That's right, I'm back...but not here. I've decided the new year required a fresh start, so you can now follow me at my new blog from now on.
Real Life - Ideal Life
See you there!!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Good-bye...Tear
I'm a little sad to say that I won't be blogging anymore. Unfortunately, I am just too busy now; and wish to spend my evenings doing other things. I have felt guilty for weeks that I have not had time to post, so I thought it was time to make it official.
Thanks to all those who took the time to stop by and read. I had a lot of fun.
The End.
Thanks to all those who took the time to stop by and read. I had a lot of fun.
The End.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Weekend Review - 4th of July Edition
After a crazy busy end of quarter at work, and having some sort of cold/allergy thing going on all last week; I was really really looking forward to this weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation.
It started Friday for me. I worked from home, as Madeleine's daycare was closed for the holiday. My mom came up around noon to help out. I haven't seen her since May, so it was really nice to catch up. Plus she was happy to watch Madeleine while I did some laundry and took a nap. That night Bill and I headed out for a birthday celebration for three friends who all have July birthdays. They have a party every year that starts with golf during the day (Bill attended, I didn't) and a party in the evening. This year they held it at The Horny Goat Brewing Co. in Milwaukee's south side. This is one of those places that I have passed a million times but have never been to, so I was excited to check it out. They brew their own beer, and have a huge outdoor space complete with three or four beach volleyball courts. It is definitely a summer place. I liked it, except for it was really loud. I'm probably dating myself here, but when I go out I like to actually be able to sit down and enjoy a coversation with my friends. We actually only stayed until 10:15pm because we were sick of shouting and not being able to hear anyone. After we left we were in the mood for some ice cream, so we rolled into the DQ driveway five minutes before they closed.
Saturday morning we hung around the house with my mom for awhile, and then went to lunch at the Saint Francis Brewery and Restaurant. Afterwards, we headed west to Waukesha for a quick visit with Bill's family. Both my brother-in-law and father-in-law were in town. We couldn't stay for too long though, as we forgot Madeleine's bottle. We tried to make due with a sippy cup, but she wasn't really getting it. She cried almost the entire way home, and I felt like a terrible mom. Bill comforted me by reminded me this was probably the first time she has ever cried from being hungry. When we got home she gobbled up her food, then took an 8 ounce bottle before bed (instead of her usual six). She passed out for like twelve hours that night, so I think she faired the whole ordeal fine. Bill and I ended the night by watching True Grit. Surprisingly, it had some really funny parts, and we both really liked it. I didn't love the end though (which I unfortunately already knew beforehand), but all in all it was a good movie.
Sunday we worked around the house a bit. Bill cleaned out our gutters, and I did laundry. After Madeleine's afternoon nap we decided to hit up our local pool. It's literally less than a mile away, but we had never gone. I was determined to dunk Madeleine under the water. She didn't really like the water too much though. I think it was too cold for her. She didn't cry, but her mouth was in a perpetual pout the entire time which, of course, made us laugh. I did end up dunking her once, and she was totally fine. I think it shocked her a little, but again she didn't cry. After not being able to get one smile out of her the entire time though, we decided to leave after about 45 minutes of so. Back home after Madeleine was in bed, we broke out the barbecue and fire pit. We had barbecue chicken, pasta salad, and strawberries for dinner and S'mores for dessert! We had another movie night, this time watching The Next Three Days. This movie has a slow/confusing start, but an exciting ending. It thought it was just okay, although, my review may not be the most accurate, as we were engrossed in playing Risk on the iPad during the first half hour of the movie. That's probably why we we were confused. Risk, by the way, is my new favorite iPad/iPhone game.
Monday, the 4th of July, started out with our local parade. Which was...terrible!! I don't know if we have just not been to a parade in a long time, but it was so boring we left after a half an hour. Seriously, it moved super slow with like a minute in between cars/floats. Plus, it was like all our local politicians just waving to the crowd. They weren't even throwing much (or any) candy for the kids. I hope for the sake of all who stayed that it got better.
Our friend Todd, and his two year old daughter, Maia, came over in the afternoon. We set up our baby pool in the backyard. Madeleine was happy to sit in there and splash, so even though she didn't love the big pool I don't think she is afraid of water or anything. Maia, on the other hand, hates to get wet, so she wasn't liking the little pool much. Oh well. For dinner we grilled burgers and had watermelon and pasta salad on the side. Ice cream for dessert!! After our guests had left and Madeleine went to bed. We played Risk some more (seriously, I'm obsessed!) before heading outside around 9pm. We are lucky enough to be able to see the entire Cudahy fireworks display (and St. Francis') from our backyard. We made another fire, and watched the show. They were pretty awesome (about 40 minutes long)! We were constantly watching our video monitor to see if they would wake up Madeleine, but other than the occasional stir she slept straight through everything.
