Miscellany Monday

 

It's time for "Miscellany Monday"!
Grab the button, write random, and link up over here.

1.  I went to the Market District in Robinson this weekend

and fell in love with it's amazingness.

Also, while there I tried nutella for the first time (I know!).

2. I also went to IKEA (which I am seriously obsessed with)

and we got this lovely little end table for our living room!

3.  I don't care if my shirt looks like a picnic table,

I still like it!

4.  I am  seriously in love with coffee,

if that wasn't obvious already.

5.   I had to take my wedding rings to the jeweler to be resized,

so I decided to make my own temporary wedding set from my other rings

until I get my real ones back.

 {grandmother's engagement ring handed down to me & emerald band (I'm a May baby)}

 So there ya go!

Some random factoids of my life for your Monday afternoon...

Here's to a great week!

How was your weekend??

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1.   If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab (obviously Brett but I’m not counting him as one of my things and I don’t think I could pick him up…) my MacBook (that has all my pictures & music on it), my iPhone, and my “memories” box of random things I’ve saved over the years from Brett and my relationship.

2.  A smell I really like is my homemade chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.  YUM.

3.  Something you might not know about me is I used to spend my summers on tour on the road going city to city following around my favorite band Hanson.

4.  Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are Etsy, We Heart It, Twitter, and does my google reader count??

5.  This weekend I will be rock climbing, going to IKEA (!!), possibly going to see live music, and working on some iMovie projects!

6. Nothing makes me happier than getting in the car with a fresh cup of coffee and heading out on a roadtrip with Brett.  True BLISS.

7.  A bad habit I have is not cleaning out the fridge on garbage day…

Play along here!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!*

Blog Button

Hey guys!

I took some people's advice and created a blog button!!

It's on my right sidebar under my twitter feed.

Feel free to use it on your blog!

(And let me know so I can come check it out!)

Happy Thursday!!*

Good Morning!

How do YOU feel today?

Post this on your blog & link back letting me know!

I hope you feel all good things!

Go here to get the original unmarked photo for you to fill out!

{photo credit}

Mini Beach Getaway

{Hilton Head Island - April 2010}

This weekend, the temperatures were in the SINGLE DIGITS. Unacceptable. Do you know how difficult it is to read other people's blogs who live in warm places like California, Australia, etc? VERY difficult. It makes me long for warm weather and sunshine and summer dresses. Instead, I'm stuck with -4 degrees wind chill, gloomy days, layers upon layers, and warm boots. However, (here comes the positivity) there HAS been some sunshine, so I gotta give props to the big ol' sun up there. She's trying her best, even if the temperatures won't agree with her.

Thinking positively over here though... I know it IS January in Pittsburgh, so it's supposed to be cold and I need to deal with that. I just always get that warm weather itch towards the end of January, after all the holidays are over and Christmas decorations come down. So naturally, I start dreaming about a warm beach vacation that will sweep me away from the cold and plant me in the sand, with a tasty drink and warm sunny rays. A couple years ago, Brett and I started taking a mini Spring beach trip down South each year to escape the cold wintery North. We went to Hilton Head Island (pictured above) for the first time in Spring 2008 and completely fell in love with the place. We've been there twice now and are planning another trip there in April this year! It's such a nice little escape. Even though we are only gone for a few days, it really is such a sweet little vacation to get away from everything and just relax. I.CAN'T.WAIT.

Where is your favorite place to go to escape from the weather, your job, your daily routine, etc?

***
PS - Thinking about starting to post some vlogs on my blog... how do you guys feel about that?

Miscellany Monday

I'm joining in on "Miscellany Monday"!
Grab the button, write random, and link up over here.

1. It has been SO cold here lately (degrees in the single digits).
I'm desperately dreaming of a southern beach vacation right about now...


2. Brett & I were in the mood to go out to breakfast this weekend,
so we explored the area around our house
and found this adorable little cafe:
Our Little Secret Cafe
Cheap & the food is delicious!


3. This weekend I became an Aunt (again)!
My brother-in-law's girlfriend had a sweet baby boy on Saturday.
Meet Andrew:


And this is his older brother, Bradley
(who I can't get enough of!):


4. Fun fact I learned this weekend...
Brett (my husband) and Lee (my brother) are really great jumpers!
I think if they ever formed a band, this would be a great album cover:


5. I say it all the time, but that's because it's true:
My husband is an AMAZING cook!
We had homemade Thai curry for dinner last night.
Drool:


I think that's enough miscellany ramblings for one day.
Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!*

New Header!

Exciting! My new header is up!

And I did it all by myself.
I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff...
Let me know what you think!

