Weekend in Pictures

This weekend was very relaxing and fun. Friday night we had a game night with some friends.

On Saturday we made a Target and Starbucks run. Our pillows were so old and worn out that we were losing sleep and suffering achy neck pains. Not fun. We found the most comfortable $3 pillows at Target, success!Took a silly picture with the statue in the park.
We tried a new sushi place for lunch.
Walked around downtown and saw the coolest Pink limo.Sunday we went to church and then babysat the cutest two-year-old I know.

There was lots of Miss America and Golden Globe watching. We tried ChocoVine which is chocolate wine. Delightful! Played cards. It was such a good weekend and it went by way too fast. How was your weekend?

Thanksgiving Weekend

I have so much to be thankful for this season. Godly husband. Loving family. Health. Happiness. Friendships. God. Job. Eye sight. Shelter. Church. Small group. I feel so blessed.

This four day weekend was amazing and so relaxing. Thursday morning we watched the parade and I made crock pot macaroni and cheese to bring to my parent's. We spent quality time with family and saw my brother since he was back in town from NYC. We ate good food, laughed a lot and enjoyed the company of relatives we don't see often.

Friday we slept in, went for a long walk, and then decided to try and go shopping. We were going to go to Best Buy and see if they had any TVs left, but stopped at Kohls first. If you know me at all, you know I hate crowds. As soon as stepped in Kohls it was hot and crowded. I could barely move there were so many people so I needed to get out of there. We headed to Target next, but couldn't even find a parking spot, got stuck in traffic trying to get to Best Buy and by then we were stressed and decided to just go home. It wasn't worth it. All of our neighbors were putting up lights which made we really wish we purchased lights. Speaking of lights, Friday night we went to a Light Parade in our little town. LOVE it.

Saturday Garth watched lots of football and I read. I am currently obsessed with John Grisham novels. He is such a great writer! Sunday we went to church with the whole family which nevers happens anymore since all the kids have moved. It was nice to be back! After church we went to my parents' house to celebrate my dad's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!). We had chili and cake. We hung out and talked and gave gifts and then said good-bye to my brother as he heads back to NYC.

We ended the holiday weekend with some TV and thai food. Perfection! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Halloween 2011.

Friday night we went out for sushi with some good friends we haven't seen in a long time. We had a great time reconnecting and it was like no time had passed. Love that!

Saturday we had our sprinklers winterized, watched football, made chicken and rice in the crockpot, and went to a Halloween party. Our costmes were kinda lame, I will admit. I went as a bee and Garth was a Texas fan. The party was a lot of fun though and we saw a couple we haven't seen in a while so it was great to catch up.

Sunday Garth had to work overtime so I went to church with our small group, grocery shopped, cleaned the house, and then Garth came home. We went for a long walk, watched the new Transformers movie and relaxed.

My neighbor had warned us that Halloween is a huge deal in our neighborhood so I had bought a ton of candy. Garth snuck some of it though and I caught it on film!

So I was expecting a lot of kids last night, but I had no idea how big a deal it actually is! Oh my goodness, we had 234 (yes, we counted) trick-or-treaters before 8:00! Everyone bundled up and set up a table in their driveway and kids came in massive groups. I wish I had taken a picture, our streets were just packed with people and cars were lined up and down both sides of the road! It was a site to see!

Some of our neighbors brought their fire pits into the driveway and the adults would all gather and hang out. I have never seen anything like it! A couple of our neighbors came and visited us and we talked for a while. The kids were all dressed up, very polite, and there weren't any creepy old guys trick-or-treating alone. There were some creative costumes but my favorite was a little boy dressed as Darth Vador. After I gave him candy he said "May the force be with you." How cute is that?!

It was hard a chilly night and when we ran out of candy we had to pack it up and get out of there before more kids came! What a crazy, fun night!

Fall Weekend.

This weekend was a gorgeous. Garth and I feel like we have been going nonstop the last few weeks and it was a blessing that some plans we had this weekend were cancelled. We made a lovely staycation out of the weekend and it was perfection.

Friday night date night out to dinner.

Relaxing on our deck.Friendly competition watching the Michigan State / University of Michigan football game. I went to State so of course I wanted the Spartans to win. I'm just not sure why Garth is a U of M fan but he is.
All I gotta say is "GO STATE!" I was so proud of the Spartans. Garth was bummed this weekend because his Wolverines lost, the Tigers lost, and the Lions lost. Poor guy!

Sunday morning Garth woke me up with breakfast in bed! I didn't take a picture because I had just woken up and was groggy. But I wish I had! The tray had roses from our front yard, coffee, and cinnamon rolls. While I ate breakfast Garth read the third chapter of 1 Corinthians to me. Swoooooooooooooooooon. I am seriously the luckiest girl in the world.

