Looking forward...

My how time flies! I promise to get better at this! But no more apologies because those are boring!

The house has been zooming right along.

It's gone from a house hole:

To almost complete in mere months!

We hope to be in there in about a month! Yay!

Also happening in about a month? The Bernardi's are moving to St. Louis!

Abbey is one of my very best friends in the universe, a soul mate, and her little one Bayley is the most amazing little girl ever & Adam, the hubby/daddy, is great fun & funny as well (& can keep Rob out of my hair! ha! just kidding babe!).

I can't wait for them all to get here! The boyf & I absolutely love these folks & plan on having tons of good times!

***
While all this is going on I'll be off of work for a week. I can't explain how excited I am about that! I've been trying to work as much OT as I can stand & I'm getting to the end of that road. I know there will be a lot to do & it will probably fly by too quickly but I don't care! Bring it! I need time to slow down, decompress & take a trip to chillaxico. I foresee cocktails & wineries, explorations on the road & in the kitchen, laughs, naps & joy!

So tell me, what are you looking forward to? How do you relax? Where's your happy place? And who's there with you?

Getting Caught Up...

Hello! Let me apologize for being such a slacker & not posting in a month & a half!

Part of me thinks I didn't hop on because there was nothing going on & the other part thinks I didn't do it because there was too much going on. I guess it's a little of both.
I may very well be the only person who sees this site so I guess it stills seems weird to update it like anyone is reading it ...though I hope you are! And for those who do I truly appreciate it.
Anywho, other than an apology for dragging-ass I also wanted to post about friendship.


I'm in a new town & trying to make new friends. With that comes a multitude of issues.

For instance...how do you make friends as a an adult? Well, as a kid you hung with the kids in your class or neighborhood but you're usually forced to participate in various activities & it seems as though you have no choice but to make friends. And as a kid there are a lot less preconceived notions & social issues.

Alas, I am no longer in 4th grade. I'm 31. I have no kids, so there goes the mommy & me group I could meld into. I have no plans of marriage & I've noticed that a fair amount of folks in the midwest find this a bit off-putting. So I muddle through with these handicaps. At first I put a lot of pressure on myself, but then I realized that was stupid. If iIwas meant to be friends with someone it would happen, in the past jumping right onto "close friendships" before actually establishing a decent foundation has proved to be a horrible idea.

So far so good. I'm in a happy place. But I have just found out I'm going to be spoiled in the firend area as one of my very besties & her family will soon be relocating to St. Louis! WOOHOO! But I won't let this stop me from continuing to establish other friendships. What's great about my besties is that they always just want me to be happy & they know that meeting new, great people here will help with that & they enjoy making new friends as well. It's great to have that support & not worry about feeling guilty which can happen easily in these situations.

If anyone actually reads this & feels that they'd like to share any friendship experiences please do! I'd love to hear what you have to say!

A Little Visit, A Big Weekend

My friend, Ashley, came to town ealier this week for my bday! Isn't that sweet?! Ash & I became buds when I began work in Bloomington, IL. We trained together, worked together, ate lots of chips & queso together....she was pretty much the Tweedle Dee to my Tweedle Dum! I do miss her being right there at my side every day in the call-center trenches!

We checked out the Arch again, there was better weather this time so view was that much more lovely. We went to see The Grand Basin in Forest Park where they had the World's Fair (Louisiana Purchase Expedition) in 1904! Also seen in the magical & touching film 'Meet Me in St. Louis', starring Judy Garland!

This is a bit more what it looked like back then-thanks to http://www.history-map.com/
We also explored downtown St. Charles a bit more and found a gem of an antique shop near home-sorry, I'm going to be selfish & keep it a secret! At least until our home is all done up...and it still has to be built so it's gonna be a little while! Here are a few of my finds!

