Warnerfest

Last week/weekend a bunch of friends headed down to Kill Devil Hills, NC to celebrate Jess and Ryan's bachelorette/bachelor party.

It was, in short, a crazy re-enactment of our youthful days at Beach Week in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Unfortunately, now that we are almost 30, daylong drinking doesn't have quite the appeal.  BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN WE DIDNT TRY.

I posted a ton of embarassing photos on Facebook, and you've probably seen those already. 

After I came home, I noticed a bunch of pictures on my phone as well.  So I figured I'd post those here so as to not double up...

The beautiful bride and groom.  The "Future Mr." shirt has her last name on it.

Marriage advice from somebody at a bar....

Yours truly.

Can you guess what they are chugging?

Hint: It's not water.

Me, A Love, and a flamingo

I have never seen so many chicken nuggets

Proof that we did see the beach. Once.

Congratulations to the happy couple!
Warner, I hope that scar on your forehead heals in time for the wedding!!!!!!!! ;)

~SG

MDW 2K13

Memorial Day weekend started off with my Mom and Sister stopping by overnight.  Saturday morning they headed to nearby Lorton to board the auto train so Laura can start her Disney College Program adventure!  We took a few pictures before they left.  She is currently getting settled into her apartment and she will soon start to "Earn her Ears" in training.  Mom is taking advantage of the free time by enjoying a few days at the parks.  I'm extremely jealous.

With her Monsters, Inc. Coloring book I gave her for the looong train ride

Davis girls

GOOD LUCK LAURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 After they left, we packed up the car and the pins and headed down to the Property for some good old redneck fun.  In typical fashion, I did not charge my camera, so I only got pictures on my phone.

One of the biggest achievements from this weekend is that Doc spent the majority of it off leash.  This was actually more training for ME than it was for him.  He is a very obedient boy and will do ANYTHING for his Dad's affection, but I am so worried about him running away or losing him that I freak out if the door is open and the pins aren't contained.  Chloe is still a little rambuctious but by the end of the weekend, she was running around with the leash trailing behind her (so she'd be easier to catch if she decided to run for it) too.

Pins Passed out on Pillow Pets

I heard yelling and I came out of the house afraid Doc had run off.... he was just sitting there. In the leaves. Chillin.

Playing fetch with Dad in the front field

I actually have some great videos but Blogger is not cooperating at the moment.

We had a great weekend full of outdoorsy things.  The boys got to play with their toys, and I got to drink girly drinks and watch the Nascar races.  I really enjoyed being able to relax and do nothing.

Joey is sporting my pink earmuffs

Biggest burgers I've ever seen

Boomerang in a tree? No problem.

Sigh...

With so many people and so many things going on, it was a little exhausting for the pins.  So I'll leave you with some sleeping pin pics.  (Well, it's sleeping Chloe pics.)  Enjoy!

~SG

The Year of the Cicada

If you don't live local to Northern VA, you might not know that we have been invaded by small, dumb, red-eyed aliens.  Yes, I am writing about Periodical Cicadas on my blog.  Judge if you must, but I want to look back and remember certain things about my 20s and this is a significant issue!

They are everywhere.  They come out of the ground every 17 years, and this was the year.  The dull roar of cicadas can be heard outside in the evenings and early mornings.  Their little skins are stuck all over my back porch and retaining wall. My dogs delight in pawing them until they break in half. 

It's so gross. In general, they are slow moving and not dangerous or malicious.  They are just material cicadas living in a material world.  But they are going to be around for the next month or so, and that is really cramping my style.

That song is in your head now, isn't it??

Happy Friday!

~SG

No Soliciting.

It's that time of year where our home is continuously threatened by the little girl on the bicycle, or the cat across the street, or the neighbor mowing his lawn.  Now that the weather is nicer and everyone is spending time outside, the Min Pins feel they must keep watch out the front door in case (and God forbid) a door-to-door salesman shows up on the front porch.  It is actually quite humorous to watch these people leap backwards in fear as the dogs descend on the foyer, howling and screaming like banshees.... then I just look out the window, make eye contact with the person outside, shrug, and walk away.

My First Stitch Fix

Have you heard of it?  I had never, until I complimented a new friend on her blouse and she said that's where she got it. She gave me her referral link, and the rest is history!

