on blondaholic-ism...

Blonde...

annnnd more blonde...

 I think it's safe to say I am blonde. I got my hair done-- highlights & low lights. I didn't get it cut this time. I have an appointment scheduled for the Friday before we leave for Seattle to do another dye job and also a cut. Just so it will be nice and fresh for the wedding :) Someone called me a "blondaholic" today and I think I might be...then again someone else told me that the blonde goes well with my fair complexion...I guess that was a complement? Haha. 

Also, when Sebastian and I got home today we were greeted by a huge package by the door with my name on it! It was very heavy too...Hmmmm? 

A box full of Paula Deen's cookware! I received my first item off my Amazon registry from my boss Dave!! It was such a lovely surprise and I am so exited to cook up some tasty meals this weekend. Yay for awesome Boss'. 

♥A.

on confessions....

I confess...

...that I am at work and blogging. Don't tell my boss. 

...that I've worn that same black shirt to work for most of the week. Not entirely sure why, because I have plenty of shirts.

...I got my nails done twice in less than a weeks time at Tiffany's. Just so I can get the hot stone massage!

...that I am getting MORE blonde in my hair today. It has become a little obsession. 

...I said that I was going fake tan before my wedding so I am not the same shade of pale white as my wedding dress. But still haven't made the time to start. Oh well, the pale look is 'in' right now anyways. Right?

...that this weeks diet mostly consisted of sweet things. Don't judge. 

...the first thing I did when I got into work today was turn on CNN to watch the Royal Wedding. Kate's dress was breathing taking!

...that I must have made Sebastian give me at least 5 kisses this morning before I dropped him off at daycare. I am so happy that he isn't sick of them yet, because I don't know what I would do with out them. They give me strength!

...I missed Vampire Diaries last night and didn't have a panic attack. Proud of myself :)

What are your confessions? Come on, tell me! 

♥A.

on time...

(via pinterst)

Every now and then I can't help but think I can't believe I am a mother! Not in a bad way but in a good one. It's just so surreal at times when I look at Sebastian and say to myself I'm all grown up. It has gone by so quickly. Life that is. It's funny what time brings. I never believed my dad when he told me time flies by when you have kids, but it has. I'm telling you now, it is true. Life has a way of taking it's own course. Motherhood has been the best thing that has ever come about. I have grown and learned so much about my own self. So much so that I look into the mirror and see a young women that has been through many unfortunate things in her life but has been blessed beyond measure.
It's fascinating what time brings. Age, happiness, change, hardship, all of it at once, or none of it at all. I've never reflected on time as much as I have since I've had Sebastian. And as time goes on and he grows a day older I often ponder what the future holds for him. What will he be when he grows up? I cherish his childhood tremendously. Every moment is precious. Soon he will be at the stage of life where I am, thinking, where did time go? And when these times arise he will have pictures and stories to relive all that was before. That is something I wish I had. For me, when I think of the past, negative out weights the positive. As much as I try for it not too. It does. I wish I had a way to regularly channel some of those great memories of going fishing with dad out in the wild, or just going to work with my dad & him showing me how to change a toilet. Yes, I know how to change a toilet. Not only to see but to show Sebastian what life was like for me at that time. I will make sure Sebastian can show his children what love he received from all around him. 
Now, I know for sure my 16 year old self would not have believed me if I told her I would be 22, (soon to be) married with a two and a half year old son. She would literally say your shitting me... And then I would say dear child I shit you not! But even though my young self would be speechless I am proud. I feel as if I have done so much in so little time that now I have the rest of life build on to this amazing path. Sure, I still have many things on that list of things you want to get done before you die but I am content on where my future turned out to be and there is so much more future yet to unfold. 
I ask you, what do you think of time? Don't be ignorant with it. It's precious and hope everyone does whatever they want with it in high spirits!
♥A.

on current bits & pieces...

It's been close to two weeks now. And usually I would have a voice in my head saying "Hello, how dare you. Why aren't you writing. Everyone is very disappointed in you. You. Make. Me. Sick." Alas, this little voice was no where to be heard because I was truly just too busy. With stuff going on at work, wedding shenanigans & then my sister coming. Aaaahhh! Craziness I tell you. I don't think I barely had a chance to pick up my laptop other than check emails. So, instead of telling you in full length of all the things I've failed to tell you (yes, I am a failure), I thought a sort of list would do justice. 

Work: With Spring break my little shop was crazy with caffeine deprived people and thus very busy. I think I might invest in some of those shoes that have the built in skates on the bottom to roll around back & forth because I so think I did tons of miles on my feet last week! It was brutal. 

