A couple of my favorite things about today...

1. Today I got to leave work early. I could not be happier! It's been a long week.

2. I'm going to paint my nails this afternoon.

3. My workout will be done early (early as in, before 7 pm).

4. Tonight is date night. And I love dates with Casey.

5. I'm wearing purple underwear.

6. I've been drinking TONS of water this week. I feel like a new woman.

7. We're having pizza for dinner. With fresh tomatoes on it. Yum. Pizza is totally a Friday night thing to do.

8. It's Friday. And I see Patch tomorrow.

Art

I like art. I like creativity. I'm not particularly good at drawing amazing figures or scenes, but I do like to draw and use colors. I wish I could paint better or have more skill with a pencil, but maybe God's saving that talent for me in heaven.

There is an art though that I feel like I can handle...an art to marriage--to "doing it right". Sometimes I feel like "doing it right" these days is even just staying together and communicating and loving. I KNOW! Those three things sound so simple. But apparently, in this world and this era, it is much more difficult than it sounds.

We are newlyweds, yes. So I'm sure everyone would say it's easy right now cause we are so in love. Spoiler alert: it's not always easy. So, to combat conflict and struggle, we are try to learn continuously so that in those moments or days or weeks when it's not easy, we can continue to support, respect, and deeply love the other.

I do love my husband. FOR. SO. MANY. REASONS. And here's just one example of how he sees US as important, and I know he kinda likes me back. So there's this marriage conference coming to town (to our church, actually! How convenient!), and it is the same weekend as the Homecoming football game at App that Casey has been looking forward to for a couple of months. We found out about "The Art of Marriage" conference last night, and he suggested we attend the conference instead of going to the football game, reasoning that we would spend less money on the conference than going to Boone anyhow. And, we can go to a football game anytime. What a man! My heart just melted to be reassured that he values us so much.

Even though we could rationalize that we don't need any help and $49 is money we could use for groceries or a tank of gas, that would be silly. Our marriage is an investment. An investment much bigger than a car or a house...committing to our marriage is the biggest investment we'll ever make. I love him for wanting to go, for wanting to make our marriage the best it can be, for always being on board to learn, for reading when I excitedly find a cool new book for us.

So I'm sure we won't learn the art to marriage in one weekend, but we'll continue to instill foundations and learn to implement creativity and uniqueness (art!) and how to appreciate that in each other. Sigh. He's the best. He always thinks of me. Thinks of us. And I love him for that.

The way we fit together is kinda perfect.

P.S. Go Mountaineers! He's just happy it's conveniently over by 3 pm on Saturday for the Gators game...I knew football would make its appearance somewhere!

Forgotten Socks and Thoughts on Insurance Companies

So it's been a very very long week. Actually, it's been a long month. Work has been super busy. I've been a little out of it, and I know I've been MIA in the blog world. I've been so out of it, in fact, that I forgot to pack my socks for a run after work twice. TWICE. And I forgot to pack a sports bra once. I can't remember the last time that's happened and now I've managed it three times this week. Ridiculous.

Sigh. And you know when you're just exhausted, it's every little thing that makes you even more tired. Like insurance. I hate insurance. I mean, if you're accident prone, you NEED decent insurance. Yay for coverage being completely paid by ASU, but booooo for all the NC State Health Plan changes. I swear Blue Cross Blue Shields increases co-pays and decreases percentages of what they'll cover every month. I get a letter from BCBS approximately once a month. With a new insurance card inside. With higher co-pays. They probably could save all that money that they use to mail out and create new cards for every customer and use it instead to keep our co-pays the same. No?

I mean, in the last two months, I've been to the ER once, urgent care 1.5 times, and have another eye appointment (hopefully not two) next week. None of these places are cheap. Like I said...accident prone, and I have the scars (unfortunately) to prove it. I have periods of calm mixed with periods of everything-possible-under-the-sun happening to me. This is one of those what-else-could-go-wrong periods.

Hopefully my eye gets fixed.

