Mattress Madness.

It has been one humdinger of a Monday and the day isn't even over yet.  

On Friday afternoon, we received the notification that our new king mattress/split boxspring would be delivered today, so I worked from home this morning to supervise that everything went down okay.  Needless to say, it did not entirely go down okay.  

We woke up to another 5ish inches of snow, so Brian and I started the day shoveling out the driveway in our pajamas-- #snowoverit.  I was nervous because I knew that the delivery truck would have to get into and out of our driveway, which has already become narrow enough for our little car with the snow banks and the icy spots are bad enough to take someone down FAST.  As visions of lawsuits danced through my head, Brian assured me we'd cleared enough and that everything would be fine, and we headed inside.  While he got ready for work, I made breakfast and coffee and got settled on the couch to start my work day.  Our delivery window was 8am-12pm (obnoxious), so after working for a bit, I hurried upstairs to shower and get ready for the day before the delivery guys showed up (don't want to scare them off...).  Around 10:45am, I got the call that they would be there in the next half hour.  I put Molly on her leash and we waited.  Right around 11:00, I notice an enormous Enterprise rental truck backing into our driveway.  I prop open the front door so they can come and go as needed, and waited for someone to come and say hi, have me sign something, ask where the room was where everything was going, make sure they had the right house... something?  Nope.  Not a word.  The first time I see a face is when they come walking up with a boxspring in their arms.  The guys were very nice but did not speak too terribly much English, which, ya know... fine.  But I had an overexcited Molly leaping/barking/choking on her leash to get to the delivery guys, and I had to kind of half walk up the stairs while swinging my leg behind me to keep Molly out of the way to show them which room because "Top of the stairs, to the right" resulted in a blank stare.  

After we had the destination settled, I see the other half of the boxspring and the bedframe go up.  I started to get a little excited because we've been waiting for this mattress for what felt like an eternity, and I couldn't wait to see the next step of our bedroom come together.  Maybe 5 minutes later one of the guys comes downstairs to inform me that two pieces of the bedframe are missing.  Well, crap.  He gives me details on what to do to resolve the issue and both guys go out to bring in the mattress.  Now, we ordered a king mattress because the prior owners of our house had a king bed.  We assumed that if they king bed fit upstairs, any king bed would.  I think we all know what they say about those who "assume."   

As they bring the mattress in the front door, I start to feel a little anxious.  The two guys even stood there staring at the staircase for a minute like "That's not going to happen."  But they start pushing and pulling and shoving and swearing and I can literally see them dripping in sweat.  I asked if there was anything that I could do and they had no response-- I honest to God could not watch them because I felt guilty that they were having to try and fit this up the stairs.  At one point I heard the guy who was on the stairs and pulling FALL.  Molly and I just stared at Gilmore Girls on the TV as I tried to pray that some miracle would occur and this would work.  I brought out water for both of them and they gulped it down, and went right back to work.  With JUST the right shove and bend (it was seriously like an accordion at this point), the damn thing FINALLY went up the stairs.  They got the mattress situated on the boxsprings (on the floor, remember) and came down for me to sign off on the delivery papers and write a note about the bedframe missing pieces.  I don't think they could have run out of my front door any faster than they did.

Molly and I of course went upstairs to check everything out, and were pleasantly surprised at how nicely the bed fit in the bedroom.  Molly even jumped up and did a spin/romp test before I could stop her-- approval granted from the canine, as I cheered "They did it!" (y'all talk to your pets too, so don't even with the crazy side-eye).  As I call Molly off of the bed and head towards the door, I hear... tires spinning.  We walk downstairs and what to my wondering eyes do I see?  Oh, just the enormous Enterprise truck... stuck in our driveway.

Pardon the mess there, but I was frantically moving stuff around once I saw how big the mattress was going to be.  Kindly notice out the door... the stuck truck.  The wheels spun and spun and spun, snow flew everywhere, traffic was backed up because we live on a fairly busy street.  You might be able to see the navy shirt of one of the drivers-- yep, he was under the truck, trying to dig out.  I gave them our rock salt, our shovels, offered to help.  It took them TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES to get out of our driveway.  By the time they'd finally left, I desperately needed a glass of wine but off to work I went.  It was quite the ordeal.  

