Some Valentine's Day Mush

I have always loved Valentine's Day. Even before I was happily married or even had anyone to celebrate it with, I always loved the excitement and anticipation in the air--will someone send me a carnation at school? Am I going to dance with the love of my pre-pubescent life at the Valentine's Day dance? The answers to both of these questions was typically no, but any day where you are pretty much required to wear red is fine by me. 

Nowadays, I wish that I could be one of those girls who when asked what their plans were for the holiday, would say "Oh, we don't really make a big deal out of it". I won't lie to you....I don't expect anything too extravagant, but I have come to want some sort of special gift! Luckily, I have a man who is willing to indulge me in a little bit of flowers, some chocolate, maybe some jewelry. 

So this year, I was excited that the big day fell on a Friday, where we could enjoy a romantic dinner, drink lots of wine, and lazily wake up the next day. We looked into going out to eat on Friday night, but the restaurants were mostly already booked up and had extravagant expensive menus for the evening. Meh, no thanks. So Ian went ahead and made brunch reservations for Saturday morning, which is even better! I couldn't wait for a romantic weekend with my man.

Well, then we got a blizzard that snowed us in the day before V-Day on which I got sick. Like, nasty cough, runny nose, going back and forth from sweating to shaking sick. The gift I bought for Ian a week ago still hadn't arrived, and he wasn't able to go out and get flowers because our car was buried under a mound of snow. Friday night came, and after lying around all day feeling like my head was going to essplode, cooking the romantic dinner I had planned was the last thing I wanted to do. Ian sensed my disappointment, and next thing I knew I was banished to the basement with a glass of wine while he made us our romantic dinner complete with candles, mood music, and my man looking handsome in a shirt and tie. Meanwhile, in my yoga pants and fuzzy button up sweater, I was severely underdressed, but he wouldn't let me go change--he wanted me the way I was, red nose and all. Yep, I died. It was so sweet.

Turns out that celebrating a day of love with the one you love isn't about the flowers, or the chocolate that my stomach didn't even want, or even the cards and cute outfits. We sat in the basement all day, both on our computers and watching bad daytime TV. Even though I hardly had an appetite and didn't eat much of my dinner, the fact that Ian made sure it was still a special day just made my heart melt. We got dressed up for brunch the next day because I thought I was ready to go out into the world again, but soon realized I was still down for the count as soon as we got in the car and we ended up rescheduling. However despite being sick and feeling like poop, it really wasn't such a bad Valentine's Day after all and there is no one else who I would want by my side when I am feeling like a sack of potatoes.

The red chocolate chip pancakes weren't bad, either.

Caped

Oh, Monday. Rainy, cold, soon to be snowing Monday after a fun evening of eating bad-for-me food, drinking on a work night, watching football that I don't care about, and swooning over Bruno Mars--phew. Extra coffee today, people!

Shall we think back to happier times of a warm and sunny weekend that felt like Spring had possibly sprung?

On Saturday, I woke up early-ish to attempt to score cheap Billy Joel concert tickets which sadly sold out too fast (but I didn't want to go anyway. Right? Right?!) but my spirits were quickly lifted when I met up with Stephie and Madeline for the Old Town Boutique Warehouse Sale in Alexandria. Clothing, accessories, and home goods from the adorable boutiques in Old Town that I usually can't afford for up to 70-80% off? Heck yes! Unfortunately, most of the clothes even at their heavily discounted prices were still out of my price range, but the jewelry and accessories were more up my alley. The cozy chevron cape you see above that I wore for a fancy grocery shopping and Starbucks trip was only 10 bucks! Perfect for that awkward in-between weather where it's warm but you still have to avoid stepping in snow. 

I also took this opportunity to break in a vintage purse that my mom found at an old lady's garage sale, complete with a mini mirror still in the plastic. If I'm gonna dress up for a trip to Wal Mart, might as go all out, right?

On Being a 24 Year Old Granny

You know what I did this weekend? 

Absolutely nothing, if you go by standards of what makes up a typical weekend for most 20-somethings. But for me, a low-key weekend of no plans makes my face light up more than a weekend full of events and running around from place to place. Now before you peg me for a completely boring married old lady (I know that I said it, you didn't) Ian and I are lucky to have a great network of friends and do enjoy being little social butterflies from time to time, but to balance those weekends out we are both the type of people who just need a couple days to chill. To wake up without an alarm, lay around all day with nowhere to be, drink wine and watch movies...incidentally, that is what the past several weekends have looked like for us. I blame the weather. 

I think that in this day and age it's really hard to just be OK with doing nothing. I struggle with it too, because I wonder if I should feel more guilty about not being out and about all the time, but it really all just comes down to the fact that I am way more content to just take it easy and relax on my time off than to go out and spend a ton of money at a bar and wish I was at home at 10pm. But the great thing is, when I DO feel like doing those things, I do, and I brag on Facebook and Instagram about it just like everybody else. So I really don't know why I spend so much time worrying about it. 

All that to say, I hope you had a wonderful weekend doing whatever you do best, whether it's being a busy socialite, or eating homemade cookies off of grandma plates. Because either of those are acceptable options.

A New Addition...

I would like to introduce you all to our brown and four legged addition to our family....

