3 Years!

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet (as much as I can at least), but I just want to give a shout out to my wonderful husband, Chris! Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary, and while we didn't do anything "special," he still happened to remind me of just how lucky I am to have nabbed him.

See, for the last four days I've been training for my new job and by yesterday evening I was absolutely exhausted. We went to dinner after my training day was over and I know that I was the worst date ever. Not only was I a hot mess with a wrinkled dress, stretched out sweater, blistered feet, and generally just sweaty, but I'm sure I was also the worst conversationalist. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I just mumbled how tired I was over and over again. But, Chris was his usual amazing-self anyway. He actually talked to me about his work day (usually it's just me blabbering away), he carried my heavy bag of books, and then made me homemade brownies and watched So You Think You Can Dance with me when we got home. Definitely not the most glamorous anniversary, and not even remotely close to an exciting day, but Chris didn't care and neither did I.

I actually loved the ordinary-ness of our anniversary because it's really all of the little things that Chris does that makes me feel special and loved, not fancy dinners or presents (although those are still nice sometimes!). Yesterday, Chris took care of me, his zombified-wife, just like he always does and reminded me yet again of what an amazing guy I've decided to spend the rest of my life with!

Now don't worry, we're going to do some fun stuff this weekend to celebrate our anniversary, but no matter what we do this weekend, even if we get rained out of our plans and spend the weekend on the couch, it'll be perfect enough for me!

Happy 6th Birthday!

On this day 6 years ago, our "kids" were born! I know that I've written about them before, a lot of the times they just sneak into my posts (and they are definitely a focal point to my Instagram use if you follow me), but let me formally introduce you to our kids, aka, our cats, Luna (left) and Teddy (right)!

 They are six years old (obvi), brother and sister, spoiled rotten, cuddly, annoying, and, well, true members of our little family. Last year on their birthday, I wrote about their actual "birth" day and their momma, Yuki, so this year I wanted to write something different about these two crazy cats in honor of this momentous day in their little lives. As many of you pet owners out there know, pets truly have a personality of their own, and Teddy and Luna are certainly not lacking when it comes to the personality-department! So, in honor of their 6th birthday, here's 6 little tidbits about our "kids" . . .

1. They are chatty. Their momma, Yuki, was some kind of Siamese mix and while neither Teddy nor Luna resemble anything close to a Siamese, they definitely got the chatty-gene passed down to them. Of course, when they're "talking" to us we oftentimes talk right back. Yes, we are those weird cat people.

2. Teddy is big. Not only is he a fat cat at a whopping 18 lbs (don't worry, we have him on a diet!), but he's also long and tall. Taller than a lot of small dogs. As long as Chris' legs when he stretches out. He's a BIG boy. And because he's a BIG boy, he's slow and really easy to take pictures of :)

3. Luna is particular. In people-terms, we sometimes call that OCD. Luna is very particular about when and how she cuddles, when and how you pet her, and don't even think about picking her up. She will literally "yell" at you if you do something that displeases her, like touch her. And don't even try to take pictures of her!

4. Teddy's the ultimate lounger. Teddy would never just simply lay on something and take a cat nap, he lounges. Whether it's a pile of clothes, some books, or the bottom ledge of our coffee table, he's always leaning or literally resting his head on something. Sometimes, I'm secretly jealous of how comfortable he looks and wonder if I too should lay on a pile of books or dirty clothes . . .

5. Luna has recently become a little circus freak. That girl's got some leaping action going on. Instead of running down our steps to get into the basement, she'll just jump from the highest step that she can. One day, she jumped from the shelf in my closet, through the 6 inch gap in my closet doors, and landed on our bed, easily 4 feet away. Crazy. Also, she's crazy good at playing fetch, but since she's pretty particular, we only play fetch on her terms.

