Fall Swap Reveal!

I got partnered with Emily in this year's Fall Swap! I love doing swaps, and I love everything Emily got me :-)

The candle smells so good, the scarf and earrings adorable, and I have already painted my nails and am drinking hot chocolate out of the cute mug!! Thanks again Emily!!!

Excuses Excuses

Am I the worst blogger on the face of the planet? Nah, probably not, but I haven't been the best one lately either! I still feel like my life is a whirlwind and though I'd like to think it will calm down a bit soon, I'd be kidding myself because with the baby shower, Halloween, my sister's baby being born, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. that just isn't going to happen! So what have I been up to lately?

Reveling in the fact that we picked the best wedding date for peak foliage. I think I've mentioned it before know it's dorky, but when Brian and I were picking a wedding date we researched peak foliage dates in Pennsylvania. We went with October 17, 2015, and I think it is going to be perfect. Within the next week almost all the leaves will be changed over and it's going to be pretty!

Suffering from my stupid allergies. Luckily last week my doctor gave me a steroid shot to help calm things down because functioning was not something I was capable of there for awhile. I love love love fall and these allergies have kept me holed up inside as much as possible and away from the beautiful 50-60 degree fall weather! At least I have my fall/Halloween decorations to look at, my candles to smell, and my fireplace to keep me warm.

Taking care of Reese after her $730 dental surgery. When we got her back, unfortunately she hadn't been taken care of very well, so after getting her shots and groomed (she got a lion cut and it's adorable), she needed a dental cleaning and to have 4 teeth removed, poor thing! She's doing great and will be back to eating solid food tomorrow.

Working an extra day a week in the office. So you know how I "work from home" for my job now? Well I still was going into the office Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-12, and now I am also going in Wednesdays 1-4. Meh, it's alright, I'll take it.

Caught up in baby shower planning mania. We have like 45 people coming to my sister's surprise baby shower next weekend! It's being held at my parents' house, and it's been a lot of work. Between having to rent tables and chairs to put in my parents living room (which we are going to have to take all the furniture out of for everyone to fit in there and in the kitchen), ordering the food and cake, making and printing games, favors, ordering and making decorations, etc., it has been nuts, but I cannot wait. Seriously, it's going to be awesome and I can't wait to share pictures. Also, I can't stop buying baby clothes and looking up baby stuff. Hopefully when my nephew is born it will cure this baby fever.

Watching tons of fall TV and Beverly Hills 90210. Fall seriously is the best time of the year. The shows are just top notch (now I sound like my dad). I watch Revenge, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Selfie, Manhattan Love Story, 19 Kids and Counting (#ashamed), The Goldbergs, American Horror Story, Nashville, How to Get Away with Murder, and Parenthood (okay okay and Girl Meets World..what? It's cute). Am I missing any of your favorites? Brian's just happy hockey's back.

Rooting on the Orioles in their playoff run! Let's hope for the World Series, Brian and I will be 100% getting tickets to that. Let's go O's!

Sly Fox

Sooo glad that tomorrow is finally October, one of my favorite months ever! Anyway, Friday was my endocrinologist appointment, and it went so well! The doctors were responsive and ordered more testing than any other doctors I've seen for these problems combined. So Friday night I had to take some pill at 11pm, then go get lotssss of bloodwork between 7 and 8am Saturday morning #fun. Oh, and all day Saturday I had to do a 24 urine test... I won't get into any more details because it would seriously be TMI. I just hope for all that I get some answers, fingers crossed!

Our wedding venue has finally been completed, so on Friday night my parents, Brian, and I actually got to see it all finished for the first time and it did not disappoint. These iPhone (6!!! it finally came!) pictures don't do it justice. The venue also has a little restaurant so we ate there and the food was so good! I seriously cannot wait for our wedding, it's going to be awesome!

 The barn is where we are having our reception, tell me it isn't gorgeous?! Oh, and we will actually be using more rustic, square, wooden tables (you can see them a little bit up in the loft area). There's another loft area on the other side, and we won't actually be having any seating up there... this was set up for a 190 person wedding, ours will be closer to 100. Where that huge table is will be the dance floor at our wedding!

The fireplace and huge patio area is gorgeous and is where our cocktail hour will be!

I didn't take a lot of pictures of it but the bridal suite is gorgeous! It has an awesome bathroom, lots of nice seating, mirrors, and it's so big and private, I love it! 

