new home decor ideas // breakfast area

 

The room that needs immediate attention is our “eat in” breakfast area. My dad has wanted us to invest in a table since Kyle and I moved in together over 4 years ago. But we always had excuses. Apartment too small. A table goes where Mulligan plays. A table goes where Kennesaw and Mulligan plays. A table would block Mulligan and Kennesaw’s direct path to the backdoor to go outside. But now we really don’t have an excuse. It is our home, we need a table– that will block the sliding glass door, Mulligan and Kennesaw’s direct exit out back. Bah hum bug.

But. on a positive note: that gives me the opportunity to play interior decorator. So, this is what I am thinking.

Buffet. IKEA Stornas Collection. Gray Brown. {not pictured in the correct color} // Table. IKEA Stornas Collection. Gray Brown. // Picture for over the buffet. World Market. //

I want a buffet for our placemats, napkins, and napkin wear.  And a place to store all our serving dishes and other dishes things. I like this one because it has the 2 long drawers plus the 3 little ones.  And I love the open shelving for a wine rack? Or other more decorative/fun bowls {for example my Parker Bowls from Crate and Barrel}. Plus, I love the idea of decorating the top of it and I already have ideas.  Fingers crossed when we measure the wall it isn’t too big.

I just LOVE the picture and thing it will go great with the green wall color and the rustic looking furniture. I spotted it at World Market this week and had to literally hold myself back from buying it.

And the table matches the buffet.  They’re a package deal. And need to be the same material. I cannot wait to decorate the table too with all our fun wedding gifts!

And... I promise... as rooms start to come together I will post the real life, not just my fantasies!

I hope everyone has a really good weekend.  If you need Kyle or me we will be at Home Depot and at our new house... hanging curtains, changing locks... being domesticated and married. :)

12 Things I Learned in 2012

I am a total blog post idea stealer. I saw this on Oh Well Instead and learned that the  idea game from one of my most favorite bloggers Jenn who is in Atlanta and I swear I will meet in real life in 2013. And I believe with each passing year you learn life lessons and continue to grow as a person. You just have to slow down at times, reflect and then catalog those lessons for the future. So... without further explanation – the 12 things I learned in 2012.

1. Hard work pays off. I have been presented with some excellent opportunities this year and built excellent relationships with people I work with. I hate when my parents are right – but if you work hard enough you really will go far.

2. It is hard to fall off the workout wagon and it is even harder to get back on. I cannot even fit in my wedding dress that I wore in March, the gym sounds like a fabulous idea, but it is sooo hard to get back into one.

3. I need ME time like there is no tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong. I love Kyle J. But there are times when I just want to sit back, watch tv, play on the internet, and just be alone. When I am not getting that time I get cranky and irritated. I need to get better at me time in 2013 and warning Kyle when I am about to get cranky.

4. I am a HUGE control freak. I never realized how intense of a character trait {or flaw} this is until I got down to the wire in wedding planning & house hunting & in many aspects at work. I pretty much overwhelm myself because I have to do it or it won’t be done right. Again, I need me time or I go crazy.

5.  You do not need a lot of friends, just a handful of good friends. After having a friend drop out of my wedding and then learn that another good friend was nothing but a liar face, I learned that all you really need in life are friends you can turn to for anything and everything. You shouldn’t have to censor yourself and separate conversations for friends.

6. Stay Humble. It is great to accomplish great and wonderful things. But how you handle those great and wonderful things speaks volumes. It is not attractive or cute to only talk about your successes and be me me me.

7. Ebay is a great way to get rid of your junk/things you don’t need/want anymore. They saying is true – one person’s trash is another person’s treasures. And you can make some quick easy cash.

8. Your happiness {and unhappiness} really does cross over into other parts of your life. So determine if your unhappiness is permanent or momentary and make life adjustments if/when needed.  Happiness is a direction, not a destination.

9.  I think I am an interior designer. Now... lets just see how horrible our new house turns out to be.

10. Some of the most important people in your life will keep secrets from you. You may never know the reason why they chose to not tell you things, but you have to remember there is a reason behind their logic.

11. Sometimes you just have to be there for people. It isn’t always about offering the best advice or siding with someone. Sometimes it is all about just being there for when someone is ready to talk or cry or scream.

12. Lazy Friday night dinners in front of the TV make the best dates. You don’t have to get dressed up or go anywhere, but you’re still spending quality time together. And really, why would you want fight the world on a Friday night after you fought the world for 5 days straight at work?!

Well... with all that said, I hope everyone had a great 2012! :)

Happy Homeownership!

Kyle and I are officially homeowners! And, I feel like we only signed our name like 40 times, not 100 times.  And it only took like 40 minutes not hours.  People... don’t be so dramatic when it comes to home buying!

This is one of my favorite pictures because Kyle isn’t even left handed and he is posing for the picture and grabbed the pen with his left hand. What a total goofball.

I have no idea what I signed or agreed to – other than that we promise to make timely mortgage payments and try our best to never ever default on the loan.

But... we are both very excited and now I can officially look at home decor pictures on Pinterest, paint colors at Home Depot, and furniture at Havertys and not be a total crazy. =D

Here’s to saving for a roof and updated HVAC units and fingers crossed we get those programmable thermostats we asked Kyle’s dad for for Christmas! :: yawn ::

I cannot wait to post pictures of the house as we get situated and things fall into place!

Weekly Wrap Up

This may be a new trend for me. {If I can remember each week} Highlighting our past 7 days for our fabulous readers. :)

First piece of big news. THE HOUSE. we are closing on Tuesday!!! It is crazy and we cannot believe it is happening. 

I have been holding off revealing the house – in case something fell through. BUT... THIS IS OUR HOUSE! We are both really excited about it.  We’re officially moving to the suburbs of Atlanta – Alpharetta to be exact. Good school systems {for our imaginary children},great backyard {for our real life dogs}, and a house of our very own! :)

But I think that means we can cross another thing {well two things} off my 30 before 30 list – figure out what Kyle and I are doing with our lives and buying a house!

