B is for Becky

Oh shu the winter blues

2012-02-23T18:36:00.002-05:00

Hello lovely blog readers. I'm apologizing for my lack of awesome content lately. It seems that sister friend gots a case of the winter blues. Aside from some awesome things that have been happening around me (mini coopers, new job, cute husband and awesome friends) I just don't have ANY motivation to do, well anything. My homework is turned in a hour before the deadline, my house is beginning to look like an episode of hoarders, I haven't worked out for over a month and I haven't taken anything to the cleaners in weeks so I'm sporting the same outfits weekly. Okay my house doesn't really look like an episode of hoarders but you get the idea. Blah. I have been fighting a cold and with a new job I don't have any sick time so I've been pumping my system with drugs which kills me a little because I'm not a fan of popping pills.

I think I've finally kicked the cold, I did laundry last night, my homework is going to be finished tonight and it's due Sunday, I'm going climbing tomorrow night, I have a deep house cleansing scheduled for Saturday and Sunday I'm having a bake-fest. I think Becky is back in action and hopefully better than ever!

(Girl Scout cookies can also help get you outta a funk too.)

Thanks for stickin' with me.

An unfortunate event on my Monday

2012-02-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning at work I fell down a set of stairs, out in the open for anyone to see. My tights took 99% of the beating. They were torn to shreds and I spent the remainder of the day pulling my skirt down to hide them. I also spent the entire day praying no one saw me. No one came forward as a witness so maybe I'm in the clear. It did offer some comic relief as I acted out the event for my co-workers. Hopefully I don't bruise...

An addition to my miniature life

2012-02-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

I've talked about my love of miniature-ness before and I just took it to another level this weekend. I traded in my VW for a Mini. I've been a fan of the Mini since they made their way back across the pond in 2002. I was insanely jealous when my father in law bought one in 2009. Now, I'm a proud owner of a super cute and super fast little Mini. I made my 10 year long Mini dream come and now my commute to work will be a little more fun.

Sunday with the sisters

2012-02-19T12:57:00.002-05:00

I know you were going through Pearl and Joy with drawl so here are the fur girls for your Sunday afternoon. The fluffy ladies are having a lazy Sunday while I write a research paper. They are keeping their paws crossed there will be time for a walk today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that also.

Car shopping and impulse buying

2012-02-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

Not that I need a new car, but I said once the Jetta hit 100k I would start shopping around. I drove 2,000 miles in a two week period so I think I should get something that is super in gas mileage. We have another problem with that though, I'm cheap. I like to call myself a "recessionista". I'm making my money last through this rough economy. So, it means USED car shopping. New car shopping is easy, but used anything means searching and driving to multiple locations only to discover that the car is an automatic. So I'm doing this during my evenings and getting over it fast. I've noticed that since I'm in the car buying process and it's taking forever, I'm quick to make other impulse purchases. Like I was at the Apple store and they basically told me it would be a pain to update my old Mac mini so I called my husband and told him we were the new owners of a new mac. I would have killed him if he did that, but I felt like I needed to seal the deal on something! If I don't find a car soon I may start to make more impulse purchases. Like these Jeffrey Campbell beauties are calling my name....

2012-02-15T20:02:00.001-05:00

I'm lacking in the inspiration department so I'm hosting a craft club. Hopefully craft clubbing will help me due multiple things.
1. Clean my house. It's just plain crazy how long it's been since I've washed my floors.
2. Cook. I'm in the cooking mood but Jonathan has class Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights so it's lame to make a fancy meal for one.
3. See my friends. I haven't have quality girl times in awhile.
4. Drink wine. Not that I haven't done this recently but it's always on my to do list.
5. Craft! I haven't had that glue gun out since Halloween and it's calling my name!

On BFFs 4 EVA

2012-02-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

My longest friendship started in the 2nd grade. Amanda and I loved Nickelodeon, Nintendo, ice cream, My So-Called Life, making up songs and roller skating. We had a continuous Monopoly game set up in her Grandparents sun room and we would take brakes from playing to have ice cream and a round of Rummy with Pop Pop. We would walk to and home from school together and have sleep overs on the regular. We got into trouble with the parental units but we always had fun. Once high school hit we hung out less frequently but we would always chill in art class. After high school we lost contact for a couple years until I walked into a Starbucks she was working at while she was home from college. We hung out that night and we've been tight ever since. Unfortunately Amanda followed her heart to Oregon so I don't get to see her very often but she was home this weekend so it was a happy day. She also is following her heart back to Pennsylvania so we will SOON be living in the same state again. I'm thrilled with this news. So you may be seeing her face here more starting in the summer!!

Just found this picture. BFF4EVA. 9th grade band trip 1999

Wedding Humor from Jonathan

2012-02-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

Since I'm the ~~President~~, I mean MOH of my friend Cami's wedding then of course my husband would get roped into helping some how. This week we went to see the venue to plan the lighting situation which is where Jonathan's skills and humor will come into play.

As Cami and her wonderful florist (also my Sister in law Sarah) were discussing floral arrangements for the space.

Cami: "Oooooo, baby's breath. I like baby's breath."
Jonathan: "Do you like it after they've eaten?"
Cami: "........"
Jonathan: "You said you like baby's breath, so do you like baby's breath after they eat?"

I was the only one who laughed, but I think I was laughing at the expressions on everyones' faces as they processed the joke. It took them awhile. As Sarah said, "That was a big ol' serving of Stets' humor for you."

Our Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Super Bowl Sunday is like an American holiday, kinda like Black Friday. It's not really a holiday but it's a good excuse to eat a lot. Well, we don't really celebrate things like most people. We hike on Black Friday and we snowboard on Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite day of the year to go snowboarding. It's a Sunday, so at night it's always a small crowd but once you hit 6pm it's dead. Absolutely no lines and lots of empty trails. Holla! This year we took J's cousin Daniel with us because we're nice. That's the weird person beside me in the picture with the cross eyes. He's 13 so you can't expect anything less than a dumb face in a photo.

New Music Tuesday

2012-02-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

Dr. Dog at Electric Factory Feb 2011

When I said it was going to be a good year for music I wasn't lying. Today my favorite band Dr. Dog released their latest album 'Be the Void'. Buy it now people.

When I was in high school we would be 'ultimate fans' of bands. To accomplish the ultimate fan status you had to see the band three times. I was an ultimate fan of Thursday, Mellincolin, AFI and I think NOFX. Are any of those bands even around anymore? Man, I was such a puck rock princess in the day. Anyways, in my adult life I'm an ultimate fan of Dr. Dog. I think it's that fact that my husband and I aren't into all the same music, but Dr. Dog is one of the only bands we both like so I can get him to the concerts. Let's face it Jonathan's not going to a Feist or Lady Gaga concert and going to concerts alone is lame.

My past week via Instagram

2012-02-03T06:16:00.002-05:00

Pearl cuddle action/ Me with my favorite girl Evelyn

My view (drive home) day 1/ Words (homework) day 2 of the Feb photo challenge

More Joy because who can get enough of that face!

Crazy Pearl/ My FIL's ride Model A Ford

Photo a day challenge

2012-02-02T06:25:00.001-05:00

I'm doing Fat Mum Slim's February photo a day challenge. Follow along via instagram (name beckystets) or twitter. If your also playing let me know and I will follow you!

The worst day of my life

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Stratton, VT 2008 (not the worst day of my life)

Its snowboarding season, my favorite time of the year. Everytime I think about planning a local boarding trip I think about the worst dayof my life, like ever. I don’t really think I’m exaggerating.

(Warning names may have been changed due to those peoplebeing dead to women in the story)

So it was my friend Missy's birthday and she wanted to goskiing. Maybe it wasn’t her idea so much as her man’s idea, I’ll call himFlorida for this story. So Florida grew up in Connecticut and wanted to gosnowboarding, he was visiting her (from Florida) for her birthday so the tripwas planned. We only wanted to go on a day trip so we had to stay in PA. Wedecided to go to Seven Springs in Somerset, Pennsylvania. Along with Missy,Florida, Jonathan and I, my friend Cami and her man E came along. Missy andFlorida drove together, Cami and I drove together and Jonathan got stuck ridingwith E. On the way there we were trusting E’s GPS. Fifteen minutes once we gotoff the highway we knew that was a mistake because we had made multipleU-turns. We finally find a sign for Seven Springs but I knew it was wrong. Ihad been to Vermont before and roads of all the resorts were clean, even during asnow storm the resort had the roads perfectly clear. This road we were on wasnot clear, it as like a blizzard had just hit. I drive a little front wheeldrive car so I knew my ride was not going to make it up a snow-coveredmountain. I stopped but E continued up the road. My husband must have realizedwe stopped so he jumped out of the car to come back to our car to talk about the situation. He explainedthat we needed to back down the road. I was well aware of the situation and thetwo cars in the rear start backing down the road. As we are doing this Eattempts a three-point turn. That’s when our day took its first down turnbecause during that three point turn, E’s car fell off the road and into a snowpile. The road looked flush with the land around it, but that’s because therewas a shit ton of snow off the side of the road and now we had a car stuck init. Missy and I backed our car down to a level area, parked and went up to seewhat was up with E’s car. Jon was pushing but had no luck. Then that’s when weall discover that Jonathan was drunk. On the three-hour car ride Jonathan dranka bottle of Wild Turkey. So we had a drunk guy who was “one with nature”, a car stuck in a snow ditch, no cell service and five pissed offpeople. The six of us tried pulling and pushing the car out of the ditch butwe had no success. Cami and I walked down to the main road to try and find a houseor get cell service. We were surrounded by summer cabins with feet of untouchedsnow around them. No people. We were about to cry when I got a bar of serviceand called the police for help. It would take awhile for them to reach us andreally at this point it didn’t matter, we had been out here for hours and ourtrip was pretty much ruined. We were headed back to the cars when an old Blazer cameripping down the mountain road. It sped up to us and the driver yelled how hewas going to help us but he needed my car keys, not thinking I just threw themat him and he drove back up the mountain. Now Cami and I were concerned for mycar since I just gave a stranger my keys and our friends’ safety with a weirdguy in a Blazer with them. We booked it back up the mountain. Once we got therethe Blazer guy did help us get E’s car out of the ditch and we were back inbusiness. Someone let E drive the car down (bad decision) the mountain and five feet away fromsafety and a paved road E got his car stuck. Again. The second down turn in theday. At this point we all wanted to kill each other and some of us had ameltdown (Not me surprisingly!). Iwas dealing with a drunken husband, I didn’t need to yell at E how much of abad driver he was. We got him unstuck again and were back on out way to theresort.

We arrive around lunch, only around five hours behindschedule. We were on the mountain and the day’s earlier troubles seemed like abad memory. The mountain was packed and the lifts were running full speed. Wewere tired from the all the drama and E and Cami had already split for the day. So we were going to spilt. With four of us left were in line to go back to the front of the resort and go home when for somereason I asked Jonathan if he had the car key. Then I see him check his jacketpocket, then his pants pockets and so on. Then the third disaster of the daysurfaces. Jonathan lost our car key. I gave him the key to get his board fromthe roof rack and lock it back up. Then who knows what happened after thatbecause well, he was probably still drunk at that point.

