5 on Friday

It's Friday (the 13th--eek!), which seemed to get here SUPER fast, but I think that had something to do with 2 snow days and a 2 hour delay earlier this week. I've been really disoriented with what the date actually is all week #snowdayteacherproblems. I know you don't feel bad for me. It's ok, I wasn't looking for sympathy :) 

I'm glad it's Friday though, because there's so much fun stuff going on lately and coming up that I'm looking forward to! So, let's get to my 5!

{1}-Condo Complex Holiday Dinner

I was actually a good blogger for once & took a pic haha

Our condo complex hosts an amazing holiday dinner every year. There's yummy appetizers, dinner food items, dessert and adult (and kid) bevvies. It's a super fun time to meet neighbors, hang out with ones you know, and enjoy the holiday cheer. And the clubhouse is decked out in holiday gear complete with a tree, which makes it that much more fun. It actually happened last night and it was just as fun as always (this is my 3rd year going).  (Of course, MG's friend--and I use the term loosely-- from the wedding drama couple had to comment via a text that the holiday party is "lame" and full of "losers"....way to take something nice and ruin it with your piss poor outlook on things...). We had a nice time and I love that our complex does this every year!

{2}-Housewarming

Tonight my coworker and her husband are hosting a housewarming and holiday party at their house and MG and I are going! It'll be nice to spend some time with my coworkers not at work, see the new house (that I'm sure I'll be envious of), and enjoy the holiday cheer with them. Plus, the hostess posted on Facebook that she has not 1, not 2, but FOUR Christmas trees up in her house. I can't imagine that they are all full-sized but you never know. Definitely looking forward to tonight!

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{3}-Work Holiday Party

This weekend will be filled with lots of time with my coworkers, since Saturday night is our work holiday party. It's at the same place as last year, which was a lot of fun. It'll be nice that MG knows some people this year as opposed to last year (not that that has EVER been a problem for him), and that we don't have to leave early this year for a birthday party like we did last year.

MORE time with the coworkers outside of school. Love it!!

{4}-Couches

Our new couch set is coming today and we sold our old set yesterday to a nice guy who'd just bought a house in the area--I was glad that he actually came because we had someone who was supposed to come buy them and take them on Wednesday and then he never showed up and never called. Luckily yesterday worked out and we won't have a small furniture showroom in our place when the new set arrives. I can't wait to see the new couches in the living room and find a cute ottoman and end table to go with!

{5} Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Made them Wednesday night and they were a HUGE success. Recipe is coming next week, but for now I'm gonna tease you with this pic:

Happy Friday! Hope your weekend is fun-filled and/or relaxing! Get your holiday shopping done!!! :)

Holiday Cheer

Now that MG is back, I feel like I can really start getting behind the holidays and looking forward to them (holidays are best shared with those you love, right?)

 I haven't fully participated in this "link up," but I've wanted to, so I'm going to pack this post with all kinds of things that can bring holiday cheer! (many of which are crafts, but who doesn't love a good craft? At least to pretend that you're going to do/make it anyway...much like myself!) Anyway....

Are you ready?

Who doesn't love a cute little gnome decoration? I love their tall hats! 

How about some cute Santa cupcakes? I could see these being a hit at a party,
especially with kids!

A cute, low-key casual holiday-esque outfit. I love the bright red!

Ribbon and beads, make these cute little trees (hey, that rhymed!)
I could see these being attached to presents or being hung from a tree

If you're like me, there are definitely several wine bottles being brought out
during this time of year for all of the celebrations...
why not make a cute Santa craft out of some? Love this idea!

Celebrate the holidays, AND make your tummy happy!
What a cute cupcake wreath! LOVE this idea, too!

I think these ornaments are adorable! Would be such a cute idea to have kid thumbprints for the reindeer as they get older! Santa ornament is super cute!

And now for some extra cuteness...

Dress up your dog like Rudolph! SO flippin' cute!!

And last but not least, a post like this would not be nearly as fun without a funny in it. So I give you this:

SO so so so cute!

 That's all I've got for today.

Yay holiday cheer!!

Oh, and to add to my general cheer.....today marks 4 MONTHS until our wedding!! Eeek! :)

Hey now, hey now, my {fiance's} back! and Wedding Wednesday

(Is the "My boyfriend's back" song stuck in your head now??)

I'm excited for today!! I'm not sure if you all have noticed, but MG has been kind of absent from my blog post happenings the last week plus, and that's because he was out of the country for work for about 10 days. He left on his birthday (boo!) and will be getting back this morning. Which means, come this afternoon, I'll be getting to see my main squeeze again!

