Instagram Weekend

Happy Halloween!!  Do you pass out candy?  Brad and I live in an apartment, so I'll be heading to my sister's tonight to pass out candy and see my nieces.  My mom heads over there, too, so it'll be nice to hang out with her.

Pictures from the weekend:

Technically, these were made for food day on Thursday,

but they're so cute that I had to share.

On Friday, Brad and I had date night! 

We went to eat yummy Mexican food and

checked out Art After Dark at the local art museum.

Total cost: $26  Bam!

This lovely little card arrived in the mail Friday,

notifying me that I am officially a Sorrell.  Eek!

I spent Saturday waiting for the cable guy and baking. 

Look at Pepper in action! 

That's right--my mixer's name is Pepper.

The great thing about baking?  You get to lick the spoon.

Also, Brad was off golfing, so I didn't have to share.

End result: tons* of yummy cookies! 

Chocolate chip and sugar cookie pumpkins.

*"Tons" before the cookies were enjoyed at a Halloween Party.

This pictures was clearly taken at the end of the evening. :)

My costume for the party was a Housewife.   

On Sunday, Brad and I went to church (as usual). 

I snuck in a mini photo sesh with our church sheep, Edmund and Edna. 

Rumor has it that they're going to start tweeting soon about happenings at church.

How was your weekend?

--Melanie

Fun

Fun is waking up at 5:45 AM with a more inflamed throat than yesterday and getting up anyway for work.  Fun is pretending that you didn't just have the worst sleep of your life resulting in the most sore neck/shoulders.

All so you could bring your coffin brownies for food day at work and see your kids that you're scheduled to see.

Boo to growing up.

When in Rome,

do as the Romans do.

And when you're a newlywed, do as newlyweds do.

Cut your hair.

 Before. 

(What did we do before mirror pictures? How did we survive?)

During.

(Technically, after.  It is hard to photograph the hair as you're getting a haircut.)

After!

(I cleaned the mirror directly after taking this picture.)

Isn't it fun?

I love having short hair. Absolutely love it.  I've recently added a few pictures of Emma Watson to my Pinterest and this is why.  I used the wedding as an excuse to grow out my hair.  I wanted fancier hair than I usually have and I wanted it up, which needs length.  Plus, I used to have long hair and I remember liking it. Now, though,  I was so sick of my hair.  It wanted to frizz out some at the bottom (beginnings of waves?) and so I'd not only dry it every morning, but I'd quickly run the straightener through it.  It seemed like it took forever and it seemed like an awful lot of work to do when I had boring hair afterwards.  Putting it up wasn't really a feasible option, either, because I never learned how to do my hair and now my frustration point is low.

So, bam, I cut my hair off and it takes me 5 minutes in the morning.  I can snuggle with Brad again because my hair isn't all up in his face driving him crazy. I can look forward to riding with the top off the Jeep or the windows down and not think about the knotted mess my hair would be. Of course, with winter, this dream may take a little time, but whatever.  Cute winter hats and all that.

--Melanie

I Dream of Painting

I graduated high school in 2003.  College in 2007.  Grad school in 2010.  I got engaged a little later in 2010 and began planning a wedding.  Well, I've been married for a month and I know that I cannot just sit at home with my wonderful husband and watch TV.  I need a new project.  I have no idea why.  I've been a multi-tasking ball of stress for many years. 

But, it's there--I want to redo our apartment. 

I can't go overboard, mainly because we're broke, but I want to make some changes.  We have a lot of hand-me-down furniture from lovely family members and some furniture brought in from our single lives and I'd like to maybe have a more cohesive home.  I'd like a place that represents us.  We plan on living in our apartment until we get a house, which probably won't be for 3-4 years.  So, I called on our friend, Emily, whose blog you should totally be reading.  Seriously, go check it out.  Girl is talented and funny. 

Anyway, she came up with a mood board for our living room and I'm in love.  Brad is even OK with wanting to paint the apartment.  A lot can be DIY projects and I've been petitioning for a new couch since before the wedding.  You can see Emily's ideas for us here.  Please, let me know what you think.

I know I'll keep you updated on our progress and I can't wait to see Emily do an "After" post when we've got it looking good.

I know I can't be alone in my need for a project.  After you let go of one ball of stress (college, second job, wedding, etc.) what did you take on next?

--Melanie

Instagram Weekend!

My niece cracks me up.  She was covered in chocolate and wanted a mirror,

so I pulled up the front-facing camera.  I got a bunch of cute shots

and she started smiling when she figured out what I was doing.

Pumpkin patches are so much fun, but these girls were worn out when we finished.

Corn maze, petting zoo, face painting, wagon ride, and pumpkins? 

Too much...fun.

At a friend's bridal shower, I got to take home

a cute new coffee mug,

a prize for my scrapbooking abilities,

and a mason jar of skittles.  Yum!

In addition to trying to eat healthier (hello, raisins), I also painted

my nails this weekend.  Essie's "Carry On" with a little dab of some

 Martha Stewart craft glitter. 

 I always feel more polished when my fingers and toes are.

What did you do this weekend?

--Melanie



Ugh

Being sick is no fun. Being sick is really no fun when you have a TON going on at work and you have a cold that is kicking your butt.

