Whole lotta craftin' goin' on

Okay kids, I need to apologize for my posts being so spread out and only like, once a week. But honestly by the time I get home from work and the gym I am exhausted and just want to cuddle up on the couch with Bailey and watch TV. (Like an adult. Since I have a TV now.) So I'm going to commit to at least posting on Sundays and if anything exciting happens during the week, I'll be sure to update. However the chances of excitement during the week are slim, since the dating has definitely slowed down considerably. All I have to choose from now on OKC is:

• 21-year-olds who are "mature for their age" (no you're not) and "not interested in sex" (well, I am, so this is really not going to work out)
• Guys who message me and tell me I'm too demanding because I answered the "How many times a day do you brush your teeth?" question with "At least two, if not more. And if your answer is less than two, don't bother messaging me because you are disgusting." I'm sorry, but that is unacceptable. That is basic hygiene and if you are not brushing your teeth twice a day by choice, I want you nowhere near me, let alone attempting to kiss me. GROSS.
• Guys who have zero self confidence and show it in their first message. "Could you please do me a favor and look through my profile and let me know if you make it to the end without rolling your eyes too much or throwing up in your mouth. If you make it that far, could you let me know so we can talk further.." I don't even need to look at your profile to tell you that I am not interested. I've dated the guy with zero self confidence before, and its not fun for anyone. Can't love anyone else if you don't love yourself first. (And holy mother am I in love with myself, so I'm ready to love someone else!)

Needless to say, slim pickin's. I've gone back and forth deactivating/reactivating my profile all week, but I think I'm going to leave it up for entertainment factor alone.

Huge news about work - this is my last week as a temp! YEEHAW. On to having bigger paychecks and health insurance. There was a slight chance that I would be going on salary; cannot tell you how glad I am that that is not happening. Forty hours of mind reading is plenty.

This past weekend was awesome and full of laziness, but I did get a lot accomplished too. Friday night Alexis and I went to her friends house for a little gathering, and this house was full of dogs. Four of them! I was in heaven (and Bailey was quite alarmed when I got home and sniffed me from one end to the other).

SO STINKIN CUTE. Tommy <3

So I mentioned a little craft that I was doing in my last post. You all know how Pinterest-obsessed I am, and I came across a cool way to store my makeup. My bathroom has ZERO storage other than the cabinet under the sink. No drawers whatsoever, which is a huge pain the arse when you have a lot of makeup like me. (Shameless plug, because you all need spring colors: ELF is having $1.99 shipping when you spend $15 or more. Ends tomorrow - go now!) This is what it usually looks like when I try to find what I'm looking for:

Big ol' mess.

Last weekend Alexis and I went to Ikea so I could stock up on decorating necessities. I picked up one of these magnet boards and a can of light blue spray paint. (This is a duh, but please do this step outside.)

I did not have a glue gun (gasp!) and found a super cute one for $4.99 at Michael's. I also got a package of mini glue gun sticks and a package of magnets.

 Let your glue gun heat up a little bit before you try to force the glue out. I am the least patient person I know so at first I was freaking out, "this damn glue gun sucks! Why isn't the glue coming out?!" Duh, idiot, because ITS NOT HOT YET.

Attach magnets to the bottom of all your eyeshadow compacts, blushes, bronzer etc. Anything with a flat bottom really. (I tried it with the tubes of foundation - they ended up falling off the magnets.)

Let cool, and slap 'em up on the board! Voila! Easy peasy, and total cost was probably $30.

Also, speaking of Michael's - while I was there, I used a coupon from my Key Ring app. If you have an iPhone, this app is a must. You scan all those annoying little cards you get from the grocery store, CVS, etc into the app and it sends you all kinds of great coupons!

The other day my friend Mugg posted on Facebook asking if anyone had a good recipe for iced coffee. Normally I make mine in the coffee pot and just pour over ice, but that results in watered down coffee with half melty ice cubes. Blech. But one of my idols, Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman, has a Perfect Iced Coffee recipe that I have been dying to try. Kate got me a sweet drink dispenser for Christmas and it literally has taken me this long to stock up on coffee and buy a mesh strainer so I could make this recipe.

Yes, I eat Princess Gummies for vitamins. I'm 26. Don't judge.