Kyle and I went to The Container Store this weekend and he loves the place just as much as I do.  He loves it so much he took an overpriced notebook off the wall and started jotting down ideas for different parts of our house.  True Story.  So future good gift ideas for us: Container Store gift cards. And, I got a running list of gift ideas for him.

We actually spent all day yesterday in the Perimeter finishing our Christmas shopping and remembering why we hate the Perimeter and why we do ALL our shopping in like October. Never again.

Work. We got the big deal. So, on top of packing and moving, I will be spending A LOT of time in Birmingham after the 1st of the year.  I spent all day on Friday with our new client for observations and questions and let me tell you... I have A LOT of work in my future. But, I am excited.  Implementing an onsite account is a new thing for me and I am ready for the crazy challenge!

Well. We have a short week this week. :) We’re heading back to Virginia for the Christmas holiday and then when i get back... life gets insanely busy!!

for the house i do not own.

we are officially supposed to close on the 18th. so i am now in constant “i need this for the house” mode. i need an intervention. i need to chill.

{read the rest of this post in my whiney, fast talking, but i need this, breathless voice. if you know me, you know what i am talking about}

For example: see the big fork and spoon bronze art? i need that. I showed them to kyle and he told me they were [and i quote] “very stupid” and that he [and i quote again] “good if we had a giant over for dinner”. heartbreaking. he is no fun. but i can picture it in my kitchen, on the wall next to the pantry. hanging just like in the picture. or maybe horizontally with the spoon facing one way and the fork the other. i feel like they’re funky and fun and will add character to our light, moss green kitchen [that will eventually be repainted]. and the fuddy duddy that is my husband can deal with it. But... with all that said, the one thing i know: i need them and will get them, eventually. mark.my.words.

and then this hutch. i mean. it is a beauty. i like that i can store serve ware underneath [and wine] and then put fun decoration on top. plus, i want something to put all our napkins and placemats in rather than our kitchen drawers. but at the sticker price of $1,099 this piece of furniture will not be in our future home. i know, $1,099 – gasp. shock. awe. – totally unattainable. and i don’t want to hear about “investments” and “having it forever” because $1,099 is a crap-ton of money. we will continue to look at target for a great buffet/hutch thing. plus, i don’t think it is dark enough wood. ideally – i would love to find a buffet/hutch thing to match the kitchen table we need to buy. but i want the shelving underneath and the drawers.

but as i look at kitchen art [aka the fork and spoon] and then furniture, i realize that i really love dark wood. and we currently have dark wood because kyle and i love the clean look of it. our cabinets, they’re white. we’re going to need to make them dark [eventually] to match the decor i am wanting to pull off.

one thing i know [other than that i need that fork and spoon art] is that i need to win the lotto or put bonus money to our eventual kitchen upgrade and semi-home painting [kyle and i may be misadvised, but we think we can paint 97% of the house on our own. stay tuned for pictures]. i like pretty things, it is a major downfall.

oh and another thing i know: i need to breathe and live in the house for like a week before i start buying things and decorating. for all i know, i am designing one of the other houses we looked at.

bad dog mom!

I totally forgot to post that it was Mulligan’s 4th birthday this week!! And even worse – we did nothing for him. We knew Kennesaw would steal whatever toy we got him. Seriously. Bad Dog Parents.

But... I feel like it was just yesterday that I was telling Kyle “no” and then seeing the cute puppies and quickly saying “yes” and it has been nothing but adventures since! Chewed up walls, trips to the dog park, visits to Santa, trips to the vet over eating rocks, tormenting him and making him wear his fleece coat, him digging in his water bowl, and I could go on forever.Mulligan was SO small when we 1st saw him and decided we wanted him.  It is funny because of all the pups he was the adventurous one. The one who escaped from the puppy room to say hello. And now, he is scared of pretty much everything. Maybe we shelter him too much!

Happy 4th year of life Mulligan Lackashore Shanahan!  Here’s to many more years of being the spoiled human animal that you are!!

Santa! I know Him!

VICTORY!  Both Mulligan and Kennesaw are smiling.  Santa, he is not.  He looked grumpy in every picture he took with all the dogs this year!  But, how cute are my kids!! Ho Ho Ho!

I posted this picture on Facebook and the girl who helped save Mulligan from the junkyard commented on the picture and said "shut up! santa is not in the junkyard!" ... silly silly - mulligan now lives in luxury!!

// hey world hello \\

 

Oh goodness. It has been a long long few weeks. Literally as I type this, I am exhausted and cannot wait to do nothing this weekend, but lay in bed and relax.

I am coming down with a cold, just when I need to be on my game. I am not going to say much – don’t want to jinx it – but I have been offered an AWESOME opportunity at my company. It isn’t  a career change or a promotion ... it is an assignment, but it is an assignment that will let me leave a HUGE mark on the company if done right and done well. Of course, I will gush once it is confirmed. Needless to say, I am excited.

Today Kyle bought me a surprise groupon for a 60 minute massage to use down the road. Because this new assignment at work will have me on the road pretty much for 3-5 weeks. He told me to use it once I get tired and need me time. I really am lucky to have such an amazing husband.

Our house situation is getting real and real fast.  We are scheduled to close on our 1st half on December 18th. We’re still waiting on the appraisal. But it is all looking good.  So, we will be moving into our new house – while I am taking on all the new responsibilities at work. {another reason for the groupon}

Yesterday I got psychoanalyzed after taking a personality profile. Evidently, I am an odd bird. Only 9% of the people who take the quiz score the way I do. Basically, I am both extroverted and introverted and then there is whole lot more to it. But the overview and write up about me was dead on. it was freaky.

The dogs went to daycare today to see Santa and I cannot wait to see the picture {and of course share it} ... but for now, you will have to deal with the paparazzi pictures Doguroo’s staff took of Kennesaw today.

But. I just wanted to let you all know that Kyle and I are alive! We had a great Thanksgiving. It was weird not being with my family, but Kyle’s family welcomed me with open arms!!  I hope you have a good weekend & that Alabama beats Georgia! Roll Tide!

Alabama vs. Auburn :: 1 more day

TOMORROW IS GAMEDAY!!!

