crafts in the mail.

A box of crafts in the mail? Say whaaaat?

A friend of mine, Brittany, introduced me to something called Darby Smart . It is a website where you can pick out crafts that you want to do and they send you everything you need and directions to complete the craft. 

There are so many different types of crafts. Some that take 5 minutes, some that take a little longer. They even have different crafts for weddings are well. You can get $10 off your first purchase by using the code: howdydarby

It comes in a cute box with a sweet, little note.

I started off with a craft that was easy and involved glitter and gold. My two favorite things. I got the Confetti Champagne Glasses . One of my favorite things about this craft is the shape of the glasses, something I haven't seen before. 

It's hard to get an idea of what the glasses look like, but super cute!

I mean... literally, my 2 year-old niece could do this craft, it's that easy. 

Step One: Put glass in your hand

Step Two: Squeeze tube of gold glitter on to glass and make a dot

Step Three: Let it dry

Step Four: You're done... seriously, that's it

I mean honestly... it's easy. With my $10 coupon, I paid $9 (free shipping) for this craft. 

They turned out pretty cute too. Once they are completely dry, they are much more gold.

Overall, fun activity to do and super quick. I would definitely continue to try some of their crafts. Next time, I would try one that require a little more brain power. 

Don't forget... Use the code howdydarby to get $10 off your first craft!

Do you have any activities delivered to you? Or any of those boxes they have out there?

Recap.

Weekend recap.

It seems these weekends continue to go faster and faster. I can't believe that tomorrow is July 14th, half way done with July. Which means that much close to another school year starting. Yikes.

Not part of the weekend (unless you don't work, then everyday is the weekend) but Thursday I was able to meet up with 5/6 bridesmaids! It was such a great time to be able to have them all meet and take some time to pick out the bridesmaids dresses. I went in there with a pretty good idea of what I wanted. A champagne color. Well, that changed in a matter of about 15 minutes of being there. Because we are getting married at night at an art museum, I decided to go with black. I feel that it will look so classy and chic and look good on EVERYONE. I am so excited to share this experience with my six bridesmaids and look forward to the next few months. 

We went to dinner and laughed a ton. I am so glad to have just ONE MORE THING crossed off my list. 

If you are like me and LOVE lists (I think I have like 10 different notepads with lists on all of them) then you have to get The Bride's Essential Book of Lists . It is amazing. It has so many lists and divided into categories. There are so many things that I didn't even think about when I was looking over the lists. 

Friday, Tony and I literally grabbed a quick bite to eat and laid in bed and caught up on Orange is the New Black. If you have not yet watched this Netflix series- YOU MUST. It is a great show and not at all what I expected. It is pretty risqué- just a heads up, but I love all the different characters. It makes a women's prison ALMOST look like a sorority. I'm not looking to try it out though.

Saturday, Tony and I went to our FAVORITE restaurant in Sheboygan. I'm drooling right now even thinking about it. We then met up with some of my high school friends who were in town. I love to meet up with my old friends because everything is just the same as it was when we were in high school. We laughed a ton and had such a great time talking and reminiscing. 

Today, we were VERY lazy. Didn't get up until super late and grabbed a salad at the Public Market and headed to Bastille Days, which is a festival in Milwaukee. Seeing as I am on day 7 of my 21 Day Fix... it SUCKED (sorry, but really...) there was a million different restaurants and all sorts of beer and drinks... and I could have NOTHING. It was miserable. My stomach was growling and I walked as fast as possible to get out of there. Beignets, creme brûlée, deep fried chocolate chip cookies with salted carmel dipping sauce...(licking lips) yeah it took a lot to not get anything, but I managed. I can't wait to go next year where I can maybe have a little treat, everything looked amazing.

We grabbed some sushi (weird, I know) and finished up our Save the Dates. Busy week ahead and looking forward to what's ahead.

What did you do this weekend? Go to a favorite restaurant? See old friends? 

simplified life.

simplified life. 

I think that is something that we all TRY to have and maybe few succeed. If you know me, I am obsessed with planners. I try all different kinds and spend WAY too much money on them. I'll try them for maybe a week and find something wrong with them and proceed to buy the $4.99 ones at Target. The ones with JUST the months and the size of a piece of computer paper (both very important when having a planner).

Well, in the beginning of the school year this past year, I found Emily Ley and she is AMAZING. She makes tons of different organizing products and prints. 

