We survived our first hurricane in our first home. I'll admit as the night went on, the more paranoid I got. We watched The Last Air Bender, and then when the credits ran all I heard was a waterfall outside of our window. Then an eerie silence, then came this howling wind.
Then I went into panic mode. Thinking we would sleep upstairs in our hallway (the only area in our house not near a window or windows), I started clearing out the space. But then I read that we should stay on the lower level of our house. So I asked my husband to blow up the aerobed, and we were making a make shift bedroom in our living room.
Needless to say, we did survive the night. Although sleeping next to the big window in our living room, all I heard was the howling wind and constant rain batting against it.
We both fell asleep past midnight. Then I woke up around 330ish close to 4am to use the bathroom. After I woke up, I couldn't fall asleep and quickly became hungry. I made myself a pb&j sandwich, had a small Danimals yogurt smoothie, Cheetos, and water. That didn't put me to sleep. What helped me become sleepy was texting two girlfriends and playing a game on my phone. Finally fell asleep close to 430ish. It also helped to keep the kitchen light on. I felt more secure knowing we had power.
I woke up at 8am, and saw that we were in the clear. I looked outside and saw all of the branches on the street, and a little bit of flooding in the front of our house. Nothing too damaging. I quickly turned on the tv to see if we had power. And, we did, so we were in the clear.
Little did I know that we still were not in the clear. The storm would fully be out of the NJ/NY area by 2pm. It's 7:21pm now, and it's still windy out.
Although I may have panicked a little, it was better to be safe than sorry. I pray for those that were affected by this storm - property damage or loss, flooding, lost power, and those that have passed away - up and down the East coast.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
... not going to lie
Earlier this week, we experienced an aftershock of a 5.8 earthquake with an epicenter in Richmond, Virginia. I was off that day, and didn't feel a thing. I was either driving or possibly warming up my lunch at the time. That was my first non-experience with an earthquake/after shock.
Now this weekend, we are dealing with an upcoming hurricane/storm heading to our area. I am scared of what Hurricane Irene is going to bring to NJ/NY today. All I can do is try to distract myself by watching tv shows other than the news, blogging about some of my favorite things (as you can see in my previous posts from this morning), and eating.
Hoping that all those in the same situation as I are stocked up and preparing for the worst but hoping for the best as we ride out this storm. Stay safe and warm everyone.
Now this weekend, we are dealing with an upcoming hurricane/storm heading to our area. I am scared of what Hurricane Irene is going to bring to NJ/NY today. All I can do is try to distract myself by watching tv shows other than the news, blogging about some of my favorite things (as you can see in my previous posts from this morning), and eating.
Hoping that all those in the same situation as I are stocked up and preparing for the worst but hoping for the best as we ride out this storm. Stay safe and warm everyone.
... envelope clutch
One of these days when I have time, I definitely want to attempt to make an envelope clutch. Thanks to Luella and June, I now have instructions on how I can make my own envelope clutch.
If it comes out right, I may start making more to share with friends and family.
... t+j
One of the bloggers that I follow Tiffany now has a jewelry line with her sister. The great thing about their jewelry line is that all of their items are below $100. I definitely recommend checking out their website.
Below are pictures of a few of my favorite picks from their jewelry line.
Crystal Encrusted White earrings, $34.00
Gunmetal Hoop Earrings, $38.00
Gold & Purple Three Stone Dangle Earrings, $38.00
Gunmetal Luxe Braided Necklace, $96.00
Below are pictures of a few of my favorite picks from their jewelry line.
Crystal Encrusted White earrings, $34.00
Gunmetal Hoop Earrings, $38.00
Gold & Purple Three Stone Dangle Earrings, $38.00
Gunmetal Luxe Braided Necklace, $96.00
... don't go chasing waterfalls
Nothing screams more girly than anything with ruffles. I subscribe to Apartment Therapy, and I was instantly drawn to the pictures in this one article.
Something screamed out at me in this neutral coral nursery. And it was the pinkish, coral-ish ruffle curtains from Urban Outfitters. They're a bit pricy, but hopefully if I do decide to go ultra girly with our daughter's nursery, this is definitely one item that I'd like to pick up. Hopefully Etsy has a similar product for sale and for much cheaper.
... dream menagerie
This rug from Anthropologie is an inspiration piece that I would love to use as one of centers of focus in our daughter's room. Not only is chic, but it's also kiddie at heart. I love the multicolored animals, and the use of all different bright colors and not just one or two colors.