Hmm what else did I do this weekend? Went to Walmart (twice), went to church, watched a bunch of Lifetime movies, and my mom and I got matching dachshund PJs at Kohls. Be jealous, they're adorable. Plus I got a bicycle shirt, a new bra, and Snoopy socks. I know.

Oh and something super creepy happened. I noticed my air pressure light on my dashboard was on Saturday morning, so Brian checked the pressure and sure enough there was a screw in my tire. Luckily it was a slow leak and was driveable after we put more air in the tire. I got it patched up for only $20 on Sunday, NBD. But what's super freaky is this: my sister and I have the same car, mine is silver, hers is black. When I was at my parents' house in the middle of last week, Savanna's back right tire was nearly flat, because of a nail in the tire. I HAD A SCREW IN MY BACK RIGHT TIRE TOO. Same car, same tire, same week, same problem, same solution (patch). How weird is that?!

Friday Five: Fall Edition

You know I had to do it. Everyone else is going on and on about fall and I'm over here like, umm it's MY favorite season, so I had to do at least one fall post. #sorrynotsorry << that's my favorite hashtag in case you didn't already notice. Anyways, without further ado, my favorite fall things:

1. Cooler weather. I've told you guys all about my sweating issues, and with fall comes 50 degree temps and that's awesome and sooo much better. Plus you get to drink hot cider and eat soup and wear sweaters and scarves and boots and leggings and plaid and and and...

2. Leaves. If you haven't been to the Northeast in the fall, well, you've been missing out. The colors around here are seriously amazing, and it seems to be starting early this year (though that better not happen next year because I'm getting married October 17th and the leaves better still be on the trees!)

Okay this was a weird year--8 inches of snow while the colored leaves were still on the trees.

3. Fall Activities. Like football- no, I don't watch it, not really, but I love trying out different fun and fall recipes for us to eat during the games on Sundays while I watch 90210 on my KindleFire. Plus, Brian has flag football games in the fall an hour away for work, which otherwise would suck, but the games are riiiiight near an Anthropologie and a Cheesecake Factory, so I'm down to go, as long as I pee in advance--those porta potties are sick nasty. Other awesome fall activities like pumpkin and apple picking are also in this category.

4. Fall-scented candles. Yea, me and every other female in America over the age of 18. But seriously, how can you resist scents like Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Sweater Weather, and Cider Web?! And I will add pumpkin scented soaps, body washes, hand sanitizers, and lotions to this list, because obviously I have transitioned my entire routine to be fall-related.

5. Decorations.We had a bunch of friends over last week and everyone complimented all my fall decorations. Now I have like nothing in comparison to my mom, who has as many fall decorations as she has Christmas decorations (which is tons!), but I was still pretty pumped that people liked my decorating :-)

What's your favorite thing about fall? Have a good weekend guys!

P.S. My gold iPhone 6 is coming today and I am so excited!

Confessions

- I binge watch Beverly Hills 90210. I can't stop won't stop.

- Brian and I were supposed to be on a 3 day diet thingy to jump start our metabolisms, but I quit. My stomach was eating itself and it made it required eating eggs, and I HATE eggs!

- If you don't follow me on Instagram, then you haven't seen my new hair yet. Well everyone seemed to love it (and I do, too!), but I definitely shocked some people at work (and it sounds mean but it was hilarious!); when they'd come into my office they'd be looking down at papers and talking to me then look up and nearly have heart attacks. It was great.

- I haven't shaved my legs in 2 weeks. Yay for fall!

- I have allergic conjunctivitis (pink eye). It's from my stupid corn smut allergy (yup, that's the real name- it's like mold that grows on corn and it blows around this time of year). PA is full of corn. PA is very windy all the time. My eyes burn. I had to throw all my eye makeup away, boo. The hits just keep on coming. But at least I got to order new stuff #silverlining

- I am addicted to online shopping. I get such a rush when I click Submit Order, and I obsessively check the tracking. Getting packages delivered to your doorstep is kinda like Christmas!

- I'm actually kind of excited for my endocrinologist appointment on Friday. No, I'm not a weirdo, I just can't wait to see if he has solutions for my sweating.. fingers crossed, but not getting my hopes up.

- We pretty much have a free weekend this weekend, and I cannot wait! We have been so super busy the entire summer, and I'm ready for a few calm weeks. We're going to head back up to the lake in the next few weeks, then it's my sister's baby shower, and then birthdays and holidays, etc., so I am reveling in the few free weekends we do have.