6. Usually you hear that cats are independent; ours are not. Teddy and Luna have serious attachment issues. Luna frequently follows me from room to room (talking to me along the way), while Teddy makes the most awful yowling noises when he's in a room by himself and is "looking" for you (we literally have to call to him so that he can "find" us). They're kinda pathetic in that way, I know, but gosh do we love them!

So, there's six tidbits about our crazy 6-year-old kids. I can't believe we've had these two crazy kids cats in our lives for six years already, but then again, I can't really imagine our lives without them. Happy Birthday, Teddy and Luna!!

Mid-Week Mumblings

Why do I keep thinking today is Friday? Seriously, I keep thinking it's Friday and have to remind myself that, no, it's only Thursday. One more day in my work week, not one more hour. Ergh.

Chris and I have had a fairly boring last couple of weeks since the Half Marathon and I'm in between house projects (for the first time in a while!) so I figured I'd share what's been on my mind lately instead of boring you with a description of me falling asleep while watching television or Chris doing homework, because that's literally what we've been doing. We lead an exciting life, no?

Anyway, here are my mid-week mumblings, since it's still kinda mid-week (darn you, Thursday!):

• I lied, Chris and I haven't been completely boring lately. Last weekend we actually had a "date night" where I was able to persuade Chris to go see The Hunger Games with me (eeks!!) and take me to P.F. Chang's, which for some reason I've been craving. First, The Hunger Games was AWESOME! Loved every minute of it.I'm also kinda loving on The Hunger Games inspired pins on Pinterest . . . here are two of my favorites: 

 

• Oh, and in between the movie and dinner I caved on one of my 2012 goals - I bought some clothes. BUT, it was the first time I bought clothes since 2011, so that my friends, is awesome! Chris and I walked into a Banana Republic and I couldn't resist snagging a Mad Men collection skirt and two tops, especially since they were already on sale AND had an additional 20% off. Score!

 

• I'm experiencing a curtain-crisis. See, I want (we need) curtains in our living room and master bedroom, but I just can't seem to figure out what I want to do. I recently bought some plain white Ikea curtains but I want to do something to spice them up a bit. I'm thinking of stenciling them, or adding some kind of colored fabric to the sides and/or bottom of them, or adding some fringe. Who knows, I just know I need to do something because right now they are a boring, and wrinkly, mess.  To Pinterest for some inspiration, I guess . . . .

• I love breakfast food. I mean, LOVE breakfast food. I think that Brunch is an awesome thing, but Chris could careless. I also think that Brinner (breakfast for dinner) is perfectly acceptable, but Chris thinks that it, along with the word Brinner, is "stupid." So, last Sunday I met a new friend at Acadiana for a New Orleans-style brunch, and boy was it yummmy. Acadiana has a pre fixe 3-course brunch with $1 mimosas. That's right, $1 mimosas. (If anything pairs perfectly with breakfast, it's a mimosa!) I had a banana fosters and pecan french toast, eggs benedict (mmmmm), and beignets. I have to go back asap, who wants to go?!

 

• When we first moved into our house we wanted to decorate our master bedroom first, so that we had one "finished" room. Well, now, it's probably one of the most disheveled rooms (besides our office, which is literally just piles of stuff with two bookcases and a desk and computer), and I really want to make it nice for real this time. I want to paint the walls darker, finally decorate some shelves we have, and do something with the boring, white curtains. And, of course, Pinterest has been giving me some inspiration, I just need to decide if I'm leaning towards bold and dramatic, or serene and quiet . . . 

 

• Like I mentioned last week, Chris and I "gardened" last weekend too, if that's what you call it. It was more like me yelling at the ivy and weed barrier fabric and Chris trying to avoid me. But, we got new mulch down and grass seed, flowers, and herbs planted. Now, we just have to wait and see how they all work out . . . (I'll post some pictures once there is more to look at!) 

•  Lastly, this weekend Chris' family is coming in town (yay!!), so if this post is too rambling for you, next week I should have something more exciting to write about. I'm hoping we finally check out a DC site that's on my "to do" list out here! (Can you guess which one it is?!) 