We pushed up to the lift to go to the front of the mountainto see if our car was even still there when I slip. Falling right at the chairis the worst. It happened enough when I was learning to board to know of theembarrassment it causes, but normally they stop the lift. Then the fourth eventof the day happens. They were running the lifts full speed, paired with thefact that the kid running the lift wasn’t paying attention and I was pusheddown by the lift. My right foot is strapped in and stays straight while my bodyis twisted and pushed down by the lift. My cry of pain alerts them to shut offthe lift. I go to the top of the mountain expecting to ride down but my rightknee was in pain and I had to call the medics. I ride down with the medics withFlorida following. Missy goes down with Jonathan to turn in her skis andhopefully find the car keys.

Thankfully, someone turned our lost key into the resort lostand found. Jonathan came over to the medic center to pick me up and we could gohome. Far far away from this place. He enters the center with an awful look onhis face. Then tells me of the fifth disaster of the day. As he lowered the window to say good-bye to Missy and Florida thedriver side window falls down inside the door. It’s a three-hour drive home atnight in the winter and we have no driver side window. I’m not going to lie, Iwas in tears at this point. Amazingly the one medic guy and Jonathan somehowgot the window up form inside the door panel with tongue depressors and ducttape. They duct tapes the window up and we left.

Can you understand why I say that was maybe the worst dayever?

New Music Tuesday

2012-01-31T18:04:00.002-05:00

2012 is going to be a good year for music. The first album I was anticipating for 2012 was released today and it does not disappoint. I think everyone should check out Lana Del Rey's Born to Die. Do it now.

MOH duties

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

The bride intently judging us in our dresses! Just kidding, kind of.

This weekend I had more important MOH business, picking out bridesmaid dresses!!!!! I've only been in one wedding other than this one so the whole process is fun for me. Plus the dresses are from JCrew which means for me I will wear it again. I actually have a dress from the same collection in my closet, so I'm happy about the selection. Anyways, I look amazing in it and I will totally steal all the attention from the bride. Well, maybe not EVERY ONE'S attention. At least Mr. Stets's attention, he's the only one that counts for me. Now I have to find shoes which is the hardest part for me. I bought and returned five different pairs of shoes for my own wedding and I'm sure this occasion will be no different.

Sunday with the sisters

2012-01-29T18:23:00.000-05:00

Every time I pick up dog food at the store the pups get a special snack. Don't mess with their special snacks or you will get yelled at. I got yelled at a lot when taking these pictures.

This Sunday post is in honor of our friend Cami's dog Lou who was in an accident this weekend. He seems to be making a recovery which the sisters are very happy about. Love you Lou!

My past week via Instagram

2012-01-27T05:36:00.001-05:00

The sisters playing together

Joy's cute little furry face

Playing in the snow

Wool socks on a snowy day/ My new co-workers

A tutu I made/ Some sparkles from work

Things I hate this week. January 2012 edition

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here's some Debbie Downer business for you all. Thank you and have a nice day.

1. Pushy sales people and their extended warranties. Thanks for wasting a good hour of my life.
2. My husband traveling for work.
3. Talking on the phone via Face Time. That's crazy awkward and I have a double chin in every angle I hold the phone.
4. Joy eating a shoe. My shoes are one thing you shouldn't mess around with.
5. Gas. With my longer commute the gas mileage and gas price issue is really slapping me in the face.
6. HOMEWORK. I'm so over college I could scream.
7. The melting snow. It's presence was too short.

Jonathan tells it like it is

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jonathan is secure in his man-hood to share when he thinks another man is sexy. Like he did when we encountered a Notebook advertisement on ABC Family this weekend. This is what he had to say.

"That Ryan Gosling is one sexy mother fucker."

There you have it. Jonathan has confirmed what we all believed to be true. Ryan Gosling is sexy and he is not afraid to say it.

Winter white (and gray)

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000-05:00

I was shopping the other day and there was spring clothes out in the shops. Really? I was at the store on Thursday and Saturday I had snow. This should be no surprise to me because I worked retail but for some reason seeing all the bright yellows and peaches pissed me off. Subconsciously to rebel from the retailers pushing spring's colors in my face in January I came home with all whites and grays. Like a person needs more gray in their wardrobe. I was actually thinking the other day I needed more color to spice up my closet. Man oh, man. I messed up.

What I'm wearing:
Sweater - Gap
Necklace - JCrew Outlet
Skirt - JCrew Outlet
Tights - Target
Boots - Sperry via Limewire

Sunday wth the sisters

2012-01-22T12:49:00.001-05:00

It snowed!! First snow fall of 2012 and we were very excited about it. There is something about the first snow fall of the year to make you want to roll around in it and take a ton of pictures. Pearl and Joy did most of the 'rolling around' in the snow.

This week has been an interesting week. I started my new job and I've been adjusting to a longer commute (30-45 minutes a day longer), waking up earlier (a whole hour) and Joy. Starting last weekend Joy got sick, so we've been up 3 or 4 times a night letting her outside. She needed multiple baths and vet appointments. Poor girl. It wasn't fun for anyone. We made it through the week and she is on some meds and seems to be doing fine. Thankfully because the man of the house will be traveling for work next week and I can't deal with all the dog poop by myself!

MOH duties

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

So being the President of a wedding can be hard work. I have parties and showers to throw, I have to give out advice and maybe talk a bride off a ledge. Well, thankfully one duty was completed last weekend. I helped the bride find the dress. It wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be but the sales people were WAY bitchier than I thought they would be. Weddings are a big deal and the dress to 99% of brides is a major deal so I didn't understand the sales ladies giving my friend crap. So what you have a fashion design degree, my friend doesn't so she may not know the difference between an aline skirt and a fit and flair skirt. Just rude.

Anyways, I'm not going to share the final selection just yet but don't worry you will see the wedding pictures come August. Next duty is bridesmaid dress shopping!

28 degrees on Friday at Blue Mountain

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Holy moly, Friday was super cold! Since I'm switching jobs I won't be able to take a snow-cation this winter, so Jonathan and I made a quick trip out of town to a larger mountain on Friday. Blue Mountain is part of the Poconos in PA and boasts 39 trails compared to the 11 our local hills have. It was fun to have a day off and hang out with my man but it was so cold. There was a wind that just cut through you. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. We left before it got dark because we couldn't hang with the wind anymore.

Can we talk about the bottom picture, a bra tree! So I want to know, do these ladies take off their bras there or do you think they bring an extra? I wear so many layers when I'm out I couldn't even imagine getting down to my bottom layer on a lift ride.

Sunday with the Sisters

2012-01-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Kelsey's Mondays with Angie I thought I would reserve my dog crazy posts for the weekends and start Saturday or Sunday with the sisters. I may be biased but Pearl and Joy might be the cutest things alive. Pearl is the 'cute only a mother could love' cute but Joy is the 'stop traffic because everyone wants to pet her' kid of cute. Now you get to enjoy this level of cuteness once a weekend, or twice maybe.

My day job

2012-01-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

I never talk about my day job here because, well, it's super lame. I work as an assistant or 'coordinator' as they call it to the purchasing department for a manufacturer. What do they manufacture you may ask? They make tools. Tools! What have I been doing with my life?!?!? Yesterday was my last day of work, today technically was the last day but I didn't show. Four years of my life has been spent working with tools and at first I didn't mind. I thought I would make a decent living doing whatever during the day and I would have my nights and weekends to do things I loved like sewing and crafting. That didn't happen. I started back to college to get my bachelors degree to go farther in my career and now I have no time for anything. I barely have time to wash my clothes. I was ready for a change and to add more creativity in my life. I have this space but I still what more.

A month and a half ago I looked out there it see what opportunities were available. I found my job. Next week I will be starting as a Patternmaker for a company that manufactures dance costumes. I couldn't be more excited. I'm returning to what I love, creativity and fashion. I'll let you know how it goes along the way.

Miniature Life

2012-01-11T09:07:00.004-05:00

When I sent a picture of Joy to one of my good friends she responded with "She would make a great addition to your miniature family." My husband and I aren't miniature people or anything. I'd say we are average size and build, but we may have a thing for little things. The American way is huge houses and big trucks but we are the opposite and lately everyone has been pointing it out to us. My father-in-law called to ask if we wanted to buy a little convertible off of him because "well you know, you like small things". Hmmm.

Dogs - After having a small dog I would never have a large dog again. They take up less bed space, they eat less and their poop is smaller too! You can pick them up and put them were you want to instead of wrestling a dog that weighs almost as much as you.
Houses - Our last house was a row home under 1,000 sqft and we upgraded to a cape cod that is 1,300 sqft. I think that is a reasonable sized home but it is very small when you look at the average square footage of American homes. Also, our current home has a baby stair case. There is a normal number of stairs but each stair tread is about half the size. It's funny because most people fail down our stairs because their not used to baby steps.
Camper - When shopping for a camper we wanted to keep it under 15ft long. Most campers are 24, 36 or even over 40 feet long! That's our camper tripled. I think our mini camper is the perfect sized but tons of people have told us they could never function is a space that small.
Vehicles - Up until a few weeks ago my husband's vehicle would fit into the mini category. He had a little S-10 pick up truck that again wasn't small to us but compared to truck standards was tiny. I guess you could throw in our two scooters that have passed though our lives also.

I guess now after looking at the facts there is no denying that we are attracted to miniature things.

It's finally winter!!

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

It hasn't snowed yet in Central PA, but it was finally cold enough last week to get the snowmakers running. The local mountains opened and we went snowboarding for the first time this season! Friday night Jonathan and I went by ourselves for a date night on the slopes and Saturday night we met up with my sister in law Jenn, nephew Thomas and cousin Daniel. Oh how I've missed snowboarding all year.

Jonathan on his Pet Peeves

2012-01-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

"These are my pet peeves. First is when people call me 'Guy'. Second is poorly trimmed trees. Third is regular sized toilets. I only like chair height elongated seat toilets. The regular ones are only made for midgets."

There you have it, if you want to piss off Jonathan call him Guy, never trim your trees and make him pee in a regular sized toilet. Friendship will be ended.

Furry Friends

2012-01-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

Joy

Pearl

Growing up I always had dogs. When I say always I mean always. At one point when I was young we had five collies at one time. Do you understand how much fur that is? I couldn't imagine a life without something furry around and that's why living in apartments in and right out of college killed me. Jonathan grew up on a farm and had livestock but never any pets. One time his dad brought home a puppy which the siblings named Puppy. It disappeared shortly after it's arrival but it made a lasting impression on the family because they still talk about Puppy to this day. So you have a girl who wants a thousand dogs and a boy who doesn't really care about dogs, we meet and fall in love.

When we bought our first house I was all about getting a dog. We had a yard with a fence and I had lots of love to give, I had no questions in my mind. Jonathan on the other hand wasn't all about a dog, he had size restrictions and costs restrictions. In other words the dog had to be small and cheap. Months went by and I wasn't pressuring about a dog, I wasn't even looking for one when it happened. I was at work one day when my co-worker's husband called her up asking if he could bring home a dog and she said no. Once she hung up she shared the story about a little dog that belonged to her husband's co-worker's daughter, she was going through a divorce and was going to take the dog to a shelter the next day if she couldn't find it a home today. I immediately called Jonathan at work to tell him I found the perfect dog that fit his description, he was small and free. That night on my dinner break we went to meet Griffin and on the way home Jonathan came to the realization that we could scrape up a dog on the side of the road and I would love it unconditionally. We brought Griffin home the next day.

