It's Looking Like an All-Nighter

It is 5 in the morning. J has been sound asleep for 2 hours + 4 hours (he woke up in the middle of the night to try and get me to bed). I have caught up with my emails & Google Reader (not that I was really behind). I spent an hour anonymously judging other people's houses on HGTV's Rate This Space. I browsed EVERY Knot board & some of the Nest ones too. I emptied the dishwasher (thank God J's a heavy sleeper). I played Uno with complete strangers in another a country (I *heart* Xbox Live). And I made banana bread for breakfast.

I cannot explain this restlessness. Chances are it's a mix of disappointment over this weekend & our upcoming Chicago trip.

First the weekend story: We had a busy weekend planned in Tampa. This weekend included dinner, Harry Potter, finally picking up our Ikea furniture & my sister's wrap party (as in movie wrap not present wrap). NONE OF THAT HAPPENED! I'm still pretty upset, but we had a much needed 2 days of nothing but walks & honey coffee & cuddle time.

Second CHICAGO!: J's family lives in Chicago & we're going to visit them on Wednesday for a week. Plus his brother & sister-in-law are going 2b brand new parents!!! We're so excited for them. She's due when we'll be there. I've never been apart of anything like this (though it's hard to have a REAL part this far away). I was there when they told his family the news & unless she has this baby today or tomorrow we'll be there when he/she is born! Craziness. The only newborns I've seen have been a few months old. Does that still count as newborns?

We're excited for a million reasons. J's parents are throwing us a party. It's a bridal shower/backyard guy thing. Inside the ladies will be drinking wine & talking & hopefully be playing silly games and outside the boys will be drinking beer & spitting & scratching their butts or whatever guys do when we're not around. AND we may go camping at Turkey Run in Indiana. J grew up camping there & has gushed about. Though if FSIL hasn't had her baby I'm not sure we'll want to make that trip. On top of everything this will be the longest time J has spent with his family since he moved down to Florida. It's going to be awesome to spend this much time with the in-laws. Weird, I know. But they are the sweetest & so sincere & raised the greatest man ever to live.

In conclusion, I can't sleep. XOXO!

101 Random Things About Me... cont.

65. J recently had his yearly evaluation at work & was given a WAY above average raise. He is seriously breaking records for his company! I'm so proud!

64. I still have SO much to do to make this house a home. Even though J seems to think that since our dishes are here, everything is done.

63. We don't have a sofa yet. We're going to Ikea this weekend to pick one up... among other not so equally important furniture.

62. I want more people to read my blog. Who am I writing for? Leave me a comment!!

61. The Pug seems to think he can just sleep anywhere. Including my clean laundry which is on the bed.

60. I finished the travel packets for our Chicago wedding guests last night. They're so cute & I can't wait to give them out!

59. I have 2 younger sisters who are incredible! And I really mean that, I'm constantly impressed with their lives.

58. I really wish that all our families were in the same town. When I grew up all my family were in a 5-mile radius of each other. I'm sad I won't be able to give that to our kids.

57. I am not pregnant.

56. I am IN LOVE with my in-laws. Seriously I feel so lucky. From J's mom & dad to his siblings & even his friends... they are all wonderful. I'm so happy to get to be their family.

55. I just got off the phone with my grandma who is my hero. Seriously this woman raised 5 kids & touched a million lives. I want to be her.

54. Thursday nights are big 'going out' nights in this college town. I will be spending mine organizing our closet & setting up our bedroom furniture.

53. Gainesville is AWESOME! We have rolling hills (in FL!), trees, peace & quiet & a great nightlife, amazing locally owned restaurants. There's such a sense of community here I haven't felt since I was in New Orleans.

52. I'm writing this while my heart is gushing. J went to get his hair cut today & on his way back he told me he wanted cuddle time. He is the best thing since sliced bread.

51. I'm a little eclectic. And by that I mean crazy.

50. I used to make fun of my BFF/cousin/MOH when I was growing up, so much that she called me the evil cousin. It took one summer to change that & one hurricane to forever make our friendship as strong as it is today.

49. One day I may be writing about my kids on this blog. Weird, but in a good, life-is-always-changing kind of way.

48. I'm really into DIY'ing and designing & anything creative.

47. I have tens of unfinished projects I would love to knock out.... someday.

46. I would love a graphic design project right now. If I don't get one soon, I may do something for our place. Maybe a big print that ties in all the silly colors in the living room... hmmm!

45. Frames, mirrors, & kitchen gadgets are my favorite things to buy for our house.

44. Shirts, games & food are my favorite things to buy for J.

43. Dresses, makeup & books are my favorite things to buy for me.

42. The Pug gets treats & stuffed animals. He's just happy when we come home from shopping.

41. Our neighborhood has a farmer's market on Wednesday I wish were bigger.

40. Life's compensation for the previous is a close town that is FILLED with antique shops. We bought my baby sister's guitar there. The cutest green guitar I tried to name Gumby or Gimpy or something.

39. I feel like too many people obsess about work & other unimportant things. I mean I understand you have to make a living, but you also have to make a life.


...to be continued

Things I have, but don't own yet.....

First off I have a story: We have a framed mermaid poster that is quirky, colorful & downright perfect for bathroom. We forgot about it as it's been in storage for a few months. This morning I went to change our registry to get bathroom accessories (towels, rug, soap dish...) that would match said poster. Someone had bought all our bathroom things!!! This makes me happy, though we can't use the poster anymore. There have been bigger tragedies.

The BIG news is someone purchased the $300 stand mixer on our registry!!! I am beyond excited. It's pear & matches perfectly (I think) to a blender J's parents gave him. It's a vintage green they got as a wedding present! They only used it once. I love it! It's so cute. J & I both have this vision of our house being a perfect blend of kitschy antiques & stylish trends. I was so excited I jumped up & ran to wake him up. He was not too happy about that, so I called my sister & texted by BFF to share my joy.