Have a great weekend ya'll, even if it is only Thursday!

History Nerds

Chris and I are big history nerds, if you haven't already figured that out from our map wall a few weeks ago. I am probably the biggest history nerd though, which I already hinted at here. (In summation, I love Little House on the Prairie.)

Any-who, if we didn't already stamp our nerdiness on our house with the map wall, we definitely did in our preparations for my brother and his girlfriend's visit last weekend for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.  Just like most of you probably do when you're expecting guests at your house, we spent the week before their arrival cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. But, while cleaning for most people is probably just the basic dusting and vacuuming, cleaning for me also means finally finishing long-awaited house projects. More specifically, long-awaited projects in the areas that guests will see, like the guest bedroom and its surrounding areas.

The first project was a 1,000-piece puzzle of the United States and the U.S. Presidents. Uber-nerdy, I know. It was an old puzzle I found in my parents' basement when we were visiting at Christmas and I decided that it was perfect for Chris and I. And, it only took us a couple of days to put it together (while we watched the first Presidential primary results of the year!).

Unfortunately, we realized that we were missing about 7 pieces of that puzzle. Bummer. So, I found an identical puzzle on Amazon for around $10 that promised to have all of its pieces. (I know you are probably thinking that I'm super nerdy for ordering the same puzzle online, but I had to have it!)

The new puzzle didn't have all its pieces though. It was missing 2-3 pieces. And, the worst part, besides that the missing pieces were part of Andrew Jackon's mugshot, er, portrait (which is one of Chris' favorite presidents) ,was that the puzzles were not identical. Sure, they were the same "scene" but the cuts of the pieces were different so it wasn't easy to swap a piece from one puzzle to the other. So, after carefully testing out pieces from both puzzles, we were able to find the right combination to make it look somewhat normal. For example, Andrew Jackson's portrait and description aren't quite right . . . (if you don't know who Andrew Jackson is, I guess that's ok. He's the one in the middle with the white hair, big forehead, and crazy receding hairline. But not the almost-bald dude on the bottom, that John Quincy Adams.)

If you can't tell, his nose and chin are kinda weird, at least weirder than they're already supposed to be, and the dates of his presidency and party are a jumbled mess. But I didn't care, at least the puzzle was together!

Then, I went out a bought some Modge Podge (because for some reason I didn't already own it) and a pricier-than-I-wanted-it-to-be frame from Michael's. Not only was it pricey, but the frame's corner was broken when I unwrapped it. That's what I get for being inpatient and buying when things aren't on sale. . . anyway, we hung it up in the hall in between the guest bedroom and the guest bathroom.

It fits in nicely with the Presidential and American History books that fill the bookshelf beneath it. (Yes, we have a bookshelf devoted to our Presidential history books. And don't worry, I have many more history books not pictured.) Plus, the AWESOME Abe Lincoln bobble head and vintage globe my sister gave me round out the nerdiness. (Thanks, Danielle!)

Well, I lied. The top two shelves are Presidential and American History books. The bottom shelf is clearly Harry Potter, Jane Austen, LOTR, some yearbooks, and other miscellaneous big books. Someday they will all be history books when I decide to organize them (unless I move them to my future classroom!).

The other project was hanging up some awesome sketches of our U.S. Presidents' homes that my mother-in-law gave us over Christmas. She had had them since Chris was younger, so I thought the perfect place to put them was in the guest bedroom where his parents will stay when they visit. As usual, Chris did the measurements, while I handled the sketches and the frames. . .

They line the wall across from the guest bed. So, if you stay with us, you will get to fall asleep, or wake up, to these beauties. Cool, huh? (only if you're a nerd, like us!)

And, just for your information, as a rule of thumb, I usually hang frames 3 inches a part (I did that here and here). I think it provides enough space between the frames, while also seeming "close." Especially because I use chunkier/bulkier frames.

