Birthday Cards

 

I forget how this tradition started in high school but I remember vividly being in Target with friends and picking out ridiculous kid cards. The idea is that all the numbers have to add up to their age (i.e. 6th birthday card plus 10th birthday card means you are 16). As we have gotten older, the cards have gotten more ridiculous. It is so much fun getting 5 funny cards than one because everyone knows more it better (at least according to the little kids on the AT & T commercials).  This is my recent stash of cards. It’s always funny to be standing in Target for like 20 minutes trying to do simple addition as you add up the cards and trying to make the numbers work!

Weekly Wonderings: April 17th, 2013

How is it that time goes by so fast? In the past two weeks, I have run my first 10k (1:18, woot!), travelled up and down the east coast, and baked no less than 4 cakes. Needless to say I am quite busy! Tomorrow my day starts at 8 and won’t end until 10pm. To be fair, I will be spending the day doing things I love (mostly) but it will still be terribly busy. Sometimes, I just want to slow down. Sometimes, I just want to speed up. Most days, I just want to survive without doing something terribly wrong.

I am in LOVE with my mixer. Cake baking has never been so much fun! Now to decide what accessories I need. Meat grinder, pasta maker, or ice cream attachment? Frankly, I want them all.

I did it! I accepted my offer letters for grad school! Woohoo! Dual masters, cold weather and a ton of work, DC here I come!

Finn got a haircut. He is still adorable in my mind.

New shoes! Now just need a dress to wear them with and maybe a place to wear them too!

Post 10k/parade glory. And no, I did not have to flash to get those beads, but I might have grabbed a few meant for small children…

Brunch is where it is at. (Yes, I did just end a sentence with a preposition. Get over it.)

So what has been happening in your neck of the woods?

Twisty Love

I have this love/hate relationship with my hair that I am positive most girls do as well, I love having hair, I hate trying to dry it. Before I did this to my hair, it took HOURS to dry. When it takes hours to dry and you don’t have mad blow dryer skillz (i.e. lazy), you plan when to shower. Sometimes it isn’t convenient to shower because you need to be somewhere and your hair can’t be wet. Or it’s snowing and you don’t want icicle hair.

My hair still takes long to dry and my twisty hair turban doesn’t always stay on right. I needed some other way to keep my hair up and drying, while I patiently (or not so patiently) waited for it to dry. Also, washing my face is a pain, because I am constantly having loose hairs fall into my face.

Enter the Twisty.

I LOVE IT. It’s perfect when I need to keep my hair out of my face. It dries it, not as well as my twisty

 

The only cons are that it doesn’t dry your hair in the back and it gets quite wet but its perfect for washing my face. Often my hair turban falls off while trying to wash my face so this is a godsend.

Weekly Wonders: April 3rd, 2013

This week has been CRAZY, like working at the office until 9pm crazy. Then I spent 2 hours in Fedex Kinkos this morning, because our printer decided not to work. After printing 180 pages, believe me when I say I made very good friends with employees there. April is turning out to be a busy month and it’s only day three! Luckily, April only has 30 days.

I found these at Bed, Bath, and Beyond! My friend is obsessed with Mason Jars, can’t wait until she gets into the states so I can get her one. Too bad, it might be like another year!

I took Mimi out to sushi and she tried to use chopsticks. Fairly successfully considering it was her first time!

Finn having play dates with the German Shepherd was the highlight of my day, don’t judge.

Egg hunt. I won. Yes, I did play a 12 year old, but my brother was asking for it. 14 to 10, I went easy on him.

Finn decided he didn’t want to run today halfway through our run. He sat…. for 10 minutes.

 

So how’s your week going? Is April one of your busy times yet or am I alone?     

Vacation Rules

Trying new things is like a rule in my family. Literally, its part of our vacation rules. Actually, there are a couple of vacation rules (not to mention airplane rules, restaurant rules, etc. but that’s what you get when your mom is a teacher!):

1) Never eat a chain restaurant (unless its McDonalds' to get mom that all important diet coke)

2) Try at least one new thing to eat a day

3) Do one educational thing per trip (again my mother is teacher,  so I can point out educational things to do ANYWHERE, even Disney).

So yesterday, I went out to lunch with my Dad. Nothing too surprising there but as I went to get us drinks, I spied this soda.

I had to try it. It didn’t matter that we weren’t on vacation. IT WAS CELERY SODA. I like celery, so I decided to give it a try. Turns out I don’t like celery in soda. Oh well. But at least I tried something new! What was the last new thing you tried?

Weekly Wonders: March 27th, 2013

I feel like this week has been about preparing for that next step. Whether it be little things like trying new makeup routines or purchasing some new business casual type clothing, I feel like I am inching my way along to August.

Why yes, I do have a countdown on my bathroom mirror.

I spent the other Friday night dog sitting. It was great. The dog was an angel and I got to put on all sorts of facial masks. I had my dirty pleasure TV shows on (think Bravo shows) and a diet coke, what more did I need? Nothing other than countless YouTube videos trying to figure out how to master eye shadow tricks!

I have these two eye shadow kits and am finally getting better at eye shadow. I can do one color but after that it gets a bit tricky! Luckily, these beautiful colors make it so easy. I even managed to pull off some pretty layering the other day! Thanks to watching tons of Youtube video while dog sitting, I was able to pull off something pretty and not drag queen style.

Finn got a haircut and played with another puppy down the street! They were adorable with each other. They romped around the yard for an hour. It was swoon worthy. Puppies are the best!

I am in love with our Easter headbands. I am not tooooo old to wear one, right?

That pretty much sums up my week! Not counting the winter like temperatures, we have been subjugated to in this late March.  What happened to spring????

The Kitchen Aid Mixer Debate

In my mind certain items are for grownups, like wedding china or stand mixers. I am 23 years old and thus in that strange limbo between adulthood and childhood. I love kitchenaid mixers, actually love might be an understatement. I have been coveting one for years. My grandmother has had the same one since like 1980 and it still works just fine. She uses it for everything from cookies to mashed potatoes. My mother on the other hand has this beautiful cream one but she keeps it in the pantry. I normally have to beg to take it out, pleading that I will clean up my mess unlike the last time.

In college, my kitchen was TINY and there was no counter space. Besides, I wasn’t a grownup and thus I couldn’t purchase one in my mind. KitchenAid Mixer = Grownup. Every holiday would come around and my mom would ask if I wanted one. I would say yes but not now. I am not a grownup yet. It just didn’t seem right. I wasn’t ready for one just yet.

Well, I finally made the plunge and bought one! It was my treat for getting into graduate school. Graduate school is almost like being a grownup, right? After much research, I decided to get the large Artisan mixer that has a tilt head because I like the tilt head and its smaller than the bowl lift. I am pretty sure my apartment next year will be tiny! I bought the ice blue color. It is just enough color without being overwhelming (or so I hope). I am currently counting down the days until it gets here! Eek!