Now when I found Pearl I don't really think I was looking for a dog. I often look at the local rescue dogs on Petfinder.com for some cuteness. I saw the pictures of an awkward looking white dog and I thought she was the cutest ever. Jonathan was easily convinced of Griffin's need for a play mate and I filled out the adoption application. Pearl came for a visit to our house and Griffin hated her instantly but Pearl and I loved each other so she came to live with us. Griffin hated lots of things like fun, his ears being touched and people in hats. He loved us, my mom, sleeping under blankets and my friend Heather. He was grouchy like an old man. Jonathan will pretend that these little fur monsters don't have them wrapped around his finger, they do.

Our little Griffin passed away this summer and it was very hard on the family. Since then I would bring up getting another dog but we thought it may be too soon. The rescue that we got Pearl from sent out an email at Christmas time about the dogs in their foster care system that have had some very sad stories. While I was close to tears I clicked over to Petfinder to look at the pups that were available from the rescue, then I looked at all the dogs in the area and that's when I saw her face. Joy had the saddest eyes and the biggest ears, I wanted to meet her and kiss her and take her home with me. Jonathan wasn't very happy about the idea of a second dog, again. He liked only having one dog to worry about and he didn't want to train a second dog. I think once he saw her face he changed his mind. The Tuesday after Christmas we went to meet Joy and Joy came home with us that night. Now we are trying to adjust to having a two dog household again, Pearl is adjusting to having to share all the attention again and Joy is adjusting to having us as a family. But really doesn't she have the cutest face in the whole world?!?!

After we rescued Griffin from a sad life in the pound. What would have happened to him there? Would he have been adopted? Lots of places put dogs down and what if that would have happened to him? I can't even think about it. So after that I really could never go out and buy a puppy. I know puppies need homes too, but after seeing and hearing about dogs that are just ditched along side of the road I only can imagine bringing America's discarded dogs homes. Joy's story was that she was found outside a dog shelter. Her family didn't even have the decency to take her there during business hours. So sad. Pearl was given to her rescue when she was 6 months old for unknown reasons. So that is why I will be there to bring some of the discarded dogs home. It's just my thing.

2012 Dreaming

2012-01-03T11:36:00.001-05:00

I do this thing that I call making dreams come true. I can't count all the dreams that I have granted but it's a lot. We've granted my mother in law's dream of visiting Falling Waters and I've taken my one niece to the Big Apple for example. Dreams do come true people. On New Year's Day we all meet at Jonathan's mom's house for dinner and discuss our dream list for the upcoming year. 2012 is going to be a big year, so many things are happening I can't even believe it! Lucky for you I'll bring you along for the ride.

Becky's 2012 Dream List
1. Hand make at least one thing every month.
2. Read 52 books. One a week, eek!
3. Camp half way across the country.
4. Be the MOH in my friend Cami's wedding.
5. Throw a kick ass Bridal Shower and Bachlorette party.
6. Five year anniversary photo shoot.
7. BIG 30th birthday party for Jono!
8. Graduate college.
9. Start a new job.
10. Host a craft club.
11. Explore more of Pennsylvania.
12. Get a tattoo.

2011 year in review

2011-12-31T20:05:00.000-05:00

Oh man, 2011 flew by. It was a fun year, not the best but lots of fun things happened. I'm looking forward to 2012 because I start a new job which I am super excited about, we just got a new addition to the family and we got that little camper to take all over the country! AHHHH! Can't wait.
While we're still in 2011, here are my favorite things from the past year!

January - This winter we taught my sister in law Jennifer and my nephew how to snowboard. We took them to our local mountain and had a lot of fun and a little not so fun (Jenn broke her arm at the end of the season. sad face!). She's coming back this year and the two will only get better. Then we can move them off the bunny slope.

February - We went to see Dr Dog one of our favorite bands in Philly with some friends. One of the members in the band went to high school with Jonathan so the group of us got awesome VIP tickets!

March - Jonathan and I went to Lake Placid, NY to go snowboarding at White Face. We had a great time on the mountain all day then in the little town at night.

April - April's my birthday month! My sister in law Sarah and I went on a birthday weekend trip to Pittsburgh to stay with her cousin. I love Pittsburgh and can't wait to go back this coming year.

May - I had a crazy night in Philly for my friend's bachlorette party. Jonathan built us a fence for the pups.

June - Oh yes, the summer time. My sister and I took my mom on a girls weekend. My favorite summer activity, tubing down the creek happened. Our book club drank too many margaritas. Jonathan and I sold lots of junk at the flea.

July - We raced a homemade boat on July 4th. We attended a beautiful wedding and spent one and two days in Philly. Jonathan and I added some extra awesomeness in our life and bought a little travel trailer.

August - A dream came true and I saw NKOTB in concert. We went camping at Raystown Lake with the family. My sister in law Sarah and I had a girls weekend in NYC.

September - I crashed a wedding in NYC. The book club moved to my house and I drank a lot of wine.

October - We took the Scotty camping for the first time, got yelled at by dog haters and walked up a thousand stairs. I also got crazy over Halloween.

November - I learned a new craft of stamp carving. We hiked and hiked and hiked. We saw Hoots and Hellmouth in concert.

December - I baked a ton of cookies. Had friends visit for the weekend. Added a new member to the family. Plus Christmas.

Thanks for hanging out with me during 2011 and here's to an even more AWESOME 2012!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

50 books in 2011

2011-12-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

I had a goal of reading 50 books in 2011. I was 10 short of my goal and that's pretty darn good. If you count portions of text books that I read then we might be slightly over that 50 mark. I'm aiming to hit the 50 in 2012, wish me luck!

Here is a run down of all the stories I read in 2011. The get me the sequel asap, the why did I read that and the I wasted my life on that stupid book all in the order I read them.
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
2. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
3. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
4. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigiani
7. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
8. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
9. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
10. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
11. Bossypants by Tina Fey
12. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
13. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
14. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
15. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
16. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
17. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
18. Matched by Ally Condie
19. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
20. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
21. Evermore by Alyson Noel
22. Blue Moon by Alyson Noel
23. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
24. Shadowland by Alyson Noel
25. Dark Flame by Alyson Noel
26. Marked by P.C. Cast
27. Night Star by Alyson Noel
28. Betrayed by P.C. Cast
29. Chosen by P.C. Cast
30. Untamed by P.C. Cast
31. Hunted by P.C. Cast
32. Everlasting by Alyson Noel
33. Tempted by P.C. Cast
34. Burned by P.C. Cast
35. Awakened by P.C. Cast
36. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz
37. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
38. Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett
39. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
40. Deliverance from Evil by Frances Hill

Please share any book recommendations for me for this coming year! I'm willing to try anything and I have 50 to go for 2012!

The new love in our life

2011-12-28T10:49:00.001-05:00

Everyone meet Joy. She is the new addition to the Stets household. She is a rescue pup that is about two or three years old. The rescue said she was a corgi/spaniel mix but can you ever really know for sure? No and that's fine with us. We love mutts. A new furry friend was the ultimate Christmas wish come true!

Randoms from the Holiday Weekend

2011-12-27T07:16:00.001-05:00

Hope you all had a fantasical holiday weekend! Jonathan and I had a nice relaxing weekend filled with family, food, lazy time on the couch and lots of movies. We watched five movies over the weekend which is extreme for us. Remember Jonathan can't stay awake for a full movie and he only fell asleep for two outta the five, major record! Christmas Eve we went to my sister's house and my niece Evelyn got a new puppy for Christmas (above)!!! So cute!

Christmas day we hosted a brunch at our house for my family and Jonathan's mother. I'm the hostess with the mostess if you didn't know. See Evelyn's squirrel shirt! See said it was okay because it was a girl squirrel. Still having some Squirrel issues up in here.

The fun continued into Monday when we had another celebration with my family from Indiana. My niece got a camera for Christmas and took pictures of all the other presents she received. Thank goodness it's not film!

Flea Market Chic Vol. 6 Christmas style

2011-12-24T15:34:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas blog world!!!

I love vintage Christmas goods. Half of my Christmas ornaments were purchased at the flea market and the other half were passed down to me from my grandmother. Next on my vintage Christmas list is a silver tree, I was too late to the game this year to find one on time. I love old tablecloths and I always pick up Christmas ones. I usually find them in the summer and by June you forget just how many tablecloths you have in your Christmas boxes already.

This year for the first time ever we are hosting Christmas. Jonathan and I are having a Christmas brunch at our crib and I will be attempting to make super awesome brunch food. I'm very excited. My favorite foods are breakfast foods but by calling brunch then you can add alcohol to the mix so it is like double trouble awesome! This Christmas is extra awesome because it's one super long weekend filled with family, (my family is visiting from Indiana and I had a sleep over with my cousin last night!!!) food and general awesomeness. Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend!!!!

Why squirrels.

2011-12-22T14:13:00.000-05:00

The other day I mentioned that Jonathan and I have a squirrel joke going on. I thought I would share this ridiculous story with you.

Sad eyed Griffin at the emergency vet

It all started one night in 2009 when Griffin cut his leg open somewhere outside. He came in the house gushing blood and we couldn't get the wound to stop bleeding. We had to take him to an after hours emergency vet. While we were waiting for the vet to work on Griffin's leg, Jonathan and I were trying to brighten each other's moods by joking around about actually happened to his leg. It helped me stop crying hysterically like I was ever since I saw all the blood so I played along. Griffin had a thing for any small woodland creature that was smaller than him and squirrels were his favorite. He would stand at the back door and bark non-stop until you let him out into our postage stamp back yard to chase those pesky squirrels out. Jonathan then joked that Griffin was outside and got into a fight with a squirrel. The squirrel pulled a knife out on Griffin and sliced open his leg. From then on that night has been the night that "Griffin got in a knife fight with a squirrel". After that I bought Griffin a tee shirt that said "Squirrels can't be trusted!". The joke hasn't gone away.

Now my little niece Evelyn has been influenced by our "Anti-Squirrel" joke. She is a little wary of squirrels and I'm sad to say Jonathan and I made her that way, with the squirrel jokes. Young impressionable minds don't understand that we really don't hate squirrels and we are just joking around. To help her get over her squirrel issue I've bought her some Scaredy Squirrel books about a squirrel that is afraid of everything and is super silly to show that squirrels can be cute and cuddly. I don't know if its working but I tried.

Now the squirrel saga doesn't end there. Our new neighborhood is over run with squirrels. They are everywhere and have squirrel parties across the street at our neighbor's tree. It's big and it has nuts so they live, eat and party over there. I don't mind, I mind my business, I have a dozen bunnies that live in my yard so it evens out. As a house warming present my sister gave me a cute plant stand that I placed on my front porch and of course I put plants on it. One day I went out to water my plants and the plants were knocked down and walnuts were put in their place. I took it as a warning, the squirrels totally were coming to get me. I've stayed clear of squirrels ever since their warning to me but I always watch my back when I'm in the front yard, you know because those little guys carry knives like Griffin found out one night.

