Miscellany Monday

{1}  My best friend M is coming from CA on Thursday.  I'm so excited!!  Posting will probably be light while she's here, unless I have a chance to do some blogging early.

{2}  I've had to work all weekend and am working on and off today so it hasn't felt much like a weekend for me.  (Hence the lack of blogging too)

{3}  I'm considering starting up half marathon training a few weeks after the 10K program is done.  The next half marathon in the area isn't until November, which is a ways away.  Anyone have a half marathon training program they would recommend?  

{4}  Last night we had a fun 'date night' of mini golf and ice cream.  It was good to do something fun that didn't require lots of concentration after my last few days at work.  (Oh and I won!)

{5} I hope that we all remember the sacrifices that our military men and women have made for us and the reason we celebrate memorial day.  May we always remember the sacrifices made for our freedom.

Have a wonderful day!

Giveaway Winner!

There were 6 entries for the 18x24 Rolled Poster from Online Poster Printing.

The winner according to Random.org is #1 meredith* from Yours, Mine & Ours*

I guess sometimes it is good to be the first to comment!  Congrats meredith*! I’ll send your info to Online Poster Printing, and the folks there will get in touch with you to redeem your prize.   Thanks to everyone that entered.

It's a random kinda week

It's a fairly hectic week for me and doesn't look like it's going to get much better.  I have a few posts that I want to write-up so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to later this week.  As for now, a few things going on.

1. The giveaway is still open until tomorrow night.  There are only 6 entries so far, with 4 different ways to enter, you have a good chance of winning, so head on over!
2. I have some co-workers (3) that are pregnant and we are having a baby shower for them.  I would like to get them each a similar gift (1 boy, 1 girl, 1 not-known yet) but I'm drawing a blank.  I like the idea of a Sophie Giraffe but I'm not sure what else.  I'm still looking for registries but haven't found them all.  Anyone have an idea for a basket to put together (though I know I should probably stick to registries)?
3. My friend will be here in just 1 short week!  I'm so excited, I don't know what to do while she's here though.  I just feel like hanging out and catching up, boy do I feel old!
4. Last night we went to see The Color Purple at the new performing arts center and it was great.  Besides the tickets being free (always a plus), we got to go into the Presidents Lounge at intermission and free VIP parking.  The actors and actresses had wonderful voices and I loved the 2nd half of the show especially.
5. My DVR decided to stop recording (previously setup) shows from CBS and I just thought they hadn't been showing new episodes.  Come to find out, I've missed 3-4 episodes (each) of How I Met Your Mother and The Good Wife.  I must find them immediately and catch up.
6. I have to go to 2 weddings and a bridal shower in the next few months.  I'm looking for a new dress (or 2).  Where's your favorite place to shop for dresses?  I struggle because I need something that comes to just above the knee.  Below the knee makes me look short and I don't want anything too short.  Any suggestions?  Have you found any cute ones lately?  (Usually I order like 5 or 6 between Macy's and Nordstrom's and find 1 I like, but haven't found too many from there that I want to order right now)

Sorry, kind of a boring post today.  Hope you're all having a Happy 'Hump' Day!  :-)

A visit to Savannah

*The giveaway is still open until tomorrow night*

For our 1st Anniversary we decided to take a trip to Savannah, GA.  We had no expectations and just wanted a go with the flow weekend.  This is kind of a long post but I wanted to keep it all in one post and it's taken me long enough to get one done, you didn't want me to separate it into more or I might never finish!

We left Friday morning and made the drive there.  It was much quicker than we had anticipated.  We arrived about 2 hours before check-in and headed to the Moon River Brew Co for a beer and some nachos.  Both were absolutely delicious.  We stayed at the East Bay Inn with beautiful high ceilings and hardwood floors.  It was a great room and there was a travel journal in the room that people filled out who had stayed there previously.  It was really interesting to read about other's trips.

After checking in we headed to Tybee Island to the beach, which was gorgeous and practically perfect weather.

I didn't even have to edit this picture, the sky was that blue!

