Pinterest Makes Me Want Things

And also to make things. Sometimes for children I don't have. Or a husband that is far far away. And holidays that are not in season. 

Oops.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Bye Husband Stay Safe

Kyle sent a quick message earlier today saying he won't have internet anymore. So I am sad. And probably going to get more sad the longer I can't talk with him. Sigh.

But, three out of five bridesmaids will be in town the weekend after this, and we are going to have a wedding and fun filled time, so I am looking forward to that. Time to focus on wedding planning, and grad school applying. And getting more pumpkin spiced items. Always more pumpkin spice.

I hope you liked Brenda's wedding post yesterday; weren't her pictures oh so pretty? I'm looking to get more friends to do some guest posts, so let me know if you might be interested! It's pretty fun.

Ho hum. I guess that's all I have to say today...Parks & Rec and The Office coming up!

autumn

Also- Snowflakes this weekend?

- From the desk of Mrs. M

GRE-Free

The GRE is done! My attitude about standardized tests is that they are for the most part stupid and not a testament to what you know and can do. I feel like I studied enough for the GRE though I didn't study excessively. I don't get stressed or anxious about tests, so it was all very ho-hum leading up to it. My main concern was not understanding why everybody seems to think that the GRE is quite actually the most sinister and evil creation on earth and it would most definitely ruin my life and spirit, because I never got that sense while studying and preparing.
But I am glad it is over! And it was nice to hang out with friends a little bit back at Pitt. We had breakfast at Pamela's, home of Michelle Obama's most favorite pancakes (they are very good).

 Pam-Pam's menu and The Pitt News

 colorful floors

 food! 

I got to start the test over an hour early, so I was able to get done and out of Pittsburgh earlier than expected! Time to relax, have a glass of the wine that I got in Annapolis, make some dinner, and hang out with the kittens. :)

- Mrs M

PS- Husband, I really miss you. I wish you could have a glass with me. 

Wednesday Wedding: Guest Blogger - The Funky Junkie

Hi Readers! I'm off to take the GRE today (wish me luck!), but don't worry, a friend has got this weeks Wednesday Wedding covered! Meet Brenda, the Funky Junkie! 

....................

Hello friends of Sarah! I'm so excited to be here today. :)

I've been stalking Sarah's blog for a few months now, and have found that her and I have similar styles when it comes to wedding things--even though I just got married a few months ago, I totally still peruse the wedding blog world just for fun! I love Sarah's Wedding Wednesday posts because I find myself excited about her DIY style that will absolutely make her wedding unique.

Having a unique wedding was my number one goal while I was planning my own wedding last year. Although I definitely wanted some traditional elements--the church ceremony, the reception introductions, cutting the cake, and all the ritual dances--I wanted every detail of our wedding to be personalized to me and my husband, Ian. I wanted people to see us in every moment, from the music at the ceremony to the decor at the reception. 

These days, being budget-conscious, thrifty, and crafty is chic! This means that there are a TON of ideas floating around the blogosphere, many of which I incorporated into my wedding. The multitudes of wedding blogs as well as online communities like Pintrest make sharing ideas as easy as the click of a button. I had folders on my computer of other elements of other gals weddings that I wanted to use as my own. But the more I did this, the more I thought--was this really right? Am I stealing ideas? If I take this from this blog and use it in my wedding, is it really going to be unique?

The answer? The more you look around the world wide web for inspiration, you'll find that it really is just that: inspiration. Not stealing! Nine times out of ten, every idea you see from one girls wedding was probably adapted from an idea that she saw somewhere else. The key is adapting it to fit you and your style. That is why there simply are so many awesome ideas out there--if you see one that lights a fire inside of you, you will definitely find a way to make it meaningful to you. 

For me, I found myself taking inspiration from a variety of things--a little bit of rustic vintage and a little bit of 1950's retro. A little bit of red, and a little bit of purple. Throw in a ukelele played by a friend at the ceremony, walking out of the church to a James Taylor favorite, and dancing to the most meaningful songs to us at the reception, and by golly, we had ourselves a truly unique wedding. 

Sarah, I know that with your creativity and fabulous style, that you and Kyle will have an amazing and totally unique wedding celebration, and I can't wait to see your inspirations come to life!