Creating: A full on itinerary for our time in Seattle. From the time we set foot on Washington soil we will be busy bees. Our engagement shoot will be early that week, which will be taking place at Pike Place Market. Also I'll be making time to get a wedding inspire tattoo on my arm! Done by a girl I went to high school with who now is a tattoo artist. No details for you. Sorry. It's a surprise.

Reading: I just got done reading Sing Me Home by Jodi Picoult. I was highly disappointed. It was very predictable and I pretty much knew what was going to happen page to page. It seems like a story that has been written or told many times. I lost interest about half way into the book when I was aware that it was going to take place in a court setting for most the book. I've heard people rave about it, yet I feel like the people that have told me that are people that would not normally open up a book that is mainly about a lesbian couple. I think I was mostly disappointed because most the books I have read by Jodi are gut wrenching stories that have maybe been told over and over but at the same time are very suspenseful. Oh well Jodi, you didn't please me this time. Now I am onto A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Now, this is my kind of book. Barely started and I am loving it!

Wedding: I told you Bobby and I squeezed in a little date night last week since my sister was here and was pretty much pushing us out the door to spend some time together :) Oh how I love her. We went to the King of Prussia mall to see if we can pick up a few more wedding goodies and then after grab some dinner & watch a movie. We had browsed around in the Kenneth Cole store a while back when we were in the market for a suit for Bobby but had no luck in finding the color we wanted. But yet again we found ourselves drifting towards it, well Bobby drifting towards it, and as soon as we stepped inside Bobby fell in love with "his" wedding shoes. We weren't sure if we were going to buy new shoes for the wedding because Bobby has a perfectly fine pair of dress shoes that would do fine with this suit but he saw these Kenneth Cole shoes and had to get them. The best part about it all was that they were on sale! And we ended up only spending $74 dollars!! Amazing. Next we finally found his tie :) I was getting nervous but we found it! Lastly, Bobby's sister Brittany who is a part time florist and I have been planning out all the wedding flowers. I am very thankful for her. She will be taking charge of all the buying and constructing out in Seattle!

Sebastian: is getting huge. Nothing more. Just growing too fast. I keep catching myself and trying to savor all these moments of cuddling and kisses because soon I am going to have a boy who doesn't want to touch his mother because of girl koodies...sigh.

Excited about: May. May is soon here! On the 3rd of May Bobby and I are going to see Rise Against. I am very exited for this because they are my very favorite band. I can't wait. And of course our trip to Seattle is very near and soon packing is going to be on my mind. Hold me. No, I will not think of that right now. Get ready for me to be a nervous nut case.

That's some bits & pieces of me.

♥A.

on recent times...

Just last Sunday Bobby woke me up around 7am telling me to please get up and get ready we have somewhere to go...Whaaaat! Where. When. WHY?? All he kept saying to me was that it's a surprise. Me being half asleep did what he said and got in the car while he drove. Eventually I found myself at 30th street train station and boy was I confused. I just kept thinking, why are we here? Are we going somewhere? But wait, we didn't pack anything! I couldn't help wonder and rack my brain over who in the world could be arriving by train to come visit us. I don't know anyone that can just take a train to come see us. 

As I am trying to figure this whole puzzle my little sister, Michelle comes up the escalator and walks towards me!

 Surprise doesn't even cut it. I was first very confused and then just in awe. How did she get here? She then went into a tale about how she flew from Seattle to Newark, New Jersey and then took the Amtrak train to the Philly station. She was on Spring break and my dad treated her to spend the week with me :D 

Sebastian was very excited to see his aunt and I was thrilled to get the chance to re-connect with my sister that I haven't seen for close to two years now. 

She slept on our couch pull out bed. Sebastian woke up every morning and would run into the living room to get under the covers and snuggle with Michelle.

They were attached from the hip!

 Annnnnd took lots of goofy pictures when I wasn't looking :)

 She spent the days hanging out with me at work and evenings cooking dinner and relaxing. We took Sebastian to the playground on the bright and sunny days  and Bobby and I even had a little date night in between. Which was amazing because we found a few more wedding goodies (will share soon!). 

The week went by quick but was so much fun and soon on Saturday we both were waking up at 2:30am to drive out to Philly airport for her to head home. Usually it would be a very emotional event for me but not this time since in just 20 days I'd be seeing her yet again. We said our good byes and see you soon's :D Even so I might be seeing more of her in the near future but that will be a detail to share for another time! 