Brian worked his magic and called the company about the bed frame issue and they're sending the full bed frame via UPS, to arrive this week, and are also crediting us $50 to be used on their website, which is nice.  So, we've got half of our new master bed, the boxspring and the mattress, we're just missing the bed frame and need to choose a headboard.  After that, I think we'll be in good shape! 

Aside from that, we had a very low-key weekend, which can be summed up in one word: PAINT.  I'll be back tomorrow with updates on our master bedroom and office!

Five on Friday

This seems to be the only thing that gets me to blog these days, but oh well-- I'll take it and run with it!

one. no snow!!
For the first time in an entire month, there is ZERO snow in the forecast for tomorrow!  It will still be frigid, of course, but there will be no snow falling from the sky, and for that I am grateful!  There may still be multiple feet of snow on the ground outside, which likely won't melt until May, but this is all that I can picture when I think of "no snow." 

two. make the house OUR home!
Last Sunday we painted our master bedroom Benjamin Moore "Revere Pewter" and I am in love with the way it changed the feel of our room!  Our new king mattress and box spring will be delivered on Monday morning (squee!) and now our mission is finding new furniture for the room.  We've decided to make the best of not being able (or wanting) to get out much with the cold weather and just paint everything that we want to in the house, so tomorrow we tackle our guest bath and the office.  As I've stated before, I'm a pretty #basicbitch, so I tend to lean towards the greige colors for rooms-- simple, classic, can pair anything in the room with the walls and they'll be complemented.  Well, I'm taking a big step out of my comfort zone and painting the office NAVY BLUE.  I can't wait.  It's Sherwin Williams "Naval" and I think it will look fantastic with the white trim/crown molding and the dark hardwoods in the room.  Our downstairs half bath already has white beadboard around the bottom half of the room, so I'm thinking the navy will look great in contrast.  I'm taking lots of pics as we go and am thinking I might designate a day each week to share the updates we're making!  

Below are a couple of homes that have used "Naval" in an office and half bath-- I can't wait :)

three. sunday brunch
One of our favorite weekend traditions is brunch on Sundays.  Now, I love a good brunch out at a restaurant (Bloody Mary bar, por favor), but there's also something super relaxing and comforting about waking up, making a special breakfast, brewing coffee (Brian loves to pull out his French press, and I don't complain!) and mixing up a batch of your own breakfast cocktails (that's a thing, right?).  Brian's favorite breakfast is Eggs Benedict, so I think I might attempt that this weekend as a special treat, as long as he makes the batch of Bloodys, yes?

four. it's all about the hair
I have an entire Pinterest board by this exact name, devoted to any and all things hair-related.  For basically the entire year leading up to the wedding, I would get a small trim to keep things healthy and growing, but aside from that, we let it grow.  When Brian and I went home in January, I chopped off a good six inches and while it was definitely shorter and healthier, it still feels so long.  By the way, have I ever mentioned that my hair stylist is the only person who has ever cut my hair?  As in, since I was in 4th grade and started regularly getting a trim/blowdry/style.  She introduced me to the wonders of the CHI, did my hair for all high school occasions, and taught me how to tease it to Jesus and curl it like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader (per my request).  She is my hair savior, and few things more like home than sitting in her chair with a Diet Vanilla Coke from Sonic and chatting away while she makes me feel human again.  Anyways, I can't help but admit that I'm itching to possibly chop just a little bit more off for the spring/summer.

five. HOME
Next Saturday morning, I will be cozied down on my flight HOME for a long weekend.  I cannot wait.  We were just home in January but sometimes you just need your (original) people.  Yes, Brian and Molly are my people/dog now, but Mama, Daddy and my not-so-little brudder will ALWAYS be my original people!  My mom has already cleaned my bedroom and my dad has stocked up on my favorite wine, and we have the menus planned for every night that I'm there.  I'll be there through Tuesday morning, so I'm looking forward to coffee on the back porch with my dad and continuing on my mani/pedi tradition with mom.  Home is good for the soul!