So, altho we had 2 snow days, they weren't nearly as fun as if I had had my partner in crime to spend it with (but this also probably explains why I read a 500+ page book in 3 days). Luckily Cooper is always more than willing to step in for cuddles!

Tonight, though, I'm planning on making a special dinner for MG for his birthday since we didn't get to do anything special that day (other than say good-bye which wasn't fun).

A couple of weeks ago, MG had mentioned trying to make meatballs for a meal at some point--and being the good listener that I am, I looked into some recipes for just that. I'm planning on making chicken parmesan meatballs and I hope they turn out alright! (If so, I'll definitely post the recipe for you all to try, too).

~.~.~.~

I have a wedding planning update, too. MG had gotten our limo transportation arranged during the furlough and we had gotten a really decent deal on the wedding day transport, as well as transportation to the airport that Monday, but in the weeks following the conversation, MG's credit card was never charged. He reached out to the company several times, and no response.

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So while MG was away, I took it upon myself to email the company to ask "what's up??" and I got a response that basically went like this:

"We didn't charge his card because we are in the process of selling the vehicle that he had requested and we aren't sure if we are going to get one to replace it"

Soooooo, what you're telling me is that you didn't think it was important to mention to someone who's looking to book your vehicle and services that you are selling this car?? Perhaps that might have come to mind when he gave you his credit card information for our deposit?? And then you didn't think to inform him later on when he was inquiring about what was going on with our reservation? The company obviously knew that this was the case when MG was trying to book it, because the owner said that that was why he didn't charge him right away. I don't understand some people and how they run their businesses. I see a Yelp and WeddingWire review in my near future.....

Luckily the coordinator at my reception site gave me a good recommendation when I told her about this on Friday and we're actually getting an even better price from her person than from the original company anyway. (Take that, Titan Limo!)

I'm hoping that the fiasco with our cake, my make up artist having to cancel because her daughter ended up getting engaged and scheduling her wedding for the same date as mine, and this limo stuff aren't signs of things to come....really really hoping! Happy that they've all been relatively easy fixes so far, though.

Book Review: The Book Thief

I took advantage of a weekend to myself and a snow day yesterday and got to reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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My friend Trish had recommended this book to me a while back, and I had suggested it at my book club, where it was added to the list of books but was never picked, so I took it upon myself to read it. Especially since the movie came out and I wanted to read it before I saw the movie.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. "

I don't even know how to describe this book, other than I really loved it. The first few pages I had trouble getting into it, so if you read it, I suggest trying to get through the first few chapters, where it will read easier.

I think part of a sentence from the book describes itself perfectly, for me:

"the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant"

That is this book. I fell in love with the characters, the stories, the relationships. The perspective that the book is told from is different, and I enjoyed that, too. The only thing that I regret is that I read it in 3 days. I wanted the story to last longer but I couldn't help myself from continuing to read it.

I'm not even sure that I want to see the movie because I'm not sure how it can do this book justice. 

This book is wonderful.
~.~.~.~

And, since today is another snow day/day off from work, I'll be diving into another book...stay tuned! :)

Weekend Recap

This weekend wasn't too crazy, which was just what I needed.

Friday my friend Crystal came with me to look at and choose linens for the wedding. After looking through a bunch, I chose this pewter color:

We'll get to see a mock up of the table at our tasting, so I can still make changes. I'm also going to see 3 other options at that time, too. But for right now, I think this silver will be fun, a little different, and help pop the purple color around the room, too.

After that, we hung out at my place for a bit, had a bottle some wine and caught up.

Saturday morning was the massage that I'd been looking forward to. It hurt, bc Im full of knots, but my massage therapist was good and really sweet. We ended up talking the whole time (which didn't take away from my "relaxation" since this massage was to work out knots, not to relax) and she even told me "I'm so glad to have met you today" after our conversation. She was so nice, and I have another appointment with her in 2 weeks. Woohoo!

I ran a few errands after that because the weather was supposed to be really icky on Sunday and I didn't want to be stranded at home with no food. 

The rest of the day was low key, cuddle time with Cooper, reading The Book Thief (really good so far, by the way), taking care of some cleaning around the house, and watching movies on tv like 13 Going on 30 and Something Borrowed.

Sunday the first snow came. And then icy rain/sleet. Which meant another day to snuggle on the couch, stay warm, watch tv and read. 

