Holiday Wants!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was great, with a little hiccup of a minor chest cold. Ugh...seriously. I'm going on 1 illness per month for the past 3 months. NOT COOL. Vitamins, sleep, exercise, washing my hands....what more can I do? Anyway, at least it wasn't too bad, all that remains is a stubborn cough that I, and I'm sure Jared, could do without.

On to bigger and better things, it's nearly December and that means it's almost time for my favorite holiday of the year! With all the blogs I follow, I see so many things I want, it's really not healthy for my finances. :) Perhaps I can ask for a few of these from my family. Here's just a few items that have caught my eye this season:

1)

I love me some chai! This special blend of chocolate and chili added to a traditional chai spice is offered by David's Tea, and it has certainly piqued my interest! The added spice is sure to act as an immediate warming agent on a frigid Kansas winter day. Typically, spicy foods are not my favorite, but over the past 2 years my tastebuds are doing a 180 on me. I think I need to try this version of a chai, just out of pure curiosity.


2)












This adorable blue gemstone necklace from Elephantine on Etsy. As much as I love all the fun, enormous (and cheap) jewelry from my Forever21, sometimes I just crave something a little more simple. Something that I can wear with almost anything. Lately, finding a necklace out of my oversized options has been more of a task than usual, and many times I've opted to boycott all of them. Time for a change.

3)












My poor little phone has been begging for a makeover. :) I love the lavender shade of this case. Maybe I'll get around to making a new ringtone once the outside gets a change as well. It's amazing, strike that, embarrassing how excited I get about a new phone case.


4)












Taking my dream of opening an Etsy store of my own another step further, one of these is certainly on my wish list. My back AND our new coffee table would certainly appreciate it. This is a dream item, as I'm sure I could find many more wishes to be granted towards items for our new house instead. But hey, this is what the blog is for right?. Sound off, 1-2-3-4...


5)







While blogging, I am reminded of how much I need one of these lap desks. Is this the most glorious looking option? I doubt it, but it certainly fits the bill. This, or some form of this would be a blessing to my burning legs. Does anyone know of any cuter options out there?!

That's all for now, there are plenty more where that came from though. :) Enjoy the rest of your holiday break everyone!

Fiance--French for awesome

Ok, I absolutely must take a moment to brag about how great my future husband has been this week. Yeah, yeah, sappy, sappy, but I really, a girl can't ask for a more caring guy and the world deserves to know how great he is. He's been working from home this week, rather than his usual travel schedule. Let's just say, he's been taking advantage of the extra time we have together:

Monday--After work, he met me out do run some errands (something we never get to do together). What did he bring along with him? Some beautiful flowers, just because he thought it would be nice to get me some flowers. For real?! Just to spend that time him doing the mundane tasks was special to me, but he upped the ante, big time.--I even dragged him into Hobby Lobby to get some Christmas decorations 50% off--but it was only 15min...tops. :)

Tuesday--The morning started terribly. My job delivered a stiff blow to the chin within an hour from when I walked in the door, so Jared showed up that afternoon to take me to lunch to one of my favorite sandwich shops, Adrian's Cafe. He knew I needed a good listener, and it was so great to get away and to spend more time which we typically would never be able to. Just what the Dr. ordered.

Wednesday--I walked in the door at 8:30pm after a long day at work and then a long hair appt. Jared had whipped up a comforting meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup, ready and waiting for me. On a cold, rainy night I was a perfect way to unwind. I would say this is probably the 3rd time he has cooked for me in over 2 years, and he chooses his times wisely. ;)

So my conclusions is that either he's done something really bad and is trying to butter me up before delivering the bad news, or I have just really found myself a keeper! (All signs point to the latter) :) I don't know how I'll ever show him how much I appreciate all the little things he does, b/c all the thank yous in the world wouldn't cover it. If this week is representative of what I can expect when he decides to someday step away from the work travel, I think will be super spoiled...and I can't wait.

Can I get this guy locked down yet? :)

Friday's here!

Friday night, the bestie and me, dinner, wine on lots, a movie or two, slumber party, it's on... And if you recognize the screen shot above from the cinematic adventure we plan to watch, you are a-okay in my book. Who said slumber parties have to end once you graduate high school? Pssssh. :) Have a great weekend!

Gift from Grandpa Whitney

Earlier this year, Jared's grandfather was gracious enough to give me one of his special, handmade, wood pieces. He made me this great little recipe storage box:
He is so talented, and Jared and I are lucky enough to have a lot of his work around our home. From wine racks, to shelves, to even a KSU wall hanging. Let me tell you, the craftsmanship is impeccable. Being that I happened to have pages and pages of disintegrating recipes, it was about time I got them organized before they were no longer legible! Using a handy little website called Skip to My Lou, I was easily able to enter in all the ingredients and recipe directions and then print out the 3x5in cards on our printer! Aren't they so cute?


Typically, recipe cards have a tendency to look, well I'll just say it. CRAFTY. The little flower pots and daisies and gingerbread men....it's all just too much for me. These at least make me feel a little more young-ish, if you can be considered young while printing recipe cards. :) With the effects of the stomach flu still lingering, it was a perfect afternoon project while watching some college football games yesterday.

Thanks Grandpa Bill Whitney, for giving me something I definitely needed. :)

Sick, yes again

If you read my previous post about my tendencies to get sick rather easily, this probably comes as no surprise that I am sick again. I was sick in October, and looky here, I'm sick again in November. For real, this is my life. Just ask my parents or Jared.

This time, I have picked up something I haven't had in years (thankfully). The dreaded STOMACH FLU. I am committing to memory just how bad I have felt all day today for the next time I get a pesky cold, cause lemme tell ya, a cold ain't sh*&. Wow, this is a personal hell. If I could use a simple emoticon of a sickly green face, I totally would right now. Food consumed today = handful of oyster crackers and a cup of soup at 8pm. The outcome of an actual meal is TBD. :(

Whilst on my couch all day, I caught 3 movies:
1) A League of Their Own--an all time favorite and a must watch whenever it's on. In my opinion, Tom Hanks makes that movie a must watch for me.
2)Planet 51--a cute animated flick I remember thinking looked cute when I saw the previews. My review? I give it a meh.
3) Julie and Julia--Good, but not great. It did however inspire me to want to cook more, so that's a plus. :)

Now, the first KSU men's basketball game is on the tube. I can't believe it's already NCAA basketball time. Tonight's game is only an exhibition game, but it signals the start of my basketball watching days! Hooray! I know, I'm wayyy to excited about it. Anyway, wish me luck for a speedy recovery, the sooner the better.

Wedding news--The D.J. is about to be booked and bridesmaid dresses are almost picked out...ALMOST. :) Slowly but surely, it's coming together!