High Five for the long weekend & Get Pin-spired September!

This week has once again been crazy busy!

Thankfully, we are rewarded with a long holiday weekend :)

Bonus: I am off today too!

We are enjoying today & tomorrow with X at Great Wolf Lodge :)

Anyways, doing my normal Friday link ups with Lauren & Darci :)

X LOVES to read his Chuggington book!
He constantly wants to point out all of his favorite trains :)

X and I both got much needed haircuts this week :)

While I sat calmly in the chair and enjoyed a glass of wine at my appointment,

X was a crazy man at his :(

I give a lot of credit to Debbie who cut his hair!

It came out really good considering he was moving all around and we had to hold him

the entire time!

I might think about cutting it myself next time....while he is sleeping ;)

source here

I was Pin-spired after I saw the photo above!

Took it to my girl Kasey,

and she did a fabulous job on my color :)

I am already thinking about adding more reddish/violet tones!

The result :)

 

Made this Pinterest recipe for dinner last night!

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole in the crockpot :)

source here

 

The Browns had their last preseason game last night. Meaning?

Bring on the regular season, tailgating, and more!

My hair wasn't the only thing that was Pin-spired this month,

so I am linking up with

Sheaffer, Shay, and Mel for September's Get Pin-spired!

I saw this combo on Pinterest and knew it would be a piece of cake this month :)

For a while black & tan were my signature colors,

too bad I have never liked the drink :(

 

source here

And here is my recreation of the outfit above...

I wear heels every day at work, so on the weekends and evenings I am all

about gym shoes, flip flops, boots, and flats!

I paired my black tee (from TJ Maxx, similar here),

with my Old Navy khaki shorts (similar here),

my Mossimo Camo flats (found here)

and my military hat from Target (similar found here and here).

It was WAY too hot outside for the denim jacket,

but it would have went well with the outfit had the weather called for it :)

Any big plans for the holiday weekend?

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Were you inspired by an outfit, recipe, or hairstyle on Pinterest?

Hope you all have a great weekend and holiday!

Sunshine Day

Stole this idea  Accepted the nomination from the wonderful

Stephanie @ Not Entirely Perfect 
to answer the following 10 questions.
Read more here on how she was nominated for the Sunshine Award!
Totally stealing her song idea for the title of this post!
Hello Brady Bunch :)

Grrr! No matter how many times I fix the spacing below it won't save :( Sorry!

1. What's your favorite TV show currently on netflix?

I don't have netflix, but if I did I would totally be watching all of the seasons of Glee.

I was sucked in to the show during the middle of last season and now I am hooked!

2. What color do you look best in?

IMO I have always looked good in red, but lately I would have to say by best color is navy.

I have been buying it a lot this past year. My hair & skin seems go with it pretty well, and I don't need a tan to rock it :)

3. Which Disney princess (the animated kind, not the Miley Cyrus kind) are you most like?

Princess Aurora

4. Favorite cartoon to watch growing up?

I have to go The Smurfs,

but I was always a big fan of The Flintstones and The Jetsons too :)

5. Go to drink at a coffee shop?

Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks is my fave!
When it isn't available I go with a Mocha Latte :)

6. Favorite blog(s) you found recently that you want to share?

Kayla at My Kind of Yellow and Katie at Keep Calm and Carry On
are two Ohio gals that I recently have come across :)

7. First store you look at when you have money to spend?

These days J.Crew Factory.
Everything fits perfectly that I have purchased from there and has been on sale :)

8. What's your instagram account? So I can follow you of course!

X-tremely V

9. Thing about Fall you are most looking forward to?

Do I seriously have to narrow it down to one thing?
I love everything about the Fall!
Football, pumpkins, sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattes Oh My!

10. What's your favorite thing to win in blog giveaways?

I have never won anything before,
but a gift card to Target or Starbucks would be nice :)





Since I love inviting others to join the fun...
I nominate all of you answer the following 10 questions either in the comments below
or your own post :)

1. Who is your favorite TV character? Past & Present.
2. Who is your favorite musical artist and favorite band of all time?
3. What did you think your child or future child's name would be when you were younger?
4. What is your go-to for fast food?
5. Name a town (other than where you live) in your current state that everyone should visit.
6. What kind of car would you drive if money didn't matter?
7. What was your favorite toy as a child?
8. What is your actual job title?
9. What is your favorite kind of cookie?
10. Sweet or unsweet tea?

And GO!!! :)
Can't wait to see your answers and posts!

Oh, and today is the final preseason game so...

 

GO BROWNS!!!!