Last year, I started with the Simplified Binder (she now has updated it to The Home Base Binder, which is even better!) and love it! There are different sections and some include a section for contacts, meal plan, finances, etc. You can even go to the Free Printable section and print off even more to add to your binder. I use it everyday and have my contacts, goals, finances, and big ideas in here. Along with TONS of other info I need. I highly recommend this product for ANYONE. I use it just for myself, but for someone with a family, this is a necessity!

Picture does NOT do it justice!

I was walking around the Third Ward the other day and went to one of my favorite little stores, Broadway Paper. I LOVE stationary stuff, notepads, pens, anything that has to do with writing lists or notebooks. Anyways, I found Emily Ley's Simplified Planner! This is amazing and love it. Now, it's not the usual planner I go for with only months and not the size of a piece of computer paper, but I'm willing to give it a shot! Only problem is... I have to wait until JANUARY to use it. Boo. Either way, I'm excited for it! I love all the detail that went into each page, it's amazing. I especially love where it has a spot for dinner plans and on Sundays it has a weekly prep list and a memory from the weekend. It's perfect. 

I also got her to-do notepad. Just a cute little thing to add to my desk. This is something I will use a lot more once the school year starts. 

She has amazing products and I recommend them to EVERYONE. I also follow her on Instagram and she always has uplifting and positive posts, I love to follow her. 

Are you a planner person? Or are you like my dear fiancé and just forget everything!? What works for you to keep track of your schedule?  

say yes.

Less than seven months they say. 

I can't believe that in less than seven months I will be married to my best friend. Tony and I dated for 4 1/2 years before he popped the question. When he proposed in May, I figured what's the point of waiting 2 more years, so we made our wedding date for January. When it was May, January seemed SO far away. Well, it's already July and January is literally around the corner. One thing I said I would do is try to have A LOT of the stuff done by the time I started working again in the Fall. It's safe to say I have almost done that!

* Finalized our date

* Booked our venue

* Booked our caterer

* Cake

* Photographer

* Took engagement pictures 

* Most important...

FOUND MY DRESS!

I think this was probably the task that I dreaded the most. The idea of trying on a million and one dresses and most likely feeling like a fat cow did not sound appealing to me at all. I realized I had to get going on this because the wedding was not too far away. I went with my mom and sister (MOH) and went to a place near my hometown first. I really can't say I was impressed much. I probably tried on 10 or so and found one that would've worked. It would've been alright and we put it on hold. 

Then.......

We went to Stone Manor Bridal in Grafton. As soon as I walked in, I realized this is the experience I was looking and hoping for. The place was beautiful and I almost felt like I was on "Say Yes to the Dress". 

FYI- None of these dresses were mine!

First thing we did was discuss what I thought I was looking for and we went through and picked out any dress that was remotely similar to what I visioned. I probably had 15-20 different dresses to try on. 

There were some that I knew were not the right dress. But, I felt confident in three. We put those to the side and continued to try on dresses. It was a lot easier to say "no" to dresses because I had my mind set on these three. 

I was glad I had my mom and sister there because it was a great experience for the three of us. I felt that if I had too many more, I would have more opinions and that can get messy!

After trying on the three dresses again, I narrowed it down to two. My sister finally helped me talk through the last two dresses and helped me make my decision. I am SO indecisive, so having her there to help me weigh my options was so helpful. I couldn't be any happier with my choice. I cannot wait to wear my dress and have Tony see me in it.

If you are married or engaged- How many dresses did you have to try on before saying "YES"?

21 days and counting.

21 days and counting.

This could be interesting. If you know me, you know I am always trying something new. Couch to 5K, Tracy Anderson Method, South Beach, My Fitness Pal, Weight Watchers, whatever it has been I have given up EVERY TIME. 

Well... I'm at it again, but this time I am trying the 21 Day Fix from Beachbody. Why not try something new once again right? This one has me kind of excited though. Like I've said, I'm not working so I need to keep busy. Basically you get these super cute containers and you can eat a set number of them everyday. So, it is quite a bit of prep, but being home all day gives me something to do! You also have one 30 minute workout everyday as well. Which I won't lie... it kind of kicked my butt today. 

There are seven containers total. 

Purple= Fruit

Green= Veggies

Red= Protein

Blue= Cheeses/Nuts 

Yellow= Carbs

Orange= Dressings/Seeds

I think the part I like best of this plan is that fact that it helps with portions, something I really struggle with.

I am completely out of printer ink... so I had to make my own tracking sheets. Thankfully I had different color pens, phew. I'm staying in between the 1,200-1,499 calorie bracket. With that I get 3 green containers, 2 fruit, 4 protein, 2 carbs, 1 cheese/nuts, 1 dressing/seeds and 2 teaspoon of oil or nut butters. 