Flea Market Chic Vol. 5

2011-12-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

One little space I love in my house is the built in bookshelf beside the fireplace. The items on the shelves are always rotating with my favorite pieces or my newest finds. The tiny little window at the top is one of the cutest things ever.

Not everything featured on the shelves is a great flea or thrift find, but it all fits in with my style. If you haven't noticed already I have a thing for birds, bunnies, dogs and squirrels. Most of the art I buy has those animals in it. I don't know how the bird thing started but Jonathan and I used to have two pet rabbits, our family has an on going squirrel joke and dogs because I love puppies! The main item on these shelves is the bowl that was gifted to me from my grandmother. It was her mom's favorite mixing bowl and wanted one of the family members to have it after her downsizing.

Again, this dog figure was my grandmothers. It's funny how you see these items sitting around a house and you become attached to them. I only took a few select items from when my grandparents' downsized and I love each piece.

See all my other flea market chic posts here.

Treasure Hunting

2011-12-19T06:57:00.003-05:00

Most of us love treasure hunting, really who doesn't? Thrift stores, vintage clothing shops, flea markets and antique malls always entertain me for hours but my favorite treasure hunting locations are architectural salvage stores. Maybe it's imagining the materials at their finest in an old building. I love old buildings, it's my thing. I go to open houses of all the old homes downtown just to check them out even though it annoys the realtors and my husband. Too bad for them! When I'm shopping I try to find a place for each awesome piece of molding or set of doors in our house. It never works because our house is quite small but I still try. I have been to two huge stores, one in Baltimore and one in Pittsburgh and now we found on in York, PA. Way closer, yay! Saturday we explored Refindings in York for a set of floor vents with no luck but it was still fun. I found a beautiful set of our wooden gym doors, Jonathan could not imagine how awesome they would be between our living and dining rooms. Sad for me. The store was more antiques than salvage materials then I would like but it was still a good place to check out.

The B turns one!

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

My first post was one year ago!!! I wasn't a faithful poster this whole first year but I am happy with my little space here on the world wide web. I am very thankful to all of you who read about my super awesome life and I hope you stick around because I'm not going anywhere! I started this blog to hopefully bring some creativity back into my life. I was in a slump of working a desk job and slaving away at my bachelors degree. I had no creative outlet and I kinda felt like I was dying inside. I was super inspired by the talented bloggers out there and I wanted to bring some extra awesomeness home to me. I have benefited greatly from having this blog this year. I've gotten back behind a camera, experimented with my personal style more, took sometime to be crafty and started dabbling in photoshop again. I look forward to the year to come, 2012 we be great! I have some personal changes coming my way which I will share later.

My 2011 Stats - These are not to brag but I thought I would track some fun things for my own amusement

B is for Becky has 55 followers through Google Connect, Google Reader and Bloglovin.

I have taken 2,429 pictures this year.

Total pageviews this year has been 4,888.

Most viewed post is The blue ribbon cake when I made Jonathan's PBR cake with 151 pageviews.

Most random search that brought a viewer to me was "craps in eyebrows". (I don't know how that one happened)

I have 27 Pinterest followers. Find me here! I'm obsessed!

Once again thanks for being a reader here and cheers to another year!

Oh, Christmas tree minus the nightmare

2011-12-15T08:35:00.001-05:00

So it happened. We bought our 2011 Christmas tree with no conflict and only one evening of searching. That's a pretty big deal. The tree is artificial and white. Jonathan and I decided that if we were going to do an artificial tree we wanted it to look fake, no pretending we have a fresh tree. We wanted some tackiness.

Now I just need the motivation to put some ornaments up on there.

A Manly Gift Guide

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Man of the house and I don't exchange Christmas presents. It all ended one year when I was working retail at a popular jewelry store. It was Christmas Eve and I was dealing with men who didn't care what they bought the women in their life, just as long as it was "Under a hundred". Then my husband came to visit me on my break, YAY! I thought. Then he asked what I would want for Christmas, anything at the store for 'under a hundred'. I told him to leave. The next morning I received a coupon for a dinner and a movie which would have been fine if my husband could stay awake for an entire movie (he can't). So I ruined Christmas and gift giving for us, I blame working retail but whatever. I thought it would still be fun to think up some Christmas presents for him that would make him pee his pants like he was five again.

Here's a gift guide for a guy who drinks cheap beer, can fix anything that could break, who's idea of new technology is Facebook which he just joined a few months ago, that jumps off buildings and can't stay awake during a movie. Here is a gift guide for your man if he is anything like my husband.

1. Begley glasses from Warby Parker because he breaks his pair every year.
2. Goodtime Parlor Banjo from Deering Banjos because I love me some banjo.
3. Softsole Moccasins from Minnetonka Moccasin because he's jealous of mine.
4. Cast Iron Dutch Oven from Lodge because he is more excited about cooking over a campfire then
anyone I've ever met.
5. Pack-away folding table from Coleman to eat all the campfire cooked food on.
6. Grill Jacket and Mr. Nice Guy Board from Burton because who doesn't love new snowboard gear?

Flea Market Chic Vol. 4

2011-12-12T21:39:00.002-05:00

One could say I'm a bit obsessed with house plants. If I had other places in my house that received good daylight then I would have more plant friends. The best light is in the dining room and that's where my largest plant collection is. I bought the large bench to be used with the dining room set but after I brought it home Jonathan and I thought it might not successfully hold the weight of more than one person so now it holds my plants. The wicker planter was in the temporary housing we rented from my grandparents while we were homeless between our last house and this home. I loved it and I kind of moved it home with me, so I kind of stole it from my grandma but she just downsized her home so she doesn't miss it.

Other then what my plants sit on being thrifted or 'gifted' to fit in with my flea market style, my actual plants are also. During the spring and summer months the flea market hosts a plant stand. A nice lady sells all types of house plants at great prices. I beg Jonathan to give me a dollar every time I see that she is set up. I've bought different succulents and once a cactus from her for a buck. They are baby sized when I get them but I love watching them grow and discover what they look like grown up.

See more flea market chic posts here.

Friends for the weekend

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

My college friend Katie and her husband Ray came to chill with us for the weekend. We had a fun filled weekend, which isn't hard because I'm always a lot of fun.

We had tacos and margaritas in Harrisburg. El Sol has the best margaritas in Central PA. I know because I've sampled my fair share.

We had drinks and saw our friend's band, That Girl play at Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center.

We tried a new restaurant in town that was actually good.

We had a Carlisle holiday lights tour. Plus some light trespassing.

We drank wine and decorated my house for Christmas.

Thanks for coming Katie! I heart you BIG time!

Jonathan's iPhone humor

2011-12-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

My husband is slow with the technology. He just signed up for facebook two months ago and just got an iPhone one month ago. He took two big steps into the present. Now we have to deal with the phone usage. We have went out to dinner only to have him hold a conversation with someone else the ENTIRE meal on the phone. I cracked down on that action but now I have to deal with the Tiny Tower up keep 24/7. Plus his new clever iPhone humor.

"Most people go outside for a smoke break. We just take a phone break." As everyone at the table pulls out our iPhones.

Oh Christmas Tree, nightmare

2011-12-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010

It seems like every year we have Christmas tree drama. We are a frugal couple when it comes to some things and Christmas trees are one of the big ones. I just can't see spending a lot of money on a tree that will only beautify our home for a short number of weeks.

The Christmas of 2009 was the most memorable tree drama. We stopped at multiple tree stands trying to find a small tree. We lived in a small row home so we could only fit a certain size tree in our place. I swear all the trees were grown for mini-mansions, they were huge! We finally found a tree the size we wanted but the price tag was way more than we wanted to pay. We went home empty handed every night for like a week and I had a break down. I'm certain non-Christmas spirit swear words were involved and a threat to Jonathan of an empty stocking. When I came home the next night I found him home with the tree, all members of the family in tacky sweaters and Christmas music blaring. Santa was very nice to Jonathan that year.

Now we are here again at Christmas with no tree. Artificial is the way I'm heading this year but I'm still torn. If I do artificial then I will never have Christmas tree drama ever again, it's kind of a huge commitment. I don't know if I can handle it!

Winter Blues

2011-12-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Lake Placid, NY last winter

I'm a fan of the winter but this year I've been struggling with the time change. It fells like the getting dark out before five at night came a little too early. Maybe it's because it is still warm out so winter doesn't feel as close as it really is. This year I've felt like a slug. I skip working out and I cry when I have to leave the house once I'm home from work every night. I'm like my little old lady neighbors who don't leave their houses after dark.

Am I the only Debbie Downer this season? What do you do to cure your winter blues?

2nd Annual Christmas Bake-fest

2011-12-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

Heather the baking queen

Dawn our naughty helper.

My faithful Christmas apron.

The 2nd annual Christmas cookie baking event happened this weekend. My friends Heather, Dawn and myself whipped up ten different varieties of cookies in one day. I'm not quite sure how many dozens that made, but it was a very large amount. We had help along the way of course, espresso, a couple bottles of wine and Pandora's Christmas stations.

I'm finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. Now, I just need a tree. I'm still debating on real versus fake. If I get a fake tree after years of bashing them I want a tacky one. Preferably white. Do they still make white artificial trees? I'll have to start the search.

I'm a MOH

2011-12-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon my friend Cami and I did some mad shopping. When I picked her up for our shopping excursion I was presented with this floral arrangement. She is newly engaged and by the looks of this I am now the president of her wedding. Being a MOH or Matron of Honor is some cereal business but I am up to the challenge.

Plus, I'm also very excited because now I have a reason to pin wedding stuff on pinterest!

Congrats Cami!

Jonathan gets romantical.

2011-12-02T11:35:00.001-05:00

Jonathan isn't all fun and games. Sometimes he getsromantical. Here's a poem he wrote me the other week.

B is for her beauty that omits from her soul.
E is for her elegant image I view with my eyes.
C is for her creativity.
K is for the kindle within me that burns for her.
Y is for her youthful personality that will always be.

You just got to witness Jonathan's softer side. Hopefully he is okay with meposting this. He normally loves any post that features him so I'm sure he'sfine with it.

Sorry for you ladies because he is taken.

Our first letterboxing trip!

2011-11-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

Our first find

The view from Kings Gap Mansion

I've talked about our new hobby of letterboxing before. This weekend we went on our first letterboxing hunt. We searched Kings Gap state park for five different boxes that were planted along the mountain. There are multiple trails and spots that the boxes were planted at on the way to the top of the mountain. At the top is a mansion and that is where Jonathan and I were married! So it made since to start this new hobby at our most favorite place. Plus there were five boxes to hit in the same area. As our first time hunting for letterboxes it was a challenge and started out frustrating when we could find the very first box, but that one seems to be missing since the last group couldn't find it either. At least this is a good way to get out and adventure in our area more.

Hoots and Hellmouth in concert

2011-11-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

Last month I discovered Hoots and Hellmouth. I've been playing them on repeat ever since and to my surprise the radio station announced that they would be playing close by. Jonathan and I declared a date night Friday and went to York, Pa to see the band play and get pre-concert drinks.

