Before and Afters

I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. Again. I had another weekend of updating things (and crossing stuff off the list)...

The first of the "updates" being our apartment. I went from being "homeless" to "living in sin", as a woman seated next to us last Sunday night at Fritti, so eloquently put it. When I say "woman", I mean someone who was roughly our age. Keep drinking your vino, ma'am. You sound more and more profound with every sip. Bless your heart.

The second thing that was updated was our dining room wall color. The lovely couple who lived in our apartment before us were a bit extreme with their color choices, but hey, Sherbert Orange beats plain ol' eggshell walls any day. And like my mama always says, if you can't beat them, join them. After much thought  I decided on gray stripes (okay, I went on Pinterest for five minutes and also had a lovely gallon of gray paint lying around). The boyfriend had some input...."you can choose, vertical or horizontal". Little did he know at the time, either answer he gave would be the wrong one as he was tasked with measuring and putting the tape in it's proper spot. If you remember from previous posts, he loves this kind of stuff. My nerdy little engineer...he even got out his MacBook Pro and booted up his AutoCad (nerdy engineering software) to input the wall dimensions and ensure the lines were perfectly spaced before taping. I love when he gets all intellectual.

I painted. After all...like I've said before...I'm the creative genius here. All I have to say, "Damn, we did good". Maybe my true calling in life is interior design. Lord knows I've tried about everything else.

Here is the before and after. I think this classifies as an "outrageous wall color" and if not....skip ahead to the end of this post.

Before

After

So the next 'before and after' for the weekend involved a trip to the beauty shop. A few weeks ago during my bi-monthly trim, my beautiful, wonderful, talented stylist told me her husband accepted a position at Ohio State and would be moving at the end of June. Losing another good one to Ohio State...first Urban Meyer, now Robin from Crimpers. Ugh. After tearing up, I did what anyone else would do in my position, book another appointment to color your hair. Let me be so bold as to share with you a secret....I haven't had my hair colored professionally in roughly 2 years. *Gasp* At-home hair coloring kits. The shame. The horror.

So I settled on ombre. The trend sweeping the hair world where it's dark at the top and light at the bottom. Some people have been trending this way for years....on accident. They just couldn't keep up with their hair color and had some nappy roots. Here it is - my attempt at trending (and crossing #11 off my list!).

Before 

After

Warning - tangent ahead: Fashion trends are a funny thing, drawing inspiration from nearly anything. I never thought the grunge look would reappear, but hey, it's totally acceptable to roll out of bed, not brush your hair, and walk out the house. Sometimes I wish I was a "hipster" allowing me this ability. However, I don't know many (or any) who own the amount of J.Crew cardi's that I do, so it looks like I have to wake up early to do my hair and makeup, and throw on a summer dress and wedges before exiting the premises.

Ok, sorry about that little bout of word vomit. It happens from time to time. For those of you who "skipped ahead" to find out about the outrageous wall color, get ready...here it comes. But first, a story.

Me being the wonderful and generous girlfriend/roommate that I am, I decided to surprise the bf when he came home from his work trip to Miami just a few days after moving in. I went to buy paint based on our new sheets, which were based on our new curtains for the master bedroom. The wonderful paint specialist helped me pick out the exact color. Relaxing Mint. Sounds lovely and quite refreshing, right?

Unfortunately for me, I didn't take into account the walls were eggshell, not pure white...so the color was a bit skewed. The walls don't really match our sheets nor our curtains. In fact all 3 of the colors look totally different. Oops. Pictures don't really do the walls justice, so I'll leave them out and wrap up this post. I'll just say this, "It looks like paint for a nursery", and call it a day.

Stay tuned for a recap of my birthday weekend...

Until next time,

L

Welcome to Your Late Twenties

19th - 2005

So my birthday month is finally upon us. Yes. I said birthday month. When your favorite holiday is your birthday, you're entitled to a whole month.