Not quite as cute and cuddly as a puppy, but a fabulous addition nonetheless. My parents told us several months ago that for Christmas they wanted to get us a real dining room table. Up until this point, when having guests over we have either crowded around our little kitchen table or have had to spread out in the living room. We looked everywhere from Craiglist to Ikea to Big Lots, and while there were some great choices at these places, none really seemed to fit with our style or the space we had to work with.

So one day when we were out on the hunt, we came across Bob's Discount Furniture in Fairfax (if you live in the area, I'm sure you've seen the irritating commercials--cheap local advertising at it's finest) and thought we'd take a look. This table was one of the first we saw when we went in, and for a great price.  The colors and size were perfect, so we came home and ordered it right away. 

So far it's gone fairly unused until recently when we had some guests over to break it in for the first time. I must say, it was great not having to be crowded in the hot kitchen or on the couch, and I'm sure our guests didn't mind not having to balance their plates on their lap. 

Having one more surface to decorate (aka to raid Marshalls and TJ Maxx for) isn't so bad either.

A New Collection

I love a good thrifting trip with my buddies, but every now and then you just need a laid back, therapeutic solo shopping sesh. After dismantling our Christmas decor on Saturday, I proceeded to lay on the couch all day while Ian hit up the after Christmas sales. By Sunday, I was feeling a little restless so it was my turn for some post-holiday retail therapy.

I hadn't been to my favorite thrifting spot in FOREVER so I headed out in the rain to see what I could find...

In the true spirit of thrifting, some days are like a gold mine. Other days, all you seem to find are duds like this:

I think those little numbers speak for themselves. Also, can we all agree that $6.99 is a little steep for a shapeless 80s neon striped track suit? If you can believe it, I made it through the entire store with only a handful of items in my cart, none of which worked out after trying them on. So it was onto the books I went, where I decided right then and there that I was going to start collecting vintage cookbooks after picking up this awesomely retro 1968 Betty Crocker book. My New Years resolution, if you will...

This book is the COOLEST. Full of vintage graphics, classic recipes, and your typical selection of savory jello casseroles. You know, something for everybody!

Luckily, I found a 1975 Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking to add to my growing collection, and they are now proudly displayed in my kitchen. At less than $2.00 apiece, I have a feeling that this is going to be a dangerous new addiction....

Now this is a New Years resolution I can handle! Way better than trying to get into shape, right?

New Year...New Me? Not Really.

Welp, how long has it been since I've sat down to write a blog post? Truth be told, I don't even know if I'll push 'post' and thus dive back into the world of blogging after being away for so long. (What if all my friends have left? Will they still like me??) I've been going back and forth with the idea of starting things back up around here, whether it's here on this blog or starting a brand new blog. But the question is, what would be the benefit to starting a brand new blog? It's not like I've undergone any kind of transformation nor do I feel the need to start a new blog about something completely different, because quite honestly not enough has changed to warrant a brand new start. No babies or pets, no new houses, no major haircuts (not even bangs! I have restrained myself! Go me.) 

When Ian and I were reflecting back on the year, we pretty much had the same consensus--it was a fairly uneventful year. Not a BAD year, but just not a super exciting one! Although we DID buy a new car on New Years Eve, which was pretty much the only major purchase of the year--nothing like waiting till the last minute! Truth be told, a boring year is not a bad thing. I have had some friends and family members go through some tough things in 2013, and am feeling extremely blessed that we experienced a pretty quiet year. Even our New Years Eve was low-key (aka the perfect New Years Eve) as we rung in 2014 in front of the fire with some good friends. 

Last night we got a bit of a snowstorm in our area, and after having just enjoyed a movie in our basement Ian asked, "Do you want to go for a walk in the snow?" Even though it was late and we had already settled down in our comfy pants, we both put on our coats and hats and stepped outside hand in hand to walk around the quiet neighborhood in the glow of the Christmas lights that were still up. Then we turned into little children and starting throwing snowballs at things, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, the whole thing was spontaneous and I LOVED IT. I am a planner. Once I have one thing in my head (curled up on the couch watching a movie) it's usually pretty hard to change my mind to do something completely different (put on some boots and walk around in the cold snow.) So why was I so loosy goosy last night? Maybe it was the wine? Who knows, but one thing is for sure--playing in the snow with my husband was definitely something I will remember more than a night on the couch.

When thinking back on the past several months, I realized that the essence of why I've been feeling off is because my hobbies have been virtually non-existent. The things that I once loved and gave me a sense of purpose have been absent--how lame is that? Of course I'm going to feel down in the dumps when I'm not doing the things I love. I haven't been blogging, haven't been making crafts, and I even haven't been thrifting in months (I KNOW RIGHT). It's so unlike me and last night's little play date made me realize that I need some more spontaneity in my life. Not everything I do in life needs to be planned down to the minute. If I want to write a blog post, I should just do it and not worry about having the perfect pictures or when the next time is I'm going to want to do it and whether or not people are going to read it. Maybe I'll pose for awkward self timer portraits, maybe I won't--depends on how cute the outfit is. Or if I want to finally organize my craft room, I should just find time to do it and not sit around and wait for an afternoon with nothing to do (because that clearly has not worked out). Or maybe finally learn how to take some decent photos in Manual. Let's just take it one day at a time, and if you would like to follow along with me here on the interwebs let's be friends! I'd love to promise that I won't disappear again for 6 months, but hey, let's take what we can get.

Here's to life and spontaneous decisions in 2014! Except for the decision to get bangs. If I get the urge, I promise to at least sleep on it.

-Brenda