 

August 28th Photo of the Day

The many faces of X while he is laughing :)

He can't help but turn a frown upside down!

My Wedding - Planning Part 1

Continuing the countdown to my anniversary today :)
See the first post of the series, My Wedding - Engagement here!


It's plain and simple people, I like to plan things!

While I can't say I was one of those girls that planned out every detail of their wedding as a child, I did know the exact dress I wanted.

Like most girls do, I immediately started coming up with ideas for the wedding.

What time of year did we want to get married?

What would our wedding colors be?

What friends and family would we ask to be in our wedding party?

Where would the wedding/reception take place?

Thankfully Mic let me take the reigns when planning our big day :)
Yes, I asked for his input from time to time,

but mostly this was my big party to plan :)

And boy did I plan!

I honestly had at least 3 gigantic binders full of ideas, venues we visited,

churches to check out, etc.

When Mic and I agree on things, we really agree on things!

We both love the Fall so it was kind of no brainer on when we would get married.

Since we just got engaged in the Spring,

we decided to give ourselves time to plan things instead of rush.

We set our date to be October 7, 2006 :)

Our next big hurdle was to decide where we were going to get married.

We both grew up in different towns (about 1 1/2 hours a part),

so we made the decision to get married near my hometown.

Getting married near Lake Erie and having my pictures taken at the lake was something I had always dreamed about.

There wasn't even a discussion when it came to the wedding colors!

I wanted red, black & white!

And that is what we had, with some orange for the Fall :)

The date, basic location, and colors were set within a week or so.

Now the hard part starts!

Where were we going to get married?

I had always pictured an outdoor wedding, but when it came down to actually

planning the ceremony I never even thought of another spot besides a church.

The church I went to as a child, and the occasional Christmas & Easter services was

a bit too small for the wedding ceremony.

Shallow moment: I wanted the church we got married in to match my wedding colors!

So after visiting quite a few churches in the area with my parents,

I made the decision to get married at St. Peters UCC.

It was small, but had a cute upper balcony.

It was old brick on the outside, and it had red carpeting down the aisle.

The minister there was a great man, and played a big part in why I picked it :)

One of the best & hardest parts of the wedding to plan was the reception!

That will be a post in itself!

I had checked out quite a few different options for the reception...

some were absolutely beautiful but small,

some were nice with odd layouts,

some were huge but super basic,

and some were just insanely expensive!

In the end I chose the huge, but super basic hall called

Lorain Party Center.

I really didn't care about how fancy the tables & chairs were, or if they had some

world renowned chef, or that it was or wasn't a country club.

I just wanted everyone to have a good time and hopefully not have it cost a fortune!

Oh, and I wanted a huge dance floor!

I got all 3 of the above with Lorain Party Center :)

Tune in next week for Part 2 of planning our big day!
Talking dress shopping, bridesmaids, and more!

August 27th Photo of the Day

Loving my new hair color courtesy of the wonderful Kasey @ Studio 19 :)

Feeling Nostalgic

Do you ever have those moments where you feel happy, sad, and mad

all at the same time?

I had one of those over the weekend while driving through my hometown.

source here


source here


source here

On Sunday I was taking X over to my mom's house so Mic and I

could complete our fantasy football draft at my dad's house.

Driving on Lake Road with X in the backseat we looked out our windows to see Lake Erie :) It was gorgeous!
Then a flood of memories and emotions started taking me over.
I actually started to tear up a bit :(
I was happy that my family still lived along Lake Erie,
and that we would be able to visit quite a bit and show X where I grew up.
I was sad because he wouldn't get to have the same experiences I had,
or come to know and love my hometown like I do.
I was mad because our jobs don't allow us to live closer to my family and Lake Erie.

I know my hometown is nothing special,
and it has changed so much from what I remember and loved as a kid.
But it is MY hometown!
And I will always love it!
I hope that as X grows up I will be able to share all the wonderful things about
it and he will come to love it as well :)

August 26th Photo of the Day

Everyone wears crocs with their jammies right? :)

Weekend Stuff(ed)

Another weekend has come and gone and so has the month of August for that matter!

That means two 4 day work weeks in a row for me :)

Did you have a good weekend?

Our weekend was filled to the brim with a little bit of everything!

 Sad to say that every meal we had this weekend was takeout because we were so busy :(

We are eating at home all this week!

I want healthy food!!!!

Anyways, onto our weekend recap in photos :)

Finished the Rum & Coke cupcakes Friday night for our fantasy football draft party :)

August 24th Photo of the Day

Stopping for a photo while playing outside :)

Took X to the park while Mic was golfing on Saturday.

