my thoughts for the day

engagement shoot

About a month ago, we had our engagement photo shoot. While it was sometimes awkward, because who really likes being the center of attention while trying to act normal, it was still a lot of fun! Our photographer Brianna Millet of Brianna Colleen Photography did an amazing job! You can also check out her facebook page here. She has a way of seeing things differently through the lens. The backgrounds she chose, the vibrant colors and her creativity just proved that she was the right pick for us! Plus she loved all my nerdy ideas which was a plus.

Not only did we have an awesome photographer, but I had my makeup professionally done for the shoot. I love makeup! What girl doesn't? I guess I chose one of the best places to work considering my interests. I met Julie with Resolutions Lifestyle Makeup through work and couldn't believe the result! You can check out her facebook page here. I looked natural but you could also tell it wasn't my "everyday" makeup. She was able to make me look like a better version of myself! I am so excited for her to do my wedding makeup!

Here are some of my favorites!

If you need referrals for either of them, please feel free to contact me!

biggest loser fantasy league

One of my favorite shows in the fall line up is, Biggest Loser. As I sit on the couch, with my unhealthy snack, I watch all these people lose weight and go insane throughout the process. But there was a little twist this year. My friend, Dana, started the Biggest Loser Fantasy League. We picked our top three finalist, along with our biggest loser after the first week aired. There are a bunch more rules that Dana ensued and I'm not going to list them all. We also get to vote before every show each week for who we think will be eliminated. Every time you guess the eliminated player correctly you gain 100 points. So far, I'm not doing so well. I have zero points. Hopefully I can make it up in the end.

We each put in $20 and the winner gets $100 and the runner-up gets $20. I hoping to take it all but it isn't looking so hot. Now I have to guess my next eliminated contestant will be....

I'm not even going into the fact of how much Anna Kornakova annoys the crap out of me. That is for another blog entry.

#26: join a book club for at least three months

This was a completely unintentional that I could accomplish #26 on my list! My co-worker, Heather, mentioned she was in a book club with some of her old college friends and invited me to come along last night. I was reluctant because I don't really like reading. She mentioned that it was more of an excuse to get some ladies together and just hang out. Turns out, one of the girls lives only 1/2 mile away from me and most of them are located south of the river! I'm always up for meeting new people in my neck of the woods.

Anyways, I had such a great time! It was so nice to be around a new group of people who were so open to chatting, eating and drinking wine. Needless to say, I had my fair share of wine....good thing Heather drove me home. We have our book chosen, "The Hunger Games." I cannot make any promises that I will complete the book, especially with all the new fall shows on TV! But I'll try my best.

Not sure if this is accurate, but I liked the image.

DIY: Coasters

If you know me at all, you know my love for coasters. I found this tutorial on pinterest on how to make cheap coasters and I was ecstatic to discover how easy it was! I mentioned to my co-worker (Heather) my plans and she asked if I could make her a couple for her master bedroom. Challenge accepted!

I added more layers of mod podge on the coasters...probably about five. Since Mod Podge can be expensive, I found another tutorial on pinterest on how to make your own cheaper version. Can you tell I am obsessed with this website yet??

They turned out so great! Also, please be prepared to receive these as a gift from me for Christmas. After all, this was made with love....and an empty wallet. :)

buffy vs brianna

When you were growing up, did anyone ever tell you that you looked like a celebrity? Which one? I was one of those awkward looking girls growing up and never heard that I looked like anyone. Don't worry, I wasn't scarred by it too much. However, when you grow up with a sibling who everyone thinks looks like Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller) it can be a challenge.

Well people - Sarah Michelle Geller is back! I was watching her new show called Ringer last night and it was actually really great! 

Don't you think my sister Brianna looks like old school Sarah Michelle Geller??

must hear

While reading my daily perez, I came across this video. This guy is absolutely AMAZING!! I have a feeling we will be hearing a lot more from him.

