Weekend Review - Sans Pictures

I can't believe I didn't take a single picture this weekend!!! That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the weekend, because I most certainly did :)

Friday night I had a dinner date with one of my besties. She helped me move a few weeks ago, but never got to see the new house (she actually got the exciting task of helping me pack). I had her over for a home cooked meal and to tour the new casa. It was nice to stay in (instead of going out) after a long day of work.

Saturday morning Mr. Pickle and I ran a bunch of errands and had lunch with some friends of ours. They have a 7 month old baby and he is just adorable. I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time we saw him a few months ago. He has such a cute little personality and has become quite the ladies man with his handsome little smile. The rest of the day was spent maxin' and relaxin'.

Sunday I had plans to help out one of my friend's whose wedding I am in in May. She needed help getting organized and wanted our input on a few items. We are having the hardest time finding the perfect turquoise heels for the wedding. I know I have seen some adorable ones in the past, but now that I am actually looking to purchase some, NOTHING!!! We got a lot accomplished and came up with a solid game plan for her to work on over the next month or so. She seemed really relieved. Mr. Pickle and I met up for dinner and called it an early night.

PS. Why is the weather perfect during the work week and rainy and cold during the weekend?? I hate when it works out like that. Oh well, it was a good excuse to cuddle under warm blankets and watch tv!!

Obsessed Much?!

Packing your entire house really makes you focus on all the junk you accumulate. I am so envious of friends I have that are minimalists and don't feel the need to keep EVERYTHING like I do. However, I understand how truly blessed I am to own so much.

Anywho, packing/moving made me realize there are some items that I just can't seem to get enough of. Of course my closet is jammed pack with clothes (a lot of which I never wear) and I have too many pairs of shoes (that all look the same according to Mr. Pickle), but I'm talking about other items that I have started a 'collection' of.

Candles - I am obsessed with scented candles. I do use them often, but not often enough to have the amount I have!!

Scented Lotions/Body Spray/Body Wash/Perfume - I am really sensitive to scents (get headaches easily), but when I find a scent I like, I will buy it. Plus, a lot of scents at Bath & Body Works don't last too long. I swear I find a new favorite scent and they discontinue it. Therefore, I tend to go overboard when I see it at the half yearly sale :)

Jewelry - I do have a lot of family heirlooms and jewelry that has been in the family for a while (haha, family jewels), but that is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about the fun Forever 21 necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings that I buy but NEVER end up wearing. I usually keep the same key pieces in heavy rotation. Yet, I am always tempted to buy more.

Craft Supplies - I always get craft ideas but don't always follow through and do them, but I keep the supplies 'just in case.' I must say though, every time I get rid of something thinking I won't use it, I find myself looking for it later.

Picture Frames - I love pictures and have WAAAAAYYYY to many, but I don't display nearly as many as I used to. I hope that once I get settled into our new home, I can print up some pictures I have been meaning to and frame them and get rid of the rest.

Nail Polish - Okay, so I am aloud to have a number of different nail polishes, but the problem is is that I buy different shades of reds, pinks and darks. I don't really branch out from there.

Stationary - I am a sucker for cute stationary and I rarely even send out hand written notes.

I have put myself on restriction from buying any more of these items until I use what I have or donate/sell what I won't use.

What do you 'collect'?

Pics from Google Images

Wine and Sewing

My sister and I have been wanting to learn how to sew for quite some time. I recently just got a sewing machine and we decided to take a class to check it off our list and get to sewing some stuff. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea and the class was too full.

We decided that while we wait for the next class to start, we might as well practice (IE open up the box the sewing machine came in, etc.). And last night, practice is what we did!!! It was very exciting for us and not even too hard thanks to the step-by-step instructional DVD that came with the sewing machine. We didn't even sew our fingers together or spill wine on the fabric. Success in my book.

Can't wait to see what we end up making!!!

