Drum roll please...

The mood board is here!!! Take a look at the fabulous and fun design that Sherry from Young House Love whipped up for me for my 25th birthday (THANKS BRI!!!)...

Thanks to some happy little circumstances that have come about recently (sorry so vague - nothing too crazy I promise), I can actually afford to make this room happen. Of course Sherry did a great job of keeping things cheap so I don't have to worry about breaking the bank. I've already ordered several of the elements for the room and am taking a trip to Ikea this weekend to pick up the rug and the mirror. I know a lot of people are scared of orange, but I think it is going to look really nice in the room. Everything is just so ME (and Brian likes it too ;). 

Updates and after pictures to come!!! This room makeover is totally inspiring me to keep going with the other rooms in our house. Watch out Domino, CB2, and ZGallerie - our house is gonna blow your mind. Brace yourselves for some happy home posts and GO CHECK OUT YOUNG HOUSE LOVE to see our mood board on the site!!!

Hungry Hippos

Thanks to an impulse buy of "Real Simple" magazine, Brian and I have now planned a week's worth of "easy" dinners. Here's the easy plan (in no particular order - the fact that we have a week's worth of delicious meals plans is all the planning we do. None of this "Monday-I'm-having-this-and-this" crap)...

- Steak With Potato-Parsnip Mash (steak and potatoes people)

- Chicken Posole (some kind of soupy chicken thing)

- Ravioli With Apples and Walnuts (sounds weird but the picture in the magazine looks yum)

- Pork Chops With Garlicky Broccoli (I'm not a fan of the pig but, again, the picture looks yum)

And we won't be cooking anything on Friday since we are heading up to DC for a work event. So there you have it - 4 lovely "Easy" dinners that will probably be cooked completely by Brian. I'll be sure to let you know how they turn out, although I will have no idea if they are "Easy" or not. Probably the only bonus of working late...coming home to dinner on the table ;) 

In other news we had SUCH a productive weekend. We had originally planned on going camping this weekend, but heavy rain changed those plans quickly (but really, it was NOTHING compared to the conditions I experienced whilst camping in Tasmania. True story...I'll share sometime). So instead we spruced up the yard (see 2 posts ago) and did this:

- Scrubbed the monster tub (we have a 2 person jacuzzi in the bathroom and it is SUCH A PAIN. I want it to go away) for a good 30 minutes.

- Tackled massive piles of laundry

- Walked to Stir Crazy for a lazy Sunday breakfast

- De cat-haired the rugs (ugg what a process)

- Planned and bought groceries for an obviously delicious week of dinners

- Filed a ridiculous amount of papers, bills, crap

- AND I even ate really healthy foods all weekend - salad at Chipotle, Carrot muffin and banana for breakfast, organic cereal for snacks, turkey & cheese pita with a side of grapes for dinner, and lots of milk. I feel better already

Time to tackle a long week at work...less than 2 weeks until the BIG EVENT we've been planning since April. Yikes. 

Growing Pains

Continuing with the theme of my last post - our yard - I thought I'd share a few pics of the delicious (and somewhat stunted) veggies we have grown in the last few months. I am proud that we were actually able to make things grow, even if they aren't fabulous or appetizing (Ironically I don't like tomatoes or anaheim peppers). Without further adieu...

Our little mini tomato. This little bugger fell off the plant before it managed to get much bigger than a wine cork. At least it is red..

Two more peps. We actually had 4 more but Brian decided to cook the other two.

Did someone say food? Yes, Deuce begs for tomatoes and peppers. Psycho.

Getting Green

It is finally starting to feel like Fall...sort of. Yesterday it was about 80 degrees outside, but thanks to a delightful little rainstorm it has finally dipped down to the mid 60s. For VA at this time of year that is pretty cool. And I get "cold" when it is 60. Bottom line - I'm wearing a long sleeved top and jeans. Anyways, thanks to this nice cool weather Bri and I decided to do something about the mess that we like to call our backyard. All this little "transformation" took was 10 bags of mulch, 2 new mums, and a lot of weeding. Please observe...