Here are a couple of scenes from the weekend:

Puppy, Christmas tree/lights...how does this get much better?

I did do something productive with myself and tried out the Zumba "game" I got for Xbox, and I LOVED it. It was so fun (I'm sure I looked like a total idiot, but that's ok) and I was sweating after just a few songs. Totally going to be doing that more often!

And, to top it all off, I got the greatest gift...school was cancelled today because of the icy conditions outside. So, another day ahead of relaxation for me! And I have a yummy meal cooking away in the crock pot for dinner tonight. Bliss!

Told ya it was a "low key" weekend. But I'm totally ok with it! Hope yours was fab!!

   

5 on Friday

It's FRIIIIIIDAYYYYY!

Which means that there's only 2 more weeks of work before my Winter Break! Thanksgiving break was a bit of a tease, and all of my teacher friends and myself are ready to enjoy some real family and relaxation time. (And then, oh em gee, it's the real countdown before the wedding!!)

But, for now, let's focus and do some 5 on Friday!

{1}- Best Discovery

Ok, maybe it's not THE best, but it's pretty awesome. I discovered this week that mtv.com has all episodes of Laguna Beach, starting from Season 1 online. I can watch full episodes to my heart's content, and travel back to the time that I could relate to these teens. Ahh, good times! (I could do without the online commercial breaks, though...)

{2}- Xmas presents....to myself

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Yep, just like last year, I've had NO problem buying myself some gifts during all of the Cyber Monday deals (and some before), although I went a LOT less crazy this year than I did last year (my credit card thanks me). My favorites are some Loft purchases (were you surprised??), and my new purse from Target (only $34.99)! Meanwhile, I'm at a loss as to what to get for my parents. Total, complete loss. Wah.

{3}-Massage

I'm getting a massage tomorrow for the first time in about 4 months. That may not sound like long, but I have a Massage Envy membership which means that I haven't used it in 4 months. Which also means that I plan on scheduling another massage in 2 weeks, and maybe another one 2 weeks after that. I've got some work-stress knots to work out for sure--I feel bad for whoever my massage therapist is on Saturday (but not THAT bad...hehe). Looking forward to feeling like Jell-o!

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{4}-Kinect/Zumba

Over the weekend, MG's dad gave us his Xbox360 (he's upgrading to the Xbox 1) so now we have a Kinect and I wasted no time in ordering Zumba for it. It should be here today and I'm excited to try it out and hopefully have another way to get a workout in, have fun, and get in shape for the wedding. Has anyone done the Zumba with Kinect? Thoughts?

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{5}-Little Bit of Holiday Cheer

If this doesn't melt a Grinchy little heart, than I don't know what will. Every time I see these types of pics, they make me smile. 

Watching the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center and then part of the SNL Christmas special definitely got me even more in the mood for Christmas! The little village near our place is complete with lights in the trees and it just makes for a more festive feel.  And within the next couple of days it is DEFINITELY going to start feelings like Winter with temps in the low 30's (which is a change after having 64 the other day). Nevertheless, I'm excited for Christmas! :)

And now I get to make it through another work day, and then meet with my wedding coordinator at the reception site to pick out linens. Thanks for all of your opinions and input on Wednesday! Hopefully once I get there and see the selection, it will be an easy decision!
Catch ya on Monday!

Book Review: Allegiant (Divergent #3)

I've definitely been on the reading train this month! I just recently finished reading the 3rd book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, called Allegiant.

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My friend, Trish, actually turned me on to this series back when I was depressed that I was done with The Hunger Games. I devoured Divergent--I was SO into it. And then I started another series that was too similar and in this genre and it got me lost when I read Insurgent (book #2 in this series), so I think I didn't enjoy it as much for that reason.

Luckily, I had some time between reading book #2 and Allegiant coming out. I had to read a summary to remember everything that had happened previously, but once I did, I got into this story and the characters again. I really wanted to find out what would happen to everyone in the book. There were definitely a lot of things that I did not see coming, at all, which kept me guessing throughout the story.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

"What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergentand Insurgent."

I'm definitely glad that I read the series. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I just saw (when I went to see Catching Fire) the preview for Divergent the movie which is supposed to come out in March 2014. I'm curious to see how they make the book come to life. And, truth be told, I'm not sure that I agree with their selection for the actress who will play the main female character. But, time will tell.

In the meantime, if you're looking for a new series to get sucked into, this might just be it for you!

For more of my book reviews, check out the Book Review tab at the top of the page! It's all laid out nice and neat for you to search through now :)