This year I was hopeful to finally get a year to myself. You see, I'm a summer baby and up until my 17th birthday, I never had to worry about sharing my special day with anyone. My wonderful childhood bestie whose bday was 3 days after mine always celebrated the weekend after, which I appreciated (Thanks Moo - if you're reading this). However, starting in college I found people with the same birthday as me, give or take a few days; Aubrey, Megan, Christian, Sean...and I've celebrated with them all. This year, my birthday is being overshadowed by not one, but two old farts people turning 30.

20th - 2006

Welcome to the irrelevancy of your late twenties. It's all downhill from here.

No, this post isn't going to be about me spinning into some quarter life crisis about my age. We all know by now, I simply like to talk about myself.

Before we get too far in, I'd like to thank my Dad & Stepmom for already sending me birthday money. I'd like to thank my baby sis for furthering by bow collection with some new additions. My mom for giving me her credit card number..."Yes mom, I swear those ten pairs of shoes were the only things I ordered for my birthday". Finally, a shoutout to my main squeeze for my first two presents: The Wizard of Oz DVD, and a textbook. I know what you're thinking...why the EFF would he buy you a textbook? Well, it happens to be a beginner's Italian book. It looks like someone will be teaching me some Italian y'all. Grazie!

21st - 2007

Now, because I happened to find my college laptop and promptly copied all photos onto a 32gb zip drive, let's briefly take a trip down Birthday Memory Lane. Friends, feel free to send me any and all long lost bday pics of me. Preferably dancing on the bar at Pounders (birthdays 19, 20, and 21). Don't ask why documentation of my 23rd is missing - 23 was a terrible birthday and I'd rather not relive it. Say hello to all my fellow Gemini-birthday-buddies!!!

22nd - 2008

So now here we are....the big 2-7 and my late twenties just beyond the river bend (what's up Pocahontas reference). Since I'm such a fan of lists *cough cough why you're reading my blog in the first place* I'm going to make this year one to remember.

 Here is my list of 10 things to accomplish during my 27th year. 

A list within a list....how fun! 

1. Move in with a guy - for the first time ever! 

2. Travel out of the US for the first time since Spring Break 06...I can't believe it's been so long!

3. Take a minimum of 27 hot yoga classes this year.

24th - 2010

4. Give up booze for 27 days straight.  Gasp. Yes...I need to plan this one carefully. I have a packed schedule with weddings, bridal showers, holidays, & bachelorette parties.

5. Put $27 from each paycheck into a special fund - then do something nice on my 28th birthday.

6. Be more adventurous. Live a little more. 

7. Find something you absolutely love to do, and do it with all your heart. Become the best at it.

8. Make at least 27 meaningful connections - new friends, coworkers, Junior Leaguers, etc...Didn't y'all know, a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet. 

9. Work on your communication. Reconnect with people you've lost touch with and do a better job of staying in touch with people who are important to you.

10. Lose 27 inches or lbs..whichever comes first. 

25th - 2011

I know. I know. That last one is kind of a doozy. Let's just say, that when I graduated from college I was 40lbs lighter. I don't know how binge drinking, eating like shit (especially at 2am 5 nights a week), and never working out kept the lbs off, but it did. The stress of grad school and a rocky relationship tacked on 25lbs. As I've grown older (and started taking vitamins, working out more, eating better, and drinking less alcohol) I gained weight. So I'm going to do what I need to do to "tighten". Insanity, P90x, spin classes 5 days a week, Pure Barre...I'm willing to try it all. If you have suggestions, let me know which one works the best! 