Pic from Google Images

Sugar ah Honey Honey

I have this horrible habit...I always crave something sweet to eat. No, really. I can't conclude a meal without something sweet (except maybe breakfast). I have gone to great measures to get this sweet tooth satisfied. The examples are endless (hello making smores at the gas fire place at lunch time causing me to be late getting back to work). I can't exactly pinpoint when or where I picked up this horrible habit, but it feels as if it is impossible to break.

Yes, I have tried not buying sweet stuff, but then I end up eating anything and everything in it's place resulting in me still craving something sweet but feeling like I'm going to vomu. Yes, I have tried getting a bag of Hersey Kisses and only eating a few, but ummmm that's like giving an alcoholic a bottle of alcohol and telling them to only take a few sips!!! I have eaten ice cream that has freezer crystals on it, not to mention eating ice cream that I don't even like!

Even worse, I just realized See's Candy is only a block away from my house and not too far out of my way when going back to work at lunch. I stayed strong today and managed to not turn in that direction, but hello, I have only been living at this house for a few weeks. I am going to have to have that will power EVERY day??? Geesh.

I swear I have will power. I quit smoking cold turkey after YEARS of smoking a pack a day. But sweets, that's a whole different ballgame.

Baby steps.

PS. Why when I typed 'sweet tooth' into Google Images did a bunch of pictures of marijuana and scary clowns come up??? Odd. Anywho, pics are from Google Images

Weekend Review

Despite other parts of the US experiencing colder weather, Cali has been unusually warm. Luckily, this kept up through the weekend!!!

Friday night Mr. Pickle's sister came in to town with her husband and daughter. We enjoyed spending the evening with them and this cutie pie!!!

PS. These are the only pics I took this weekend :(

Saturday morning I got my hair cut. I was in much need as it had been a while. I love the feeling of freshly cut hair, so healthy and light.

From the hair salon I went straight to a reunion of some gals I used to know/play softball with back in the day. It was so fun catching up with these ladies and their meeting their significant others and kids. We decided to do it again next year at our cabin in Tahoe.

Saturday night was spent hanging out at my house with my sis and the boys.

Sunday morning I got the pleasure of having brunch with my sis and one of my close friends. We have all been so busy lately that it has been hard to connect. Brunch was the perfect time for us to get together and still have the rest of the day to be responsible. She actually ended up bringing over her fiance and son to our house later for some BBQ.

Starvin' Marvin's BBQ Team had a practice cook on Saturday night/Sunday and we had a TON of yummy meat. We had about 10 people over and we still have a ton left. It's always nice when the boys practice because we get to reap the yummy benefits. They made brisket and pork butt. Both were pretty dang tasty if I do say so myself.

The rest of Sunday was spent unpacking some boxes and trying to organize the garage. We have been out of town a lot since the move, so we are still living out of boxes. We made a dent this weekend, but still have some work to do.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!!

For The Love Of Shoes

So in October, I ordered my first pair of Tom's Shoes. If you have been MIA for the past year or so and don't know what I am talking about visit their website here. Not only are their shoes really comfy and affordable, the company gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need for EVERY pair of shoes you buy!! Do good for children in need and buy shoes?!?! Ummmm, yes please!

My first pair of Tom's came and although they were really comfortable, the stitching on the inside of one of the shoes really itched the top of my foot. I figured it was just the materials used and my sensitive skin acting up so I didn't think much of it. Then I got another pair for Christmas (yes, even the itchiness wasn't enough to keep me away from these otherwise comfy shoes). I noticed that I didn't have the same problem with the new shoes and thought maybe it was because it was a different style (corduroy vs canvas).

My sis also got a pair for Christmas (the canvas style) and I asked her if she had any problems with them itching the top of her foot and she said no. I figured it wouldn't hurt to contact them and see if maybe this is a common complaint or maybe I got a defective pair. I chatted with a customer service rep (via their live chat) yesterday and explained my problem. He was very helpful and advised that it wasn't a common problem and told me who tp email and what to include with the email and that someone would get back to me in 3 business days. I sent the email this morning and just a few 5 hours later received the following email:

"We are very sorry to hear about the issue with your TOMS. We stand by the quality of our products and we are happy to replace your TOMS with a new pair. Your replacement pair has been ordered and will ship out tomorrow. You do not need to send back the defective pair. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else."

