to shop or not?!?

I was just looking through my closet to try and find an outfit to wear to school tomorrow. {Yes, I have to pick my outfit out the night before or I'll be really, really late to work in the morning!} I yelled down to Kurt saying I really want to go shopping and get some new stuff. And that I really need some new clothes....! :)

Funny how things work because while cooking dinner we were talking about money. We were talking about stuff you talk about when you get married...trying to save for the future even more than we were before. "We need to stop spending so much money," came out of my mouth during this discussion.

Ugh, I know we need to save money, but looking cute is important too! Right?!? {ha} I guess no shopping is in the near future. Now back to figuring out what to wear.

P.S- My first day was great. I'm exhausted and thinking of going to bed soon. This year is going to be fun!

Stella & Dot

Tuesday evening, my mom and I had a little jewelry party. Have you ever heard of Stella & Dot? If not, you're missing out. It's soo cute! One of the reasons why we wanted to have the party now was so I could get some fun stuff for me to take on our honeymoon!! And I got so much fun stuff. I can't wait for it to come! Here's what I got...

{Love this ring!! I can't wait to wear it!}

 {I got these in gold}

 {How fun is this??}

{And, my favorite. A ring. That I'm going to sport on our wedding day. My mom said I could only wear it at the reception though, but I promise you I'll be wearing it!!!}

color pop

I've recently changed my decorating mentality. Since we've moved into the house, we have spent hours running around the city, shopping, browsing magazines, etc. looking for things for our house. We never seemed to buy things because we {I} wasn't sure if it would fit, how it would look, if I'd like it.....

So, I told myself if I see something I like, I'm going to get it, try it out at home, and if we don't like it take it back! And, it's working!! We've added lots of new accessories to our tv stand that look great {and wouldn't have been anything I would typically throw together in my mind}. Here are some recent purchases we bought from Crate and Barrel.

{Glass Birdie - $7.00}

 

 {Lula Vase $9.00}

 

{Yoko Vase $8.00 -- we got blue one}

One of my favorite things about buying stuff I like when I see it.....we have a few extra things that we've stored away. We have them close by for whenever we'd like to switch things up a little bit! I'll be sure to show you the finished tv stand when we get it complete!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Thanksgiving Break - Night 2

I wish I could say that we woke up early on Wednesday and had a really productive morning {like we'd planned}, but we didn't. And, it sure felt great to sleep in! Kurt's dad came over shortly after we woke up. We've been planning on doing some upgrades to our laundry room, including adding a counter top above our washer and dryer. Kurt's dad is a home builder so he hooked us up with a 'counter top guy' to find a cheap and perfect match for our tiny little room.

We had planned on buying any remaining Christmas decorations for the house so that after Thanksgiving we wouldn't have to fight the crowds to find what we wanted/needed. In order to do that, we needed to pull out all our decorations and make a list of things we needed to pick up. Getting our decorations out was somewhat of an ordeal....

Our coat closet has a great {finished} storage area behind it/under the stairs. There are a few minor problems with getting to the things stored in that area. Why you might ask?

1. The door is all the way at the back of the closet. The cleaning supplies and Cooper's food has to be removed to get access to the door {and the coats!}

2. The closet is an odd shape. There is only one rack for coats and that rack is smack-dab in front of the door. So....all the coats have to come out.

3. Once everything is sprawled out around our house, we can finally see the door. BUT, we have to unscrew it before we can get in!!!

Once all those steps have been completed, we're able to find all our things we've neatly stored away. {Major plans are in the works for making this closet and door more functional!} Needless to say, we only get in the storage when we really need to and make sure to put everything away before closing it up!!!

Here are a few decorations we already had.

 

 

 The Santa found a new home {and I can't wait to show you!}

The Cooper-look-alike will stay on the stair landing and the red and green candle has found a great spot on the window ledge above the sink. 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent running errands. We did some damage at some of our favorite stores! We knew our house would be very festive this year!

Remember this picture I shared yesterday?

The first thing we started to do was this...

Wonder what we did with the rest of the stuff?

I can assure you that all these things put together make up my favorite decorations in our house.

I'm running out of time, so I'll have to share the finished product tomorrow.

But until tomorrow, check out this picture...

...the green 'bowl' was one of our purchases of the day.