Happy Friday, lovelies!

five on friday

Happy Friday, y'all!  After so much GRAY and BLAH outside lately, the sun finally showed up today and I swear it has made me a changed woman.  There is absolutely zero precipitation falling from the sky, and it may be 10 degrees but it's sunny!  I had a solo karaoke session while driving to work while sipping my large iced coffee (Friday treat) and just felt so content and happy-- love starting my day like that!  Now, without further ado, let's get to it!

1. snow
I think that I speak for many people in the state of Massachusetts right now when I say that we are all SNOW OVER ALL OF THE SNOW.  Seriously.  I made it through the first two storms this year feeling chipper and loving being snowed in with the husband and our Molly,  heck I even loved shoveling our driveway out, but now they're predicting another 12-18 inches to fall on Sunday.  Y'all.  People are kind of just talking about it and saying "But where is it going to go?  I don't understand.  Yea, no-- I'm just going to say that it isn't going to snow anymore and maybe it won't."  Oh, but it is.  And people are LOSING IT.  This will be the fourth consecutive week of 12+ inches of snow falling in our area of the state, and we all have that truly valid question-- where in the heck are they going to put this snow?  It has to be moved off of the streets so people can drive, but the snowbanks are over 6 feet high!  We're a little bit more in the safe zone since we live a good half hour outside of Boston, so there's more space, but it's the city that's really struggling because... it's a city.  They're starting to dump snow in Boston Harbor!  Fingers crossed that this storm this weekend is a quick one-- in the meantime I'll be stocking up (again) at the grocery store for a crockpot recipe and figuring out workouts to do at home if we're snowed in because, as it turns out, snow day calories do in fact count.

snapped at a stop light while driving to work

the view out of our front door on monday morning.

i think that this about sums up our feelings towards all of the crazy.

2. master bedroom
Now that we're all moved in and unpacked, I have been bitten by the decorating bug.  Everyone keeps telling me to take it one room at a time, and while that's so hard (!) I know that it makes the most sense, and I know that I'd rather focus on a room and fill it with good quality pieces that really mean something to us, versus just scrambling to fill the empty with... stuff.  We decided to knock out our master bedroom, which will also take care of our guest room-- we currently have a queen size bed and want to upgrade to a king, so once we buy our new bed/mattress, we'll be moving the queen bed and the current furniture to our guest room.  Ugh, I'm great at Pinning ideas, but when it comes time to execute, I can't make a decision to save my life. 

The room is currently a greenish gray, and with the hardwood floors it just feels very... dark.  I'm leaning towards painting a light gray or bright white (#basicbitch comes out to play!), and bringing in pops of color-- below are a few inspiration pics that I swoon over daily-- which do you like?!?  Any input is more than welcome.

3. workin' on my fitness
With all of the cold and snowy weather, getting to the gym has (sadly) been at the bottom of my to do list.  We start the day with good intentions, but by the time 5pm rolls around, fighting the gross parking lot at the gym is the last thing I want to do, and Brian sits in traffic for an hour and a half, so he's over it too!  I'm SO a morning workout person and finally bit the bullet this week and made myself get up and get to the gym by 5:30am.  It has already made me feel so much better (that, as well as my caffeine, has I'm sure attributed to my jittery happiness this morning) and I make much better choices during the day when I've already worked out.  

I'm still trying to figure out a routine, but as of now I'm doing Body Pump on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday plus 30 minutes of cardio, and on Tuesdays and Fridays I'm doing an hour of cardio plus legs (I feel like my arms get more of a workout in BP than my legs).  Thursday and Sunday are optional days-- our goal is to make those days that we take Molly for a really good long walk once it's warmer outside, but for now, they're optional.  It feels good to be back in somewhat of a gym routine for the first time since the wedding!  Plus, as they say, summer bodies are made in the winter!

4. y'all need jesus
I know I cannot be the only gal out there who has just wanted to up and say this to someone-- it's the truth, and I may need this shirt pronto.

