Grand Lake weekend

This week has been BUSY so far. I left Monday morning for Houston, got back yesterday and had a work thing last night. So here I am...recapping the weekend on a Wednesday. Whatever.

For Father's Day weekend, we headed to Grand Lake. (Fun fact: Oklahoma has more shoreline than the East and Gulf Coasts combined). Eric's parents rented a fabulous condo at the newly-renovated Shangri la. Not all the living spaces have been fully renovated yet, but it's so awesome to see the Oklahoma landmark breathing again with a new owner and lots of work. It had become so overgrown and stuff, it was just sad. Anyway, I digress...

Really fab rooftop condo with our own little private pool and patio! The pool came in handy, but that's a story in a minute...

We arrived, opened some adult beverages, and played Cards Against Humanity. Even Eric's parents played...which made it even funnier. It's weird to think someday we'll be parents and our kids will assume we don't know any bad words/inappropriate sayings, etc.

Random selfie

 

 

The view from our terrace :)

 

 

 

Saturday, guys played golf then we did lunch at the marina and planned to go out on a boat.... 

But....

 

The wind was exceptionally insane...and the temperatures weren't typical June temps in Oklahoma. Normally, I wouldn't complain about any of this, but on a boat... it was a little chilly for the lake and the water was like being in the open sea...haha...

 

This is pretty much the only photo we got on the boat...as we re-entered the marina to return it to the doc 20 minutes after taking it out. The water was so choppy that our pontoon took in about 2.5 feet of water at one point and the motor was up in the air...haha! #lakeproblems #everymanforhimself

 

Please notice my wet hair from just being in the boat 20 minutes. It was a rough ride, people.

So, at that point, we were thankful to have the pool back at the condo...

 

With my pretty sis in law :)

 

Then, that evening, we grilled out on our patio and just chilled. Perfect evening. :)

 

We thought we might take the boat out Sunday morning, but alas, we woke up to insane rain and lightning. It was still a great weekend even sans boat, though. Actually loved just getting a chance to chill and hang out. Plus, while it was a bit cool for boating in high wind, temps were perfect to sit outside and enjoy the day...which is rare this time of year in Oklahoma.

 

We're all headed to Tahoe next month for a week and I'm pretty excited. It'll be nice to get away. (Any and all Tahoe recs appreciated). Eric and I are also still hoping for a beach getaway later this year, but TBD. The whole "let's remodel our new house" thing might influence that...

 

Hope you're having a happy Wednesday! We're on the downward slope, friends...:)



Our wedding video clip

Happy Monday! It was a solid weekend- Eric and I chaired the 10th annual wine event for our alma mater benefiting the scholarship fund, we got a little pool time in at the new house, saw some bike racing at Tulsa Tough and made time to veg out since the next few weekends are a little busier. I have some pics, but I'll work on that later.

I was preparing a wedding post b/c I fully intend to someday finish posting about the wedding/honeymoon....and it dawned on me that I can share the little video preview thing our videographer did for us. It makes me happy. And happy things are always needed on a Monday. So, while I doubt it'll make you as happy as it makes me (although it totally should..duh..haha), wanted to share...



So many memories in this 3 minute clip... :)

Casa de Griffin!

(I hope all these pics pull up. A lot were just copy paste from email, so let me know if they don't por favor).

 

Hi friends! Guess what! Guess what! We closed on our house on Thursday!



Everything went fabulously and we had keys (and beers) in our hands by lunchtime Thursday!

 

Wahoo!

 

We decided to wait to celebrate since Eric had to work Friday (It was my every-other-Friday-off Friday). So on Friday, I went to my hair appt. And randomly decided that new house= new hair! ha! I'd really kinda been admiring the new shorter cuts like Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere and Kaley Cuoco's bob (Apparently as of today, she has a pixie cut. Thanks, google).  

 

 I wasn't planning to cut it yet, but was definitely feeling the urge. I showed Candice (my friend and stylist) the pics I like and she was like "OMG let's do it!" and the rest, my friends, is...well... a big pile of hair...

 

Anyway, I loved my long hair when I curled it, but it's so stick straight normally that it was looking really stringy when I didn't curl it. So.. hooray for a fresh cut! :) Sometimes I think I just grow my hair out so I can cut it again...and vise versa...haha!

 

So...back to regular programming... Friday night, we went back over to our house to meet with another architect! And took a selfie. In our living room! YAY!