Now that is some good customer service. I wasn't necessary looking for a free pair of shoes out of it (I figured I would just send back my shoe and they could fix the issue), but to not even have to deal with going to the post office to ship the return the old shoes!! I am impressed.

Even though I would have recommended their shoes before because of the comfort, style and them giving to those in need, I would highly recommend them now because of the previously mentioned items as well as their extraordinary customer service. GO BUY SOME NOW, you will not be disappointed!! (They do sell at some retail stores such as Nordstroms and Sports Basement, but I like the large selection online.)

Pics taken from their website http://www.toms.com/

It's a start

One of my goals for this year is to learn to use my DSLR and take more pictures. While we were in Pacific Grove over the weekend I started working on this goal and took the following pics...

I am pretty happy with these pictures and even plan to get a few of them printed. I must give a shout out to my sis who helped me edit the pics and designed the logo for me!!

Weekend Review

Morning All! Most of you are probably enjoying a wonderful day off while I am here at the office. Lucky you :)

Over the weekend Mr. Pickle and I went to Pacific Grove with some friends to celebrate Mr. Pickle's birthday. We were lucky enough to have the most perfect weather along with great company.

We got down to Pacific Grove on Friday night and ended up having dinner before heading to the house. Once we got all unpacked we enjoyed hanging out by the fire and headed to bed pretty early.

Saturday morning the gals went on a walk on the beach. I LOVE waking up and walking on the beach. I swear if I could do it every day I would. So relaxing and beautiful!

After our walk, we got cleaned up and the girls went to get pedicure's while the boys stayed home watching football. When we got back, we decided to head to Roy's at Spanish Bay to watch the sunset and have a cocktail. The sunset was amazing!!

When we got home, we relaxed by the fire and had fun hanging out. We even sang Happy Birthday to Mr. Pickle :)

Sunday morning we got up and packed up the car and headed to one of our favorite Italian restaurants for lunch before heading home.

Such a perfect weekend!!

Decisions, Decisions

I mentioned previously that we just moved (I still have the bruises and sore muscles to prove it). Now that we have a better understanding of how we are going to utilize most spaces, I have a decision to make on the extra room we have! As of now, we have my room/master, Mr. Pickle's room (you may recall we don't sleep in the same room), guest room and Mr. Pickle's "mancave". This leaves one room for me to decide how it is used. I am torn between a...

closet/dressing room

or

craft room

I should explain that since I do have the master bedroom, I have a HUGE walk-in closet and most of my clothes are hung up in there, where as the extra room has a not so big closet. But, I have always dreamed of having a totally girly, pink (of course), sassy room to keep all my clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.

On the other hand a craft room could be useful. Now I am not Miss Crafty as of now, but I have been known to do a few crafts here and there. I did just get a sewing machine and am going to learn how to use it and have a few craft projects I would like to work on in the near future. Also, in moving I realized I have accumulated a lot more craft supplies (thank you sorority) than I would have expected and it would be nice to have a place to keep them all together.

Oh, what to do?!?!

Pics from Google Images

2011 Goals

I feel like after this post I will be all caught up with my holiday posting.

I wanted to keep a list of goals I would like to work on for 2011...

- Learn how to sew
- Become more familiar with using my DSLR/take a lot of pictures
- Get settled in our new home
- Accept the fact that I will be 30 this year and that it is not a horrible thing
- Continue with my efforts to make time for friends/family
- Continue working out
- Expand my horizons with cooking
- Attain healthier eating habits

I am confident that I can achieve these goals!

What A Weekend

Whew, a three day weekend and the ENTIRE weekend was spent moving!!! Mr. Pickle and I decided to relocate locally and packed, moved and attempted to unpack as much as possible within the last 72 hours. I am sore, tired and a little overwhelmed with everything that still needs to be done.