5. VDay
Last but not least, Happy Valentine's Day!  I love love love this holiday-- the sappy cards, the flowers, the men running around CVS scrambling for a card and that last box of chocolates.  I've always loved this holiday, even when I didn't have a special someone, and now I've got my forever Valentine (I know, enough with the cheese) and I'm so happy that he's mine!  We always go to dinner on the 13th and then cook our own Valentine's dinner at home on actual Valentine's Day, so that's our plan this weekend.  Not sure of our menu yet, but it will include wine (I gave up drinking during the week except for Thursdays, because what is Scandal without wine?! and by the time Friday night hits, mama needs a glass of wine!) and chocolate lava cakes from Trader Joe's (thanks for the idea, Megan!).  Whether you're with your man/lady, having a sassy girls night out, or rocking tonight as a single sista, have a glass of wine and a chocolate (or three) and have a fantastic day!  And because these never, ever fail to make me laugh...

Happy Friday, lovelies!

An Ax for Valentine's Day

Last night, while watching TV after dinner:

Katie: "Hey, Valentine's Day is coming up pretty quick.  What should we do?"

Brian: "I don't know-- should I make a reservation somewhere?"

K: "Considering there would probably be nothing left at this point to even try to stress you out, I'll just tell you that I made reservations two months ago.  So no, got that covered."

B: "Okay, well do you want anything, like a gift?"

K: "Meh... maybe flowers delivered to work?  I always like that.  And a card-- you know, first Valentine's Day as a wife and all.  Oh, and there's a set of salad bowls that I'd really like from Sur La Table.  What do y--"

B: "I want an ax.  For chopping wood and things.  Now that we have a house, I definitely need an ax." 

K: "You want an ax?  For Valentine's Day? *silence as I ponder the romantical feelings of my husband*  Deal. Send me the link."

Just keeping the romance alive over here, folks.

Good golly Miss Molly!

I've lived in Boston for almost 8 years now, and I've been longing to have a dog as a pet... for almost 8 years.  When I first moved, I lived in apartments with roommates, so that wouldn't work, and then Brian and I lived with his sister in her condo, which wouldn't work, and then we moved into our own little one bedroom apartment, and while that COULD have worked, it wouldn't have been fair to have a dog cooped up in a tiny apartment all day while we both worked.  

After we got engaged and started actively looking for a house to buy, in my mind a house equaled adopting a dog, so once we actually bought our house, the countdown was ON.  I knew we had to wait a bit, considering we were getting married, going on a honeymoon, moving into a new place and then traveling home to Texas for the holidays, and we knew we wanted to rescue a dog, so I wanted to be able to know that we would be home for a good period of time so we could all get used to being a family. 

Well, one day last week, I woke up and decided that it was time... and I spent the next four days convincing Brian that it was time.  We went through every possible pro and con, and at the end of the day, it came down to A) having a good, safe, happy home with plenty of space and snuggles to give a rescue dog, and B) I had waited patiently for a VERY long time.  When I first really started looking in late November, I found the sweetest adult female on the Boston MSPCA website-- they had her dressed with a scarf around her neck and reindeer antlers on for the holidays, and she just looked so sweet.  I could not get her out of my mind-- through the holidays and our trip home to Texas, I couldn't stop thinking about her.  I went back and looked early last week and sure enough, our girl was still there.  Brian gave the final OK on Friday morning, and by lunchtime I was out buying the necessities to bring our sweet pup home the next day-- a nap mat for the kitchen, a bed for the living room, squeaker toys, chew toys, a collar and a leash, treats, shampoo, a special towel just for her... we were going to bring our girl home!

Saturday was seriously like Christmas morning.  I was wide awake at 5am and stayed in bed for a bit to finish a book ("Left Neglected" by Lisa Genova, also the author of "Still Alice"-- equally fantastic and intriguing!) then got up and got dressed for the gym.  A decent amount of snow had fallen overnight, so I crawled through the streets in the car to get my workout on, made my way to Trader Joe's for essentials, then headed home to shower, get Brian, and get into Boston!  Now, call me crazy, but I knew that I would struggle with seeing dogs at the shelter-- even though we were going to adopt one of them, I knew that so many others would still be left behind.  Let's just say that I know myself well, because the minute we walked into the room, I started crying.  Some dogs were hyper and happy, and others just looked so sad.  Brian had to keep telling me that they were all safe and well cared for, and it helped that several volunteers were there making the rounds to pay attention to each and every animal, but it still tugged at my heartstrings, and I swear I was singing Sarah MacLachlan songs in my head.  