Image from www.kleenex.com

Instagram Weekend

On Friday, my mom and I went to Woolfest, where we ate fair food, pet goats and cows, and investigated all the crafts.  There were a ton of craft booths and around half of them were even handmade crafts!

 Goats blink when you use flash.

Saturday found Brad and me preparing for a family birthday party.  My brother and I both had birthdays this past week and we enjoyed some delicious finger foods and cookie cake with ice cream.  After that was a game of Cranium, where I found out that Brad and I need to practice charades.  We came in last.  

I spent some quality time with my mixer this weekend.

Yummy cookie cake.

Amazing plates from Target.

Sunday was a birthday party for Brad's niece and a bonfire for my friend, Beth.  Beth has spent the past couple of years in Ghana with the Peace Corps and she goes back next week, so we had s'mores.  :)  No pictures from that on my phone, but Beth took a good one of us and I'll share that when I've got it.

Pretty Princess Piñata.

How was your weekend?

Volunteering

I volunteer once a month with a local home for girls.  It's a group foster-care type of situation.  Sometimes the girls are adopted and sometimes they return home.  A lot of the time, they live there for a long while.  I am one of four girls who do this and we just spend time with the girls and do crafts.  The girls we work with are ages 12-18.

I look forward to working with them and trying to get through to them.  These girls come from horrible home lives that we're not given details on.  They're prone to giving up on tasks and they're usually raring to fight with someone, anyone, when they first arrive.  But they've settled into our routine of craft then snack and seem to genuinely enjoy our presence. 

I'm not sure what it is that attracts me to this age level.  I work as a school psychologist in a high school.  I volunteer with these (mostly) high-school aged girls.  I also volunteer with my church's high-school aged Sunday school group.  I like the age group because they can be a part of the problem solving process and work with you on finding solutions that they believe will work.  That is so important.  If you can get through to a kid so they'll work with you, you will have so much more success.

I'm sorry I've been rambling the past couple of days.  I'm trying to find my place with this blog and I feel like I have to let you get to know the non-wedding-planning Melanie.  Is there anything you want to know? Suggestions on how to take this blog in a new direction?

Maybe I need to try the theme-by-day type of blog?

Who knows.  I am going to try to have Mondays as Instagram Mondays where I update you on the weekend happenings.  I know you're on the edge of your seats.  :)

Finances

I love talking with Brad.  We have funny conversations and serious conversations.  We have our little jokes.  I don't feel scared about bringing up the serious stuff, either, which is awesome.  I have a partner that is going to support me and work with me to help me out of jams and plan for our future. 

Story time.  I overdrew my checking today.  Awesome, right?  I'm the most responsible 27 year old ever.  What I will say is that weddings throw off your budgeting completely and that it is hard to settle back down into reality.  Brad was going to write me a check for my birthday Land's End order and for part of the cell phone bill, so he just bumped up the amount a smidge to help me cover my butt until the next paycheck.  Not a big deal.  But finances and budgeting are big deals to us.  Brad and I see money differently and we are working towards combining accounts and making a budget and sticking to it hardcore.  So, I was upset that I stupidly overdrafted the account.  I don't normally do this and it bugs me that I was careless.  Brad just told me it was OK and gave me a hug.

What's really weird--if you know me--is that I'm looking forward to our budgeting discussion and setting my allowance (I'm the spender, he's the saver).  He and I both have financial goals that we want to meet and we're ready to start working towards that.  For instance, long-term we want to pay off my credit cards and buy a house.  Short-term we want to beef up savings (this will be a continual goal) and then buy furniture for the living room and bedroom. I figured once we buy furniture, paint, and anything else we need to spruce up the two rooms, we'll spend $1500 or so.

Children are also in our future and we need to make sure that we've got our stuff all straightened out before we add more to the grocery bill.  And Brad and I are looking at a not-so-distant time when we'll be OK to let things happen and see if we get a mini-Brad or a mini-Melanie.  All this means is that we've got to work this out.

How have you worked out finances with your significant other?  Did you combine all the way or do you have separate accounts?  For those not married, what do you see happening?  Do finances come into play now?

Birthdays are the Best Days

I love birthdays.  Even though, as a grown-up, I usually have to work on my birthday, it's still a great day.  For one, you get to decide when to go shopping and EVERYONE sends you coupons for your birthday.  I have a free drink from Starbucks, free lunch from Jersey Mike's, free dessert from TGI Fridays, $20 off a $20 purchase from Vera Bradley, and even Clinique Bonus Time is happening starting today.

This scone is delicious and I am in search of a recipe.

I also have a husband who let me place an order from Land's End yesterday (yeah new work skirt, dress, and tote at clearance prices) and has offered to write me a romantic email (love in the 21st century).  Now, I'll continue to do grown-up things, like work and laundry, but I still will smile all day long.

Black skirt, navy dress, green tote that will be monogrammed. :)

These images pulled from Land's End, in the sale section.

Today I turn 27.  I have a career in the field I've worked my butt off to get to and I'm married to a wonderful man.  With the exception of some sniffles today, I'm healthy.  I have family and friends who love me and I couldn't ask for more.  There's still a lot that I want to accomplish in my life and I'm looking forward to going through the rest of my birthdays with Brad at my side.

--Melanie