 

Then Mexican food and cocktails happened. 

Saturday, we decided to hit up the pool store, bought some nice raft things, loaded up a grill and headed to our new house. No, we haven't moved anything else over. Just pool rafts. Priorities.

 

I have a feeling this isn't going to suck in the summer... 

And we had our first dinner at the new house! Our table was a storage tub, plates were paper, champagne was in plastic glasses...and it was perfect. :)

 

The yard extends beyond the trees/bushes behind the pool. They kind of create a nice private area around the pool. :)

 

Eric was really wanting to eat in this photo.. I was like "Please I want to take a selfie first! No wait...another one b/c you can't see the food...okay that's good..." I'm pretty sure he was about to kill me...haha... :)

Yesterday, a couple of friends joined us at the new house for some pool time and we took the pups over for the first time! They LOVED it! They didn't so much love swimming, so we didn't force them, but they ran around the big yard and explored so much. It was adorable. I have videos but no photos. Oops.

 

I have some photos of the house, but I have better ones saved on my home computer so I'll upload soon. I like the way the house looks completely empty. The only photos I have handy have the former owner's stuff in them. Plus, I think it will be cool to talk about what we want to do with some of the photos. :) We have meetings with a handful of architects this week, so we'll get an idea of who we want to use and then be able to get started with planning!! We've heard to do the existing footprint first and then do the master add-on we want in phase two. But then we've also heard to do the master addition first and existing footprint after since it will be easier. So we just don't really know. It will likely depend on timing and cost for what makes the most sense. Our phases will be pretty close together, but we just aren't sure where to start.

 

So it was a pretty fantastic weekend for the Griffins, not gonna lie. Also... Do you know that no one at my office has noticed my hair cut? NO ONE. I cut like 10 inches off, people! ha! So observant, so observant.

 

Happy Monday, friends!

 

 

Memorial Day Weekend + A New Self Tanner Fav

It was a really busy Memorial Day weekend! I kid... We actually did nothing of merit, which was pretty fantastic in and of itself.

Eric and I kicked off the weekend with MiCo mambos and dilemmas (Eric is holding the dilemma...I can't have more than one dilemma or I turn into hot mess).



 

I finally bought the maxi I'd been obsessing over at Dillards. Despite my serious selfie face, I really do love it.

 

Why so serious?

 

(I also found some awesome supersoft tshirt dresses at Target. Highly recommend. On sale now. There were more colors in my store than online, but here's the link. If in doubt and you want to order, order two sizes and take one back. My normal size small clinged just a bit too much to my backside and chest for my liking for a casual dress. I liked the way the medium fit better.)

 

Anyway, I digress...

 

We saw X-Men...and it was awesome! Did you know I'm an X-Men junkie? Well you do now and it was really freaking good. I heart Hugh Jackman Wolverine. 

 



 

We avoided storms and traded out cars so the older car was out and about with us in case of hail... #oklahomaweatherproblems

 

 

I'm not even complaining about the monsoons rain we've had the past couple of days b/c we needed it, but maybe Mother Nature could do some things in moderation? Eh? Just saying... 

 



Our driveway turning into a lake

We also celebrated a friend's kiddo's 5th birthday, watched the Thunder win, and had dinner with some friends. A good long weekend for sure. :)

 

And now... onto the random diatribe you can skip if you don't care about tanning. (But who doesn't care about tanning?! - says the recovered tan-a-holic with a standing annual dermatology appointment. *sigh*).

 

I found the best self tanner on earth. Okay, slightly overdramatic but this stuff is amazing. I'd read about it on The Northeast Girl's blog awhile ago but just hadn't taken the initative to order it. She has such great color and I was so glad she did a post to share her secrets earlier this year. (Side note: You should follow her. She has great style and mixes affordable pieces almost every day.)  Anyway, I finally bought it and couldn't wait to try it. I read online to use plastic gloves and I am so.glad.I.did. This stuff will dye your hands.

 

I watched a youtube video first to make sure I didn't jack up the application, but it's really pretty fool proof. Even though it will go on streaky, it doesn't stay that way once you shower the next day (I wear it overnight). I mean, I rubbed it in as well as I could, but it's okay if it's not perfect. It's paraben free and not tested on animals. I dig that. I put it on my face and it was fine. I don't have really sensitive skin though, so if you do, just maybe be careful there. It smells great...unlike so many of those other stupid tanners. It smells like Jergens cherry almond lotion scent if you're familiar with that. It does get that frito smell as it develops so you'll want to shower when you wake up or several hours after you apply...whatever your preference. But... then after the shower, the smell is pretty much gone! FREAKING AWESOME. Most tanners leave their smell with you even after you shower, but this one really doesn't.

