Love it . . . Keep it : Smelling Good

Welcome to Love it Keep it where I discuss a few things that I'm loving this week. Currently we are in the middle of a major heat wave in Michigan, which got me thinking about summer scents.

Right now my go-to scent is Gap's "The Original". I've been wearing this scent for about two years now and I still love it. It smells so crisp and clean.

 

Another favorite summer scent is "So Pink" also by the Gap. I think I started wearing this in college and always got a ton of compliments. It is very fresh and girly. I am about to run out...I hope they still make it!

My other favorite scent is "Brown Sugar & Fig" by Bath and Body Works. This is almost always sold out in stores so I stocked up several months ago. I think you can still find it online. It smells so sugary and light...love it!

 I'm in the market for a new signature scent...what perfumes are you lovin' on?

You Give Me Fever

Baby fever that is. It is just me or doesn't it seem like everyone is either pregnant or just had a baby? Don't be confused by this post, I do NOT have baby fever. Not yet at least. Maybe in one or two years....maybe.

Anyway, we have four friends who just had babies...and now two more friends from work are expecting. Crazy! Didn't we all just get married???? I love visiting with new babies....they are just too adorable for words!

My friend Kate just had a baby girl at the beginning of this month. And she is the cutest thing you have ever seen. Kate and I were friends in high school all the way out in California. Funny enough we both ended up marrying Michigan boys and living out here. Crazy huh? Last Friday I worked a half day and then skipped on over to visit Kate and her precious baby girl.

Here is me with baby D. The picture is blurry (I am so bad at explaining the SLR to other people) but you get the point.

And here is the proud mama! Doesn't Kate look amazing? She is my new mom hero. I had such a great time catching up with an old friend.

So tell me....anyone else out there surrounded by babies? Do you have baby fever?

Surprise!

I know I always say this, but this weekend really flew by. I worked on Saturday and then we headed out for a surprise birthday dinner for my mother-in-law. My father-in-law had been working on the surprise for several months, so we were really excited that the day finally came. She had no idea and was so surprised!

The family

My Mother-in-law with all her siblings and their spouses.

The in-laws. Happy Birthday Connie! We love you!

Love it . . . Keep it : Shows I'm Lovin'

Welcome to Love it Keep it, where I chat about something I'm currently lovin' on. Right now I'm loving my DVR. It helps me record all of "my shows".

My favorite show right now is Modern Family on ABC. I know I've posted about this awesome show on here before, but I really need to bring it up again. This show rocks my socks off. It is hilarious. Last night's episode was amazing. And even the husband loves it! Please, watch this show!

Up next is Glee, on FOX. Seriously, who isn't watching this fabulous show? I've been watching since day one and I've never been disappointed. Amazing singing? Check. Ridiculous dance moves? Check. Nerdy girl likes jock guy? Check. Cute curly hair glee club teacher? Check. What more could you want?

And no list is complete without mention of The Office, on NBC. The husband and I are huge fans. I actually think that The Office and Modern Family are the only shows we agree on. Well and maybe Law & Order SVU. But that's it. The Office is one of the few shows we actually make time to watch live instead of recorded. It's that good. And oh how I love me some Jim Halpert!

This season I've been a big fan of The Biggest Loser on NBC. I never really paid attention to past seasons, but for some reason I'm loving it now! I think I get teary after each episode. It is so inspirational. If a 400 pound man can run 5 miles so should I...right? I can't wait for the finale. Go Ashley!

Now for my guilty pleasure, The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo. I can't stop watching this show. It is ridiculous and fantastic at the same time. Of all the Real Housewives casts, this one is by far my favorite.

So what shows are you lovin' this week?

Don't be like me

A word to the wise: Don't ever get so excited about finally booking an upcoming vacation (to Maui!) that you forget to pay attention while doing the dishes.

You might accidentally drop a heavy cake plate dome (a wedding gift) in the sink. And it will, I promise, break in to several pieces.

And those pieces will most certainly slice up your thumb and middle finger.

Again, like I said, don't be like me.

Upon seeing your bleeding fingers don't automatically assume you have cut off your thumb. Because this will cause you to fall to the floor and begin hyperventilating.

Be sure to marry a nice man who will come to your rescue, assure you that your thumb is still completely attached, and bandage you up.

So, don't do what I did. Because it is really hard to type with two bum fingers. Trust me.

