Is this too flashy?

I bought these tonight on a whim tonight because they were on sale and because they fit perfectly.  

I'm really excited to wear them for as long as it's warm outside.

And if it's not warm, I'll wear these:

Because I also bought these because they were on sale and because they fit perfectly.

And by sale, I really mean clearance.  That's the only way I'd ever buy two of the same articles of clothing in two different colors. 

Scrabble This

So a long while ago I made my own Scrabble letters to hang in my foyer.  I have the perfect drop down to hang WELCOME on right above my living room entry way.  It was really easy to do, especially since I had Nate cut the plywood.  This summer Nate made a bookshelf for my sister and had a strip 11" wide left over.  I had him cut me 11x11" squares.  They're not proportional in terms of thickness but they look very similar to real Scrabble squares so I don't think it really matters.

I then sanded the edges and any rough spots on the squares.

 

Then I cut out letters I printed on cardstock and measured and traced them on the wooden squares.  I had to make sure the letters were centered on the squares.

Using my ruler from 2nd grade with Garfield on it!

Then I traced the letters on the wooden squares and began painting.  I started using acrylic paint to paint the letters.  But it looked dull and kind of soaked in to the wood.  Even when I painted a second coat, it still looked relatively flat.  So I ran out to Home Depot and bought a small can of black Rust-Oleum oil based paint and it made a world of difference!  And thanks to Nate's 20% off military discount it was like $3. 

  I still have yet to hang them up but I better do it soon before I have people over to my house on Saturday.  I've had these sitting nicely stacked on my kitchen counter for two months.  Nate said he'd staple them into the wall.  I think that's an awful idea and I will probably use the 3M Velcro Command Strips to stick them to the wall.  Now the question is to put them on the wall like an actual Scrabble board or put them up and angle them slightly.  This is my first craft project in a while and apparently it'll be a while before I do my next one.  I'm trying to decide whether or not I am going to tackle my throw pillows or my curtains first.  

Decisions, decisions.

As of late

First Thing:
I tried running today to keep up with my training for my Half that's coming up, but for some reason I had a lot of difficulty running. My legs felt so heavy and I only ran half as far as I originally wanted to go. It was really discouraging and I was pretty mad at myself. The only thing I can think of as an explanation is that I gave blood on Wednesday and I don't think my body has caught up yet. I'm going to try and run my long run tomorrow. Hopefully that results in a more encouraging run.

Second Thing:
I celebrated the wedding of a good friend today and spent some good time with the pastor that married us and his family. Then I watched the Huskers squeeze out a win and then spent the rest of the evening visiting with old friends from my youth group days. It's funny how much can happen in 6 years. Now I am looking forward to my extra hour of sleep tonight. Here's a snapshot of my new nightstand photo Nate and I took at the photo booth at the wedding today.

Geeze . . .

First Thing:
By geeze, I mean it's been a while.  This weekend was filled with so much fun.  Nate and I made our way up to NE to celebrate my mother-in-law's 50th birthday and to visit Indian Cave!  We've missed out on the Indian Cave adventure with the Norton's for the last 4 years and it was the one thing that we've wanted to go back for since we've gotten married.  We surprised my mother-in-law by showing up at her house unannounced.  The moment she saw me she screamed!  It was a priceless 50th spent with lots of family
At the start of our trip, I was able to meet up with a dear college friend and her new little guy - Shep. Last time I saw her, he was inside her.  Now he's developing his personality and interested in everything.  What a blessing it was to catch up with here.

We spent the next day visiting Union Orchard and Kimmel Orchard before heading to Indian Cave Sate Park.  The view is beautiful and we hike about 4 miles through the park and end the evening with a bonfire and yummy s'mores. 

 

Super yummy Jonathan apples (which I later made into apple chips), apple donuts, popcorn, pumpkin butter, and  pecan maple syrup.

 

After four years, our initials are still there.  When Nate carved these, we were just dating, now we're married.  I hope we can go back and show our little ninos how long it's been there.

There's more!

Such a fun and quick weekend.

Here's to hoping that our Thanksgiving trip to NE brings more time to relax but just as much fun!

Second Thing:

I am thoroughly enjoying my half marathon training (despite a foot injury a few weeks ago) and my current life situation right now.  Nate's in school so I have a lot of time to cook - like learning how to make apple chips, and do crafts - like my Scrabble letters (I'll post about soon).  I promised myself that I would really try not to watch as much TV this school year as I did last school year and so far I've stuck to it.  I watch TV on Sunday while I clean, while I stretch during the week, Husker games, and on Wednesday nights when I'm catching up on New Girl (which airs on Tuesdays).  And of course today - because Pride and Prejudice is on and my body needs a nap from running 13 miles this morning.  Hopefully, I can post more regularly.  Sometimes I'm so busy living my life, I'm too busy to recap it.

You scream, I scream

We all scream for ice cream!  I scream for two things:

First Thing:
I scream for our new computer.  We finally have one!  Nate and I both brought a computer into our marriage.  His died a little under a year ago and we've been sharing one for what seems like forever.  Mine is on it's way out - slowly but surely and it was just time.  I think we got a great deal on our new one and it will last us for a solid number of years.

Second Thing:
I scream for actual ice cream.  I am excited for this Friday night.  A bunch of friends and I are going out for a girls night.  We'll be seeing this movie and drinking these margaritas while eating copious amounts of nachos followed by these ice cream sandwiches.  Mostly, I am excited for Sweet Sammies because it's delicious.  Last time I ate a traditional chocolate chip cookie with chocolate ice cream sandwich.  This Friday it might be time for a change. 

I love my life

First Thing:
My husband asked me on a date over gchat at work today. He asked me to meet him at Old School for pizza and beer while he did his fantasy draft. It might not be the ideal date for some people, but it is fantastic. I found out this morning that he has class until 8 every night so dinner will be on our own for three out of the 5 nights of the week. Tonight I met him at our favorite pizza spot with our laptop. We enjoyed delicious barbecue chicken pizza, an Old Chub and an Alaskan Amber, followed by a pitcher of ZiegenBock. (This undid all the running I did after work.) I watched Nate do his draft, met a Nigerian from England studying at UTA, and watch the Rangers play Tampa Bay. I seriously can't get enough of this place.

Second Thing:
I didn't make it out to buy our new computer tonight. I'm excited to bring it home so Nate can finally have a computer. His computer died a year ago and we've been sharing ever side. My computer is near the end of its life and so this new edition to our family will be welcomed. Tomorrow it's on my agenda to purchase this guy.

Sunday funday

First Thing:
I bought a dress for the military ball and I absolutely adore it. I had two random women in the dressing room tell me it looked fabulous on me. Bonus. Now I just need to figure out how to do my hair. It needs to be up because my dress has a fantastic collar.

Second Thing:
Today was one of the best Sunday's I've had in a while. It rained all day today so it made for a perfect day to stay inside. After work around my house I headed down to my parent for the afternoon.

We made blueberry ricotta stuffed French toast for lunch.

Since there was no sun and lots of rain we did some pedicures.

We also baked a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, watched the Broncos play, and shopped around for a new computer.

We found one and should get it tomorrow night.