Bridal Shower

Brad’s cousin is marrying the cutest, sweetest little lady I ever did meet. I’ve only known Rebecca a little while, but it’s hard not to fall right in love with her. I am so excited to watch her and Shawn, Brad’s cousin, get married in October. They are truly best friends and it is so great to see a couple that lovely and happy come together for the long haul. Until then, it was fun celebrating her upcoming nuptials at this extremely beautiful bridal shower. Rebecca works on party/wedding planning, so it was no surprise that every detail was handled impeccably.
And it doesn’t hurt that she’s a fun gal who knows how to throw a good party.

Delicious food, peach sangria, a raffle (I actually won a “Beer Basket,” an Igloo cooler filled with some Leinenkugel brews, a pack of cards, some dice, and Koozies for both cans and bottles…all good things!) and the sweetest Pre-Newlywed game. Thumbs up all around!

From the top:
Me with the bride-to-be and Brad’s mom.
A table decorated with bamboo plants and candles floating in water filled with pebbles.
The delicious drink special, a peach sangria.
The fun menu (the food was amazing!!!).
Our favors: A mini bamboo plant and a jar of s’mores goodies.
Bubble lights and bridal tapestries.
Rebecca with some of her bridal party, giving a beautiful speech.
A HUGE sweets table with different goodies from friends and family.
During their Pre-Newlywed game, when asked who is smarter, they both said the other! Such a sweet moment.
The cute centerpiece at the bridal party table.

I can’t help but take notes for my future wedding. I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon, but weddings are a beautiful thing and it’s nice to daydream about. And of course, I have a Pinterest board dedicated to the subject.
One day…

Weekend

This picture is the most accurate portrayal of this past weekend.
Yesterday was super busy (a bridal shower, a wake, and a church bazaar all in one day), but I worked Saturday and spent the rest of the day napping on and off, finishing my book, and eating 3 cotton candy popsicles (Philly Swirl SwirlStix…$1 for a box on sale!).

I have a bunch of pictures to share of the bridal shower I attended, and a few other things throughout the week, but I figured I’d ease into this week with a simple post. It’s been 3 weeks since I worked on a Saturday, and I forgot how terribly annoying it is.
Especially when you literally only have half a day to yourself without plans (no matter how fun those plans may be!). 
I'm bummed that it’s Monday already, but I’ll be counting down the days ‘til the next weekend and enjoying what I can of the days!

Have a happy Monday!

Dinner Last Night: Turkey Tacos and Tornado Warnings

My sister had a bit of a tough week, so I decided to let her choose what we’d be having for dinner last night. I don’t even know why I bothered, because I knew it would be tacos. Don’t get me wrong, I love making (and eating) tacos, but I’ve been having fun coming up with things from scratch. I suppose I could make tacos from scratch but…those boxes are so damn easy!!!

I did take it upon myself to add my own little twists and turns to the meal. For starters, I got ground turkey instead of beef or chicken. I make sure to get 2 lbs of whatever meat I’m using, and two boxes of the dinner. We are big eaters at the house. I got both hard and soft shells. I decided to get some refried beans and create a “double decker” taco like they have at Taco Bell. Refried beans are spread on a soft shell and you wrap that around your hard shell filled with whatever the heck you want. I also made another batch of guacamole. I’m getting pretty good at it, and it’s incredibly tasty. I also bought a Rice Side of Mexican rice and added black beans to it for a side.
I try to make sure no one goes hungry. And I think I done good.

As for the tornado warning…we were hit with a pretty bad storm in NEPA. We don’t get tornados around here really, so the warning was scary. I always stop at the grocery store after work to pick up my dinner ingredients on Thursdays. The skies were still clear, not as foreboding as it would become. My mom and sister kept calling, though, and insisting I’d get home as soon as possible. I really wanted to pick up some
Bud Light Lime to drink while I cooked/ate, and the bummer is none of our grocery stores have little beer sections like they do in Kingston/Wilkes-Barre area. I was prepared to cut my losses, since my family wanted me home in order to miss the storm, but I realized I would be passing a beer distributer. I decided to duck in, grab what I wanted, and leave.

The only problem was, that’s when the storm decided to start. As the woman behind the counter was ringing up my purchase, a massive gust of wind blew both the entrance and exit doors open, and fliers and signs flew everywhere. They wouldn’t close on their own. So the other shoppers helped close the doors before everything got whipped and wet and the woman locked the doors. Just because I needed beer so bad, I ended up getting locked in a beer store with a bunch of strangers for about 10 minutes, waiting for the storm to calm down. Once I was finally able to leave, it was still torrential, but the wind had calmed down. As I was driving, I passed so many branches and bunches of the trees that had come down on the road and nearly hydroplane on rushing water and puddles. It was scary, but I think the beer store kind of saved my life. What’s to say I wouldn’t have been at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting my car whipped around and hit with tree branches? It’s silly, but my craving for a crappy beer kept me out of danger? Though being locked in a store wasn’t exactly…comfortable.

