58 Days Until HHI...

Ok, here's the deal.  I'm SICK of Winter.  I know I live in Pennsylvania and it's only February so Winter is expected... BUT.  It was 65 degrees on Friday!  Do you understand how this teased me??  I was running around outside in a t-shirt and jeans and basking in the sunshine.  Then Sunday rolled around and it decided to start snowing again...  I woke up this morning and there was over a FOOT of snow in my driveway.  I can't handle it anymore.  Winter needs to go away.  It's not welcome here anymore.  All I can do for now is close my eyes and dream about our Hilton Head Island vacation... 

Only 58 more days!  (but who's counting...)

I Love the Morning Time...

 

{Photo of Rehoboth Beach, DE - December 2009, Taken by me}

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

Looks like it's that time again!

FRIDAY!!

1.   I am so happy it’s FRIDAY and so happy that I sold my old car last night!

2.  The bravest thing I've ever done was  umm, does walking through the ghetto at night count?  We used to do that a lot when we lived in the city… especially if we were on a hunt for pizza.

3.  I feel prettiest when I just get back from a day at the beach and I have that sunny, sweaty glow.

4.  Something that keeps me awake at night is thinking about all the things I need to do.  Oh, who am I kidding?  As soon as I hit that pillow, I am OUT.

5.  My favorite meal in the entire world is that is a REALLY hard question because I love food.  I’m going to say… Max Mex Happy Hippie Burrito!  YUM!  But there are so many other meals that are my favorite too!! ;)

6.  The way to my heart is through laughter annnnnd bringing me coffee.  That works too. :)

7.  I would like to go to COSTA RICA before we have children!

Play along here!

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day!

Some may think this is a silly holiday, but I happen to believe this is one of the most meaningful and important holidays of the year!  It is almost sad that there has to be a day designated to being nice to one another...but I digress.  Do you realize how much one tiny gesture of kindness can mean to someone?  It may not seem like much to you, but you never know if someone is fighting a hard battle and all they need is a little cheerfulness.  So please, go out there today and be the absolute best version of yourself.  You never know how much it can impact someone.

Here are some ideas:

Hold the door open for someone

Compliment someone and mean it

Pay for someones coffee in line behind you

Wipe the snow off someone's car

Tell someone you love them and mean it

Make coffee for your husband/wife before work

Let someone in front of you in traffic

Just smile and greet people as you walk by them

 Can you imagine what the world would be like

if everyone treated everyday like 'Random Acts of Kindness Day'?!

Let's start!*

The Perfect FIT

Ok, first the really exciting news: We got a new car!!  After all the crazy car issues we've been having the past couple weeks (which I'm sure you all are sick of hearing about...), we finally have a new car!  On Saturday, we set out on a mission and found the perfect one (at a GREAT deal)!  It's a 2010 Honda Fit and we are IN LOVE with it!  It is soo perfect!  I'll have to take more photos...

I still had my rental car for the week but since I wouldn't be needing it anymore, we decided to take a mini road trip on Sunday with it (to get it's money worth!).  We headed down to Cooper's Rock, WV (about an hour away) to go on a nice little winter hike!  While I love hiking in the Spring/Summer/Fall, this hike was nice because there weren't many people around.  It was so peaceful and quiet.    

 

And the weather turned out to be pretty decent that day, too.  By the end of the hike, we were taking off layers of clothing because we were hot!  I really think Spring is on its way... (reeeeally hoping at least). 

After our hike, we stopped in Morgantown, WV for a late lunch at the Morgantown Brewery.  We got there before it opened, so we roamed around the college town for a bit, then headed back for some tasty sandwiches and yummy brews.  After that, we headed home and spent the last bits of the weekend just relaxing.  

It was a great weekend!

How was yours??

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

We are having my parents over tonight

for a nice little double date meal at home.

What are YOUR Valentine's Day plans?

xoxo

PS - Our love story is featured today
over on Nicole's blog, My Teacups in Peony!
Go check it out!

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1.   The TV show/website that I watch/read that I would be embarrassed to tell anyone about is hmm, I’m not really embarrassed about anything I watch or read on TV or online!  We don't have cable TV but if we did, I'm sure I would get sucked into the crappy reality shows.

2.  An item of clothing that is worn and torn but that I love far too much to throw away is the pair of jeans that I was wearing the first time I met Hanson in 2003… ha!  They are completely torn and frayed and not even wearable, but I can’t bring myself to throw them out.

3.  My grocery store impulse buy is nice cheese.  We are always leaving the grocery store with some kind of nice cheese, justifying that it will just go so perfectly with the current bottle of wine we have.

4.  Something I do at work to pass time that I wouldn't want my co-workers to know about is write blog posts… haha.

5.  One thing in my life that I could give up, but never will is coffee! (Except for when I’m pregnant)  I love it!

6.  A little indulgence that I have is fancy lattes.  I don’t get them often, because I love our home brewed Trader Joe’s coffee… but every once in a while on special occasions, I indulge.

7.  The junk drawer/area in my house is the closet in our upstairs hallway and the attic.  Junk gets thrown in the closet until it eventually makes its way up to the attic…

Play along here!

Yesterday, over at Emily's blog, David & Emily,
I shared what I'm thankful for.
Go check it out!
And continue reading Emily's blog...
it's adorable.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!*

So Long Rustibu...

 

{Rustibu...}

So!  It's been a while, I know.  Well, life has been pretty much CRAZY since last Monday.  Let's recap the last week in the life of Anna...  (This is long; I don't blame you if you don't read it.)