Ed Sheeran 

obsession: pinterest

Many of you may have realized my recent obsession. Pinterest. To summarize, it is a site that lets you organize and share images you find on the web. Most people use it to gain inspiration while planning their weddings, decorating their homes and many other things! I am serious when I say I'm obsessed with it. It is just as bad as my facebook addiction.  You can check out my pinterest site and join yourself!

Source: flamingotoes.com via Molly on Pinterest

words of wisdom

I've been getting some flack for not updating my blog lately (thank you to those that read about the stupid stuff I write about) so here it goes. A while ago, I became slightly obsessed with doing my nails. Don't ask me why, but I think it calms me down. Plus I really like having awkward colored polish or unique styles....it's a great conversation starter! 

I saw a tutorial on pinterest - how to transfer newspaper words onto you nails. It is super simple too! While reading the Prior Lake paper, I thought what a great opportunity to try it out. The results were better than I thought: 

Holy! Look at that rock....minus the fat fingers.

turtle...turtle...

Kamryn recently celebrated her 2nd birthday in Mankato. The girls went to the zoo recently and she is obsessed with turtles. I already had one gift for her but then I decided to make her a stuffed turtle. I found this super cute tutorial on pinterest and it looked fairly easy. Then of course, reality hit and making this thing took forever! It took me about 8 hours, a trip to my parent's house because my sewing machine crapped out on me and cost $5 total (I bought fabric squares at JoAnn's that was on sale and used stuffing from an old pillow).

number 3

this weekend we got a new addition to the family. My sister had her baby! Brittan Elle was born on August 6th and also shares a birthday with another member of the family - Manny. Happy Birthday!

49. Learn how to curl my hair with my GHD flat iron

You thought I forgot about my list? Well, to be honest, I sort of did. But I am trying to hop back on the band wagon and get it going again. For those of you who have a ghd iron, you know what an amazing and beautiful thing it is. I have had mine for over 4 years. Not only will it straighten your hair, but it also makes beautiful waves! The only problem....it took me over 4 years to figure out how to do it correctly.

Now, I didn't sit in my bathroom for 1,460 days attempting to curl my hair. But on the day that I mastered it, I would say that I was in there for about 4 hours. This consisted of watching multiple YouTube tutorials on curling your hair with a ghd and trying to replicate their easy directions (NOT)! But nonetheless, here was the result (excuse the bad self portrait):

holy bachelorette

Don't worry, no spoiler alerts here. I just wanted to inform all of you, that for the first time EVER I have missed an entire season of The Bachelorette. This may seem minuscule to many, but for me, this is a huge accomplishment! My Monday night was no longer filled with 2 hours of uninterrupted obsessions of whether or not this was going to be the most dramatic rose ceremony ever!

I was not a fan of Ashely and actually couldn't stand watching her on The Bachelor. When I found out that she was the new Bachelorette, I decided to boycott. My friends didn't believe that I could go the entire time without watching so it became somewhat of a challenge for me. And you know what? I didn't miss it at all!

So I plead to ABC: Please choose a less annoying Bachelorette next time and maybe I'll decide to watch again. Otherwise, my Monday nights will be spent watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother.

stillwater + cheese curds

What a great combination! My friend Jen and I decided to take a trip to Stillwater this past weekend. I've never been there before but we wanted to go antiquing. There happened to be Lumberjack days going on this weekend as well! So not only did I get to shop, I also got cheese curds at the fair. I know what you are thinking...."Why is the world would you eat that fatty stuff?" Well if you know me at all, you know my love for cheese - and cheese curds is probably my favorite thing in the world next to wine and Lily. So screw you, I have cheese curds once every 8 years and I decided to indulge. But besides the cheese curds, Stillwater was such a great little town! It was so cute and quaint, I can't wait to go back.

I really liked this, I have no idea why I didn't buy it!

Eww

Looks way better on Jen

Yes please!

I injured my toe while we were shopping - stupid metal rack.

Cheese curds and mini donuts!