I used a big sauce pot and the inside of my crockpot, because I didn't have anything else. You may want to plan ahead and go buy a few containers solely for this purpose. Put your coffee in, then 2 gallons of water. (I'm serious. Two gallons is a lot.) Stir it up, make sure all the coffee has gotten wet. Then put it in the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours. I left mine overnight because I didn't want to do the next step at 11:30 at night.

Line your strainer with the cheesecloth (paper towel) and put it in the bowl. Dump the concoction from the previous picture into the strainer. I had to split this up into 4 sections - my bowl wasn't big enough and the paper towel had too many coffee grounds in it after a while so no liquid would come out.

 Pour whats in the bowl into a drink dispenser (or you can store it in Tupperware, if that's your thing) and behold: Liquid Gold.

Pour over ice, add creamer. Straw optional. Success! And quite delicious. I went with the regular Folger's coffee, but I think once I'm out of it (since I bought the 3-pound mega package at BJs) I'm going to splurge on Dunkin Donuts coffee to make this next time.

I need two wall hangings and then my apartment decorating will be complete. I went to Lowe's yesterday on a whim and bought all the things I needed to hang up shelves and my mirror - industrial Velcro is where it's at for the mirror! Holy crap that thing is never coming down, I'm going to have to putty the wall when I move out. I hung it a little bit too low so I may have to get one more set and move it up a little bit because I can't pull the existing sticky off the wall without pulling the paint off. And while I was there, I also found these:

Oh hey adirondack chairs for $18 each! Now I can sit outside and listen to the trucks drive by on the highway if I want to.

We are in the midst of planning our next Pinterest party, so I'm on the hunt for a new craft. Anyone have any nail polish storage ideas? I kind of want them to be on display so I don't have to dump the bag out every time I'm looking for a color (like my makeup situation) but I didn't find any small spice racks at Ikea. If you've got an idea, holler in the comments - I want to hear it!

Hope all y'all have a great week!

Hallelujah.

Can I get a hallelujah for last week being over? Good GOD what an awful week. I was feeling absolutely disgusting after our eating weekend in Myrtle Beach and all I wanted to do was Group Power every day to get back on track. Events out of my control lead to me not getting to the gym until Saturday morning. What? Completely unnecessary and put me in a horrible mood.

But nothing that a day of shopping couldn't cure - who doesn't love a trip to Ikea? I know I keep saying this, but I have almost everything for my new place. I have curtains up, I bought a TV today (what?! see below) - now all I have left to do is put up the rest of my wall hangings, get some pictures for some empty frames, and organize my damn bathroom. I have a Pinterest craft in the works for that - will do a post on it once it's finished.

oh hey Bailey <3

Yes Alexis, my bed is pulled away from the wall, like an adult. Look at those curtains. Those babies were $6.99 for a set of two at Ikea. (See that fancy bunching at the bottom? Done with hair clips. *Now that I just looked at this picture again I realize you can't see the bunching AT ALL, but you get the idea.*) The other curtains I got came with hemming tape - but do I own an iron? No. I do not. ("But Helen, what do you do when your clothes are wrinkled?" I find something else to wear.) BUT. I do own a FLAT IRON and that did the exact same thing - so YEEHAW this place is feeling like home!

oh HAY Harry Potter marathon!

I am so excited to be a functioning member of society now. Because I'm tired of hearing "hey did you see -- oh no wait, you don't have a TV. Of COURSE you didn't see it!" But I fear with all of my channels to choose from, I will never get anything done ever again. I can watch Grey's, Private Practice, Once Upon A Time, hockey, football, and JERSEYLICIOUS (don't judge me) in real time. SO EXCITED. Any suggestions for new shows I need to get hooked on?

So yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and can I just admit something right now? I've never been out for St Patrick's Day. Not once. To me it's like going out for New Year's Eve - I'm not one for crowds, because I like to avoid wanting to throw down with some obnoxious drunk bitches. Alexis and I decided we'd walk over to Birkdale (which from my apartment is a lovely, well-lit stroll - there's a bridge!) and it was underwhelming.