We will have to be checking our registries more often. As well as the mentioned, we got a new comforter, sheets, bed skirt and silverware. PLUS our honeymoon registry is banging! We've gotten a white water rafting trip, dinners out, drinks & rental car contributions! Just when I was starting to think that honeymoon registries were tacky. I still kind of do too. I mean our honeymoon is paid off as far as the hotel & a few dinners (they're included). I just don't want to seem like we couldn't afford nights out on our honeymoon. I just thought people would think it was cute they get to pay for lasting memories. Plus, at the time I made our Target registry we actually didn't need anything. But since we've moved & pitched old/broken things we actually DO need things.

Knowing you have something you want, but don't possess it is a bittersweet feeling. I love registries. I love getting married. I love my J for giving me the opportunity to do all this. We all know men would just have a BBQ wedding with kegs & games & no registries. I'm glad women rule the world ;)

101 Random Things About Me...cont.

75. We're moved in!! The movers are coming Saturday with all the stuff we left in storage. I cannot wait to have everything & be set up in a home again!

74. My favorite colors are blue (all shades), white & yellow (bright, sunshine-y yellow).

73. I am not a fan of Macs. Which is the weirdest thing to most of my design friends since Macs are the coveted design tool.

72. Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors. I am obsessed with them.

71. My favorite cosmetics are Clinique Even Better Makeup, Diorshow Iconic Mascara, Smashbox Photo Op under eye illuminator (which I use as a highlighter) & CoverGirl Outlast lip stain.

70. J and I have not missed an episode of Lost or Heroes or Entourage. Other shows popular on our DVR are Ugly Betty, Jon & Kate Plus 8, The Office and 30 Rock.

69. All of our living room furniture is from Ikea, because I got excited when they finally opened a store in Tampa.

68. The Pug is having a nightmare. He's whining and kicking in his sleep.

67. I adore everything Post-it. Little notepads with a sticky back, genius!

66. J's coming home! Time to stop...

...to be continued.

Rehearsal Dinner Outfit

Most exciting thing about girly blogs? Outfit boards! Here's some for our wedding rehearsal dinner....


Dress, Calvin Klein. Pink heels, Calvin Klein. Black heels, Target. Necklace, Forever XXI. Earrings, Forever XXI.

Very grown up, I think.



Dress, Theory (on sale! $99). Yellow sandals I have, Seychelles. Yellow sandals I want, Dolce & Gabbana. Accesories, Forever XXI.

First off I just realized none of these outfits have purses! Second off I would DIE to own those gorgeous D&G sandals. Unfortunately spending more than $200 on shoes isn't plausible.

Dress, Forever XXI. Black heels, Target. Yellow heels, BCBG. Earrings, Kate Spade. Necklace, Juicy Couture. Bangle, Forever XXI.

Possibly my favorite of the outfits. I'm obsessed with yellow heels. Let me know your favorite!

PS: Random Facts to return tomorrow... maybe. I am moving after all.

101 Random Things About Me...

101. I'm newly 24. Well not that new; my birthday was 2 months ago.

100. I'm getting married to the greatest man ever, J. He's 31.

99. He works for an amazing company, so I don't have to.

98. I do some freelance graphic & web design when I get bored (or want to spend $200 on jeans).

97. I'm starting this blog, because Facebook, Myspace & Twitter aren't enough platforms to over-indulge in.

96. We moved from Tampa to Gainesville. We spent the first 3 months in a Homewood Suites, then moved to a studio apartment. We're moving on Wednesday into a bigger apartment, because we fell in love with this neighborhood (and aren't sure if we'll be here for 5 months or 5 years)

95. We have a fat, lazy pug who is the cutest thing in this world.

94. Shopping is my anti-drug. J would prefer I find a better, less expensive anti-drug.

93. I'm writing this list while my male half plays killing games on the Xbox.

92. I'm a glass half full, lemonade making kind of girl.

91. My mother & future mother-in-law both keep pressuring me to add things to our wedding registry. We just already have everything we need & I actually feel guilty because so many people are already spending hundreds of $$ to just come to the wedding. But then again everyone likes getting presents.

90. I should really be packing for our short move.

89. My favorite places to shop are Nordstrom, Target, Sephora, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Forever 21, etsy.com... I could go on forever.

88. My family (including J & the Pug) is the BEST thing in my life. I love each & everyone of the hugely extended family I was blessed with.

87. I hate recipes, but I love cooking. Most times I check out a few recipes for a certain type of meat or dish & then wing it. I have had many hits & just as many misses.

86. One of our favorite things to do is tent camping. We have not had a chance to go this year.

85. A few of the things I love... knee socks, iced lemon water, beating J at games (when it rarely happens), wrapping presents, almost anything vintage, home decorating, sitcoms & having a clean house.

84. A few of the things I hate... unnecessary traffic (which is the FL standard), waiting longer than I should, bragging & being disrespected.

83. J & I own more board games than the average 7-year old boy. The way we do it is obsessively play our selected game for a few weeks then throw it on the shelf with the rest of them & get a new one.

82. I'm currently rereading all the books I was forced to read in school. It's funny how a different perspective & a few years change things.

81. A few months ago I was in the middle of getting my book published by one of the world's largest publishers. The deal fell through, for more reasons than one. It was an epic fail.

80. I'm very lucky for the life I have & I don't take that for granted.

79. I believe everything happens for a reason.

78. My guilty pleasure is Myspace surveys. It's horribly unclassy. It's the only reason I'm still on Myspace.

76. We move in 2 days, go to Chicago in 15 & get married in 109. I am not ready for any of it.

...to be continued.