One of the best parts was just hitting up the candy store & seeing the movie 'Bridesmaids'. It's a funny girl-bonding movie & it stars the adorable comedic talents of Chris O'Dowd from 'Dinner with Schmucks' & "The IT Crowd'. This photo of Chris is thanks to http://www.fuckyeahcomedians.tumblr.com/

I suggest you check ou 'Bridesmaids' and anything featuring Chris O'Dowd.

I miss Ashley already, but I'm glad she was able to visit. It's my turn to go see her next!

31 years...

I must apologize for taking so darn long to update my lil blog.

I've been a busy little bee.

I turned 31 last week. I'm a bit sad but there's no stopping time, is there? I thoroughly delighted in being 30. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really did FEEL different, more...myself somehow. 31 isn't as lovely a number, but I'm sure it's going to be an even better year for me. Rob & I both have our new jobs that are going well, we're getting our first home, we states & states of great friends & family and we're enjoying what each day throws on our plates!

I did have to work on my bday, but I got off a bit early so that Rob & I could go to Midwest Mayhem in downtown at The City Museum. There were bands, food, drinks (cheap ones!), burlesque dancers, hula hoop girls and best of all...tons of things to play on! This was our first trip to the museum and we look forward to going back. It's a great place for young & old to learn & let loose at the same time. Here are some pics of me & Rob climbing around on the huge network of tunnels, planes, castles & slides outside!

Rob is so strong! He's holding himself up, no booty or feet touching the bottom of the plane!

And this is us resting at the top of a little tower after running around like hamsters on crack!

I had a good bday because I just relaxed and had fun with someone who loves me very much. That's really all ya need!

Happy Momma's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Marie,
and all the other great moms out there!

I hope you all have a happy, sunny, love-filled day!

Mom, even though we're a little over 1800 miles away from each other please know that you are always in my thoughts & in my heart. I love you!

Well, I got a lot done on my day off. Which is always good. I even got my Missouri license! It was weird & a little sad to hand over my California license but I realized I don't need a plastic memento to remind me of where I'm from. I have salt water in my veins & a little extra CA sass! I also managed to make us some killer burritos & enjoy a margarita on the rocks for Cinco de Mayo!

My boyfriend is so sweet that he practically forced me to accept a pair of Steve Madden wedges! Life is SO hard sometimes! Ha! They're lovely & very comfy! Even Penny likes them!

I told him I'd just buy myself a cheaper pair but he looked at me very seriously & said "But Steve Madden's are better quality...aren't they?" I tell ya, I fell for the man all over again! Ha ha! So I now have a fab new pair wedges for summer!







I also decided to pick up a little bday present for myself at Kohl's (ok, 2 of them). Nothing crazy, just a coral colored top & a necklace with various shades of blue. Some of my fave colors! I just wanted something to make myself feel pretty! Every girl needs pretty things!

I hope you all had a happy Cinco de Mayo, mine was busy but very pleasant. There's nothing like accomplishing things at your leisure in the beautiful sunshine! It's now Friday and a another wonderful weekend is upon us!

Hello & Happy Wednesday!

I wanted to share this recipe I just came across on Epicurious

for grape & champagne sorbet!

It looks DELIGHTFUL & I can't wait to try it!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Grape-and-Champagne-Sorbet-364535?recipename=Fresh%20Grape%20and%20Champagne%20Sorbet&saved_to_box=y

If you try it before I do let me know what you think!

Also, I'd love to hear how you spent your Cinco De Mayo. So please return & fill me in!

I ended up with the day off but I'll probably spend most of the day cleaning & attempting to get my Missouri license. I'm going to make a point to have a margarita and relax with some reading, though. I can't bare the thought of wasting a day off with chores, chores & more chores! In fact, weather permitting, I think I'll throw on a happy sun dress to go to the DMV & hit up my new buddies at Starbucks! If any locals happen to see this I can not say enough about the S'bucks crew at the Highway K location (near Uhaul). They're awesome & I suggest asking for Dave's "White Lightening"! That's all for now folks, it's time to hang out with Rob!

Mexican "Trojan" Horse?! Ha ha ha!