The hardest choice you'll ever make in a marriage.

Is deciding who drives.

I love my husband. But the dude has a few issues. Seriously. :)

Hubs and I don't argue about much, but for the life of us, we can't decide who drives when we go on trips. Seriously. Ridiculous? Yes. And yet, always entertaining.

So here is how it normally goes:

I like to drive. When I am not actually driving, I like to yell tell the person who is what I think they should do next. A lot. It's really a ton of fun to ride in the car with me. Especially if I don't think you're a good driver. More often than not, you will probably tell me to stop talking. But that's okay, I don't mind. I'm fairly used to it.

Because of this, most trips with Hubs start out with me pouting about the fact that he never lets me drive. He will even admit that he doesn't like to drive very much, but that my driving scares him.

I'm not sure why. I am an excellent driver. I've never had three accidents a moving violation or a speeding ticket. (I'm knocking on wood. Or the couch. Whatever's closer. There's wood in there somewhere.)

The point is, I'm a backseat driver. I'll admit it. I am firmly convinced that I am saving us every time with my shrieking, pedestrian-watching, and eye-covering. Hubs actually thinks that my hysterics will distract him to the point where it will cause an accident, but I don't think so.

I'm helping.

On any long car trip, the only way to assure that one of us will not be tossed out the window into oncoming traffic is if Hubs is driving, and I am drugged. Not kidding. And if we are on a car ride and I am not asleep, the conversation usually goes something like this:

*** *** *** ***
ME: Keep your eyes on the road!

HUBS: I am! Stop yelling.

ME: No you're not. If you were, you would have started slowing down earlier.

HUBS: Leave me alone!

ME: That guy is merging! Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT??!

HUBS: Yes, I see it. *fiddles with the radio*

ME: (screeching) WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

HUBS: (turns to look at me) What?

ME: YOU'RE NOT WATCHING THE ROAD!

HUBS: (forced to step firmly on the brakes as the car in front of us slows down, causing me to grab the door handle and duck for cover)

*** *** ***
So today should be fun. We are driving 2.5 hours to go home and see our parents. I hope that we both make it there and neither one becomes roadkill :)

And regardless of his lack of driving skills, hubs is still the best.husband.ever. (um, hello, he put sup with me. he is a saint!) I adore him to pieces. :) But we are slowly learning the meaning of "for better or for worse" loosely translates into "we should really save up and hire a chauffeur." haha.

____________________________________________

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend! We are off to spend some quality time with our families! Then Saturday, we have tickets to the Indians/Yankees game! I can't wait. Hope the weather stays this gorgeousssss....

Adios, lovelies!

The Love Of My Life

This week marks Charlie's 6 month birthday and 4 months that we have had him! I can't believe that it has been that long. It seems like we brought him home just yesterday..

From day one, Charlie has been the sweetest, most loving little guy. I will never forget going to the breeder, when he waddled over to me, crawled into my arms and just fell asleep. I am such a sap, but honestly that's when I knew that he was the one and that I just had to take him home.

It has been such an amazing experience watching him grow and develop his own sassy personality. He is goofy and silly and perfect! He brings so much happiness and entertainment into our lives every day, and we adore him with our whole hearts. The funniest thing about having a dog for us has been co-parenting. Figuring out who sets the rules, and who breaks them. Who is the 'good guy' and who is the 'bad guy.' {yupp, you guessed it, I am the latter in both cases. and i can't even make any excuses for myself besides the fact that when he looks at me with those eyes, my heart melts}

And even more than that, it is all about hard work, schedule coordinating and priorities. {In our pre-furbaby days, happy hour shindigs were our thing. Not any more.} But all this has truly made me realize what a great father Matt will be one day. He is so dedicated and compassionate with Charlie, that I can't wait to see him with our non-furry babies.

And with all of that said, here is a little video I accidentally found yesterday. It is Charlie's first day home with us! Look how stinkin' tiny he is! And please ignore the annoying background noise. That would be my annoying voice :P




Edited to Add: Here is a video of Charlie we took last week, doing his sit, shake, down, roll tricks :))) He is such an over-achiever!

Who Needs Magic, When You Have LeBron?

Wow, last night was amazing. I have no voice, got bear spilled on my head several times, and chanted MVP all the way home.