Stitch Fix is an awesome company.  You fill out a survey where you describe what kind of clothes you like- what styles, what looks good on you, and what size you are.  It's very detailed and they go to great lengths to get a good idea of what you do and don't like.

Then you schedule a fix- you pay $20 (your "styling fee", which also can be used towards the items in your box if you decide to purchase anything) and they send you a box of about 5 pieces for you to try on!  It can be anything- pants, skirts, dresses, jackets, jewelry.  You have 3 business days to try them on and mail back the items you don't want!

I was so excited for my first box to arrive!  It finally did and I played dress up all weekend.  Here is what came in my first box:

Note: I lack two things- a full length mirror and a good camera.  So I used the mirror in the guest room and my phone camera. The pictures aren't that great but you can at least get a good idea of what the clothes looked like.

HOORAY! My box is FINALLY here!!!

 Item #1: Bracelet
I loved this bracelet. It took me 2 days to figure out how to put it on.  I thought it was really cute and I love the color, but I didn't "$38 love it".  So it went back.

Item #2: Cute little triangle dress

I thought it was a cute dress and I loved the way it made my legs look (perfect cut).  But It fit me a little weird around the hips and I didn't really know where I'd wear it.  So it went back.

Item #3: Green heart sweater

This one was comfortable but of all the items in the box, was least "my style".  It went back as well.

Item #4: Color block tank

Initially, this item was my favorite out of the box.  It is light, comfortable, and I like the colors.  I decided it was too "booby" for me, and also it was a little gappy near the armpits. I opted to return it.

By now you are like "dude, did you keep anything from the box?? The answer is yes, I did!

Item #5: Peplum shirt
I like this one for several reasons, but mostly because it is perfect for work, play, and otherwise.  I can wear this so many different types of places and it fit perfectly, which is what made it so attractive to me.  I would have never picked this out on my own- I don't typically go for colors like this one.  Best part? With the $20 I had already paid, it was only an additional $18.  Total win.

So, obviously I've already signed up to get my next Fix!!!

I'm going to be incredibly tacky but if you are interested in joining, click on this link and I'll get credit for your membership :)

http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3076424

Two things to leave you with:
1. I loved how everything in my box fit me.  It is hard to make that happen even when I'm shopping for myself!
2. I waited about a month for my membership to go through, but it was totally worth it!!!!!

~SG

Laura Graduated!

Well, I'm officially old.  Both my siblings are out of college.

This past weekend, my youngest sib walked across the stage to get her diploma at Penn State. 

Joey and I made it a day trip, and headed out around 7am for a noon ceremony.  We had no issues getting to State College, got changed at a McDonalds, ate breakfast twice, and met up with my family outside the arena. 

The graduation ceremony was like most others.  The keynote speaker was the Executive Chairman of ESPN, George Bodenheimer.  He was also a proud Dad of a graduate!  His story was definitely inspiring- he knew he wanted to work in sports so he got a job in the mailroom at ESPN about 30 years ago.  And now he's the Executive Chairman.

But by far, the most inspiring moment of the day (sorry Laura), was when a student in a motorized wheel chair was helped to his feet, and walked across the stage by himself with only the help of a walker and some encouraging classmates.  Even though the crowd had been instructed to remain quiet until all names are called, the place went WILD.  It was so inspiring and awesome. He got a standing ovation! After he had returned to his seat, so many grads were passing by and shaking his hand. What an amazing accomplishment.

Laura is in that mass somewhere, about to cross the stage

Returning to her seat

Our happy grad!

Our family

Siblings (I'm the only non-PSU grad!)

"sorority pose"... my Dad has a better one

After taking pictures, we all headed over to the Mount Nittany Inn for dinner reservations.  It sits on the side of the mountain and has gorgeous views.  Joey, Laura and I had apparently parked in the right parking lot, because we got out of there and to dinner in about 15 minutes. Mom, Dad, Alex and Corinne weren't as lucky.  We'd already gotten a couple drinks and an appetizer by the time they arrived :(

Beautiful view!

We got our food and let me just say, IT WAS DELICIOUS. I highly recommend this place and I will definitely be back.  When, I don't know. But I have always loved visiting Happy Valley so maybe someday I will coerce my own child into going there.......

Finally, many of you have inquired as to what Laura is going to do now that she's graduated:

That's right! She's going to Disney World! She'll be there from May until January (or longer!) for an internship with the Disney College Program. I am beyond jealous and planning to live vicariously through her.  We are already planning a trip to visit her in November. 