What the bottle looks like

 

Here are the strengths in this tanner in my opinion...

* Easy to apply

* Since it's a lotion, it's much less mess than something like Fake Bake spray. I wanted to love Fake Bake, but I just couldn't get the application right and always ended up with more hassle and mess than it was worth.

* Dries really fast. I did my legs first and they were completely dry by the time I finished my stomach (the next place I applied after my legs).

* It works FAST. I noticed a difference in just one application. And I feel like I have really great color in just two applications.

* Pleasant smell for application and the developer smell mostly goes away after a shower. Not overpowering like some.

* It's not really sticky...at least not as sticky as the Jergens I've been using.

 

Stuff to consider:

* It's not cheap. I found it on Amazon, but the seller I purchased from isn't selling it right now so I didn't link it. I only paid $20, but I read a ton of reviews about the seller first to make sure I wasn't getting screwed. Amazon has it, but just make sure to read up on the seller. It's probably fine, but I just didn't want to link something I wasn't 100% certain of in the blog. Here it is on the Derm Store for quite a bit more cash, but at least you know it's authentic. I think some beauty supply places have it, but I couldn't find it in Tulsa.

* Make sure you select the color you want. I got "Dark" because there's a "Medium" and an "Ultra Dark." I was okay falling somewhere in the middle b/c I'm really pale normally. And I didn't want to look dirty. Since I'm so pale, a super brown tan looks weird on me. The dark is a great color for my skin tone.

 

Anyway, I didn't mean to write that much about it, but wanted to be full disclosure and I'm excited about it. I have only applied it twice so I don't know how it will fade, so TBD there. I could be a blotchy mess in two days. If so, I'll report back and strike this whole thing...haha...But, I really think I'm going to stick with this self tanner. I'm not patient enough for the super gradual ones but don't have time or an endless tanning budget to always go get a spray tan. I still really love the Hawaiian Tropic one, but it's become really hard to find. So if you have a lotion you like, go with it. But if you wanna try a new one, I highly recommend this one. Safe and sunless for the win!

 

Oh and the photo of me in the maxi dress above was after one application. I really wish I would have taken before/after photos. Arg. I just didn't think about it. That said, it really does vary for everyone and your own skin tone, so before/afters are hard if you ask me...

 

Anyway, that turned into a diatribe. I hope you had a great long weekend, friends.  

If you can't trust the internet, who can you trust? ;)

 



Obviously overdramatic, but have some recent observations.

 

1. I've started to notice a few folks looking awfully flawless in photos on social media. My thoughts went from "Wow, awesome skin!" to "Wait...that looks fake and doesn't match his/her neck." So I googled it. I had NO idea there are apps out there to basically airbrush your face! You can lift cheeks, add blush, apply lashes... WHAT?! 

 

* Who has that much time? B/c seriously playing with an app took me like 10 minutes for one photo!

* It's a selfie, not a resume for America's Next Top Model.

* Doesn't it make your other normal, unedited selfies appear subpar? Then you're forced into some pattern of constant editing?

 

Obviously some deep thoughts by Jackie. So I got one of the (free) apps I read about, Perfect 365. And people, it's weird. I didn't even go drastic, but check out the below difference.



 

Left: edited, right: not. Not like you needed me to point that out.

I mean, sure it makes me look less sleepy and like my skin is that of a 16 year old...awesome. But, really...I still think it's weird. While I probably could have applied more under eye concealer the day of this pic, I still like looking more like ME. Don't get me wrong. I still love me some instagram filters. Duh. But this just seems like a lot of work for a photo.

So know that if you're reading this and using the apps and feeling offended, I am 99.9 percent sure this isn't even about you. I'm talking about people that pretty much gave themselves a tan that didn't match their neck, widened their eyes and basically just went all extreme makeover through an app...haha... Fixing a blemish or some under eye circles? You go, girl.

But did you know these apps even existed?! Bizarre.

Anyway...