All in all, we really enjoyed the weekend. As Bill put it, it felt like we actually had a weekend. July is a super busy month for us, so there is a lot to look forward to. I also have a number of projects I want to tackle too. So, stay tuned!
It started Friday for me. I worked from home, as Madeleine's daycare was closed for the holiday. My mom came up around noon to help out. I haven't seen her since May, so it was really nice to catch up. Plus she was happy to watch Madeleine while I did some laundry and took a nap. That night Bill and I headed out for a birthday celebration for three friends who all have July birthdays. They have a party every year that starts with golf during the day (Bill attended, I didn't) and a party in the evening. This year they held it at The Horny Goat Brewing Co. in Milwaukee's south side. This is one of those places that I have passed a million times but have never been to, so I was excited to check it out. They brew their own beer, and have a huge outdoor space complete with three or four beach volleyball courts. It is definitely a summer place. I liked it, except for it was really loud. I'm probably dating myself here, but when I go out I like to actually be able to sit down and enjoy a coversation with my friends. We actually only stayed until 10:15pm because we were sick of shouting and not being able to hear anyone. After we left we were in the mood for some ice cream, so we rolled into the DQ driveway five minutes before they closed.
Saturday morning we hung around the house with my mom for awhile, and then went to lunch at the Saint Francis Brewery and Restaurant. Afterwards, we headed west to Waukesha for a quick visit with Bill's family. Both my brother-in-law and father-in-law were in town. We couldn't stay for too long though, as we forgot Madeleine's bottle. We tried to make due with a sippy cup, but she wasn't really getting it. She cried almost the entire way home, and I felt like a terrible mom. Bill comforted me by reminded me this was probably the first time she has ever cried from being hungry. When we got home she gobbled up her food, then took an 8 ounce bottle before bed (instead of her usual six). She passed out for like twelve hours that night, so I think she faired the whole ordeal fine. Bill and I ended the night by watching True Grit. Surprisingly, it had some really funny parts, and we both really liked it. I didn't love the end though (which I unfortunately already knew beforehand), but all in all it was a good movie.
Sunday we worked around the house a bit. Bill cleaned out our gutters, and I did laundry. After Madeleine's afternoon nap we decided to hit up our local pool. It's literally less than a mile away, but we had never gone. I was determined to dunk Madeleine under the water. She didn't really like the water too much though. I think it was too cold for her. She didn't cry, but her mouth was in a perpetual pout the entire time which, of course, made us laugh. I did end up dunking her once, and she was totally fine. I think it shocked her a little, but again she didn't cry. After not being able to get one smile out of her the entire time though, we decided to leave after about 45 minutes of so. Back home after Madeleine was in bed, we broke out the barbecue and fire pit. We had barbecue chicken, pasta salad, and strawberries for dinner and S'mores for dessert! We had another movie night, this time watching The Next Three Days. This movie has a slow/confusing start, but an exciting ending. It thought it was just okay, although, my review may not be the most accurate, as we were engrossed in playing Risk on the iPad during the first half hour of the movie. That's probably why we we were confused. Risk, by the way, is my new favorite iPad/iPhone game.
Monday, the 4th of July, started out with our local parade. Which was...terrible!! I don't know if we have just not been to a parade in a long time, but it was so boring we left after a half an hour. Seriously, it moved super slow with like a minute in between cars/floats. Plus, it was like all our local politicians just waving to the crowd. They weren't even throwing much (or any) candy for the kids. I hope for the sake of all who stayed that it got better.
Our friend Todd, and his two year old daughter, Maia, came over in the afternoon. We set up our baby pool in the backyard. Madeleine was happy to sit in there and splash, so even though she didn't love the big pool I don't think she is afraid of water or anything. Maia, on the other hand, hates to get wet, so she wasn't liking the little pool much. Oh well. For dinner we grilled burgers and had watermelon and pasta salad on the side. Ice cream for dessert!! After our guests had left and Madeleine went to bed. We played Risk some more (seriously, I'm obsessed!) before heading outside around 9pm. We are lucky enough to be able to see the entire Cudahy fireworks display (and St. Francis') from our backyard. We made another fire, and watched the show. They were pretty awesome (about 40 minutes long)! We were constantly watching our video monitor to see if they would wake up Madeleine, but other than the occasional stir she slept straight through everything.
