Friday Five {Valentine's Edition}

Hi, hi!

I've been looking forward to Valentine's Day this year. I love that it's an opportunity to acknowledge all the different kind of love in our lives. I like getting to celebrate in a variety of ways like I always grab mini boxes of chocolate for my parents and siblings as little v-day surprises. I love the idea of "Galentine's Day" #ThanksKnope to celebrate how great our girlfriends are. & even though that extra hint of forced romance makes Sammy and I more awkward than anything else, I still love spending some quality time with him, too. ;)

I love a holiday themed "Friday Five" so I thought I would post one this week with a roundup of outfit, drink, movies, food, and date ideas.

One // The Clothes

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Casual / I love the idea of a heart accented sweater or simple t-shirt to wear for a comfy night in.

Dressy / This blush dress would be so lovely to wear out to dinner.

Sexy / Eberjey makes such lovely lingerie and would be perfect for an intimate night. 

Two // The Drink

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Alcoholic / A strawberry mimosa would be great morning, noon, or night {in my book}.

Non-Alcoholic / A fizzy sorbet mocktail would be so fun.

Something Warm / Pink hot chocolate would be a festive spin on a cozy drink. 

Three // The Film

For the classics / I mean. Come on. It's Harry and Sally. 

For the candy enthusiast / I try to drop Willy Wonka whenever I can, so the candy aspect of this holiday has me rationalizing. Plus, Gene Wilder. Like let's be real. 

For the romantics / I am begging everyone, for the love of God, please watch Brooklyn. It is so lovely and deserves all the awards. 

Four // The Food

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Breakfast / A lovely Valentine's Day Brunch spread courtesy of Little Baby Garvin as usual since she's Queen.

Lunch or Dinner / I think pasta is so romantic and I could eat it for every meal, so that's all I have to say. I think Sammy and I are going to have a pasta making date night to celebrate Valentine's this year. 

Dessert / Strawberry, brownie, and marshmallow kabobs. BYE. 

Five // The Date

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Long walk / Taking a long walk while sipping on something hot with someone special sounds so nice.

Dinner & a movie / For all my classics. I will never grow tired of dinner and a movie.

Spa day or night / Whether you're spending the day at a spa getting a treatment together or having a DIY spa night at home… you really can't go wrong. 

*as a disclaimer: I'm a big believer in that all of these things can be {worn or watched or drank or ate or done} enjoyed ALONE. You do not need someone to validate your existence or worth. You want to wear lingerie and make yourself dinner and watch a rom-com? Do it {please watch Brooklyn!}. You want to dress up and go out for dinner? Take yo self out, girl. Go for that walk. Get the massage. Do, eat, and wear all the things for yourself. & enjoy. 

Valentine's Day should be spent celebrating the people we love and that includes ourselves. Loving who we are is so important to our individual journeys. Let's love all the people! Our partners, family, friends, and ourselves. 

xo

A birthday weekend recap

This weekend was spent celebrating one of my favorite people. We spent our Friday night as we usually do: lounging, eating, and me taking early evening naps while Sammy works. He then spends the rest of the evening trying to wake me up which I'm sure is thrilling for him ;) 

      

Saturday was Sammy's 24th birthday! After he ran a few errands in the morning we spent the afternoon eating burgers and fries at Bulldogs in Wauconda. 

That cute birthday boy!

      

There were lots of burgers on the menu and every combination could be made with a veggie burger, so I was able to eat anything I wanted! which is unusual for me so it was fun having so many options.

We loved the retro vibe and the tin ceiling featuring pictures of all their burgers. 

They played Aerosmith & CCR so I was in heaven. 

 We definitely want to come back and try other stuff. I'd love to try the baja fish tacos and nachos as well. 

       

Sammy got the "Main Street" burger which came with a huge onion ring and he added his signature fried egg on top. I got the "Scarlett Johansson" which came with jalapenos, apple bbq sauce, cream cheese, and bacon but I opted out of the bacon, obv ;) I loved mine because there was cream cheese and I would literally lick cream cheese off cement, so. 

Then we stopped at Honey Hill Coffee Company across the street which is one of my Dad's favorite coffee spots. They serve Intelligentsia coffee and it's the best. I got a vanilla iced coffee even though it was thirty degrees and had no regrets. So smooth and delicious. The owner is lovely, so if you're ever in Wauconda, IL definitely stop in. 

