ladies, and I hope to keep meeting more of you as time goes on!

This site has let me see how much my life has changed in the past year. When I started this, I was one month into a brand new job. Now I'm starting my second year here, and things are insanely busy, but great. I had this amazing boyfriend. He's now my fiance and we're planning our life together. Sam talked me into starting a blog, and somehow because of that I've managed to take up sewing and open up an Etsy shop somewhere along the way. I can look back and see how my niece has grown over the past year. And I do, often.

Now I have a blog roll a million miles long, and I want to meet you all. There are some bloggettes that make me feel like they've just written a post straight out of my thoughts. And it makes me happy to know there are other women out there just like me. 20-something, professionals in their own way, navigating "adulthood" but always keeping the kid in them alive. I love feeling that connection, even if only for a few minutes. Some of you are what I aspire to be. Bold and passionate, yet humble and eloquent.

Thanks to anyone who reads here, for sharing in my daily life. And to those of you I've met, can't wait to see you again! For those of you I haven't, why haven't we met yet?

I'm feeling a blogger meetup soon. Let's make it happen.

Fill in the Blanks

2009-10-04T09:16:00.002-04:00

Thanks once again to Restaurant Refugee for giving me something fun to fill in with my own words. Refugee, if you read this, I'm waiting for part 2 of that story you started.

1. If I was on a first date with someone and he ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri, I would probably end the date early.

2. When I’m sick I really want someone to bring me something yummy to eat and rub my back.

3. I know that some people really love collective figurines and tchotchkes; but I don’t understand how they spend so much money on it.

4. I know that some people think I’m crazy for spending so much money on sewing and scrapbooking; but I really love it.

5. I’m so glad that I’ve out grown my picky eating habits since high school.

6. I am living proof that the stereotype about people who play online games isn’t always accurate.

7. I know that it is a made-up word; but scrumtrulescent is a permanent part of my vocabulary.

8. I can’t wait for our wedding in November.

9. The most common misconception about me is that I'm calm and put together all the time.

10. I wish I wouldn’t worry about things outside my control but sometimes I just can’t stop myself.

11. If I never heard the word (or phrase) neato again, it would still be too soon.

12. I have a hidden talent for hiding my feelings that no one would ever expect of me.

13. I am not a fan of extraordinary rendition; but if it were to take place for crimes against common sense, then thepeopleofwalmart should be the first person on the plane to Guantanamo.

Bridal Shower Fun!

2009-10-02T09:32:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was my bridal shower. Now, you should know that I was not a fan of this idea. The bridal showers I have been to have been long, boring, and no one ever looks forward to them. It's understandable. Who really wants to sit for two hours watching someone else open gifts, and be forced into playing mind numbing games. And the idea of having to wear a stupid hat made out of ribbons and bows was horrifying to me.

Enter my sisters, both my maids of honor. They have never planned a bridal shower before. They are both younger (and to be honest, cooler) than me. They know my general disdain for showers, and they are determined to make this one awesome. And they did.

It started with the theme. Yes, there was a theme for my bridal shower. Hollywood. It was perfect. I didn't actually get to see the invitations until after the party, but they were adorable. I didn't know what else was in store for me, but I got strict instructions to be ready to go by 2:15pm. I was also told I had to be red carpet worthy. This was nerve wracking for me, because my sisters by far have better skills at hair and makeup, and usually I'd ask one of them to do it for me, but they were both busy being hostesses. I think I did just fine though.

So 2:15pm rolls around. I am ready. I come downstairs, am told to look outside, and there is a town car waiting for me. Seriously. My sisters had a car come pick up me, my mom, and my grandmother to take us to the place where the shower was being held. We get there, walk the red carpet in, and I'm surprised by the amount of people who are here to celebrate with me. It was so wonderful to see my friends and family.

My sisters actually made all the food (and it was delicious) and some punch (which I must have had 5 or 6 glasses of), we played some games, but not the kind that makes you want to rip your hair out. They got me a director's chair to sit in for presents, complete with a sign that said "No Autographs Please".

Afterwards, we went back to my parents house. My friends Heather and Sam joined us, along with some family friends I've known almost my entire life. Sam and I finished off a bottle of red wine and chatted. It was a great day, and my sisters did the most amazing job. I love you both!

My grandmother, mother, and I in the car on our way to the event. Our driver saw us struggling to take a picture of ourselves, so he turned around and offered to take the photo for us. He was from Greece and had never heard of this whole bridal shower thing, so he was asking us all these questions about it. He was surprised to hear that men are not usually invited to bridal showers.

One of the games we played was matching yourself with your pair from a famous couple. To figure out who you were, you were allowed to ask yes or no questions to other guests. First three couples to correctly identify themselves and find a match got a prize. Everyone kept laughing at mine, so I thought about it, and was able to figure out who my couple was in two questions:

Q: "Am I me?"

A: "No."

Q: "Am I the soon to be other half of me?"

A: "Yes!"

My best friend from high school insisted on making "the hat" for me. Yes, I use quotation marks around this one, because it's like this evil thing that has be lurking. And I let her get away with making it for two reasons. First, her present to me for the shower was tickets to go see Jude Law in Hamlet on Broadway. Second, when she gets married she better know that I am making her the hat of all hats. And she will wear it. And she better like it. Love you Heather!

And last but not least, my fabulous sisters with me. This is our Hollywood pose. We were going for the over the shoulder look. I think we pulled it off pretty well. They threw me an amazing shower! Can't wait for the wedding.

Fun Conversations with Family and Friends

2009-09-24T15:26:00.003-04:00

I love getting emails from my mom. We email back and forth all the time, and she loves it. My mom is not very tech savvy, so I think besides the fact that she can communicate with me this way, she feels very accomplished when she sends and recieves an email. I get the best messages from her. Today she forwards me a page from dictionary.com with the definition of the word "tchotchke". This is the message she attached.

"I just love how you spell this. It’s right up there with bibelot. Well, actually I like how tchotchke is spelled but I like the meaning of bibelot. The spelling of bibelot is just ok."

I agree mom, the spelling of bibelot has nothing on the spelling of tchotchke.

Now for fun with Dane. He want to PA last weekend to celebrate the first birthday of his adorable nephew. I called him on Saturday, after he had been hanging out with munchkin all day.

Me: How JBear doing? He's probably already talking, walking, and dating. I bet he's breaking some hearts.

Dane: Yea, he likes the ladies. He's had to let a few go already.

Me: Oh, really? Who was the most recent?

Dane: Jennifer Aniston.

No words after that. I just cracked up. It's all in the delivery. He can just say things so seriously that it almost makes me believe him for about .5 seconds.

Then the other day I had a conversation with my life and business partner, Sam. We're working on getting another giveaway up on a blog that I love. I mentioned something about freebies, because really, doesn't everyone love a good freebie? But then I misspelled it, and the conversation about freebits was born.

Samantha: freebit is more fun to say

me: i wonder if a freebit is like a hobbit, except smaller and cuter, aww, i love freebits

Samantha: yes! me too!

Samantha: even though I just found out they exist, I love freebits too

Only we could get legitimately excited over a made up word that we've decided is an actual thing that is cute and friendly. This is why we're kindred spirits.

____________________________________________________________

On another note, I am SO excited to venture back to NY this weekend for my bridal shower hosted by my sisters and maids of honor. They have been putting so much work into this day for me, it's unbelieveable and I am so thankful. I bought a fabulous new dress and am just counting down the seconds until I get to hop in the car and drive down. I'm going to need some serious playtime with Miss Abigail who is now talking up a storm and running everywhere. Can't wait!

And fall is finally here (even though it's kind of hot today) which makes me beyond happy. Here's to pumpkin ale, apple picking, and the first sweater day of the year!

Thank You's

2009-09-20T20:54:00.004-04:00

I'm feeling I have a lot to be thankful for lately. So here it goes.

Thank you nice lady at Joann's this morning that let me pay for my purchases in two separate transactions just so I could use two 40% off coupons. Thank you even more for even having that idea.

Thank you Jason and Sam for coming to work with me last night and finally getting to see my little world where I spend so much time. Hope you had fun!

Thank you TruTV for playing a Cops marathon tonight. Stupid criminals make me laugh.

Thank you to my friends who are sending back their RSVP cards to our wedding with the funniest comments on them. Not only is it fun to get them in the mail, I really look forward to seeing what people are writing to us!

Thank you whoever tried on dresses before me today in Macy's for leaving the perfect dress in my size in the room I chose to enter. It fit perfectly, was on sale for $34.50, and was originally $90. Score. I now have a dress to wear next weekend.

Thank you to my sisters for planning my bridal shower. I cannot wait to see everyone next weekend!

Thank you to my cupcake scented candle for making my apartment smell delicious.

Thank you Sam Adams, for creating Octoberfest.