But really the thing about insurance that kinda threw me over the edge was when I went to pick up my prescription at CVS...standard pick-up. Not only do they try to give me the generic, but for these little pink pills my body does not do generic. It really doesn't even do any other name brand. The prescription I've been given has been given to me for a reason. Shocker.

This happened last month too. What kind of people do they have working here?

So I say no way and demand the real thing. They politely tell me that insurance may decide to stop paying any part of this $90 birth control pill because I won't use the generic. Seriously? Can they do that? So I tell them they have to switch it out. I had to throw some bows, but everyone survived, AND I left with the proper prescription. Hmmph.

Of course, yes, the cost went up from last month too.

Everything about this annoys me. So I marched right home and announced to Casey that we may as well just stop buying the BC to prove a point. Let's just have a baby! He kinda looks at me with a blank stare. Then he laughs. Cause boycotting these costly pills would be WAY cheaper than a baby...

I know, I know. I came back to reality. But I'm just saying. Don't be surprised if there's a baby soon. What now, Blue Cross Blue Shield? How about you pay some expensive hospital bills? I think that would totally teach them a lesson.

Diamond in the Rough

You know how there are some stores you go to, where even if you have a list of only 3 things and you walk straight to the section(s) where those 3 items can be found, you still leave the store having purchased not 3 things, but 82 things...yeah. I'm quite familiar with those places.

I feel like the standard ones are Wal-mart and Target. You go to get some shampoo and maybe some Honey Nut Scooters (store brand Honey Nut Cheerios), and you walk out with a movie, some running socks, a new flavor of Zone bar, some printer ink, a picture frame, some candy, and some paper plates in the shape of a cupcake for whoever's birthday is next, and a couple other random things. The plates are too awesome to not get though. And at Target, the jewelry, clothes, and shoe sections are terrible! I always always find something super cute that I don't need and really wasn't in the budget, but come on...The deals are too good to pass up.

Anyways, it's not easy. I don't even really like shopping though is the funny thing. Except for sometimes.

It's. So. Hard. I feel like I have to walk into these places with my eyes closed until I get to the right aisle or I'll start snagging things I don't need...like a klepto...a klepto who pays for things though. I think this is why I don't like shopping. Cause I don't like spending money. Unless I get to buy something for someone else.

I feel like everyone has a store that they feel this way about. Usually the stores that are my downfall are bargain stores like the ones I've listed and Marshalls and TJ Maxx and what not, so it's not sooooooo bad. But then because each item is a deal, you keep picking up more things because the don't cost that much. Until you get the register and for whatever reason, they add all the costs together and you get one gigantic cost. Uh. Oh. I hate that feeling. But I can't ever decide which item to put back because they are all so fabulous and ALL such good deals. Sigh. Talk about a dilemma. I am not good at decisions, so that just makes it that much worse.

I think the deals are what make it so difficult. Because nothing costs that much, you just keep piling stuff on your arm. And of course you didn't get a buggy. You don't ever get a buggy. Because your list only ever has 3 things.

Case in point: Kate and I went to Marshall's the other night because I wanted to look for a couple sports bras. I knew exactly what brand. Exactly what model. Exactly how many. I TRIED to walk straight to women's activewear section, and I just got caught in the middle of the tops and jeans and pants and skirts and dresses (cause I need another dress right?). The tough thing about this is that every time you decide you're going to walk away and not look at anything else, the most gorgeous color or pattern pops out of the rack. Even catching a glance of the a tiny piece of the fabric, and you are drawn to start rummaging through. They're like magnets. Seriously. Every time Kate would call my name, I'd walk towards her and be stopped by some other material that would probably feel so amazing on my skin. So I finally made it to the sports bras, and I was already holding some workout tights, a dress, two cute tops, a long sleeved T, and a bunch of other stuff I forced myself to put down.

Wouldn't you know? They didn't even have the sports bras I wanted. Instead I found two other awesome ones. Score. But then I started mentally adding the numbers on the tags in my arms. This just was not going to work. Somehow I made it out of there with only 1 sports bra (unfortunately) and 2 cute tops. And somehow Katie walked out without anything...whaaaat? And I justified the sports bra as my original motivation for going shopping in the first place and the fact that I wear them every single day for some rough and tough workouts. And I justified the tops by my job and their versatility. I wear real-live-adult clothes to work everyday, and they could easily transition from work to dinner to out. What's two tops? Not much.