I may pick one of the colors from this rug as the wall colors for her nursery, which we're having painted in the next few weeks. I can't wait to see the finished product, and I can't wait to see what color I end up picking. :)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
... so sew me
Speaking of hobbies, while we were at Target buying my supplies for my newcouponing hobby, I though I'd take a gander at their sewing machines. To kind of link this up to hopefully a new venture I'll be taking, I wanted to start learning how to sew via hand and via sewing machine.
While looking at their online circular through the Living Rich with Coupons site, I knew for sure that there was a sewing machine that was on sale. I wanted to look at this in person, and said to myself that if it had decent reviews (which it did) I would buy it.
So where does this story lead to? It leads to little ol me walking out of Target with my coupon organizer + my new sewing machine, my new carry and cover sewing case, & a thread organizer case (complete with all different colors of thread, pin cushion, scissors, needles, etc.).
I have a lot of good ideas looming in my head, and I can't wait for them to come fruition. And, some of it starts with a needle, a thread, and a machine.
While looking at their online circular through the Living Rich with Coupons site, I knew for sure that there was a sewing machine that was on sale. I wanted to look at this in person, and said to myself that if it had decent reviews (which it did) I would buy it.
So where does this story lead to? It leads to little ol me walking out of Target with my coupon organizer + my new sewing machine, my new carry and cover sewing case, & a thread organizer case (complete with all different colors of thread, pin cushion, scissors, needles, etc.).
I have a lot of good ideas looming in my head, and I can't wait for them to come fruition. And, some of it starts with a needle, a thread, and a machine.
... extreme couponing
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One of my new favorite shows is Extreme Couponing. What amazes me is how much these people spend and how much they save at the same time. If you watch this show, most of the people have huge stock piles that look almost like mini supermarkets. They might as well be!
My husband and I love watching this show, and often times afterwards we discuss the techniques they use in order to save money. I told him that I wanted to try doing this, but on a not so extreme level. If we were to have a stock pile, that stock pile would be mostly of non-food items or at least everything + non-perishable items.
So this weekend was the weekend of hobbies for me. By saying that, I meant buying all these different items to start my new hobbies that don't involve watching tv or going on the computer. God knows I'm on the computer so much, and I'm trying to steer more of my time away from it. Another reason to steer away from it is because I'm constantly on the net on my smart phone. (That's another habit I should kick.)
So as I go off onto a nice long tangent, I bought my couponing supplies which pretty much only consisted of an organizer very much similar to this one. Later yesterday evening, I visited a friend and her husband for dinner. My friend has gotten into couponing earlier than I have. And, she was sweet enough to give me 3 of the same circular so I can start my coupon collection.
This evening, I devoted 3 hours of my time to cutting, organizing by month, putting paper clips on like coupons, putting them into various envelopes by category, and then putting them all into their month's pocket. I never thought it would take this long, but I think it was time well spent. And, even though I did have The Proposal on in the background, I was dedicated to clipping through these circulars + going through the Sunday circulars for more. It was tiring, but rewarding. Hopefully, I'll be able to put these to good use in the near future.
And, for those of you that are into couponing, I also received a great website reference from a friend's sister. Check out Living Rich with Coupons. It's a great website, and you should check it out.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
... Craving of the day
I ate all sorts of good food today.
I had a quick breakfast snack - Corn Flakes - before church.
Then, my sister, dad, husband, and I grabbed lunch at East Japanese where I had yummy shrimp tempura udon.
When we arrived home, darling hubby warmed up leftover sinigang, which is one of my favorite dishes.
So what's for dessert? My ultimate craving during my entire pregnancy... mangoes!
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And, that's how exactly how my husband cuts it up for me. I taught him how to cut mangoes and how I grew up eating them. Slice it up to look like a little porcupine. Mmm delicious.
I'm going to have to admit that I had a second craving just a few minutes ago, and had vanilla ice cream in a cone. If there are two consistent cravings I had during my pregnancy so far is that I absolutely had to have either fruits or ice cream either every day or every other day. At least, it's healthy right? :)
I had a quick breakfast snack - Corn Flakes - before church.
Then, my sister, dad, husband, and I grabbed lunch at East Japanese where I had yummy shrimp tempura udon.
When we arrived home, darling hubby warmed up leftover sinigang, which is one of my favorite dishes.
So what's for dessert? My ultimate craving during my entire pregnancy... mangoes!
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And, that's how exactly how my husband cuts it up for me. I taught him how to cut mangoes and how I grew up eating them. Slice it up to look like a little porcupine. Mmm delicious.