Here are all of the prints up close . . .

First, there's George Washington's Mount Vernon (top) and William McKinley's home (bottom). . .

Then, it's Warren Harding's home (top) and Prospect, Princeton University's Presidents' home, and hence, Woodrow Wilson's home (bottom), since besides being our 28th President, he was also the 13th President of Princeton . . .

We also have Polk Place (top), the home of James K. Polk, and Andrew Jackson's Hermitage (bottom) . . .

Lastly, we have Harry Truman's Missouri home (top) and James Madison's Montpelier (bottom) . . .

I think we are the ultimate nerds, don't you think? Can't you just wait to come visit us and join us in all of our nerdy-glory? I like to think that we're all nerds at heart, I just like to show ours all over our house!

Anyway, in non-nerdy news, Chris and I will be spending the weekend tackling our yard since spring summer has decided to come early in DC. Remember all of that work we did last year? Well, it looks the same now, but substitute1-foot high weeds instead of ivy. We're in for some fun!

Bathroom Part 3, continued . . .

When I finally revealed Part 3 of our bathroom projects, I mentioned how I was still on the fence about how to decorate the space. I love my color plan for the bathroom, but I know I need to add some artwork and accessories to tie in some of the seafoam and turquoise colors that are in our guest bedroom and hallway.

So, the big question now is, how do you decorate a bathroom anyway?

There is one main area that needs some pizazz - the space above the towel rack.Whatever I decide to put there will determine what I put on the cabinet, etc.

After careful consideration over the last few weeks, I have decided on four different options. Well, four themes to be exact (I like themes):

1. Travel theme

Like I've mentioned before (here and here, oh, and here), Chris and I love to travel. And, because of that I have tons of photos from our travels, but as you can probably guess, they are all just stored on our computer and hardly any are displayed anywhere in our house.

I thought it might be nice to "mod podge" a photo or two onto canvas and hang on that wall, kinda like this:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

We have some great photos from Greece, like this one, that I think would compliment the colors pretty well.

2. Bathroom theme

I know, I know, this one is super original. No one has ever decorated their bathroom with a bathroom theme before, right? Well, I saw this cute idea on, where else, Pinterest, and thought 1) it's super easy, and 2) it's super cute.

Source: thelovelylittlethings.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

All I have to do is get cheap letters from a craft store, some cute fabric or scrapbook paper, and mod podge it all together - voila! Plus, if in a few years (or months) I don't like it any more, I can always move them to another bathroom or our laundry area, or, pitch them since this would be a really cheap project.

3. Beach theme

Another incredibly original idea, right? Whoever thought of decorating a bathroom in a beach theme, huh? I think was patrolling Etsy for ideas when I came across these prints. Aren't they fabulous?!

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

I thought they would look awesome in crisp white frames, or even in dark teal frames and white mats. Plus, they are obviously beach-themed, but they are fun, obviously vibrant, and a more youthful. I mean, who wouldn't want those bathing beauties smiling at them every morning?

4. Presidents theme

Now this is an original idea for bathroom decor, am I right? Presidents?!

So, the background story is this: while our main floor is taking on a map-theme, our second-floor is gradually developing a Presidential-theme. It's only fitting for two extreme history nerds I tell ya. First, we have a small bookshelf outside of this guest bathroom that has quite the little Presidential library developing, including an insanely cool Lincoln bobble-head my sister got me for Christmas. Then, recently we put together a 1000-piece President puzzle that I am mod-podging to hang above said bookshelf. President-love overkill? I think not. Lastly, Chris' mom gave us some awesome b&w sketches of Presidents' homes that I plan on hanging in the guest room (more to come on that later). Since the guest room, hallway, and bathroom will all share the same color scheme, why not share a President's theme? We heart America.