{video of everyone celebrating!}

Whether you are a basketball fan or not, I am sure that you heard about LeBron's buzzer- beater.

Being in the arena last night as that shot went in with one second left was unbelievable. This guy is UNREAL. As the shot dropped in, the place went crazy. The madness was unlike anything I had ever seen before! We didn't get home until 2:30 a.m. but it was worth it. Here are some pictures!

Yes, we are all witnesses.

The legend and my secret boyfriend :)

Hubs' secret girlfriends :)

The view from out seats.

We won!!!!!!!!!!!

For the rest of the weekend, hubby and I are attending a few cookouts and also finishing up some long overdue projects around the house. I reminded hubs this morning that if he works hard we work hard, we can play hard haha. :)

But at the same time, I am feeling a little guilty because I get these random project ideas into my head and then want them executed immediately.

For example, while waiting to check out at Home Depot a few days ago, I picked up a magazine and while flipping through, I saw a picture of a bedroom that I fell in love with. So the next thing I know, we are buying paint, I am ordering a new duvet cover and pictures, and we are re-doing our whole bedroom. I get inspired easily. :) Is anyone else like this? Please say yes. I really hope that I'm not alone!!! :)

But to my defense, that's what hubby gets for dragging me into Home Depot for hours in the first place. Looking at hardware, doorknobs and lawnmowers isn't really what I would call thrilling, so I have to resort to other forms of entertainment.

Boom Boom Clap!

Hubby and I got tickets to go to the Cleveland Cavs basketball game tonight, and I am excited with a capital E!

::::::eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:::::

We are huge Cavs fans. We have been on all of our lives. And yes, we are fans of all Ohio teams, Indians, Buckeyes, Cavs, and even the Clowns Browns.
So this may be one of the very few times in our lives that we attend a sporting event with optimism and leave without crying :)

You see, we live in Ohio, and while our state is really good at some things, like deciding elections, sports is not one of them. Cleveland sports teams usually do not fall under the ‘really good’ category. They don’t even fall under ‘good’. Normally, we are just 'plain pathetic'.

So the reason why two undying, passionate Cleveland sports fans like hubs and I are SO pumped to see the Cavs is because they are actually pretty good this year!!! :)

I will be back with plenty of pictures from the game for you all! Oh and please keep your fingers, toes and anything else crossed that we come away with a "W".

Happy Friday everyone and happy Memorial Day weekend! We have a ton of housing projects to get finished, including finishing our deck and completely redecorating/painting our bedroom, so we will be busy. :)))

I need your help!

I submitted Charlie's picture into a photo contest at CutestPetContest.com and we need your help!

All I need you to do is click here and vote for Charlie's photo. If we get enough votes, we win! It's that easy! So please please please take a few seconds and tell them you think Charlie is cute. :)

The prizes include a $100 gift card to Pet Smart & $1,000 cash. But we need all of your votes to make this happen! (and you can vote more than once too!)

Thank you all very much and I will keep you posted if we win. Wish us luck! :)

Weekend Recap!

So today I am having a much better day, thankfully! A good night's sleep and a season premier of the Bachelorette definitely put me in a great mood! :)

And here is our weekend recap. This weekend flew for us but it also feels like last week was lightyears away.

Friday, hubs and I decided to volunteer and babysit for our neighbors, while they went and furniture shopped. A while back I announced that they had their baby and was super excited to spend some time with the little guy! And let me tell you, he is adorable. It should be illegal to be this cute. He is only a month old, so he basically slept or just stared at us the whole time we had him, but we had a blast.


isn't he just so stinkin' precious! it took everything out of me to not run away with him. :)

Saturday was equally as exciting as I got a chance to hang out with one of my best friends that I haven't seen since the wedding. She currently lives in California, and so we see each other only once or twice a year. We went to a yummy Mexican place to catch up. We literally closed the place down and had to be kicked out. And after fours hours of non-stop chatting, I was so sad when we had to leave! She plans on possibly moving back one day, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later. I miss the days where we used to hang out every single day!

Sunday we decided to relax. Hubs cooked out and then we took Charlie on a walk. I found an amazing recipe for Sweet BBQ shishkabobs that I have to share with you all. They are delish!