This video is my FAVORITE! It brings back so many game day memories in Bryant Denny. I remember being fixed on the big screens just watching this video! And there was always SO much excitement in the stadium when this video started (and through the whole thing). Oh what I would give to have season tickets (or be a student again).

Perfection.

 

“I’d like people to remember me as a winner, cause I ain’t never been nothing but a winner.” – Paul Bear Bryant

Alabama vs. Auburn :: 5 Days

Today’s post is dedicated to all the smart children of the world. Prepare to laugh! :)

:)

Don’t worry kid ... I wouldn’t want to go in that Auburn store either! All that orange. Yeah. It is just too much.

Roll. Tide.

What a smart girl. Dressed like a fool. Smart words though! Hopefully when it is time to enroll in college she will make the right decision!

Alabama vs. Auburn :: 6 Days!

If you watch ESPN at all – you have seen this video {or at least should have} . But it is still so awesome on so many levels. Roll Tide. Beat Auburn.

"Roll Tide" is a universal expression among 'Bama Nation, versatile and applicable in nearly every situation as a greeting, farewell or standard cheer or praise.

Alabama vs. Auburn :: 7 Days!

.the best game. my most favorite game. we are one week out from the game that means the most. the iron bowl. my fingers cannot even contain my excitement! {explains the big bold font} and records and wins and loses don’t matter – anything can happen at the iron bowl!

And. Every day leading up to the game I am going to post a video or a picture of something Iron Bowl awesome. To kick the fun off – this video comes from ESPN’s “Roll Tide/War Eagle” movie – which I feel is a must see for every Alabama or Auburn fan!

“They’re not actually even an eagle, they're a tiger. so I don’t know what war eagle means. So I hate it” – Mark Ingram

House Hunting Begins {for now}.

Honestly, I am still not 100% sure we should be house hunting. But. We went and looked at houses away. And house hunting is stressful. I think it is going to be like wedding planning. Something I hate. There is seriously nothing fun about this process {especially since all of Atlanta is home shopping and wants a deal. rawr}

And I feel like it is going to be like buying a wedding dress – you have that ah ha, this is the one moment and i just have not felt that. boo.

This house is honest to goodness gorgeous. Still our #1 but we were not able to see it. It has an offer on it, but it is contingent/kick out so I have made our real estate agent dig and find more dirt on it because i want to see it. seriously.

Another house on the list we didn’t get to see but it is our #2 – I have our real estate agent stalking the listing agent so we can see it.

This house it utterly gorgeous, everything about it. The kitchen. The layout. Everything. The only downfall is the backyard, it isn’t as big as we would like. Not just for our dogs but for future kids. And this isn’t a deal breaker, but the driveway is REALLY steep. This one is not no, but not a oh my gosh must have.

This house has been a favorite of mine for months. After seeing it, I think it is a no. The backyard situation is just too small and we would have to let the dogs out through the basement every time they wanted to go out. The basement? it isn’t even finished so we can’t hang out down there to make it easier. blah. And, the owners of the house have let their kid draw all over the walls. But the kitchen and layout was AMAZING!

Kyle loved this one – me not so much – I loved the backyard and the kitchen and the bedroom size, but there was just so much that needed to be done to it. Paint, wallpaper removal, repainting cabinets. And then our real estate agent basically said it would be A LOT of money since she spotted wood rot and all the jazz. So, this is a no. We don’t want to be shelling out money form day 1.

 

There was just so much that I did not like about this house – there were janky old yellowed looking security systems on the walls and tattered surround sounds speakers. The backyard situation is a big question mark. but... the kitchen was nice and the size of the size of the master bedroom was good. i just didn’t see thing place as home.

I feel like we were bamboozled. I feel meh and not optimistic about this. There really is not a lot of inventory out there. The good stuff goes in like 2 days and REALLY who has the time to drop everything and who can drop everything to go see a house that lists on a Tuesday afternoon at 1:08 PM?? Because I will email a house to our agent and then they literally FLY of the market.  Granted, I don’t think our agent is asking all the questions (since our #1 house we were told had a “solid offer on it” and then I learned it was “contingent with a kickback clause). I feel like when I see a house I like I am going to have to immediately email her and ask her to get back to me and schedule it. It is exhausting to find houses, get excited about them, and then find out they’re gone – especially when they’re gone SO fast. 

Oh well... we’re supposed to go back out again this weekend, but as of right now, I cannot find anything that I like that is within our price range, location range, and something i would want to live in for the long haul.  We like our real estate agent – she seems to be really good with first time homebuyers and really knowledgeable. Granted, I didn’t love that she didn’t start planning our visits until 9:00 PM last night. But... I think she is good – has our best interest in mind – and is honest ... which all matters

I am willing to bet $10.00 that we don’t find a house and that is kind of depressing since our rent is about to go up and the interest rates are so good right now and going up.

yeah. sorry. this was a venting post.

{ Friday Letters }

 

I have not done a Friday's Letters in awhile. And the last one I did, there was not even a link up. Lame. But, here I am with another Friday Letters.

 

Dear Alabama Football: For serious. Last weekend was just.too.much. I will be missing most of the game tomorrow - just do what you do best, win. Lets just wrap the season up, beat UGA in the SEC Championship and *hopefully* roll on into the National Championship game. And win that too. Roll Tide.

 

Dear Government: Ok. You have to figure out this fiscal cliff thing. This counry really cannot afford another recession. Another recession can and will hurt my company. The thought of my losing my job scares the crap outta me (Explanation of said fiscal cliff)  
 

Dear House Hunting: Should we really be doing this? Some people still tell me YES. Others tell me NO and to wait it out. And then people at the office give me the look like I have 17 heads when I mention house hunting and still going through with it. I need some direction! I like stability, I want to know that I can pay my mortgage every month on time.

Dear Real Estate Agent: Hi. I am a control freak. The fact that we have a 1:00 appointment tomorrow and I do not know where we are meeting makes me anxious. You saw my home buying worksheet. I like things planned out. I like to know what is going on. I don't like being in the dark, especially since we're meeting tomorrow and I do not know where. I am obviously going to need to set some ground rules tomorrow.

Dear Mulligan: You're a bad dog. I wish there was a temporary pound I could send you to so you can learn how the other half lives. But, I love you. 