I'm going to have to admit that I had a second craving just a few minutes ago, and had vanilla ice cream in a cone. If there are two consistent cravings I had during my pregnancy so far is that I absolutely had to have either fruits or ice cream either every day or every other day. At least, it's healthy right? :)
... You've Got Mail
I can't say in recent time (like in the past couple of months) that I have watched a movie that I can watch over and over again. Well I take that back, maybe with the exception of the Harry Potter series or Twilight Saga series.
I would say that a lot of my favorite movies are from the late 80's and 90's. One in particular that I absolutely can't stop watching is You've Got Mail. This romantic comedy is about two rival business owners who eventually become friends and then becoming more than friends. I'm sure all of you have read reviews and most of you have seen it.
This movie brings me back to the time in my life when going online meant only using AOL. And, when going online also meant you had to dial in. Boy have we come a long long way from those times.
I know that this movie is a lot like typical dramas, but what made it more fun was that they were online friends and didn't know that they were online friends when they met in person.
Another thing that I liked is that it took place in New York City. Of course after the movie premiered, I had to rush to Cafe Lalo to see what it was like, and if it did truly look like it did in the movies. And, it did. (Side note: It's a cute, tiny, and quaint cafe with large open windows that lets the breeze come in on a nice day. I do recommend visiting, but expect highly priced eats.)
Lastly, one of the main things I liked about this movie is that it starred two of my favorite American movie stars - Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Loved Tom Hanks since Big, and loved Meg Ryan since When Harry Met Sally.
So what made me think of You've Got Mail? Since we're trying out Hulu Plus and Netflix, I have this itch to watch one of my all time favorite movies. :) I'll hopefully find it soon on either.
I would say that a lot of my favorite movies are from the late 80's and 90's. One in particular that I absolutely can't stop watching is You've Got Mail. This romantic comedy is about two rival business owners who eventually become friends and then becoming more than friends. I'm sure all of you have read reviews and most of you have seen it.
This movie brings me back to the time in my life when going online meant only using AOL. And, when going online also meant you had to dial in. Boy have we come a long long way from those times.
I know that this movie is a lot like typical dramas, but what made it more fun was that they were online friends and didn't know that they were online friends when they met in person.
Another thing that I liked is that it took place in New York City. Of course after the movie premiered, I had to rush to Cafe Lalo to see what it was like, and if it did truly look like it did in the movies. And, it did. (Side note: It's a cute, tiny, and quaint cafe with large open windows that lets the breeze come in on a nice day. I do recommend visiting, but expect highly priced eats.)
Lastly, one of the main things I liked about this movie is that it starred two of my favorite American movie stars - Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Loved Tom Hanks since Big, and loved Meg Ryan since When Harry Met Sally.
So what made me think of You've Got Mail? Since we're trying out Hulu Plus and Netflix, I have this itch to watch one of my all time favorite movies. :) I'll hopefully find it soon on either.
Friday, August 12, 2011
... missoni for Target
Anyone pumped for the soon to be Missoni for Target collection?
Take a look at this Epic Lookbook for the Missoni collection.
You know where I'll be on September 13! I have to put a calendar reminder in my phone to locate and visit the closest Target with the Missoni collection.
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Take a look at this Epic Lookbook for the Missoni collection.
You know where I'll be on September 13! I have to put a calendar reminder in my phone to locate and visit the closest Target with the Missoni collection.
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... pinwheels
Not only do they make pretty decoration pieces...
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... they can also be beautiful pretty jewelry designs.
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... they can also be beautiful pretty jewelry designs.
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... links and chains
Things with links and chains always draw my eyes and makes me want. Who knew that a simple link and chain could be so beautiful.
Thank you, Piperlime for providing these beautiful link and chain products.
Hive & Honey Three Row Hammered Necklace
Elliott Lucca Cordoba
Thank you, Piperlime for providing these beautiful link and chain products.
Hive & Honey Three Row Hammered Necklace
Elliott Lucca Cordoba
... nursery wall decorations
I'm not much of a wall decorator other than just painting it, but when it comes to the baby's nursery I do see myself decorating the wall beyond the layers of paint that we'll be putting up.
We did buy some wall decor for little girl's room, and I can't wait to put it up.
Here are some inspiration walls that I picked from Google.
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We did buy some wall decor for little girl's room, and I can't wait to put it up.
Here are some inspiration walls that I picked from Google.
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... mirror furniture
I don't know why, but I love mirror furniture. I know that it could get quite dirty very easily with hand prints, finger prints, etc. But I don't care. Mirror furniture screams pretty, flashy, modern but classic, unique and beautiful.