"Jen look! A floating car!"

obsession: Gavin Degraw

I have always love Gavin - but as I was reading through my lovely Perezhilton.com, I found this new video of Gavin Degraw's new song! I'm in love!

i need!

I need one of these for the next time we go camping.

garden galore

The past month has been so warm we have had our air conditioning running overtime. I personally think I'm going through early menopause, but according to my "older" friends this isn't really possible. I used to always be the cold girl (wearing my fleece North Face jacket at the cabin) but this year I'm pretty much dressing like a slut because I'm so warm. Ok, enough with the rampage....

because of the warm weather, we have had lots of rain. This has really been great for my salsa garden. I have tons of tomatoes coming in and even a few peppers!! Jeff is foaming at the mouth everytime he sees another tomato coming in....I think he is ready for salsa season. Check out the before pics and the most recent pictures!

Look how big they got! 

 I already have 4 red peppers coming in!

My basil is huge! 

last day

This is it!!! My last day with the Safety Department! I'm really going to miss some of the people, but I am excited to move back to where it all began. A little nervous, but at least I'll have some familiar faces in my new building.

obsession: google

This is not really a secret. I cannot tell you the amount of times I google throughout the day! It is an on going addiction. Whenever I'm having a thought about what something is, how something works or seriously any thought that runs across my mind...google is usually my first step. I found this and it is hilarious!

Repinned to Just Sayin... from words by Cori Henderson

Jeff's four favorite words

"Lets go to Menards." This is not a sentence that I say often, but Jeff jumps at the chance to go when I ask. I'm trying to finish up a DIY project (pictures to come soon) and needed a few items. Well, we found something fun...

big news

I have a very valid reason for not posting anything in over a week. I GOT A NEW JOB!! I am pretty pumped about it. I'm still with Regis but moving back to my old stomping grounds. Not only am I going back to the 7201 building (this is what us Regis folk refer to the main office), I am going back to the 8th floor where it all started! I'll be working in the Merchandising Department.

I never really thought the 4401 building suited me. I always felt really over dressed and super loud. Apparently, many of the finance people don't like to talk about last night's episode of my favorite tv shows, yell at each other in the hallways or take longer than a 30 minute lunch. Oh but back to the good ol' times.

Watch out 7201 - I'm back bitches!

5% what?

Four weeks ago I started back on Weight Watchers. Oh how I miss my Subway, Chipotle and Pizza! But someone has to drop a few lbs. before the wedding. Yes, I realize that the wedding is over a year away, but who says you can't get a head start on things?

Well big things happened this week during my weigh in! I hit my 5% weight loss!!! For those of you who know me, this is a big deal! I'm down 7.4 lbs and counting!

hot hot hot

It has been a crazy couple of days....at least in regards to the heat! Like a true Minnesotan I took pictures of my thermostat in my car to document it.

6/6/11

6/7/11

no strings attached

Jeff and I are huge fans of free things - and Red Box is one of those things! We rented the movie, "No Strings Attached" yesterday and while Natalie Portman seems like she is a very awkward person in real life, it was a suprisingly great movie! This movie made us laugh almost through the entire thing with the stupid one-liners. Ashton Kutcher's character actually makes her a "Period CD Mix." haha. I highly recommend renting it!

wahoooo!

wednesday is the new monday

This is my first day back to work since last Friday. I love holiday weekends and extra PTO!! I came across this photo this morning - why were parachutes so much fun??

see you later...

be jealous. i'm at the cabin.

obsession: target commercials

I don't know who Target is paying to come up with these, but I hope they don't fire them anytime soon. This commercial is my absolute favorite:

oh jimmy

big day

Today is going to be HUGE! I need to make sure that I am out of the office by 3:30 PM in order to make it home for Oprah's last episode EVER! Can you believe it? What is even better, is that Ellen is taking over her time slot! Double whammy!

Then don't forget that tonight will be the results for American Idol. Lauren Alaina has got this in the bag! Or at least I hope so. She sang a song last night and yes I started crying - whatever...I'm an emotional woman. Did you expect something different?