Before heading back home I gave Sammy's his gifts and he seemed to really like them! I got him a leather key holder thing from Coach {because he got rid of his lanyard when he got his new car keys}, Bull's tickets to a game against the Detroit Pistons, and a Michael Jordan jersey {I also gifted myself one a well because we're obsessed with MJ}. 

      

Later that evening Sammy's parents hosted family and friends at their home for pizza and Portillo's chocolate cake {Sammy's favorite}. It was nice to see everyone and have them there to celebrate such a special guy. 

On Sunday, Sammy and I did some more lounging before he drove back to the academy and then I did some visiting with my grandma at her rehab facility. We're so happy she's moving forward and is no longer in the hospital. Hopefully her therapy keeps progressing and she can go home in a few weeks. 

I came home and only looked at the tv for the commercials, to see if I won money from any of my squares, and Beyonce. Obviously. 

That's me being bitter for not understanding football as a sport. But also I had a lot of homework to do, so I really couldn't watch. Also, I don't know what a down is. Except for when seven year olds play. Then I know all the downs. 

      

I spent the rest of the night giving myself a mani/pedi, pinning, reading some blogs, and taking screenshots of stunning women that will make me feel totally inadequate when I show my hairdresser {I'm chopping it off again on Friday afternoon}. Also included but not pictured: Emily Blunt who makes me feel loads of inadequacy. 

All in all it was another great weekend. I'm always so happy to celebrate Sammy. He's one of my favorite humans and deserves so much celebration and recognition. His dedication to creating a life he loves and is passionate about is so inspiring to me. I know it's cliche to say "he makes me a better person", but Sammy really does. Whenever I'm feeling lazy or undetermined I always think about what Sammy would do and get my shit together. He has always overcome any obstacle in his path and has never admitted defeat. 

I'm in awe of every positive thing he does for his life and for us. He enables my Disney obsession, always grabs the napkins when we get popcorn at the movies, and knows all the lines in Home Alone. He's pretty great. I can't believe this was our tenth birthday spent together as a couple. Can't wait for the next seventy. 

xo

Weekending!

This weekend was much needed {aren't they all?}. There was a lot of cuddling, food, and moderate productivity as usual. 

Sammy came home a few hours early from the academy this Friday which was a nice change of pace. We had Chinese food with his parents and lounged around all night. Have I mentioned how needed this is?

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On Saturday we ran a few errands and spent the afternoon at the hospital visiting my grandma. The prayers are working people! My grandma has been progressing every day and her doctors are even talking about discharging her to rehab so she can get more physical and occupational therapy. We're not out of the woods yet, but she's making progress every day which is amazing. 

Sammy needed to get some preliminary editing done {and by Sammy I mean I...} for the weekly newsletter he publishes at the academy, but I thought a date night was much needed for the both of us after all this medical news on both sides of our family. So, we scoured Pinterest together {which obviously made my entire life} and picked out some recipes to cook together that night. We ended up making meatloaf (and fake "meat"loaf for me), mashed potatoes, oven roasted green beans, oven fried pickles, biscuits, and salad for Sammy since I just don't get lettuce.  

Sammy also scored meatballs {buy one, get one free} when he bought a pre-made meatloaf, so that's what you see me burning in the pan above. My "meat" loaves look burnt as well and that's because they were burnt. What can I say? It's my lot in life to burn at least one thing on the menu. Maybe one day I'll grow out of this. 

For dessert we had cinnamon rolls {one of Sammy's obsessions} and we each picked out ice cream. This Ben & Jerry's S'mores flavor is my kryptonite. Like so good I almost couldn't find it in the fridge last night and flipped a shit thinking someone had eaten the rest of it. Like I yelled out loud. Over ice cream. Then I found it and cried. 

Anyway. 

We had a really nice night using nice dishes & fancy stemware ;) We rarely get the opportunity to set the table like this {mostly on account of still living with our parents and not owning our own table let alone dishes or glasses holla! actually those dishes are mine, so there's that. #adulting} so it was a nice change of pace. 

I spent the early afternoon on Sunday with Sammy before heading to work. I worked a birthday party at our park district {a side job I do occasionally for a little extra money here and there} until about 5 o'clock where I soaked my entire shirt while washing 87 paint brushes and paint palettes, had a child attending the party tell me it was embarrassing that I worked birthday parties, and had several fingerfuls of cupcake batter standing over the sink before I washed the bowl. So that was so much fun. 