Hope you are all enjoying the last bits of the weekend.
I'm relaxing and watching the Steelers game,
while hubby Brett makes a delicious homemade Thai dinner.
I'm very thankful to have married such a wonderful cook.
Me on the other hand... I stick to baking. :)

Blog Updates!

Hi friends!*

I've been updating & revamping my blog a bit over the last few days!
I updated my "About", "Contact" and "Life List*" tabs at the top under my header.
I added some buttons to my sidebar, linking to my social media sites:
twitter, youtube, vimeo, RSS feed, tumblr, and flickr.
I also added my current dailybooth picture to my sidebar, along with my twitter feed.
Link over to those sites and let's be friends!

UPDATED:
I just added a button to my sidebar, linking to my 365 project.
Check it out!

I'm slowly working on creating a new header,
so hopefully that will be up soon...

...probably with the help of my husband
ARE YOU READING THIS, BABE?! ;)

Happy Birthday, Jame!

{Jamie & I at my rehearsal dinner the day before my wedding!}

Today is one of my dearest friend's birthdays! I have known Jamie my ENTIRE life (literally, she was at the hospital when I was born). Our parents go way back and were friends when they were in high school and that has continued onto us. We have been best friends for 26 years now and not a thing has changed over all those years. Even though we live miles and states apart, we are still as close as we were when we were 5 years old. I hold this friendship so close to my heart and it really hit me on my wedding day how much I am thankful to have such a wonderful friend for so long. There is really something magical about sharing your wedding day with a friend who has shared your first baby steps also.

Happy 26th Birthday, Jame!!*

I hope you have an AMAZING day!
{Love & miss you dearly}

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. My favorite quote is “It is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all.”

2. A bad habit I have is not cleaning out the refrigerator when it’s garbage night…

3. The first time I felt like a "grown up" was in my first apartment when I paid my first utility bill. BOO!

4. Weekends are for sleeping in, having morning coffee with Brett, relaxing, dancing in the kitchen, and running around outside.

5. When I was a child I wished my name was Natalie or Taylor. When we played “house” or “school”, I ALWAYS had to be one of those. Weird.

6. I wish I could blog for a living…

7. A secret I have is hmmm, if I told you… then it would no longer be a secret, no? :)

Play along here!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!*

Stylish Blogger Award!

Thanks to Jess and Norwegian Phoenix, I was awarded this "Stylish Blogger Award"! I feel so honored, seeing as though I don't find myself very stylish at all... but I try!

The jist of this award is to:
1. Thank and link back to the person that awarded it to you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their blog award.

So, without further ado...

7 things about myself:
1. I am married to an awesome guy named Brett (but I strictly call him Babe)
2. I live in Pittsburgh, PA and rather like it here (minus the occasional snowpocalypse)
3. I am obsessed with coffee...
4. I am also obsessed with traveling and going on road trips
5. I recently became obsessed with making fun little movies
6. I am a big time morning person & I think it annoys people sometime :)
7. I come from a socially networked family... aka my entire family is on twitter (and it was my Dad who got us all into it...) Dad, Mom, Lee (Brother), Graham (Brother), Brita (Sister), Brett (Husband), Jess (Sister-in-law)

15 bloggers that deserve this award because I think they're swell:
1. Jeshi - This is My Forever
2. Brita - Live Life
3. Ashlee - Where My Heart Resides
4. Kelli - Kelli Murray
5. Lauren - The Little Things We Do
6. Melisa - Pie N' The Sky
7. Stacey - Love and Photographs
8. Julia - Kaleidoscope
9. Nicole - My Teacups in Peony
10. Natalie - Nat the Fat Rat
11. Liz - Srslyliz
12. Stacie - Steoffrey Language
13. Alex & Mina - Sending Postcards
14. Jess - In The Meantime (right back atcha!)
15. Norwegian Phoenix - Norwegian Phoenix (right back atcha!)

That was fun! Thanks again guys!
Happy Monday night!*

Sick...

So... I'm sick.
I blame Winter.
I'm ready for Spring.
The end.

5 Year Anniversary

Today is Brett and my 5 year anniversary!
Through the years...

{2006}
First apartment together
Johnstown, PA

{2007}
One of our many, many road trips
Catskills, NY

{2008}
Another one of our many, many vacations
Hilton Head Island, SC

{2009}
Engaged!!
Marblehead, OH

{2010}
Married!!
Erie, PA

It was super hard to pick ONE photo from each year.
I have SO much fun with Brett.
We have so many great memories together
and I can't wait for all the memories to come...
Love you, babe!

Here's to 2010...

2010 was an awesome year...
I decided to make a little recap video to remember it!
Enjoy :)

2010 Recap from Anna Heher on Vimeo.

{Click here to view the video larger or full screen!}

Fill in the Blank Friday

So, Lauren over at "The Little Things We Do" does these "Fill in the Blank Friday" posts every Friday and I thought it would be fun to start playing along, so here we go! :)

1. Winter is a season that gives me mixed feelings. I love it during Christmas time but come January, I'm perfectly content with going straight to Spring weather.

