Life

Need some joy

I’ve been a little stressed lately and I need your help. I need some joy! Life feels a little crazy right now. I don’t even have time to paint my toe nails! It’s so sad. My to-do lists keeping getting longer. My work days are filled to the gill, and now I’m on a vitamin kick to help my brain stay focused and my body fueled! I need to breathe. Or cry. Or take a Tylenol PM and peace out.

What helps you kick the stress? What brings you joy when you need it most? Do you say a special prayer? I only have a handful of followers but I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. I’m trying my first Ballet Fusion class this Friday and I’m so excited!

December 7, 2011 by
Italy, Naples, Travel

Napoli

The 20 hours we spent in Naples, Italy was probably the scariest 20 hours of my life. Just kidding. Actually, I found the people rather friendly!

But Naples WAS pretty sketchy. It was a zantax day for us, flying from Venice to Naples, taking the bus, finding our Bed & Breakfast, fighting the Italian crowds, dodging the crazy drivers, avoiding the crazy-looking people, and finally finding our hostel.

It ended up being one of the cutest places we stayed at! Donna Adelina Bed & Breakfast is owned by a mother and 3 daughters. We met all 3 daughters and they were SO nice, and loved talking to us.

We stayed in the blue room. It had two balconies, a full bath and a HUGE bed! It was perfect.

 

 

 

I was crushing so much on these girls that I HAD to take a picture with them! Look at their fashionable belts! How cool to be Italian.

There were two things I wanted to do in Naples: eat real Napoli pizza and see Pompeii. We decided on lunch first and set off for Antica Pizzeria da Michele. We got lost doing so but this incredibly beautiful Italian woman ended up walking us to the restaurant after I showed her the name of it in my guide book. There were nothing but gorgeous Italian women in Naples!

There was a ridiculous wait. In case you don’t know, this was the same place Julia Roberts ate at in Eat. Pray. Love. They had a big picture of her inside, too. Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we ended up ordering a pizza for each of us to-go, waiting 10 minutes and eating on the sidewalk.

 

 

I ate the whole thing and it was amazing.

Next we took the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii for the afternoon. Pompeii consumed me! I was so moved by the history and remains of the city I read about in college. I’ve always dreamed about going to Pompeii and seeing Mt. Vesuvius (I love volcanoes) and now I can check it off my bucket list!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We trained back to Naples in the evening and walked swiftly back to our B&B. Rob refused to go out on the town in Naples so we stayed in our room, ate crackers, and went to bed, safe from the chaos of Naples.

I truthfully don’t know what we would have done without the wonderful ladies at Donna Adelina. Our stay was so nice and the complimentary breakfast in the morning was great before we set out for the port to Capri.

I probably WOULDN’T go back to Naples. Would definitely do Sorrento though.

Hopefully I didn’t bore you with this post!

December 5, 2011 by
Friends, Projects

Party details

My friend Kristin turned the big 3-0 this fall. So… her husband and I created a party planning committee between ourselves back in July and set off to create the party of her dreams.

First I must disclose that I am NOT a party planner, whatsoever. But I attempted to be. Kristin’s requests were simple: champagne, pink & gold decor, and her friends & family. It was easy to get her friends & family there, but the details required some planning!

When I first started planning with Jack, I wanted to rent out an art gallery for her party. So I did some research and the costs involved were outside our budget. So… I resorted to my option 2 – a big house somewhere new! Fortunately I knew someone in Montana Ranch in north Scottsdale and we were able to rent out the community clubhouse. It was perfect! It had a great space for dancing, a fun entry way, a large patio for outdoor seating and a full kitchen.

I owe everything to our joint Pinterest board. It truly empowered me!

These Metallic Silver Foil Fringe Curtains were only $5 each from Designed2BSweet.
Learn how to make this tassle garland here, via the Knotty Bride.

Of all the things we pinned, I was drawn most to the sweets, so I made a sweets table as guests came in. It included gluten-free, pink gumballs, gold swirl lolli-pops, pink cotton candy, Almond Roca and cake-pops.

I hate my handwriting. Should have printed these!
These silver and gold cake pops from Mind Over Batter were AMAZING. I highly recommend!
I used raw and white sugar for the rims :)

Took this from Facebook so you could see the “CELEBRATE” die cuts I made! Unfortunately I didn’t get a good pic with camera.

Lots of balloons!
The birthday girl!
Another detail I wanted to share that isn’t pictured above are these awesome sparkler number candles from Amazon I used for the cake:
We danced the night away, drank champagne and lit sparklers… it felt like her wedding all over again!
December 2, 2011 by
Projects

A Cranberry Christmas

I’m in full Christmas party planning mode and using none other than Pinterest to get me inspired. I’ve surprisingly decided on a cranberry theme:

Rob and I are so excited to have all of our friends over this year. Our house is itsy – bitsy, so we’ll be taking the dinner and party out on the back patio. I pray it doesn’t rain!

Now I need to go find where I can buy a million cranberries.

November 25, 2011 by
Family

Giving thanks

I woke up, pet-sit and did a 65-minute high-impact cardio class at the gym and am feeling GOOD! I am so ready to eat a big Thanksgiving feast today with our family and am feeling so incredibly blessed for this life that’s been given to me. I thank God for all he’s provided and know he’s watching over me, especially while I drive. I’m so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life.

This year I’m especially thankful for my adorable second cousins! I had the pleasure of seeing them just a couple of weeks ago on my trip home to see my family in Michigan.

This is Larry, my cousin Nichole’s little bear. He’s so perfect, and smart, and independent. And very loving! So happy I got to see him 2 days in a row.

 

Don’t we look like sisters? ;)

And this is Brody, my cousin Chad’s little man. He is so lovable and kissable! We got to spend a whole afternoon with him and we had a blast. I must say I now have extreme baby fever because of this little thing.

I love these babies so much!

I wish you all a lovely Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

November 24, 2011 by