Since there are no pictures of our moving adventures, I figured I would recap a bit of our previous weekend celebrating New Year's.

We had friends come into town from LA for the weekend. Unfortunately, the day they were due to arrive (Wednesday) one of our dogs got sprayed by a skunk and left the whole house, backyard and himself really stinky. {Side Note: Have you ever smelled a skunk once it has just sprayed?? It does not smell like a dead skunk that you pass by on the road, it smells like burning rubber, skunk and really strong garlic...not pretty at all.} The smell was so powerful, I jumped into sweats and ran out the door with wet hair just to get out of the house, I figured I could get ready at work. Once I got to work I looked up some remedies and most explained the faster you do something about the smell the better. I left work and braved the smelly house. I bathed both dogs at least 5 times, used 4 bottles of febreez, put out 6 bowls of white vinegar and sprinkled the carpets with a whole box of baking soda (after he got sprayed, he came running in the house trying to rub the smell of by rolling around on the carpets, couches, etc.).

Mr. Pickle decided we couldn't allow our guests to stay in the smelly house all weekend and made arrangements for the stinky dog to go to the kennel and found us a house in Dillon Beach for the weekend. The house was awesome. The weather was FREEZING so we didn't spend too much time at the beach, but we could still see it from the house and admired it from far away.

Friday night, New Year's Eve, we had planned on a gourmet dinner cooked by Mr. Pickle, but ate a late lunch and decided Saturday night would be best for a large meal. We snacked on cheese and crackers and fresh Oysters from Tomales Bay, played games, rang in the New Year and headed to bed shortly afterwards. It was a nice low-key night.

The beach down the street


Yummy Oysters

Puka kept the Champagne flowing all night

Mr. Pickle and me

Me and Puka

Friends

Happy New Year!!!

Puka was exhausted

Saturday was a lazy day around the house. After making breakfast we stayed cozy inside and watched a bunch of movies. It was fabulous!! Saturday night Mr. Pickle made a delicious meal.

Puka had fun looking out the window all day

Sunday morning we woke up, cleaned the house and headed home. Once we got home, I decided to go see a movie. I enjoy going to the movies by myself sometimes and I was craving some alone time.

The weekend was a perfect beginning to a New Year!!

Last Christmas Post

I wanted to post a few last things about Christmas until next year (just so I can look back and remember this Christmas).

Our Christmas cards we sent out. My sister took the pics and designed the cards.

Front

Back

I always take pictures of our tree decorated.

And a very fitting ornament from my sister and her boyfriend.

A Pickle!!!!

Farewell 2010

I was going to do a recap of the wonderful things I did, the fun people I spent time with and the great adventures I experienced, but I realized that is what my posts this past year are about. When I look back at this online journal of mine I want to be able to recall what I learned from this past year, what accomplishments I made and what struggles I am working to get through.

This past year has made me realize more than ever that family is very important, yet isn't always easy to manage. My family has been through some rough times with health and personal issues. I think our family dynamics have been shaken up over the past year more than any other thus far. As dysfunctional as we may be sometimes we are still a family and will always care for one another. As any relationship, this will continue to be a work in progress.

Unfortunately, my grandfather's health is continuing to decline. Fortunately he lives close to us (daughter and granddaughters) and we have the opportunity to be there for him when he needs us. My grandfather has always been a big part of our lives and has done so much for us. It is important for us to be able to return the favor and take care of him in this time of need. In addition, it is nice to continue to grow our relationship with him. He loves to be around family and thrives on sharing his life experiences with anyone that will listen. I am amazed at the life he has lived.

My mother is coming to terms with the fact that my sister and I are no longer her 'little girls'. She will always be our mother and I will always cherish the relationship we have, but it is true that we are growing up and don't need her approval when making decisions anymore. I think giving up some of that control has been hard on her (and me). I will always need my mother, but the ways I need her are different now than they have been in the past.