Dear Bank Account: I am going to be much more careful with my spending until further notice. And I know this knee jerk reaction is NOT what our economy needs, but as mentioned before a recession can and will hurt my company and put my job stability in question. I need to save.

Dear Laptop: You're brand new and you suck. Why does my keyboard keep freezing?!

Dear Cold Weather: Where did you come from? I hate you! Where was fall? Seriously, I hate this weather!!

Dear Personality Profile I had to take: Yo. you stressed me OUT. I feel like "discussing" and "spontaneous" are 2 different things - I could not and am not both. And I do not think I can wait till the 29th to get the results and see what they mean. And the thought of doing it in a group setting, makes me anxious.

Beh. Well. I hope you have a good weekend! :)

{the house hunt begins}

we are starting to house hunt this weekend and we have like 401 houses to see. ok. that is a stretch. but we do have a lot.  The pictures are listed from top choice to last choice {obviously} and you would think these houses would be EXPENSIVE but thanks to it being (1) Atlanta with cheaper homes and (2) a buyers market we will be getting a d-e-a-l. now. readers, don’t steal any of these houses... especially the top 4 or we may have issues. got it!

We have high high high hopes for the 1st house. basically new, amazing price, and it is already fenced. but we also love #2 and #3 and #4 {but there is some odd stuff going on with that one}. honestly: this whole process makes me nervous. i am scared someone will steal these houses that i am already emotionally attached to but have not even seen.

Kyle and I want a house that we can buy and then stay in. We don’t want to be house hunting again in 7 years or 10. We like stability.

 

Wish us luck!! I will blog all about the hunt. :)

my life recently {picture form}

 

i went to the beach for 4 relaxing days. got sunburned. now i am peeling. but it was all 100% worth it!

(1) outside the Lazy Flamingo. A tradition in Vines family eating on the island. (2) where I lived. by the pool. with a book. (3) leaving the island. on the causeway. bye bye water. (4) the beach!

(1) how an ocd’er house hunts. i have a table with a picture of the house, the price, notes from the realtor, and a designated space for our likes, dislikes, and potential DIY projects. (2) the roses kyle greeted me at the airport with (3) the flowers and cookies and note and origami flower kyle made after a long and frustrating week. most surprising: kyle j knows origami. (4) kennesaw killing MULLIGAN’S toy from the beach and ignoring her toy. typical.

escaping life for the weekend!

AND. THAT IS JUST WHERE I AM HEADED. I FLY OUT TOMORROW MORNING FOR A SHORT, BUT MUCH NEEDED BREAK FROM REALITY.

THE ONLY CALLS I AM ACCEPTING ARE FROM KYLE AND MY FRIENDS. AND THE ONLY EMAILS I WILL LOOK AT ARE THE ONES THAT CLUTTER MY INBOX BUT OFFER ME DEALS ON THINGS.

IF YOU NEED ME... I WILL BE ACCESSIBLE LATE SUNDAY NIGHT, BUT I WOULD PREFER IF YOU LEAVE ME ALONE TILL AFTER LUNCH HOUR ON MONDAY!

-b

{30 before 30 :: shooting range}

I can cross shooting guns off my “bucket list” and things I want to do and I can add it onto the “things I will never ever ever do again” list. Long story short: it was pretty bad and unenjoyable.

My friend Afton and I both wanted to go to a shooting range and there was a Sweet Jack deal and we snagged it. And then we planned a fun little outing with a guy we work with who is experienced and thought it would be fun. But it was really nothing like we pictured it.

It was loud. Really loud. There were bullet casings all over the floor. We couldn’t hear a thing {let alone the how to}. We were SO out of place {evidently Tory Burch flats are not appropriate footwear}. There was no safety video for us to watch. Or test to take. Or background check to pass {there could have been felons with us in there}.  There were big guns and big burley men. Again. We were SO out of place.

I decided to go first because Afton look terrified. Fred was giving me/us instructions {that, I couldn’t hear!!} and it all went downhill when Fred decided to demonstrate and a shell came flying at me. I screamed. And almost started crying. So Afton stepped up to the plate to fire away. And I said no way, no how I am out of here.  Afton fired a total of 13 bullets and was done when a shell went down her shirt. she then made me give it a try and i have never been so terrified in my life.

sweaty palms. couldn’t pull the trigger. and when i did, my eyes were closed and i would hop and scream. and i could never remember to take my finger off the trigger when i was done. needless to say, i terrified Fred {and probably many of you readers}. I shot 3 bullets and was done with it.

In total, we bought 100 bullets and shot 16.  We donated the others to Fred since we pretty much wasted his Sunday. And it sounds life Afton will give it another try. Me. Yeah. Not so much.

{home decorating : hall bathroom & bedroom}

we have not even started the home buying process yet other than looking at houses online and making our “want to see” list for when we do start looking {in 2-3 weeks} but i have already started thinking about paint colors and decorating. and i 100% blame pinterest for that. but i have told kyle that before i {or we} do any major work we will LIVE in the house for a bit. but i cannot sit still and even though we don’t have a new home yet I am already thinking about the details.

{downstairs hall bathroom}

i want a gray bathroom i think. and i love these bath towels from World Market. they would both go with a muted gray paint color. but of course i cannot decide which i like more. and i would have to worry about finding bath mats that are matchy matchy. and in real life, there is no reason to be buying hand towels when i do not even have a house. but, if i had to chose: i would go with the one on the right – love the print and colors together.

{master bedroom}

kyle has also made it pretty clear that we are not getting new bedroom furniture immediately {even though i think we NEED king bed thanks to mulligan sleeping with us}. but that has not stopped me from eyeing Haverty’s website and of course, I have picked out our new bedroom furniture. again. cannot chose between two and will have more than enough months to figure it out new furniture. but how pretty are these bedroom sets?!

I think I need to take a house decorating idea chill pill. especially since once we BUY a house we will be uber poor. but it is all just so pretty and fun.

we survived another week {victory}

 

this week was not bad. i cannot complain. i am without a doubt counting down the days till i board a plan and leave my life for 4 short days and go to the beach. but my life lately has been good.

i started running again and made myself a plan. this week, every day that i hit the gym or the path my by house I am running 2 miles. just 2 miles to get my legs back to it. from there i will up to 2.5 or 3 miles {still undecided} and will focus on my sub-30 5k goal. at this point, I am not running for the medals, i am running for me.

