An Adventure and An Office Supply Problem

Saturday, we didn't really have any plans, so we opened an envelope. WHAT? An envelope. Yes. Those things that you lick and seal and sometimes send in the mail. Ok, since you're really confused, let me explain...

For a wedding present we received a gift from the Best Man and his wife that contained colored envelopes. The directions said to open an envelope when were were lacking something to do and to follow the directions. And they gave us a Visa gift card to pay for our adventures. Saturday we opened the YELLOW envelope. It told us to go to Nervous Dog Coffee Bar. Umm. Coffee? Yes. I think so.

Here's proof that we did as instructed:

While we were on our adventure, we saw THIS. I know. It's SO awesome. I want one! I'm not sure what I would do with it, but isn't it fun?!!?

And then we came home and made dinner - spaghetti and salad. Yes, it was yummy. I don't fix un-yummy food.

Office Supplies! Office Supplies!

Now for the office supply portion of this post...this past week on Facebook, we had a discussion about office supply hoarding issues. I promised a blog post in hopes that my admitting my problem will be the first step in the "healing process" of this addiction. In the meantime, if you need office supplies, I'm your girl!

I had to move stuff around in the note pad drawer just so you could see everything.

Yep, it's a problem - but it doesn't stop with note pads and post-its. Here's the writing utensil drawer:

And the Sharpies (which go in the writing utensils drawer):

Let's see. What else? Oh yea, CDs and cases (which I use for lessons, so don't judge this drawer - it's a tax write off).

And the binder clips, paper clips, rubber bands, push pins, etc.

Anyone else have this problem? Tara. Kate. Anyone? :-)

Happy weekend - back to unpacking tomorrow for me. What are you doing this week?

Where you find out that I DON'T have it together!

For those of you who think that I have myself together and prefer to keep believing that - stop reading...or look at the first set of pictures and THEN stop reading. It's really in your best interest if you don't want your view of organized me shattered into itty bitty pieces.

Here's the kitchen (well, one side of it - if I showed you the other side, you could see the massive boxes in our living room and I'm not going to do that to you, but use your imagination...there is a dishwasher, sink, and a counter space with a coffee pot - which you will see in a minute. I figured out how to take a picture of it without showing you the mess!):

I ended up purchasing the 14-piece Rachael Ray set because it was on sale and cheaper than any of the 10 piece sets. I LOVE this set. 

Silverware drawer - I've already discovered that I need more spoons. Anyone else use WAY too many spoons?

The dishes all fit nicely into one cabinet since I added the Real Simple shelf. I like it because it's solid - many were wire and the cups wouldn't sit on there straight.

I have tried uploading this picture 2 times and it keeps rotating it, so turn your computer sideways!

Pan racks. Love. Them. And yes, those ARE waffle plates for our Cuisinart Griddler!

Our hodgepodge of glasses!

Ok, so let's talk about this cluttered mess and why it's ok...spice rack is from Pampered Chef. It spins and I found bottles at BB&B that fit, so I can buy my own spices in bulk at The Mustard Seed or EarthFare (Think Neighborhood Co-op). Check out the top rack.

Utensils. Middle bucket is metal untensils - don't use on the pans! Right side is plastic. Left side is silicone. 

Behold - COFFEE!

Bowl organization - love things that nest.

And my apron storage:

Master Bathroom:

Master Bedroom:

My new make-up table! So exciting!

Remember this?

Ok folks, that's all for now...well, that's all if you want to keep believing that I have my crap together.

This is your final warning. The next set of pictures are NOT pretty!

It's mostly for my new friend, Hannah. She and her new husband married the same day that we did. These are so that she knows she isn't alone in this newlywed, stay home and unpack garbage.

However, I DID make progress today. I'll post more pics this coming week.

This is the hallway - just enough room to walk. We have to shut the bedroom door so that I can't see it or I wouldn't be able to sleep.

This week I've learned that my husband is a bit of a paper hoarder. I have an office supply, clothes, shoe, and purse problem, but let's focus on him, shall we? This was in the middle of my trying to sort through the MASSIVE amounts of paper. I shredded so much last night that the paper shredder was finally like, "umm, yea, so I'm gonna stop working now because I am exhausted - try me again tomorrow!"

Oh, the disgrace!

This is the spare bedroom - the spare bathroom is equally bad. Ok, it's worse! So bad I refuse to even take a picture of it! 

For those of you who didn't heed the warning - DON'T BLAME ME!

The Falls

I found this beautiful little place today while driving to The Root Cafe. See the waterfall in the distance? It just keeps stepping down - so beautiful! It's in an area that locals call The Falls. On the map it's called Cuyahoga Falls. Just wanted to share!

Pretend You're Excited!

So, today I went and signed papers for a new auto insurance policy, started our renter's insurance policy, cancelled my old auto policy, hung some shelves and the dry erase calendar in the office area:

I'm going to spend some time hanging stuff so, as I post pictures things may look a little different - that's a good thing.

Here's how the living room looked this afternoon:

But we hung our "Home Sweet Home" sign tonight, so over the door now looks like this:

This is a look from our balcony this afternoon (you can't tell from the picture, but the colors on that hillside are gorgeous!):

And finally - DINNER! Apple Meatloaf and Green Beans with Almonds. (and yes, Kate, plated like some Food Network blah blah blah)

Wild Animals Escaping

This week has been quite an interesting week in Ohio. Where do I even begin? There was the ghetto experience and the wild animals escaping (don't even get me started!). Please tell me you heard about this? And apparently there are so few regulations against it in Ohio that people could have a zoo in their house and no one would care - well, not until you let them loose.