Slowly dying potted plants...

Fresh new MUMS!

What hedges??!

Thank you mulch - there they are!!

Sad little rhododendron...

Happy mulching rhododendron!!

Insane weed take over...

Dead weeds and a fresh new coat of mulch!!

Morning Thoughts

A grande nonfat two equal latte and my morning thoughts.

- I attempted to go a morning without my latte this week. FAIL.

- I have turned into a bullet-point blogging machine

- Some psychopath almost hit me this morning. Just because I am slowing down when approaching a red light does NOT mean you should go ahead and try and pull out in front of me to turn LEFT.

- And no, I did not honk. I screamed WHAT THE HELL MAN. Note to self...other drivers can hear horns, not screaming voices.

- The floor of my office is almost completely covered with various things. My favorite items include: a creepy stuffed doll, a credit card machine, Miller Lite arm bands, "Boss Tossers" (google it), an empty tool box, 2 pairs of Nine West flats, 50 mini plastic skateboard keychains, a beach ball, and a dead mini herb plant.

- Camping this weekend. But wathing Blair Witch Project first...probably a bad idea.

Happy morning everyone!

Blog Weirdness

Please observe the most recent search terms that have directed people to this lovely little blog...

"All my hair off"

"Carrie"

"Chopped all my hair" (My hair is popular apparently)

"If the mood didn't exist stand up" (My very first search hit)

"Is absolutess a legitimate call job?" (This is just weird. My friend Tessa's "name" is Absolutess when she comments so I understand how this landed someone here. But what the heck does it really mean?!)

"Job gives me anxiety" (Haha geez so true)

"Like Forever 21" (more like DISLIKE Forever 21)

"Strange Urges" (This is probably my all time favorite. Someone Googled 'strange urges' and ended up RIGHT HERE with you!)

"What are trash TV programmes of 2009" (Looks like all my trash tv-talking is paying off)

Keep Googling, Binging, and Yahooing people...this is very entertaining.

Come on 25..

Kick in already!!! I wish birthdays meant feeling a whole lot older and finally getting a grasp on things. Looks like I've got work to do.

- I'm feeling disorganized and flustered.

- I think I may be getting latte-ed out.

- The "actors" on Melrose Place are HORRIBLE. Maybe I should take up acting since I'm sure I could do a better job. I've made this assessment after watching the show for about 30 seconds. Ewww. Oh and Ashley "Wentz" looks like a different person with that new-ish nose.

- It is officially fall and that is nuts. Although I am excited to wear my Uggs.

- Deuce is DRIVING ME CRAZY. He has ridiculous mental problems and I keep having to lock him in the basement.

- I wish my thumb was greener. Although our four little peppers are getting HUGE and one of the tomatoes is finally turning red. I'm going to attempt to plant some mums.

- September has been a bad blogging month for me. I've got ideas and some posts started but for some reason I just can't get them finished. Shame on me :(

- I've got my tea-swap stuff READY to go...just need to get it in the mail. I hope I haven't missed the deadline?!

- Goin campin this weekend. VA weather is perfect for it.

Sneak Peek...

Here is a SNEAK PEEK at the amazingly awesome wonderful ridiculously great mood board that Sherry and John from Young House Love created for our master bedroom. We'll be getting started on this project very soon!

They are so flipping talented. Go check out their site NOW!!!

In the mood??

I cannot contain my excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian got me a CUSTOM MOOD BOARD from Young House Love for my birthday!!!!!!!!!!! John and Sherry just opened up three more "slots" for mood board makeovers and Bri got one of them!!!! I AM SO EXCITED, CAN YOU TELL??????????

I am flipping out with excitement because I LOVE YHL and I have been eyeing their mood boards (and basically stalking the entire site) ever since I stumbled across it last May. We bought the new house right about the time I came across the site and I wish I had even an ounce of John and Sherry's talent for home decor. 

Bri and I just so happen to live in the same town as John and Sherry (and I actually know John through work-related projects!) so I am EVEN MORE EXCITED that they will get to have a say in what becomes of our master bedroom. 