How was your weekend?

Perfect Fall Weekend.

.Hot caramel apple cider.

.Football.

.Celebrating my niece's 5th birthday.

.Bonfire on the deck.

.Meeting the newest fuzzy nephew.

.Sweater weather.

.Cuddled on the couch with a good book.

.Tortilla soup.

.Buying pumpkins.

.Friday night date night with my man.

.Raking leaves.

.Dinner with my brother and SIL.

.Couponing.

.Grocery shopping for a yummy week.

Happenings.

01. Garth and I have started couponing. I'm not crazy into it...yet. I can see how it's addicting! I do enjoy saving money! I'm only cutting out coupons for what we would normally buy and it's a little overwhelming since I'm trying to meal plan as well. Any tips or tricks?



02. I'm currently obsessed with Pintrest. There are so many cute ideas and inspirational quotes and yummy recipes. LOVE.


03. I'm going to try to make this tomorrow night for dinner and this casserole Thursday night. I am wanting this adorable wreath. Garth wants to make this dip while he watches football next weekend.


04. I bought my first coupon from Groupon. It was for a restaurant in our town that Garth and I love so we couldn't resist. $15 for a $30 gift card, yes please!


05. The owner of my company had extra tickets to the Michigan State football game this weekend and Garth and I got to use them. We had awesome seats on the 50 yard line and the weather was perfect. Fun times watching the Spartans kick some butt!


06. We did not get a dog this weekend, but my brother and SIL did! I can't wait to meet little Hitch next weekend!!


07. Garth and I watched Bridesmaids this weekend. I wasn't expecting much, but found it kinda hilarious.

09. I adore Home Goods. I had a gift card and wandered around the store for hours. I am incredibly indecisive and could not decide on what to get. Actually, I really wanted this large white elephant for our fireplace mantel but Garth hated it. I settled on candles in pretty vases instead. I'll get pictures up one of these days when I like the way it looks. Gosh, I wish I had "the eye"!

08. I'll end with a pretty picture of two things I love from Pintrest. I told ya I was obsessed!

Life in List Form.

1. Garth and I are in the market for new phones. We are not going to renew with our current phone company because we do not get any service at our house. And if we do get service we are roaming. Annoying much?

2. What kind of phone do you have? Do you love it / hate it? Thanks for your help!

3. We were thisclose to getting a dog this weekend. Garth and I were running errands and noticed that Pet Smart was having an adoption. I was shocked Garth suggested we check it out. But as soon as we walked it we were hit by an odor and a lot of barking. A girl was coming out of the store sobbing. It was all too much and we left.

4. My brother was in NYC this weekend finding a place to stay. He starts his job there in two weeks. Crazy exciting!!

5. We celebrated my mom's birthday this weekend. My family came to our house for appetizers and then headed off to dinner. We tried a new Italian restaurant in town and it was yummy. We had the leftovers for dinner last night. Yum!

6. This week is a lot less busy and that makes me happy.

7. I gotta focus on working out again everyday and eating healthier. I weighed myself yesterday for the first time since July and I gained eight pounds. EIGHT. That is incredibly annoying.

8. I can't feel sorry for myself though. I have been snacking too much, eating take out too much, and not exercising enough.

9. I'm gonna lose it once and for all though. I'm sick of going back and forth. It's not good for my body either. I need to find that healthy balance to lose the weight and keep it off.

10. I just finished Gap Creek by Richard Morgan. It was good, but deeply depressing.

11. Stay tuned for Wedding Wednesday, Fit Friday!, and a week of cooking and recipe coming soon!

12. our company retreat last week was awesome. We had Marcus Sheridan from The Sales Lion speak to us and it was very inspirational and interesting.

Weekend Recap.

Friday night - Walked a 2 miler around the lake across from our subdivision. Then went downtown to listen to a concert in the park. The band was a Rod Stuart cover and they ROCKED! The lead singer sounded just like Rod Stuart, and even looked like him. Ha!

Saturday - Slept in. Went to the park and walked 8 miles. We even beat our old time by shaving an hour off. Go us! Then we jumped in the lake to cool off. Grilled burgers with avocado on the deck. Took a nap. Watched HGTV.

Sunday - Church. Farmer's Market. Walked a 3 miler around our subdivision. Soaked up the rays in our pool. (Best investment ever!) Grilled steaks and sat on the deck.

Perfection.

Weekend Recap.

.Sunny and mid 60s all weekend.

.Tofu pad thai and Arrested Development.

.Putting our grill together.

.Wearing flip flops.

.Grilling chicken and peppers on our new grill.

.Sipping margaritas and eating fajitas on our deck.

.Pulling a tree from our yard and weeding.

.Long walks around our subdivision and the lake.