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If it weren't too shi-shi, I'd get furniture like this for the baby's nursery. Yes, I said nursery. I think it would look very pretty in there, but then again it seems "too old" for a baby's nursery.
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If it weren't too shi-shi, I'd get furniture like this for the baby's nursery. Yes, I said nursery. I think it would look very pretty in there, but then again it seems "too old" for a baby's nursery.
... The Tides Resort - South Beach
I'm watching an episode of Color Splash on HGTV right now. The couple featured on this episode said they were inspired by the Tides Resort - South Beach, and they wanted their living room to be modeled after it.
I've been to South Beach, fortunately only once a few years ago, but never did go to this hotel. Now the next time I go, I want to visit because it's just that gorgeous.
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Don't tell me, you don't think this hotel is beautiful. Lots of nice neutral colors with little pops of color here and there.
Now if only I could muster the energy to decorate like that. I wish I had that time to spruce up our home. Don't get me wrong, I love our house the way it is. We did do some painting and bought some nice furniture and decorations to spruce it up. But I would love to do some more and add some nice pieces here and there to help transform our house a little bit.
It'll happen one day, someday. :) And, when it does, I'll definitely post some shots on here.
I've been to South Beach, fortunately only once a few years ago, but never did go to this hotel. Now the next time I go, I want to visit because it's just that gorgeous.
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Don't tell me, you don't think this hotel is beautiful. Lots of nice neutral colors with little pops of color here and there.
Now if only I could muster the energy to decorate like that. I wish I had that time to spruce up our home. Don't get me wrong, I love our house the way it is. We did do some painting and bought some nice furniture and decorations to spruce it up. But I would love to do some more and add some nice pieces here and there to help transform our house a little bit.
It'll happen one day, someday. :) And, when it does, I'll definitely post some shots on here.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Alexander McQueen
If you were lucky enough to journey to the Met this summer, you were definitely in for a treat if you saw the Savage Beauty - Alexander McQueen exhibit.
My husband and I had the opportunity to see this exhibit over the Memorial Day weekend. The sign at the register said the wait was only 20 minutes long. We actually ended up waiting for about 30-40 minutes. But that wait was well worth it. Of course, picture taking was not allowed inside the exhibit. So I was able to pull some of my favorites from NY Mag's slideshow to share with you.
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Isn't this floral frock a beauty. I'd totally wear it if I could.
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This one completely blew my mind. Like a typical girl, I'm into stuff that's shiny, glittery and pretty. This outfit exudes all three characteristics. My favorite part of the entire ensemble are the shoes. Aren't they gorgeous?
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This is an extended part of the exhibit that is shown above. For some reason, I'm drawn to those shoes. Granted I don't think I can walk 2 feet in them, I'm dying to try them on. I vaguely remember Demi Moore wearing these armadillo shoes in one of her magazine photo shoots. Gorg right?
It's tragic how Alexander McQueen passed away, but his genius-ness (if that's a word) will live forever in the clothing he has designed.
My husband and I had the opportunity to see this exhibit over the Memorial Day weekend. The sign at the register said the wait was only 20 minutes long. We actually ended up waiting for about 30-40 minutes. But that wait was well worth it. Of course, picture taking was not allowed inside the exhibit. So I was able to pull some of my favorites from NY Mag's slideshow to share with you.
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Isn't this floral frock a beauty. I'd totally wear it if I could.
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This one completely blew my mind. Like a typical girl, I'm into stuff that's shiny, glittery and pretty. This outfit exudes all three characteristics. My favorite part of the entire ensemble are the shoes. Aren't they gorgeous?
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This is an extended part of the exhibit that is shown above. For some reason, I'm drawn to those shoes. Granted I don't think I can walk 2 feet in them, I'm dying to try them on. I vaguely remember Demi Moore wearing these armadillo shoes in one of her magazine photo shoots. Gorg right?
It's tragic how Alexander McQueen passed away, but his genius-ness (if that's a word) will live forever in the clothing he has designed.
Vintage Party Decorations
I can't help but love party planning. Everything from researching details, finding good deals, creating and sending invitations, and decorating for the party. My favorite type of decor is chic, vintage, and girly.
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Aren't these decorations chic and beautiful? When our daughter is born, I hope to throw her parties with beautiful decor like this.
