Inspired by Spring

The Spring-y weather has inspired me.

It inspired me to - most importantly - stop being the hillbilly neighbor with the snowflake Christmas lights illuminating my balcony every night from about 6-11 p.m. And to put away the cute glass pumpkin that Sheila got me back in October or November... that just hung out on the little table next to the watering-can-shaped citronella candle. I don't discriminate against holidays... I represent them all. At the same time. So what?

But no longer! I pulled out only the most Spring-appropriate decor I could dig up. I swept off the dusty crusty floor and Clorox wiped the furniture and the banister in preparation for some serious patio-sittin' in the upcoming weeks/months.

Then, I busted out my cute little paper lantern patio lights and my genius hubbs even figured out which ends plug where {moments before we left for Home Depot to get the adapter thingy that I swore up and down we needed because those dumb lights were just broken... he's so handy!} and he put them on the timer. This. was. huge. Last year, those lights got totally neglected thanks to me thinking that they just didn't plug in right. Not only do they now light up but they do it on their own! Amazing.

Un-lit...

Lit!

A close-up of their cuteness.

Because I failed miserably at being a plant-owner last year (definition: I forgot about watering my hanging baskets for a few weeks. Give or take a month. And by the time I decided I wanted to revive them... they just looked beyond help. So I laid them to rest in the trash compactor.) I thought I'd give it another whirl. I'm another year older. One year more mature? I mean... I've kept Bella alive for almost 2 years now. I can handle a couple of plants! So, me and my green(ish) thumbs picked up a couple of hanging baskets at Home Depot on Sunday to come live on our balcony!

Hanging basket #1

Hangin' out in their new home (thanks hubbs... he did the dangerous stuff!)

Hanging basket #2 (they're twins)

View of my flower friends from the doorway

I didn't stop there. Ooooh no. What's that little plant stand and wooden basket in the corner, you ask?? That is my balcony herb kit. In a few weeks, these itty bitty pots will sprout Chives, Cilantro, Oregano and Parsley! {We hope.} I'm a little salty about it, because I didn't do my homework (it was an impulse buy) and after I got home and planted everything, I found such cuter herb growing kits online. But its not all about the containers I suppose... so we'll see how these guys do and if I have any luck, I can always add to my collection of fresh seasonings!

Herb kit: Home Depot ($10). Plant stand: TJ Maxx ($14).

Cross your fingers for me that these things actually grow into something more than dirt!

Ignore the extension cords. Unless you have suggestions for me as to how I can hide them or something - then please leave me a comment! I also picked up a new citronella candle since the Georgia sun melted my old one into a puddle... now Andrew can use the useless one as an ash tray for his cigars. Yay. And I haven't given up on my hopes of growing a "plot" of veggies in our urban vegetable garden! I just haven't gotten around to reserving one w/ our leasing office yet.

I'm not convinced that this gorgeous weather is really here to stay, but for the days and nights when the sun is shining and the temperature is comfortable --- we're ready! Some of my favorite memories of newlywed life are the nights spent sipping wine and chatting about nothing at night on our balcony. Can't wait to share some of those sweet moments oh so soon :)

Hello, 2011

How is January already halfway over?! Thanks to the insane Atlanta weather, my holiday break has been extended by 2 {snow} days! We've been soaking up these unexpected days off with all things lazy! I've (re) organized the hall and guest room closets, purged our little home for 4 giant bags of trash, and finally tackled cleaning and organizing our bookshelf in the office. That sounds busier than I have felt these past snowed-in 48 hours... but we also slept in until well after 10 a.m., ordered mid-afternoon movies On Demand, and sipped on spiked apple cider while watching the national championship football game :)

The start of my garbage pile...

Our jam-packed bookcase!

Also got this sucker organized and ready for the semester... yuck.

My handy hubbs also set up our new *wireless* printer! This is exciting to me... I always have hated plugging my laptop into the printer with a cord. He also got a new Macbook Pro so we can do all sorts of fun things between our twin computers through bluetooth! Pretty exciting stuff. But he won't let me box up and store away his beloved Dell desktop yet - I turned him into a Mac user, but not 100% yet - baby steps.