Of course, when I talked to Casey on the way home (he was in Raleigh...interesting how I go shopping when he's out of town, huh?) and tell him about my sports bra finds. Woohoo. Somehow, I forgot to mention the other two purchases...until he got home yesterday. I strategically and slowly told him that there was something I hadn't told him. (Tip: if you work it so that whatever you are going to say sounds terrible, when you actually tell them you only bought 2 tops, it doesn't sound so bad...so they are actually relieved! Jk Jk. I really did feel bad. But I waited because I wasn't sure I was going to keep them.) I proceeded to tell him I bought 2 tops BUT he would love them and they are so pretty and I would use my own personal allowance. He's the best and said I should be able to get something cause he knows I don't usually buy a whole lot...Have I mentioned yet that he's the best and sweetest??

So, I kept the sports bra AND my two tops! Heee-eeey.

I'm not obsessed. I just like a good deal. And fun stuff every once in a while. At least I don't have this problem at high-end haunts like Nordstroms or with crazy expensive shoes like Christian Louboutins or something. That makes me a rational shopper and really quite a bit more controlled than I felt. And I'm calmed by the fact that I can make responsible shopping decisions. While my arms at one point looked like coat hangers, I only walked out with 3 items. I gave myself a pat on the back. Sometimes its all about finding the diamond in the rough.

(Although, I admittedly am still thinking about one of the items I put back on the shelf...does it count if you go back and make a separate purchase?)

Our House is FINALLY a Home

So, I finally had to put on my real big girl pants, cause I'm officially an adult. I think.

I have a full-time job, which I've had for over a year, but I've found that you can still pretend to not be an adult even with a full time job. Casey and I are married. Oh my good gracious! We bought our very first house. I just turned 28 (I feel like I'm getting glares right now). And I actually like wine now. So, I feel like this means I can't run away from being grown-up anymore.





So the fun part about a new house is decorating. Casey LOVES this part. Ha ha jk. He is so so so helpful though because he's the most awesome EVER. Did I mention he's the best? He helps make decisions on paint and helps me pick out art and throw pillows and who does that? Casey. I mean, sigh, he just rocks my socks pretty much everyday. The not fun part about decorating is how much it costs to be cute and trendy and elegant and fun all at the same time and make it look totally HGTVed.

Well, I feel like I can finally put up pictures of the house because it's done. It's finally a home. Granted there's some little upgrades, changes, and what not that we still want to make, but we love it and can finally relax at night without a list knocking us over when we walk in the door. After a day at work, the gym, a shower, making dinner, getting things ready for the next work day, an occasional softball or hockey game or weekend away, and errands, who honestly has time for more work on the house? If we were little hummingbirds and could beat our wings a million times a minute we'd have been done with the house a month ago. I know we've done pretty well. I know there are people who have boxes lying around after a year or two years even, but I was determined to not let that be us. Even though to never unpack a box is easier the next time you move, why even have the stuff in the box if you don't ever need or want to use it? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, clutter and extra stuff makes nervous. Case-in-point: I hear that for most people full refrigerator and pantry makes them happy. Not me, a full refrigerator and pantry makes me so nervous. The more you have, the more you lose your ultimate neat factor. And I just plain feel like it's so much to eat, and I don't like that. Anxiety sky-rockets. Casey laughs at me, and I know its strange. Some things you just can't help.

I'd like to give a shout-out to my awesome momma for helping us with all the painting AND recovering the pillows on our lovely couch. She's wonderful and spent so much precious time to help us. The original pillow covers were quite terrible looking, hopefully you find the new ones pleasant to look at. She's a fantastic combo of Martha Stewart and Bob Villa. Seriously, she can do EVERYTHING. You do not want to challenge her. And she's just a tiny little woman.