Congratulations, Laura! Welcome to the real world!

~SG

Productive Sunday

So last week I mentioned to Joey that we really need to organize the storage/laundry room in the basement.  I swear we have some "before" pictures somewhere but I can't find them at the moment.

Basically it's the back room, which is unfinished.  It's a large area where we threw all the boxes and packing materials from moving, about 15 rubber bins full of various junk, and a ton of construction materials including but not limited to: buckets of paint, brushes, tools, doors, screens, broken drywall, pieces of wood with nails sticking out, rotting wood from the bathroom, materials from tiling the floor, etc.  The water heater is back there, along with a big sink.

Oh, and it also houses the washer and dryer.  So every time I do laundry, I have to put on shoes because I'm standing in a hazard zone where there is dirt, sand, possibly nails and screws, and it's just not very romantic to do your laundry in the middle of a storage locker.  It even has the creepy one lightbulb hanging from the ceiling...

SO, on Sunday I decided to go down there with a trash bag and just start sorting through one or two of the bins.  I moved every year in college and after graduating college until we ended up at the apartment, and I had accumulated a lot of JUNK.  Combine that with me being a terrible packer (I just throw things in boxes), and you get about 15 boxes of crap, 75% of which is legit trash.

4 hours later, I had gone through all of the boxes, made Joey go through HIS boxes, and separated and labeled plastic bins for Fall, Halloween, Christmas (x2), Pirates, Disney, (<- yes, those get their own), Civil War Party, and 2 boxes of Junk that I couldn't bear to part with (such as the picture of me with the Chippendales in Vegas).  We had SO MUCH TRASH it was incredible.  We broke down about 10 boxes.  I swept up the floor (which hadn't been done.....ever), we put painting/construction materials on a shelf, and made plans to purchase a big throw rug, a table to fold clothes on, and maybe a nicer light so I don't feel like I'm in the Bates Motel down there.

These cell phone pics just don't do it justice, but I am really proud of our organization skills.  Next stop?  The garage.

~SG

It's sort of like a Pin Pic

Chalk this up to "things you don't really care about", however I do and this is my space.

Every day I find it cute and interesting to come home from work and see what kind of architectural marvels my Min Pins have created with the blankets. 

Yes, I can actually HEAR you rolling your eyes. 

The other day, I came home and noticed 3 different structures within the comforter and blanket, so I decided to document the intelligence of my canines.

Just your basic, average Pin Cave. (This one has collapsed a little bit.)

I thought it looked like an arm chair.

Personal bed space.

Doc is demonstrating how a Pin Cave works.

I'm sure you feel a little smarter after reading this.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

SG

Random Update (with partially-relevant pictures)

I know you may be thinking I've forgotten about this little blog, eh?
But in reality, I've been out of town the past two weekends in a row and that combined with Joey breaking my laptop has really put a damper on blogging possibilities.

If you are a twenty-something like me (at least for another year and a half!), you'll know that it's currently wedding season.  This year, we are involved with several weddings, and that means that crafting, planning, and traveling is now in full swing.

Two weeks ago, I went to New Jersey with some fellow bridesmaids to prepare for Jess and Ryan's wedding shower and other events. 

This past weekend, I was at my parent's house in PA for a close family friend's shower.

I barely took any pictures, [probably because I was busy pouring myself another glass of wine] and I really can't wait until people start posting pictures online so I can share them here.

However, I decided that a good post needs pictures, so I mustered up what I had on my phone and voila!  A few things to entertain you:

As if these need a caption. Best thing I've ever found at Walmart to date.

My soon-to-be SIL, Corinne, my sis, Laura, and me at the shower

Some light reading I found in my Mom's stash

My Goddaughter, Brooklyn. Not a cute pic of me but would you look at that face!!!

Bonus pin pic of her highness, Chloe Gish.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

~SG

Storm Chasers

Early this morning, a line of thunderstorms rolled in.  My alarm hadn't gone off yet, so I opened up the curtains and laid back down to watch the storm.  Hearing the curtains open, they suddenly emerged from beneath the covers.  I love how they aren't afraid of the thunder at all.  They are so curious about it.

I think I need to get one of those crazy cat lady perches for them to sit on so they can see out the window...