♥A.

on Easter...

Hello. 

I know I haven't been around much lately but it has been a crazy couple of weeks! Very busy and lots of fun. I will tell you all about it but first, let me show you our Easter Sunday. 

Of course we spend it with the family. We headed right over as soon as Sebastian woke up and opened his basket full of (some) candy, books and a fun play-dough activity set. He was one happy camper :D 

My mother in law is going to shoot me for showing you all that picture but I don't care :-p I like it! And look who I snap a photo of sucking her thumb. Cutest little bunny ever. 

I had Sebastian all dress up in his Easter best but if you believe it or not it turned out to be a very HOT day. A high of 80 today! We were not excepting that when I dressed Sebastian up in a long sleeve button down shirt and long pants. Ugh. Pretty much as we got to my in laws Sebastian was stripped and put into shorts. Everyone was dying of the heat & humidity but it ended up being a very nice day. 

Sebastian had a great two hour nap in his grandparents bed :) and enjoyed the egg hunt even though he wasn't as interested in it as his cousin! All in all our third Easter as a little family was another memorable one.

Shout out to my good friend Ashley who just got MARRIED today. On EASTER :) Many happy years to come for the newlyweds. Since day one we've been planning our weddings together as we make people lattes and pour coffee. I can't wait to hear every detail!!

♥A. 

on our Sunday (not so fun day)...

Today started out rocky. A migraine hit my like a title wave! Not fun. It started out being a tension headache which I woke up with in the morning. I seem to be carrying too much tension in my body while sleeping. It's something that I just don't notice I am doing and in the end creates a rough headache. This being said I will most likely be seeing the doctor about because it's happening more and more. Boohoo. The day started out slow do to my not feeling well. But eventually I picked my sunken self up off the couch told my boys we were off to the mall. 

JcPenny's was top priority. After having Sebastian try on his suit for the wedding last night and finding out that 3T was not big enough I was almost having a panic attack. I told myself yesterday that I don't care what we do that today we had to go make a quick trip to Penny's to exchange. Hmmmm, now that I'm thinking about it maybe this was why the tension was created! I was very nervous about all this because Sebastian suit was pure perfection and just what I wanted that I just couldn't help think what if they don't have anymore! I know, I am such a negative Nancy. Hey, I tend to have bad luck with this sort of thing. 

We got to Penny's and the boys wondered around while I bee-lined to the store. I think I might have even bumped into a wee little child on this very important mission, whoops. I basically was in a run to the rack where I found the suit before. Low and behold there was one suit left. Purple. Size...wait for it...4T!!! I seriously, no joke, jumped up and did a heel click in joy. Boy, today was my lucky day. I think it was the universe giving me a break for what felt like a tumor growing in my brain. Thank. You. God. 

I cooked dinner with a some help :D Eggplant with Ravioli stuff with Mushrooms. Yumm. 

You like this action shot?! Yup, flour everywhere after that one...

Dinner looked like this...

In between dinner Bobby and I did an overload of purchases off Etsy :) For the wedding naturally. Then I whipped us up some dessert.

Warm Berries 'n' Dumplings. 

As you may know I am not a huge fan of fruit, let alone berries. But I hold a special place in my heart, errr, stomach for this delight. It's super yummy. The dumplings are made from buttermilk and it's the best right off the stove while it's hot. I love to sprinkle tons of cinnamon on top and some people would say to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Either way it's the best. Another favorite from Martha Stewart. 

Now I am going to wind down and read my current book, Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. Very sad book so far and an author that I haven't read for a very long time. One that I really enjoy but can get old fast for me. 

Now, go you, make some Berries 'n' Dumplings. Thank me later.

♥A. 

on a little picnic...

Today was a beautiful day. 

The sun was out, the breeze was warm and we were on our way to have a picnic. It had been a while since we've been to Lukens Park, which is my most favorite playground. We hit up Panera Bread to grab a quick lunch and had it at the park. 

 We had a nice time :) 

Later at home I did a lot of much needed cleaning. Fun? No. But it feels great after getting it all done. Before bed Sebastian put up his new Toy Story wall decal. He had the funnest time ever do it. 

♥A.

our love story...

Everyone has there own love story and this is ours! Not an ordinary story and I always beam when telling the tale of how we came to be together. 

It all began back in Seattle. The good 'ol Northwest is my true home.  Bobby and I bumped into each other accidentally via the world wide web. And I say accidentally because NO, we weren't trying to find love online. No Eharmony type of sites were involved.