Following the beach we headed back to Savannah and stopped at the Crab Shack for dinner.  

As we were waiting for our seat to open we took a look at the live gators.  It was definitely interesting to see them there at the restaurant (and kind of scary).  

After a short wait, we sat on the patio outside and ordered our dinner.

The Crab Shack serves low country boil style food, which I had never experienced before.  I'm not too big on crab but KC ordered some.
I had the Low Country Shrimp Boil

and KC had the half and half (half shrimp and half crab):

It was quite an experience.  There was a garbage can in the middle of the table, where you just tossed your shells, peelings, etc when you were done.


Saturday morning we got up and went for my 60 minute training run.  Thankfully KC went with me, it was a great motivator!


We spent the day on the Old Trolley Tour through-out Savannah.  We stopped at most of the stops and walked around.  We saw some beautiful churches, homes and other historical buildings.  We didn't take any tours, just walked around the area and checked things out.

We stopped at Forsyth Park and walked around admiring the monuments, and water features.

We also enjoyed a short wine tasting at one of the shops after a delicious lunch at the Cafe at City Market.  We sat in one of the parks for some time and a couple came around in a carriage after their wedding.  On our walk back to the Inn before dinner we encountered a couple of different weddings in the park, they were beautiful settings for a wedding.


One of my favorite parts were the streets and parks that were lined with the 'Live Oak Trees'.  It was gorgeous the way that they lined the streets and created covers.

For dinner we enjoyed authentic New Orleans cuisine at Huey's Restaurant.  I had some delicious Jambalaya.  It was such a large serving that this is after I finished and KC started in on eating some himself. 

Sunday we enjoyed a Savannah Riverboat Cruise into the port of Savannah.  The weather was nice and it was a nice breeze along the River.

After the boat cruise we got some lunch at the Boar's Head Deli and walked River St.  We then decided to head back to the beach for a few hours.  Unfortunately it was really windy at the beach and we didn't last too long.  For dinner we went to Tony Roma's.  Unbeknown to us it is a chain (which we were trying to avoid all weekend), but not one that we are near or would probably be near in the future so we stuck with it and definitely enjoyed our anniversary dinner.  


Each evening, after we had cleaned up, we ate dinner and headed down to River St. and enjoyed the sites there.  There were many people hanging out on the streets and enjoying the street performers and the ships that made their way into the port of Savannah.  We walked up and down River St. and enjoyed delicious alcoholic beverages as it is legal in Savannah to drink as long as it is in a plastic cup!

All-in-all it was a great trip.  We spent most of the time relaxing and just going with the flow.  I'm a big planner so it was really hard for me but I definitely enjoyed it.  And as is typical we did not take any pictures of just the 2 of us.  We spent lots of time talking and enjoying one another's company.  I'm so glad that we went on another trip just the two of us.  We even set some goals for the next year:

• Get out and meet some new friends/couples and make an effort to hang out with some of our other friends more frequently.
• Be more specific when talking, instead of how was your day, say how did xyz go today.  Sometimes I think that helps the conversation along and doesn't allow for a good/bad, whatever type response.
• Make an effort to check out at least 1 brand new restaurant a month.
• Set a new 'goal' for ourselves (together or separately) physically (i.e. run a half marathon, go snorkeling, learn a new sport, try a new fitness routing) but we haven't decided exactly what yet.

Here's to 1 year of being married and many more in our future!


*All photos are from personal collection, please do not reuse without permission.  Clicking on them will make them larger.*

Miscellany Monday

{1}  Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a poster.  Given the number of entries (and different ways you can enter), your chances of winning are pretty high, so stop on over and enter.  (Please!)


{2}  I still need to find some end tables to finish up my living room makeover and I cannot find the right size.  Then maybe I'll show you what it finally looks like.


{3}  The second month of the eat at new restaurants mission was a success with a visit to Jibarra for Restaurant week and I cannot wait for next month's trip to The Pitt.