26th - 2012

For those of you who want to help me celebrate my special day a.k.a entering into the dark and depressing abyss of my mid-twenties, let me know. I'll be at the Braves game Friday June 14th hoping to either get on the jumbotron or catch a home run. Here's a sneak peek at some of my early bday presents....a Holeman + Finch burger, Friday Night Fireworks, *hopefully a Braves win*, and ice cold beer. Festivities involving champagne, dancing, and more champagne will be happening on June 15th at The Havana Club here in Hotlanta. As my eloquent facebook invite states, I will be dancing until my heels come off. Hope y'all can make it :)


Until next time,

L

Doing "Home-y" Things with my Homies

This Memorial Day weekend, I remembered my fallen brethren (and military relatives) by doing something an intelligent American would not do. Move for the 4th time in a year and a half. Note: I'm getting reallllll good at packing y'all. While most people enjoyed American flag cans of Bud heavy while floating merrily down the stream, lake, or ocean, we did not. Don't get me wrong...there was a little bit of drinking to be had. Check out my sweet coozie I ordered. You know I can't pass up a good bow opportunity.

To preface this story, my boyfriend and I found a new place. We are officially combining our life - excessive shoe collection and all. The only problem was my lease being up on May 25th and our new place not being ready until June 7th. So we decided to move my whole life into his garage for 2 weeks. Yippee!

Now comes the fun part and something I can cross off my list. We've clearly been watching too much HGTV and I need to join Pinterest Addicts Anonymous because, we decided to spend the rest of our weekend building and repurposing furniture. What experience do you have in this area, you ask? None whatsoever. I'm the creative mastermind and he's the brains of the operation. Whereas I would buy 20 2x4's and maybe some measuring tape then pray for the best, he measured and calculated (roughly 10 times) before even buying or cutting a piece of wood. Like I said...he's the brains.

On the agenda:
1. Repurpose a kitchen hutch
2. Repurpose an ugly IKEA coffee table
3. Build 2 frames for mirrors we salvaged.
4. Don't saw off any fingers or get stain in eyeballs.

The most time consuming pain in the ass project was the coffee table. We sanded, stained, glued, prayed, stained some more, reglued, and waited are still waiting patiently to see the end result. That thing will be a miracle if it turns out. Here is a before pic. Use your imagination.


Next onto the 2 mirrors. We found the mirrors stashed in his garage left from a previous owner. He would have left them...but not me. I had a vision.

Here is our work in progress..He was a master cutter and I was a master stainer. Look at us go!

Now for the big reveal....tada.


I personally LOVE it. The best part is having not one, but two of them. Total cost for the wood was $25. Steal of a deal if you ask me.

The least dramatic project was the kitchen hutch/microwave/toaster oven/food processor/juicer stand for our future kitchen (How many electronic kitchen items can fit on this little girl? We shall find out...). We turned this dull little thing into a gray beauty. All she needs now is some shiny, new knobs and she'll be perfection. Hey...I know what you're thinking...she kinda looks like she was dipped in cement. But I promise the gray is realllllllly pretty and will soon be covering our walls as well. Y'all are more than welcome to come over and see it once we're settled.

Keep your eyes peeled for more DIY projects we're doing. Spoiler alert: navy chevron print. That is all.

Until next time....KEEP ME OUT OF A HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE,

L

Hey, Big Spender!

So most of you want to know how this last week worked out for me.

Did I succeed? Did I fail? Did I fail miserably (a.k.a an online J.Crew Shopping Binge or a 3 hour power-trip to Target)? The answer to these questions and more.....I actually MADE money this week and didn't spend a dime.

To those of you who didn't believe in me, fair enough, I almost didn't believe in myself. Do you understand how difficult it is to live in MY world? I work in a building with a food court. I live next to a Wendy's, Chick-fil-A, Mellow Mushroom, Jimmy Johns, Subway, and Panera. There's a shopping complex and an Ikea less than 3 minutes away. I get roughly 50 emails from shopping websites daily. Here's a shot from this morning. 54 emails. Groupon, LivingSocial, Eversave, JCrew, JCrew Factory, Bloomingdales, Saks, Coach, Amazon, CVS, Michael's, HauteLook, RueLaLa, Ideeli...........the list goes on. Most of the time I scroll through and immediately delete. Other times, I want to buy everything in sight. Not this past week though...no browsing - strictly deleting. Aren't my icons just the cutest?