Thank you my new found relatives in Ireland, for taking us in and letting us stay with you in November for our honeymoon!

Thank you Dane, for taking on the wedding planning while I've been at work late almost every night.

Thank you Cheesecake Factory, for having the most delicious Lemon Raspberry cheesecake.

There are probably a million more thank you's I'm missing.

Thank you all for reading this.

Fall Meme

2009-09-16T11:32:00.002-04:00

I saw this on Skrinkering Hearts posted by the lovely brookem. I love these questions, or statements, so I went to take a look at the blog where they originated. Another great find. I love the way Restaurant Refugee writes, and as someone who loves to eat and cook, I haven't been able to stop poking around his recipe blog. It probably doesn't help that it's right before lunch and I'm hungry. Now be patient with me as I try to tackle these questions.

It’s not fall in Boston (or your city of origin) until I go apple picking. Even though I don't seem to have any free weekends to do that this year.
Kelly Preston’s character in the movie For Love of the Game expresses her need to escape NYC because “Summer’s almost over, and I feel like I missed it.” What do you need to do in the waning days of summer for it to feel complete? After my birthday at the end of August, I am always ready to welcome the fall. The true start of fall for me over the past few years is always when the students move back to campus wherever I'm working, and the campus seems to come back to life.
The person I know is wrong for me but about whom I frequently think after a break-up is ….. Well since I'm getting married in about 2 months, I haven't really thought about break ups in a while. My last awful breakup over two years ago made me think of my ex from high school that I dated for about 6 months who was way too old for me at the time. But he was one of the most kind people I had ever met, and helped me see what it's like to be treated like a lady.
The US Tennis Open, one of four Grand Slam events in that sport, is currently in the quarterfinal round. If you could only attend one major sporting event what would it be? It would absolutely be the winter Olympics. When the Olympics are on, I cannot get myself away from the TV. Give me some speed skating, skiing, and crazy snowboard moves and I am set.
Assuming that you write an anonymous or partially anonymous blog, by what non-physically identifying characteristics might you be identified in a bar? My blog is definitely not anonymous, but if it was, you'd probably be able to identify me by the way I talk. I definitely use the words"Seriously" and "Lovely" a ton.
Most blogs cover some sort of niche – personal, political, dating, culinary, etc. What topic, if any, would you like to address on your blog but doesn’t fit into your niche? Sometimes I really wish I could blog about my life working at a college. There are so many funny/shocking/obnoxious/wonderful things that happen on this campus. I will never write in depth about all of that on my blog, out of respect to my co-workers and students. Although you will see the occasional post about why I love my job without going into much detail.
If you could manipulate the time space continuum and give as many as three pieces of advice to a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give and to what age of you? Dear 13 year old me - stop freaking out about going to high school. These are the same people you have been with in junior high, it's just a different building. And those friends who sometimes make you cry? They will not be your friends forever. Take a step back from high school drama, and know that you really, truly will have amazing friends that will stick with you through it all. Dear 19 (almost 20) year old me - Just go to Italy. Forget about that boyfriend that you think you'll miss. He'll still be there when you get back, but maybe you should dump him. You are going to have the time of your life in Italy. Also, don't bother taking that job offer when you get back. You'll be much happier at school. Dear 21 year old me - take more time to enjoy Boston. Don't rush home after class. You have amazing classmates that will be your friends for life. Get to know then now! Also, that boyfriend of yours, you should have dumped him like 2 years ago.
Who among your friends do you really wish had a blog because their stories, or perspective on something ought to be shared? My sister. She is definitely the most honest, if not always politically correct, person that I know. Every time I talk to her and she tells me a story I'm totally into it either laughing, or sad, or angry, right along with her.
If you were to take an e-cation (vacation from the trappings of our electronic world,) and assuming that employment obligations would allow it, how long of a break could you take? What would you miss the most, the least? I don't know if I could go more than a week or two. I really like that the interwebs allow me to be connected to others, to learn new things, and to do it all from the comfort of my couch. I would by far miss my blog roll the most. I love taking the time to read someone else's thoughts and stories and get away from my own for a moment. What I'd miss the least would probably be those awful email forwards.
On September 11th of this year, I will be attending a couple of parties and am somewhat conflicted by the fact that this ignoble anniversary shall pass with it being just another day in the eyes of many (and in some ways my own eyes as well.) Thoughts? This has now passed, but I also went to a celebration on this day. The hosts were very aware of the significance of this day to so many and took the time for a moment of reflection, which I greatly appreciated.
How high are your walls? Who was the last person to scale them? What tools should would-be climbers have on their belt? My walls are not very high or scary. The last person to scale them completely is my fiance. He definitely knows me better than I might know myself. But, I find that I'm very open to new people. I'm usually most likely to strike up a conversation with someone I've never met when I'm out and about. This has definitely prompted friends to ask "Do you know that person?". The answer is always, "Well, now I do."
The sexiest thing a wo/man can say to you (or has said to you) is... Te amo.

Give it a shot yourself!

Things I learned in Safe Driver Training

2009-09-08T15:23:00.003-04:00

I just finished part two of my Safe Driver Training course at work. Hopefully this will get me a discount on my insurance and I learned some fun facts. Most of the things I'm taking away from this course are probably not what the instructor intended. He had the personality of a brick, and was not exciting to listen to at all. Here is the knowledge I've gleaned from 4 hours of training:

You will probably die while driving. I saw enough videos about accidents to fill the rest of my life.
Here are some ways you might die while driving: a rock will hit your windshield and knock you unconscious, an aggressive driver will run you off the road, you or someone else will fall asleep at the wheel, a deer will run into your car (it was made very clear to us that if this ever happens you should tell your insurance company that the deer hit YOU, not the other way around), drag racers will run you over, loud music will make you feel aggressive and therefore more likely to get into an accident, your engine will ignite into flames and unless you have a fire extinguisher you're screwed, and if you drive a small car you will be crushed.
The yellow light in between green and red now signifies for drivers to slow down. It was originally put into place to help people who are colorblind see the difference between red and green. I find this fascinating
A wheelbarrow is a level 2 lever. He actually mentioned this to us, I still don't understand why.
If the instructor could have his dream job it would be one of two things: the guy at a construction site that picks up the orange cones OR the night watchman at a was museum. Weird.
If you pull into a parking lot and the space in front of you is open, you should pull up. This is apparently good because then you just have to drive forward in one motion to leave the space, instead of two motions to back up, then drive forward. After telling us this, my boss was asked to tell the group if he'd been in any accidents. He got into a car accident pulling straight out of a parking spot.

I bet you are totally jealous that you didn't get to come to this training session. As you should be.

Things you shouldn't say to a stranger

2009-08-31T20:44:00.003-04:00

Ever since Dane and I got engaged, some people have taken it upon themselves to ask about personal things as though it's no biggie. Most of the time it isn't, to be honest. But really, if I meet you randomly on the street, chances are I'm not ready to share my inner most thoughts and beliefs. (Disclaimer: I realize I have a blog, and this basically means other people who I don't know or don't know well get to read about my life. But, it's what I put out there, and they aren't asking these things of me. Plus, I love my blogger homies.)

So for example, this past weekend we went to the mall. We just can't help ourselves, so we headed to the pet store. I saw the cutest cockapoo puppy. He was white and I couldn't help but want to play with him because I had the most loyal and lovable cockapoo growing up. We go to the little area where you can play with the puppies, and this woman in the little play area next to us looks over and says "Oh, this is the perfect practice for kids!" and before she leaves says "Good luck you two!" and winks at us. OK, so first, BARF. Secondly, I don't know you and you probably shouldn't assume my future goals. What if Dane was my brother and not my fiance? (Ew, that's gross. I'm kind of sorry I even thought of that.) What if I hate children? What if I was born without an ovary or something?

I'm not saying I never want children. I totally want a kid that I can laugh with like this one:

I can't watch that without cracking up. His laugh is AMAZING. In fact I'm going to watch it again right now....

OK, back. Next question I constantly get is: "Are you going to take his name?". I don't mind talking about this, but it's really a personal decision (in case you were wondering, I'm hyphenating, which means I'm going to have the longest last name ever). But if I don't know you I don't want to talk about the reasons for taking your husband's last name. You aren't going to change my mind. Leave us alone.

My sister told me about all the questions she got while she was pregnant. She pretty much had a script in her head that went like this: "I'm _______ months along. June 10. It's a girl. I haven't picked a name yet. My first. Yes, I'm excited." I didn't realize how annoying that must have been, but now I'm starting to get it. Granted no one has tried to grab my stomach yet. She was a serious trooper.

I vow not to ask uncomfortably personal questions of those whom I barely know, or don't know at all. Unless I've had a martini, or two. But then you can ask me one back. Promise.