Of course this kid can't go anywhere without making new friends :)

Trying to get Diamond to play cars with him ;)

August 25th Photo of the Day

It's the 2013 Fantasy Football Draft!

eXecution Factory all the way this year!!!

For some reason my personal videos won't post :(

Any tips blogger friends?

From the photos it doesn't look like much, but it was a great, tiring, fun weekend :)

Side note: Did anyone else watch the VMA's last night?

Seriously Miley?

Thank God I have a son, AND

Thank God for class acts like Justin Timberlake! :)

Linking up today with Sami @ Sami's Shenanigans for

August 23rd Photo of the Day

 

I was all about it being 4:30pm and getting to leave work to start the weekend!

It's Friday!

While this week hasn't been that eventful,

it sure feels like it was go, go, go!

Linking up for H54F with Lauren,

and 5 for Friday with Darci :)

My Top 5 for the week in no particular order...

Pretty Little Liars & The Vineyard on ABC Family were so good this week!

You must check them out!

We went out to dinner with friends at a Japanese Steakhouse and it was so good!

From the soup to the sushi to my rice and steak....all DELISH!

I was seriously in a food coma for the entire next day!

Loved checking out all the first day of school pics from all of my friends on

Facebook and Instagram!

While I can wait, I also can't wait to take those pics of X!

For now I will settle with new birthday pics every year :)

My PilatesFusion class was changed to a BarreFusion class and it was insane!

While I miss the full hour of more yoga based exercises,

the BarreFusion kicked my butt!

Monday was a rough, but good class, and Wednesday just added to it.

However, both made me feel amazing afterwards and that is what matters :)

Made some cupcakes for my fantasy football draft this weekend.

Rum & Coke is the flavor this time!

Pics will be posted on Monday :)

So how was your week?

Did your kiddos go back to school this week?

August 22nd Photo of the Day

Throwback Thursday!

My mom took this photo of a photo and sent it to me.

That's me on the left in the blue romper with pigtails :)

StoryBook Forest was awesome!

August 21st Photo of the Day

X's latest piece of art work from school :)

Pinterest Recipe - Garlic Chicken Pasta

I found this gem of a recipe on Pinterest awhile back,

and have made it too many times to count already!

I love it, Mic loves, even X loves it!

Super easy to make, and under 30 minutes!

That is a winning recipe in my book!

We have even made the following recipe without the chicken if we don't have any

or are really short on time!

Still super delicious!

Garlic Chicken Pasta

Here is what you will need:

8 0z. of uncooked fettucine noodles

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 Land O'Lakes Saute Express Garlic & Herb squares

Before I get into the instructions I will tell you what I modify from time to time with the above ingredients...

I am not a huge tomato fan, so I only use 1 instead of 2 and there is still plenty in the dish.

I also use 1-2 more garlic & herb squares because we LOVE garlic in our house :)

Now, how to make it!

Melt 2 (or more) garlic & herb squares in a 12 inch non-stick skillet just until bubbles begin to form.

Add the chicken.

Saute' for 13-18 minutes or until chicken has reached 165 degrees.

Chicken will be brown on both sides and juices will run clear.

Once chicken in the skillet, cook the pasta according to the box directions.

Drain when complete.

Remove the chicken from the skillet when done cooking.

Melt 1 (or more) garlic & herb squares in the skillet.

Add onions and cook for about 1-2 minutes until soft.

Toss in the pasta and tomatoes to coat.

Slice the chicken and serve over the pasta.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

There you have it folks!

Super simple and tasty dinner in about 30 minutes!

Check out more Land O'Lakes recipes and products here and here.

What have you been cooking lately?

Have you tried any Land O'Lakes products or recipes?

My Wedding - The Engagement

With our 7 year wedding anniversary a little over a month away,

I figured I would count down to it by featuring a weekly post.

While the information isn't fresh in my head,
I would love to think back to those months, days, hours and share them with all of you :)

Added bonus: I will then have those memories written down in this wonderful

little blog to look back at from time to time :)

Let's Begin!

The Engagement

I did a post awhile back called The Story of Us that talked about

how Mic and I first met,

when we got engaged, married, etc.

While it was a pretty lengthy post,

each area was a brief story about the event.

Today, I am focusing solely on the story of our engagement.

Mic and I had been together for about 2 1/2 years when I, he, we made the decision for me

to move in with him. At this point I was living about 1 1/2 hours away from him :(

We were only able to see each other on our days off!

If this relationship was going to continue to move forward we needed to make a change.