Stay tuned as this exciting project unfolds...I'm sure our bedroom will blow the rest of the house out of the water. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!

Oh and to top it off, Bri got me a pair of real pearl studs too :) He must have read my mind about the "upgrade" thing. No more ear infection inducing junk for me!!!!

25 is lookin good! Happy happy day everyone!!!!

A Quarter Century has passed

Yes, it's true, I am 25 today. As with the previous 24 birthdays, I don't feel much different. Some good things about 25...

1. My car insurance rates go down down down down down (sung to the tune of "Down" by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne)

2. According to my own "life goals/rules" I am officially a REAL adult. 25 means business and I think I deserve a new found respect. I am no longer in my "early twenties" (i.e. I shouldn't be associated with the "party till 4am crazy college 20-somethings" anymore. I can now be clumped in with the "let's have a glass of wine at a nice restaurant and stay up 'late' until 12am" crowd).

3. I chopped all my hair off. Well sort of. I got it cut a lot shorter than it has been. It is now right at my shoulders and I love it. I even bought the "right" products to maintain it since, as an "adult," I must take care of myself with "real" (i.e. expensive) hair supplies. Hello 25, goodbye annoying long hair. 

4. Time to get real about my workout routine. In the next 5 years I will probably a) get married and b) conceive a baby. Ok whoa scary thoughts. But seriously, if those things are happening before I am 30, then I am going to be in damn good shape when they do. I think I have a decent "early 20s" base-body and I don't want to lose it through lack of exercise. Things in that department can only continue to get worse so I need to start body maintenance NOW. 

5. "Me-upgrades." In conversations with one of my dearest friends, it has been decided that 25 is a great time for personal upgrades. This means many things, but most importantly: No more cheap-o crap. If I need a new dress, or a new work outfit or whatever, then I will save up and purchase something of good quality that will last me forever (assuming my body can handle that. See #4). Same goes for purses, shoes, accessories, make-up etc. I am a grown-up now so I need to surround myself with grown-up things. 

6. Time to travel more and "do more stuff." While I love our new house, I am getting a bit tired of spending weekends sitting around it. Granted, I do work quite a few Saturdays, so there hasn't been a lot of time for weekend get-aways.  The free time that I do have seems to be spent dealing with house "stuff" or relaxing out of pure exhaustion. I want to go to a vineyard for the weekend, or walk around a museum, or go for a hike, or do SOMETHING when I have the chance. It is so easy to spend weekends "relaxing" after a long-ass work week, but, ironically, I really want to make time to do more.

7. Time to really get organized. I am super organized when it comes to work-related things, but when it comes to my personal life, things tend to scatter. I want a system for paying the bills, I want our pot-lids to be stacked perfectly, I want our filing cabinet to come together, I want my make-up to find a home. All these random little things are adding up to some serious disorganization in my book. It is time to use 25 as an excuse to suck it up and take care of business. 

8. Become a morning person. Can I do it??? My #1 hope for the next quarter century of my life is to be able to wake up feeling refreshed and happy every single morning. I really like mornings but I always seem to miss them thanks to the coziness of my bed. I am officially going to be mad at myself if I sleep past 9am on the weekends. And I am officially going to be mad at myself if I sleep past 7am on work days. Self-discipline here I come. 

9. Get over my obsession with odd numbers. I even had to create this 9th entry because I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you with 8 even items to read. Am I am weird? I think I do a pretty good job of hiding my even-number issues, but I am sick of thinking about whether or not something is even or odd. So in my first attempt to overcome my fear of all things even I leave you with...

10. A tenth item. The final thing I love about 25 is that I am already a homeowner and established in a career that I love. I am thankful for these things EVERY SINGLE DAY and I know that I am EXTREMELY lucky. I literally count my blessings every single day (in a non-religious way) and I hope that I will always remember how blessed I am (again, in a non-religious way). I get freaked out about the future and it is nice to know that I am already firmly invested in several important things. I want to continue to play my cards right so that my future family can be as carefree as possible. 

In other thoughts...