We made our way around to the other side of the room and there, curled up on a blanket, was our girl... and I cried again.  We were able to talk to her through the cage and fed her a few pieces of kibble and I looked at Brian, tears streaming down my face, and told him to find someone so we could get her out of there immediately.  We filled out preliminary paperwork and as they brought her out of the back on her leash, it was like we were seeing a different dog-- she was so happy and jumping everywhere and wanted to just say hi to everyone.  We were able to take her outside for a walk to get a feel for her personality and she seemed pretty timid at first, until we came to a fenced-in area where the dogs are taken to play safely off of their leash.  Remember, it had snowed the night before, so there were probably 4-ish inches of snow on the ground.  The minute we let her off of her leash, she took off bounding through the snow, sticking her entire snout into little piles of snow and snorting, throwing her ball in the air and shaking it around, weaving in and out of the trees-- to say she loved it is an understatement.  We were dying laughing at her and in that moment we knew that she was ours.  

We went back inside and I pulled out everything that they had told me would be needed to OK an adoption (proof of identity, home ownership, etc.) and they approved us on the spot!  They gave us her medical and past owner history to look over, and she was basically brought in because her owner had passed away, so we think that she was very well taken care of and loved, which is wonderful to hear.  A worker went over all of the information we'd need, we wrote the adoption fee check, and she was ours!  We laid out sheets in the back of the car and I sat with her, and once we got on the highway, she had inched into my lap and had her head tucked under my chin and went to sleep.  I cried again, and could not have possibly been any happier in that moment, both for our growing little family, and by knowing how happy, safe, and loved we made her feel by taking her to her forever home.

So, without further ado, meet Molly King!

Age: 4.2 years 

Weight: 82 pounds; girlfriend needs to lose a bit of weight, per the veterinarian's orders

Likes: Squeaky toys, tennis balls, snuggles, her red Kong tug-toy, the snow

Dislikes: Loud noises, strangers, other dogs (working on those last two)

Daily Behaviors: lots of naps, neighborhood walks, protecting her humans, pulling the sheet off of her spot on the couch so she can directly lay on the couch fabric (also working on that)

Personality: Molly likes to be as close as physically possible to us at all times.  Thinking she's a lap dog, all 82 pounds has found itself laying on top of us, climbing on us, or stretching out to be with us.  If she's next to you, she'll stretch a paw out to touch your leg.  If you're sitting on the floor, she's going to hug you (see the pic above).  She has an incredibly sweet demeanor and we are just thrilled with having her as a part of our family!

Today is the first day that Molly has been home by herself for a full day, so I'm out of here at 1:30pm to work from home for the rest of the afternoon.  I swear I had separation anxiety when I left her this morning!  I just don't want her to think that we aren't coming back-- maybe that just takes time?  I can't wait to get home to her, and with this insane snowstorm heading towards Boston, it looks like Brian and I will both have the next few days to spend at home together.

Wedding Recap: Getting Ready

When planning out the logistics of the day, it made the most sense for me to book a hotel room at our main guest hotel, where I would stay Friday night after the rehearsal dinner (Brian stayed at his parents' house) and where we would both stay Saturday after the wedding/reception.  Everyone went back to the hotel bar after the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and Brian and I made the rounds to quickly see everyone and then headed upstairs-- we wanted to practice our first dance one last time (one of my favorite little memories of that weekend).  I got my one last single girl kiss, and told Brian I'd see him at the church the next day (squee!).  Sleep actually came fairly easily-- I have a bad habit of leaving the TV on when I'm sleeping alone, so once I found a late night Everybody Loves Raymond marathon, I was out like a light.