Needless to say, my family was a little scared.
But once I came home with the beer, everyone took one and we were happy to be home together, safe and sound.

Diana Mini Double Shots

Finally got another roll of Diana Mini film developed. It’s been so long. This roll had pictures from last OCTOBER for Pete’s sake.
I really need to use all of my cameras more. And I need to be more consistent, methinks. Though it is pretty cool to see the random mini shots I take that end up side-by-side. Some are completely compatible, and others make no sense. That’s the fun of analog.

A List of Favorites: Redux

 

Once upon a time, I followed in the footsteps of another blogger and posted a list of little favorite things at the moment. That same blogger went ahead and did it again two years later, to see if anything had changed. So I figured I’d be a copycat once again and test myself as well…

My favorite letter is (still) M.
My favorite numbers are 27 & (still) 19.
My favorite color is every color mustard.
My favorite flowers are lilies not flowers, but succulents.
My favorite place is (still) wherever I am when the sun is shining and I’m surrounded by people I love and everything feels right.
My favorite animals are (still) elephants.
My favorite smell is cinnamon and baked goods coffee.
My favorite season is summer late summer-early fall.
My favorite food is mostly from the Chinese buffet Szechwan-style green beans and tacos. 
My favorite show is Misfits (though I still love all the others I listed).
My favorite candies are Swedish Fish and Lindor Truffles.
My favorite movie is Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Or Black Swan. 
My favorite time is 5:19 4:40 PM (5:40 PM on Fridays).
My favorite bands are Radiohead and Minus the Bear (I don’t even listen to Kings of Leon anymore).
My favorite drink is ice cold water or an Arnold Palmer.
My favorite book (currently) is Looking for Alaska by John Green. (I started obsessively reading.) 
My favorite word is bodega.
My favorite thing is love.

Recent Reads: Gone Girl

Welcome to a new feature on the blog…Recent Reads!
At least, I want it to be a continuous thing. I’ll showcase noteworthy books I’ve recently read (obviously)
and let ya know if I feel you should take the time out to read them or not!

I’m starting with Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I first heard of the book the way I hear about most books these days…my favorite magazine Entertainment Weekly. They gave it a rave review, and shrouded the story in enough intrigue and mystery to get me curious. The thing is, this book would be categorized as a Mystery/Crime Thriller, something I don’t usually read. But I was willing to open my mind and check out this bestseller. I purchased the actual hardcover (it was only a dollar more than buying it on the Kindle) and deemed it my vacation read.

I can’t even begin to explain the story to anyone who wants to know. And I believe you should read the book knowing as little as possible going in (I also believe you should read this book). I will give you the gist: On the 5th wedding anniversary of Nick and Amy, Nick comes home to find an open door, the house in disarray, and his wife missing. As things go these days, it is often that the finger pointing aims at the husband. The story is told in alternating perspectives – Nick’s present day experiences in the investigation of his missing wife, and Amy through old diary pages…and that’s all I’m going to say!

This book hooked me with the first paragraph. And that’s hard to find sometimes. I read it every spare moment I got and finished it within the week of vacation (I probably would’ve finished it sooner, but I also wanted to have a life and do activities!). There’s so much that goes into this story, it’s hard to believe only one person wrote it, considering the two narratives. It’s a brilliant book and I just want everyone to read it so I finally have someone to talk about it!

I declare this book a Must-Read!

48 Hours to Celebrate

What a happy weekend filled with love and celebration!
Let me break it down for ya…

Friday was my friend Lauren’s birthday. She planned a little gathering for it on Saturday, but I went over with a bottle of wine and watched the ickiest movie ever and got crazy wine drunk with my favorite housemates. On Saturday, I got to witness two friends (who have been dating 9 years, the bride being a friend of mine since 5th grade) get married. It was so lovely and also surreal. People I know are starting to get married! I mean, we all saw it coming and I couldn’t be happier for them! But I just can’t believe I’m at that stage. It’s exciting and weird.
After the wedding, I headed back to Kingston for Lauren’s birthday party. Her parents decorated the deck with all kinds of beautiful garden furniture, candles, lamps, and lights. It was the perfect way to celebrate one of my bestest friends in the whole world.

I have been truly blessed and lucky to have an excellent summer this year. I have great friends who all get along, especially with my boyfriend and my sister! Which is super important and awesome for me. I couldn’t be happier.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to a weekend, but I can’t stay sad long. I just know there are more great days to come.

Here’s to a stress-free week!