Speaking of wild animals - this little guy came to visit this week:

It's been a good first week of marriage, though. Ronnie and I haven't killed each other. We even drove almost 10 hours in a car and we are both still alive. Things I've discovered or re-discovered this week about my husband: even though he likes things neat and organized (we'll talk about his closet organization later which will further prove this), he isn't bothered by the boxes AND he actually makes friend easier than I do. I'll just claim his friends as my own and then I won't have to make my own! ;-)

I shopped a lot this week - so much so that I didn't even want to leave the house yesterday. Who knew that I could get tired of shopping? I am working on getting things out of boxes and into their proper place. I have the kitchen straightened out and I went grocery shopping (painful when you don't even have staples like flour, sugar and bread - much less anything else!). I fixed the pantry with some wonderful OXO Pop Storage containers. Baskets took care of our DVD problem. The office area is coming together. It will get better this coming week because we now own an drill/driver and a level so I can hang shelves. YAY!

The bedroom is great (except for my side of the closet which still needs sweaters - I can't find the box!). It's cozy and DARK thanks to some lovely thermal curtains.

This week I plan to finish up the office area and hang some pictures. Hopefully I will find my sweaters and get some more stuff taken care of in the guest bedroom. I will try to post some pictures this week to show you a little bit of what I've been up to while hubby is at work.

Here's a little sneak peak of a couple meals (PHOODOS for Casey):

Apple Streusel Waffles
Thursday Morning

Tonight's Dinner
Chicken Mignon and Orzo with Roasted Veggies

The GH-EH-EH-EH-TO

So, yesterday Precious and I had what I'm deeming "Honeymoon Day". He went back to work this morning, so we made the most of the one day we had...boy did we have an adventure!

We decided to go to Cleveland. We ate at Melt (we ate there once before - it is SO yummy!). We were going to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, when we got there, tickets were $22 per person. We aborted that mission and decided to save that for when someone comes to visit and wants to go. It was a bummer though because they are doing a Women in Rock display.

Then we decided to try to go see Jerry Siegel's house - or Joel Schuester's house (it's one of those guys who created Superman). He grew up in Cleveland and they renovated the house not too long ago. Someone lives in it, so you basically just have to drive by - it isn't open to the public, but with Precious being the Superman fan that he is, he wanted to see it. However, as we drove it became very clear that we weren't in Kansas anymore.

Ok, so let me start with the fact that I am not typically bothered by the ghetto. I find myself so comfortable the majority of the time that it's a little uncomfortable for those who are with me. White girls should be uncomfortable in the ghetto, right? Well, yesterday I was! Perhaps that's because we weren't just in the ghetto - we were in the GH-EH-EH-EH-TO!

You know that you're in the GH-EH-EH-EH-TO when you pass no less than 20 churches and watch drug deals go down on the street in broad daylight. I kid you not - I watched 3 exchanges in about a 10 block span. I'm pretty sure that even the mailman was afraid to be there. If I were him, I'd expedite the process by tossing their mail in the middle of the street and saying, "Here it is! Come and get it!" Then I would get in my mail truck and leave.

When we drove by the Superman house, it was vitally important that we did not STOP. We didn't even get a picture people. We kept driving for fear that we might be the victims of a drive-by. Precious and I decided that the GPS needed a "get us out of the ghetto as quick as possible" button.

We survived. We came back to "Kansas" and did a little shopping, then came home.

Today's agenda: unpacking, returns, shopping, and a coffee shop date with my hubby!

Goin' to the Chapel...

Well, I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Sorry about that. I was busy movin' and gettin' hitched! Yep, moved on Monday, drove 9 1/2 hours on Tuesday, did last minute wedding stuff on Wednesday and Thursday, decorated and did rehearsal on Friday. Got hitched yesterday. WOAH!

Are you exhausted after reading that?

I am hoping to post some pics later - after I get some from everyone who took them. There I go being a good blogger again...taking a lot of pictures of important events!

The move went well. We got a lot accomplished in the one day we had. YAY!

So, here's the scoop on this weekend: the wedding was fan-freakin'-tastic! We laughed and cried. It was short and sweet. We had a peanut butter and jelly unity sandwich...umm...AWESOME! The reception was amazing. Great food. Dancing. Karaoke. Time spent with friends and family that I wouldn't trade for anything. The weather was gorgeous. The day was really as close to perfect as it possibly could've been.

Until...

Until my cousin's 2 kids got locked in the bathroom and couldn't get out. The lock broke. It was just turning in the door. My brother ended up hoisting my cousin in the bathroom window from the outside. Cousin disassembled the lock and saved the day.

Kids were saved. Day still perfect...and we have a funny story about how the night ended.

More to come. That's all for now. I'm exhausted!

2 on Tuesday

If you're joining me from My Chihuahua Bites! - Welcome! If you want to link up, just click on the logo above.
This week's question is:
What were your two favorite childhood toys?
Let me begin by saying I'm really not digging some of the toy "do-overs" from my childhood. Strawberry Shortcake used to be cute. I'm really not digging the new look. And the new Care Bears have funny shaped heads which makes me sad because my Care Bears were one of my favorites growing up. I think I had the entire collection. This is what my Bedtime Bear looked like.

This is what the new Care Bears look like. Something just isn't right - maybe it's because I like what I like and I LIKED MY CARE BEARS!

However, my absolute favorite toy was my Glow Worm! LOVE, LOVE, LOVED it! I'm pretty sure I slept with it every, single night and we had to replace the batteries like a gazillion times. I'd probably still sleep with it if I still had it. I really loved my Glow Worm!

What were your favorite childhood toys?