That there is the remnants of a very tasty and sticky Margarita. I also had a Tequila Lime jello shot - more tequila than lime. They also had another flavor that the bartender described as "We don't know what's in it, it says DL on the cover and they're poop-green" - hell of an endorsement! Yes please, give me the shit green jello shot. (Alexis tried it and said it wasn't bad though, haha.) And we were home by 10pm. Yup. I also did not feel like death this morning, so there's the upside of not staying out til the wee hours.

I don't have a Quote of the Day for this post (apparently none of my friends are feeling particularly funny lately... probably because everyone I know had an absolute shite week last week) so I will leave you with a picture of my absolutely FABULOUS dinner/lunch/lunch I made tonight.

Bag o' lettuce

Green pepper

Cucumber

Scallions

Mushrooms

Can o' tuna

Italian dressing

Done and delicious.

Ay yi yi!

Get ready for a text & photo heavy post, kids! Since it's been about 2 weeks since my last update, I know y'all are just dying to know what I've been up to.

(Sidenote: I'm updating my iPhone to OS 5.1 and I'm really nervous about losing all my contacts like everyone else.) (WOOT. Contacts intact.)

First off - I'm in my new apartment! Holy mother, so excited to be here. It's so clean, I have real furniture and its 15 minutes from work. Originally I just had the table Alexis got me, the couch and my bed - but a girl at work said "hey I've got some stuff you can have"... she gave me a dresser, nightstand, 2 end tables that I put together for a coffee table, and a TV stand. And then when they were delivering it (!) her fiance said "Hey you don't have a TV? Great we have one. I'll bring it by next week." SUCCESS. My entire apartment is outfitted completely, and my washer & dryer are going to be installed tomorrow. HALLELUJAH.

I had an awesome moving crew - Alexis was a rock star, and my mom's coworker who I spent Christmas with brought her entire family - husband and two kids, oh and their giant truck, plastic wrap, tarps, tape, bungees and ratchet straps. We started at 930, by 1130 I was in my apartment, all vehicles unloaded. Jen came over to help with the unpacking and we were basically done by 530. Now THAT'S how you do a move. (Have I mentioned how happy I am that I'm here for at least a year? I don't ever want to move again. Ever.)

First floor rules. The girl upstairs is a little jumpy sometimes, but I haven't met her yet so I don't feel right telling her to calm the eff down. But it's really not too bad. The guy next door is about 70 and has a little spaniel named Lizzie that Bailey tried to eat yesterday, and there's guys in the back of the building that have a little puppy named Erica. (ERICA. For a DOG. Why? WHY? What is with people naming their dogs after people?)

Plush new leather couch!

This dog thinks she owns the place.

Two pots on the stove. Domesticity at its finest.

Still working on where to hang things.

Yes, I realize that frame is empty. Pictures to be printed soon.

 (Also, did you know you can print pictures directly from your Facebook at CVS? BEST THING EVER. You just log right into your account at their little kiosk, choose your pictures and what size you want, and they're like 25 cents a piece! I'm about to go on a photo printing frenzy to fill all of these frames I have.)


Secondly - I'm about 3 weeks away from my 700 hours as a temp and I could not be more excited to get on a company's payroll. I've been getting votes of confidence left and right from people (namely, my boss, so that's huge) the past few weeks so I'm feeling really good about what I'm doing, and less like I have to mind read like I was before. Always a good thing.


Third - turned 26 last Friday. Oy. So marks the end of being on my parents' health insurance, which is absolutely wretched because I'm mildly convinced that I am on the verge of an ear infection. BUT. Alexis, Jen and I spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC and had an amazing time. Far less drinking than we had anticipated (and with us three, that's saying something) but holy crap we ate a TON. You know when you head out on a road trip with your girls and you just laugh about the dumbest shit? That's how our entire weekend was. I'm so thankful to have these girls here - it's really made it feel like home away from home.

And yes, I chose to go to Friendly's for my 26th birthday dinner. Don't judge me. Judgement free zone.

Good morning, Myrtle Beach. 6:30am? Back to bed.

Sup New England?

oh HAY ocean - I've missed you so!

This is the difference between Jen & I. My bed looks like a tornado hit it. Hers is nicely made - even the clothes on it are folded!

Got a little captain in ya?