Okay, so here is our calming, ocean-view, get-away: the master bath. Love. The first picture best shows the color. The second two pictures make the color look brighter than it actually is because of the flash. And the super bright is quite overwhelming so don't think we'd actually pick a color that bright. If we did, we wouldn't need an overhead light.








Paint: Valspar signature "Pacific Pleasures"
Art: Bed, Bath, and Beyond (painting)
Decor: Little Antique store in Boone--King Street (candle holder)


Here is our simple, clean, punch-of-color master bedroom, with a little cozy reading nook (also known as a chair). The shelving was a B to put up (excuse my French). Seriously. We have so many holes in the wall...puttied and painted now...but we spent hours. Do you know how long it takes to get two shelves exactly perfectly right? We even measured 27 times. They were perfectly level...just not with each other). Thank you, hubby, for your patience and diligence with me and those shelves. And looks so so good now.














Paint: Valspar signature "Emerald Isle" green and "Shoreline Haze" neutral.
Art: Marshalls and ArtWalk (Boone, NC)
Shelving: Crate and Barrel



Love the powder room. When I shyly asked Casey if we could paint the powder room the color of the bridesmaids dresses, he immediately said yes. He said he was wondering which room I was going to ask to paint purple...so I think he was just waiting for my request. It's a small room so I think he was happy I just didn't ask for our bathroom or bedroom to be purple. I wouldn't do that to him. The colors in here to me have a rustic, elegant trendiness. Do any of those words go together?

Please note: the purple appears a little brighter in the pics than it actually is due to the flash. It's a deeper purple. I swear I don't do neon. I'm an eighties baby, but fully aware that we are now in the 2K (do people say that anymore?) era.








Paint: Valspar signatures "Magician's Cloak"
Art: Bed Bath and Beyond


This is our downstairs family room. Simple but cozy and a place for people to hang out while the party in the kitchen is happenin.










Art: Stolen picture from a Cruise (not literally stolen...dad took a pic in the art gallery of a painting I loved and blew it up for me to have :) so sneaky)
Wall Clock: A find from Casey's grandparents


This is our kitchen. Love. So not me and Casey to pick red. But we did. We wanted the kitchen to be bright. It's more vibrant than it looks in the pictures, and I don't think they do the kitchen justice at all, but here it is! Then the third picture makes it look orange...I think I'm just not a good photographer, but I guess that's beside the point. The whole house looks way more awesome in person. Promise.

I love the fruit paintings. Cause I love fruit. Notice the placemats (which are actually too small for you to see the detail in the picture). I found them last, but they draw in alllll the colors we have in the kitchen. I love it.







Paint: Valspar signature "Quite Red" (original on the naming huh?)
Art: Etsy
Frame collage: Walgreens (cute doesn't always have to be pricey)


Here is our comfy, cozy loft family room. These couches are little nap and cuddle havens. So fun. The pillows have been recovered, again compliments of Red. Love her. Shelving installation assistance from Kate, thank goodness for her fail-proof techniques or the shelves would still be lopsided (courtesy of me). Also some assistance from Casey and his manly DeWalt drill.










Art: World Market
Shelving: Bed Bath and Beyond
Knick-Knacks on shelves: Hobby Lobby


Guest Room/Study/Library
This is kind of a miscellaneous room right now, unfortunately. It's serves it purpose decently, but it will definitely be improved as time goes on. Still filled with light and we even have little treats for guests. I know, I know, we're awesome. We're booked out through March already.









Art: TJ Maxx (Home Goods)
Shelving: Katie


This is our other bedroom (currently Fancypants Jr. lives here. Par-tay)







Guest Bathroom. Love the punch of pink to accent the shower curtain and wall art and pictures, in combo with the clean of the white.







Paint: Valspar signature "Rose Dust" (It's more bubble gum-my than we anticipated. We were hoping for more berry. So we'll see how long this lasts!)
Art: Katie's (Hallmark I believe...)