When we first started talking it was just get to know you sort of chit chat. In the beginning it never really was romantic. As time went on we just started falling for each other. Nothing more to say. That's how it happened. It started on the computer screen & then we picked up the phone and dialed each others number. After a while we were inseparable.

Yeah, it wasn't ideal. I thought to myself all the time that it was crazy and if I truly thought we would ever be together. Come on, we lived across the country from each other. But being me I was head strong about how I felt and really didn't care what anyone had to say about it. What's new?! After a while it was obvious the way we felt for each other and it was time to do something about it. 

My dad was very aware of my little romance with Bobby since we've always been close so for my birthday he had bought me a ticket to Philadelphia to actually meet Bobby for the first time. I never in a million years would of ever though my dad would do that for me. That's when my dad's true colors shone the most in my eyes. He supposed and trusted me. If you know my dad he is very old-fashioned and protective and for him to do that for me was something I will never forget. So there I was hopping on a plane to jet to Philadelphia to a state I've never been, to a place were I knew no one but Bobby who I have NEVER actually met. Phew! Are you calling me crazy yet? Shenanigans I tell you!!

Bobby and I literally slammed into each other at the Philadelphia National Airport hearts racing and so in love. Love at first sight really does exist. I don't care what anyone says. I spent about a week out there with him doing lots of fun things and even met his family. Up until then that was the most amazing experience I've ever had.

Our time was up and I had to catch a plane back to home. Worst pain ever. I was heart broken. I was so happy in the short amount of time that I just did not want it to end and so I went home. My heart was crushed.

After a while I made the hardest decision of my life. I was moving to Philadelphia!!! I remember I told Tanya my bestest friend in the whole wide world first about my decision and then my sister. The decision was hard but for me it's all about living a life I want. And that's what I wanted so I just went for it knowing that if it didn't work out I'd just come back home.  

Next, Bobby bought a one way ticket to Seattle to meet my dad right after Thanksgiving 2006. The plan was for him to spend a couple weeks with me and my family and we were to pack my tiny 1988 Volkswagen Golf up with all my belonging and drive to across the country to my new home, Philadelphia.

I left everything familiar behind. Everyone that I loved and everything that I knew behind to be with him. We stuffed the back of my tiny car with all my things that were precious to me and headed on our trip. We were on the road for four days with only one night of rest at a hotel. I hated it and never want to do it again. I'm serious. It felt like forever and it was so tiring. I remember we finally hit Pennsylvania about 3am on the fourth day and I was almost in tears.

We stayed with Bobby's family until we were able to find ourselves an apartment and then from there on we flourished :) And here we are now with a  4 year old little boy, married and living a simple happy life. That's our whimsical love story. Thanks for reading!

xoxo. 

on things I'm loving...

I am loving...

THAT IT'S FRIDAY! HURRAH :D

This picture, I think it would be such a great Easter center piece. So elegant! 

Yes, I sell Froyo to a hand full of people at work although I sometimes forget we have it! Weird, I know. But usually I make a point to have one of these bad boys at least once a week. This time I had raspberries & granola on top, so yummm!

How cool are these? I adore nesting dolls but this idea is very crafty and would be such a wonderful little decoration to add to your living room. Let alone show off some photos. Go here and find out how to make these lovies.

Another pretty amazing photo of Snoqualmie Falls :) Only 43 days!!

This boy looking up at me. My heart swells every time.

(via somewhere here)

These are incredible cuppy cakes. Like are you kidding me? The one on the bottom left corner with the white roses are my favorite. Beautiful.

(via)

Holly crap chair! No words.

(via)

Sebastian would flip. If we had one of these I'd so chose going down the slide. Who needs stairs!

What are you loving?

♥A.

on a wedding sneak peek...

I thought it would be fun to show you a few wedding sneak peeks.

The nail polish color that I'll be wearing on the big day. Essie's nice is nice.

Wedding shoes :) What do you think, you like?

Peek at Sebastian's suit. Something casual yet chic and comfortable to wear. Perfect for my little ring bearer.

Chalk board sign that will be at the wedding. One of many things that I bought off Save-On-Crafts. The best website for wedding detail. Love it!

This adorable banner. You will just have to see what we shall be doing with this sweet thing. How perfect can this banner get for us?! This is from this Etsy shop. Etsy has saved my life, I'm so thankful for all the crafty people out there. Swoon.

Well, I don't want to spoil all of it now would I! I'm getting so anxious. I've been crossing so many things off my list and getting so much done. I just want it to be here already!
♥A.