Kanye West is a douche-bag.

Lady Gaga completely disturbs me.

Russell Brand is the opposite of funny.

I worked a 60 hr week last week and am STILL behind.

I left the office at 1pm today since it is my birthday and I needed a mini mental vacation (and a haircut).

I can't wait for this weekend's birthday celebrations with my girls.

We have FOUR little baby anaheim peppers growing in the garden.

Little kids might actually Trick or Treat at our house...time for major decorating.

I have a few exciting posts drafted for your entertainment (I promise I blogged this weekend! Just didn't publish ;)

Whoa!

It's been a while...

I miss you people.

"But how do you POSSIBLY have time to blog??"

Anyways this week has been crazy and I've lived and breathed work (out of our 5 person team 2 are out with babies and 1 is with her husband who was recently in an accident (but he is ok now)). That leaves 2 people to do the work of 5. The math does not add up to equal good times for me.

But, lucky for you, blogging relaxes me and I plan to git 'er done this weekend. So stay tuned...

Forever 21 gives me severe anxiety...

I have found some fabulous things @ F21, but going into that store on a Saturday turns me into a bitter, anxious, tween-hating machine. That place is swarming with crazy people and the line for the dressing room is 30 people long. Oh and rich, ugly, self-righteous tweens feel like they can cut me in line with their Prada-carrying mom and then proceed to spend 15 minutes with the checkout girl to try and decide "if these leggings are white or cream." I could have slapped those poeple. But I digress..

Yesterday my friend Gray and I hit up Regency (the poor man's Short Pump?) to do a little fall shopping. We found a few things in F21 (without trying them on) and then headed over to Express to check out the big 50% off sign. And we ended up making a killing in there. Please observe my lovely purchases...

I love this dress. Express makes such a great tube dress..

I wore this one to a wedding last night. Another perfect tube from Express.

Great for fall with black tights.

$10, can't beat that. 

A strange yet legit fear...

I could be the world's most amazing landscape designer, or boat captain, or underwater demolition expert, or custom knife maker, or music publicist and I WOULD NEVER KNOW IT.

What if I have some amazing and awesome talent that is just waiting to be uncovered?! The idea of this scares me significantly.

How do people cultivate these obscure talents? Are you just BORN knowing that you should carve custom knives out of elephant tusks (which is illegal I think)?!?!? Do you just have these strange urges to dive to the bottom of the ocean and blow things up?!?!?! How do people find their talents and make a living off of them?

I love my job, but what if I am missing out on my calling to be a snake charmer or an ice road trucker? I mean, I could be REALLY GOOD at those things and just not know it...

Search Engines

Congratulations to me. I got Google Analytics to work again. Apparently when you change your template HTML code gets a little crazy.

I really like Analytics because I love to look at all the cool stats it offers. I like knowing where my blog readers are from, how long they were on the site, what pages they looked at, and most importantly, how they found my blog. I have never had a search engine direct anyone to the site, so today when I logged into Analytics I was pleasantly surprised to see that someone came across my blog by typing in the phrase:

"If the moon didn't exist stand up".

How on earth did someone find my blog from that phrase??? And what the heck does that mean?? Who are you person and what were you really searching for?? The internet blows my mind.

Post-it Please

**Warning** this post is one of those gushy annoying love posts (But I promise I made sure to keep it as annoying-free as possible). Read on if you dare...

Today I came home to this:

Lots and lots of post-it notes all over the house! In case you can't tell, since the text is backwards (thanks Macbook), that one says (in chicken scratch) "I love you!" Brian also managed to put an "I miss you already" in the fridge, an "I heart you" on the toilet, and even a stick figure picture of his face on his pillow. *Blush* I love him...I am giddy with joy over this little random act of unsolicited romance and I may even complete THREE tasks on his To Do list to express my gratitude. Now let's pray that he wins big in Atlantic City this weekend and stays away from the strip clubs (he is with Quinn and the two of them together spells trouble. Thankfully he knows I HATE the idea of strip clubs and he should stay far, far away). 