Andrew's school has already announced that the campus will be closed again tomorrow! I'm crossing my little fingers that mine will decide the same... and as long as it looks like this outside, there just might be a chance that we'll get Snow Day #3!

View from our balcony

Winter wonderland!

Until then, we'll be cozying up indoors trying not to let cabin fever get the best of us. I'll also get around to posting pics of our holiday break fun :) Oh ya, and starting all that reading I've been putting off for the past few weeks. Maybe...

Favorite Things

Oprah got to have a "favorite things" show... two actually. {The second part is tomorrow - if you want to spend an hour with your jaw on the floor and thinking jealous thoughts, tune in at 4!} So I can have just one post, right? I have lots of favorite things! And most of them aren't really things anyway - not in the sense that you can go out and buy them. But here is a list of my favorite tangible things at the moment. Like you care, I know. But I'm killing a little time between wash/dry cycles before I can go to bed :) In no particular order, my top 10 (first things that come to mind) at the moment are:

1. My cardy Uggs. It isn't cold enough in Atlanta yet to wear my heavy, fleece-lined Ugg boots yet, but its also not socially acceptable to wear flip flops anymore (although I would if I could). So, I've been throwing these little knitted guys on every time I need to run to the store, or school or wherever!

2. My Kate Spade planner. I have an unhealthy obsession with list-making... particularly the crossing things off of my lists aspect of list-making. Its finals time, and holiday season time, and just the time of year where I generally start losing my marbles - so this has been a life saver. I'm a big fan all year, but from now until 2011 I will be especially dependent on my little friend!

3. The Downy ball. I wish I were joking... but this has literally revolutionized laundry day(s) for me! I never feel like dryer sheets give you the full effect of liquid fabric softener, and I don't have the cool little liquid detergent hole in my washing machine. So the Downy ball has quite seriously changed my life - one amazing smelling load of laundry at a time :) The hubbs is a big fan, too. On the rare occasion that he throws in a load of laundry he fills up the entire ball with softener...

4. This should probably be #1... but I said I was going out of order. My Keurig Single Cup Coffee Maker. This has got to be one of the best inventions of our lifetime. I'm the only regular coffee drinker in our house, so the fact that I can brew one perfect cup in under a minute is easily the highlight of my mornings! I am an even bigger fan now that most grocery stores have started selling K-cups in the coffee aisle so I don't have to make a special trip to Target! Ahh, the little things in life.

5. Woodwick candles. I know I have been cheating on my fave brand lately with the Yankee Beeswax candles, but Woodwick candles are still truly my favorite candles. I love that I can leave them around the house with the lids off and still catch a whiff of their yummy scents without even lighting them. And then when I do light them, they give the effect of a real fire - they crackle and have a wide, flickering flame... they're the next best thing to a real wood-burning fireplace.

6. Crest 3D white toothpaste. Again, wish I were joking. But who has time to whiten their teeth these days?! Not I. Literally, my appearance has been the last thing on my mind for the last 2ish months. And with all the coffee I drink, I have found that this toothpaste actually does a really good job of keeping my pearly whites, white ;)

7. This is another one that should probably be higher up on my list if I were ranking my favorite things in order. Shellac Gel Nail Polish. I have honestly not put normal nail polish on my fingers since I discovered this miracle product! It is like OPI nail polish, only wayyy better... it goes on like a polish, then your manicurist "cures" the polish under a UV light, and then you leave the salon with totally dry, indestructible nails that do not chip for - I swear - 2 to three weeks. Don't believe me? Ask all my friends. They would know, because I have harassed peer-pressured every last one of them into trying it and they all love it! I plan to get a fresh pre-Thanksgiving mani tomorrow in a lovely dark purple shade that will, no doubt, last me until my pre-Christmas mani.

8. While I'm being totally vain and admitting that I insist on having manicures that last me a minimum of 2 weeks, I might as well confess that Versa Spa UV-free tanning is another one of my favorite things to ever be invented. I have sworn off tanning beds now that I am a) terrified of skin cancer and b) even more terrified of wrinkles, so I've been spray tanning every couple of weeks to keep me from feeling like a ghost. Sheila got me hooked on Versa - it doesn't have the icky fake tan smell that most spray tans leave you with, and I haven't had any "omg I'm orange" mishaps with it either. Knock on wood.

