My blog just got a face lift!

For those of you who visit my blog often, you’ve probably already noticed that this newlyweds blog looks completely different. I’ve decided to give it a little facelift much needed renovation! I’ve had this blog for about three months now, so I think it was due for a little fixer upper. :)

I hope you like it!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Me and My Not So Green Thumb

I have many different talents (yes, thank you, thank you very much), but planting and keeping flowers alive has never been one of them. I do not have a green thumb. But what I do have is a unique ability to kill every single plant I have ever come in contact with. So my 'green thumb' is more of a yellowish-brown color, you could say.

You see, when we first moved into our new house last April, I tried and tried to keep previous owner's blooming beauties alive. (they were stunning) But, no luck. My flower killing spree just continued.

two thumbs down.

I’ve tried indoor flowers, flowers that require little water, flowers that need very little shade — the list goes on and on. They always start out healthy, but then the plant dies on me. The problem is though, I love flowers and refuse to give up. Although I may be singlehandedly wiping out entire populations of plants, I am not yet ready to let it go.

However, to make things even worse, my lovely other half was a landscaper in another life time. I promise you this! He’s just a natural. He keeps our lawn perfectly manicured and mows the grass about 12 times a week. He has even offered to help me. However, I refuse to surrender and will not let him take over! I will and can do this on my own.

::sigh::

So please help me turn the tide on my plant killing days. Any words of advice from the professionals out there would be helpful and very much appreciated! I want a pretty little yard with pretty littttle flowers :(

Oy Vey.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend!

This weekend's shower was such a success!!! My bestest loved everything so much, and I am so happy and relieved that it all went off without a hitch! It was my first time hosting an event of this magnitude and I truly enjoyed every minute of it! I loved meeting new people and seeing friends from out of town who we don't get to see nearly enough.

The theme that I decided to go with was Tiffany & Co, because what girl doesn't love *diamonds*?! Right, ladies?

So without further adue, here are some pictures!

(the cupcake tower!)

(Tiffany-tini drink fountain)

(my bestest! doesn't she look just gorgeous?)

(with all the goodies I got her)

Her favorite was the personalized Recipe for a Happy Marriage Apron. If you look closely, on the bottom it says From the Kitchen of Mrs. Brayer! :)

(Playing my favorite bridal shower game! The girl's had to make a dress from TP and Nicole had to choose her favorite!)

Team #1

Team #2

Team #3

And the winner is: Team #1

The final group shot! I love all these ladies!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Ahhhhh. It's finally the weekend. I'm currently sitting on my porch (it's 87 degrees out!), drinking coffee, reading the paper, and snuggling with Mr. Charlie.

Hubby just left to go get beat up to a paintball tournament. When I asked him why he was so excited to go, he simply replied: "because i love war and there's nothin' better than running, jumping, crawling and diving around to destroy the opposing team and emerge victorious. Babe, i'm going to dominate this game. I will be that guy the enemy dreads, and the teammates cheer. It's going to be a crossfire showdown!" Am I married to a five-year-old?

Okay moving on.. In the meantime, while my toddler very adult husband is off playing war, I plan on finishing up a couple last things for my bff Nicole's bridal shower tomorrow. My bestest is tying the knot in two months, and I am her matron of honor, and so I'm hosting her shower and am so excited. It has been a lot of work, but I am looking forward to seeing it all come together. I can't wait! The theme we decided to go with is the cutest and I can't wait to see her reaction! I know she is going to love it ;) I would love to give you more details or at least a hint (because it has been eating me alive!) but I have to keep it a secret for another 24 hours. I will have plenty of pictures either Monday or Tuesday though, no worries! And before I forget here is the outfit I have put together.

Alright, darlings, I am off to run some errands and enjoy the sunshine! Hope you all have a beautiful weekend.

A Big AWWWW.

*Gloating Alert*
*Gloating Alert*
*Gloating Alert*

i love flowers….all types of flowers...my favorite flower will change from time to time, depending on my mood & the season….but no matter what i love flowers, they make me happy. Not to mention that they are a perfect little pick-me-up.