Doesn't Jonathan look ultra studly in his hat. His hat was my great uncle's hat that my sister gifted him last Christmas. He is seriously an old man in the body of a twenty something. If I've never shared his 'old man' stories with you I definitely should!

The show was super awesome. Vinegar Creek Constituency opened, I would consider them a blue grass band. I'm a sucker for anything with a banjo or mandolin so I big hearted them. Hoots and Hellmouth played a great set. Jonathan and I were blown away by the voice of the lead singer. I would advise you to check 'em out!

My non-retail Black Friday Adventure

2011-11-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Mary the birthday girl!

Jonathan's mother's birthday is around the Thanksgiving holiday. It's a plus for me because it's easy to remember the date. She definitely has a passion for hiking so for her Black Friday birthday celebration we took her out for breakfast and a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Fay's Country Kitchen is the local breakfast place that we hit up before the hike. Jonathan and I are regulars, like they automatically bring over a coffee, water and unsweetened ice tea when we sit down regulars. We used to live a block away so it was just so darn convenient. Now that we live a tad farther away we don't frequent the resturant as much put we still give it some love on the weekends.

The Appalachian Trail runs through our county in Pennsylvania. Since the trail cuts through right outside our town we can park at a number of roads and hike a section. If you are not familar with the AT, the trail runs from Maine to Georgia which is approximately 2,180 miles long. The trail is marked by white blazes like the ones seen above. Of course I have never hiked the entire trail and I really don't think I would ever be hard core enough. I would like to do a long weekend hike through our area in PA.

The siblings- Jennifer, Jonathan and Sarah

Me and the Mary the mother-in-law

What's awesome about the trail is that it cuts through forests, fields and back yards, whether the property is state or privately owned the trail is allowed through. One section we hit was through a horse farm, stairs were built to walk over the fence so the horses couldn't escape.

Friday the weather was gorgeous. It was in the high 60s, which is crazy for the end of November here in central Pennsylvania. Our total trip was 7.5 miles. It totally beat battling the craziness at the stores!

The radio sucks us in

2011-11-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

The only radio station in the area that I can stand listening to is XPN, radio of the University of Pennsylvania. They play local music and more indie rock which I'm a fan. Only problem is that during the prime hours of 7pm to 9pm Monday through Thursday they have a program called Kids Corner. I'm sure this is wonderful for children and parents alike, but I am neither of those. Jonathan and I are sucked in at least once a week to the Kids Corner. Sometimes in the car, or when J is out in the garage or at a restaurant or hair salon. We can't get away from it.

Now I'm sharing this story because of what happens after listening to a session of the Kids Corner. We end up singing the songs for weeks. Then because we can't get them out of our heads Jonathan and I will share them with each other. Jonathan's current favorite Kids Corner jam is "Hello, my chicken thinks he's a dog" by Trout Fishing in America. Sorry, I could find a video for that one. Maybe you will thank me. You can stream their music on their website!!!

My current Kids Corner jam is "More Cowbell" by Joanie Leeds. You can check it out below, but I warn you that cowbell will be ringing in your ears for weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Here are some things I'm are thankful for this year.

my awesome Husband
the crazy white dog Pearl
laughter that takes the stress away
my little house
this space that inspires creativity
a comfy bed
the warm wood stove
friends and family
and Jonathan is thankful for his new Jeep.

Have a fun holiday!

B attire

2011-11-23T09:30:00.000-05:00

One of the best things is rediscovering clothing that has been hidden away. Can you believe I have ignored a bin of winter clothing since our move of summer 2010? It's been chillin' up in the garage attic for a year. I was wondering what happened to my scarf collection and now I know. I sheeshed it forever, how rude of me! It's sweet to be reunited with my goods. My 'B' scarf was so happy to be back around my neck. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, that's true for clothes too.

Wearing:

Scarf - Gap circa 200ish?

Shirt - Jcrew Outlet

Belt - Limited

Pants - old old Express

Shoes - Swedish Hasbeens

Bag - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Jonathan on fashion

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jonathan's thoughts on fashion.

"This is the kind of coat that would melt to you if you were in a fire."

He is speaking of his new work coat that he is modeling above. Some how clothing that melts to you is something he looks for in his wardrobe. I would maybe want the opposite, but hey opposites do attract right?

Randoms from the weekend

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

I was busy being creative this weekend. I got out the supplies and planned out a couple dress patterns. It feels great getting my creative juices flowing again. I don't know if I ever shared this awesome piece of information, but I went to fashion school. I had a job at a children's clothing designer but they went out of business. Since then I have been letting my skills drain out of me by working an office job and continuing my education. I still work a desk job and I still go to school but I am finally using my free time more creatively now. My first pattern that I'm going to make it the Sally dress from Jcrew. I thought before I try to make something of my own design I would just knock something off to get my skills back in order.

While I was being creative Pearl was busy sulking. She really just wanted me to be touching her so she was pissed. Sad, sad eyes.

Saturday night my sister in laws decided to head downtown for a couple drinks so I got out of my sweatpants and joined them. Sweatpants are not appropriate 'going out' wear. I could have bust a move in my bleached velor pants, it might not have been pretty but I could have made it worked. I also got a hair cut this weekend so that's pretty big news around here. So short. Maybe too short.

Sunday was the Thanksgiving celebration at the father in law's which included mini bikes, motorcycles, kids, a couple wrecks, lots of food and family time.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I'm super duper excited for the short work week this week!

I found a new skill, Stamp carving!

2011-11-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

I talked about our new found hobby of letterboxing. Not like we've actually gone out and done anything but I have been preparing. See you need a trail name and stamp. I have been stressing over what our name and stamp logo should be. I've also stressed over how to actually make a stamp. I was thinking about being a total pudge and just buying a stamp but that seems super lame. I sucked it up and bought a carving tool and some rubber and got down to business.

The supplies - rubber, carving tool, scissors, a knife and mad skills

Now for my design. Since we thought this hobby would be a fun camping activity I thought I would include the Scotty in the stamp. Then it took a couple tries to get a shape I liked.

I also wanted the home state to be in the picture. Holler PA! So I made some copies of my Scotty sketch and the PA outline until I got the size I wanted. I traced the outline onto the rubber. Now this part may blow your mind because sadly I had to think about it a dozen times before it sunk in. You have to do everything in reverse. I know this can be challenging especially before your coffee in the morning or after a beer or three on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I had the sunny Saturday challenge. I passed though.

Now onto the carving. This is tricky because those little tools are sharp! One wrong move and I could have sliced the Scotty right off the map! Hahaha. Hopefully you all got the map joke.

I am super happy with my finished product! I don't even care if I never use the stamp for the made purpose. It's so awesome. Next summer I think I might walk around a campsite asking kids if they want their hand stamped with it. I might get kicked out. It'll be okay.

I also have no idea for a trail name. Gemme suggestions!

Any stamp artists out there? Pass along any carving tips for my next piece of stamp art!

Jonathan's Funny

2011-11-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you liked Jonathan's random comment last week, I did. I also like making comment bubbles on his pictures so there gonna keep coming. It's endless material.

Jonathan - Pearl, we need to send you to LAA. Lick-Aholics Anonymous. There maybe cats there or even squirrels, but you all have the same problem and you need help.

Pearl's a lick monster and she does need help.

Tumbling Run

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

I wish every weekend was like this. Quality time with family and some time in nature. Plus the weather was oh so awesome.

On Sunday afternoon Jonathan, his mom, sister's family and I hiked a short trail close to our house called Tumbling Run. The trail is crazy popular in the summer because you hike through a stream to the top of a small waterfall. In the fall it's less frequented but we still passed a couple groups along the way. Our little nieces came along for the hike so you assumed correctly that it wasn't treacherous trail but pretty challenging for the little ones. It was major challenging for Pearl. Jonathan carried her half of the way down. Poor lazy girl dog, we need to work on her fitness.

Playing with Fire

2011-11-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Sarah, the hostess with the mostess

Fires can be just as much fun in the winter as in the summer. Maybe we even appreciate the fire more because it's so darn cold out. This weekend Jonathan's local siblings had a late dinner and some fire pit action. Only problem was that there were no marshmallows. This girl loves some toasted marshmallows!

My new partner

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week I bought a new camera. I have been putting this off for years. There were so many things I loved about my beloved Canon Powershot. The back has a screen that flips out so you can take the best kissy face pictures for your Myspace page or drunken group shots, it took the best pictures of anyone I knew three years ago and it was free. It served me good, it worked so why get a new one? Well it royally sucks at taking pictures in low light. If I wanted to do any inside pictures for the blog I had from about 11am to 1pm on a sunny Saturday or Sunday. Also try carrying that thing in our purse! It's a tank. It's also a joke when you need to put it in a pocket. So, that was it. I had to retire my Powershot A620. It was a sad but exciting day.

I'm introducing you to my new friend Canon Powershot SX230 HS. If you look at the two pictures (top with the new camera bottom with the old) you can see the difference. The new camera I took one picture. I knew it wasn't going to be blurry. My poor old guy, oh man I took like 20 shots to try and not get a blurry one. Now I'm 110% happy I choose to get a new camera.

Many of you may question my choice in a point and shoot and not a DLSR. Well I am tired of carrying around a big camera, I'm not going to get an even larger one. I was going to get a Canon ELPH but they don't have the programmable setting so I went with the Powershot. I am brand loyal to Canon because of my old trusty camera, I've had this bad boy for over five years and I haven't had any problems. Even after I lost it on my honeymoon and it sat at an outside restaurant through a rainstorm. I can't say enough wonderful things about my old Canon and I'm expecting just as much from my new one!

Jonathan's funny

2011-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

I always joked with Jonathan that I would one day make a blog of all the random crap he says. He then told me I would be famous because he is super awesome and creative. Now it's not getting it's own blog but I will occasionally share his thoughts with you. You're welcome.

Jonathan: Hey. Good morning. You, ah, you're lookin' kinda rough. In the face area.
Me: .........

That happened on my 'Sunday School Work' day. Didn't appreciate that one so much. I guess I can be thankful for make up to cover up my roughness on the regular!

Flea Market Chic Vol. 3

2011-11-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

A fireplace was a must when we bought our house and it is the focal point of our living room. I love rearranging the mantle but some items always make it up. I guess cause they're my favorites. It shouldn't be a surprise that most of the items are flea market or thrifted finds.

One of my favorite wedding photos is prominently displayed. This frame I found in an antique store and I had the mat and glass cut for the photo. It's amazing what some paint can do for a sketchy frame. The 'S' is an old movie theatre letter that I found on eBay. 'S's are hard to find! I had to resort to online. The bird's nest was abandoned in my grandma's house while it was under construction. They were enclosing the porch and the birds wouldn't be able to get back there anyways so I salvaged it.

My Fiesta mixing bowl was a score for a couple bucks at the flea. Of course it goes along with my other Fiesta pieces. I wish I had information on the bird painting and bunny print. This artist was usually at ArtsFest in Harrisburg every year but the past two years she didn't have a stand. Sad face. I would love to add more of her pieces to my collection.