Oh my gosh. Total Win for me. Sunday, I went to my typical 10:45 AM Flywheel class {come ride with me!! it is amazing!!} and one of the local Lululemon girls was there too with 5 goodie bags. Well, I got lucky and got one of those goodie bags and got a FREE lululemon tank top {retail: $52}. But of course, it now ranks HIGH on my favorite running top list and i need/want more.

sadly, my headaches are back and they have brought an eye twitch/spasm with them. and my body just CANNOT handle muscle relaxers {i could never be a pill popping druggie}. which means i will be having a CT scan to make sure there is not any weird brain issues going on. honest moment: the whole thing is kind of annoying. i have re-worked and re-managed my work/life balance stress and i have been feeling good. so why are the headaches back?!

Kyle’s Mom and Step Dad are coming in town this weekend. Who knows what is on the agenda, but we will keep and stay busy. I am hoping they are not coming to lecture me about how I stole their baby away and made him move to Georgia with me and then REALLY stole him away since we’re going to buy a house. {the plan had always been to move home to VA}

Sunday I am excited because I am heading to the shooting range with my friend Afton and co-worker Fred to shoot some guns. Not really sure how it will go and if I will enjoy it, but it is on my 30 before 30 list and it seems like an experience. honest moment: i am a little nervous. and yes. there will be a blog post.

Kyle J and I still have not started the home buying process. We have decided that we’re going the 1st weekend in November to get pre-approved and will start the hunt from there. But, leave it to me to find my legit real dream home. {The other one I posted... had an offer on it 2 days later. Y’all better not have stolen it}

Keep your fingers crossed on this one – it is a potential short sale, still not approved by the bank which means it could 100% work in our favor and timeline or 100% not work in our favor and timeline. But for real. I could live her and be happy about it.

But I think that was my week. Uneventful. Not bad. 100% manageable. Just the way I like them! :)

Have a very happy weekend and BEAT TENNESSEE – ROLL TIDE!! :)

{three things Thursday}

i was walking down my blog memory lane earlier this week and discovered an oldie, but a goodie! Do you remember {three things Thursday} and how i did it every stinking week? Well. I am brining it back this week.

{one} In 7 days, I will be in sunny Florida with my mom and dad. And, I have nothing planned but to read and maybe run and lay by the pool. I do need to finish the AWFUL book I have been reading for what seems like months now, but i cannot seem to pick it up and just read. but i am someone who finishes EVERY book I start. I want a real, true beach read and I have a zillion on my bookshelf to read!

{two} Despite going to Nordstrom on Monday and using a Visa gift card to buy a new pair of black Tory Burch Revas {they were basically free/paid for by my company thanks to credit card points}, I also bought a pair of tan ones on Tuesday thanks to that amazing ShopBop sale.  My obsession with all things Tory is a little out of control, but I do not care . And I spent all day yesterday telling kyle “shopbop.com. Tory Burch. 20% off. we are family. Christmas.” ...doubt he got the hint {fingers crossed he did}! Did any of y’all cash in on that Tory sale!?!

{three} i am currently in a torn state. I had planned on heading to Tuscaloosa for the Western Carolina game with my friend Afton and to stay with my friend heather. There is 50% of me that wants to go. it will be fun. a girls weekend. we all need one of those. and then 50% of me wants to stay in town/knows i need to stay in town and house hunt with the husband since our weekend looking time will be limited due to being in VA for Thanksgiving & Christmas. if you were in my shoes... what would you do?! Part of me says push it back till January. Find a house and THEN head to Tuscaloosa for a girls weekend. what would you do?!

1 more work day to the weekend. i think we can make it! And... for all my Tennessee friends – remember this?! Mt. Cody and the blocked field goal for the WIN! Cannot wait for this weekend’s game! Roll Tide!!

To All Tory Burch Lovers

You’re going to love me and then hate me and then love me.

So you know those amazing Reva flats that just never ever ever go on sale. Well. They do today! :)

I am going to get you 20% OFF + 2.5% cash back.
{you can thank me later}

1. First: Join Ebates HERE {to get the 2.5% cash back}
2. Then in the “search” type in ShopBop and then click the big orange “shop now” button.
3. Then go to the Tory Burch sale ... pick out your Reva flats {or anything else on the ShopBop site}
4. And when you check out, use the coupon code: WEAREFAMILY

So not only are you saving 20% ... but you will get a check at the end of the quarter.

Plus you get free shipping and no tax {depending on your state}

shop.away.my.friends

And seriously, I do ALL my online shopping now through Ebates thanks to the cash back.

Friday Letters

Letters

I have not done a Friday's Letters in awhile, so I decided why not? I will say, I am very thankful it is Friday. It hasn't been a long week but it has been a long week {does that even make sense}. The little babies went to daycare yesterday so it should make for a low key Friday night.
 

 

But. without further ado: my friday letters.

 

Dear Online Shopping Habit :: I am so glad I discovered eBates. Now, I can shop online and get cash back for my purchases. So, now I coupon code and cash back. It is such a wonderful thing. Join the fun HERE!  

 

Dear Weekend ::  I am really excited about the prospect of you. I cannot wait to be it total relaxation bliss tomorrow. this massage is so overdue and needed. I am thinking about trying out FlyBarre @ FlyWheel since I have a free class and of course, I will do some FlyWheel.
 

Dear Pen Pal Jen :: Oh my word, I have not dropped off the face of the earth! I am crafting my long overdue note this weekend! Forgive me for being so bad at this lately!!

 

To whoever gave a dog to Michael Vick :: REALLY?!?! What in hells bells were you thinking?!

 

Dear Netflix :: I love you and your stellar streaming of TV Shows. First I caught up on Revenge. Then Greys. Then Gossip Girl. And now I am falling in love with Hart of Dixie. It is putting a damper in my reading, but I don't care! 

Corn maze. pumpkins. fair food. date.