When I get home I spent the evening with my brother watching Grease Live! I knew it wouldn't compare to the original because you don't f around with ONJ and John Travolta {nice try, Grease Live!}, but I still liked the dancing and singing enough.

My mom came home from the hospital later and the three of us watched the first episode of Chelsea Handler's new documentary series on Netflix which I loved. I can't wait to watch more of it! 

 Monday is in full swing as I've been doing laundry, homework, and some other miscellaneous things like writing a letter to Sammy, meeting my Dad for lunch to plan some stuff for a county fair we work every summer {we run the culinary division thank you very much because we're not the dorkiest people to ever live}, and hopefully journaling by the time the night is over. 

Also, I'm reheating shrimp fried rice, hoping I don't get sick, and queuing Scandal episodes so I can finally catch up. 

#FitzForeverAndEver

Okay, bye ;)

xo

What's Up, Wednesday!

Linking up with Shay today for the "What's Up, Wednesday" linkup! Trying to keep this stressful week at bay while I can, so I'm looking forward to doing a lighter post today. I had to also talk myself out of a Dr. Pepper at 10am this morning {don't worry, I'm getting one at lunch along with some curly fries} because it seemed like the only thing to calm me down after getting an email that my overdraft protection kicked in for the third.time.this.month, so that's how my day is going. It's been a long two weeks people. A long two weeks. 

Anyway. Let's see if I can keep this post from getting too complainy/annoying/stupid. So much confidence in myself today, right?!

Eating // This week it has been all the things. It's been a lot of takeout that we can bring with us to the hospital {typically only for dinner} and anything that's been easy. I try to counteract those kinds of meals with healthier lunches so I've been doing veggie burgers and soup. At home for snacks I've been doing popcorn and apples and peanut butter because they're my obsession and I can't stop it. When other things in life become a much higher priority things like meal planning and food fall down the list real quick, so sometimes fritos and Dr. Pepper is where it's at and that's fine for now. I'll get back on that bandwagon soon enough. 

This is so romantic to me.. 

Reminiscing about // I've been thinking a lot about my grandmother lately for obvious reasons. I miss being able to call her after my night classes when I'm on the train home and we could talk about our days. There have been so many things I've wanted to vent to her about and haven't been able to. I can't wait for her to get better. Those calls are some of my very favorites in life. 

Such a throwback, but one of my favorites.

Loving // Can I say apples and peanut butter? Like can that be my answer for what I love this week. Because I do. 

NEED. Right now. 

Been up to // Work, school, hospital, sleep, repeat. 

Me every day lately.

Dreading // Any bad news. I don't feel any coming, so I'm keeping those positive vibes up. 

Working on // Besides projects at work and school, when the February prompts come out next week I'll be working on those for OLW project! I really want to get caught up with some of my lists in my 52 lists book, and start writing in the journal I put in my bag. I shoved it in there last week just so I have it with me whenever I feel like writing creatively or venting. As spring nears {I know I'm a little early, but just let me have this one, okay?} I'm getting the itch to organize and declutter again even though it feels like I just did this…so, hopefully I can work on that as well. 

Excited about // It goes without saying that I'm excited for my grandma to get better and come home! But I'm also excited for some fun days in February, some warmer temps {and by warmer I mean 42 degrees} this weekend, and seeing Sammy on Friday!

Watching & reading // I feel like I've talked about The Office a lot lately, so I should mention something else? No? Okay. I'm watching The Office still because it makes me so happy. 

I mentioned in my last post that I just finished reading When Breath Becomes Air which was lovely and as stunning as its title (like seriously, that title. Really? Ugh it makes my heart hurt). So, now I'm in between books, and this week I've gotten such a weird itch to read through all my cookbooks and tag the pages with recipes I want to make. Like am I 63? So I started doing that last night, but then I started watching The Office and eating half a box of fruit loops. Soooo, obviously I had my hands full. 

I have my girl's new cookbook in my Amazon cart right now.

Listening to // My Dad recently introduced me to Chris Stapleton {nothing like getting music recommendations from your father ;) } and I'm obsessed. He's got this classic rock/country vibe that I love and think is missing from popular country right now. 

I've been listening to "Nobody to Blame" on repeat. 

Wearing // Leggings and sweaters. HUGE SURPRISE. It's January, I'm lazy. That's all. 

This weekend // There is  n o t h i n g  on the agenda for this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. I have been looking forward to doing zip this weekend for days now. I'm looking forward to spending time with family, doing some reading, and relaxing. 