 

Almost as good as Latitude's Cioppino in West Springfield, MA

Friendly's. Delicious.

OR YOUR LIPS WILL BE REMOVED.

HOT outfits. Hot.

This makes me nauseous just looking at it.

See ya Myrtle Beach <3

Fourth - deactivated my OkCupid profile, again. Need a break, and I'm also excited that I've been out on two dates with the same guy who has yet to get a nickname, because he is so, erm, normal that I can't even come up with one. Opens doors (cars included, swoon), pays, and in general is just a gentleman. Our "dinner" dates last anywhere from 4-6 hours, and we've got a lot in common and tentative plans for upcoming dates so YAY. And I don't think he's intimidated that I like football & hockey - it got to the point that I had to put in my OKC profile, "If my fantasy football team could beat your fantasy football team, don't bother messaging me. It's not going to work out." because being a Steelers fan "by osmosis" is not going to cut it, sorry.


Fifth - 80 days until I am home for 3! WAHOO!

Quote of the weekend:

You know you speak to your animals in your weird baby/pet voice. Don't deny it, because you do it. You do it with other people's pets too.

- Alexis, about her cat

I think I was close to peeing my pants when this came out of her mouth!

Okay kids, that wraps this up for now - I'm going to nurse my head cold and go to bed early so I don't have a Bullshit Tuesday (because a Bullshit Tuesday following a Bullshit Monday would probably send me over the edge.)

Sunday... Funday?

First things first - if you guys are reading this and you haven't "followed" my blog, would you take a second to do that? All you need to do is click "Join This Site" to the right, make a user name and a password, and click submit - super easy, it helps me to know who's reading and also, what you might want to read about. And if you're enjoying this blog, please share with your friends!

This is my last lazy Sunday for about a month, and I am taking full advantage of it. The only plans I have today are to catch up on Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice, and do a lot of reading - since for some reason, my reading has gone from all.the.freaking.time to maybe 20 minutes at night. Sadness. Although Alexis, Jen and I are heading to Myrtle Beach for my birthday, so I do have a stack of magazines and books that I am planning on devouring while we're there.

Normally I'd be posting a Sunday Manicure for all y'all, but since I'm in a packing and moving frenzy for the next week I'm not even going to bother. Once I get one chip, it's all over.

This is what my day looked like yesterday:

I packed up all my dishes except my Tupperware - I'm using paper plates and plastic cups all week. Because let's face it. I'm single, and I don't cook actual meals just for myself anyway, so I don't really need real plates and bowls right now. I started packing and I couldn't stop, which was my fear. I just wanted to clean out my storage closet and be done for the day, but once I got on a roll of organizing, it was all over.

I only have my bathroom cabinets, some clothes, pots and pans, and food to pack. Bailey definitely knows something is up - you'd think she'd be used to it by now, every 6 months packing up and moving. I can't wait to actually be in this next apartment for a year (or *gasp* LONGER THAN A YEAR). That means I can buy actual decorative stuff, and move in to a place without thinking "Why bother? Just gonna leave soon anyway." That is so foreign to me. Thank you, Pinterest, for giving me all kinds of decorating and storage ideas.

This move also means that I get to do Group Power at the gym 4 days a week, so I really have no excuse to not be bikini season ready when it's here. Being a bridesmaid in Katie's wedding is also a huge driving factor in this "get fit" plan - and getting a spray tan. Because holy mother am I pale, and unless the weather gets super hot in the next few months I won't be laying out by the pool in time to get any color.

I was just discussing with Katrina that I was contemplating taking a spin class at the gym, and I'm going to say that she was adamantly against it:

"There's only one thing I want jamming into my crotch and it's not a bike seat."

Point taken.

Lastly, I'm going to share this video I found on HelloGiggles - I want to say that this tutorial is for girls who have thicker hair, because I fear that my thin, disgusting-straight hair wouldn't work for this style. So I'm going to stick with a teasing brush for this job, but if you are looking for an easy way to throw your hair up in a very cute bun - for work or just out running errands, this could be for you.

Check out her blog site too at Mr. Kate, from what I can tell she's got a lot of great DIY and fashion ideas. If you guys try that sock bun thing let me know - I may give it a go too!