Picture this: President silhouettes, hanging in the bathroom. Kinda like this, but obviously with Presidents:

Source: hayleyhurst.com via Kristin on Pinterest

I'm totally thinking of finding some awesome oval frames, spray-painting them a deep teal color, and popping in a silhouette of some of our fav Presidents. Can't you picture Washington or T.J.'s ribboned-ponytail silhouette'd and staring at you as you shower?? Awesome, right?! (Or, do you prefer the bathing beauties up there?) I definitely think this option would be the most fun, for us at least, and is kinda strange and unique, in a sophisticated way of course.

So, what do you think? Which theme should I go with? And, how do you decorate a bathroom besides towels and soaps?

PS -  What did designers do before Pinterest?!? Seriously.

Oh, and PPS - When you embed an image from Pinterest, how do you get the caption credit to center too? I've tried entering the "text align: center;" code, but it doesn't seem to want to work for me - what am I doing wrong??

My Map Fetish

I have a thing for maps. There, I said it. All maps really - framed maps, antique maps, globes, and any other map-paraphernalia, including map pillows and coasters. Just look at My Map Maniac Pinterest board. It's a little crazy.

Every time I think of decorating our house, I brainstorm what kind of "map" I can incorporate. And, subsequently, every time I see a map, I brainstorm about where it could go in our house. If our house has a theme, it would probably be maps. Yes, I said it, our house has a theme. (Chris is going to hate that.)

I blame it on the fact that Chris and I love to travel. Not only did Chris and I meet studying abroad in Greece, but we also got engaged while backpacking across Europe. On top of that, we have taken more road trips around our great nation than I can recount, including a camping trip for a week in Utah. We're constantly planning our next big escape, whether it's the Olympic Games or a tour of the northern U.S., and we even "jokingly" comment about how we want to go live in Germany or Canada. (and I'm still not sure if we're joking, or serious about that one . . .) Either way, maps seem to be a constant reminder of all of our adventures and a fitting theme for our house!

So, for almost a year now I've been planning on creating a gallery wall of framed maps above our couch in our living room. Not only was the wall blank and boring, but coincidentally antique maps often have the same turquoise and red colors that I had started decorating our first floor in.

Ever since that decision I've been slowly collecting cheap frames from Ikea and thrift stores and perusing the web and Etsy for maps. I toyed with matching colored frames, or mixed frames (as my Pinterest followers probably noticed), and finally, last month, decided that it was time to actually hang up my map wall.

I started by laying out all of my frames on the floor and placing my maps on top of them to see how I wanted it to be arranged.

Then, I did what every lifestyle blogger out there does, I hung up mock frames made of paper on the wall to get a better idea of the arrangement.

I apologize for the raciness of my mock frames, we didn't have any newspaper like normal people probably use so I just tore up a Victoria's Secret catalog instead. And in case you guessed it already, these racy mock frames stayed up on the walls for a couple of weeks. Good thing we don't have friends with kids come over. But, I don't think Teddy minded, do you?

From there, most lifestyle bloggers tell their readers to start installing the nails for their real frames, right through their mock frames. I didn't want to use nails though, because I am too indecisive to have a bunch of nail holes littered across our wall. (and, Chris would probably kill me if I put a bunch of holes in the wall and then wanted to change it all six months later!)  So, instead I decided to use the trusty Command Picturing Hanging strips. Because I wanted to use those strips, I decided to use trusty painter's tape to outline the frames so I would know exactly where to hang each frame.

Now, I decided to go a little corny in my gallery wall (and give you all a lesson on DC). See, the center map on my wall is of Washington, DC and anyone who knows DC's street-scape should know that DC is divided into quadrants with the center being the Capitol building.  From the Capitol building as the center, streets, and the National Mall, go out directly east, west, north, and south and divide the city into its infamous quadrants (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest). Check out the satellite view of DC below because my explanation probably doesn't make any sense ; )

(Wiki Commons)

So, I followed the east/west and north/south lines of my antique map of DC and decided to hang my frames on the same grid. Cheesy, I know, but I love it! And, I love my finished look!

sorry for the awful glare . . .