This is my plan for this weekend if that wasn't clear. 

Next month highlights // Next month we're celebrating Sammy's 24th birthday and Valentine's Day! Both fall on a weekend which is awesome since Sammy will be home to celebrate! I can't believe how much more I appreciate our time together since he's been in the academy. I never believe I can appreciate him anymore than I do until… I do haha. I cherish our time together so much, so I'm excited to celebrate his 24 years and Valentine's Day together. 

I'll also be doing a sip & shop event with my girlfriends toward the end of February! You go to various wine tastings set up throughout little shops and boutiques so you can sip while you shop. It will be so nice since we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together lately, so I'm really looking forward to it. 

Anything new // I actually got a text while writing this that my grandma is off the ventilator today, so that's excellent "new" news! I hope this is the beginning to a speedy recovery. 

Favorite Valentine's Day recipe // Sammy and I still have to decide how we're going to celebrate Valentine's this year. We may celebrate by doing dinner Saturday night instead of Sunday since he leaves to go back on Sunday so our time would be cut short. But will we go out? Or should we cook a homemade dinner together? But there's something so special about celebrating a holiday on the actual day, so if we do that should we do a Valentine's Day breakfast or lunch? Should we cook that?! These are the questions of the day. I guess I'll surprise him this weekend with many ideas from pinterest my heart. ;)

If we do decide to cook together I'd like to do something a la Jessica Garvin who is one of my very favorite bloggers I may or may not have a slight obsession with. 

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Fine, total obsession with. Her life and style and is everything. Ultimate goals. If you don't already follow her stop what you're doing immediately and follow on all levels. On all social medias. Get on it. Get on it while I stop being all sorts of creepy. 

Anyway, that's all for now. 

Thanks for the continued prayers for our families. It means so, so much to us. 

xo

{emotional} weekending

This recap is going to be a short one because Sammy & I spent a lot of time with family as we both have family members in and out of the hospital all weekend. Lately we've been constantly reminded that life isn't guaranteed so, even though we didn't get to "do" a whole lot it felt really great to spend quality time with family. 

Sammy and I got to spend a few hours together on Friday night when he got home from the academy which was really nice. I helped him edit the academy newsletter he's in charge of (I love that we can share that a little bit now since he'll get a glimpse of what editing is like) and binged some tv. 

The next morning I got up early because I had a mandatory Saturday class meeting to get to. After class, I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some flowers, and I met Sammy's cousin Christina at her, and her husband's, new downtown apartment so I could see it for the first time (SO gorgeous) and so we could all go together to visit their grandmother since she had just had surgery the day before to remove a tumor. She got amazing news that the cancer hadn't spread (as far as we know) and will have another follow up this week. Praying to God she receives the same good news. She was in such great spirits having all her children and grandchildren around for the day. You would never have known she had surgery which was so great to see. 

& on Sunday... it was finally Disney day! Sammy and I got breakfast before we picked up my cousin's youngest and headed over to the arena. It was such a fun day to spend with her and definitely lifted my spirits after getting worse and worse news about my own grandmother over the weekend. 

The show was really cute and the skating added a unique and beautiful element to the classic Disney stories. Also, this picture is my new favorite thing in life. 

This child certainly is magic. 

After the show, Sammy had to get back home to pack up his bags and equipment and leave for the academy, so I went home to do some reading and try to relax as I waited to hear updates on my grandmother.

      

There was a lot of eating and snuggling with my pup involved. I ended up finishing When Breath Becomes Air and loved every minute of it. I have been following Paul's story ever since Joanna posted about it on her blog. He is such a beautiful soul and his book is a beautiful collection of thoughts about living a meaningful life when you're always surrounded by, or faced with, death. I would recommend it to anyone and left it on my mom's nightstand last night as a surprise for her to read. 

My grandmother unfortunately suffered through 3 small strokes and a heart attack since she has been in the hospital, all happening within a few hours one day this weekend. She has miraculously recovered from those events and is back on track to recovery even though she's still heavily sedated and on a ventilator. The nurse was even surprised she's made the progress she has and said "she must have someone watching over her". I fully believe my grandfather has a hand in her recovery and it was so nice to hear someone say that out loud. 

Grateful for some lighter and meaningful moments this weekend that gave us a break from some of the harder ones we've been dealing with. Hoping and praying for more good news as the days roll on. 

xo