I beat my alarm to the punch the next morning and was wide-awake by 5am, jumping out of bed and running to the window, only to throw back the curtains and see the most gorgeous blue sky.  When we chose our November wedding date, I knew that it was still New England, and there was a chance it could be warm and muggy, freezing and snowy, or perfection-- we somehow managed to luck out with perfection!  Now, full disclosure, the morning of our wedding, I woke up a big jumble of nerves.  The emotions of it all were completely overwhelming, and I very much experienced a few stop-me-in-my-tracks moments of "This is my last morning as Katie Fox" which sent me towards tears.  Don't get me wrong-- I was so beyond happy and excited to be marrying Brian, but the sentimental part of me felt the full realization that I was officially taking that next step in my life towards being a wife, and the realness of that was something else.  I spent an hour or so writing a note to each of my parents to accompany their gifts, and a note to Brian, while smiling over the "Happy Wedding Day!" texts that had started to filter in from my girls, then I knew it was time to get the show on the road.  

After I had showered, dried my hair, and donned my monogrammed white button down like a good Southern girl, I met my mom and bridesmaids downstairs to head to get our hair and makeup done.  For what it's worth, I did trials for both and am SO glad that I did-- I ended up changing the majority of what we did at the trials for the actual wedding day, so if you're ever debating whether or not to do a trial, DO IT.  As I mentioned, I was feeling a little nervous, but the girls made sure I had a bagel (glorious, sweet carbs) and a mimosa, and by the time we were wrapped up with hair and makeup and back at our hotel to get dressed, I was PUMPED (I may have also taken a Xanax-- judge away!).  I probably turned really annoying at that point, but I remember that I just kept saying "Holy moly, I'm getting married today!" and my girls would dutifully squeal (bless them all).  Our photographer arrived at my hotel room around 11am, and we got started on getting me dressed!   

The boys all met Brian at his parents house where he had had this big plan for "Beers and Waffles."  So that was their breakfast the morning of our wedding-- beers and waffles.  Our sweet little ring bearer and flower girl also got ready there, so they make an appearance in the pictures too!

A few noteworthy moments?  I had a monogrammed label sewn into the back inside of my dress with the top left open so that it functioned as a small pocket.  An aunt whom is very dear to me wasn't able to be there, so I had asked her ahead of time to write in a letter whatever she would have said to me if she could be there, and I would carry it in that pocket.  Well, I had given the letter to my mom for safekeeping, and she got ready with another aunt in that aunt's room.  Right as I stripped down to my Spanx and button-down, my mom popped back into my room to say that they'd locked themselves out of their hotel room, and the letter was inside, and then she ran out of the room.  Someone stuck another mimosa in my hand, and we waited for her to reappear so we could tuck the letter in the pocket, and she could help me get dressed.  It was a teensy bit stressful watching the time tick away, but they did end up getting back in the room, and before I knew it, I was in my dress!  

Meanwhile, the limo driver had arrived, so we rounded up all of our bags, heels and comfy dancing shoes, and headed downstairs to the car.  Now, I'm not really a girl that loves being center of attention, but I waved my bride flag and paraded through the hotel lobby like it was my J-O-B (worth it).  Once we were outside and everyone but me was in the limo, the driver pulled me aside and informed me that he had no idea how to get to our church-- oh, well now that's just fabulous.  So my two local girls sat at the window in the limo right behind the driver and basically directed him how to get to the church.  We were a bit late, but I mean... the wedding wouldn't go on without me!

So, now that I've rambled on, here a few of my favorite "getting ready" pictures!

with my MOH Amanda, and one of my dearest friends and bridesmaid, Keegan

reading Brian's card with his gift 

Mama and the MOH zipping me up

Brian's sweet cousin, Jenna, putting on my something borrowed-- her pearl bracelet with an infinity clasp

my mom and dad with their gifts from me-- handkerchiefs with personal notes

me and my girls!  making our way down to the limo

it's wedding day!

 Brian with Colin, our ring bearer/nephew

colin and his little sister Meredith, our flower girl

i love this picture-- Colin watching the big boys take their group pictures outside

Brian's cousin and best man helping with his tie

please note the pancakes and beers

toasts on the way to the church!

let's get married!

long weekend recap!