We added some umph to it to make it more festive.

Can you guess how?!?

busy bee

How was your weekend?!? Hopefully, it was great. IKEA was amazing. I think we'll be taking more trips there soon. Oh, what I'd do to have them open one here. I'd probably live there!!! This week is going to be busy with trying to get ready to move....ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!

I'll be back after we move in with some before/after pictures and to share the things we bought from IKEA. We're going to the Kings of Leon concert on Friday, so I'm sure I'll have pictures from that to share as well. I'm hoping all our stuff is still safe in the storage place...guess we'll find out soon! Next time you hear from me, I'll be posting from our new office!! Have a great week!

walking and shopping

I'm so excited for tomorrow! My mom and I are going to do the American Heart Association Heart Walk in the morning. This is an association very close to our hearts. Last July 17, I got a phone call from my oldest brother, Andy, telling me that our dad was going to have emergency bypass surgery out of the blue. This is a story for another day, but he's doing okay now. Those people who have walked in the past, helped save my dad's life. I hope that our donations help other families in need. Plus, we will get free cholesterol tests {and other heart tests} to make sure we're keeping our hearts healthy. {Both my dad's dad and his grandfather passed away from heart disease. That means my brothers and I are at extreme risk for heart disease...if we don't take care of ourselves. Not to mention we have anxiety and high blood pressure that run in the family.....}

It's great to get some exercise and spend time with my mom all while we're helping others. I'm sure you're wondering why my dad won't be there?!? Well, he was given free tickets to the Notre Dame game. I suppose I'd be choosing that over a walk as well!

After the walk, Kurt and I are hopping in the car and driving 2 hours to Cincinnati....and I can't wait! We're going to the IKEA to shop for new house things!!!!!!


I L.O.V.E spending time in the car with Kurt. It's been something that we've done somewhat often within the past 6 years. We always have the best conversations. It simply feels great to be together and spend that time without any other worries. Of course, I love shopping, too! I love buying things for the house much better than for myself. It just feels great knowing that the things we buy together are going to make our house into our home. Lastly, I couldn't be more excited because I've NEVER been to IKEA. I've searched the website and catalog. I don't know how we're going to decide on just a few items. I think I'd get close to buying the entire store, if I could! :)

I'm sure Sunday will be a nice relaxing day spent watching football, etc. {P.S- Go IU!!}

Have a great weekend. I'm really hoping that I can share pictures of some amazing things bought at IKEA. Wish us luck!!!

yo quiero

All the anticipation of moving into our new house gets me excited to spend a lot of my free time searching websites {and stores} for new house decorations {and wishing I had money to buy all the things!}. Kurt is being the more practical one wanting to not get anything new unless it's absolutely necessary. I have quite a different perspective of things....but, again won't be able to support this shopping addiction anytime soon! No one said I couldn't look, wish, and drool over many things that would make our new place utterly amazing! Here are a few of my favorites....

I've read a lot lately about how mirrors can make your space look much bigger than it actually is. I'm all for pretty illusions like this one from West Elm. I can think of a bunch of places for this mirror to live in our new house.


We are going to need to spruce up both the master and guest bathrooms. I'm loving the color and pattern of this shower curtain from Crate and Barrel. I'd be happy each morning if I saw this before getting in the shower!


We can't forget Cooper {or the plans of adding a new doggie to the family!!!}. This dog bed {from here} would add a classy pop of color to our neutral room and look fabulous on top of our hardwood floors. It would also be a great cozy alternative to his bad habit of sleeping on the couch. {oops, sometimes it's so nice to cuddle with him!!} I bet we could get one that has enough room for two!
And, how can I decide on just a few things from IKEA that I'm smitten for?!? I've talked Kurt into taking a trip to Cincinnati {since we don't have one here...ugh!} so we can spend time going up and down each aisle at IKEA!!