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All photos by Meagan Jepson Photography

THANK YOU Mrs. B for a lovely post and for filling in for the week!  Your wedding looks beautiful. Everyone should hop over and visit her blog. :)

- Mrs M

Random Tuesday/Kittens in Bags

I'm leaving early from work today to drive to Pittsburgh for the GRE tomorrow. I have a guest blogger for tomorrows Wednesday Wedding, so make sure to check back for that! For now, enjoy these pictures of the kittens in bags.

 fresh hot laundry

 getting ready to go to work

the IKEA bag, a favorite play place

my bag with all my GRE study materials

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Four Months

Four months since I drove away from Fort Hood and realized I was not actually ready to do so and had a bit of a panic attack that lasted until the next morning. It had been a weird last day with Kyle, starting with getting up, getting ready, packing up the rest of Kyle's things and cleaning up the motel room. Kyle helped a friend move and came back with a giant old box TV in the back seat of the car, which we were unsuccessful at taking to a shop so donated it (left it) to the motel room (this all annoyed me because it was heavy and awkward to get into/out of the car multiple times and sometimes husband shouldn't bring home things just because they are free and I didn't want to be annoyed figuring out what to do with this stupid TV our last hours together). After meeting up on base we had a lot of time to kill but nowhere to go. I think we went to the pet store, drove around, and sat at Sonic for some hours. Then back on base Army folk and families were standing around, smoking around babies, getting their guns and chatting. Some formations and goodbyes and around 4 pm I think I started my drive back to Pennsylvania. It honestly didn't hit until I was in the car starting to drive away without him. It felt so wrong; I should be turning around to go with him or something. That was probably the worst I've felt all of deployment, so far.

No idea when he'll be getting back, if he will get two weeks R&R, or any of those important dates I would really like to know, so my countdown is open-ended at this point. Maybe it's more like a countup. But anyway, I can't wait for him to come home.

Mraz performed this on Saturday; it seems kind of relevant. (song starts around 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00 depending)

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Annapolis with Abigail

My trip to Annapolis/DC/Columbia in list form:
- panic driving around the little streets and worrying about parallel parking on a busy Saturday (but it all turned out perfectly. which was actually true for the whole days events)
- but Annapolis is the most adorable place I've seen in the States
- I learned what midshipmen are and how to spot a johnny
- Abigail lives right next to everything. no driving required, yay!
- we went on the Harbor Queen boat tour
- and ate our crepes & coffee
- and made it to Georgetown to visit John for an hour and give him things and walk along the river
- I like to pretend I kind of run Gtown when I am there.
- Abigail made some interesting driving choices
- concert time!
- surprise we had actual seats not general lawn seating!
- Colbie Callait and Jason Mraz
- It was awesome.
- most memorable line from a song: "I'm gonna make you a momma too." teehee
- Mraz had long hair and skinny pants and a bandanna and we weren't sure of his new look
- but we loved his new music so it's all good.
- Remember that time we saw Mraz for free at Pitt before I went there and we were front row and he winked and eyebrow raised at me (at 1:19 before the big shriek yep) and I said hi side stage and he said hi back. and then Kyle and I officially started dating a couple days later.
- even though I woke up at 5:30 that morning, after the concert ended we drove back to Annapolis and met up with some folks and went out
- to a place called Pussers which is the weirdest club/bar I've ever seen. frat house meets hotel meets dance club meets four different wedding after parties meets some old guys meets Navy sirs and skanky ladies looking to marry Navy sirs meets right by the harbor meets disappointed Sarah because nobody fell in the water.
- random twelve year old British boy asking for directions to said club/bar
- chat with husband late at night when I was so drunktired (I only had 1/4 of a very gross drink but I had been up for 21 hours and was so tired it was like I was kind of drunk) and being a bit sad and husband was such a good husband from oh so far away telling me I'm pretty
- the Grim family has the most adorable house, by the way
- and dog, Bonnie I used to hike with sometimes, and lion kitty
- Abigail guided me around Navy campus/grounds. and I thought Georgetown had nice dorms.
- went to a shop and got some drinks and little things and tasted some beers
- Kyle would have loved it (BEER) so I took pictures of beer and wine bottles for you husband
- I even brought home 2 bottles of wine. two!
- nice lunch at home with the Grims
- dessert at Galway Bay pub

Thanks for such a great weekend, Abigail and Grim family! I hope to visit again before too long.

- Mrs. M