 

9. Since Andrew doesn't read this, I will admit that our Jack LaLanne juicer has become one of my favorite things. I still have a love-hate relationship with it for the mere fact that it takes up precious counter space, and its 738 pieces always seem to be sitting in our sink for days at a time... but it is a great way to get the nutrients my hubbs and I don't necessarily get by eating fruits and veggies. And it saves me the trouble of having to cook many side dishes. So my reasons are selfish and wimpy - I'm a 23 yr old who still hates her veggies and I am trying to weasel my way out of cooking a well-rounded dinner. Judge away, I have no shame!

10. This is a combo: Netflix + Roku box. They go hand-in-hand, and you can totally have one without the other - but they really are only my favorite thing when they combine forces. We've been using Netflix for the past year or so, and we love it. But now that we have a Roku box (thanks to Andrew's big bro - who, again, will never read this but he deserves this shout-out nonetheless!) we can stream movies and tv shows that normally would only be available instantly online right into our TV! Technology, while normally a giant pain in my booty since I am not tech-savvy, is amazing in this one minuscule instance! We've started watching 30 Rock, and Weeds, and all sorts of other fun stuff thanks to Netflix + Roku - if you have Netflix, but no Roku, you are missing outtt!

Well. That is the first 10 of my {current} favorite things that I could think of at the moment. And while I would so love to give each of my readers one of each of my top 10 faves... I'm not Oprah :) Now that I have successfully killed enough time to let my clothes wash, I can transfer them into the dryer and go enjoy the rest of my Sunday night with a few of my intangible favorite things - my hubby, our sweet kitty girl, and some much needed sleep!

Bella and Hubbs: Old School Edition :)

Day dreaming...

There is something about this time of year {finals are quickly approaching time} that kicks my ADD into overdrive! I find myself doing everything but what I am supposed to be doing... my mind begins to wander, and my thoughts turn from bankruptcy law and the federal rules of evidence to something more along the lines of this:

• What fun things should I start planning for our winter break?
• Should I send out Christmas cards this year?
• If I do, what picture would I use? 
• What card pattern... maybe I should check some out online...
• I haven't sent my mom any Christmas ideas.
• What do I want for Christmas this year?
• I need a dress for New Year's Eve...
• What happened to that apple pie recipe I wanted to try next week?
• Oooh! Pioneer Woman has some amazing recipes for Thanksgiving! I'll save them. All. 

And... that was just this morning. But this weekend, my most productive (ha) distraction was searching for my "dream home." I love looking through Realtor.com's listings of houses for sale in our home town, and I just day dream about what our first house will be -- what my kitchen will look like, whether I'll have a white picket fence, will it be historic like I have always envisioned?, will I get my dream of hardwood floors throughout every single room?

The day that we can move back home with our family is still a few years away, but I am hoping and praying that this house - or one equally darling - will be for sale (and within our *imaginary* budget!) when moving time really does come! I have never seen a historic house that screams "ME! ME! ME!" more than this quaint, adorable, historic little home! I would honestly not change a single thing about this house if it were mine... which is something I have never said before! How cute - seriously?!

Precious.

This has "my first house" written all over it!

Perfect. Right down to the chandelier and hydrangeas!

So quaint and cozy!

Even a chandy in the bedroom?! I'm in love.

I'm even obsessed with the laundry room - that says a lot!

For a house built in 1889, this is an amazing master bath!

I have always (not exaggerating) dreamed of a room w/ red walls :)

Perfectly updated, but still tons of character!

I'm obsessed with the era of this home, and love that the owners did such an amazing job of updating it without losing the historic character! Yes, yes I'm aware that historic homes require a lot of upkeep and maintenance that new homes do not {my parents' home is also very old} but it is a trade off I would be more than willing to make in order for my first home to be thissss perfect! 

There are plenty of other historic homes that go up for sale now and then in our little home town, but there is only one other that I know of that has captured my heart the way this one has! I have saved screen shots of every. single. room. in this house and filed them away in my "Someday" folder on my computer desktop. So, now you know where my easily distracted brain will be drifting between now and December 9th :) 

Now that I've dreamed up my first home and found its exact location, lot size, and approximated property taxes... I guess I can get back to studying criminal law and domestic relations so that I {hopefully} have a paycheck that will support all of my dreams and wishes!

