Just for You, Ryan

Oh how I love me some Ryan Gosling.  I just Netflixed Drive last week and the week before I had Crazy Stupid Love...great movies, Ryan was yummy in both.

Anyways, I have been crocheting these cute bracelets that I found through Pinterest:

And then my dear sister e-mailed me this picture:

Ahh, yes sir.

Mail Call

I love getting mail!  Well, packages mostly, lol.  My husband hates this obsession, but with the invention of Groupon and the like, I get great deals!  So when I have to explain to him why there is another box in the mail, in my eyes, it makes the pill a little easier for him to swallow :o)  Some recent things I am excited over:

A package from my swap partner Sarah over at Life's Short...Poupard This was really my first official swap.  Well, I did a Christmas card swap, but this was the first time purchasing items for another person.  I had fun doing it!  (I won't say what I got for her, I just sent hers out!)

Tell me that's not a great pile!  A CUTE little sequined bag!  Sticky notes which Matt uses all the time to remind himself to take things to work (I find them scattered around the house daily), note cards and a beautiful journal.  And nail polish...Woohoo!  I've been doing my nails A LOT lately and I was giving them some time to breathe, but now I have new colors to try...sorry nails :o)  Thanks again, Sarah!!

I recently took advantage of a Groupon for something called Whipsy.  It's a whipped cream spiked with wine...SOLD.  I think I only paid $10 for the Party Pack on Groupon (I can't remember now).  So Whipsy comes by way of FedEx (Check to see if they deliver to your state BEFORE you buy).  It's really tasty in a weird way!  I've only tried in on hot chocolate, but there are recipes on the cans.  

Then I get a card in the box that says to post a picture on their Facebook page with your favorite Whipsy beverage to get a free TShirt.  Available to the first 50 people. 

Done.

And done.

And I guess lastly, I will rave about my new knives from WOOT!  This was my first time ordering from them.  My brother is a woot nut and gets a lot of things from them, but nothing ever did it for me.  But these knives caught my eye.  They are Kuhn Rikon...honestly I had never heard of them.  But it was a 4 piece set of these non-stick knives with a plactic stand and they came in funky colors.  $14.99!!!  Amazon.com had amazing reviews so I went for it and they have not disappointed.  Granted, I have not tried to sharpen them yet, but for everyday kitchen kind of stuff, they are great!  And SUPER sharp right out of the box!  Well done, Woot.

OK, I think I'm done with this really long winded post!  I just get really excited about sharing :o)  Show and Tell used to be one of my favorite days in school.  Well, mostly because it got me out of doing real work, just like I have put off working out for the last 30 minutes by blogging.  Anyway.  Off to the elliptical!

When Life Gives You Lemons

Throw them back.

Ever feel like NOTHING is going your way?  That's a dumb question.  My husband is such a positive person.  I have a hard time being that way.  I feel like one of us should worry about things at least a little bit of the time.  But sometimes his, "Just relax, take a deep breath" attitude annoys the crap out of me.

But, in trying to keep positive...Spring is around the corner!  I NEED the fresh air and sunlight and flowers.  Thankfully we haven't had snow.  By now I'm over that anyway, but since we didn't get a big storm this year, I'm ready to bypass the rest of the cold weather.

In fun Pinterest news I finally got around to making some things including these babies:

Brownies with a Godiva Caramel in the center and a Salted Caramel Buttercream...you must try the recipe.

I'm trying to stay busy with creative projects...I bought yarn and other crafty things.  Maybe this negative energy shift will help me out of my creativity slump!  Positive thoughts, right?!

Finally Finished!

I was asked by my husband to crochet a scarf in the Nyan Cat theme.  If you are not familiar with the Nyan Cat, please click here and you can thank me later for not being able to get the song out of your head :o)

So there is a guy at his job who is OBSESSED with this thing so I happily obliged.  Here is what I came up with:

We also added a little recorder so that when you push the cat's nose, it plays 10 seconds of that oh-so-catchy song, lol.

Starbucks vs. Me

Starbucks won.

I am a pretty loyal Dunkin Donuts girl.  I am happy with a medium French Vanilla Light and Sweet any day of the week.  I can't be bothered with Latte's or Frap's or whatever else S.B.'s has to offer and quite frankly I still don't get the whole "Tall, Grande, Venti" system.  I think it's stupid and I think I sound stupid asking for my size that way.

Anyhoo.  My mother-in-law feels the same way, and had TWO gift cards in her wallet that she had been carrying around for over a YEAR!  She asked me if I could use them, so I told her I would.  I mean, it had been over a year!  If it came down to it, I would happily order a hot chocolate or something.

I am not even joking when I tell you that I actually researched what to order and how to order it!  I went in with my mom, who also had no clue what to get, I should have also preplanned for her.  I asked for a Grande Mocha...simple.  Mom got some sort of Caramel Latte.  I should have known something was up when the girl asked me if I wanted room for milk....um, no, I thought to myself, I'll just mix in the whipped cream when I get home and that should be good enough.  

 I get home...no whipped cream!  Man, I got ripped off!  Because after my hours of research, a standard Cafe Mocha COMES with whipped cream.  So I sipped it anyway and thought I would die.  There was no sweetness (remember I like a light and sweet coffee), no chocolatey flavor.  So I doctored it with Splenda, and my own whipped cream, more Splenda, then some Half & Half, then DUMPED more Splenda in.  OMG why is this not tasting better!????  I finally pull the receipt out of my wallet (which got covered in coffee on the way home, ugh), and surprise!  I was served Dark Roast Coffee, not the Cafe Mocha I could have written a 4 page thesis paper about.  

 
Damn you Starbucks.  Damn you.

Things I'm Loving

So it's a new year!  Lately I've been finding myself obsessed with a few new things, so here we go...
Firstly, it's not that cold here in NJ, we haven't had any significant amounts of snow since October!  I've hardly even seen a random flurry...it's breaking my heart!  I usually love the beginning of the winter after the holidays.  But anyway, it's still cold enough to be in LOVE with these babies:

If you like flannel sheets, you have to try this Polar Fleece set from QVC.  They are so soft and warm!  I'm curious to see if they hold up after a lot of washing, but for the moment, I am smitten.

THIS was under the Christmas tree from my wonderful husband!  This flash has been on my wishlist forever!  I am in no way a professional, but this has totally changed the quality of my shots!  Thank you, husband!

I am completely into pampering myself lately.  I bought some stuff to treat my feet and hands.  It was like once I hit 30, my skin took a nose-dive to Flakey Town.  Gross.  But the lotion I can't get enough of this winter is a new one by Carmex.  It's been hard to find in stores, but it's awesome!  It's a healing lotion for dry skin.  It smells good and it's not greasy at all.  If there is one thing I hate about lotion, it's sticking to my new plush sheets when I'm ready for sweet dreams.

Self-manicures are a must!  I've been getting pretty good too!  My favorite polish brands are Zoya (I have a BUTT load of those due to them always giving away freebies on their Facebook page), Sally Hansen (Their Gem Crush colors are FULL of sparkle!), and China Glaze.  What's not to love about any of these brands?

Here is something you will never get me to like...


Cakepops.  I'm sorry, Bakerella, your talent as an artist amazes me (have you seen some of her other more decorative pops?), but I just can't figure out why they are so popular!  The only thing I can picture when I see them, is someone taking a bite out of a beautifully decorated cupcake, chewing it up and then spitting a wad out into their hand, shoving a stick into it, and saying, "isn't it darling?!"  Nope, not hopping on that bandwagon.  Wake me when it's over and cupcakes go back to being eaten from a wrapper again...pre-chewed.

 Now you have the visual too, you're welcome...