What You Need!
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (1-1/2 inch)
1 each: red and green pepper, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
3 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Make It!
HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Using 8 long wooden skewers (placing 2, side-by-side, for each kabob), thread chicken alternately with pineapple and peppers onto skewers to make 4 kabobs.
MIX barbecue sauce and juice concentrate; brush some of the sauce mixture onto kabobs.
GRILL 8 to 10 min. or until chicken is done, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce mixture.






That, in short, was our weekend! Hope you all are having a fabby Tuesday!

Edited to Add: What did you think of last night’s Bachelorette season premiere? Any early favorites? Who sounds intriguing to you? And did you watch the previews? Apparently a few boys have current gf's, and one said to the other guys he went on the show to try and be the next Bachelor. Craziness!
p.s. who the heck spells their name Mathue?

I have a case of the Mondays.

I leave the house this morning to go to work. In one hand I have: my wallet, into which I crammed my phone. In the other: a pile of trash, that I was going to throw into the large bin that sits inside of our garage.

What I threw into the bin: my wallet and remote. That I then had to dig out.

What I tried to carry with me into the car: the pile of trash.

In colunclusion, crawling headfirst into the stinky trash can in my fancy new Banana Republic top= not a great way to start the day. I still think that my hands smell like tuna. Gross.

The only thing keeping me sane these days is the fact that hubby and I will be spending a week at the happiest place on Earth in exactly 43 days! I clearly need a vacation asap. Clearly :)

Good Afternoon, Beauties!

Even though I am a self-confessed make-up junkie and girly-girl, I realized that I have not really talked about make-up on this blog! Unnaceptable.

So what a better topic for Friday, right?! Below I will share with you some of my current favorite products and you can comment and share with me yours. I love trying new stuff :)

First, let's talk about foundation primer.

From the first moment I discovered primers, I have been obsessed with all the various kinds of textures and types out there. I have tried many primers, but nothing comes even close to Prime Time from Bare Escentuals. The bottle only contains 1 ounce of primer. I know this is a shock specially when you see the $21 price tag. HOWEVER a little goes a loooooonnnnggggggg way. And literally one pump or even a little less than that will cover your entire face. The primer dries super fast and leaves my skin feeling satiny smooth. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!! And if you have not tried it out, you MUST! It will change your life :)

Mascara

I'm a mascara addict! I'm always happy to try out new products, but my favorite one is Lumene's Blueberry Curl Mascara. Blueberry Curl contains blueberry seed oil which is rich in Vitamins A and E plus fatty acids that nourish and protect lashes from environmental pollution and UV radiation. This mascara makes your lashes look pretty while adding strength and maintaining health. I've been using Blueberry Curl for a couple of weeks with excellent results. My lashes look longer, fuller, and separated with this product. The innovative brush makes sure I don't get any nasty clumps. This stuff rocks!

Pearly Whites

I love Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal. The new Advanced Seal strips are thicker than strips we've used in the past. And because they're more substantive, they're a little easier to apply. And once they're on, they feel secure. In the past, I've had strips slip off mid-treatment. These strips on the other hand will stay put, just like they say they will. And you really can drink water and talk normally while wearing them.

After just three days, my teeth were noticeably whiter. I hadn't whitened my teeth in quite some time, so my pearly whites were in need of a good brightening. Now, my teeth look lovely and white, just the way they should be!

Blush

I’m a big fan of flushed cheeks — they make me feel healthy, happy and bright! And aside from steamy make-out sessions or pinched cheeks, the way I get them is with the help of a good blush. :) I’m a big fan of Orgasm (no not that kind!:) the blush by Nars! This stuff is the best I have come across. It adds nice pinkish sheer and glow to your face. It also blends very well! Definitely worth trying out.

Lips

This stuff is amazing! It glosses up the shine & yet still feels comfortable. It doesn't make my lips feel overly sticky or gooped up like some glosses make me feel! And as an added bonus, hubs loves it too! Overall, this is a beauty bag must have!

Now that you know all of my beauty secrets, please share with me yours! You know I love hearing from you, makeup moxies. Go ahead and post your comments :)

I'm Awwwwesome and so are You!

The always fabulous Tara from Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes and the fantastic quite contrary tagged me with this Awe-Summm award! How thoughtful! I feel so very honored :) If you're not a loyal reader/follower of theirs, you are missing out and should check out both of their adorable blogs. You will love them.