.Sun burned.

.Beers on the deck with neighbors.

.Bahama Breeze with family.

.Reading about how to garden.

.Watching the Red Wings win.

.Perfection.

Rock Star.

Garth's journey to faith had a lot to do with music. He has a passion for guitar and he's good at playing. When he first started going to church he was drawn in by the music. He always wanted to give back in this way because of the effect music in the church had on him. He tried out for the praise band a couple weeks ago at our church and had his first live performance yesterday! He worked so hard practicing the songs and he was a natural up on stage. He loved being up on stage playing live and cannot wait for his next gig.

Dog Sitting.

This weekend Garth and I dog sat for the sweetest golden retreiver you have ever seen. Toby. The tobinator. Tobs. The tobster.

He is so well trained and he was an absolute treat to have around.

We took him walking around our subdivision and Garth and I kept saying, "we are dog people! we look like dog people!" We played with him in our yard and he slept next to our bed at night. He was such a blast to have around for the weekend.

With that beng said, we realized we are not ready for a dog yet. I am such a neat freak so the shedding and the drool drove me crazy. Even Garth got sick of all hair on everything. While we love Toby, we enjoyed going back to our dog-free lives.

But we sure will miss that little guy.

Perfectly Productive.

This weekend was so perfect. It was the first time we didn't have any plans since being in our house and it was a beautiful thing. I cleaned the bathrooms, did laundry, dusted, Shredded, scrubbed the floors, and did dishes.
Garth and I explored our new city library and I checked out Tori Spelling's new book and a few Hungry Girl cookbooks. We went grocery shopping to get some staples to make some HG meals this week and then went to Kohl's and Walmart to look at artwork.
We have been unpacked for a while now, but have had nothing on walls. We had limited wall space in our apartment so we just filled the space with wedding photos. Now that we have a home we want to be a bit more sophisticated. It has been fun shopping and looking at decor but we are so indecisive and have different taste. But this weekend we agreed on a few pieces, purchased them and hung them up on our walls. Our house is really starting to look like a home! I can't wait to show it all to you, but for now we just have one room completed so it may be a while before the big reveal.
We went to church and I think it was the best sermon on grace I have ever heard. I have to admit that going to a church where we don't know anybody has been difficult. I'm used to either going to church with my family or our friends so it is weird to be in and out without any interaction. But yesterday we ran into my co-worker at church and we talked for a while and made plans to have dinner during the week. We are also talking about volunteering at our new church so we get to know more people so I know it's just a matter of time.
And this morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow! Shoveling the driveway was intense but sledding in our backyard afterwards helped me to enjoy the snow. Happy Monday!

Fun...but productive!

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered. I am finally feeling back to normal so it was amazing to get out and have some fun!
Friday we did some packing, ate thai food, and watched Knight and Day (which I thought was lame). It was pretty uneventful considering it took me an hour and 45 minutes to get home thanks to snow during rush hour.
Saturday we went window shopping for furniture which I have decided is my favorite kind of shopping. It will be awhile before our house is funished, but it was fun to browse and get ideas as to what we would like to do with all the new space! We also enjoyed looking at tools, shovels, ping pong tables, and lawn mowers. You know, all the fun stuff that comes with being homeowners. ;)
We tried a new place for lunch, Bagger Dave's. Ohhhh mmmm geeee, the fries are out of this world! The burgers were pretty darn delicioius as well. I am not much of a beer drinker, but I do enjoy a good ale every once and a while. Bagger Dave's had a tasty nut brown ale that went perfectly with my burger and fries.
Saturday night we went to a dualing piano bar with my family. So. Much. Fun. I love stuff like that! Singing, laughing, being entertained, good food and wine. That is my kind of scene. I wish I had brought my camera, but I did not.
Sunday we heard a great sermon about how to worship, ate some yummy Jimmy Johns, and then continued to pack up our apartment.
Good people, good food, good times.

Last Week.

Where did November go? I cannot believe we already had to say good-bye to Michelle. It felt like just yesterday that she just got here. It went too darn fast, but we had so much fun.
Our last week was super fun. We had a wonderful family meal at Olive Garden, ate many hamburgers, enjoyed some live music, and spent lots of quality time hanging out, talking, and laughing.All good things must come to an end. And I will tell you it's just not fair to have to say good-bye to a family member. On the plus side, it will not be another twelve years 'til we see Michelle again. In fact, Garth and I are planning our trip to France now!:)

Weekend on the West Side.

Last weekend Garth and I took his sister, Michelle, to Holland and Saugatuck to see Lake Michigan and spend some quality time together. I will just warn you now that there are a lot of pictures ahead!We had a great time getting to know Michelle better and introducing her to spinach and artichoke dip as well as Lake Michigan.