Every year Kyle and I go to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins, shoot corn from the air cannons, ride the hayride and get lost in the corn maze. And since yesterday was Alabama’s off weekend – we thought it would be the best weekend to go!

It took awhile to get there because Kyle took his sweet time getting ready {he got distracted by video games and then his book} but when we finally did we were OFF!  We knew the corn maze started the day and we ended the day with pumpkins! But we got distracted by the corn air cannons and went there first. And... neither one of us hit the target {we blame the wind} so no one walked away with bragging rights this year!

We then ventured down to the corn maze. And we like this pumpkin patch – even though it is in the middle of nowhere - because of the corn mazes. We FLEW through the 3 corn mazes this year – mainly because I was complaining the whole time about being hot. I know. Me complain? Never.  I got us lost a few times because I kept insisting we needed to find the front {duh} and didn't account for dead ends.

When we got out of the corn mazes we were supposed to hop on the hayride {there is order and structure to the pumpkin patch trip} but they were not happening because of the pig races.  We didn’t get to see the pig races last year so we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. and i have to admit, it was so cute. 4 pigs racing around a track, jumping into a trough of water for a swim ... we definitely we not in Atlanta anymore. But it was cute and entertaining.

The green pig won 2 out of the 3 races.  Once that fun was over we went to the hayride and it was full. So we decided to wait for the next ride. And then the next ride was going to be a “trial” ride {empty} to see if they discovered a better route. And knowing we would have to wait 30 more minutes, we decided to call it a day.

We picked out pumpkins because leaving and when I spotted my pumpkin it was such a mission to get it i lost a shoe. My eye catching pumpkins is a 16 pounder. Kyle’s weighs 29 pounds. And I broke my own rule of not getting a pumpkin you cannot carry. It started to get heavy as we were walking to the car.  {totally forgot to get pumpkin holding pictures!}

But what I learned at the pumpkin patch is that my husband LOVES fair food. He wanted a hot dog and a hamburger and a bbq sandwich and fries and a funnel cake and kettle corn .. but i only let him have kettle corn, fries, a bbq sandwich and we split a funnel cake. We also realized that two 20-somethings are really out of place at a pumpkin patch without kids. oh well.

Donating to Charity!

Remember that 30 before 30 post and how I mentioned that I wanted to find a charity that I believed in and mirrored something that I loved and then donate to them each month? Well. I made a decision this week.

I broke up with Birchbox after 5 disappointing months of horrible boxes and beauty products that  didn’t meet my needs/wants/likes and decided to take that $10 per month and donate it to Lucky Dog Rescue. But, for me $10 didn’t feel like enough – that would be $120 a year – so I decided to donate $25 per month. Still. Not a lot. But it is something.

I knew I wanted to donate money to an animal rescue and I thought of different ones here in Atlanta but I kept coming back to Lucky Dog. Maybe I was partially swayed because Ashley is an Alabama alumni {ROLL TIDE}. But ultimately, there was something about the honesty in Ashley’s blog posts about her dogs. And how she tends to take the dogs that are in the worse shape and have the most horrific stories. And how she sacrifices so much for those dogs everyday. And how she gives dogs that would die in shelters because of their breeds second chances at life. And how she has suffered so much heartbreak while caring for dogs that deserve good, loving homes. There is just something that is so amazing about Ashley that shines through her writing.

I think Ashley says it best on her blog when she says:

“Lucky Dog Rescue focuses on the forgotten souls--dogs from death row, the abused, the sick, the special needs, and those with no other hope. .... Most of my rescues come from the worst situations imaginable, and they often have many medical issues that require expensive treatments. Any donation will help give them the futures they deserve.”

I know $25 is not a lot of money. It is only $300 per year. But I know to her, $300 equals food and heartworm and flea preventative and rabies shots and vet care. But, at the end of the day, I have fallen in love with so many of her little babies and their stories that I just had to help her out.

If you want to donate to Lucky Dog and Ashley’s AMAZING work with dogs you can do so HERE!!

my epiphany.

this is going to be a pretty honest post. i don’t do a lot of those. but i feel like this one is due. since i had a life epiphany while sweating it out in spin class this morning.

i have been happy but unhappy for a month or so now. i have been working long hours. i have been emotionally unstable. and tired. and not taking time for myself. and venting a lot. and brining my work stress home with me. i told kyle on friday {while in tears} that i feel like my spirit is crushed.

but randomly today i had a mini adult life chat with my brother. it was random. and unexpected. and short lived. and i probably dumped on him when he didn’t want to be dumped on or need to be dumped on, but i dumped. but he made some comments to me today that i had been hearing from SO many people. but something about him telling me it just clicked and stayed with me. maybe it is because he is SO far removed from the situation that i needed someone from the outside to just speak the truth.

i don’t want to go into major details because i am not sure who reads this anonymously {since one of the most common searches that land people here is: barbie shanahan blog}. but i have felt beat up at work and go home feeling defeated quite often. one individual just kills my happiness and makes me feel small and insignificant. i have gotten to the point where i just feel disengaged when this person is around and that my opinions and viewpoints surrounding the team i manage do not matter. and un-opinionated and disengaged is not me and not someone i want to be or strive to be. i am someone who likes to be challenged and is always wondering what is next. but i have lately felt like i just cannot win. and i have felt like i don’t know how much longer i could be bullied or pushed around.

i have told everyone all the time that i love what i do. i love the company i work for and the people i work with. i love the interaction with the field. i love knowing that when i hang up the phone with a recruiter that i have helped them. i love that i have built relationships with recruiters that when they chose to leave the company they send me thank you notes or super sweet emails. i love the complexity of background screenings and hiring laws. i love that i am always learning something new. i love what i do so much that kyle and i made the decision to not move back to virginia where we are both from and to start a real life down in Georgia. i love it so much that we have decided to have children in atlanta where we won’t have our parents to help us if and when need be and won’t have a support system within 25 miles. but one person ruins it all for me so often.

but today it dawned on me that i cannot let one person ruin it for me. i cannot let one person kick me till i am down and crying to kyle. i cannot bring constant bad days and weeks into my marriage. my marriage is one of the most important things in my life – if not THE most important thing – and it isn’t fair to kyle to have to see my cry so often or listen to me vent on more dog walks than not. i have to learn to separate the two. work stays at work.