Although we haven't been close with some of our extended family in the past. My sister and I have made a conscious effort to reconnect (thanks to Facebook). We are lucky in that a lot of our extended family is close in proximity and we have the opportunity to spend time with each other. Growing up makes you realize how important even extended family is. I am so happy this is something we have worked on (must give props to my sis here). I really do enjoy being around my crazy family!!

My friends are my rock. I don't have TONS of fair weather friends, I have a handful of very close friends. I was even able to spend some time with some great friends from my past that I would have never thought possible (again thanks to Facebook). Although timing isn't always on our side, when we are able to get together, it's as if we haven't skipped a beat. I would do anything for my friends and know they would do anything for me. I tried to let my friends know how much they mean to me and to keep in touch as best I could this past year. I continue to do so for years to come.

This past year I was honored to help celebrate with friends as they got married, moved into new homes and/or welcomed a baby into this world. It must be true that we are growing up!! It has been so wonderful to see my friends grow and experience some life changing events with them. I couldn't be happier for every single one of them! I just wish we all had more free time to get together (another characteristic of being an adult).

I personally have worked a lot this past year with setting boundaries and trying to re-teach myself that in order to make others happy, I need to be happy first. This is not an easy transition for myself or for some of those around me. I can't help but feel selfish putting myself first, but am understanding more and more that it is necessary.

I have regretted some of the decisions I have made in the past, but have learned to deal with those decisions and not dwell on them. I used to always beat myself up for "making the wrong decision". I have gotten used to the fact that at the time, I made the best decision I thought possible. There is no question that had I known then what I know now I would have made a different decision, but that is impossible. I am finally allowing myself to move forward from these decisions even if out of my comfort zone. I am hopeful that 2011 will see this chapter come to a close so I can move on with my life and learn from the whole experience.

Another part of 'me' I have been working on has been my health. I have come to terms with the fact that I will probably never be as skinny as I was back in the day, but I have also come to understand why losing weight is important to me. I have health issues that are not too serious at this point, but isn't getting any better with me being overweight. The past several months I have learned to be disciplined enough to get some sort of physical activity in several days a week (even got back into running and picked up yoga). I am not as quick/strong as I once was, but I am working on simply being healthy in addition to liking what I see in the mirror.

My relationship with Mr. Pickle has grown more than I even thought possible. He has been by my side through all my/our challenges and has helped me stay optimistic. I am so blessed to have a husband that is always there for me and keeps an open mind to my ideas. He definitely is my other half. I can't believe that 2010 marked 10 years of being together. If someone would have told me ten years ago where we would be today I wouldn't have believed them...ten years later, I couldn't imagine it any other way. Plus, I just LOVE to watch him interact with our little niece. Too cute!

This about sums up what my year was like. I am sure I could go on, but I think it has gotten long enough!!

Farewell 2010 & Welcome 2011!

Christmas Recap

I am trying to get caught up at work, hence the lack of posting. The first of the year is a pretty busy time for my office so I haven't had much free time to blog and posting at home is always difficult!

Anyways, on to the Christmas post...

Christmas morning we woke up early and headed to Mr. Pickle's parent's house for their annual Christmas breakfast. We drank gin fizzes and ate a big breakfast and then opened presents.

Grandpa and me


Mr. Pickle and his niece. She was more excited about the wrapping paper than the presents!


Isn't she adorable. She's a ham for the camera too.

Even the dogs we dressed in Christmas attire

The Pickle's

After the party was over, we headed back home. We were both REALLY tired, but Mr. Pickle made us some dinner and we ventured out to see Christmas lights on some nearby houses. When I was growing up, we used to always do this as a family on or around Christmas. Now Mr. Pickle and I go. I get so excited when I see houses decorated all out. We found some good ones too. Unfortunately I only got a picture of one :(

In the car and ready to look at lights!

Puka (in his Christmas PJ's) enjoyed the lights too.

Tis' The Season

Well friends, until next year!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!