{4}  My 27th birthday is in less than 2 weeks.  My mom wants to know which kind of sewing machine I would like.  Any suggestions?


{5} I really like the idea of doing 27 Random Acts of Kindness for my birthday as these ladies have done, but I have company in town then.  Does it count if I do it the weekend before (or after)?


{6}  I haven't told my IRL friends about my blog, which is leading me to quite a dilemma because it means I have to watch my tweets closely or tell them about it and watch my posts closely.


{7} I started reading What to Expect before you're Expecting, no baby on board here. Just thought it was something good to read, especially since it's been on my mind lately.


{8}  This is shaping up to be a busy (and expensive) summer.  But there are many things that I am looking forward to.

Finally watched Avatar

Source

I forgot about these pictures until I was taking our Savannah pictures off the camera.  A few weeks ago, Avatar came back to the IMAX so we finally went.  We had wanted to go before but just didn't have the time.  I feel like I might be one of the last people to watch it, but I'm glad we went.


First off, the 3D glasses were a great accessory to every one's wardrobe!

The summary from Yahoo!:

AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of "Titanic," first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist yet. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis. Because the atmosphere of Pandora is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human "drivers" have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora... the Na'vi.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na'vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake's life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake's relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na'vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world. 

Secondly, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the actually story of the movie.  I know that most of the hype was about it being in 3D and all the new technology and everything, but that was probably the least enjoyable part for me.  I didn't really like the 3D aspect and had to take my glasses off sometimes.  It is definitely something that I would watch again, but I would not make an effort to see it in 3D.  Anyone else like the movie but more for the storyline than the 3D aspect of it?  

2 Post Friday!

Today is a 2 Post kind of day!  I just posted about my first giveaway, so please head on over and enter!  You have 4 different ways to enter!  


Today is Friday, which means Fill-In-The-Blanks and New Friend Friday!


Fill-In-The-Blanks @ the little things we do  
I should preface this by saying, I have a pretty 'plain' style as I've said before, I wish I had more of an interest in fashion and what's hot right now.

1.  One fashion trend I really regret is tight-rolled jeans and penny loafers.  Ha ha, those were the days, I was so good at tight-rolling jeans that some girls would come to school and ask me to do theirs.  I'm really not sure what the appeal was to them, they make me laugh now though.

2.  The one thing that always completes any outfit is diamond stud earrings.  No matter what I'm wearing, I always put in my diamond stud earrings.  They make me feel better, even if I am just wearing a pair of sweat pants. 

3.  I would describe my personal style as relatively plain and simple.  I wear what works and am looking for timeless pieces to fill my closet instead of trendy ones.

4.  My fashion muse is the store.  I really don't have one.  Most of my shopping is done at the Gap, Limited or Express, so I would say that they are my muses.

5.  If I could own one designer piece of clothing it would be nothing, I have no idea.  I really don't know to be honest.  I would love a Kate Spade or Marc Jacobs handbag I guess - does that count?

6.  I would love to raid the wardrobe of Reese Witherspoon I guess (minus the skinny jeans, I don't have the shape for those - trust me).

7.  Today I am wearing   a pair of khaki capris, black shirt and a cardigan.  It can get cold at work, so it's hard not to wear long sleeves/cardigans all day.  Note: they're all solid colors, I wish I had more prints in my closet!

New Friend Friday - Thanks for stopping by!

Giveaway Time!

Thanks to Online Poster Printing I have my first giveaway!

I have a Rolled Poster to giveaway to one lucky winner!  This could be a great way to print a photo to hang in your house somewhere or if you're getting a married, maybe a print for your wedding.  The possibilities are endless!  Check out the great Poster Print examples on their site.  They look amazing!

The poster is 18x24 and can be printed in High-Gloss or Semi-Gloss.  They have next day printing on their Rolled Products, and...the shipping is FREE!

This giveaway is limited to US residents only, and you must be 18 years old and up!