Closet Flip

One of the not-so-fun realities of changing seasons, is the closet flip. In our house, we have two sizable walk-in closets, but one happens to be in the guest bedroom... so rather than do the logical thing (logical = Andrew takes the guest closet, and gives me free reign of the master closet!) we are cramming both of our wardrobes into ONE of the walk-ins and using the second closet for formal wear, the vacuum cleaner, ironing board, and other random wedding gifts that have yet to find a rightful place in our itty bitty home! Oh yea, and it is also stacked floor to ceiling with plastic bins of off-season clothing! 

So last weekend, we spent the better part of our Saturday pulling out box upon box of fall/winter clothes and replacing our summer/spring wardrobe with sweaters, boots, scarves and turtlenecks. I expected the closet flipping process to be not-so-fun, but what I didn't anticipate was the not-so-fun glances, groans and hoarding lectures I would get from my hubby! Andrew was appalled at the sheer volume of clothing and shoes I possessed - I forgot that the first time I unloaded my wardrobe in our newlywed closet he was still up in Ohio :) This was his first true glimpse of my clothes, shoes and accessories. His "side" of the closet took about 30 min to switch over... but you better believe that he sat on the bed and watched me shove, cram, and wad up in balls my "side" (side and 3/4 to be exact) for 3 consecutive hours if for no other reason than to be able to tell me at the end of the grueling process that he doesn't want to hear me tell him I need to go shopping EVER again!!!

I won't post any "before" pictures... because frankly they are just too embarrassing to share! Here is the finished product:

Andrew's "side" - my pants share the bottom bar with his haha - and he insisted that his sweaters be folded but refused to share the hanging bar above!!

The best I could do w/ my scarves since Andrew wouldn't share his hanging bar...

These shoe racks may (seriously) never be removed from this closet after the smashing and shoving it took to get them in!

My side, my scarves, my bins, and my shelf! Whew! Thank God for our dresser...

I will say, despite his disgust with the amount of clothing I own (and can't bear to part with) my hubbs has kept the closet much tidier now that he has invested some of his own blood, sweat and tears into the organization of it! Makes me wish I had made this a joint-effort sooner! That is, until he decides on our next shopping trip that I really don't neeeed a separate pair of brown boots to fit each of these requirements: one pair with a pointed toe and spiky heel, one with a rounded toe and chunky heel, and another pair that is flat and slouchy.
Until then, I'm just enjoying the change of color and scenery in our closet and its new (and likely, short-lived) organization :)

Neglect...

Law school has really been crampin' my style the past several weeks. After 3:15 this afternoon though, I am making a (public) vow to stop neglecting the things that have been shoved to the back burner over the course of the last month. These poor neglected little things include: 

Health. Dear Lord have I neglected my health - this includes proper sleep (what sleep?), diet (mostly sugar and caffeine these days), exercise (what is that again? I forget), hygiene (TMI? sorry), and the like.
Beauty. My hair dryer, flat iron and make up have been seriously neglected. My wardrobe has also fallen victim to some grave neglect.
My kitty. Poor little thing wants brushed and pet and loved, and I have hardly been home! So she snuggles up extra close at night, as soon as my head hits the pillow, and just purrs her little heart out til she falls asleep. So cute, I could cry.
My husband. Another little creature who just wants to be loved haha. I haven't watched a TV show or shared a meal with Andrew in what feels like days! And quite honestly I don't know how long its been since I crawled into bed when he wasn't already dead asleep. Bad wife.
Our house. My strict cleaning regimen has not been followed. This past Saturday, it took every ounce of self-control in my body to prioritize school ahead of toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting. And I have hated every moment of this week because of it!
Laundry. It is looking very scary. Thankfully, my shopping addiction (once again) comes in very handy at times like these. Most families would be out of clean socks, underwear and tshirts - not us :) Go me!
Friends/Family. I haven't talked to my best friends on the real telephone in weeks. My mother-in-law, a week. My sisters, days. And my own mother, well... she gets calls every day but they have been distracted, whiny conversations I'm sure!