This would look very cool above our kitchen cabinets! And for $5.00, I think this may have to be a for sure purchase.
I'm really loving these little vases. You could do so much with them! The patters/designs on them make me want them even more. I can't wait to display these with a pretty flower from our yard?!? Oh wait....if I can keep any plants alive!! :)
I can't even figure out what other items I want to include from IKEA; there are SO many. I guess I'll have to wait and see what we find when we make the trek to the actual store. Hopefully, I'll be able to bring home lots of good pictures {and things!} to show you! For now, I'll keep wishing for all these amazing things.

shoeaholic

Yesterday while Kurt's brothers were helping us move his things home, his brother commented on his "large number of shoes." He was carrying a medium sized shopping bag full of 4 pairs of Kurt's shoes {almost his whole collection.} I quickly retorted by explaining that I don't believe Kurt has enough shoes and is in the market for some much needed shoe purchases! His brother then said, "Are you kidding?!? I have 3 pairs of shoes." The first time I heard this, I was shocked. But, I knew this was the case so it didn't surprise me this time! I jokingly told his brother, "I think I have over 100 pairs of shoes!" I know I have a lot of shoes, but not this many....right?

So today while I was unpacking all of my things into my old bedroom, I decided to quickly count how many pairs of shoes I really have. I'm quite embarrassed to say, but I have 70+ pairs of shoes!!! Oops....  

Here are some of my shoes....

I have two shoe racks that are completely filled and still plenty of shoes that I can't fit on them.

I don't see anything wrong with wearing great shoes! I love buying fun shoes to jazz-up a less exciting outfit. Well, the secrets out....I suppose I'm utterly smitten for shoes!  

chicago

This past weekend, my mom and I went to Chicago to celebrate my {belated} birthday and simply spend some quality girl time together. She and I are both {kinda} shopaholics, although my mom may have a difficult time admitting this! Chicago is the perfect place to indulge in our addiction while getting away together for the weekend. 

We got to Chicago late Friday night {courtesy of my dad's bad directions}. When we checked into our hotel {finally!} we were told that our room was on the 46th floor. Not only did I feel like I was going to plunge to my death in our unbelievably high room, our air conditioner was leaking onto the floor. Needless to say, we quickly called and asked for them to switch our room. Finally we were in a {lower & cooler} room so we could quickly unpack and hit the hay. 

We woke up somewhat early {for me} on Saturday so we could get in a full day of shopping. After eating a {scrumptious} buffet breakfast, we quickly headed out to the first store...{a HUGE} Forever 21. {*Anyone that knows me, knows that I HATE shopping in stores like Forever 21. I get very annoyed with how messy these types of stores are and how many people are there. But, the most annoying thing is how they operate the dressing rooms!!! I'm not even going to get started on this! Oh, and I wish I had the patience to shop at stores like this because they have great deals....} Good thing this was the first store because I was in a good mood and they had some great things! By the time we checked out, I was about to have a panic attack because we were in there for so long, but I survived and made it out with some really cute {and cheap} new things! 

(This is what we dropped off at our room after the first couple hours!! Successful trip for both of us!)

The afternoon continued on with more and more shopping. We stopped to have lunch at a cute little pizza place in one of the malls. It was really yummy and much needed energy! One of the most eventful stores we went to was the American Girl store. When I was growing up, I loved playing with dolls, especially American Girl dolls {I have 5 of them that my mom has saved for me to give to my daughter(s)}. The stores weren't around when I was younger, so we had no idea what to expect. We wanted to go check everything out, but we were really going in to find something to buy Julia, my niece, for her Bitty Baby. O.M.G, this is paradise for any girl {old or young}! If you're ever in a city with an American Girl store, you should check it out just for the entertainment aspect. 

After a very successful day of shopping, we went back to the room to freshen up. We then had dinner at this Italian restaurant {the oldest in the city}. It was pretty good. The tiramisu {one of my favorite desserts} was fabulous!!!  We then walked around for a little bit before our show started. We went to see Jersey Boys. It was phenomenal! I can't wait to see it again in Indy this coming Winter. 

(Enjoying our dinner together. Notice the huge tiramisu that I ate all by myself...oops!) 

On Sunday, we ate breakfast, packed our things up, checked out, and then decided to take advantage of the awesome weather. So, we walked around for a little while {and stopped in a few more stores} before heading home. It took us forever {or so it seemed} to drive home. We were so hungry when we got home, we decided to meet Kurt and my dad for some great Mexican food at a little family owned restaurant in Broad Ripple. 

(Mom and I modeling all our new clothes and accessories while waiting for a table.)

(It's good to get away, but even better to come home and see the one you love!) 

Thanks for a great weekend, mom! I had so much fun and can't wait to wear all my new things!! :)