Here are the rules! (Please leave a comment for each one you do)

1. Leave a comment and let me know what you would use the poster for. (1 entry)
2. Leave a comment with a question you would like me to answer (about anything) (1 entry)
3. Follow my blog, or if you are already a follower, make sure you remind me in your comment! (1 entry)
4. Follow me on Twitter @LaurenEC15, and send out this tweet about the contest: I just entered a #giveaway for a poster on @LaurenEC15 blog - http://bit.ly/cHx9xC (1 entry)

That's 4 different ways that you could win!

The contest closes at 11:59PM Eastern time on Wednesday, May 26. I will then select a winner at random after compiling all of your entries!  Don't forget to leave a comment for each separate entry.


Important Links:
Online Poster Printing
Poster Prints

***This post is sponsored by Online Poster Printing a subsidiary for Uprinting.com

Comments not working

I was notified that someone couldn't make comments and I didn't know, I'm sorry.  Let me know if you're still having an issue, but I think it's fixed now.

Have a great day!!

On my mind

Maybe I should have titled this "Helllllllooooo baby fever"!  Now that we've celebrated our first wedding anniversary, we've had some discussions as to where we stand on starting our family.  We're at a crossroads and treading lightly.  


First off, I feel like every other woman I see on the street is pregnant.  The other half, they've got the little ones/newborns with them.  Umm, hello I'm surrounded.  Yes, I know it's probably an exaggeration but I've realized whenever something is on my mind, I tend to notice it more frequently than normal  (like when we weren't engaged yet, I swore practically everyone else was engaged). 


Some people say wait before you have a baby, enjoy one another, you just got married, do some traveling.  There's also the 'ready' argument, you'll never be 100% ready, so I hope you're not waiting for that.  There are plenty more statements that I've heard.  I have an argument for and against each one that I could present, believe me.

There isn't really too much pressure from family, which is a plus.  Some members have asked if we're pregnant or when we'll be having a baby, but that's about it.  No subtle hints to deal with, no constant pressure.


I would love (love) to have a baby right now, but I keep asking myself is it the right time?  Are we making a mistake by waiting too long or starting too early?  Are we ready?  I'd like to have my children before I'm 30 (I'll be 27 in a matter of weeks).  So the numbers aren't working in my favor for more than one child (preferably spaced apart by some # of years) before 30.  Am I going to work afterwards?  Can we afford for one of us to stay home?  Can we afford to have a baby?  What will happen to our friendships (we're the only married couple)?  Will we be able to conceive?  Will we have trouble?  Will we be good parents?

Then there's the little things, like I'm in a wedding later this year and would prefer not to be showing.  (Sidenote:  Randomly the bride says, it's ok, we can use the fabric from shortening your dress to help fit your baby bump, I looked at her like she had 2 heads because I had definitely not mentioned it to her and she was like what?, it's fine, I wouldn't mind - I wasn't sure how to reply).  We have friends getting married at a destination wedding in March and we'd really like to go, but I don't think we would be able to if we were pregnant.  We'd like to go out to Tahoe skiing/snowboarding (we learned this year) next winter and to visit M (her and I will be hitting up the spa!).  Should we put having a family on hold for all of these things or just go for it and figure it out when it happens?

I only have a few people I would talk to this about, one's getting married (I'm in the wedding) and one's 'starting over' after a relationship and I'm so happy that she's doing wonderful, meeting new ppl and doing brand new things, I don't want to burden her (more than I have) with this.  KC and I have definitely talked about it, but I think he's at the same place as I am, maybe leaning a little in one direction as well.

While we've not actively practiced our faith lately (it's something I'd like to become more active in), I know that whatever the plan is for us we'll accept it and make it work.

Sooooo many questions, where to begin.  I'm too much of a planner not to worry about these kinds of things.  It's just something that's always on my mind lately, thanks for reading my ramblings.

50th Post!