Ok, so last Monday I take my car (its name is Rustibu) into a local shop for its inspection after work.  Brett and I had to share a car while mine was in the shop.  So I'm praying that there isn't much wrong with it and it can just pass inspection.  Keep in mind, I have a 1997 Chevy Malibu (don't make fun of me).  I get a call Tuesday saying it needed $365 worth of work to pass inspection, so after a large sigh, I say... fine okay, do it.  I need it to pass inspection so I can drive it.  So Brett and I shared a car for 2 days and I picked my car up Wednesday night...

The next day (the first day I had my car back) Brett and I went out to dinner.  On our way home, oh boy!  My brakes decide to stop working.  STOP WORKING.  As in, I'm driving and I press the brake and it does NOTHING.  Um, most terrifying feeling ever.  Luckily, I was on a flat part of the road and didn't ram into the car in front of me.  I start freaking out to Brett, who was in the passenger seat.  As I'm driving... "Um, my brakes DON'T WORK!"  Brett says, "What?!"  "MY BRAKES DON'T WORK!"  Thankfully, Brett was very calm and coached me through it.  He told me to put on my 4 ways (emergency flashers) and just keep rolling down the road, until we find a flat side street we can turn off to.  Cars are passing me on this main road because I'm going so slow, trying to find a flat street to pull off on.  Finally, we find one.  I turn left onto it and coast until I stop.  I get out of the car and have a mini heart attack.  Brett checked everything out and realized that one of my brake lines had blew out.  AKA no brakes.  Fun.  So we had to call AAA to tow my car because it was obviously not drivable.  After waiting for an hour and a half (!?!), the tow truck finally came and towed my car away to a nearby Sears Auto Center.  I called my dad and he came, picked us up and took us home to our house at 1:00am (THANKS DAD!).  

So Friday rolls around and we are back to sharing 1 car.  This is not fun.  Sears checked out my car and called Brett to tell him what was wrong.  Oh, ya know... just $1,000 worth of things wrong!  Basically, I needed an entire new brake system for it to be drivable again.  Keep in mind, this is a 1997 Chevy Malibu... meaning it was NOT worth $1,000 to fix it.  So we decided to sell it and get myself a new car.

Over the weekend, we were in Erie visiting the in-laws, so we couldn't do much car related.  Then came Monday and I was sick and home from work... yuck.  But I did manage to post my car on Craigslist!  We got a lot of responses.  Tuesday... still sharing a car... yuck.  I decide to get a rental car for the week, so I can get to work easier and so we can drive it around while looking for a new car.  After we picked up the rental car after work, we made an appointment with someone who wanted to come see my car.  So we took them to see it and they said they want it!!  We just have to get all the paperwork straightened out and then it will be off our hands!  I'm so happy it worked out with the FIRST person that looked at it.  It's bittersweet.  That Chevy Malibu was my first car.  Rustibu has a lot of great memories in it.  I hope these people give it love just like I did. :) 

So here we are at Wednesday... I've got a rental car, a broken down car in the Sears parking lot pending sale, and a pre-approved car loan for a new car... sooo, let the car search begin!

THAT'S what I've been up to.... Life has decided to go crazy on me this last week and until I have officially sold my old car and am sitting in my new car, it will probably continue to be crazy.  So please, bear with me!  Hopefully I'll be back to reading your blogs and replying to your comments shortly! xoxo

I did, however, finally update my 365 in Year 25 blog, so check it out!

Under the Weather...

Hi guys...

Sorry I've been MIA the past couple days.

I'm a little under the weather currently...

Here's to hoping I'm back to my normal self again soon!

xoxo

"Life is Uncertain. Eat Dessert First."

A few nights ago, I baked some chocolate chip cookies (as I mentioned yesterday)...  

I made these cookies for Brett (they're always for Brett), since he's been sharing his car with me this week.  And I'm happy to report, as of last night I have my car back again!  And the cookies are already half gone... Oops.  In my defense, Brett has eaten waaay more than I have.  :)

Let me be honest here... sometimes when I make chocolate chip cookies, I just use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag.  That's how I made these.  And they are still damn good!  I think I use a different recipe every time I make chocolate chip cookies.  There are soo many variation.  But it seems that they always come out pretty good!  So I'm okay with that...  

Oh, and hi... sometimes I get bored while I'm waiting for the cookies to bake... awkward.

Morning Sunrise... and an Early Spring?!

This week, my car has been in the shop for inspection, so Brett and I have been carpooling to work.  Brett has been nice enough to share his car until I get mine back (hopefully tonight).  On normal days when I have my own car, I'm out the door around 6:10am.  It's pitch black when I arrive at work in the morning.  Since we are carpooling, I've been leaving for work later than usual (around 7:10am) and driving into work as the sun is coming up.  Oh my goodness... what a change it is driving an hour later... this is what I've been missing out on!

Snapped this as we were piling into the car at our house this morning:

 

And then, as I drove to work... I witnessed such a beautiful sunrise.

It put me in a great mood instantly.

The clouds almost look like fire, don't they?  It was such a beautiful sight.  And I have to give mad props to Brett for being so great about sharing a car.  I know it sucks when two people, who both work full-time jobs in different parts of town, have to share a car.  Routines are thrown out the window and you have to compromise.  But, I baked him delicious chocolate chip cookies last night as a thank you... so it's okay, right?  (A post on those cookies will be coming later...)

Once I get my car back, I will still continue my normal routine of leaving around 6:10am (there's SO much less traffic at that time...), but it's nice to change it up every once in a while.  You never know what you might stumble upon, like a gorgeous sunrise that just makes you thankful to be alive.

Hope you guys are having a great Wednesday!

Oh, and Happy Groundhog's Day!

 Punxsutawney Phil is predicting an early Spring...

Hallelujah!*

Dreaming of Our Next Adventure...

“Travel…

is more than the seeing of sights;

it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent,

in the ideas of living.”

{Photo I took of my husband on our honeymoon right outside of Yosemite in California}

{August 2010}

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.