So Labor Day weekend in 2003 I moved away from all of my family and friends

to live with my guy :)

Super scary people!

I am extremely attached to my family and had never lived that far from home.

I cried a lot!

I drove home every chance I had!

It was super hard not knowing anyone here.

But as I look back on this decision,

it was one of the best decisions I have ever made :)

Can you believe that Mic? (He reads my blog)

It will be 10 years that I have lived here in just a little over a week,

and I still have a hard time calling this place home.

However, each day with X in it makes it feel more like home.

Or at least a 2nd home to me :)

Anyways, back to my story...

I did what every girl/guy should never do in a relationship!

I gave Mic an ultimatum! Yikes!

I told him if we weren't engaged within the next year and a half

I would be heading back home.

I know, I am thankful almost every day that he didn't throw me out on the curb

right then and there!

So fast forward to March of 2005
Completely unknown to me, Mic had been visiting some jewelry stores

looking for a ring for me :)

He puts in the research for anything he does in life!

While it can drive me nuts at times,

I do love that he wants to make sure he is getting the best possible for his money, etc.

On one of his visits he was sitting down looking at different diamonds with a store associate.

As seen in the movies, he was inspecting a diamond by holding it with those little

tweezers they give you.

Well, all of the sudden the diamond shoots out of the tweezers and goes flying!

He couldn't believe it!

He thought for sure if they didn't find it, he would be paying for it!

Thankfully after some crawling around on the floor, Mic and the associate found the diamond that took flight and all was right with the world :)

He finally found "the one" at a local jewelry shop (that his family has gone to for years)
and had it set into a single platinum band for me.

Exactly what I wanted people!

Understated, simple, TOTALLY ME!

Meanwhile, St. Patrick's Day was approaching and I had made plans to go out with

a friend of mine from work for some green beers.

At the time I was in a bowling league, and was supposed to have to bowl that night.

I decided to skip (which I never do)

to go out for drinks instead (again, something I never do!) 

For some reason Mic was super irritated by this!
He never cared before, so why now I thought.

I didn't understand why he would be so upset about this change in my day.

So of course after many questions by me,

he spilled the beans.

He had planned on surprising me with a proposal on March 17th!

He had planned the evening out around my normal time schedule - work, bowling, etc.

I felt horrible and super excited at the same time!

He decided he wanted me to be surprised so he waited to officially propose until a few weeks later on April 2nd :)

I will admit, knowing that he was going to pop the question was an amazing feeling

but it sucked that I knew about it and had to wait for it.

I told the simple story of that day in the post mentioned above.

Of course once we were engaged

I immediately had to contact my parents and my brother :)

Once we spoke to our families and let them in on the good news,

we proceeded to let our friends know as well.

It was a crazy, stressful, amazing day!

The best part is we now share the memory of that special day with another wonderful memory in our lives...

the day I found out I was pregnant!

Well, not the same day but the same date!

April 2, 2011

There is something about April, and specifically the 2nd that brings great

things to Mic and I :)



Linking up with Jenny @ The Jenny Evolution

for Flash Friday Blog :)

August 20th Photo of the Day

Dinner at Shinto with friends...super yummy!!!

August 19th Photo of the Day

Pizza on the grill for dinner = Yes, please :)

July Birchbox Review

Yes, I have already received my August Birchbox in the mail.

Yes, we are already over halfway through August.

Yes, I am finally reviewing my July box.

Problem?

So in this post I talked about receiving my very 1st Birchbox

delivery in the mail.

I didn't want to do a full review of the box until I actually had the chance to use all

the products for a little while.

I have used them all enough times now to form a good opinion or review of them

so here it goes!

First up is the Tan Towel. It is simply a sunless tanner in the form of a moist wipe.

I loved the fact that the towel was able to be used on your face and body.

My skin is super sensitive,

so it is nice to have a product that is formulated for both areas :)

The towel is a bit small (compared to the ones I have used before),

so it started to feel a bit dry by the time I was only halfway through using it :(

It only took about 5-10 minutes to feel like I was dry enough to get dressed for bed.

Pros: Fairly easy to use, no streaks, left a light glow of color

Cons: Had a slight odor (my nose is super sensitive), color was too faint for me

Next up is Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect spray.

It is a leave-in conditioning mist.

I have used this off and on, but I haven't noticed a major difference with my hair.

Can't say I love it or hate it, just whatever.

I will probably just stick with my good ole' Suave detangler for kids :)

It smells yummy and works great!

The Dr. Lipp balm I have used a few times,

and the Coola moisturizer I honestly haven't touched.