Sunday Manicure

Zoya: Kristen, OPI: Rainbow Connection

We'll see how long this manicure lasts. There's a lot of glitter on the tips. But as long as I can get through the first few days of this week, I'll be fine - because Janira & Katrina are coming, and we are going to get manicures on Friday! I am so excited to see the MA contingent of my BFFs, I haven't seen them since September. I have a feeling the entire weekend is going to be like this article, because the 3 of us do not shut up the entire time we're together. I just wish I was already moved into my new apartment because the one I'm in now is slightly embarrassing, but I wrote my LAST RENT CHECK to this hellhole leasing company yesterday. All I have to say about that is: WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Please behold the awesomeness that is in this video:

I haven't eaten at Sonic before, but I want to now.

So today is The Big Game, and Alexis is having a few girls over. From the sounds of it, the amount of food we are going to have could probably feed both teams that are playing in the game (and there's only four of us). I am making these:

via

I am just hoping mine come out that well. I did buy mini-chocolate chips (with Mary Bohn in mind - "look at me, I'm mini!!!") and since I have FOUR POUNDS of peanut butter from my BJs trip last week, I didn't need to buy any more.

One last thing you should remember (thanks to the lovely Gabby for sharing this with me):

:)

Hell of a decision maker.

If you haven't commented on yesterday's entry for my book give-away, do so here! I'll randomly pick someone tomorrow.

If you have an Ikea near you, or you've been to one, you know what a nightmare the place is on a Saturday. Nevertheless, Alexis and I decided to brave it today. Somehow we made it in and out of the store in under 25 minutes, and I did not spend a single dollar. (I know what you're thinking - what?! You can't go to Ikea without buying something! But I did, I did.) And I was very proud of myself. WILLPOWER TO THE MAX.

That is, until we stopped at the furniture store across the street from Ikea. I did not think I was in the market for furniture - my plan was to move into my new place and then find furniture. Well. This place was having a Huge Sale. I had been to this furniture store before (on a second date, and I'm pretty sure the sales guys thought we were married - one of them even remembered me today) and fell in love with a couch, but it was out of my price range. Until the sales guy told me that it was free financing for 6 months and they would hold it for me until I moved. FOR FREE. Sold.

Oh, hello big girl couch. Smokin' deal, so comfortable. Now I really can't wait to move, because I'm in love with my couch. This is totally how I make decisions too. Oh, I need to get out of Maine. Charlotte sounds good. A month later, I moved. Oh, I need a car that gets more than 19mpg. Test drove three, picked one. BAM. New car. Oh, I could use a couch. BAM. New couch. I can't hem and haw over things - this probably has something to do with my lack of patience.




Funny thing at the furniture store though. We walk in and immediately this sales guy comes over to start talking to us. I got distracted by a display of glittery vases - OOH SHINY THINGS! - and he says to us:

"Oh god, you're not Twi-Tards are you?"

Excuse me, sir, is that how you treat all of your potential customers? Why yes, I actually DO like Twilight. I would not classify myself in the Twi-hard group (nor, Twi-Tards), but I am a fan. No more than 10 minutes later he says to us:

"Oh I'm planning my wedding. Want to see something? *whips out iPad* My groomsmen and I are wearing these in the wedding. SWORDS. SO COOL. Its a renaissance theme."

I'm sorry, what? You just made fun of us because we like Twilight and your wedding is RENAISSANCE THEMED?! You probably shouldn't share that with people you don't know.

Today was also a monumental day for another reason. I joined a gym. Holy mother I could not tell you the last time I was excited about joining a gym (since I haven't worked out since August), but it has multiple locations and unlimited classes so I'm pretty pumped. Eventually I'd like to be able to run a 5K, but that's a lofty goal since running makes me want to "pull out my hair, gouge my eyes out, and break my ankles so I never have to run again." - Darrah's description of her run today, hahaha. That's me every time I attempt a run.

I got a message on OKC today from a guy I had been messaging back and forth with:

"You a fan of band of brothers? Do you think about if you were a general or president during that time, what your war strategy would have been?"

