The Final Countdown

Hey Y'all!!!!  This past weekend I started planning.

Planning for what? the rest of the year...can you believe July is over?!

I mean a YEAR ago today, my seeester was getting MARRIED

Happy Anniversary Jess and Douggles!!!! I KNOW you have been looking forward to eating year old cake =)

Anywho - I sat down this weekend and started planning some things I would like to do this year and when - a to-do list of sorts.   

one.This Friday we are headed out to see my brother-in-law's white-boy-reggae band as he so affectionately describes them =) They are playing at a local restaurant near the college that I haven't eaten at, pretty much since graduating! I am looking forward to this date night for two reasons: 1. the FOOD and music 2. a casual dinner date/get-together with my work BFF and her almost husband. I'm SO excited! They haven't met The Husband yet but I absolutely adore these two. They are so much fun and so sweet.  

two. September is The Husband's birthday. I don't know what we are doing for it and I have NO CLUE what to get him. That's what I have to figure out what to do and what to get or make...maybe I can figure out something to make him  that he would love??? who knows! 

three.  Thankfully I didn't have to pick this one over The Husband's as number 1 in my heart for the countdown!  The NFL season officially kicks off the FIRST regular season game of the 2012 - 2013 season in September - September 9th to be exact! 40 days!!!! I am THRILLED! I LOVE football season - we have football Sundays every week and gather with a group of friends and my family. It is always SO fun and the food is always phenomenal! I have a feeling it is going to be bigger this year than it has in the past two =) I'm excited! yay football!!!

four. In 71 days we will be celebrating our FIFTH anniversary of being together. Actually this week marks 5 years that I have LIVED with The Husband...yes, I lived with him for about two months before actually dating him =)   So we are sitting around talking, trying to decide what to do. Any suggestions?! We had WANTED to go on a cruise, but that isn't going to happen so maybe something a little closer to home. oh and it is on a week night =/ MAYBE go to Cirque Du Soleil?! 

five. November 3 - 95 days - I will be hosting a Pampered Chef Party.  I was going to just have a traditional one but THEN The Husband said if it was centered around chocolate that he would join. My dad agreed.  So with his help, I have decided to do a wine-in/chocolate themed COUPLES pampered chef party! I am SO excited!!!! I can't wait! 

six. The weekend after I host is the Jr League of America Holiday Gift Shop.  The Husband and I went two years ago with my parents and really had a good time. We didn't get to go this past year, what with the moving and everything SOOOOO I have already marked our calendars to go in 102 days!!!! 

seven. In the next 124 days, I plan to have my Christmas shopping and gift making complete. Yes that is probably unreasonable on my part BUT at least I have goals! 

eight. There are 147 days until Christmas! WOOOO!!! I can't wait! in case you didn't know, I LOVE the Christmas holiday, season, EVERYTHING about it! I can't wait! 

So there you have it =) all wrapped up neatly - things I am most DEFINITELY looking forward to - of course, not everything is on this list. These are just the big 'milestones' for the rest of the year. I can't believe 2012 is already almost over! I know I know - there are still 154 days left in the year...that only means 211 have passed...see how fast THAT was?! =) 

What are you looking forward to?

Vacationing at the Beach

HI! 

Life just keeps moving moving MOVING and all of a sudden it is 153 days until Christmas!!!!  EEEKK!!!  did you panic JUST a little?! 

I'm excited - I love Christmas and the season and the music and the decorations! I can't wait!!

The weekend after my dad's surprise party, The Husband and I made our way to Longboat Key on the gulf side of Florida.  His parents vacation there every year and we TRY (and sometimes fail) to make it to their vacation destination.  You can read about past trips here and here.

This year we planned to be there when Larry and Anngela would be there so we could vacation as one big happy family! =) It was so awesome...sans the rain on Saturday and Sunday night. We missed the sunsets those nights but Monday's sunset was GORGEOUS!!!!

We spent a lot of time Saturday and Sunday on the beach - lounging in and near the water.  The boys fished in the surf - targeting pin fish for our fishing trip we planned for Monday. 

   

Sunday night, we went driving around looking for somewhere to eat dinner. The restaurant we WANTED to go to was pretty much under water from the 'monsoon' we were having...so we drove in the other direction.  Us girls know our way to some yummy food because we helped lead the men to Old Salty Dog...DELICIOUS!!!

 

and of course - we didn't let the rain OR THE DARK ruin our opportunity to take some pictures =) 

 

On Monday, The Husband, Larry, and I all went offshore fishing.  I caught my first red grouper! =) 

 

He wasn't a keeper but it was my first and I was proud =)

Finally on Monday we were ACTUALLY able to get some sunset pictures and group shots...to be honest we went picture CRAZY on Monday night....there were three cameras being used! It was so much fun!

    

It was a MUCH NEEDED four day weekend...one where we just went and had a good time. We didn't have to worry about anything....oh and did I mention that The Husband and I got WASTED?! hehe!!! not chocolate wasted either ;) We are definitely light-weights who don't drink a WHOLE lot too often...we were living it up on vacation =)  

Here is what happens to US when we drink though....