Cranky today

2009-08-28T09:17:00.002-04:00

This is not going to be a happy post. Just some warning.

Last night while parallel parking, I got into an accident. I put my blinker on, pulled up to the car in front of the spot, checked my mirror to make sure I had room. I saw a car behind me, stopped and waiting for me to back into the spot. I started backing in, car behind me decided to go around me. No problem, I probably would have done the same, there was a whole left lane with plenty of room to get around my car with no problems. But no, this car is half in the right lane, half in the left lane which means while I'm sticking out diagonally into the street the side of their car scrapes down the front corner of my car. Luckily no damage to my car (other than what was already there, I've had it for 5 years). I ask the other driver if everyone in the car is ok, she says yes they are, but their car had a scrape down the side of their car where it impacted mine.

We exchange information. I'm told that the daughter of the other driver has called the police who have told her they won't come out to do a report unless someone has been hurt. Now if any of you know me, you would know that I've watched enough People's Court and Judge Judy to last me many lifetimes. This does not sound right to me, pretty sure the police will always come out to do a report. I go to ring the bell at Becca's apartment so she can come down to keep me company, when the daughter and driver come back over to me, now claiming that someone in the car who is 5 months pregnant is having stomach pains. I tell them, well now the police will have to come out and call them myself. The police come, take the girl away in an ambulance. I speak to an officer and tell him what happened. He tells me after hearing both stories he's finding the other drive at fault and issues her a citation. Just a warning, but lucky for me this means I can't be sued or found at fault for the accident. During this time Becca has brought me cookies. Thank god for that. While I'm waiting for the police officer to fill out the report I eat my cookies.

I have never been in any kind of accident before. I couldn't sleep last night because I just kept replaying this over and over in my head, even though I know it's over, I'm fine, my car is fine, and I'm not responsible. Now my throat hurts, I'm exhausted, and all I want to do is sleep.

At least it's Friday. I'm thinking I might need to just hibernate tonight to prepare for Nantucket tomorrow. And thinking good thoughts so Danny doesn't mess up those plans.

My mom says OMG

2009-08-26T14:01:00.006-04:00

I love my mom a ton. I get my weird sense of humor from her, my love of all things nerdy, my need to constantly be in motion and never relax. So some of those things are better than others, but still, my mom and I have some crazy similarities. Oh, and we both love Blue Moon.

There are also ways that we are in no way alike. Like how she can watch Jurassic Park 3 over and over, and the way I'm a shopaholic when she waits for things to go on sale.

For my birthday, my mom bought me this dress. She saw it and decided it was "so Kristen". I have to say, she was right. I love this dress and wore it yesterday on my birthday. Mom was all nervous it wouldn't fit, and I told her when I wore it I'd send her a picture. So I did. And this is the email that I got back.

"OMG! You look amazing. That dress is so you...Who's your favorite Mom? Love you."

She's obviously my favorite mom. I'm just wondering where she learned OMG from. Gotta love how your mom always thinks you're the most beautiful, talented person on earth.

At least she hasn't figured out how to text message yet.

Love you mom!

*Update* I've been asked to show the dress in question. So here it is! And when I asked her if she learned OMG from Hannah Montana, her response was "No I learned it from Janice on Friends, it's the only abbreviation I know." Have to love her.

Can't we all just get along?

2009-08-24T13:21:00.002-04:00

I witnessed something at Stop and Shop that blew my mind yesterday. Two grown men, screaming at each other in the checkout line. Why, you ask? I don't actually know, but the argument went a little something like this.

Guy 1: What the hell do you think you're doing?

Guy 2: What's your problem man?

1: Oh don't even get me started.

2: Don't get ME started!

1: You've been getting close to me, back off.

2: You didn't even give me a chance to put my stuff down!

1: Oh don't get me started!

2: Don't get YOU started? You don't even want to see ME get started!

1: How do you expect me to check out?

2: You left me NO room for my stuff!

1: BACK OFF!

2: YOU BACK OFF!

Then Dane made me stop staring and we left. I honestly cannot believe that two grown men got that upset with each other that they felt the need to scream at the top of their lungs in the checkout line in the grocery store, seemingly over the placement of their groceries on the conveyor belt. Apparently they are not aware that there are these amazing little inventions that are placed at every checkout line I have ever been in. They do an amazing job of separating groceries and they're just little plastic bars. The use of this little device could have saved a ton of trouble.

Really, people? Let's just be nice to each other. Ok?

Is chivalry dead?

2009-08-21T13:55:00.002-04:00

Last night Dane and I went to Medival Manor here in Boston with our friends. Overall, it was a really fun night. The drinks were flowing, the show was funny, and we had fabulous company.

But the fun started before we even got inside.

On our way in, I parked the car, got out with Dane, started walking down the street. Then I stopped, pulled out my phone and called Sam and Jason to give them a heads up there was free street parking so they didn't park in the lot and pay $10. This guy comes RUNNING, like as fast as a person can go, LEAPS over a puddle, and almost runs into me. I took a step back because I saw his trajectory and knew I was going to get in the middle of it if I wasn't fast enough. So after his jump, he slows down, then backs up. Then he looks at me, while I'm on the phone, and says "I'm sorry, ok?" and I said, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine". Then he says, well yells really, "I LOVE PEOPLE, OK?". Now I'm seeing the irony in that statement. Dane stands between the two of us because he's a protective fiance and doesn't want this people loving man to try and love me. So then, here's the best part, as a sign of his apologies he decides that he's going to play the air guitar for me. Like full on, rocking out on the sidewalk, complete with sound effects, playing the air guitar. He does this for about a minute, then says bye and walks away in his black satin vest.

OK, so that was fun. We get to Medieval Manor, and I never did get a hold of Sam on the phone. She pulls in, and I see her and hop in the car with her to show her where there's parking around the corner. We find a spot, get out of the car, cross the street, and run into.... you guessed it! Black satin vest people loving man! This time he says "You ladies are beautiful." And we look at each other and tell her I have a fun story about this guy (who has obtained a blue shirt which he's now wearing over his satin vest sometime in the five minutes between our encounters). Then he says, "I want to be with you. I want to sleep with you both." Wonderful. And he continues yelling after us as we cross the street and find our friends again.

The rest of the night was fabulous, complete with me having an audience with the king, and Jason being ridiculed the entire night, doing the I'm a little teapot dance on stage, and this crazy drunk girl Katie who was celebrating her birthday and was a little insane. All in all, I'd say a wonderful evening.

I'm a geek

2009-08-20T15:32:00.002-04:00

Found this amazing tutorial. Definitely making these into fridge magnets. I know Dane will approve, one of the perks of us both being total and complete nerds that love sci-fi.

2009-08-17T16:40:00.004-04:00

This past weekend Dane and I headed down to PA for the wedding of Leilani and Kevin, two of his college friends from Penn State. We set out after work on Thursday and didn't get to his parents' house until late. I slept until about 11am the next morning. I must have needed it.

On our way to the church, I got a phone call from another one of our friends, Sandie. She and Derek got married back in May and she's a wedding coordinator. She was the day-of coordinator for the happy couple and had a small problem that she needed help with. There were double doors that had to be opened for the bride to walk down the aisle. But, there was only one of her and two doors. Of course I would help. When we got there, I found out that there were a grand total of 54 people that would be walking down the aisle and went into event planning mode, fixing the flower girl baskets, handing out bouquets, keeping the ring bearers from losing their pillows. And of course, opening the doors for the beautiful bride to make her entrance. We had a great time with all the fun Penn Staters at the reception. A few highlights:

We're next in line for our wedding in November!

With Dane's two Best Men. I'm so short compared to them.

The three men getting married this year. Married, married, and ma - oh wait, not yet!

The wedding coordinator and apprentice. Best sychonized door opening, ever.

The next day I went out for a day of shopping with Dane's mom and grandma. They gave me a $50 gift card and took me to a fabric store. Do these women know me, or what? After spending about an hour there getting fabric, we went to a fried chicken place called Speck's. I've been there once before, and let me tell you, it's amazing. Sometimes you just need some amazing fried chicken and mac and cheese. Mmmm.

This lovely establishment was right next door. When we left lunch, Dane's grandmother said "Oh, hmm. What do you think the fleshlight is? We should go check it out." Which lead to Dane's mom and I laughing hysterically. For the record, she was kidding, but it was so funny hearing her say it.

Then Sunday we ventured to NY for the day and spent it with my family. We went in the pool, had a barebeque and spent time with my niece. Look how cute she is! As soon as she got to the house, my sister put her down and she ran over to give me a hug with a big smile on her face. This totally made my day. While she was hugging me she was patting my back, which was adorable because that's what my sister does when she hugs Abby. We spent the day swimming and having fun.