today i realized that no matter where my life takes me, there will always be one person who pushes people till their breaking point and bullies people and runs people over. it is built into who they are. it is woven into the fibers that makes up their integrity and their values and their personality. every company has one. my brother deals with one at his place of work. my really good friend has one at her current job and her last job. they.are.everywhere. but it is all about how you manage your reaction to them and how you let them effect you. YOU CANNOT LET THEM EFFECT YOU.

and i made the decision that one person cannot and will not ruin it for me. i love what i do. i love who i work for. i love the team that reports to me. and i love the people i work with. i am stronger than that. i may still be young both in age and professionally – but i know who i am, i know what i am worth, and i know where i want to be.

so i am going to work on how i let this person effect me.

i am going to spend more time being happy.

if i need a mental health day. i am going to take it.

if i need a half day. i am going to take one.

kyle mentioned that the happiest he has ever seen me is when i was running. so i am going to run. and work out. and find my inner peace again.

life is just too short to be wrapped up in little insignificant drama. especially when i know that i am valued at my work. and i know i have a voice even when it does not seem like it. life is just too short to let someone make me unhappy and to stress me out and to crush my spirit.

i am just too blessed to not be happy. so starting tomorrow i am going TRY my very very best to not let this person get under my skin. i am going to make a HUGE effort to leave the office at 5:30 and go to the gym or run outside. i am going to take more time for ME.

while i understand, everyday cannot be merry and bright – i just have to remember that i am lucky and have a great husband and a great job and a great family and great friends and adorable dogs.

I love Alabama Football!

You know when I posted a few weeks ago about how Football Season was starting with cute little funny pictures or whatever.  I WISH I had seen this video.  It would have been a much much better Alabama Football Kick Off.  Oh well.  Here is it now. 

"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or I can use if for good. What I do today is important, because I'm exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever." –Paul Bear Bryant

I sure hope I can stay awake for the whole Ole Miss game tonight! 9 PM  Kickoff my time.  10 PM is my bedtime!! 

I Will Survive

Life has been CRAZY!  So crazy I evidently have a REALLY bad case of the tension headaches. Like really bad. Like, wake up in the morning with a headache - someone is squeezing my brain and sometimes jumping on my brain headaches. And they never go away.  So naturally, I spent a little time on WebMD to learn I had type 2 diabetes, a brain tumor, a heart defect, chronic fatigue syndrome, meningitis, and/or tension headaches. But I went to a REAL doctor today to be told that I will survive and they're 100% stress related tension headaches. Weeeee.

 

So, for 10 days I am on major pain medication - muscle relaxers {after hours of course - no doping on the job} and if that doesn't work it will be a fun little CT scan. But... he ruled out the brain tumor so there is no need to be alarmed. I just need to get a massage, a new pillow, and learn how to destress a little bit.

 

But big thanks to the husband who has made dinner and let me be a debilitated blob once home and on the weekends and just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to die on him like the lady in The Art of Racing In the Rain.

 

In other news. I have found a house I LOVE and I am going to reach out to our real estate agent to see if we can see it ASAP since it price drops every.freaking.week.  Current price tag: $200,000 and according to my boss it has A+ schools and is a super nice area.

How pretty is that thing?

And, it is fairly new {1999) - 4 bedrooms - 2.5 baths - gorgeous - new kitchen - built in wine fridge {hello} - great bathtub - gorgeous kitchen.

 

This is something we would break a lease over. We of course have 4 million and one home buying questions we need and want to ask and since it is a short sale it would be bought as is, but it is so pretty and I LOVE it and want to live there.

 

I am looking forward to the weekend - how about you?!

friday fun. letters & baked tacos

I don’t really feel like blogging. But I feel like blogging. I don’t feel like  doing Friday Letters because it is overplayed, but I feel like it is a constant and I need to do it. I feel like I am super tired even though it was an easy(ish) week. I think I just may crawl in bed at 10:00 PM because I can. I am counting down the days till I head to the beach. I just cannot wait to escape life and reality for a little bit!

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Dear Kyle J :: I am so lucky to have you. You are the best bug killer I have ever met. I would live in constant fear if it wasn’t for you. Those crazy centipede things give me the heebie jeebies. When we buy a house can we bug bomb it before we move in?! please?!

Dear Bethenny Frankel :: I feel bamboozled. I am loving your skinny girl wine, BUT I learned that all white wine is about 100 calories. So I feel lied to. But, I give you credit. You’re one smart senorita putting “100 calories” on the front of every wine bottle. But, I will save $10 going forward and go back to my other whites. Nice Try.

Dear Work :: thank you for a good week. I have been in a good mood and it is because you were peaceful.

Dear Nail Salon by my office :: I hate you. Sometimes I just want a manicure and a pedicure and I come to you because you do them {well are supposed to do them} simultaneously. But. The last few times I have had my feet done but not my hands and no, no, I do not want to spend 2 hours with you. Time for a new nail place. You wide variety of colors will no longer pull me in.

Dear Revenge :: How did I just now find about about your wonderfulness. I don’t care that I have lost my life everyday since Sunday to you. And I cannot wait until you come back to TV in a few weeks.

Dear Laptop :: You make me so angry. I don’t know how or why or how you do it, but I have that every now and then I am typing and typing some more and then you just jump up a few lines. Do I hit the mouse pad thing? Just stop. I hate it.

...On another note... In true Friday night tradition we had a quick easy pinterest meal and I recommend this one as well.

.Baked Tacos.
so easy and so good.

Preheat the oven to 400*
Stuff hard taco shells with taco meat (ground beef + taco seasoning)
Add Mexican Mix Cheese
Bake for 10 minutes
Add whatever toppings
Devour.

Anyone have any fun weekend plans?! I plan on hitting up Pure Barre tomorrow {maybe} but for sure FlyWheel on Sunday. I wonder if I can talk Kyle J into a walk around Stone Mountain tomorrow?! And I hope Alabama beats some Arkansas booty tomorrow. Roll Tide!

how pinteresting. home decor. wall art.