So, when a big floral box arrived this morning in my office, I felt kind of goofy giddy like a teenager receiving flowers from her first crush. *all together now- awwweee*

How cute. My husband makes me feel special and super-duper happy every single day, but it is always nice to be reminder how much I am loved and adored. Matt is really such a thoughtful man. Now what was even more touching, was the romantic card that came with the flowers. I'm not going to share what it said, but it was so well-written and adorable that it put a permanent smile on my face. I still can't stop smiling. Not to mention that now my office and I are feeling’ Springy, baby!

Thank you babe for being so considerate and caring and for making me sooooo happy. You are my world and I love you :-*

Proof that I have way too much time on my hands!

Or that I'm easily amused.

(the new mrs. usa)

(all eyes on me)

(my sissy and I, aka the olsen twins)

(we make a pretty cute sonny and cher. i got you babe :)

(hubs looks pretty good in a one piece)

Happy Tuesday everyone~!

xoxo

Weekend Recap!

Our weekend was very busy, and it’s hard to believe that it’s already Monday!

Friday:
I once read that 'If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the eyebrows are the window treatments.' To me, great looking eyebrows never go out of style. It’s one accessory your face can’t afford to skimp on, unless of course, you favor the whole Sasquatch look. Or the pencil thin, overly plucked, tweezer happy look. Thank Heavens, I’ve grown out of both of those stages. Seventh grade uni-brow… Or the senior year of high school no-brow yeeow. (anyone with me?!)

So, Friday my sissy-in-law Kimmy came over and right away I noticed how amazing her eyebrows looked. She recommended eyebrow threading. I have heard of this before, and have wanted to try it for some time, but never had the guts to do it. So, I bit the bullet Friday and went! And let me tell you, it was painnnnnfulllllllllllll. Very painful. But the results are worth every pound ounce of pain! And I can honestly say that I am never going back to plucking or tweezing!

For those of you not familiar, threading is a hair removal technique that uses a cotton thread. The 100% cotton thread is twisted and rolled along the surface of the skin entwining the hairs in the thread, which are then lifted out from the follicle. It is said to be more precise than waxing.

Anyone else ever tried this procedure and if so, what were your results?

Saturday/Sunday
Hubs and I went home to see my parents Saturday and stayed through Sunday afternoon! My family is Christian Orthodox, and since we follow the old calendar, our Easter fell on this Sunday. My Mom had everyone over for Easter brunch Saturday, and we attended the Church where I grew up Sunday morning.

It is such an amazing feeling to go home and be surrounded by so much family. I am very lucky to have a loving, close-knit family, who loves us unconditionally :) I cannot wait until the day when I can pass this on to my children.

Here are some pictures from Easter.

Hubby and I with my Goddaughter, Mimi :)

Our Easter Basket!

Mommy, Mimmi, and my Sister.

The most adorable girl in the world :)

And a few pics of, whom else, Mr. Charlie! :)

(his new hoodie)

Fashion Friday! :)

Ahh, Friday is here finally :) To celebrate making it through the week, I used my lunch break to do a little shopping!

I will preface this post by saying that for those of you new to this blog, I *heart* fashion. And I always enjoy treating myself to something fabulous. But my goal is to try to find a cheap and chic version of one of this season's hottest pieces. And my latest obsession are croc handbags. They are out of this world fabulous!

So *(drumroll please)*

Today I was super lucky. I picked up the most precious hot pink faux-crox bag ever! It is large enough for me (cause you know I love large bags) but small enough to be a daily bag :) The best part is that it's super stylish and actually very well made. And even though it is faux croc material, it is the most buttery and smooth fake crocodile I have felt in my entire life! This bag is very sophisticated and is a great little clutch for spring!

(Please check back for photos! I will have it with me this weekend, so you will see it in the weekend recap :)

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are going to visit my parents, and I really can't wait. Home cooked meals and quality time with the rents, grandma and little sister? I will be the happiest girl on earth!