The glasses print I bought for Jonathan for Christmas because he was super excited when he go his new glasses. The artist is Nan Lawson and here is her etsy site. The matching crystal lamps we discovered at an architectural salvage store. They were gross and hidden under piles of stuff. We had to fight the store owners for them. The forgot they were wasting away in the basement and saw the potential they offered. We won. The handy Jonathan rewired them and now are super cute especially with the red lamp shades. The lampshades came with the lamps and also cleaned up surprisingly well. The planter was also another flea find and I used it original purpose was for the center pieces at my wedding.

I guess you could say these are my prized possesions since there up on the mantle. Do you think they're worthy?

See other Flea Market Chic posts here.

The mailperson hates us

2011-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

We have a problem with getting the mail. It's so simple, yet we never seem to retrieve our mail in a timely manner. In our row house the mailbox was in our face. Everytime you walked in the door you could reach over and grab the mail. Now it's down the driveway and across the street. The mailperson used to be our friend, when I had large packages delievered they would leave them on the porch. Now I have everything jammed in our little box and some days it looks like it is about to explode. I think the mailperson is over us not claiming our mail for weeks at a time. Last week I had shoes delievered and the boxed was crushed by being forced into the mailbox so then no other mail could fit into the mailbox. That's when we got the hate mail seen above.

Dear Mailperosn,
Boxes aren't made to go in mailboxes so take it up to the porch then you won't have to carry my mail around for a week until I empty my box.
Thanks.

How I met my man

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

The first picture of us together. EVER. Circa 2002.

I wrote this post and I scheduled it for last Friday, well my scheduling skills failed me that day because it never went up. Now thinking about my near disastrous events over the weekend it seems a little more fitting to talk about how I found the man who didn't punch me when I pretty much lost my wedding rings.

My husband and I never celebrate a dating anniversary. I'm not even sure when we actually started dating, but the first time we hung out solo was around this time of the year, Fall 2002. I just have to laugh when we now talk about that time in our lives. He was completely clueless when it came to women. I'll tell you the story. I had met Jonathan the summer of 2002 which was the summer after I graduated from high school. My friend Melissa had moved in with her man who was friends with Jonathan. I would hang out there and he would also. We would talk some but nothing major ever happened, even after my attempts of getting him alone. I would call him to hang out or ask him to tag along to where ever he was going after he left our friends' house. Never took me up on those offers. He told me that I called him to hang out when he was having a party and when he hung up his friends said "Dude, why didn't you invite her over?" Jonathan's response was "Oh yeah. I didn't think of that." That's what I was dealing with people.

I left for college but I was close enough that I could come home on some weekends. I was over trying to seduce Jonathan. Then I had a project at school were I needed to craft a belt out of license plates (I went to fashion school) so I called him up due to his manliness and wide collection of power tools. I came home and he helped me with my belt and when he was driving me home that night I was asking him what he had planned for the rest of the night. He was going to a party and asked if I could join him. He called up his friend but the party was canceled. Sitting in his truck outside my house I suggested we continue hanging and I think he finally realized I was into him. Oh young love! We did hang out the rest of the night and I think the next day before I went back to school. Now the rest is history. Oh young love.

A story of my weekend

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is what went missing.

This weekend I lost my wedding rings. I found them, thank sweet baby Jesus, but it was a stressful day until they were discovered. I'll tell you about it.

Saturday we went down to Baltimore to do some shopping with Jenn, my sister in law and nephew. They live in Towson which is north of the city and we went down to Glen Burnie which is south of the city, close to to the airport. There we picked out a snowboard for the nephew and then we headed over to a car dealer to look at vehicles for Jonathan. That's when I took my rings off to put on lotion. I got distracted by looking up the address for the dealership and forgot to put my rings back on. We test drove a vehicle left and went back up to Towson to go to the mall. I was browsing the Anthropologie sale room and picked out a skirt from the rack and that's when I noticed my ring less finger. "Funny I didn't wear any rings today." I thought. Then my heart stopped. I did remember to put rings on today. My full set to be exact and I instantly felt like I was going to throw up. Then I retraced my steps and remembered taking them off in the car. I dropped the skirt and ran up to the front of the store where Jonathan was standing. I calmly told him to go to the car because my rings were not on my finger. He grabbed the keys from Jenn and went back out to the car. I threw my return and credit card at Jenn and ran out to the car like a crazy person. I got out to the car and my nephew proudly handed over my diamond. I could breath again. My diamond was back on my finger but my wedding band was still missing. We searched the car but gave up. I went back into the mall to finish my returns and shop but my heart wasn't in it. We went to dinner, searched the car again with a flash light, hung out with the family then decided to leave and head for home. I got into the car and told Jonathan I would never be able to live with the "what if" so we headed back down to the dealership.

We drove back down to Glen Burnie which is a little over a half hour drive in the wrong direction as home, but I didn't care. I was finding that ring. It had to be in that parking lot. We got there and searched the property. I was close to tears, I wasn't finding it. I called my friend who works for my insurance company to ask if I needed a police report or not for my claim. I was waiting for her call back and aimlessly walking around the parking lot. I stepped down and one inch away from my shoe I saw it. I screamed. Jonathan ran over while I was jumping for joy. I was about to give up, head back home, miles away from my ring and I found it. Jonathan threw the flashlight he was using in a moment of joy. I might have peed a little. It was awesome.

Now let's talk about my husband on Saturday. When I told him my rings where not on my finger I expected anger. I was waiting to be filled with guilt from a very mad husband. I mean I LOST our wedding rings. A set of rings that not only have monetary value but they are to signify our marriage. Instead he was more understanding then I would ever be. He said that they were just things and can be replaced. "That's why we have insurance." I'm very thankful he acted like a sane person because I felt like at any moment I was about to breakdown and become a puddle on the floor or throw up. Maybe a mixture of the two. I was one second away from being a big hot mess. Then this came out "I am surprised it's taken you this long to lose them. You misplace everything. I mean we haven't even had a scare of them being missing." I can't really argue with that because its true. Sad but true.

I always joke about selling the rings or how I wished I had a different ring. You know how it is. Once I was faced with a lifetime of not having those two pieces of metal I was crushed. When I was getting married my rings were something I went crazy over. I worked for a jeweler so how could I not? I spent 40+ hours a week looking at diamonds and rings. I designed and carved the band of my solitaire myself and had it cast at my store. I mean I'm attached to it, I made it. It was an emotional day to say the lest. I glad everything worked out so I'm not still laying in a puddle in a random parking lot in Maryland. Also take my advice and get insurance for your rings because if you don't and you lose them your husband's might not be as understanding.

Do you letterbox?

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Do any of you know about Letterboxing? On our camping trip we met a letterboxer and it turned us on to the hobby. My sister has letterboxed for years, but now that I'm a serious outdoors woman (not really serious, just go with it) I found it a little more interesting. Here's the deal, you go onto the letterboxing site and can check out the area you are in. You get clues to all the different boxes in your area. Then you go exploring to find these hidden treasures. Once you find a box you can track your journey in a book for yourself by using the stamp placed in the box. You also mark the notebook kept in the box with a stamp of your own creation.

Jonathan and I thought this would be a fun way to find hikes or nature trails close to camp sites we plan on traveling to. Now I have to design and carve a stamp for us.

To learn more about Letterboxing go here. I understand my explanation might be a bit confusing and since I am a letterboxing virgin I may have missed some important information.

So tell me, have you ever heard of letterboxing?

Flannel has returned

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

I've rocked flannel before. Middle school was my Angela Chase phase, you know My So Called Life. No one ever made flannel shirts and chunky army boots look as good to me as the cast of My So Called Life. Unfortunately the flannel I was rocking back in the day came straight up from the Goodwill and that was before 'thrifting' was a popular hobby. Plus flannel isn't something you can thrift very well because men usually are the flannel wearers and also hate to say it boys, but you wear your clothes till they are thread bare. So my flannel collection in my early teens was way grungy.

Now flannel has reentered my life and I welcome it with open arms. I will be rocking my new comfy and cozy flannel tops all winter. Yeah did I ever turn my back on flannel? Oh yeah that's right because I didn't want to cop off my dad's style. Too late for that now.

Shirt: Jcrew
Skirt: Jcrew
Necklace: Anthro
Belt: Gap
Scarf: Old Navy
Shoes: Dollhouse via Ross

Flea market chic Vol. 2

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jonathan's grandfather is 93 and had a lifetime of treasures in his home. A couple years ago he moved in with Jonathan's father and some of his belongings where shared with his children and grandchildren. Jonathan told his dad the only thing he would want out of the house was this little kitchen cabinet. When Jonathan's dad was little his parents bought this cabinet at a public sale, the seller's name was Becky so growing up they called it the "Becky's cabinet". Now the cabinet has a perfect home back in the home of a Becky.

Sure we thought the cabinet was super cute, but once it was home we realized how dirty and used this thing was. It had thumb tacks all over it and no knob fit or matched. Jonathan wanted to leave it as is but I thought otherwise. I closed up all the holes and imperfections and painted it. Now when the family sees it they comment how they wished they would have snatched it up. No one knew how much work I put into restoring it's cuteness, but they did miss out.

See more about my Flea market chic here.

Happy Halloween and randoms from the weekend

2011-10-31T18:07:00.000-04:00

Shots from our haunted house that was the whole 1st floor of our house!

Since my other half couldn't be at the party I had Pearl be my couple. An owl and a squirrel.

Edward Scissorhands and a bush.

Halloween 2011 costumes. An owl and a local Carlisle, PA celebrity.

My sister, brother in law and niece.

A zombie drinking blood.

Happy Halloween people! Trick or Treat is tonight. I'm hoping we get more than the three kids that showed up last year. Not likely since all of my neighbors are 80+ and don't turn their lights on!

So the weather around here got a little crazy this weekend. Saturday morning I woke up to snow. I'm used to snow, just not in October. It was a way early snow storm and our trees still have the leaves which equaled out to fallen trees and wires. It was noon on Saturday and we are set to have a party here at the Stets residence. Power goes out. I was about to have a temper tantrum like a five year old. I got over it and had a beer, called in a favor and a generator was on its way if the electric didn't come back on. Thankfully around four the power to our house was restored and I didn't have to punch anyone. The party had low attendance due to the dumb snow storm but we had fun and everyone who didn't show missed out. Hear that? You missed out. The other half to my costume (Cami the one in the hat) missed the party because a tree fell down and blocked her car. Our epic couples costume didn't happen but luckily Pearl came to the rescue and busted out a squirrel costume. Thanks Pearl, I can always count on a white dog.

Halloween Flashback

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 Jonathan and I dressed up as old people. This costume was so fun. The sad part is I was able to use a bunch of my own accessories for my costume. I remember someone was like "Nice old lady shoes!" Ummm, I wear these. On the regular. I didn't buy them special! The only item I had to buy was the dress. I put tennis balls on string to dangle down over my belt as boobies. Jonathan borrowed my grandma's extra cane for the night.

Dancing in our old people costumes was hilarious. someone told me to stop dancing because I reminded them of their grandmother. Mission accomplished!