NOTE: this is not staged at all - we for real, laid down in our normal clothes and just passed. out! AFTER our round of giggles =) 

Vacation is amazing and needs to be taken more often by us...seriously I think this was our first vacation since 2010 when we went to Longboat and to The Keys.  We need to do this more often =) 

Where was the last place you went on vacation??

Elaborate Lying for Super Surprises

Hiiiiiiii!!!! =)  Anyone else enjoy their weird split up 4-day week last week?!

I actually liked it...although it was like having 2 Mondays = /

other than that, I really liked how last week was broken up =)

SOOOOO my weekend was AMAZING!

I have had this MASSIVE secret for the past like six weeks...that is also one of the other reasons I have been so absent. I didn't want to accidentally spill the beans!!

My mom, sister, and I managed to throw my dad a suprise party for his 50th birthday!

Now his birthday isn't until the END of July but in order for it to be a surprise, we knew it would need to be earlier.  So we found some invitations we liked and my mom sent them out. The big issue was figuring out a way to get him out and away from the house - we needed a good reason and then something for him to do.

Thankfully we have amazing people in our lives who can entertain him AND keep a secret =) The Husband, brother-in-law, and some friends took Dad out off-shore fishing!!! Thank goodness!! Ok so he was out of the house...oh and our excuse for needing him out/encouraging him to make plans??? Mom was throwing a Pampered Chef party! =)

So now I became part of one of the MOST elaborate lies EVER in my LIFE! No seriously - this is how it goes...

We have to SOMEHOW convince my dad that we had a pampered chef party, so my mom cooks a pampered chef dish at her house so that it smells like she hosted something; so that there are dishes in the sink; AND so that there are leftovers...yeah, we went ALL. OUT!  Meanwhile, at my house, we were decorating and cleaning and prepping for everyone to get there.

The men all get back from fishing, drop my dad off and head to our house. Yes, I had 4 sweaty, sun burnt, mildly smelly men in my house for a second. Everyone showered and changed and waiting (im)patiently for the guest of honor to arrive. My sister and I were REALLY antsy waiting for my mom to bring him over...we ended up accidentally isolating ourselves while waiting! OOPS! We were nervous...looking back - i don't know what we had to be nervous about...maybe because we had worked so hard to keep it a secret for 6-7 weeks and were worried he somehow knew?? Who knows! 

As hard as my sister and I worked, I can't imagine what it was like for my mom...she lived with this secret all locked away while spending every day with my daddy. She busted her BUTT getting contact information, getting out the invitations, setting up a faux pampered chef party, and keeping him from having any idea =) PLUS the catering, the beer, the ideas...sheesh! Mommy - you are so awesome! I do NOT know how you kept the secret!!!!! 

The man had NO. CLUE. that there was a party waiting for him after his full day of off shore fishing....

 

Not everyone made it into the picture =/ OOPS!!!
We were all waiting to shout "surprise!"

 

My sister and I are a bunch of babies - we cried!!! 

 

At the end of it all, EVERYONE was exhausted but he swears he didn't know - didn't have any sort of inkling.  To be honest, even if he did, I hope he would tell us he didn't =) we worked our tails off keeping this secret.  It became especially hard as my dad and I started running together. Something would be said that would make me think about the party; at which point i would become so focused on NOT saying anything about the party that I would just quit talking. 

I am so thankful to those who were involved in getting him out of the house, to those who were able to attend, and to EVERYONE who was able to keep this quiet!! 

And Mommy - seriously, BEST IDEA EVER!!!! He is so lucky to have an amazing wife =) PLUS super awesome kids...just sayin'!

PS: keeping 30 people from eating blow pops from the '50 sucks' thing was ALMOST impossible! Thank goodness there were some left over that I could hand out!!!! 

Have you ever thrown a surprise party?
Was it successful?

From The Couch: Easy Bathroom Decor

HEY HEY!!!

What up y'all?! I have been SO MIA the past two weeks.

I PROMISE to try harder to be present! We are so so busy with work and then weekend/evening activities, I can't believe how fast the days are flying by!! I'm CRAZY busy at work and then it is time to leave, get my work out on, eat dinner, then it is practically time to go to bed! Lately I have been staying up MUCH later than necessary; last night for example, I was up until 1 am! Why??? I don't know - i just wasn't ready to go back to work today haha! 

This weekend I became Pinspired =) I have wanted something little to add to our master bathroom. It needed to be something cute and something that wouldn't be too expensive to create. I am finding that my best inspiration happens when I'm not looking for anything in particular.  For those of you who have been around - that gets difficult because I am constantly looking for something SPECIFIC. I was surfing pinterest last week and found this. 

My results are SUPER similar to that of My Heart's Desires. My rosettes are a little more 'disheveled' than the ones she made but I really like the way it turned out! 

 

This project cost me a total of $12!!!!

Large Vase: Walmart $4

Medium Vase: Walmart $3

Tall Candle: $2.50

Small Candle: $1.50

3 bags split peas: $2

 

AND best of all - I did this from the comfort of the couch while we watched a movie =) 

I don't LOVE the little rosette on the smaller vase - I may have to redo that one. It won't be tonight - I have too much going on right now to be re-doing something that NO ONE should be judging lol 

Where do you get your decor inspiration?