2. Why are so many people on social media selling things these days? Body wraps, skin care, food products? Iamsoconfused. But I am admittedly also intrigued by the business models. I mean, I obviously trust my friends so if they say it works, I'm automatically interested even if it's something I dont need/want. Genius. Anyway, just have noticed a lot of this stuff lately.

3. I really wanted to try a certain self tanner. I found it online on Amazon for $10 cheaper than anywhere else... and that price is consistent with other sellers on Amazon, so it's not some rogue seller. So I ordered it. But then I read a review like a page and a half in that says "this isn't the real stuff and won't work." Well crap. But the other reviewers love it and say it's the real deal. And the seller is legit with good reviews. So, friends, if I was deceived, prepare for my coffee stained self to do a post about scaring small children with my "tan."

End rant.

Last weekend, I...

So I think I've mentioned, but I now work slightly longer days so I can have every other Friday off. It rocks b/c trust me...with an hour commute each way, the longer days feel.even.longer. So that little three day weekend every other week is pretty fabulous. And it enables me to get shiz done that I can't otherwise get done since I leave so early and get home after stuff closes. Last weekend was one of those longer weekends for me. :) But that means this week is a regular old long week and I travel a little this week. So I'm kicking off the week with blogging. Seemed like a Monday mood booster. :)



 

It was a pretty good weekend as far as weekends go. :)

 

 I...

 

...watched the entirety of True Detective. As did Eric. Separately. On HBO Go on our iPads. #wearelosers. So then I should also add that I....had nightmares two out of the three weekend nights. Things you shouldn't watch on marathon? True Detective.

 

 

...saw Godzilla. Wasn't what I expected, but was still pretty good. Granted, I'm not a big Godzilla buff, so I have no idea what the hard core fans (Does Godzilla have hard core fans? I have no idea) were wanting. But I liked it. *shrugs*

 

...met up with Eric's cycling team for drinks on the patio after his Saturday morning ride. And then headed to the Blue Dome Arts Festival/Mayfest where we took a selfie waiting in line at food trucks.

 

 

...Contemplated getting a bike. I've been contemplating for over a year, but being with Eric's cycling friends made me want one more again. It's just such an expensive hobby if you're not sure you'll love it. But how does one know if they love something if they haven't tried? *le sigh* Do you have one? Do you cycle? Like with padded butt shorts and everything? Tell me about it. I want to know all the things. 

 



...Went to the eyebrow threading place in the mall where I didn't understand anything they said. Yeah, I know. But my girl is always so booked up and doesn't work weekends. And she's convinced me that threading is awesome. And I said above, I only get every other Friday off in Tulsa during normal working hours, soooo I kept forgetting to book her for those Fridays. Anyway, I went to the mall. It was fine. And then I got little bumps under my brows for two days. Granted, that could have been a result of waiting until I had caterpillars on my face to actually do something. But still. I think I'll stick with my (slightly overpriced) threading girl at her own salon.

 

...Had a lovely dinner with some of our friends at their house on Saturday night. Where I forgot to take any photos. Lame. I know. 

 

...Walked the furballs a few times. Now that I have this fitbit, it's making me walk more. The dogs are benefiting from my new found motivation. Below is an example as to why we cannot put them on one of those joint leash things.  

 

 

...ate a fatty cheeseburger and fries for dinner last night knowing my mouth will be numb tonight and I probably won't eat. Why? Oh b/c I'm getting a stupid crown. Granted, I shouldn't complain b/c I don't think I need a root canal with it. One of my old fillings from my sweet tooth kiddo days leaked into my tooth, tooth cracked....and the rest is history. I really hate shots in my mouth. *cringe* Think of me at 4pm CST, friends.



 

Happy Monday. Please resume changing the world now. :)

I am wearing a pedometer on my bra.

Seemed like a more entertaining subject line than "Friday confessions." After some recs from you guys and others, I ordered the FitBit zip and am trying it out today. It's half the cost of the Flex and accomplishes what I want. I was getting dressed this morning and was like "Well, they said you can clip it to your bra...soo...."

I'm really glad no one walked by while I snapped this photo pointing at my chest. Also, I look sleepy. TGIF.

Anyway, there's that.

And some other stuff is as follows:

* I read a blog post that said "What fresh hell is this?" and it made me laugh so hard. I want to start using that phrase. I've used it twice in the last day...on purpose. Maybe if I start saying it on purpose, it will become more natural/casually witty. No one needs to know I intentionally wove it in to the vocab. Moving on...