Real life Halloween week

2011-10-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

Have you missed my face? I'm guessing yes because how couldn't you? I have Halloween week going on here at the blog and in my real life. I've been working on costumes, DIYs, decorations, party prep plus a little school and work thrown in on top. Here is what my week has been looking like.

Pearl looking like she is being neglected like always. Nothing new here but trying to not get her covered in jello or hot glue!

The very beginning of Cami's awesome costume. In case you haven't been informed Cami and I are doing a couples costume. Get ready to be jealous!

Cutting out fabric for my costume.

Then some sewing action.

Heather helping with our closet door cover/ photo booth background.

Proof I can use tools. (I'm hammering if you can't tell.)

Halloweening out this week people. I may be going a little over board with this holiday but you can believe when I say that you will see this at no other time of the year. I listen to some Christmas music and bake some cookies but I basically hide and wait for "those" holidays to be over. Only in October will I be crazy about a holiday. Pinky swear.

Halloween Flashback

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2009 Jonathan and I dressed as Johnny and June Cash. I loved Jonathan with that dark hair. Very studly. He complained about wearing sunglasses all night. I told him to get over it, he commited to the costume and there was no turning back.

Halloween DIY: Body part jars

2011-10-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

For my Halloween party/ haunted house we are setting up a 'mad scientist' room. Notes that were jotted down during our brain storming session were "body parts", "blood", "body parts in jars" and "bodies cut up". All fake of course. We're not serial killers or anything. I had an idea for the body parts in jars. I wanted the parts to be suspended in the jars and not just float to the top. Enter jello.

What you will need is large containers or bowls, lots of jello (I used three large boxes for each jar) and fake body parts. I'm using my jars strictly for decoration but you could totally eat the jello just sanitize the plastic parts before throwing them into your food.

Severed fingers and eyeballs.

Here are the directions and they are very complicated so read carefully. Make the jello as directed. Put the liquid jello in your containers. Refrigerate as directed. THEN jam your fake body parts into the jello. Done, now enjoy.

Halloween Flashback

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008 Jonathan and I dressed as Juno and Pauly Bleecker from Juno. Who didn't love Juno? I think this was the most expensive Halloween costume ever because we had to buy the sweatshirt. It was worth it though. To bad it was so cold that year and my man couldn't sport his little shorts without the sweatpants. Also, I don't have a baby I haven't shared with you yet. I stuffed a pillow inside a pair of spanx. It gave me a great look but was a major pain when I had to go to the bathroom.

Halloween DIY round up

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

There are so many awesome Halloween DIYs out there I wanted to share with you my most favorites. Some aren't Halloween specfic but will work great for the holiday.

Framed Frankenstein and his Bride portraits from Kelsey

Glow Stick Lanterns. These would be great to light up your sidewalk for trick or treat night! From Ashley

Bats! From Dana

Ghost Statue. Totally creepy.

Floating hand punch from Real Simple.

Have fun with your projects!!

Halloween Flashback

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2004

Halloween 2004 Jonathan and I went with a classic costume, nerds! Being nerds comes naturally to us. This is such an easy costume because you can find ill fitting clothes anywhere and for cheap! My favorite touch was the shoes with sandals. Oh, and maybe Jon's middle part.

Halloween DIY: Non toxic blood

2011-10-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

A necessity for any creepy Halloween scene or costume is fake blood. Buying the premade variety at the store can get expensive and is made with some intense chemicals. You can easily make large amounts at home with three to four ingredients.

What you will need is corn starch, red food coloring, water, a bowl and whisk.

Use a three to one ratio when mixing up the ingredients. Three parts corn starch one part water. The corn starch at first will become thick and sticky before becoming a smooth liquid.

Next add the red food coloring. Don't be shy about it, you will need lots of red food coloring so the blood will be red and not hot pink.

If you are having trouble getting the blood to turn a nice shade of red try adding a squeeze of chocolate syrup. The brown can help your blood have a deeper shade of red.

If your blood is a little runny try adding more corn starch to the mixture. Mix everything up until you have your preferred color and consistency.

I made 1.5 quarts of blood using 2 16oz boxes of corn starch, 2 bottles of red food coloring and a squeeze of chocolate syrup. Good luck!

Halloween Flashback- Welcome to Halloween week!

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween rules. When you're little you gets lots of candy and no matter what age you get to be anything you want! I challenge myself every year to come up with a good costume that I will be proud of. Every day this week I will feature one of my costumes from the past couple years. I will also be posting lots of Halloween DIYs and decor ideas I'm using for my big Halloween party on Saturday. So excited to share these with you!

Halloween 2003

Me as Lisa with Lisa the bride

Jonathan as Jeremy is big bro and Jeremy the groom

Halloween 2003 was my brother and sister in law's Halloween wedding. Jonathan and I came up with the idea that we would dress like them for their reception. I figured out a way to borrow Lisa's coat and got a wig that looked similar to her signature hair style. I think I did a fantastic job on the costume people even mistaked me for her, well for like a second in the dark. Jonathan wore welding coveralls and a welding mask since his brother's a welder. Since the wedding was outside and the end of Halloween it was a challenge since we also had to bundle up but we pulled it off.

Casual Friday

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

There is something about a jean day that makes me get out of bed without hitting snooze four times. I work in corporate America so a day to wear jeans makes me super excited. I don't know why. I pretty much wear what I want and because I mostly wear skirts I justify it by saying skirts are fancier than a pair of khakis. Even though my skirt is paired with a cotton tank top. Anyways, my co-workers and I celebrate jean days like they are holidays. Sometimes they make us pay for jean days, like this one by donating money to charity. Whatever I'll take it. It's comical really.

I was looking forward to this jean day because I don't have anything navy. I have navy, just nothing navy to wear with this new sweater that I gots. An upcoming jean day was perfect rationalization to buying this sweater, don't you think?

Details:
Sweater: Jcrew
Tank: Jcrew
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Sofft
Glasses: Warby Parker

Flea market chic Vol. 1

2011-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jonathan and I love thrifting, fleaing and antiquing. I live for finding things that are a great deal and I love mix and matching items in my home. As much as I try to have modern or matching things in my house my internal style pulls through and it all gets mixed up and crazy on me.

One day while we were browsing an Anthropologie and my husband runs up to me, I've never seen him so excited to be shopping with me. "Look, they wrote a book about us. We're not alone." I look down to the book that was in his hand. It was titled something like 'Flea Market Style', sorry I can't find it on their website anymore to give you an exact title. Flea market style. Now that I think about it, that is totally our style. Now the husband and I describe our home decor style Flea Market Chic.

With flea marketing and thrifting most of the pieces in our home have a story. With this I thought I would go though my home and single out my favorite pieces and tell you the story behind them.

Dining room sets are expensive. My last house I 'borrowed' a table from my grandparents for five years! That table didn't fit the feel of this home so we returned it. I found our new table at a local auction house. Every Thursday they have public actions of multiple sellers' lots. I went that week for an iron bed frame which I didn't win. When this table came up for bid no one would bid on it so I took the bait and got it for a steal. The chairs are 3/4 of a set that was a gift from my parents, more like we saved them from the trash pile and the fourth chair was saved from a trash pile by my sister in law.

My cabinet, also shown here is one of my favorite finds ever. I also won it at the local auction house only I went there specifically for it. Along with the cabinet came a note from the owners. It said that the cabinet was built for his grandfather's doctors office. He kept medicines and supplies in it and the glass was frosted. When the grandfather retired the grandmother had the glass replaced and used it to display her plates. Finding out the history of things is the exciting part of this hobby of ours.

Stay tuned for future looks into our flea market chic home and decor!

A collection - Fiesta

2011-10-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

I come from a family of collectors, I'm using the term collectors to be nice. I have to fight the collecting gene in me on the regular. I find myself saving random stuff all the time, but I slap myself and put it in the donation pile because I don't want a cluttered house. Since I've been a homeowner it's easier to purge the unneeded junk, especially when I live in a small cape cod with two closets. Yes, you read that correctly, two closets. Total.

My collections are limited to my wardrobe (who can blame me there? Do clothes even count as a collection?), crafting supplies (That random glue gun has come in handy multiple times and so has that set of needle nose plyers!) and dishware. My disware collection is limited to Fiestaware only. I have modern Fiesta for my every day use and I have a small selection of vintage Fiesta on display. My collection is no longer growing except for the rare vintage find or maybe a new awesome color. I big heart Fiestaware, I have since I was little. My grade school BFF Amanda's mom collected vintage Fiesta and I loved eating off plates that were all mismatched. The little thrills in life! It's like a rainbow at your table everytime you eat dinner.

I try to keep my colections to a minimum. How about you, do you have any collections?

I travel

2011-10-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

I am guest posting today over at Tiny little happies. I am discussing a favorite topic of mine, books! Book series to be exact. Stop over to see whats up!

This is what I carry

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

I feel like my bag is an endless pit. My husband won't even attempt to find anything in my handbag, not even my large wallet. I have went weeks thinking I have completely lost something, like my ipod, only to discover it at the bottom of my bag. Hopefully I'm not the only one with this problem, but I probably am.

I will say my main problem is this bag. I love you J Crew, but this bag failed. Big time. It has four different sections, so if I throw something in there I have four huge sections to hunt through before I find it. IF I ever find it. It just proves my theroy that you shouldn't buy handbags without looking at them in person first. What, you never heard me voice that theroy before? That's because I just came up with it but it sounds good. Also, why am I too lazy to change this handbag that is causing me so many problems? I don't know that answer to that one either. Maybe it's because this bag is so versitile. Sounds goods so I'll go with it too.

Second problem is I carry so much with me and not all of it is pictured! I remember my mom would have ANYTHING you could ever need in her bag. She had nail clippers, a nail file, a sewing kit, tissues, snacks, and hard candy. If something was going down we would be okay because she had a mini survial kit slung across her shoulder. The only emergency I am prepared for is if you need a different lip gloss or stick for every hour of the day. It still doesn't look like much but when you are searching through the bag looking for your keys this stuff is all up in the way.

I do believe everyone should carry some back up shoes with them, you never know when a heel might break. I do the samething when packing underwear you should always have double then what you really need, but that is a topic for another day!

New jams for your Friday

2011-10-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

Last week I was introduced to Hoots and Hellmouth. I advise you check them out asap. Check out there spot on the web here and their FB page here. I have been listening to their newest album, Salt non stop for the past week. I can't get enough.

In other news, remember when I went to that wine tasting in Maryland? Well, the Washington Post must have thought I was someone special because they put me up on their site. I'm like super famous or something. Yes, the 'or something' part is correct.

Fall festivals and dog haters

2011-10-13T10:21:00.000-04:00

While on our camping weekend we left camp for a little on Saturday morning to visit the annual Hartslog Day Festival in Alexandria, PA. We had no clue what this little festival had in store for us, we heard about it from the fellow campers. We drove to the little town fought for a parking spot and finally made it to the vendors when people started yelling at us. "Can't you read?!? No dogs allowed!" I'm a pretty observant person but I was more interested in gorgeous old homes with the Juniata river in their back yard, not tacky anti-dog signs. So we took the verbal lashing and stepped out side of the 'no dog zone' to come up with a plan. We were not leaving poor Pearl in the car, that is just mean and dangerous and I wanted to see what the festival had to offer so I didn't want to turn around and go back to the camp grounds. So we carried her. I assume the dog problem was because the pups were taking up street space and the festival was majorly crowded. Not many people even noticed her up in our arms and we saw a bunch of small breed dogs being carried around. We did get some dirty looks but hey I'm used to those. Plus Pearl loves being carried, she is quite lazy.