Now back to work on this sweltering Monday. This past weekend has me so excited for our wedding in November. I'm even more motivated to think about all the finishing touches and details. And having the time off to go to Ireland isn't too bad either. So excited !

There are no words...

2009-08-11T15:09:00.002-04:00

... for hamster on a piano. Enjoy my loves.

Customized tote? Yes, please!

2009-08-11T08:55:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago when I met the girls from We Are Not Martha, we got to talking about doing a giveaway on their blog. They liked the Kindred Spirits idea, and our items. And we love them and their blog. Match made in heaven!

So, we now bring you the We Are Kindred Spirits giveaway hosted by We Are Not Martha! Head over to www.wearenotmartha.com, take a look at the lovely post about us and enter to win in the comments section. The winner gets a custom tote bag made by me! What more could you ask for?

Enjoy!

GAP Jeans Party!

2009-08-10T09:07:00.005-04:00

Who's life is this anyway? As if the Nintendo party wasn't awesome enough, this past Thursday I was invited to Gap jeans party with some fellow bloggers and new friends. The party featured the new line of 1969 jeans that the Gap is rolling out.

I was greeted by the lovely hostess, then ushered into the living room to see the choices. I tried on the Real Straight fit first, and lo and behold, it was perfect! The jeans are a little long, but that's because I'm really short. I'll be able to hem them with no problem. I have to say these are some of the most comfortable jeans I own. They are soft and after a few hours I felt like they were fitting themselves to me.

At the end of the night, there were a pair left in my size, and since no one else wanted them our hostess insisted I take them. Seriously, not only one pair of jeans, but two!

p.s. this photo makes me look ginormous.

And really, the food. Amazing. I have no idea what kind of dips they made, but they were delish. Definitely going to need the recipe.

Thank you for having me and for all the great stuff!

Does it get more exciting than this?

2009-08-08T10:01:00.002-04:00

I'm in LOVE with the Vintage Pearl. For our two year anniversary Dane bought me a necklace with both our names on it. It's absolutely beautiful and so different.

Erin (the wonderful maker of this jewelry) does giveaways all the time, and I always enter them. But yesterday I WON! I had to read the post about 3 times to make sure that was actually my comment. Maybe there was another Kristen that left the exact same comment as me. But no, it was me, and I get that beautiful necklace! So excited.

I definitely recommend that you go visit her new website. It's beautiful and her work is amazing!

Another reason I love my job

2009-08-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

One of my students drew me a picture of my perfect cupcake AND colored
it in. Then he sent it to work with his roommate who works in our
office. I love it.

Why I love my job

2009-08-03T13:47:00.000-04:00

We had a few students who are still on campus leave us a note on our
board today. Guess which one of the 3 is me? Give up? I'm the bride.

My Birthday Month!

2009-07-31T14:35:00.002-04:00

I realize that technically it's the last day of July, but that means tomorrow is August so I figured I'd get a jump start. My birthday is at the end of August, the 25th to be exact. And in honor of that, I am going to post a list of things I've been lusting after. Anyone who feels like buying me a birthday present, here is the perfect list!

1. These red heels. I don't know what it is about them. They're retro, but sassy. I could totally wear these going out or to work. I'm a size 6, in case anyone is wondering.

2. These rings from Bellabejewled on Etsy. I love the way they look all stacked together and that they are made from beach glass. I'd want the lime green, cornflower blue, and soft white stones. This is the set of three, which is perfect because for stacking rings you obviously need more than one.

3. This fabric. Just think of it. The options are endless for what I could do with this fabric. This is the love-of-my-life fabric, as I've been referring to it. It's out of stock now, but should be back soon. Hopefully that will be going into Sam's order for me! I'll splurge for it.

4. Anything from this shop on Etsy. I LOVE to cook. Every chef needs an adorable apron. Well at least this chef does! Every one of these is beautiful, but I think my favorites are this one, that one, and this.

5. A puppy. But that won't happen for a while.

6. A Mario game for my new DSi! Have to go with a classic.

7. This green Red Sox hat with a shamrock on it. Part of my birthday present is a Red Sox game the day after my birthday. Right now I have no Red Sox apparel, so I need to get some!

8. A ruler like this one for sewing. It would make my life and drawing straight lines so much easier while I'm trying to measure pieces for sewing project. Being able to see through it would especially be amazing. That way I could see where I've marked fabric for cutting.

9. While we're on the subject of sewing, I really want pinking sheers. Silly, but true. They cut zig-zags and look awesome to finish off a project.

10. Pretty much every print from this artist (azuzephre - aka Jeff Thomas). He draws Pon and Zi, two little creatures who are terribly in love. Somehow I feel like he captures emotion in a way that is so easy to relate to and comforting.

So there you are. A ready made list of everything I'm currently wishing for. You are welcome.

Loooove, love, love (dum duh dum)

2009-07-28T15:59:00.006-04:00

(that little ditty is from All You Need Is Love by The Beatles in case you want to sing along)

I made this bag today, and it's in the shop. I really like it and am thinking it's so easy to customize, I could totally make one with different words. I feel like I want to make myself one with imagine, or inspire, or breathe. This is a larger tote, so I made the letters large. This could definitely get changed up depending on the size of the bag and how long the word is. Hmm, the possibilities could be endless.

Anyone have thoughts on words that might work for this? I'd love some new ideas!

Girlfriend's Guide to Gaming

2009-07-27T14:01:00.003-04:00

I cannot thing of a better way to have spent my Saturday evening than with these lovely ladies and Nintendo. Brand About Town sponsored this event (which was held at 60 State Street. seriously.) and featured food, wine, and the Nintendo DSi. In my happy place here.

I was greeted by the host, Julie, and then was off to play some games! I learned a bit about the DSi, then stopped by each of the four stations to try a different game. Still can't decide which was my favorite. They were all fun! Not to mention that I got to meet some awesome people, all bloggers and twitterers (not a word, I made it up just now).

Me and Becca Jane.

All the ladies at the event.

Best part, if it's possible for it to get any better, is that we all left with a free DSi, the new MarioKart game, AND a Nintendo charm bracelet. Hooray for bloggers!

Weekend Recap

2009-07-26T20:28:00.004-04:00

I feel like I had a really busy weekend. Here's a recap in list form (thank you Corinne for sharing your writing style with me).

Friday
Up early
Sewing, sewing, sewing
Cute blue and white bag
Scared by Dane when he came home early from work
Sam, Jason, and Ben come over
P.F. Chang's for dinner with awesome waitress Liz
Pour House
Beer the size of my head
Soco LimeSnails on the sidewalk (in JP? Yes, apparently)
Sleep

Saturday
Wake up at 11am (yikes!)
Lunch with the Torchies and Megan (who's having a baby!)
Sam and Jason's place
Pool
Laundry
Fettuccine Alfredo (my delicious recipe)
Drive back to Boston
Traffic
More traffic
Late
Get ready for Girlfriend's Guide to Gaming party
Orange Line
Nintendo DSi's and white wine (Perfect.)
Free Nintendo DSi's!
Meet some of my blogging heroes from Wearenotmartha.com (Susie and Chelsee, both lovely and oh so talented!)6B Lounge for martinis (where we also tried on our Nintendo charm bracelets)Orange line revisited
Sleep

Sunday
Wake up
Brunch at Fire and Ice with Dane
Newbury Street
David Spade and Colin Quinn walk by
Bead Works (which I was honestly more excited for than seeing the celebrities)
Home to plan our IKEA trip
U-Haul
Traffic, a ton of it
Frozen yogurt, couch shopping, fabric shopping, swedish meatballs, and overall happiness
Home where we're met by Nino and Ben
Old couch out, new couch in and assembled
Swedish meatballs for dinner (Yum!)
V for Vendetta
Blogging

That brings me up to speed to where I am right now. I'll have more pics up from the Nintendo Girlfriend's Guide to Gaming party soon! Such a blast. Thanks to the wonderful host, Julie! Go see her over at www.jqlounge.com.

In love...

2009-07-24T14:50:00.003-04:00

... with this bag! This fabric is from a $2 table runner that Sam bought for me at IKEA. I'd never use it for what it's intended use is, but she knew we'd both like the fabric. I was intending to put this in our Etsy shop, but I like it way too much to part with it. I'll use this design again for some more bags. They're a good size and so cute!

Why didn't we think of this?

2009-07-24T13:23:00.001-04:00

I danced for 13 years and am now the Dance Team advisor at Lasell College. Dane is a theater geek and was the Dance Captain for his high school musicals. Why didn't we think of this?

Bookmarks

2009-07-21T18:44:00.003-04:00

How cute are these? I've been reading quite a bit lately (just finished My Sister's Keeper, and now I have about two chapters left of The Lovely Bones) and realized I didn't have a bookmark. I've just been leaving the books open on my nightstand. So I had some leftover scraps from different project and I decided to make some bookmarks. I really like the way they came out! One side is a pattern and the other is a coordinating solid.