We did so very little this long weekend and it was absolutely GLORIOUS.  Now that all of the busy holidays are over, we're settling into our own little weekend routine and it's perfection. 

I've always been an up-and-at-'em type of person-- weekends, holidays, vacation days, you name it, I'm up and ready for the day with the sun.  I've somehow convinced Brian to wake up with the good ol' sun and me on Saturdays (if you knew him, you'd know this is BIG STUFF, y'all) and get to the gym by 7am.  We workout for an hour, stop by Trader Joe's, grab coffees on the way home, then I get to relax/shower while he makes us breakfast.  I may be the Supper Commander, but I've married a Man of Breakfast, and for that I will be forever grateful.  The patience to slooowly scramble eggs and flip pancakes when they're just perfect is something I do not possess, but I could stir stir stir a risotto all the livelong day, so I graciously step out of our kitchen on weekend mornings so he can do his thing.  Call me corny, but I've always dreamed of mornings like that-- going with my husband to run all of our little weekend errands, then coming home to breakfast and coffee and a morning of relaxing.  I certainly consider myself a lucky gal!  

my fav: spinach, 1 scoop protein powder, almond milk, frozen strawberries, pineapple and banana!

Since we had absolutely nothing to do for the afternoon, we watched a few episodes of Dexter-- we're just about to start Season 3 and are completely hooked!  Who knew you'd ever root for a serial killer to not get caught?  That Michael C. Hall is gooood stuff!  Afterwards, Brian ran back out to the grocery store for me, I cleaned (again, because is there anything better than sitting on the couch at the end of the day with wine, a good smelling candle burning, and a clean house surrounding you?  I think not!), and we rallied later to cook date night dinner at home.  I promise, our weekends are not always this boring but sometimes you need to just shower, put your pajamas back on, and relax for the day!

Sunday morning I was WIDE AWAKE by 7:30am, so I played around on Pinterest for a bit, jumped in the shower, and headed out to get a much-needed mani/pedi.  I usually enjoy going on a Saturday afternoon because I love going home afterwards to get prettied up for date night (and take the perfectly posed pics of my fresh mani holding my wine glass-- do not give me that look, you know you do it too), but it was so nice to be at the nail salon when they first opened!  And I mean... I was the first person through the door.  After choosing my colors (navy for the toes, a deep purple for the mani), I got settled into my chair with my coffee, started reading "What Alice Forgot" and read the next half hour away.  It was blissful!  I came back home to breakfast AGAIN and a few more episodes of Dexter before the football games got started.  

Not really caring about the Seahawks/Packers game, I fiddled around the house, made a list of DIY projects for us to take on through the winter/early spring so we're READY for spring, and arranged my pretty flowers from Trader Joe's.  I spend between $10-12 each week on fresh flowers for various vases around our living room/kitchen and I will justify that cost until the day I die.  There's just something about these pretties, especially when it's cold, damp and blah outside! 

these pretties are going on two weeks!!

The mood struck me to pick up one of my books, so I snuggled into the couch and finished "Still Alice."  It was beautifully, painfully, intelligently, fantastically written and I would encourage everyone and anyone to pick it up immediately.  Now that I've read the book, I can't wait to see the movie.  I love Julianne Moore and from what I've gathered, she portrayed the character of Alice perfectly, so I can only imagine seeing this book come to life.

I had to work yesterday but Brian had the day off for the holiday, so we reconvened after work and hit the gym, then headed home for a quick dinner and... The Bachelor.  He is a man obsessed.  I suggested maybe watching something else and fast-forwarding through The Bachelor later-- nope.  He wanted to watch it live.  This is the first time I've ever seen him so into a show that is SO unlike what he typically watches, and I'm loving it while also hating it because... why can't it be Girls?  Or Downton?  It has to be The Bachelor that he gets onboard with watching?  Oh well.

Tonight we have a drinks/dinner date and are then off to see American Sniper.  I know what to expect but also have no idea what I'm in for, but I already have tissues packed in my purse, so there's that.

Happy Tuesday, lovelies!