* Home inspections on the new casa have gone really well! (Happy dance in my head.) It's hard to work an hour from home in times like this b/c I couldn't really be there for any of it. Eric is probably tired of my "How's it going? Everything checking out?" texts. The meeting with an architect last week went well too! He noticed some things we hadn't even realized and suggested changes that would be so cool. So once we close later this month, we'll start on that process. Speaking of closing, I can't wait to get keys. I drive by our house so much, I think the neighbors are starting to get freaked out. Eh well. It just seems to be on the way to every errand I ever have to run ever. *shrugs* ;)

* Since I'm at a new job, I am desperately hoping to make some friends kinda trying to get to know more people. A nice coworker asked me to go walking with her at lunch and I eagerly agreed. She's considerably older than me so I thought maybe we'd walk fast, but still be able to talk. Um... one mile into our FOUR MILE excursion and I could barely breathe. Apparently she speedwalks. Good to know.

* I have recently decided that I don't like any of my jeans on me. They're all mostly the same skinny jeans from GAP and I don't know why I've just recently decided I don't like them. I highly doubt anything has changed about them or my body so I dunno what my deal is, but after a few hours of wear, they get stretched out in weird places and I don't love it. Any other recs for skinny jeans for someone with hips? A girl friend recommended some and I just haven't taken the initiative to go try them on yet, so if you have any recs, I'll add 'em to the options list. :)

I hope you all have great weekends and a fantastic Mothers Day! I feel like so many of my blog friends are now mothers too, and it's really fun to see your blogs and instagrams with your little ones and fun stories of motherhood. Weird to realize how long we've all been blogging, right? :) Anyhoo, Eric and I plan to spend the weekend celebrating both our fabulous moms and enjoying some hopefully awesome weather. (And I will probably also drive by our house 152 times. I'm glad my fitbit isn't counting that... It would make me seem like a stalker.)

 

 

 

I want a baby goat...and other weekend things.

Yesterday, it was 95 degrees here. Whoa. I think I remember spring. It lasted around two weeks...er...I think... I'm not complaining after the cold winter we had, though.

Anyway.. thank you so much for the kind words and congrats about the house! We're so stoked! We met with an architect on Friday and it seems like we'll be able to do everything we want in the budget we were thinking, so that's cool. We close later this month and we'll get some more formal plans started! *Cheesy happy face just typing that!*

Thought I'd share a few weekend pics... Saturday, we had a friend's Derby party. The friends actually live just around the block from our new house! Anyway, big hats, mint juleps, good times. :)

 

 

 

Sunday, we tried out Living Kitchen for dinner. They're a self-sustaining farm and do "farm table dinners" each month for around 40 people and give each dinner a theme. They'd already booked for the ENTIRE year, so when they added a Sunday dinner, I jumped on it. I didn't even care what the theme was. It ended up being Found and Forraged, which was all about local veggies and stuff that grows in the wild. It was pretty cool stuff. :) I think I'm going to get on the wait list for another dinner b/c it was just really fun and different...and healthy to boot.

 

Oh and I got to hold a baby goat. That made me happy. :) (And no, we did not eat any goats. Some people saw this photo and thought "living kitchen" meant that we ate the goat. If you know me, you know I would have totally kidnapped that baby if that's the case... Get it... "kid" napped...since baby goats are "kids.." haha...Okay, done making myself chuckle). 



 



 

If you go, know that the dinners are on the screened in porch. It's so cute, but there's no A/C, so dress accordingly. :) And you bring your own wine. Thankful Eric and I only brought one bottle or else Monday morning would have been tough with a capital T. 



 

 

So yeah...that's the weekend. Also...I was about thisclose to buying a FitBit yesterday. I think I want something to track my steps and all that jazz since my days are longer at my new job and I feel a little more sedentary in general. But, I dunno if a regular ol' pedometer is the better answer. Just thought it would be fun to track. Anyone have a FitBit flex? Love it? Hate it?

Oh and happy Cinco de Mayo! I plan on celebrating by watching The Blacklist at home in my pajamas later. #oldie We might get Mexican takeout. That counts as celebrating I think. 

Thoughts on Thursday

Lots of thoughts today...probably b/c I had a coffee so everything is moving 40mph faster in my head than normal...haha..
 