So this is my very public, very lofty pledge: I will change ALL of this in the next 48 hours!!! I already have a to-do list made for myself and plan to attack it the second I march out of my bankruptcy midterm moot court competition! All except for the exercise, of course... gotta be realistic here, people ;)

Thankful for FALL

Fall is my faaavorite season! And while we're starting to get a little sneak peek at fall weather down in Atlanta, what has really made it start to feel like fall is *football season!* There is nothing we love more than cheering on the Buckeyes with our Midwestern-turned-Southern friends over a couple pitchers of beer :)

Ohio girls at Buckhead Saloon

With my hubbs

Fellow Bobcats :)

 After a fun-filled Saturday of college football, we spent Sunday snuggled up on the couch with pizza, wings and the Browns! Despite their pathetic disappointing loss, we loved our cozy, lazy day. We were feeling a little guilty about not spending much time out in the beautiful weather, so we decided to grill out in the evening. My latest cooking/grilling obsession: kabobs! I know they taste the same as if you made everything separate, but they just look so much prettier this way (and the homemade mac and cheese was to die for)!

Beef and chicken kabobs with peppers and onions - yum!

 And in other exciting news....... I tackled another item on my list of "to-do's" and am happy to be able to say "FINALLY!" for the third or fourth time this month :) (See "Finally" post if you're like "what is she talking about...") I dusted off the cute green storage bins I'd been hoarding in the spare closet and organized our disaster of a pantry! This was no small feat... I think it took like 2 hours. But it was far more rewarding to look at afterward than if I had spent those 2 hours studying ;)

This makes me smile :)

 I contemplated posting a "before" shot to give you all the full effect of this re-organization, but I think I'm too embarrassed... let's just say that to get one jar of spaghetti sauce out last week I had to move/knock over/spill a box of cereal, half a dozen packages of crackers, and sent a few little jars of sprinkles rolling across the tile. Not fun for an OCD, Type-A like myself! Anyway, it is lookin' good now and I find myself accidentally grinning each time I open the door. Judge away, I have no shame!
Nothing else new for now - just enjoying the comfortable weather and all things FALL :)

FINALLY!

There is a lot of "oh my gosh, finally!" going on in our house lately. Even though we've passed the 1 year mark for just about everything in our life - being married, living in Georgia, living in our apartment, being in grad school, etc. - we've been slow and methodical (this is how I justify it at least) about doing a few last things that for most would have been done months ago!

1. We still have yet to frame/hang/display any of our professional wedding pictures. Why? I don't know. I have no good excuse except for the fact that I loved them ALL so I can't decide. Maybe I'll just hang a few hundred?
2. Still haven't ordered the last 2 decorative shams that go with our bedding. Why? I've kind of gotten used to the way it looks without them... and since I make the bed, fewer decorative pillows is less work for me!
3. Still haven't gotten our carpets cleaned, even though we get a FREE cleaning for renewing our lease. Why? I'm not in the mood to move our area rugs and furniture (even though I think they do this for me... hmmmm).
4. We left an entire wall of our office/spare bedroom vacant, awaiting the arrival of Andrew's diploma to hang in a matching frame. (The list goes on... but I won't!)

Well, his diploma came last week... but I didn't have a frame for the signed photo mat from our wedding reception that I was dead set on hanging in the middle of our diplomas! So... after our mothers' urging (nagging, urging, same diff.) we ventured out to find a 20x24 frame for our photo mat. I wish someone would have told me a year ago that 20x24 is NOT a normal size frame! After hours of shopping - Andrew's least favorite thing to do if its not for new sneakers or toys - we found a frame, framed the dang thing, and hung it all up on the blank wall in the office! *FINALLY!*

This sounds like a trivial feat, I know this. But it was a momentous occasion for us haha. We completed a task that, despite being months overdue, just makes our little home feel one step closer to "whole." There is nothing exciting about the wall - but I love it :) Next order of business: getting those wedding pictures printed, framed and displayed! I won't hold my breath.

Andrew hard at work...

Andrew's diploma, wedding photo mat, my diploma!

Satisfying view as I walk in the room... :)