So how does one "make money"? Simple, not even counting my paycheck (which thank you honey child I got today), I was paid back for purchasing a Justin Timberlake concert ticket. Hot damn.

For those of you contemplating this assignment, heed my warnings:

Warning # 1: PREPARE. Buy groceries that will last you at least a week. This means meal-planning. Granted, I didn't quite stick to it exactly but I made it work. Get gas ahead of time so you don't beg your boyfriend to put $20 in your car to last you the whole week. Yes that's right, $20 lasts the whole week. What's up 5-10 minute commute to work?!?!

Warning #2: WEEKENDS SUCK WITHOUT MONEY. Especially in the springtime when you have baseball games, and beer festivals, and patio brunches with bottomless mimosa's. Just tell yourself you're saving money, calories, and embarrassment from any drunk social media you may or may not be doing. Do what I did this weekend. Friday - cook a delicious Boca Burger and homemade french fry meal for your man and watch movies. Saturday - Make him take you to see a movie. In 3D. With popcorn & a soda (no SourPatch Kids). Followed by a fancy schmancy dinner. *Note: I didn't make him...he's just so perfect that he offered. Sunday - Cry profusely about your dog being put to sleep, then take a longgggg walk, then lay by the pool, then cry some more, then make your bf take you to Wendy's so you can get a LARGE DIET COKE (and he can get a Frosty), then cry some more.


Let's all take a little moment to honor the best dog I have (and probably will) ever had. RIP Little Chatze.

Warning #3: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU HAVE ANIMALS OR KIDS. Those things always have added and unforeseeable expenses.

Warning #4: If you're going to see The Great Gatsby anytime soon, do yourself a favor and see it in 3-D. Nothing is more beautiful in this world than seeing Leo up close and in 3 dimensions. Speaking of Leo, swoon over this. Yes, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with not spending money, I just find bringing Leo up is appropriate at all times.


Okay, I'm bored with the warnings. In fact, it wasn't terrible to do. Hopefully my wallet is still in my purse because I honestly haven't checked in days.  I think I'll do my "freeze week" every other month, if not monthly. It's a great way to pay down your credit card, pending you don't go into super-swipe mode the days leading up to and immediately after the Freeze Week.

I honestly can't believe I made it. I have to say...I loved the challenge. Even more, I loved proving everyone (and myself) wrong!

Until next time,

L

Living on a Prayer

Yesterday I read an article on my trusty Yahoo! homepage - the source for all breaking and not-so-important news - that inspired me to knock an item off my list. As I scrolled through the list of stories, one caught my eye. It was a blog post about how a couple survived on $3/day. I was fascinated by the headline until I read the story in its entirety and realized they were only "living this way" for 5 days and weren't including their 2 kids in the "experiment". Sure, the premise is cool...they are living "below the poverty line" for 5 whole days to see if they can "survive" living in Brooklyn.

A) Doing something for 5 days is hardly a life-changing experience, so why it was on a major site is beyond me. Do it for a year...a month...hell, just a week. I value weekends just like most people, but you aren't proving much when you live on $15 for the week then go out Friday night and order the largest rib-eye and bottle of wine you can find. B) Having been a babysitter extraordinaire I can tell you firsthand, what those kids are eating, you're most likely nibbling on. So how accurate was their representation? Oh, this handful of Goldfish doesn't really count. C) I can do ya one better.

Starting today, I will not spend any money for one whole week. You might laugh, but this is probably one of the hardest things for me to complete on my list. After a thorough breakdown of my credit cards earlier this week, I realized how much money I spend on silly things. Can someone please explain to me why I'm spending roughly $70/week at various grocery stores and then eat out for at least one meal every day. Not to mention the online shopping...er shopping, in general. It's absurd.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not living off ramen noodles and beans all week (even though that sounds like a nice low-cal diet), I just won't be spending money. I went to the grocery store last night and got a few items (in addition to the mounds of canned soup, pasta, and other non-perishable items in my pantry that are simply collecting dust). This week is about being resourceful not wasteful.