Mo & Ali's Wedding

Well, the day we were all waiting for finally arrived! Mo and Ali's wedding was on Saturday and it was perfect! Ali looked beautiful and Mo was so excited to see his bride. The husband was a groomsmen and, as I mentioned a long time ago, I was asked to read a prayer at the wedding. I was so nervous but all my practicing paid off because it went off without a hitch! I actually had people tell me I should be a public speaker (ha! Can you imagine me a public speaker? No thanks!). We were honored to be a part of their special day. I took a ton of pictures (like 300!). Here are a few (actually a lot) of my favorites:

Me and the husband. I forgot to take a picture of my pretty corsage....

The husband and Christine walking down the aisle.

Mo waiting for his bride.

Ali and her dad. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Mo and Ali rented a trolley to take the bridal party and dates around down for pictures. It was so much fun! And such a cute idea!

Oh and there were drinks on the trolley too...good times.

The boys having fun.

Love this one of Ali and Mo. We had our own mini photo shoot before the photographer arrived. 

Ali and the girls. So cute!

Love this one of the guys. 

I'm so excited about how this one turned out!

And of course we had to all have some hot damn! It's a wedding tradition.

Me with Ali. 

Me, Ali, and Karri.

Mo doesn't like ducks....

Ali's beautiful bouquet. 

I love this one.

Throw him in!

Work it!

I told him to grab the back of her dress...so cute.

The bridal party.

 Messing around on the trolley. 

And one of my favorite parts of the wedding....the candy bar!

Congrats Mo and Ali! Thank you for letting us be a part of your big day!

Love it . . . Keep it : Cake Balls

Welcome to "Love it...Keep it" where I chat about something I'm currently lovin' on.

Oh my word. Cake balls are awesome. I made some for the first time this week for a co-worker's birthday party. Amazing. And everyone loved them!

Here is how you make 'em:

1. Make a cake. I used a red velvet boxed cake mix.
2. After the cake has baked, crumble it up into a large bowl.
3. Add a can of frosting (I used cream cheese frosting....so good) to the cake crumbles. Mix until the cake absorbs the frosting.
4. Stop yourself from eating the entire bowl.
5. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (Otherwise, when you go to form the cake balls it will be too gooey).
6. Roll a spoonful of the mixture in your hand to make round balls.
7. Put them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.
8. Melt chocolate, almond bark, or baking chips (I used white baking chips) in the microwave.
9. Dunk the cake balls in the melted mixture and place on wax paper to dry.
10. Try not to eat them all!

What are you lovin' and keepin' this week?

Wordless Wednesday: Brotherly Love

Yes, I'm alive....and some other stuff

Hi friends! I'm back. I know I promised to be back last week....but I just didn't have it in me to blog. Ever feel like that? I had a bad week, first finding out that my grandma passed away, dealing with family stuff, and then my cat Henry took off and disappeared. He somehow ran out the front door right when we were getting ready to go to bed Wednesday night. And he was gone. We searched for that little monster for over 2 hours in the dark. Finally, exhausted and in tears, I told the husband it was time to go to bed. Needless to say, neither of us could sleep. The husband kept thinking he heard Henry and he would go downstairs to check. Finally, at around 5:00 a.m. the husband heard a cat crying. I went down to the kitchen and sure enough there was Henry, on the back deck, staring right at me. I am so thankful he made his way home. He wasn't wearing his collar (thanks to Wrigley's habit of pulling it off of him) so I was really worried. The next day I went out and bought both the cats collars that Wrigley couldn't pull off.

So, on Thursday, I was sort of exhausted and overwhelmed....hence no blogging. But, I'm back and feeling much better now!

This weekend our friends Mo and Ali came in for a short visit so I could snap some photos of them to use at their wedding reception (they are getting married this weekend...yay!). This one is my favorite.

Then the husband and I had a nice evening spent eating pizza and cuddling up on the couch. Just what I needed!

On Sunday I took Wrigley to the dog park and then we went to visit my in-laws for Mother's day. And I forgot to take a single picture. Fail.

But here are the pictures of our tulips that I have been promising to post....for like forever. I still can't believe we managed to plant something and actually not kill it. That's a first.

Are you impressed? You should be. Oh, and look at the pretty mulch the husband put down....

And I had to include a picture of Wrigley. He will be a year old at the end of this month...can you believe it?

I'll Be Back Soon....

Sorry for the lack of posting. We've had a rough week at our house. First, we found out the husband's uncle George died...and then my Grandma Ila died on Sunday. I just haven't had it in me to post.

We have some beautiful tulips in our yard that desperately need to be shown off on the blog...I'll be back Thursday with some pictures.