All in all, we really enjoyed the weekend. As Bill put it, it felt like we actually had a weekend. July is a super busy month for us, so there is a lot to look forward to. I also have a number of projects I want to tackle too. So, stay tuned!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Online Window Shopping
I am really loving these sunglasses by Ralph Lauren. I am digging the vintage look to them (Cat Eye + Tortoise Shell = love). Unfortunately, $160 is too much for my budget. The husband and I are gung-ho about being debt free (except for the mortgage) in less than a year; so no unnecessary purchases for me. I probably wouldn't even get them anyway because all my sunglasses end up lost, broken, or scratched. Maybe if I had a fancy pair I would take really good care of them, but alas, we'll never know. I'm on the look-out for a cheap $10 or so look-a-like pair for now.
$160
What do you guys think? Would you shell out for designer sunglasses or is it a waste of money. I read somehwere that Nicole Richie owns 200 pairs of designer sunglasses. Could you even imagine?
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Weekend Review or I'm A Terrible Blogger
As someone who reads a lot of blogs, I love when people post everyday. Yet, here I am, a month a half has gone by with no new posts. So, shame on me, but I will try to be better starting now.
This weekend was a whirlwind of activities. After having three free weekends in a row, we somehow ended up with all our social engagements on one day. Friday, after work, we spent most of the night cleaning up the house. We have become terrible housekeepers since Madeleine entered the picture, so there was some long needed dusting and vacuuming going on. I also did a bit of prep work for a recipe I was making the next morning.
Saturday I was up early to make brunch for my Book Club. I made an egg casserole (recipe here). I thought it was good, but was too cheesy. I would definitely cut down on the cheese if I make it again. I also made blueberry and apple cinnamon muffins (boxed by Fiber One). I picked up some bagels, cream cheese, and a fruit platter to round it out. I think it was alright. I had never done a brunch before. I was hoping to add a few "lunch" type options, but I couldn't really think of anything. Anyway, Book Club was fun. I had picked The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The consensus was that it was a pretty decent book. So, thanks to my friend Dawn for recommending it to me.
After Book Club I headed to my mother-in-law's. Bill was already there with Madeleine. We got to see my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew who have been in South Korea for two years. My brother-in-law had already gone to Virginia for his course though, so unfortunately we won't be seeing him until September, I think. It was so fun to see all of them again, and to introduce them to Madeleine. They will actually be here until January, so we should get to visit with them a lot before they head to their next deployment in Las Vegas.
Around 6pm, we headed back home sans Madeleine. We left her with Bill's sister while we went to my friend Kendra's 30th + 1 Birthday Party. She had her baby right before her 30th birthday, so she didn't really get to celebrate it much. Her husband put together a big party for her this year to make up for it. They had it at one of my favorite bar/restaurants in downtown Milwaukee, Water Buffalo. It's actually where I had my 30th birthday party too (which is what gave them the idea to do it there). It was so nice to be out with friends. I polished off three vodka lemonades (woohoo!) and we stayed out until 11:30pm (double woohoo!!).
Sunday, since we didn't have Madeleine, we both got to sleep in (relatively speaking). Bill was still up by 7am, and me at 8:30am. Hey, when you're up at 5:30am almost everyday that is sleeping in big time for us. Bill packed up Sadie (my sister-in-law's dog we watched while they were in Korea) and headed out to Waukesha to reunite them and pick up Madeleine. I stayed home and did some much needed laundry. I also got to witness our dog Banshee laying by the back door whimpering for like two hours. She definitely did not understand why she couldn't go with Bill and Sadie. In fact, the entire day she was moody and wouldn't really come by us. Poor little thing misses her friend already.
I was so happy when Madeleine came back. It's always nice to have some one-on-one time with Bill, but I missed my baby too. She was so good the rest of the day, and super cuddly. She (and Bill) both took an hour and a half nap in the afternoon. Then, we went for a family walk around the neighborhood. We like to look at all the houses and say how we would fix each one up if we had a ton of money. Back at home, I had to work from 6-8pm. It's our end-of-quarter, so we're pretty much 24/7 until Thursday. Bill and I both have colds too (thanks Madeleine!), so we ended up crashing at like 9pm.
I always say I want to do more on the weekends and see more people, but it was really exhausting having three big plans all on one day. I'm going to try and not triple book myself next month.
This weekend was a whirlwind of activities. After having three free weekends in a row, we somehow ended up with all our social engagements on one day. Friday, after work, we spent most of the night cleaning up the house. We have become terrible housekeepers since Madeleine entered the picture, so there was some long needed dusting and vacuuming going on. I also did a bit of prep work for a recipe I was making the next morning.