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I thought it would help me see how far I've come on the plan and how much longer I have to go. I don't think I've ever made it longer than maybe 2 weeks on some sort of diet, so I'm really going to try and get through these 21 days. 

I'm about 1/2 way through the day and feeling really good. I'm not starving by any means and forgot how much I enjoy cooking. 

What dieting tricks work for you? 

a year and a half later.

A year and a half later...

I can't believe I have not blogged in over a year and a half... So much has happened this past year and I can't believe I haven't even logged in since 12.12.12.

Well, I'm hoping to change that today. Here is a year (and a half) review.

1. Went to 3 Packer games and enjoyed them every time! So ready for the next season to start.

2. Traveled to Chicago, Vegas, Tennessee, Florida, and Mexico.

3. Moved to Cleveland, WI (yeah... not a lot of people know it exists). 

4. Then... moved to Milwaukee about 3 weeks ago.

5. Went to 5 weddings and have MANY more coming up!

6. Spent time with my family, especially when I was in Cleveland.

7. A big one for me... GOT ENGAGED!!! May 2nd, 2014 Tony asked me to marry him and of course it was obviously a YES!

8. Because we got engaged, we were planning to move to Milwaukee, which meant I had to leave my beloved job in Green Bay. It was one of the hardest things I have done this far and will miss all of my friends from my school.

9. Relates back to #4, but moved to the Third Ward in Milwaukee, I think moving to the Third Ward allowed me to accept moving here because it's my favorite area in MKE.

10. Got two job offers for schools in the MKE area and I am now just trying to figure out where I will start the next chapter in my career path.

There we go... a year and a half in review. Like I said, I was EXTREMELY busy! I am really going to try and keep up with my blog. It's something that I really enjoyed doing and I'm not working right now, so I don't have an excuse! I've been thinking about maybe revamping my blog a little bit, but I'll take that one day at a time. 

My question to you today is... What has your biggest accomplishment been so far this year? It's July, so over 1/2 way into 2014.

12.12.12

I can't believe how fast this month is already going. Also, that it's 12.12.12! If you didn't know, that means its Aaron Rodgers day! Tony and I decided to celebrate tonight by going out for sushi. Okay.... Just kidding, it's just Wednesday and we usually always do sushi on Wednesdays.

My cute sushi date :)

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long... I've been trying to keep up, but time is getting away.

This past weekend, Tony and I went to a restaurant we had never been to before. The original one we had in mind had a 45 minute wait and we were both starving. It was a Mexican place we had never been to and if you know me, I can always use s good margarita. I mean, I am my mother's daughter! Of course, I forgot to take pictures of our great food. I had a mushroom fajita and Tony had an amazing burrito. His was way better!

Saturday, we headed home and went out to eat for the Jams, Jellies, and More Volunteer Christmas Party. I always laugh at this name because no one who helps my mom and dad are volunteers, we all get paid! Oh well! I'm never one to pass up my favorite restaurant!

Again, didn't take pictures of the food because before they could put it down, it's half gone! It's an Italian restaurant. That night I had calamari, and it's grilled and not deep fried. I love it grilled way better! I then had carpaccio, not sure on the spelling, which is like rare (maybe raw) beef with an arugula salad. I'm literally drooling as I type this. I did manage to get a pretty nice picture or Tony and myself. I also got to see my three favorite kids, my nieces and nephew. Unfortunately, miles couldn't make the shot...

After about three bottles of wine and a chocolate martini for dessert, we stopped at one more place and then headed for bed.

The next day, Tony and I got up and went home to get ready for the Packer game! It was the first real snow fall in Green Bay so I figured it would be beautiful and it was! Until about the 2nd quarter where I couldn't feel my feet or body. We really enjoyed it though! Will Ferrell was there to do "Roll out the Barrel", it was pretty much awesome! We were excited about the Packer win and the hot, I couldn't wait for the burning shower when I got home.

Kept me that littlest bit warm... Hot Coco!

It was a very enjoyable weekend and we have a couple upcoming busy weekends as well. This weekend, I'm headed home to have breakfast with Santa with my niece and nephew and then baking cookies with my mom, sister, and grandma. The following weekend, Tony and I are headed to Milwaukee to get away for our three year anniversary. I can't believe it's been three years. I can definitely say they have been an amazing three years :).

I'm hoping to start posting some recipes that I have been making lately, just always seem to forget to take pictures until I'm done EATING it!!

What fun plans are on your agenda?!