* Sooo.... we bought a house! What?! I know... after my last post where I was so forlorn about houses...Funny. We got a house that's been on the market since late fall. We loved it then, but it was just way overpriced so I refused to even go see it and actually forgot about it. Apparently the market agreed b/c it wasn't selling. Anyway, long story short, price dropped, a friend sent it to us, we saw it, we loved it...rest is history!  We're under contract as of yesterday! Crazy! It needs some renovations inside so we're meeting with an architect tomorrow and are so jazzed! We really wanted an older home that needed SOME work (so we could make it our own) but wasn't an absolute gutted project, ya know. I can move ONE wall, but but re-configuring a whole house sounds like another issue. We kept seeing homes that had all the work done already...but not how we would have done it. So it was really frustrating. Anyway...we got a gorgeous home that literally checks all the boxes we wanted...or will check them after a little renovation. :) One of my favorite parts...It's got a gorgeous pool and backyard. The house needs some TLC inside, but we both walked outside and were like "Wow." So basically, the contractors can just deal with me sitting poolside this summer while they hammer away...haha... Cross your fingers for good inspections.

 

 

Here comes the part where you think I'm crazy...but I'm telling you anyway. When we were looking at the house, I saw a cardinal in a nearby tree in the yard. People often view cardinals as good luck and/or a sign from a loved one who has passed. Anyway...I'll save all the gushy stuff, but I told Eric I thought it was a sign...as cheesy as it was. And well...the house worked out. :) So there you go.

 

I'll post some pics after inspections when it's a done deal. :) I also told Eric I want to take a pic in front of the "sale pending" sign. #cheesyawesome

 

* Eric and I have a busy weekend ahead...which is good b/c it will probably prevent me from just going and staring at our new house. ;) We've got a Kentucky Derby party, his sister's housewaming party and then are excited to round the weekend out with a dinner at Living Kitchen. I've never been, but am so excited to go! It's a certified organic sustainable farm that also hosts dinners. Reviews are awesome, so I'm stoked!

 

I'm sure I'll post some pics on Instagram but I'll do my best to come back over here and post some stuff too! I love blogging, but sometimes the thought just seems exhausting...Just me? I think it's b/c I love to download pics and edit them and post and basically just make it harder on myself than it needs to be.  Trying to work on that.

 

Recent self observations

When I’m sleepy, allergied-out, hungover (not like that ever happens) or just plain in a bad mood, I over-accessorize. It’s my secret. I feel like if I make everything on my body super busy, then no one will notice that I have a scowl or bloodshot eyes. Just saying. It’s like “Look at the shiny things! Lookie look! Don’t look at my puffy eyes or red nose. Kthanks.” Plus, well…wearing a fun scarf + earrings + bracelets + whatever else all at once just makes you feel good. Like you’re playing dress up.  

 

I should learn how to change a tire. I had a flat. Rephrase…I had a slightly scary blowout

on the way home from work in Bartlesville (45 min from Tulsa) in the rain. And the cold.

Thank gawd for a carpool friend who knew his way around a spare and a jack. (I may not have even known I had one. It’s okay to judge. I’m judging myself.)

 

House hunting makes me a crazy person. We’ve bid on…and lost…three homes. The

last one we lost because someone had an all.cash.offer. *eye roll* Well goodie for you

and your swimming pool full of dollars. Seriously, the next one we like I’m fairly certain

I’m going to bring out my slightly ghetto public high school side. I will throw some ‘bows

for a 1920s colonial house with restored hardwoods. Just.saying.

I always have to use the restroom at work when it's being cleaned. Always. Every day. So then I have to take the elevator to another floor...and they're often cleaning that one, too. So then I get irrirated and go like 5 floors away. First world problems, but it's random and I wanted to mention it.

I'm obsessed with what happened to that Malaysian plane. Like...verge of weirdly obsessed. Every morning, it's the first news I check. If you've been reading awhile, you might know I'm a conspiracy theorist lover. (Yes, I'm one of those people, but only sometimes.) So yeah... I am obsessed with the plane. Even though we'll never know what really happened. ( <--- See, I told you I can get conspiracy theoristy).

I loathe circuses. And it's making me almost say awkward things to friends on Facebook who take their kids to see circuses. Zoos are on my sh*t list a little bit, too. I already can sometimes teeter on the edge of someday becoming a bona fide blood throwing member of PETA, so Blackfish the movie has officially made me dislike holding any animals in captivity. Well, except my dogs. They love being in my captivity. Obviously. (Eric calls me a hypocrite. Whatever.)