In other news, a few of my girlfriends are coming over tonight to watch Project Runway. Pillow fight! Just kidding. Can't wait to see how much more deeply I fall in love with Tim Gunn. Carry on!

p.s. I love the fact that T.G. uses the phrase "Carry on" on a regular basis. We should really be friends. 

Thirsty Thursday

I am currently consuming a pumpkin spice latte (grande, skim, half the syrup, no whip). I am VERY CONFUSED as to why there have been so many blog entries about this "special latte" in the past few days. I think it tastes kind of funny, like flowers? Maybe it's because I skimped on the flavor/whipped cream but this drink is definitely not worth the $4.41 I paid for it. Yes $4.41. WHAT?!?!? So basically for 2 little pumps of "pumpkin flavor" I paid almost a whole DOLLAR more than I pay for my plain latte. What an outrage. And I love my Starbucks.

In other thoughts...

- Bri is off to Philly and "kindly" made me a To-Do list to tackle during his absence.

- If I manage to do 2 out of the 6 things on the list I will be super proud of myself.

- No volleyball tonight because of the long weekend :(

- Why are Top Chef episodes sometimes an hour and 15 MINUTES long?? That really throws me off.

- I need to find a fabulous light light light gray color to paint our bathroom. Any suggestions?

- I am freezing in this 70 degree weather, although I kind of like it.

Morning Thoughts

A mini apple juice bottle, 4 fig newtons, and my morning thoughts...

Why oh why can I not be a morning person?? If I could change one thing about myself I would transform into an early morning machine. Once I am out of bed I am fine, but it takes SUCH effort to get to that point. For example, I got 8 solid hours of sleep last night but still felt extremely tired when my alarm went off (4 times). Seriously I wish I could get up at 5am, go for a run, make breakfast, read the paper, and do all that fun leisurely morning stuff. Can someone please confirm that stuff like that only happens in the movies??

Why am I scared of my to-do list? I have a ridiculous amount of work to do today and I am afraid to start it. Things just keep piling up and swirling around my head like the Ministry of Magic memo notes from Harry Potter 5.

Why are people constantly shocked that I "have time" to blog??? It is a hobby just like any other. You may have time to garden or go for walks or watch tv or play Halo or raise a baby (ok not a hobby but still) or reupholster chairs or whatever - all things that I don't "have time" to do because I choose to make time to blog. I feel like people think "bloggers" just sit around like lazy bums and blog. If I didn't actually do stuff with my life, what the heck would I blog about?! And I don't just spend all my work hours blogging (Although I do it at work occasionally to give myself a distraction/break. It works wonders, especially when I have to work long hours). And on top of all this, I "have time" to Twitter too, so booya.

Shmorgesbourg

I'm pretty sure that is not how you spell that word, but I hope you see what I am getting at. 

- Is ASHLEY SIMPSON (Wentz?) acting in the new Melrose Place? Or am I just seeing things? She named her kid Bronx Mogli...

- Today is Sept 1. I reach a quarter century in exactly 2 weeks. 

- I usually dread cold weather but for some reason I am looking forward to it. Did someone say shopping spree?

- Did I really work until the cleaning guy came in tonight? The next month or so is really looking scary...

- I have been making my coffee with espresso beans and I think it is giving me a twitch. What is that like 6 shots of espresso in one cup??

- Since it is Tuesday I need to say a few words about TV:

- I LOVE that commercial where the "dad" is Tweeting, "I am sitting on the patio." So great.

- America's Next Top Model starts up next week. Season 1872384 or something like that.

- I wish I could chop veggies and other foods really fast like they do on the cooking shows.

- Anyone else watch Flipping Out on Bravo? (I love that channel in case you couldn't notice). I happen to find Jeff Lewis hilarious even though he is a total d-bag. 

- What happened to Trash TV Tuesdays?! All my shows ended :(

In other news, I think I would like to paint either the bathroom or the guestroom this weekend. Brian is going to be out of town so the house is my little oyster. I really need to make some fun plans for myself. 

Please excuse the randomness of this post. More exciting, legitimate blog posts to come, I promise.