Edited to Add: I sincerely apologize for overusing exclamation points. I just cannot contain my excitement.

And you thought YOU had problems?

So, I normally don't blog about news-y stuff, but this lady will just not go away.. And just when I thought that Nadya $uleman and her 128,650 kids' 15 minutes were almost up- WRONG!

Octolooney is back!

I just read this morning that $uleman confirmed that she will indeed have her own TV show. Yikes. And this comes after repeatedly saying that she wanted the media and public attention to go away and to leave her alone...

This trainwreck soap opera doesn't look like it will end any time soon.

So my question is, what network in their right mind would even broadcast this trainwreck? And more importantly, are there people out there that would watch this?

But I just found this spoof that Jimmy Kimmel did on her and had to share it. It's pretty funny :)




Happy Thursday everyone!

Nashville Pictures!

(Why, yes, I did wear pretty much the same outfit in most of these pics…but that's what happens when you see everything in the same day. and hubs laughed at me when I offered to bring an outfit to change into ;))

Edited to Add: I did get about 3-4 inches cut a few days before we left for Nashville, so my hair is definitely a lot shorter in these pics. Actually, I think it's the shortest my hair has been in probably 3 years! But I love it and it looks much healthier :)

We're Back Ya'll!

Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Actually, on second thought, don’t answer that :)

We got home pretty late Sunday to a towering pile of junk mail and an even bigger one of laundry, so I am sorry I have been mia.

Anyway, we had a great, great time in Nashville! Our b&b was lovely, and much bigger and nicer than we were even expecting. Ahhh, I wish I was still there. Our room was fantastic and from our balcony, we could see the city skyline! Not to mention that our hostess made the most amazing breakfasts and we ate a LOT. We were also able to truly relax and rest while managing to squeeze in some sightseeing and bar hopping time! And the reason for this is because we had a PLAN. Yes, a PLAN. Normally we are totally plan-less - the blind leading the blind and wondering aimlessly - when we travel, so this was quite exciting for us!

I will post pictures from our adventures tonight, so make sure you check back. And I have some good ones! Including one incriminating photo of the hubs in a mullet wig. Thats by far, my fave.

But as wonderful as our mini vacay was, we were thrilled to reunite with our Charlieman, who was having the time of his life while the rents were away. In fact, I think that he pretty much ate his own bodyweight in treats while we were gone. Silly doggie.

But right now, I honestly don’t want to do anything because it’s so cold and rainy outside. Seriously, I had to turn on the heat as soon as we got home. I hate this state.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Furbaby Update!

Today is actually my Friday!

I have the day off in honor of Good Friday, so it's a three day weekend. This weekend hubby and I are going to Nashville for a much needed getaway! We are both so excited. We have a few things lined up that we want to do, but the rest will be just relaxing and sightseeing. Ahh. I will be back to share pictures with you all Monday :)

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

_________________________________

And before I go, I'm leaving you with a few furbaby updates and pictures. I just realized this morning that I have been the world's worst mom recently because Charlie hardly ever gets any blog love anymore. If you're thinking Charlie who? you prove my point. So here we go!

Two weeks ago, he learned to go down the stairs. And I am talking really go down, not just slide. Isn't this the cutest?

He also chewed up everything in sigh and lost his first tooth over the weekend. My keys, however, are his favorite. He digs them out of my purse, and then hides from me while chewing them. Except he can never be too sneaky since I can spot those ears from a mile away :)

He also took up interest in watching NCAA March Madness Tournament. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree :)

He took many baths since there is apparently something very interesting about digging up Mom's flowers.

He spent lots of bonding time with his favorite auntie. The large doggie doughnuts she brings could be the reason she's the favorite.

And last but not least, he continues to get cuter every single day :)

I love this little guy with my whole heart and it's been so much fun watching him grow :) He has brought so much happiness into our lives.