I have food and a general meal plan for the week to keep me on track. I have things to keep me occupied, thanks to paying in advance for things like yoga, dance, etc... I have a gentleman to squire me about town, should I desire. Finally, I have my debit card *note - debit card, not credit card* for emergency situations, but I think I should be okay.

So here begins a week without spending. I'll be living on a prayer. Hence the clever title. Now click the link and enjoy some Bon Jovi.

April Showers bring Blue Lipstick

So this post was initially designed to somewhat take care of the "Go camping with Friends" item on my list, however that quickly changed when our dear friend decided to propose to his girlfriend on the Saturday we were supposed to go camping..I digress...This post will NOW be about how awesome of a girlfriend I am. Oh, dang. Already covered that in pretty much all of my previous posts. Ok, well let me give this another try.

I love birthdays. I think it's pretty much the best holiday you have all year. One day dedicated to you. Call me narcissistic or selfish, but a day where the world revolves around me....ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. For me, I just had to make his first birthday with me amazing. It's all downhill from here, baby ;) We went to the cabin as planned, arriving in Blue Ridge, Georgia late Friday night after an excursion to Publix in the 'burbs. We almost decided to skip the cabin and just "staycation" based on the amount of dining options and activities Suburbia offers. I mean, a mini golf place next to a movie theatre next to a Chili's? Heaven. I hear the 2-for-1's practically screaming my name.

Saturday morning started off with a bang. When I finally rolled out of bed, he was cooking me breakfast and asked me to light the fireplace. I turned up the gas and grabbed a lighter. Seconds later I was on my butt across the living room with charred arm hair. I guess I turned the gas up a little too high (this is why my mom refused a gas fireplace - she knows I'm accident prone and would have burnt the house down) and there was a tiny little explosion. Oops. The rest of the weekend I was terrified the house was going to explode.

It literally rained the entire weekend so we didn't get to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail like we planned (would have crossed that off the list). We did venture into "downtown" Blue Ridge which was hustling and bustling with out-of-towners who had been confined to their rented cabin all weekend too. There was an ecclectic mix of shops...antique stores, out of place trendy clothing boutiques, junk shops, a bird and a bear store (who needs a store 100% dedicated to this??? The people of Blue Ridge apparently), and our favorite place, an olive oil company. I will happily promote Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. They had so many bottle of homemade olive oil and vinegar, and sampling was encourage. Three bottles later (Blood Orange infused  Olive Oil, Fig Vinegar, and one of the most popular Organic Tuscan Herb Olive Oil) we left and headed into an antique shop where we found a lifetime supply of fraternity paddles. My favorites....the SAE and Sigma Chi paddle. God, I miss college. We also found a mini bar and nightstands that would be perfect for our new place, but unfortunately we took my car and the little coupe had no room for them. I'm still crying on the inside.


So now onto something I can actually cross off my list. Blue Lipstick. You read it correctly, blue lipstick. This is obviously something I would say no to (Number 78, Part 1). Any normal person would....

Well the geniuses over at Lipstick Queen have truly struck gold. Not only are they playing up on the fashionable, waspy, summer sailor trends (think navy and white yacht club attire) but its actually a great product. It feels like silk on my lips.

Let's take a trip down memory lane for a second. The time: kindergarden. The place: art class. The activity: mixing paint colors. The blue plays up the natural shade of pink your lips have and gives off a berry tint. Red + blue = purple, or as I like to call it, perfection on your pout. It also makes your smile brighter and complexion look better...hard to tell since I have flawless skin and uber white teeth already.