I linked up again this week with the Oh, How Pinteresting blog link up. This week, I am focusing on the REAL purpose of the link up and highlighting all things home decor – wall art in picture form. part of my “house fever” is staring at pretty things on pinterest that I want and need. to decorate the walls of our house.

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I want this “you have my whole heart for my whole life” thing for over our bed. I have been looking on Etsy, but have not found one that I love and looks as good as this one. I am pretty sure Kyle would HATE it, but he is not our interior designer, I am. :)

I love the Song of Solomon 3:4 scripture verse wooden plaque thing. I actually wanted it on our wedding program, but it somehow got left off. I found it on Etsy for not a bad price, my only reservations are (1) where would I put it. (2) I don’t want our house to have too much lovey dovey stuff on the walls.  ...I feel like it would have to go in our bedroom but then we may have too much going on on the walls OR it could go around/near where we hang wedding pictures, but we both don’t want a million and one pictures of US hanging around on our walls. meaning: this will probably never grace our walls, but I can/could live with that.

I picture this monogram over and entrance table by our front door. painted the same color as the baseboard trim of our walls. I am pretty sure this is another thing kyle would absolutely hate.

I LOVE this sign for our laundry room. My dream laundry room will be an actual room rather than in the mudroom and will be upstairs. obviously, it doesn’t have to be a BIG room – but big enough to hang this on the wall that you see as you walk in.

I cannot wait to actually start house hunting {rather than internet browsing like I am doing} and looking at houses and blogging about our house hunt. and then buy a house and decorate our house and then blog about our house and blog about decorating our house. oh to be an almost 30 something married lady. the things in life that make you happy and excited change so much the older you get. it is crazy.

but, I hope everyone is having a good week! it is FLYING by!!!

weekend wrap up

this weekend was bland and boring and low key. but that is exactly what I needed. work last week was awful {why are 4 day work weeks the worst?!} and I haven’t been feeling all that well. so it was nice to pretty much do nothing and not leave the house, at all.

We continued our trend of super easy Friday night meals with Calzones. and seriously, they were SO easy and SO tasty.  So, tasty that I burnt the hello out of the top of my mouth and I wasn’t really able to eat or enjoy food for the rest of the weekend. Kyle, of course, jammed his so full that he had a hard time rolling it up. But I really wouldn’t expect anything less from him!

If you want to add them to your kitchen rotation, all you need is:
- Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough {cut in half to make 2}
- pizza sauce {I use the Kroger brand}
- mozzarella cheese
- any contents you want {we did pepperoni and jimmy dean sausage}
- baked for like 19 minutes on 400*

I seriously recommend them. And they will be added to our lazy easy meals on Friday! But we just vegged out. Ate calzones, watched a movie on the couch.

Saturday we ghetto rigged my laptop to the TV to stream the Alabama vs. Western Kentucky game from ESPN3. The game was kinda boring to be honest and the quality was bad ... so we didn’t really watch too much of it. I watched A LOT of TV Netflix streaming on Kyle’s iPad.

Sunday I got up for Flywheel with Afton and nearly died.  Crazy spin class was a BAD idea when I felt awful. I couldn’t breathe through my nose and then I had to breathe through my mouth so my breathing was shallow and I thought I was gonna die.  Even though I am becoming a FlyWheel pro, this was my worst class ever. EVER.  We when went to lunch and Zoes Kitchen was like a jungle gym and it was awful and then I had to go grocery shopping and then I took my cranky, sick, butt home and got in bed and watched more TV on Netflix.

Kyle of course did more of his P90X and watched his Redskins beat the Saints! So I had a happy happy husband this weekend! :)

How was your weekend?!

oh. how pinteresting. killer workout.

I am notorious for pinning workout ideas on pinterest and then NEVER EVER EVER doing anything with them. I decided to change that this past weekend and pulled out what appeared to be a workout that would make me sweat and Holy Moses it did.

I just took a screenshot of this picture on my phone and toted it around the gym with me so I knew what I needed to do and when.

Blond Moment: When I looked at the cardio plan, I thought hey that won’t be SO bad ... and then I realized {while at the gym mind you} that I was doing 60 minutes – 1 HOUR – of cardio before having to do anything else.

Hi. Hello. I workout for like a hour max and then I am dunzo. So this workout was a step up from my normal workouts.

I ended up modifying the cardio bit because I really HATE the elliptical. So, I did 30 minutes on the tread and then 20 on the elliptical and then 20 on the bike. By the time I hit the bike I was sweating and ready to quit. But, I still had arms. Oh arms.

When I moved onto the arms I was tired. But I figured I had not yet used my arms so how bad can it be. Well, they started hurting near the end of the bicep curls because I ever ever use my arms. Some were easier than others {easier: rows, bicep curls. harder: triceps kickbacks and bench press} needless to say – I was happy that bit ended.

The Legs + Booty part made my want to SCREAM after all that cardio. The lunges and squats and then calf raises. Goodness. Me. The words I could have said. hated.this.part.wanted.to.die.wanted.to.puke.wanted.to.die.

And I was TIRED when I had to lay my butt down for abs. So tired that I wanted to just lay there. And I did, for a bit and then I crunched and crunched some more.

And, I did not do that cool down – I cannot stand on my head for 30 seconds, let alone 5 minutes. And... wouldn’t all the blood rush to your head after like 3 minutes?!  My cool down consisted of some stretching, refilling my water, breathing, and getting the heck out of that gym.

Overall Review: Killer. Awesome. Totally felt it the next day. Will do again. But it will be a weekend workout since it takes so much time. I totally had to Google some of the workouts to figure out what they were and how to do them. But since I am working to get back to how I looked BEFORE my wedding I think this is an excellent addition to my FlyWheel and Blast900 obsessions and the treadmill runs that I suffer through! :)

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.this is totally not the point of the Oh, how Pinteresting Link up that I am linking up with but I don’t care. I found the workout on Pinterest (like many girls do) and decided to actually for real try it. So, rather than just positing pretty pictures, I posted a picture and reviewed it. BAM. that is my version of Oh, How Pinteresting for the week.