So, my Queen duties include:

1. List 7 things that make me Awe-Summm
2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that I love
3. Tag those bloggers to let them know they are now Queens too (and link back to the Queen who tagged you)


Seven Things That Make Me Awe-summ: (In random order

1. I like talking. A lot! I love long phone calls. Especially that warm feeling after the call ends.
2. I love going out, but sweatpants and nights at home also make me very happy.
3. I love traveling. No itinerary, no schedule, just a destination. That’s my kind of trip.
4. I am absolutely positively obsessed with headbands
5. I am the clumsiest human being on this planet.
6. In the summertime, I have a glass of wine on the patio with my husband each day before dinner.
7. Monday is my favorite weekday solely because of the TV lineup. I secretly want to be Lauren Conrad’s best friend!

Added Bonus: I love the exclamation mark. I think it’s the coolest punctuation ever! I can’t finish an SMS or a blog post or even sign a greeting card without using at least 3 exclamation marks!!!


Here's to the 7 Queens I'm passing this itty bitty award on to.. You gals are Awe-summ!

• Lil' Woman at Little Woman, Little Home
• Jessica at Happy Girls Are The Prettiest Girls
• M and G at M&G
• Megan C. at Married and More
• Dollface at Inner Workings of a real-life barbie doll
• My name is Megan... at In this wonderful life...
• Mrs. D at The Daily Life of a Dallas Wife

Looking Cute in the Kitchen!

For foodies and microwave chefs alike, aprons can be fun, functional and a cute way to express yourself in the kitchen! I just came across these cute aprons and had to share it with you all! They are adorable beyond words. :)

These are perfect for women who love to cook and entertain with style. Stand out from the crowd with one of these eye-catching aprons! To view these fabulous finds, click here.

Thank you Smock Aprons for keeping all of us kitchen fashionistas in mind! ;)

She's Somebody's Hero

She's never pulled anyone from a burning building
She's never rocked Central Park to a half a million fans, screaming out her name
She's never hit a shot to win the game
She's never left her footprints on the moon
She's never made a solo hot air balloon ride, around the world,
No, she's just your everyday average girl but
She's somebody's hero

A hero to her baby with a skinned up knee
A little kiss is all she needs
The keeper of the cheerios
The voice that brings Snow White to life
Bedtime stories every night
And that smile lets her know
She's somebody's hero

She didn't get a check every week like a nine-to fiver
But she's been a waiter, and a cook and a taxi driver
For twenty years, there at home, until the day her girl was grown
Giving all her love to her was her life's ambition
But now her baby's movin' on, and she'll soon be missin' her
But not today, those are tears of joy runnin' down her face
She's somebody's hero

A hero to her daughter in her wedding dress
She gave her wings to leave the nest
It hurts to let her baby go down the aisle she walks right by
Looks back into her mother's eyes
And that smile lets her know
She's somebody's hero

Mom I love you, today and every day. :)

Two Years Already?

Today marks two years since Matt told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me to be his wife. I just cannot believe how quickly time has gone by! But I guess time flies when you're having fun :)

So without further adue, I am going to share with you our proposal story and a few engagement pictures.

Enjoy and Happy Wednesday!

It was Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. and I was driving home from work, when Matt called to tell me to hurry up and get home as soon as possible because something had come up. At the time, my commute was an hour and I remember flying through the traffic. I had no idea what was going on.

When I got home, the first thing that I saw in the hallway were two suitcases (mine and his). Matt is normally pretty spontaneous, so this really didn't seem that odd. And, at the time, my grandma was pretty sick, so I thought that he was maybe trying to cheer me up and help get my mind off of things. Needless to say, three hours into the trip, I still had NO idea where we were going. And I blame this on the fact that I am very directionally challenged. I had no idea if we were going North, or South, East or West. And this was before I had my trusty GPS. After about 4 hours of nagging and whining, hubs still wasn't giving in. But at this point, I did start seeing signs for Chicago!

Chicago is unquestionably one of my fave cities in the world, and to say that I was thrilled would be an understatement! I was so excited that I began squealing and screaming. But I had no idea what all he had in store for us.

This trip was planned perfectly from start to finish. We spent the whole weekend sightseeing and just taking in the city. On Saturday, we decided to take a cruise around the city skyline. We were alone on the deck just talking, when I noticed that his eyes were beginning to water and he appeared to be trembling. I did a double-take looking at him reach into his pocket and then back at him. At that moment, it all began to finally sink in and I realized---OH MY GOD, HE IS PROPOSING TO ME!!!