I tried to order it 3 weeks ago, and it only came back in stock recently. Trust me when I say, this will be a sizzling item for summer. It's sold at Barney's. Get it while it's hot and in stock. Another reason to buy....shipping was free :)

One final thing to make all of you in cyberspace jealous (and hungry). Check out this deliciously amazing Caprese Stuffed Burger we made for dinner on Monday.  I will recommend drizzling the bun with balsamic for more of a Caprese effect. I'm salivating looking at it now. Pinterest has some truly amazing things, this happens to be one of the most amazing I've yet to make. This is the 4th recipe I've made since the start of my blog and I've been thrilled with the result each time. Feel free to follow me. You know you want to.

Until next time,

L

Spring has officially sprung y'all

You can certainly tell that Spring is in the air. More people hogging the treadmills trying to get bikini ready. Easter bunnies - chocolate and real, furry ones sold in mass quantities (Eeeeeek I want one!). And pollen coating your car the second it sees daylight.

In honor of the cold weather finally going buh-bye for the next 6 months, I too say fairwell to my trusty boot collection. Thank you Pinterest for allowing me to find a way to keep my boots looking fresh, and not folded over, when I pull them out at the first signs of fall. With the assistance of a reliable and sharp pair of scissors, cut some pool noodles and insert ever-so-delicately in your boot. Wam! You're done. This will keep them nice and erect all year long. I'll add this to my list of Pinterest-Inspired Projects!

One of my favorite things to do when it's nice out is go to the zoo. Don't ask me why. I just like it. This past Saturday I babysat my sweet little godson, with the help of one very helpful boyfriend. Despite the quarter century age gap, they have a lot of similarities. The most endearing trait, other than thinking that I'm the most amazing thing since sliced bread...they both get ice cream wasted. Which is precisely what happened at the zoo. Check out my little Cookies-n-Cream Baby Bug. What a little lush.

Another Spring Time activity that I wouldn't say I love to do, but will happily do sporadically is attend a Braves game. Lucky me, I went to 2 during Opening Week. A bit too much for my liking, but what are you supposed to do if all your friends are doing it? You do it too. Unless they're getting face tattoos. Or going to an Anne Hathaway movie. Then you can count me out.

So I went to Opening Day on April 1st. No joke here...the Braves really impressed me. Plus I got a new hair bow in my Easter basket that I just had to show off (left). My Easter Honey-Bunny really knows the way to my heart. Oh and here we are again (right)...just 6 days later when the Braves sent the poor little Cubbies scrambling home in search of Mama Bear. It was a truly sad performance for Chicago. Sorry boutcha.

Notice that pink tint on my shoulders? At first glance you may say, "Hey, she ran The Color Run the day before, I bet she couldn't scrub all the color off". Yes my friends, that's what I want you to think. In reality...my skin is the color of snow and standing in the sun to tailgate for an hour gave me the grossest tan lines ever. I need the beach, or at very least a pool day...STAT.

Speaking of The Color Run...aka The Happiest 5K on Earth...it was on Saturday and in fact, a very fun run. I made a tutu (which some lady offered me $10 to take off and give to her during the race. I said "Show me the money, lady"). The race isn't timed, and wasn't actually a full 5K (it was only 2.7 miles), and there were probably between 25-50k people, and it was an hour outside the city....so the more I think about it, the less I actually liked it. Whatever, still checking that sucker off my list.

My very nice and generous boyfriend ran ahead to finish before me, then when he finally saw me dumped an entire packet of blue color on my head because I wasn't colorful enough. Such a sweet guy, I'm so lucky....blue is my favorite color :)

The next thing I get to cross off my list is Number 33 - Ride A Bike. After getting off work yesterday, the bf and I decided to take a leisurely bike ride. He rides his bike all the time. I however, haven't been on an actual bike (I like to stick to the stationary ones) since I was roughly 10 and in a very bad bicycle accident. Time to get back in the saddle...Literally.  So I hopped on his brothers bike and we went out for our ride. 7 miles later we got back home. I was tired. My butt hurt. My wrists hurt (mainly from squeezing the brakes every time I got over 8mph). I was hungry. But hey, he cooked me dinner and documented the ride, so I can't complain too much. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Until next time,

L