The wall includes antique maps from all of our favorite places - DC, St. Louis, Kansas City, Munich, North America, Boone County MO (Columbia), Germany, Athens, Mexico, Greece, Adair County MO (Kirksville), Italy, and Gasconade County MO (Hermann). Some of them I bought online, but I also downloaded a bunch for free and just printed them off. So since almost half of them were free, I suspect that I'll change some over time to reflect new favorite places, but for now, it's perfect!  Also, I'm still toying with the idea of painting a couple of frames different colors since so many of them are black, maybe add some silver or white/cream - what do you think?

So, where are your favorite places? And, more importantly, does your home have a theme?

Surprise trip to STL

Two weekends ago, while Chris was busy at home finishing up our basement and working on homework, I flew to St. Louis to surprise my Mom on her 50th Birthday weekend! I was only in St. Louis for something like 30 hours, but it was great to see my mom and dad, brother and sister, meet my brother's girlfriend, and also see a lot of my extended family and family friends. You see, not only was my mom celebrating her 50th birthday, but my uncle was also celebrating his 60th birthday, so my mom and uncle did a low-key joint birthday party at a bar that my parents frequent and invited pretty much everyone they knew.

Here is the fam at the birthday party . . . (My Dad decided to take a "serious" picture.)

My little brother, Will, and sister, Danielle . . .

My uncle and cousin playing together for the first time . . .

My dad with his girls . . . (minus, my mom)

The birthday kids at the end of the night! (Happy Birthday and thanks for a great party!!)

In lieu of gifts, my mom and uncle decided to ask for donations to Operation Food Search. This is all of the food they collected that night!

So that was my whirlwind StL weekend. (It was even more whirlwind because I seriously just almost missed my fight back to DC!) Lately, I've been looking forward to the weekends even more as a way to get away from the chaos that is work during the week, so being able to see my family over one weekend was a good break for me. Seeing my family, even if it was for only 30 some-odd hours, was just what I needed!

Thank you, Dad, for arranging the last-minute flight for me to come in, and thank you to all of my family for carting me around that weekend and hanging out with me!!

My work has been really crummy the last couple of weeks months, to put it nicely, and so every day I hang on to those things that make me happy. My walk to work this morning was one of those things . . .

First of all, on my way to work I pass two historic cemeteries, a sprawling armed forces campus, a high school, and other various places that have a lot of green space. As you can guess though, there isn't much "green" about these spaces lately. They are literally bursting with beautiful fall colors - reds, oranges, yellows. The image below is of this magnificent tree in one of the cemeteries that I pass in the morning. Brilliant, no?

Via slack13 on Flickr

Anyway, this morning not only were all of the trees bursting with colors, but a thick fog was still hanging in the air making the colors seem even more vibrant than usual. On top of that, there was a slight breeze making it literally rain brilliant fall-colored leaves. It was gorgeous, and made me happy.

Even though I live in a huge city, I'm so grateful that I get to pass through lots of green spaces every day that often remind me that whatever crummy day I've had (or will have) doesn't really matter. Right?!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Seeing Red

I never thought today would come. (This day being Game 7 of the World Series!!) Like many Cards fans out there, I never ever expected them to make it to the Worlds Series, much less make it to a Game 7. This whole season I've thought the Cards weren't all that great, just average (still better than the Royals and Nationals though). Even that last week of regular play, I didn't think they would beat the Braves in the Wild Card race. And now look where we are - Game. 7. of the. World. Series.

One of my co-workers, a Phillies fan, aptly pointed out after we beat the Phillies and the Brewers that maybe it's been my low expectations of the team that has gotten them this far. I don't know if it's their underdog status in many people's eyes that has somehow pulled out all these wins (or, it could be major hitting by the likes of Berkman, Pujols, and Freese), but I'll keep doing whatever I'm doing to help - you know, the typical superstitious rituals sports fans do.....