The balm is pretty think, so it would be great in the winter time for chapped lips.

Right now I prefer to stick with my classic cherry Chapstick

because it is easy to apply (just swipe and go!).

To be honest, I thought the Coola product was an actual sunscreen and didn't see

the need for it recently.

Of course now that I reread the product description I realize that I am an idiot! lol!

I will be testing out this moisturizer next time I am out and about sans makeup :)

The final product from my July box is the Marcelle BB Cream in Golden Glow.

Oh my do I love this stuff!

It seriously has the perfect amount of color, glow, coverage, and moisture!

I have been wearing it non-stop since it arrived!

Again, my skin is super duper sensitive and I have had no problems with this product.

I usually can't wear any sort of foundation that isn't powder based,

but this little gem has been amazing for me.

If you haven't tried it yet, or didn't receive it in your box

you must try it out! You won't regret it!

Thank you Birchbox for introducing me to some new companies and items

that I never would have come across without you :)

Here is a sneak peek at my August box...

Can't wait to try out these new items!

Do you receive a monthly Birchbox?

What different items did you receive?

Have you tried any of these mentioned products?

Weekend Craziness & August 19th Photo of the Day

The Weekend Recap is back!

Did you miss it?

I know I missed writing it!

This is honestly the easiest post to write all week!

Our weekends are super busy lately and truly deserve their own post,

instead of just a few highlights on my H54F posts.

So for now recaps have returned! :)

Friday night we took X to the annual Blueberry Festival in town.

It has little rides for the kiddos,

craft and homemade goods tables,

a Miss Blueberry pageant,

 a little petting zoo area,

and the best part of all....

Carnival Food!

I go to about 2 fairs/festivals a year and this is one of them,

so you better believe I am always ready to soak up all of the greasy fries,

funnel cakes, and cotton candy I as can!

To my amazement we didn't eat that bad!
Schmidt's had a vendor truck there and we couldn't pass it up!
Mic got the Bahama mama, while X and I settled for gigantic hot dogs :)
We visited the petting zoo area, rode a pony, and played in the play/park area.
Unfortunately, X is still too small for most of the rides and they wouldn't let us
go on with him :( Maybe next year :)

On our way out we stopped at the Lerch's Donuts trailer for some warm blueberry donuts,
and then back to the Schmidt's trailer for the colossal
blueberry cream puff! YUM!

Mic trying to get X to feed the goat!

Pony ride!

This kid is fearless! He loves to go down any and all slides no matter how big!

Weeeee!

Loves the rocking/bouncy things as well!

source here
Forgot to take a photo of the cream puff before we devoured it,
so here is an image of them from Schmidt's.
They are huge people!

Saturday & Sunday were filled with lots of golf for Mic!

So on Saturday, X and I went to visit the children's museum and see the big trucks
before heading out for a birthday party.

Riding around on the toys outside the museum :)

Inside the museum they have all kinds of play areas set up...
from a doctor's office, to a bank, grocery store, farm, etc.
X was in the digging area with his hard hat and flashlight :)

Checking out the barrel of fruit in the farm area.
He loved the little John Deere in front of him :)

Since X is obsessed with planes lately,
it was great that they had one he could sit in!

Checking out the train display.

A couple of the roads outside the museum were closed for all the big trucks.

Some of them actually had an operator in them to show the kids how they worked :)

X got to sit in a garbage truck and watch the dumpster go overhead!

Checking out the military vehicles.

X loved this old truck! He kept saying "Oh WOW!" :)

The Shrine Club trucks are the perfect fit :)

A few of the trucks that X sat in where I could actually take a picture!

 

Saturday night we attended the cookout for the golf outing Mic was in.

We of course are the only ones with a child there,

mainly because everyone else there is over the age of 50!

Yes, Mic golfs in a league that the average age is anywhere from 65-70!

He loves it!

The bourbon frosting cupcakes I made for the cookout

seemed to be a hit!

Rocking my new clearance pick up (similar hat) from Target :)
Love that store!

Sunday was much more low key!
X and I hung out around the house and just played :)
I also made Dinner in a Pumpkin, minus the pumpkin yesterday :)
You can't tell I am ready for Fall can you? lol!

 

X was so focused on playing with his cars that he didn't even notice

that our cat Diamond was laying right next to him!

Normally he chases poor D out of the room every chance he gets :(

August 18th Photo of the Day

This photo does not do dinner in a pumpkin justice!

This mixture is amazing!

Can't wait for pumpkin season :)

So what did you do this weekend?

Can you believe we are already halfway through August? Crazy!