I immediately burst into tears as he got down on his knees. He held my hands and looked into my eyes, and told me all the reasons why he loved me. He then opened the little blue box and asked me to marry him. Through my shock and tears of joy, I dumbfoundedly stammered a "yes" in response to his inquiry--"I take that (my tears of joy) as a 'yes'?" as we hugged and cried.

Shortly after, I realized that everyone on the cruise was onto what was happening. Cheers and congratulatory affirmations followed as everyone joined in the celebration of our good news.

There I was with the only man I had dreamt of spending the rest of my life with, the perfect ring, the perfect proposal. Weeks of research and numerous hours of planning, my scheming sweetheart proposed in the most perfect way beyond my wildest imaginations!

I don't remember much of the rest of the weekend besides that. I was still in a daze; we both were. But I do know, that since that day, I have never been more certain of anything in my life.

I'll Have a Margarita, Please?

I don’t need an excuse to go out and throw down way too many margaritas on a Tuesday afternoon.

But, today just happens to be the biggest margarita holiday of the year and hubs and I are meeting a big group of our friends out at the best Mexican restaurant in the city.

I am currently floating on cloud nine. Less than two hours until I am reunited with my two best friends, mariachi band queso dip and a sombrero hat an ice cold margaritaaaa. :))) My mouth is already watering.

And in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to post my favorite margarita recipe. If you are a marg lover, you have to try this. You won't be dissapointed, I pinky swear.

• Squeeze lemons and limes together so that you have a mixture that is about 2/3 lime juice & 1/3 lemon juice.
• Then add the juice of 1-2 freshly squeezed juicing oranges. This will help to sweeten up the mixture and cut the sour a bit.
• Add splenda until the mixture tastes right to you. The more orange juice you add, the less Splenda you’ll need. Now you have your sweet & sour mix.
• In a tumbler, add ice, 1.5 oz of tequila (something good), .75 oz of Grand Marnier or Cointreau & 3 oz or so of your mix.
• Shake it up well and pour into a salt-rimmed glass.(very important!)

Beware, these are really really good so if you share them with friends, be prepared to make them regularly.

Hope everyone had a fabulous night! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

SPECIAL OFFER: - Limited Time Only!

I just found this fantastic deal and I have to share. Better Homes and Gardens is currently offering a 12-month subscription for only $5! Nope, that is not a typo. You will receive 12 issues for just five bucks!

This special is only good for a limited time, so I would suggest ordering as soon as possible. BHG is a great magazine if you are looking for ideas to update your home, try out new recipes, or even gardening. The articles are well written and every issue has new, fresh and fabulous ideas for house decorating and entertaining. It's a must for every domestic diva!

To order, click here. The only caveat is that the billing and delivery name cannot be the same. So I listed myself as the delivery name and hubs as the billing name. It all works out :)

Happy happy weekend!

Friday Confessional

I confess:

• I can’t wait for SUMMER. Putting my coats and sweaters into storage (aka plastic boxes in the bottom of my closet) excites me more than anything. Being able to go to a park and have wine on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon. Longer hours, more daylight and hot hot weather. And with that, come my favorite things: flip flops and a martini. suntan and a bikini. *heaven* cant.come.soon.enough.
  
  Which brings me to my second confession….
  
  
• I haven’t been to the gym or done the 30 day shred in over 2 weeks. I really need to go.
  
  
• I have the couch potato disease. Some people worry about swine flu, I worry about developing extra eyes and a big butt! Laziness has infiltrated my life today. I have been worked to the bone this week and I’m so worn out. I am so loopy during the day– high off of an abnormal amount of caffeine and weary from looking at a computer screen for hours on end. I actually love my job and enjoy going into work, but I am approaching one of those times when I am just looking forward to vacation!
  
  So, today I am home from work and there are so many things I could be doing like cleaning the house, cleaning out my closet, making dinner, running to the post office and the list goes on. But instead, I am going to do more important things like play on google earth, catch up on my View, update blog, and online shop. I’m starting to believe that this couch has a magnet because I can’t get my butt up and right now, I am okay with that :)

Happy Friday and first day of May to everyone! I really hope that all those April showers bring me May flowers and sunshine. I am ready for it :o)