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Aren't these decorations chic and beautiful? When our daughter is born, I hope to throw her parties with beautiful decor like this.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
... Snail mail
My former pen pal and current friend "A" wrote a post about mail. Not about the mail you receive every day like bills, circulars, junk mail, etc. But real mail. The kind that people used to receive rather than just sending an email or a Facebook message.
Her post reminded me of the days where things weren't as technologically advanced and keeping in touch required a pen and some paper. I reminisce about the days where I would look forward to receiving letters from A and a few of my other pen pals. (Added note: A is the daughter of my mom's college classmate.) "A" would send me long letters about her week and even include some pictures of her and her friends. The days are long gone where we would send each other snail mail, and we now stay in touch via email, our Facebook pages and our blogs.
She did introduce a neat website on her page called Snail Mail My Email. I took a quick glance at the page, and basically you type in what message you'd like to include in your snail mail. They put it together on actual paper for you and mail it out to the intended receiving party. Isn't this so neat? I can't wait to actually use this service, and send my friends some snail mail like the good ol days.
Her post reminded me of the days where things weren't as technologically advanced and keeping in touch required a pen and some paper. I reminisce about the days where I would look forward to receiving letters from A and a few of my other pen pals. (Added note: A is the daughter of my mom's college classmate.) "A" would send me long letters about her week and even include some pictures of her and her friends. The days are long gone where we would send each other snail mail, and we now stay in touch via email, our Facebook pages and our blogs.
She did introduce a neat website on her page called Snail Mail My Email. I took a quick glance at the page, and basically you type in what message you'd like to include in your snail mail. They put it together on actual paper for you and mail it out to the intended receiving party. Isn't this so neat? I can't wait to actually use this service, and send my friends some snail mail like the good ol days.
... Conversation piece
General title for this blog. What made me want to talk about conversation pieces was this article I read in Lucky Magazine's August issue.
There was this post on Lulu Frost's jewelry.
I saw a picture of this timeless piece, which is a part of her 100 year necklace collection. What drew me to it was not only the fact that it is beautiful, but it has so many different facets. I can't pinpoint what I love about this necklace, but I can't help but be so drawn to it.
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It's quite the conversation piece.
There was this post on Lulu Frost's jewelry.
I saw a picture of this timeless piece, which is a part of her 100 year necklace collection. What drew me to it was not only the fact that it is beautiful, but it has so many different facets. I can't pinpoint what I love about this necklace, but I can't help but be so drawn to it.
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It's quite the conversation piece.
... Photo Collage
The less busier version of me loved doing creative things. A couple of creative things that I enjoyed doing was scrapbooking, putting together collages, and painting to name a few.
Recently while reading magazines on a Sunday morning, I got inspired to really put one of my creative projects to work. Of course, I didn't pick up and do that project that day because we had prior plans made. But DH (darling husband) and I are planning to put our creativity to the test.
What we're trying to accomplish this coming Saturday morning is below. We want to make a photo frame collage on one of the many empty walls in our living room. I'm quite excited for this because we haven't really done anything creative in our home in awhile.
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Once up on our wall, I will definitely post a picture to show you how we've progressed. Once it's up on the wall, the difficult part will be deciding what photos go into those frames. But once we start, I'm sure it'll be easy to select photos. Stay tuned!
Recently while reading magazines on a Sunday morning, I got inspired to really put one of my creative projects to work. Of course, I didn't pick up and do that project that day because we had prior plans made. But DH (darling husband) and I are planning to put our creativity to the test.
What we're trying to accomplish this coming Saturday morning is below. We want to make a photo frame collage on one of the many empty walls in our living room. I'm quite excited for this because we haven't really done anything creative in our home in awhile.
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Once up on our wall, I will definitely post a picture to show you how we've progressed. Once it's up on the wall, the difficult part will be deciding what photos go into those frames. But once we start, I'm sure it'll be easy to select photos. Stay tuned!
... Pretty in Turquoise
If you know me, I'm a big fan of all shades of blue.
When I was going through a bunch of Lucky magazines, I was really feeling this turquoise blue bag by Melie Bianco.
I've been searching high and low for this bag because it's no longer available on their website. I checked ShopStyle, but couldn't find it there either.
Someday I will make this bag mine. It's cute, quilted, and affordable. If any of my readers spot this bag, let me know!
When I was going through a bunch of Lucky magazines, I was really feeling this turquoise blue bag by Melie Bianco.
I've been searching high and low for this bag because it's no longer available on their website. I checked ShopStyle, but couldn't find it there either.
Someday I will make this bag mine. It's cute, quilted, and affordable. If any of my readers spot this bag, let me know!
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