So yeah, I haven't blogged in a zillion days (or like a couple of months...whatever) and this disjointed randomness is what I chose to blog. It is what it is. I'm actually launching some executive blogs at my new job (which is going great btw!) and it made me miss mine, so I stopped by for a little coffee date brain dump with my corner of the interwebs.

TGIF, friends!

   

Ch-Ch-Ch Changes...

Hi y'all! I've been missing again for awhile and who knows...maybe I'll go missing again...haha.. I've kinda quit making excuses and just rolling with it. 

So what have I been up to? A lot! Sara's bachelorette party in Mexico (so awesome), Eric and I put offers on two houses (and got outbid...The market is INSANE right now), and I went to a work conference in Houston. Add some fun in between, some movies, some House of Cards watching (as of this weekend), and you're basically caught up... (minus all the random rants in between). ;)

But most recently...

I accepted another job! So this is my last week in my current position at a financial institution in PR/Communications and I'm off to an energy company where I'll be doing something similar. 

I'm really excited! But it's also been so bittersweet...Everyone at my current job as been so kind and supportive as I prepare to pack up and head out... They even used our floor's large whiteboard to list things about me they'll miss... *sad face*

What a really awesome ride it's been for the past four years...and with some amazing people. 

Now I'm moving to a place with new challenges, new people, new everything...and I'm so excited but also nervous! Every time I talk about it, I get a big smile on my face though. Now if that isn't a sign... :) The new company sent me a welcome packet and I did a little excited dance in my kitchen...haha... 

Anyway, this change has been weighing on me a lot over the past several months... I knew I probably wanted to make a move, but just wasn't sure what...or when...or if it even made sense...I like to have a development plan for myself in my head and, now that I'm a more experienced professional (when did that happen?!), I'd spend a lot of time thinking about what that plan was. Needless to say I did a lot of analyzing (what I do best..haha.. It drives Eric crazy sometimes). So that's where my head's been instead of on blog world...

I'm taking the entire week off next week between positions so hopefully I'll come play over here a little more. In the meantime, some pinterest inspiration... ;)

Currently.

Saw this around the blog world, but not sure where it started so apologies for not giving appropriate credit. But, thought it was a good way to organize a post instead of just rambling..not like I ever do that. :) Currently...
Reading: I just finished the final book in the Divergent series. It took me forever to finish it b/c I just wasn't that into it. I was looking for something Hunger Games-ish and I guess it is...But I just liked HG so much more. But, I still read all three books, so I liked them. It just wasn't like "I can't WAIT to get home to read the book!" 

Doing: Right now, I'm excited to finish Christmas shopping and wrap everything. Somehow every year, I just hide all the gifts forever until I finally wrap them and put them under the tree right before Christmas. Anyone else do that? The tree is so pretty with all the gifts so I wish I'd get on it sooner. :)
Feeling thankful: that Winston's heart murmur isn't really bad! We just found out he had one and had his heart x-rayed this week. Little guy is gonna be totally fine on some meds and just keeping an eye on him. (Cavs often develop heart murmurs at varying degrees of severity.)
Working on: Really want to make a photo wall for our living room from the wedding/honeymoon/etc. We have so many great pics that are just waiting to be printed and framed. :) But I've been waiting b/c we're looking at houses off and on, etc...but really...It's not like the photo wall couldn't just be put on a wall in a NEW house...so I dunno why I've been waiting. I want it to look like the below image (from pinterest) where all the frames are same dimensions. 

Loving: Arby's. Yes. This is a weird one. I don't know why but sometimes I go on weird food kicks where I just want one thing all the time. Lately (and weirdly), that's been Arby's. Sure I could have gone with any one of the things I'm loving this season that are way more sentimental, but Arby's entered my brain b/c it's lunchtime. So there's that. To add something less strange, I'm loving some of the pretty ornaments we've gotten this year for our first Christmas as a married couple. Some say "first Christmas" and others are just ones I've picked out because they're pretty...like two from our honeymoon. :) Will definitely cherish for years to come.
Watching: After seeing people talk about it, I finally watched the movie The Holiday this year and LOVED it. Eric wasn't home so it felt like the perfect time to enjoy a nice holiday chick flick. Good stuff, people. Good stuff. Also really enjoying watching friends' kids on facebook and blogger during the holiday season. There's something so magical about the holidays through a kid's eyes. :)