Today is my 50th post!!  Yeah!  Ok, so for most of you regular bloggers out there, it might not seem like a big deal, but I tried blogging before and made it like 2 weeks and quit.  While I don't post every day, I try to a few times a week and I'm definitely having fun posting (I don't know if there are very many reading :-) ) and I hope I can keep up with it.  Since we just got back from vacation and work is crazy hectic, I thought I would just gather a few random thoughts and put them all together for today, hopefully the rest of the week will quiet down.

1. We had a fantastic weekend in Savannah!  It was a beautiful place to visit.  We set some goals for ourselves (which I'll share in our recap later this week) and I'm going to try my hardest to hold us to them.
2. I can't believe that our wedding was a year ago!
3. I'd really like to do a giveaway, but I'm not sure if people would be interested.  I'm thinking if I could get a certain number of followers (say 25 or 50), then I'd host one.  (So if you're not following, please click over and follow!)  Thoughts/interest?
4. I appreciate every one's thoughts on "A perspective on friends", it really helped to know that I'm not the only one.
5. I'm so close to the 10K but I'm having some major discomfort it my lower legs (shins/calves, everything).
6. My Living Room and Dining Room makeover is half done.  Hopefully we can complete it this week and I can share the final result.  I'm fighting with the company over the delivery fee ($200+).  There were 1.5hrs outside (late) their delivery window and never notified us that they would not be there in the window.  We had to call them to find out if they were still coming.
7. I'd like to start doing Menu Monday again.  The summer is ridiculous (sports games/practice, etc 4-5 days/week) so I need to quick and easy ideas.  Anyone have any quick recipe ideas/books?
8. I'm excited to schedule my photo shoot soon. 
9. Do you have things that will make you read a blog or not read it?  For instance, I use Google Reader and if you only show a portion of the post (truncated feed), I will probably not read any longer.  I hate having to click over to read the rest.  What sends you in one direction or another?
10. I love getting comments and really look forward to receiving them, so in turn, I've been making a better effort to leave more comments myself.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

1 year ago

12 months of tenderness and sweet surprises . . .
52 weeks of learning new and wonderful things about each other . . .
365 days of sharing and blending our lives together . . .
525,600 minutes of loving one another . . .

364 days ago

You're a falling star, you're the get away car.

You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play your card, but it's kinda cute.

Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.

Cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

Lyrics:  Everything - Michael Buble
Photos

Fab Friday and Fill-ins

Hi everyone, sorry for the light posting this week. Mom and Dad left Monday and we've been so busy this week getting ready for our trip to Savannah. We are in the car right now heading to GA. I am definitely looking forward to spending the weekend just the 2 of us. I have a few posts ready to go up while we are gone and hopefully we'll be back to normal next week (with a trip recap). Sorry if the formatting is funny, blogger and my iPhone aren't getting along well.

Have a great weekend! 

I started following Design Girl last week and The Fab Friday this week is Chick Flick's so I couldn't resist participating!  Here are a few of my favs:

The Notebook 

Pretty Woman

Dirty Dancing

Serendipity

27 Dresses

The Ugly Truth

The Proposal

The Wedding Date

My Best Friend's Wedding

In Her Shoes

I'm sure that there are more if I looked through my movies. 

Time to Fill-in the blanks with Lauren:

1.  The very best thing about the summer is the longer days and all of the parties and cook outs. Lots of time for walks or runs or heading out to the beach.

2.  My first crush ever was  Ummmm I have no idea actually. I've been thinking about this since I read the questions and I really can't remember. Guess he wasn't that memorable! :-)

3.  This may sound really silly but   I would rather have cake without frosting and I don't like donuts.  Ok weird but I don't have much else, plus whenever I tell people this they think I'm joking but I'm not. 

4.  I squeeze my toothpaste from the bottom of the tube. It drives me crazy when people squeeze from the middle, which is why KC and I don't share. 

5.  My absolute favorite "comfort food" is  either pizza or salt and vinegar chips

6.  A random fact about me is that  I worked on a bridge to Canada flagging traffic in the summers during high school and a few during college

7.  The one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is   definitely my iPhone. I never thought it would be that big of a deal when I had a 'normal' phone, now I feel lost without it.