Um. What? Has that line worked for you before? Because all I could think was W-T-F.

via FancyNapkin

I found this over at Fancy Napkin and it brought tears to my eyes. I don't mean to go all Sarah McLachlan on you guys, but if you are considering getting a dog, please adopt. Your local shelter or Petfinder are great places to start. You can search Petfinder by breed, or if you aren't sure what breed you want, you can search by size/gender/age and narrow it down that way. That's how I got Bailey, and rescue dogs know they've been rescued. She's definitely got the princess life now, and she knows it. I'd get her a little Boston or bulldog brother if I had a house, but I need another dog in my apartment like I need a hole in the head.

Okay, enough crying. Happy weekend bloggies!

Life is GOOD.

So bloggies, I have some big news. (And so help me god if one of you thinks "SHES PREGNANT!" I am NOT. I would rather die.)

I am moving to a new apartment!

Yes, that means I am moving out of the slums and into a lovely, humongous complex where all of the storefronts in the area are in English. Where there may be a set of rims in the parking lot but I'm pretty sure they belong to a 18 year old white kid. Where I can walk my dog because there is a mile and a half long walking trail down the street. Where I can walk across the bridge into a huge shopping area, complete with Pier 1, Barnes & Noble and a movie theater. (And lots more shopping than that. And bars.) Can I get a WOOT WOOT?!?!

WOOT WOOT!!!!

Also, this apartment is about 20 minutes from work instead of 40. I was concerned because my current lease goes until 3/31, and the move-in date for the new place is 3/1. So I was prepared to pay March's rent at this current place in addition to the new one. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've done it. Well. You guys remember Blondie? Amazingly, she has done something right for me. I only have to pay the prorate for March while I'm here, because I'm leaving with less than 30 days left in my lease. So for $45 or something I can break my lease. HALLELUJAH.

 

 First off, see that pink thing on the back of this car? Thats a Steelers logo. I'm among friends and I haven't even moved in yet! I have the same one on my car.

 Katrina's one complaint about this is the chandelier. But it's up high enough that I'm not smashing my head on it, unlike the one in my current place. Plus the carpeting is a thousand times nicer than here.

 

Oh hello counter space! This isn't my actual apartment (this one is handicapped accessible) but my washer & dryer will be on that wall (yeah. I said it. WASHER & DRYER, bitches!).

 

Not quite as big as my closet here, which could double as a bedroom for a small child, but it's doable.

 

 My bathroom will be a smidge smaller because of the washer & dryer. Umm the fact that I can have a W&D is enough for me, I wouldn't care if I had a shower instead of a tub.

So wahoo! Super excited. My quality of life is going to improve 10-fold. Plus no laundromat!! I love when things work out. 2012, I love you already.

Found this gem today:

I don't like watching NASCAR but God bless the number 3

I cheer on the Pittsburgh Steelers, I don't watch the SCC, 

I don't shoot guns or ride horses but I'll give 'em both a try

If Johnny Cash ever heard this song I bet he'd start to cry. 

I'm not country but I like the country, I know where I'm from. 

When I hear your songs on the radio, I start having fun. 

I'm so down with deep fried chicken; Jesus saved my soul. 

Yeah I'm a Northern City boy and this ain't rock and roll

Mostly I just like it because he says he cheers on the Steelers - but you knew that already.

How was everyone's New Year's? Mine was really low key and excellent. Alexis, her friend Amy and I had a girl's night, complete with sweatpants, pizza and Bridesmaids on DVD. And then on Sunday Alexis and I went to Dixie's to watch the Steelers game - you have no idea how excited I am to have found someone as foul-mouthed as I am to watch football with. The boy with no nickname (I guess I'm going to have to give him one) isn't allowed to watch football with me - I don't want to ruin any remaining sweetness that he thinks I have. (Which really, can't be that much to begin with.)

 Quote of the day (goes to Anonymous - She Who Shall Not Be Named)

Me: "I love my LIFE today!"

A: "Speaking of life, I need to take my birth control pill."




And in closing, I will leave you with a countdown. Or four.

36 days until Katrina & Janira are here!
79 days until Gabby & Curtis are here!
150 days until Katie's wedding! (We think.)
204 days until I'm in Maine for HERMIT ISLAND!

Many things to look forward to in 2012. Cannot wait.