Thinking of selling these in bunches of three in our Etsy shop. Not sure yet.

Sleeve for YOUR phone!

2009-07-21T10:21:00.002-04:00

So it looks like quite a few people like the idea of a little sleeve to keep their phone cozy and snuggled. I can absolutely make you one!

If you are interested in getting one:

1. Go to www.wearekindredspirits.etsy.com.

2. Click "Request Custom Item" in the toolbar on the right hand side of the page.

3. Give me the height and width of your phone in the details, as well as the color you are looking for.

4. As soon as the item is ready to be purchased (they are priced at $5 each), I'll let you know and put it up as Reserved for (Your Name Here) in our shop!

Mom's Birthday Present

2009-07-17T19:42:00.003-04:00

Some of you might remember the bag I made for my mom awhile ago. Well, her birthday is coming up, and she had some suggestions for me. First, she LOVES the little whale, but wanted it to be on the pocket in the front of the bag because she likes to show it off. Second, she wants more pockets on the inside. And I noticed that the straps weren't holding up as well as I would have liked. So, to remedy this, I made her a smaller tote version of her bag, with the whale on the pocket, pockets on the inside, and sturdier straps.

Then, since I couldn't just give her that, I made her a matching wristlet. Complete with little whale! Don't these two look cute together?

Next up, some bags for our Etsy Shop!

iPhone Sleeve!

2009-07-16T16:17:00.003-04:00

I saw something like this, except knit, in a store the other day and figured I could totally replicate it. My iPhone has a little case, but I thought it might like to be snuggly in a sleeve. Thinking these will be in our shop soon!

Launching a new project!

2009-07-14T13:02:00.003-04:00

After being crafty with Sam for what feels like forever, we finally decided to open our own Etsy shop for our creations! I'm SO excited about this. We'll be featuring our handmade accessories including jewelry, handbags, belts, hair flair (my technical term for pretty hair things), and various other creations we come up with.

Please come visit us! And if you like what you see, let us know!

We Are Kindred Spirits

HP 6 is coming!

2009-07-13T18:21:00.002-04:00

Dane and I just purchased 6 tickets to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for Wednesday night to share with 4 of our fellow Potter fans. We also now have shirts to wear to the movie. We are total geeks and totally excited for Wednesday!

That is all. Just needed to express my excitement!

Screen printing?

2009-07-11T10:36:00.005-04:00

Awhile back, Sam found a tutorial for screenprinting. I can't remember where the original one was but here's the basic idea. We went out and bought some sheer fabric, embroidery hoops, and fabric paint. Seems easy enough.

Turns out that I kind of messed up making my first one because I almost glued it down to the paper I was working on. Oops. Now it seems obvious that it was a bad idea to do it that way, not sure why I didn't think of it at the time.

Anyway, I drew a cupcake free hand and used Mod Podge to fill in the tulle where I didn't want the paint to go. I finally tried it out today and it worked!

Vintage inspired clutch

2009-07-10T16:17:00.004-04:00

So about two weeks ago I found this awesome fabric in the remnants section of Joann's. It was orange, so I obviously couldn't put it back. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I then found this tutorial and knew it was the perfect thing.

I love how it came out, but I won't lie, I got really frustrated quite a few times while I was making it. It was definitely a learning process. It forced me to figure out how to use that elusive one step buttonhole attachment that's been intimidating me since I got my machine. There's some little changes I would make if I do this again, but at least now I know. What do you think?

Sifting sand

2009-07-06T13:57:00.008-04:00

My mom decided we needed centerpieces for the engagement party this past Saturday. So she bought some cute little heart shaped glass bowls and we filled them with sand, seashells, and a pillar candle in the middle. They came out really adorable.

The only issue with this is that we needed to get sand. Since we are on an island, this doesn't seem like it would be a big deal. We headed down to the East Islip Marina, and we couldn't get in because I'm not longer a resident of Islip. Then we went to the Connetquot River, which was really more dirt than sand. The only other place we could think of without driving to the ocean beaches was a playground nearby. We got our sand by sifting it through a colander to get all the bigger rocks out, and it definitely took longer than we expected. After getting all we needed we treated ourselves to some time on the playground.

Yup, that's a coffee can. First we tried just letting the sand fall through on its own. That didn't work. Then we tried shaking it. That didn't work either. I ended up having to swish it around with my hands and that went much faster.

Dane found a teeny shovel and used it to pick the best sand for me to sift. We kept the shovel to give it a good home.

Melissa lost interest quickly in sifting. She started working on burying my leg.

And she definitely made a mountain. I almost couldn't get my foot out when it was time to get up.

Melissa jumped up to play on the bridge. We're both small enough to still fit on most of the things on the playground. The only thing that didn't work for me was the monkey bars. Those really hurt your hands! I remember it used to be my favorite thing growing up, but not now.

Dane and I took some time on the swings together too. Aren't we just adorable? All this for some sand :)

Teeny watermelons!

2009-07-04T06:39:00.003-04:00

This is the cutest idea ever. I wish I had seen this before this morning so I could have made them for the engagement party! Now I'm going to have to have another get together just so I can make them. Enjoy!

Aunt Kristen's little helper

2009-07-03T09:18:00.003-04:00

I made Abby a little skirt that matches mine last night. When I took out my sewing machine, she realized she had a new toy. She immediately took the thread and figured out how to put it on the machine and spent about a half hour putting it on and taking it off. I think I might have a little apprentice.

So fashionable...

2009-07-01T14:31:00.004-04:00

Along with the purse I made for Melissa, I made myself a skirt. This was a super easy project, and the skirt came out really cute. It'll be perfect for the summer (if it ever stops raining). I found the tutorial on the Grosgrain blog here. Love her ideas and style.

Buttercup Bag!

2009-06-30T17:34:00.002-04:00

Just the name of this bag should tell you how cute it is. I used the pattern from Made By Rae and fabric from Joann's/IKEA. This bag is going to my sister, Melissa. She tends to get some of my trial run pieces. I changed the pattern a little to put a button and on the front and a little hook to close it, the original pattern uses a magnetic closure. Next up is a skirt for me, and a little pouch to keep my bag organized :)

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-06-28T18:29:00.000-04:00

I'm posting like crazy. I LOVE this blog and will definitely be making this skirt for my next project :)

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-06-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

I can't express how cute these aprons are. Anyone that knows me will understand that my love of cooking would obviously translate into a love of cute aprons. The wonderful people at Grosgrain are giving one away!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Mobile ATM

2009-06-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

I find this oddly entertaining. A mobile ATM!

Cupcakes!

2009-06-25T16:21:00.005-04:00

We recently (ok, two weeks ago, give me a break) went on a cupcake tour around Boston. This amazing outing was the idea of my amazing friend Sam, who coordinated our itinerary and carefully chose 5 cupcakeries for us to visit and sample what they had to offer.

First stop: Party Favors in Brookline

The choices were daunting. I never really stopped to think about all the magicalness (I may have made that word up) that cupcakes can bring.

We decided to go with a Boston Creme cupcake. It felt only right since we are in Boston.

How cute is this one? Jason got this one, but I think he did it just so he could bite the monkey's head off.

Second stop: Sweet on Mass Ave.

This place has nothing but cupcakes. Unlike other places we visited which sold other baked goodies, Sweet specializes in cupcakes. Again, the choices were hard to narrow down.

This is Ellen's cupcake, which I believe was Pink Lemonade. How adorable is that?

After much debate Dane and I ended up with two cupcakes. This one is the picture of perfection, in my opinion. It had some raspberry filling, the cake was perfect, and the frosting was amazing. We also got a mini Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. That was a very good choice and if I hadn't been on my way to three more cupcake places, I probably would have gotten the full size cupcake.

Third stop: Lulu's in the North End

I've been down Hanover Street so many times, but I've never noticed this little place. We had chocolate, raspberry, and red velvet already so we went with a carrot cake cupcake.

Look at this little gem of a cupcake. It caught our eye in the display.

We cut it in half to share and enjoyed it together.

Fourth stop: Flour in South Boston

Ok, I was slacking at this point. I didn't take any pictures because to be honest I wasn't overly impressed and I was tired. They had only one cupcake, chocolate with vanilla frosting, and it was huge! There was no way to finish it. I will give it a thumbs up for the ginormousness of it, but it was super chocolatey, almost too much for me.

Fifth stop: South End Buttery in the (you guessed it!) South End

This place had a big selection of mini cupcakes. I thoroughly came to appreciate this option after eating so much all day. Not that I got a mini though, Dane and I split a normal sized cupcake. We decided to go with the rainbow frosting because Gay Pride was in Boston that day.