Soooo, for the last 3 weeks (since the Cards/Brewers series) I have been wearing something red and/or something St. Louis-y, every. day. Call me crazy, but it seems to be working. Me wearing something red or St. Louis-y = Cards winning each series. Makes sense, right?

Now, I'm not going to turn this into a fashion blog with pictures of myself in all of these fantastic red outfits, but here's a list of my "ritualistic" Cards and St. Louis garb:

• 2 Cardinals baseball hats
• 2 Cardinals t-shirts
• a red American Apparel tee
• 2 red cardigans
• a few red sweaters
• a pair of red flats
• St. Louis map pendant (a "bad day" gift from Chris a few weeks back)
• Missouri state necklace (a "honeymoon" gift from Chris. I seriously have the best husband!)
• To top it off, I have a wide array of Cardinals cups and glasses to put my beer water in as I watch the games!

And, maybe to make you laugh at my ridiculous "red"-wearing, here is a photo Chris took of me last night in the midst of the extra innings. Complete with my red American Apparel tee, St. Louis necklace, and, yes, a double-rally cap. (Excuse the crazy face. I maybe had too much wine/beer and it was past my bedtime...)

 So far, my red-wearing has worked because the Cards had an outstanding night last night in Game 6 and are on their way to beating the Rangers and winning their 11th World Series! And you better believe I am wearing red again today (a cardigan and my trusty St. Louis necklace). Let's hope it holds out for one more game!

Go Cards!!

Versatile Blogger Award!

Well, I found out this weekend that I have been nominated for my very first blog award - the Versatile Blogger Award - by the ever-so-lovely, Megan! Let me tell you, this means soooo much! Sometimes I feel like I'm just rambling on about stuff that only I find interesting, so it's great to hear that not only do I have an interested reader out there, but that she likes my ramblings enough to nominate me!

Here are the "rules" of the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the award-giver and provide a link back to their blog.
2. Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.
3. Give the award to up to 15 recently discovered bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news!

So, of course this calls for more rambling from moi! Here we go:

Thank you, thank you,  Megan, for nominating me! You should check out her blog because she does some pretty awesome Glee-caps - Glee recaps - and is a 30x30 re-mixer! (Oh, and she also just started a photography business, Megan Stoll Studios, in the S.T.L. that you should check her out at too. Pretty awesome stuff!

And, here's 7 random things about myself....

1. I am the oldest of three. As Megan mentioned, I have a younger sister, Danielle, who is pretty awesome,  and a younger brother, Will, who is pretty stellar himself. Danielle is a much better blogger than I am (you can check her out at Addicted to Television and Danielle's Other Blog) and she is my go-to person for all social media and fashion-related questions (she just helped me pick out a purse this morning). Will is a runner. He ran for his college cross country and track team and is always trying to fit in a workout. Every time he has visited us he has run a race here in DC - He totally won the SOME Turkey Trot last Thanksgiving here in DC, and will be running the DC Rock N Roll half with us this spring! The three of us didn't really get along all that great as kids, but I'm so glad that we're close now as adults and cannot wait until we can all get together again - miss you two!

The three of us being silly at a rainy Cards game!

2. I watch a lot of TV. Probably too much TV. Chris always asks what's on my "line-up" for the evening, and I'm guessing that's not a good thing. Some of my absolute favorites are So You Think You Can Dance, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, True Blood, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Games of Thrones, Friends, Project Runway, and Design Star. I'm also a fan of all of Sarah Richardson's HGTV shows, Grey's Anatomy, and some of the Bachelor/Bachelorette stuff. Oh, and my guilty pleasure is definitely some Days of Our Lives. And, I was a huge fan of Brothers & Sisters, Greek, and, of course, LOST before they all ended/got canceled.Ok, so I know I just listed a lot of shows, but it really feels like I missed some??... Although, to my credit, I do read and workout too, on top of doing "home" stuff and going out occasionally, so a little TV is okay, right?