2. Summer is my favorite season! I love the farmer's markets, spending every second outside, running around barefoot, and soaking in the sun!

3. If it were summer instead of winter right now I'd go to the farmer's market and get pounds and pounds of fresh veggies, then bring them home so my husband could make a million bowls of his amazing fresh salsa. Then we'd go camping and rock climbing. :)

4. My favorite thing to do in winter is stay in and have dance parties in the kitchen and dinner dates at home with Brett.

5. My favorite thing to do in summer is BE OUTSIDE as much as possible!

6. The ideal outfit for a sunny summer day is a sundress, flipflops, and sunnies.

7. The ideal outfit for a frigid winter day is knit boot, jeggings, a long warm comfy sweater, scarf, gloves, and warm coat.

Just go here & you can play too!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!*

Christmas Vacation Recap

So, you would think having 10 days off of work would mean that I would have more time to blog... WRONG! I had all intentions of doing multiple blog posts throughout my Christmas break, but that did not happen (with the exception of my Merry Christmas and Happy New Year posts). I thought I was going to have a lot of down time, but I ended up keeping busy pretty much the entire 10 days... hence the lack of blogging. But that's okay because I was busy doing lots of fun things... let's recap, shall we?

1. Starting break off with rock climbing & $2 pint night at Rock Bottom!
2. Had a nice dinner in before the craziness of Christmas with our families began
3. Painted my nails sparkly in honor of Christmas
4. Brett & I celebrated "Christmas Morning" on Christmas Eve morning and gave each other our gifts then. Brett got me 2 more nutcrackers to add to my collection (Pirate & Cowboy)
5. Eating breakfast off the new Pfaltzgraff place settings Brett got me to add to my collection
6. My hubby enjoying breakfast :)

1. My penguin gift wrapping
2. Drinking Bailey's Irish Cream in my coffee Christmas morning at the Heher's in Erie
3. Playing with our nephew, Bradley all day (aren't his eyes amazing?!)
4. Uncle Brett & Bradley
5. Aunt Anna & Bradley (he loves us, I swear!)
6. Back down to Pittsburgh for Christmas #2 with my family: taste testing Georgetown Cupcakes!
7. Dancing in the kitchen with Mom
8. We wore matching dresses :)
9. My cute little owl that I got from my parents (This is as close to a real pet as I'll get...)

1. Spotted some penguin ice sculptures downtown in honor of the Winter Classic
2. Found my G-Pa's name in front of Heinz Field: John H Harris
3. Went to the Carnegie Science Center to see the AWESOME train village
4. Pretty winter sunset on my way to Rollier's while Brett fixed my parent's back door
5. INSTAX MINI!!! Gift from my parents for Christmas! I have been wanting one of these for a looong time
6. Some of my polaroids on our Christmas tree

1. On the road to our New Years Eve ski trip in Ellicottville, NY
2. Adorable little ski town at night
3. Blueberry beer at the Gin Mill (where we may or may not have eaten lunch AND dinner in the same day...)
4. Darren & Brett at the Gin Mill
5. Lee & Josh playing pool at the Gin Mill
6. Me, Jess, & Jenn at the Gin Mill
7. Jess, Dale, & Jenn at the Gin Mill
8. Snowy New Years Eve morning before skiing
9. My sweet ski hat... mind you, this was my first weekend skiing EVER
10. The views on top of the mountain were AMAZING
11. Rum & diet to kick off New Years Eve at the Ellicottville Brewing Company (I know, I am pathetic for not drinking BEER at the BREWING company... but I was full!)
12. Ellicottville Brewing Company growlers... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!*

1. Recovering from New Years Eve with more beer?
2. Delicious cinnamon muffins I made
3. Mmm, muffin & coffee... heaven
4. Being a big time fashion DON'T at the grocery store... sometimes I just don't care, but Brett decided to get this one on film
5. Brett and his homemade cheesecake (I asked him to give me his best smile & this is what I got...)
6. Brett's tasty homemade general tso's chicken stir fry... SO good

So that's how I spent my Christmas vacation. It was a much needed, awesome 10 days off. Now it's back to the grind. But Brett and I are starting to plan our potential Spring beach vacation to use up our flight credit we got from United Airlines! So that is definitely something to look forward to!

And, for the record... now that the holidays are over, can we just skip this whole cold weather thing and go straight to Spring weather? Who's with me??

Happy Wednesday!!* Half way through the work week already!

Happy New Year!

Here's to another amazing year!
Let 2011 begin!*