All around it was a beautiful day, we did a ton of walking, and tasted some amazing cupcakes. I cannot wait for the 2nd annual cupcake tour! Be on the lookout for official t-shirts and tote bags coming soon :)

Sandie and Derek's Wedding

2009-06-17T14:53:00.005-04:00

I realize this happened about two weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting about it now. Dane and I went down to PA for the wedding of Derek and Sandie's wedding at the end of May. It was at the groom's home, which is beautiful. We had the best time with everyone!

OK, so first of all, I did my own hair and I was very impressed with myself. I even made that little flower myself.

Me and my future hubby looking handsome.

Waiting patiently for the bride and groom to make their entrance.

How beautiful is she? I think everyone immediately started crying when she came out with her father. I can't get over how perfect that dress is for her.

Such a beautiful couple. The officiant was Kyle, a friend from Penn State. It was really nice to have someone that is so close to the couple preside over their wedding. He made it really fun for them.

The boys had a very good time together. Here's Dane with Drew and Jayneel who will be his two best men at our wedding in November. Couldn't ask for better!

It was a long night of dancing and merriment. Kevin and Leilani are also getting married this year in August. We had a blast with them.

Everything was so beautiful! We're so happy for Derek and Sandie and can't wait to see everyone again soon :)

The Vintage Pearl

2009-06-12T09:15:00.003-04:00

I just need everyone to know about this blog/person. She is incredibly talented. I got a necklace for my mom for Mother's Day. It was the circle one (if you visit her Etsy shop) with the names of her, my dad, my two sisters, and me. She absolutely loved it. Then for our two year anniversary, Dane got me a necklace too because he knows how much I love her work. It's a circle with a heart and has both our names on it.

So, the reason I'm writing this is because she'll be doing a week (that's right, I said an entire WEEK) of giveaways, with a few each day. Click the button on my blog to the right to visit her site and enter to win some beautiful things!

Another fun thing!

2009-06-07T19:55:00.002-04:00

I made my first thing with a zipper this weekend! Look at that fun fabric. It has dragons on it.

Driving in traffic...

2009-05-31T16:34:00.002-04:00

With Steve in the backseat. I just ate an entire Tupperware of watermelon an we've been stuck in traffic for 45 minutes at the George Washington bridge. I already slept for two hours. I hope we get home before midnight!

Abby is adorable

2009-05-30T13:41:00.000-04:00

I went to NY this past weekend and had some nice chats with Abigail.

Sewing up a storm

2009-05-28T09:09:00.004-04:00

Ok, I made a few more things. My sister Jenna now has a bag as well, and I finally got around to making one for myself. But what I'm really excited about is this shirt I made! I actually made something that I can wear.

Yes that's right. There's even pleating on it! Who knew I could learn how to do pleating?

My completed ensemble. I wore this to work on a Friday since we can wear jeans. It was a little chilly, so I had a black cardigan over the shirt.

Now for my next project I'll be attempting a skirt. If all goes well, I might actually try the pattern I bought for a dress. Right now I'm a little intimidated by it, but we'll see how these smaller pieces go!

A Puppy!

2009-05-19T11:07:00.002-04:00

One day Dane and I will get a dog. We can't have pets in our apartment right now, so we go to the pet store and play with them instead. Sometimes it's fun, other times I'm just sad because I want to bring them all home. But we keep doing it anyway. This is a Yorkshire terrier that we played with over the weekend. He has a ton of energy and was so tiny!

I made something AGAIN!

2009-05-18T10:46:00.003-04:00

So after the success of my first tote bag, I decided to make another for my mom. She may have hinted that she wants one. I knew that would happen so I already bought fabric for her bag weeks ago. I worked on it this weekend and finally finished last night. This time I added a pocket on the front and longer straps. I also put the fabric at the bottom and the whale at the top for my Mama Bear.

Hanging out on my chair in my craft room. I had to just sit back and admire it once I finished.

The whole bag. It's the same size as the one I made for Melissa.

The little whale. Emily drew it and I cut it out of fabric. My mom will probably name it Scylla, because when we were little we adopted a whale for her and it's name was Scylla.

Look at the pocket! My mom usually carries a ton of stuff around, so I figured she's probably want an extra pocket on the front of the bag. There aren't any pockets inside. I haven't quite figured out how to make that happen yet.

Next up is a bag for Jenna. I think I'm going to use the pretty pink fabric I got at IKEA. She likes pink and I haven't figured out what else to do with that fabric yet.

Melissa's Visit!

2009-05-13T10:41:00.004-04:00

I'm so happy that Melissa got to come up for the weekend. We had so much fun and managed to fit a lot into only about a day and a half. Still not sure how we did that.

I picked her up at 8:30pm from the ferry in CT. We got back to the apartment a little late, so she just had a snack and then we all went to bed. On Saturday we went to the aquarium and had a blast.

Right outside the aquarium is a harbor seal exhibit. This seal was just floating around and came right up to the glass to get a closer look at us. Melissa got a closer look too.

We found these turtles and decided to hang out.

This is one of the penguins. This picture actually came out pretty well. I had to zoom in a bit to get up close and personal with this little guy.

This penguin's name is Tom. Melissa named him after they had a moment together. They gazed into each other's eyes. It was really moving.

This little penguin had us watching him for a while. He seems very unsure of himself, but he really wants to take a dip in the water. He's not really the most graceful bird, but he makes it in.

This is Little Blue. I named him. He was pretty much the tiniest fish in this big tank of tropical fish. You can't help but see how much he stands out in front of all that coral.

This is Melissa looking in the big tank. I feel like it almost looks fake, but those are all the fishes swimming around. We saw Myrtle the Giant Sea Turtle too. At first she was sleeping, but then she woke up to rule over her domain. She's bigger than the sharks in the tank! (Side note, Myrtle recently tried to steal food from a shark in this tank. She's giant and has a giant appetite too.)

We found this little guy hanging out on a bench all alone. Melissa gave him some company.

How cool are these masks? Don't even pretend like you're not afraid. We look just like fierce sharks.

Melissa is already planning her next trip up for July when I'm off from work. Hopefully we'll get a little more time together then since I don't have to work!

Mom and Dad come to Boston

2009-05-12T10:26:00.002-04:00

Last weekend my parents came up to visit and to meet Dane's parents for the first time. We had a great weekend together. Here are some highlights.

First thing dad had to do was get some clams from Haymarket. I think he's been dreaming of this for weeks now.

Then we went down by the water before getting some cannolis in the North End. So delicious.

For anyone that doesn't know, my mom is a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner. Her patients are usually 75 years old and above. We passed by this sign in the North End and she was really excited. She just had to have a picture with it.

After walking around all morning on Saturday we went to the Wake Up the Earth Festival in JP right near our apartment. We were joined by Sam and Jason. Sam and I got some fried dough. It was SO good. Here we are about to enjoy our yummy treat.

Mom and I enjoyed some time just hanging out and listening to the music with Mia. Mia was so excited to see everyone and be outside on the grass.

After the festival, we all went back to our apartment for dinner. I made hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, corn, and Dad made a fruit salad. During dinner we watched the most exciting two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby. Emily suggested we place some bets, so while I cooked everyone created a pool and picked horses. Jason ended up winning with Mine that Bird, the number 8 horse. It was amazing to watch the race! Jason's horse was dead last at the beginning and pulled through all the other horses to come in first by about 6 lengths.

We had such a great time with everyone! I hope they all come back to visit soon :)

I made something!

2009-05-11T09:33:00.004-04:00

My dear sister Melissa came to visit this weekend. We had a ton of fun (another post will follow with pictures from the weekend) and I made my first thing with my new sewing machine. I got the fabric at IKEA and the pattern here. I took my time with it since it was my first time really making something.

I'm so impressed with how it came out! I had a bit of trouble with the appliques, my zig zag stitch was not cooperating. But overall I'm so proud I made this!

My baby sister modeling the bag. I think it's safe to say she loves it. She carried it around all day yesterday, even when she really didn't need a bag. When she got home to NY, I immediately got a request from my mom who wants one. Luckily, I saw that coming and already bought the fabric I'm going to use for my mom's bag.

Everyone's getting a tote bag for Christmas!

Kitten vs. Fan

2009-04-29T09:21:00.001-04:00

I don't know why I find this so funny, but I can't stop laughing. I feel like this is something Sam and Jason's cats would do.

New Apartment!

2009-04-28T15:26:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pics of the new place. Don't mind the boxes and things everywhere. We're still getting things into place and working late every night last week and over the weekend didn't really give me much time to settle in. I made curtains with the help of Sam and Emily on Sunday, so the bedroom looks a little different now. Luckily I only have to work late Thursday this week, so we should have some time to unpack a bit more and start to decorate!

This is obviously the kitchen, well half of it.