And then we have our teeny backyard. Perfect for a bulldog soon. It fits our grill just perfectly, but we want to take out the concrete sidewalk and build a little stone patio for the grill to sit on and a little 2 seater bistro table. We also hope to have a baby garden with tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs--oh my. And want to add a hydrangea or peony bush/plant on the corner of the garage in the end of September or October (Fall is planting season I hear). We also have two blackberry bushes that we will plant...sprigs from Dawn and Mike's blackberries bushes...so we should have a few blackberries next summer and lots and lots the summer after that! (no picture...cause I forgot)

Thank you for touring with us, we hope you enjoyed our house. Any donations you'd like to make for further improvements are welcomed. Totally kidding. Please don't!

We hope to have a lovely house-warming (extremely delayed) party for everyone to see.

Our little townhouse is officially a home, and we couldn't be happier!

(and it's walking distance to the nail salon. could it get any better?)

True Life: I Have a Rockstar Dog

Patch.

I. Love. Her.

She is single-pawedly the most precious little pup on this earth. She's a rockstar.

I love getting text pics of Patch. They make me smile so so big.

About 90% of the saved pictures on my phone are of her. The other 10% are random...cute pics of Dawn's kids, my knee disaster and its healing progress, a smoothie, my ring, the beach, some baked cheetos, the beach, some flowers, chapstick, a crazy looking icicle on my car in the winter, my family...but mostly they are of Patch.

I would like to talk about why she is so rockstar. Katie and I make up all these stories (in reality, they are true...so true) of all the excellent things Patch is good at or has.

She loves sleeping and has the most fabulous tongue. It never seems to fit inside her mouth. And that's part of the cuteness of Patch.







She has a Coach fanny pack, she has a Blackberry, she has espadrilles and they make her legs look so good.

Even though she has a berry, sometimes she likes to work on her laptop.



She helps dad train clients, she reads the newspaper and magazines with dad, she plays soccer, and she especially likes to help dad out by going squirrel hunting out back.



Dad is her favorite. BY FAR. She totally admires him. This is one of the looks she gives him.



She'll (literally) move her bed around the house if she doesn't like where it's at. Even when the cover is being washed, she'll arrange the insides for a good nap.





Patch likes margaritas and her favorite song is Kesha "Take It Off". Sal claims he skypes with her.

Casey says Patch texts him and tells him secrets all the time. She does go see him first when we go over to mom and dad's.

She doesn't like walking in the rain. She likes getting her nails painted and likes dressing up for St. Patrick's day in green shirts. And sometimes looking like the Easter Bunny (see bunny ears).



She also likes getting facials...it's so obvious.



She has TONS of friends. Including the monkey. She shares her bed with him. Sometimes.



Patch likes to sunbathe and do circuits in the weight room (note the watch on her wrist in the second picture).





She's so healthy, she gets A+ at the vet. Here's her report card.




She's excellent at crosswords and always wins in Scrabble. She's very smart.



She loves riding in the car, especially if it means going to the cabin in Boone.





She climbs hills like a mountain goat. It's really impressive (probably a plus from all the glute work and running in the gym).



She really just loves the outdoors (when it's not raining of course).












She's appeared in In Style magazine and Shape magazine also cause she's so fit and stylish. She is very humble and gives kisses and cuddles and will sleep in your nook if you lay on the floor with her. She loves when you get on the floor with her for night time tv shows.









This is one of her model angles:



She doesn't like nightlights at night and she likes to sleep with her head elevated



And she won't eat her food without a dollop of whipped cream (fat free, of course).


She has a very lean figure and struts it like a super model on a catwalk. One of her best assets is her cute, firm toosh. She likes to work that area in the gym.



Kate and I want to write books about Patch and mom and Dawn want to illustrate. Maybe one day you'll see our stories on shelves at B and N (Barnes and Noble...are you starting to catch on to the abbreviations yet?) and not just in a blog. The blog will have to do until then. Patch is already famous enough. She doesn't want to buy any more floppy hats or large sunglasses to protect herself from the paparazzi.

She's all these things yet still so precious and loving and cuddly and loyal and funny.





She's my favorite ever. And undoubtedly the most rock star pup ever.