- I've really lost my blogging motivation. I feel like I used to be funnier and write so much more, but I'm very uninspired and I can't force it. Any ideas to bring me out of this long-time slump?

*Linking up with Kathy*

Book Review: Rare Bird

So I recently found out on Twitter about this awesome program called Blogging for Books. It's pretty much like it sounds; you request a book from their list of books, they mail it to you (or some are eBooks), then you read and review it, simple, and FREE, as that :-) I love reading so I quick signed up and got my first book within like 10 days or something crazy fast like that. Anyways, here's what you really came to this post to read, my review of Rare Bird:

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.*

Part of the description of the book from the publisher's site:

On an ordinary September day, twelve-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? And, Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace.

In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. “Anna’s storytelling,” says Glennon Doyle Melton, “is raw and real and intense and funny.”

My thoughts:

I really, really liked this book. I've been reading Glennon Doyle Melton from Momastery for years, and she, as a good friend of author Anna Whiston-Donaldson, wrote the foreward to this book. I actually knew of this story before the book came out from reading Glennon's blog, and a few days ago marked three years since Jack's death.

Anna tells the story of her son's death and the aftermath, how her family is coping and wrestling through their emotions. She writes in the first person so it really helps you connect more to her story and feel what she's feeling. I kept marveling at how strong of a person she is!

Yes, it is a very sad story, obviously, but it's not one that has you sobbing the entire time. It was such a tragic situation, and she doesn't sugar coat it, not at all, which is refreshing because sometimes when you read memoirs like this the author seems to have too easy a time coming through a horrible event. Anna questions God, and understandably so, and she also leans on him as well. Anna explains how their neighbors, friends, and family really stepped up to help her family in so many ways after Jack's accident, and it makes you realize that people, even those you may not expect, really can come through in hard times.

The Bottom Line: I totally recommend this book guys. Two thumbs enthusiastically up!

You May Not Recognize Me Tomorrow

Ummm what? It's Wednesday already?! My last week has been crazy. Last Thursday night we drove up to Brian's parents' house in NJ, and on Friday morning we hopped in the car with his parents and took off for Maine at 5am!! Ahhh! Around 2pm we arrived in Maine and it was freezing! Beautiful, yes, but freezing. I mean, I expected fall weather, not winter. It barely got above 40 degrees the whole weekend and it was SO WINDY.

Friday night the parents of the groom paid for everyone to go bowling at this awesome bowling alley, and I kicked Brian's butt, and lucky for me we bet our phone upgrade on it, so guess who's getting the iPhone 6 next month?! Yup, me! Saturday was the wedding at the campgrounds we stayed at in little log cabins, Sunday was an after party on this awesome almost-island the groom's grandparents own with all these cool cabins (it was freezing but gorgeous, and also you have to access it either by boat or over 7 miles of logging trails.. boy did I get car sick!!), and Monday we headed back home and got there at 10pm, so needless to say I am exhausted and that's why I'm just getting around to posting now.

I didn't take a ton of good pics (I didn't bring gloves, and it was too cold to take my hands out of my pocket!), but here are a few (not great) pics that I did take:

 Oh don't mind my puffiness, just wearing a long sleeve shirt, north face, and hoodie lol

 The day after party on the grooms' grandparents' property.. how cute were all the appetizers?!

4 layers this time- long sleeve shirt, vineyard vines pullover fleece, north face zip- up, and someone's grandpa's winter coat.. I'm telling you, it was freezing! Poor Brian was an ice cube! 

So anyway I'm off to the hair salon this morning to have my hair dyed! I'll explain: I think I've mentioned it before, maybe not, but I sweat like crazy, mainly on my face, and it's super embarrassing, annoying, and uncomfortable. It could be 30 degrees and I quite possibly may have sweat dripping down my face, even when the rest of me is freezing cold. I have some other similar issues too, and I finally got a endocrinologist appointment for next week in Hershey, which is an awesome hospital, because I have to get these issues taken care of. More on that after the appt, but back to the hair dying.. I am tired of washing my blonde hair only to sweat and have it look greasy and nasty an hour later. Sweat shows up way more on blonde hair, so I am dying my hair darker so it won't look so awful while I get these issues figured out. I will have my hair back to blonde before the wedding next year, it was just time for a change!