3. When I was younger I had a strange obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House on the Prairie series. Not only have I read her books countless times, but I would watch the TV series regularly (I even own the VHS set of one season), and have even visited her final home in Mansfield, Missouri, Rocky Ridge Farm. To top it off, for Christmas two years ago, Chris got me the most spectacular gift ever: tickets to see Little House on the Prairie, The Musical! Even though Melissa Gilbert didn't play Ma that night, it was ah-mazing. I credit Wilder for developing my passion for history and it is a secret wish of mine to travel around the Midwest visiting all of her "homes." Now, if I could only find a way to travel back in time....

4. I used to be (knock on wood) somewhat accident prone. Or, as my dad put it, "I liked to play (too) hard." For example, I have 2 screws in my foot and a bone floating in my butt cheek. Attractive right? Long story short, I pulled part of my hamstring from my pelvis - and it took some bone with it - hence the bone "floating" in my booty and I also broke my foot which needed two screws put in to heal. If I've learned anything from all of my broken bones and pulled muscles it is that crutches suck. Sure, they might be a good workout for your "good" leg (I became a pro at hopping around) and a great workout for your triceps, but they SUCK. Be safe out there (and knock on wood)!

 5. For those of you that don't know, Chris and I met in Greece and got in engaged in Greece. We met on a travel abroad summer trip through our undergraduate college and then went back there again when we graduated, where Chris decided to propose along the way... I think we have a pretty cute little love story, no? Either way, Greece should be on everyone's travel lists because it is seriously the best place ever (I'm not biased or anything). Beautiful landscapes, yummy food, and amazing history. I absolutely love it so if you are planning to go there and want travel tips feel free to ask me, but be prepared for some major ramblings!

One of my own photos of Oia, Santorini, Greece. Swoon.

6. As you might be able to tell from some of my posts, I really love to decorate and really love learning about interior design (my Google Reader is full of design bloggers and hello, HGTV!). Ever since I got my own room when I was 13 (?) I've had the itch to decorate. Back then, that meant that I spray painted my bed with textured paint akin to a popcorn ceiling, painted each wall of my room its own pastel color, and even painted my closet light blue, complete with clouds. Classy stuff, right? If only I had a picture! Now that I have my own home, I am absolutely loving the freedom to decorate however I want, although, I hope that my aesthetics have improved even slightly since that first bedroom!

7. Although I really really love living in DC 95% of the time, the 5% of the time that I miss living back in Missouri is when I think about my family and when I think about all of the great St. Louis food. Sure, DC has a great food scene, but when I want a simple sandwich there is no P'sghetti's or Mom's Deli to swing by. Or, when I want something really bad, I can't drive to a White Castle's or Imo's. And, when I just want a super delicious and easy finger food, I can't go out and buy some toasted ravs. I was hoping I would find food in DC that would curb my cravings for my St. Louis food, but I haven't found anything yet and I'm starting to think those places are irreplaceable...sigh. Anyone want to mail me some toasted ravs or Imo's?!?

My mouth is seriously watering just looking at this. Yummmmmy!

And, last but definitely not least, here are two recently discovered fellow bloggers that I would like to bestow this award on as well:

Lacey from A Little Bit of Lovely. I had the privilege to meet Lacey during our unfortunate trip back to MO earlier this summer and could not help but to stalk her via the blog-o-sphere when we returned. Her insightful and funny thoughts put a smile on my face!

Sara from Running from the Law. I stumbled upon Running from the Law when Sara blogged about her map wall,which I instantly fell in love with. Her design aesthetic is inspiration for my own home-making and her pups are too too cute! While I do not personally know Sara, I love her blog and I'm so glad I found it. Plus, she is from St. Louis which gives her mad points in my book!