This is the other half, with our new favorite addition Arvid. We got that table thing from IKEA and it's name is Arvid which we thought was cute so we just keep calling it that.

This is the refrigerator room. The fridge needs it's own little space.

Now for the living room. Look at that TV! There will eventually be a shelf over it, once we get a drill.

Bathroom and my ducky shower curtain. I love it.

Our room. There's now curtains up and everything!

The guest room/Penn State room. Dane has a TON of Penn State stuff, so we made a whole room of it. It looks very collegiate, which I like.

And this is my craft room. This space will be dedicated to scrapbooking, sewing, collaging and other fun things :)

We both love it. As it comes along I'll post some new pictures!

Marathon Monday (and weekend!)

2009-04-22T10:19:00.010-04:00

This weekend Dane and I moved into our new apartment with the help of some friends (Sam, Jason and Ellen). We absolutely love it! On Saturday we got a U-Haul and moved all of our big furniture in. We had done a few smaller trips during the week to bring some of my stuff over.

Now comes the story of the couch. First Jason and Dane tried to get the couch up the front stairs.

They quickly realized that was not going to work, and on the advice of our upstairs neighbor decided to try the back stairs because it was a little wider.

Ellen had to help because she's stronger than Sam and I. We're all discussing how to turn the couch at this point.

Getting there now! We got it around the first turn. Now they asked me to sit at the bottom of the couch and push up on it.

As you can see, I was very helpful.

With everyone's help, we finally got it up the stairs and into our apartment.

On Sunday we all went to IKEA! We had so much fun and were there for almost 5 hours. We got a coffee table, TV stand, kitchen cart thingy, end tables for the bedroom, and some fun decorations (picture frames, a mirror, etc.). I also bought fabric so that I can make curtains for us. I've never made curtains before, but I feel like I can totally do it. Sam is going to help me, so between the two of us I think we'll figure it out.

On Sunday night Sam, Jason, Ellen, Emily and Ben came over for Swedish meatballs and helped put together some furniture. I made dinner on the condition that Jason make some brownies for dessert. I helped him out, and he did a great job. Then Nino joined us, stayed over for the marathon on Monday!

We woke up at 4:30am and got to our post for volunteering at 5:15am on Monday morning. We're veterans now, since we did this same job last year. We got everything we needed and picked lane 6 to be our station. For about two hours we loaded all the marathon runners onto buses. I met some people from Germany who asked to take a picture with me and then told me "You will be famous!". By around 8am we were done, and exhausted.

We went home, ate breakfast, and made the decision to take Nino to the Sam Adams Brewery. Here's Nino and Dane smelling a Sam Adams Utopia Bottle.

We had a really long, but really fun weekend! Now we're working on getting the apartment together and unpacking all the little boxes that are still left. I'll post pictures soon!

Today at work..

2009-04-14T13:40:00.002-04:00

One of the students I work with came to me with the idea of having blood drive. For dogs.

I have to say, I love when students are creative and think outside the box about events. But I also just don't know where they come up with this stuff sometimes.

Abby is walking!

2009-04-08T09:44:00.004-04:00

I finally got my camera! Now you can all see how cute Abby is.

She's such a big girl! Look at her go! She kind of just runs at me full speed, but I can't believe she's walking!

Here she is with her mom. Little hesitant, but then she takes off.

This is her trying to say "deck". My mom showed her the deck outside and told Abby how it is her favorite place. My mom really loves to be outside on the deck when it's nice out.

And last but not least, my mom has told me that she likes to chew on our Save the Date magnets. They're pretty AND delicious, who knew?

Still no camera...

2009-04-07T13:57:00.002-04:00

I'm really sad because I'm still without my camera! I left it at home last weekend. My mom called me to let me know it was sent out and should be there in a day or two. So I waited and finally UPS came... but I missed it. So I signed the slip and left it so that they could leave me package for me. I finally got home and it was there! I ran inside and opened it to find that my mom sent me my sister's camera. I had my sister Jenna's camera in Massachusetts while they have mine in NY. Then I mailed my sister's camera back, and I've been told mine should be here any day now. I don't know what to do without it! I've had Dane's camera for my Project 365 for the past week.

Now I've decided I want to get a camcorder. I really don't want a videographer at the wedding because I usually find them to be super obnoxious and in the way. But, I would like to have some of our friends and family be able to wish us luck or do something silly that we can look back on later. Then we can use it throughout the planning process, at the engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal, wedding, and honeymoon in Ireland. I just don't know the first thing about camcorders. I've used the mini DV ones, but are those becoming outdated? Does anyone know? I don't need anything too fancy, just something that will get the job done.

New Apartment Decor

2009-03-31T11:07:00.002-04:00

Dane and I will start moving on April 15 into our new apartment. It'll be about a two week process so that we can move a little bit at a time before making one big trip with all the furniture. Makes moving seem not as stressful when you don't have to do it all in 6 hours.

I absolutely love this blog, and today she posted a link to these diy projects for wall hangings. I love the coasters. Dane has a collection of coasters and I think it'd be so cool to hang some in the kitchen like this. Can't wait to decorate our first place together :)

Sam, this is for you!

2009-03-30T16:19:00.002-04:00

I have a few pics I took on my phone. This is a Pygmy marmoset. How adorable is this little guy? He's teeny and just sat and watched me while I watched him. One of the highlights of the zoo for me!

Oh No!

2009-03-30T16:11:00.001-04:00

I went to PA and NY this weekend and left my camera at home! I'm so disappointed. My mom is mailing it to me, so I hope it gets here soon! We went to the Philadelpha Zoo and I got a penny for Sam and saw so many fun animals. Then Sunday we went to NY for the afternoon and I played with Abby. She's walking and talking up a storm. I'll post some pics and video as soon as I get it back :(

For all the Gchatters out there...

2009-03-26T14:56:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Melissa Lulay taught me a wonderful thing to use in Gchat. If you enter V.v.V it will make a lobster! And if you enter :(/) it will make a monkey! The middle slash should actually be a straight line, but for some reason it won't show up in my post. It is the symbol above the backslash. Definitely couldn't figure that out on my own, Melissay Lulay had to instruct me. I just showed Sam and I think I made her day. Just spreading the love.

Update: Sam just showed me that [:/] makes a robot! Again the slash should be the straight line.

Mia is a destroyer

2009-03-24T11:11:00.002-04:00

We give Mia paper all the time to shred. I've never seen a dog that loves to just rip up paper. She doesn't eat it, she just tears it into tiny pieces and leaves it all over the living room. Yesterday I got a booklet from some company that was I was never going to read, so I gave Mia the whole thing. This kept her busy for a really long time. So many pages to tear!

We had some people come by last night to see our apartment to rent for May. I can only imagine what they must have thought as they saw the little dog sitting in the living room while we let her destroy this piece of mail.

New Apartment for Us!

2009-03-23T09:41:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, Dane and I signed a lease for our new apartment together! We're really excited and absolutely love the apartment. It's not far from where I live now, just on the other side of the Stony Brook T stop and the park. Easy walk to the subway and the Sam Adams Brewery and it even has a roof deck!

The apartment is a two bedroom, but it's kind of 2.5 bedrooms because the bedroom we will use has another small room off of it. Not sure what we'll do with it yet. We'll use the second bedroom as a guest room, since we have people visit often enough. The kitchen is big and we'll have plenty of room to spread out when we cook. Anyone who knows us will understand how important a nice kitchen is to both of us.

The lease starts April 15, but my current lease doesn't end until April 30, so we'll take those two weeks to slowly move things over. We'll be able to do a lot of smaller trips just using my car. Then we'll probably be able to rent a U-Haul for a day to move the larger stuff (beds, couch, desks, etc.). That's when we'll have our moving party and Jason and Sam will come over to help :)

I'll post pictures as soon as I have some. I guess this means I should start thinking about packing. Anyone have some boxes we could use?

St. Patty's Day Fun

2009-03-19T09:02:00.010-04:00

Since Friday, Dane and I were host to a friends from PA who came up for St. Patty's Day festivities. Here's the play by play recap of what we did.

Saturday: Everyone finally got here (some people came up Friday night, the rest on Saturday morning). We decided that we would go to the Sam Adams Brewery which is right near my house. The tours were filling up quickly, but we were able to get tickets to a tour later that afternoon. That was fine with us, since my apartment is so close. We were able to just go back and hang out while we waited. First we did some crafts. We each picked a name out of a hat, then had to design a t-shirt for that person.

Drew made this shirt for Regina (I think).

George made this shirt for me. The front says "I'm marrying him" with a big arrow pointing to the right. I have to make sure he's always standing on that side of me when I wear the shirt.

This shirt was made for Kyle by Steve. Classy.

Kyle made this shirt for Drew. Everyone's Irish on St. Patty's Day.