Saturday I was up early to make brunch for my Book Club. I made an egg casserole (recipe here). I thought it was good, but was too cheesy. I would definitely cut down on the cheese if I make it again. I also made blueberry and apple cinnamon muffins (boxed by Fiber One). I picked up some bagels, cream cheese, and a fruit platter to round it out. I think it was alright. I had never done a brunch before. I was hoping to add a few "lunch" type options, but I couldn't really think of anything. Anyway, Book Club was fun. I had picked The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The consensus was that it was a pretty decent book. So, thanks to my friend Dawn for recommending it to me.
After Book Club I headed to my mother-in-law's. Bill was already there with Madeleine. We got to see my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew who have been in South Korea for two years. My brother-in-law had already gone to Virginia for his course though, so unfortunately we won't be seeing him until September, I think. It was so fun to see all of them again, and to introduce them to Madeleine. They will actually be here until January, so we should get to visit with them a lot before they head to their next deployment in Las Vegas.
Around 6pm, we headed back home sans Madeleine. We left her with Bill's sister while we went to my friend Kendra's 30th + 1 Birthday Party. She had her baby right before her 30th birthday, so she didn't really get to celebrate it much. Her husband put together a big party for her this year to make up for it. They had it at one of my favorite bar/restaurants in downtown Milwaukee, Water Buffalo. It's actually where I had my 30th birthday party too (which is what gave them the idea to do it there). It was so nice to be out with friends. I polished off three vodka lemonades (woohoo!) and we stayed out until 11:30pm (double woohoo!!).
Sunday, since we didn't have Madeleine, we both got to sleep in (relatively speaking). Bill was still up by 7am, and me at 8:30am. Hey, when you're up at 5:30am almost everyday that is sleeping in big time for us. Bill packed up Sadie (my sister-in-law's dog we watched while they were in Korea) and headed out to Waukesha to reunite them and pick up Madeleine. I stayed home and did some much needed laundry. I also got to witness our dog Banshee laying by the back door whimpering for like two hours. She definitely did not understand why she couldn't go with Bill and Sadie. In fact, the entire day she was moody and wouldn't really come by us. Poor little thing misses her friend already.
I was so happy when Madeleine came back. It's always nice to have some one-on-one time with Bill, but I missed my baby too. She was so good the rest of the day, and super cuddly. She (and Bill) both took an hour and a half nap in the afternoon. Then, we went for a family walk around the neighborhood. We like to look at all the houses and say how we would fix each one up if we had a ton of money. Back at home, I had to work from 6-8pm. It's our end-of-quarter, so we're pretty much 24/7 until Thursday. Bill and I both have colds too (thanks Madeleine!), so we ended up crashing at like 9pm.
I always say I want to do more on the weekends and see more people, but it was really exhausting having three big plans all on one day. I'm going to try and not triple book myself next month.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Rustic Modern Master Bedroom
For some reason I have had a hard time pinning down exactly the direction I want to go with our master bedroom. The grey paint I picked ended up looking blue, and the bedding I found was too cutesy and matchy-matchy (see the hot mess here). I think now, two years later, I have finally nailed down the look I want. I put together the following mood board through MyDeco (so fun!). The Union Jack Rug I recently splurged on was the inspiration for it all.
Side Table - Carlyle Nightstand from Z Gallerie $349
Drapery - Stockholm Blad from IKEA $59.99
Duvet Cover - Organic Cotton Pintuck from West Elm $119
Throw Pillows - Chunky Purl & Sculpted Origami Pillow Covers from West Elm $34
Mirror - Chunky Wood Floor Mirror from West Elm $199.99 (sale price)
Lighting
Possini Euro Branch Ceiling Light from Lamps Plus $249.99
Candice Olson Sahara Wall Sconce from Lamps Plus $198.99
Accessories
Metallic Leaf Garland from West Elm $14.99 (sale price)
Mercury Mushrooms from West Elm $10-$24
Ceramic Rhino from Z Gallerie $39.95
Extra - Reclaimed Barn Board Sliding Door
Here's hoping I can take the vision in my head and sucessfully pull this together!! I think it is high time Bill and I have a proper grown-up bedroom.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
What I'm Listening To - Christina Perri
I'm really loving Christina Perri right now. Her songs are just so pretty. You've probably already heard Jar of Hearts on the radio (and Lea Michelle a.k.a. Rachel Berry sang it on last week's Glee), but her song Arms is equally good. Since I liked two of her songs already, I just decided to buy her debut album, Lovestrong last night. I haven't had a chance to listen to the entire thing yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
Here's the Jar of Hearts video. I love at the end where they try and get away from the guy using their fierce ballet moves.
Here's the Jar of Hearts video. I love at the end where they try and get away from the guy using their fierce ballet moves.
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