The crafts at the festival were a bust, too country for my taste but these vendors were doing major business. Food was another story, Jonathan and I got some snacks while we were there. We've never had apple fritter rings and if they were in the same category as funnel cakes then I was willing to give them a try. They were worth the trip. Pearl thought the trip was worth it to be carried around for an hour. She was in dog heaven.

Our camper has friends

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

A bonus to camping this weekend was that we got to see many campers similar to ours! Our camper is a vintage Serro Scotty (a 1966 Gaucho to be exact) and surprisingly there are big fans of these campers. Big enough fans that there are clubs, jamborees and camp outs for the owners and fans of these little campers. Back when we were dreaming and looking for a little camper we stumbled upon a bunch of these Scotty campers abandoned in weeds and fields. We discovered what brand they were and we focused our search on Scotty campers only. That is when I came across the Scotty fan sites and through those sites I found my own Scotty camper. We were interested in seeing some other vintage campers in person, learn refurbishing tips and just gain general knowledge of how other people travel in a miniature camper. So when we found a camp out was happening so close to us we thought it would be a perfect weekend to take the Scotty out on it's first trip. There were nine campers there total and it was so fun to see all the little teal guys lined up! It turns out that these campers were made in Pennsylvania and that might be why you see many more on the east coast then any where else.

I really want one of those striped awnings! It will have to go on our wish list....

If you are interested in Scotty campers look here and here. Serro Scotty campers where made starting in 1956 and are still made today.

Camping in a 13 foot travel trailer

2011-10-11T10:30:00.000-04:00

The drive out

My very appropriate camping outfit

Dinner in the camper!

7 Points Marina

This weekend was our first adventure in our mini camper. We went back to Raystown Lake where we went earlier in the summer with some of the family. You could say I was more than a little nervous to go camping. I've camped before, I was a girl scout so this chick has camped enough in one life time. It wasn't that, I was nervous to spend all this time in that little camper! It has been raining 24/7 the month of September and I was worried it would rain the entire time and we would be all up in each other's faces all weekend which might not be healthy for a marriage. I was worried that we would have too much stuff to fit into our baby camper. I worried about sleeping on a bed that is a little larger than a twin with Jonathan and Pearl. All that worrying was for nothing! We had a great time and sleeping on a cramped camper bed for a couple nights didn't kill us.

I am wishing it was still summer so we could camp more. I love relaxing vacations.

1000 Steps

2011-10-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

1000 Step trail section of stairs

The "top" of the trail. The 1000th step. This was not the last step though!

This weekend Jonathan and I took the camper out for it's first camping trip (more on that to come)! On our way home we stopped for what we thought would be a quick hike on the 1000 Step trail. I didn't think that the trail would literally be 1000 man made stairs. I thought it was more of an exaggeration, like when people say "OMG that was like a thousand steps I had to climb!" but really it was two flights of stairs. I say that all the time, like when I skipped taking the escaltor in the subway and looked up to see two flights of stairs ahead of me and realized why everyone was waiting in line for the escaltor. It was like a thousand stairs! I thought that until I did this hike because this was over one thousand stairs made of stone. It was. We walked up 1000 plus man made stairs from the bottom to the summit of the mountain. The stairs were originally made by miners to get to the top of the mountain and has since been maintained by the state. It was a pretty intense hike, like walking on a stair master for 45 minutes. The view was beatuiful once we made it to the top. Also on the top of the mountain was an old building formerly used for a railroad or mining business that we explored. And porcupines. We saw a porcupine, but he was a sleep thankfully.

Almost a sick day

2011-10-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

Do you have those days when you can't find anything to wear and you are tempted to call in sick? I have lots of them. In high school if I was absent then my friends assumed that I couldn't find anything I wanted to wear. 90% of the time that they were right and the other 10% of the time I was just to lazy to get there. I was a major slacker in high school but that is a story for another day.

Yesterday I couldn't find any clothes that wanted to stay on my body. I changed outfits numerous times. I have reasons for my recent "I can't find anything to wear" dilemmas. It's starting to get colder and I feel like my closet is not prepared. I have lost some weight in the recent months and any fall/winter clothes from last year are a bit big. I feel dumpy in them. Any clothes I can find that are smaller sizes are summery and well it's too cold for that. I finally settled on a summer dress with a fallish top. Luckily the weather was hittin' the high 60s so I could handle it without getting frozen out at my work.

Dress: LOFT
Sweater: Limited
Belt: UO
Bracelet: Limited
Shoes: Amanda Smith

An antiquing mission

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Our first camping trip in our camper is coming up so I have been using all my free time trying to find some camping necessities. We have nothing to eat on or with, drink out of or cook on. For our first trip out we could use paper products, but I would rather not. I have been searching the flea markets, thrift and antique stores in the area to find some cute vintage wares for in my cute vintage camper. This past weekend the husband and I went to my favorite store in town, Bedford Street Antiques. This is a huge old former dress factory downtown and is loaded with different vendors selling their treasures. Unfortunately, we didn't find what we were looking for there but browsing the merchandise is always a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

A night with my favorite girl

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Let’s start off by saying I have no clue what to do withchildren. I don’t have any, that should be pretty obvious, and maybe that iswhy I don’t know what to do with them. I want kids, I mean not now but they aredefinitely part of my five year plan. I was the youngest of two and didn’treally have many younger family members that I had to take care of so I neverlearned how to care for children. I did babysit my younger cousin once. I wasin middle school and who knows how old she was but I remember my aunt totallyfreaking out because we didn’t eat lunch. Due to her over reaction of notfeeding her daughter a proper lunch I neglected to mention that we walked thewhole way across town to go to a penny candy store, The Candy Barn, and pig outon gummies. This is really the reason we didn’t eat lunch, because we were allhopped up on sugar from all the gummies. That and I couldn’t cook. So let’sjust say I was never asked to babysit ever again. I have been terrified ofbabies from an early age. I believe it all started when I wasn’t allowed tohold one of my baby cousins. My sister sat in a chair and they put they baby inher lap and it was all get and awesome then when it was my turn they were alllike “No you’re too little and you can hurt her”. I think I’ve held twonewborns after that and both times I have questioned the mother’s parentingskills for putting their child’s life in my hands. Maybe children can sense amotherly vibe. I don’t have that so most kids don’t give me the time of day.But there is one kid who has and she is my most favorite girl in the world, myniece Evelyn.

Evelyn spent the night with Jonathan and I Saturday night. We really didn't have a clue how to entertain a three year old so we winged it. We took her to a kid friendly dinner at a local diner, painted her nails and watched a kid movie since we couldn't play out side due to the rain. She said she had fun which is all that matters. Can we talk about how little kids sleep?! Maybe she was super excited and that's why she didn't fall asleep until after 11pm but the waking up before 7am on the weekend was too much for me. Don't even get me started on Disney channel television either. That stuff is out of contro and not in a good way. So my hats are off to you mothers because I could barely handle a weelend sleep over!

Climbing date

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Cami

My awesomeness

Our belayer. Our lives are in his hands.

On Friday I took my BFF Cami out for a indoor climbing adventure after months of begging for her to join me. This was her first time ever and I think she did fantasical. The husband ditched us to watch drag car races, so luckily our professional rock climbing friend Brian came along to belay. He isn't a for real professional but close enough in my standards. Next time we will have Cami learn to belay and I will have to trust her with my life. I'm a little worried. Just joking I big heart you Cam!

Change of season

2011-10-02T19:20:00.002-04:00

This weekend, for the first time this season we lit our fireplace. I missed the warmth of our little wood stove even though I am a teeny bit sad that the weather is cold enough to light it. We had a high of 49 degrees this weekend! Eek! I also busted the winter boots out. Nothing is cozier than some fuzzy boots.

How was your weekend?

Our shutter coat rack

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

The other day when I was browsing Pinterest I found coat rack crafted out of an old shutter. That gave me the inspiration to share with you my coat rack crafted out of an old shutter. When my husband was little he had a shutter coat rack that we inherited when his family moved out of the farm he grew up on. That is somewhere in our storage mess, but this one he made himself. What I love most about our coat rack is that Jonathan used parts of old chair legs as the hangers. We repurpose and reuse.

A map will inspire a plan

2011-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm planning for a road trip. A big road trip. One of my goals for next year is to take our sweet little Scotty camper on the road for a two week long road trip. My only problem is I can't come up with a destination and I think it will be easier to plan the route with a big final destination point. We live in Pennsylvania and the only plan so far is to head west. Originally I was thinking of traveling the whole way to somewhere like Yosemite, but now that seems like a long way to go in only two weeks. We now have this wall sized map in our office to inspire us to choose a destination or at least a stop along the way.

Any suggestions of places to see on our trip?

Wine Tasting

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to a wine tasting picnic at Boordy's Vineyard in Maryland with some of my girls. We sampled their collection of wine, ate some good food and got free popcorn. This is my first ever wine tasting and it was so much fun. The vineyard had live music the whole afternoon and guests were welcome to bring their own food to the picnic.

There was even a hay ride! I do think our hay ride was cut short because there were no children on our round. Adults love hay rides too!

After a couple bottles of wine we started getting pretty classy and started line dancing in the barn. It was pretty and rustic how could you resist the line dancing?? I couldn't!

Here's the whole group enjoying the day on a vintage 1954 tractor and in front of some of the grape fields. I can't wait for next summer so we can come back with the menfolk!

And Mindy planked the old dusty casts in the barn. Worst decision ever, you should have seen the dirt all over her.

My favorite part time job

2011-09-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

Like I mentioned earlier, I worked with flowers over the weekend. My sister in-law Sarah, you know the one with the open vibe, had a large event on Saturday and I was hired for the day to be her assistant. I would love to brag about how I was a part in designing these creations, but I didn't so all the credit goes to her. I couldn't even assemble these correctly. I asked where to stick the branches and she responds with "Well, where is your line?", "Ummm, what's a line?". I still don't know what a line is in floral design so I let her do the hard stuff while I got stabbed multiple times by some greenery and lost part of my toenail. The job got done on time and beautifully! Being a floral assistant is my favorite part time job ever.

My weekend went fast

2011-09-26T13:18:00.001-04:00

This weekend I drank a lot of wine and worked with flowers. Not at the same time, don't be alarmed. I did injure myself this weekend, I tripped and ripped half of my toenail off. Believe it or not but I did this while I was carrying flowers and not when I was drinking the wine. Other events from the weekend included:
- Taking a server's breath away. He gasped when I looked at him. Whether that was good or bad is still up for discussion.
- I held a baby. I visited one of my BFFs and checked out her new baby boy.
- I got free cotton candy. While I was drinking wine.
- I busted out my sewing machine and got to work while watching a How I Met Your Mother marathon.