This is the shirt I made for Jayneel. He got to be Irish for the day too.

We had to run to make our tour because we all got caught up in making our custom t-shirts. It was really fun and we tried some new varieties of Sam Adams. They served a beer called Brick Red, and it was really good. Apparently it's a regional brew, so it is only served in certain bars in the Boston area during certain seasons. Glad we got to try it! Here we are with out tour guide, who definitely had a handful with all of us there.

After the tour we just hung out in the apartment, and I made dinner for everyone. Drew's favorite Chicken Vodka (also known as penna alla vodka with chicken).

Sunday: We woke up late enough that we decided to just go get lunch at Cabot's in Newton. It's a great little 50's style restaurant. The milkshakes and frappes are amazing. Steve and Doug decided to get this one.

Jayneel sleeping in my kitchen on an air mattress. And snuggling with one of my stuffed animals.

Dane couldn't believe his eyes. It was coffee and oreo flavored, and oh so delicious.

The boys decided to go to a sports bar and watch the Bruins game, but I knew I wouldn't make it through the whole game. I opted to stay home and nap while they went out. After my nap, Emily, Ben and I joined everyone at O'Leary's on Beacon Street for some dinner. I had pot roast (I was torn between that and the Guiness beef stew) and a pint of Magner's. It was a good choice.

Monday: I went into work for the morning, while the PA boys wandered around Boston. I met up with them later at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill on Boylston Street. After we got back to the apartment we relaxed a bit to prepare for the big day.

Tuesday: St. Patty's Day! We met up with Dane's co-worker, Clarke, in Cambridge for a bar crawl. Clarke and his sons do this bar crawl every year for the past 14 years! We had to get in on the tradition. We started at the Burren (one of the best Irish pubs in the country, or so I've read). It was awesome. I finally got some Guiness beef stew and enjoyed some Smithwick's while we listened to Irish music. Going to the Burren definitely got Dane and I even more excited for our honeymoon in Ireland.

When we sat down to eat, I happened to end up right in front of the speaker. And it was loud. Thank goodness I was concentrating on my delicious meal.

We moved on from the Burren, but lost Clarke for a while. We decided to go into the Joshua Tree, right across the street. This turned out to be a really good decision, because they had Sam Adams Brick Red on tap! We all got a glass.

I finally saw the back of Dane's shirt. I thought it was really cute.

After Joshua Tree, we went to Phoenix Landing, kind of by accident. Jayneel got a "blinky thingy" from the waitress and we had some green shots. After that it was back to the apartment so we could get Kyle to the aiport on time.

We had some chinese food for dinner, and all went to bed pretty early. I woke up for work on Wednesday, and when I got home everyone had gone. It's so quiet now! I'm glad everyone was able to come up this year. Now time to start planning for next year!

Snuggle Time with Mia

2009-03-16T10:11:00.004-04:00

The other day when I got home from work, Mia and I had some snuggle time on the couch. Whenever I'm the first one home she gets all excited and will run and jump up on the couch, wait for me to sit down, then put her head on my stomach. She was especially vocal today and had me cracking up. She usually doesn't really enjoy being covered with the blanket, but I was cold and the way she was laying meant she was going to have to deal with it. Mia seems to be doing just fine, as long as I pet her.

True or False

2009-03-10T10:42:00.003-04:00

It is acceptable for a woman to wear sweatpants out in public.

Melissa Lulay raises this important question. I say yes, but depending on where she's going. Grocery shopping came up and I would say it's definitely ok for going to the supermarket, especially in my neighborhood. But there's disagreement. I'm curious as to other opinions here. What do you think?

My co-workers are nuts

2009-03-06T14:24:00.004-05:00

So yesterday our office scheduled our "photo shoot" for the yearbook picture of our staff. This turned into a huge production. We had the day on our calendars for about two weeks, Chad critiqued our outfits, and we had to do multiple locations before we got one that Chad was happy with. This is obviously my favorite one, because I think it captures our essences. I laughing at Chad and looking kind of sassy, Chad is still trying to direct the shoot even though he's cracking up, and Jenny is all smiles even though something ridiculous is happening. Love my office.

March Calendar

2009-03-04T11:04:00.002-05:00

For your viewing pleasure, Hoops and Yoyo have given us a printable calendar for the month of March. If you don't know who Hoops and Yoyo are, go here and enjoy! I love their e-cards. They are so silly that I can't help but laugh when I see or hear them.

And I thought AT&T was bad...

2009-02-24T14:21:00.003-05:00

I'm just taking a little break and catching up on the Fail Blog, when I see this video. Amazing. I cannot believe these people are serious. They somehow don't understand that $.002 is NOT the same as .002 cents and are charging him the wrong amount, or are at least not able to explain to him how they are calculating his charges. I've had my share of trouble with AT&T, but this blows my mind.

Boop

2009-02-24T13:57:00.003-05:00

I do this to Dane all the time. I saw this picture and thought it was adorable and funny, all at the same time. More wonderful pictures like this at I Can Has Cheezburger.

What can I do with these....

2009-02-23T13:36:00.003-05:00

I don't know what I'll do with these, but I'm fairly sure I have to make them for something. Maybe something wedding related? Engagement party? I don't know, but just picture them in a bunch of different colors. Adorable. Thank you Paper Source.

Project 365 Progress

2009-02-19T08:49:00.005-05:00

I started putting pictures in my Project 365 album on Tuesday night. That was a bad idea, because I just couldn't stop! I stayed up a bit too late before forcing myself to put it down and go to bed. Of course, on Wednesday all I wanted to do is work on it some more. Dane and I went to dinner with Scott, and I started working on my album again when I got home. The first four weeks are almost done now, I still have to label the pictures and journal entries with the days of the week.

Here's my progress so far. This has been such a great project. I am so happy Sam got me into it!

Home for the Weekend

2009-02-17T15:07:00.003-05:00

Dane and I went to NY this past weekend to visit with my family and attend church for the wedding. It was relaxing and I got plenty of time to hang out with Abby.

We went to the mall with Abby, Jenna, and my mom on Saturday. This is Abby in the candy store hanging on her mom. If you notice she is wearing her Valentine's Day outfit. She had a little heart on her bum, and a shirt that said "Will you be mine?".

She tried on some cool hats at the Children's Place. Looking good. Dane got a really cute shirt for Jesse Oliver for St. Patty's Day too.

The next day she came over for my dad's birthday dinner. She likes to hang out with the big kids at the table.

She was very tired in the car. It's amazing how quickly she falls asleep as soon as the car starts moving. Abby was out cold in a matter of 30 seconds.

Now we won't get to go back to NY again until May because of crazy work schedules and friends coming to visit. My entire month of April is pretty much shot on the weekends with events and Orientation Leader training. March is coming up so quickly. The boys from PA are coming up for St. Patty's Day, I can't wait! And we're going to go home to PA for Dane's mom's birthday. So busy!

Bad News for Grey's Fans...

2009-02-11T14:51:00.003-05:00

So I heard on the radio today on my way to work that T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl are going to leave Grey's Anatomy. I thought to myself "No way! George is my favorite, there's no way he can leave the show." But here it is, Izzie and George are leaving.

I'm not sure what's going on with this show lately. The entire ghost story line seemed to go on forever, and the entire time I was actually hoping that Izzie would find out she has a brain tumor or something that would explain the weirdness of the last few episodes. I do like her relationship with Alex though, and I'll be sad to see that end.

Where has George been all season?! We've seen him for about 5 seconds, and he hasn't been a part of any major plot line. I guess it's because they're writing him out, but I miss him! He's cute and I loved the plot lines that featured him. I think the writers need to do some major rethinking of where the show is going. The first 3 seasons were amazing and kept me wanting more, but now I'm feeling like my allegiance could shift unless the story lines draw me again.

Come on Shonda and Grey's writers! I need more!

Googly Eyes

2009-02-10T10:16:00.001-05:00

If you've never seen this, please watch it. I don't think any explanation is necessary.

LOST

2009-02-08T19:57:00.002-05:00

I cannot stop watching this show! Emily and I have been watching a few episodes a day. Being home all weekend definitely helped me catch up. We're up to episode 10 in season 2.

My thoughts so far:

I do not like Anna Lucia or Kate, they just annoy me.

Charlie is the cutest, even though he's a heroin addict.

I wish John Locke would teach me how to track things.

I think that the show is better off without Shannon. Although I'm sad that Sayid will be sad.

Mr. Eko is the definition of awesome.

Rose and Bernard make me cry. They are wonderful.

At first Sawyer's accent annoyed me, now I find it strangely attractive.

Now what on earth is the deal with the polar bear? And the whispers in the wind? And why is Walt always soaking wet when people see him? I feel like nothing on this show is filler, you have to pay attention to every single detail because you never know when it will come up again. I LOVE IT!!!