Wednesday Randoms

Happy Wednesday!

• Don't forget that today is the last day to enter my 500 Posts Giveaway.

• Today, Chris is having mouth surgery to correct a receding gum. This is the first of four surgeries that he will be having in the next few months. I feel so bad for him! But I also feel grateful that this is a procedure that insurance will cover 80% of, as it's a very expensive surgery and not something you would want to pay out-of-pocket for.

• Last week, I entered a giveaway over at Spotted Moth and guess what? I won! Thanks to the ladies at SM, I received this adorable clutch that will be perfect for fall! I can't wait to use it!

My New Clutch!

• I finally reached 800 miles on my bike! I have been slacking A LOT lately, mainly because I haven't been finding the same joy in riding that I did a few months ago. I think it's a combination of the hot weather, inconsiderate drivers that nearly run me over every day, and a general lack of caring. However, I'm not giving up! I have still done considerably well for 4 months, and I'm going to continue to give it my all.

Source: samanthahahn.com via Angela on Pinterest

• Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Amy and my BFF (C's Dad) Jeff!

• Have you guys tried the "sock bun curls" technique? I'm definitely intrigued and think I'll try it out tomorrow night. I'll let you know how it goes! I will say that I tried this technique a few nights ago, and unfortunately, it did not work for me (this is more my fault though). My hair has no problem holding curl, but I hate taking the time to hot roll it so I'm hoping I can find an easier way to give me waves. I'm open to other tutorials/ideas if you'd like to share!
  

• Do any of you watch Dance Moms? C & I stumbled on this last week, and it is CRAZY! It's full of drama and cute little girls dancing while their moms are killing each other with words. I feel bad for the pressure these girls must feel to be the best, it can't be easy for an 8 year old to process. I also think that these women must portray the EXTREME version of a dance mom, as I'm sure most moms out there are only wanting their kids to have fun and express themselves.
  

Ok, told you this was random! I hope all of you are having a good week. Mine is flying by, but I'm still in a funk. I'm hoping that some time with family and friends soon will help me and give me a short break from the real world!

Randoms & DIY Goodie Bags

We are leaving tonight on the red-eye to Boston! We are flying JetBlue for the first time, and I hope that we have a pleasant experience. The last time I was on a red-eye all I wanted to do was sleep (DUH!), but the person across the aisle kept their reading light on the entire time. She even fell asleep at one point so the flight attendant came by and turned it off, but 30 seconds later she woke up and turned it back on again!

So anyway, hopefully we have a good flight and I'm taking my eye mask just in case!

Thank you for all of the suggestions for where to eat and what to do while in Boston. I am very much looking forward to Finale for my boston cream pie and Sweet for my cupcake fix (2 commenters recommended this so it must be good!). A special thank you to Black Labs & Lilly for her detailed comment. I know it took a lot of time to write, and I'm grateful for all of her advice!

On to the DIY Goodie Bags...

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I would make goodie bags for everyone that would be at C's parent's house this weekend. There will be about 16 people so I knew that buying a lot of multiple items was out of the question. But I also didn't want the bags to be cheesy or filled with cheap crap.

I found my inspiration from Glory over at Glorious Treats. She recently made a watermelon shaped sugar cookie that I thought would be perfect for this summer get together. (Please visit the link because Glory's cookies turned out so beautifully and the same can't really be said for mine.) I say inspiration because I didn't really follow her tutorial or recipes. The actual cookie recipe and the royal icing recipe are from my favorite blog cookie expert, Pink Martini & Pearls.

And just a warning: if you don't make decorated sugar cookies very often (like me!) then these will be kind of difficult to do. And very time consuming, but I think that's the case with any decorated cookie.

watermelon slice with a bite taken out!

You can clearly see that the "seeds" are not consistent! I think they look terrible, but C made me include them anyway. Next time, I would definitely use chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the actual seeds instead of black icing gel. The gel never dried completely, was hard to apply evenly and was a sticky mess. Also, just to note, I used a beer bottle cap to create the "bite" in some of the cookies. Piping royal icing is so hard. In order to cover up all of my mistakes, I used green sprinkles on the rind portion. It definitely helped a lot.

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For the adults, I also included a mini bottle of liquor and some Godiva chocolates.

And for the under 21 crowd (all girls), I found watermelon shaped journals (in the $1 bin @ Target), flower shaped emery boards and summer rubber stamps (both from Michael's), and erasers shaped like ice cream cones (also from Target).

The gift tags are a free gift tag printable from the website eat drink chic by amy moss. The designs and wording worked perfectly with my theme! I think they're my favorite part!

these are for the under 21 crowd

I just wanted to create a fun, summery theme so hopefully everyone will enjoy their goodie bags!

Wednesday Randoms

Happy Wednesday!

Get ready for a brain dump!

• Wow, I am so totally and completely annoyed by Ashley on The Bachelorette! At first I felt sorry for her, and felt the producers used her feelings and emotions to create drama (which they totally did). However, now I realize that Ashley is too immature and self-sabotaging to be on this show. Her constant whining over Bentley is unbearable to watch and I found myself wishing the show would end so she'd stop embarrassing herself. My favorites still include Ben F., J.P., and Ames. Honestly, I don't feel like she is connecting with the other remaining guys: Lucas, Mickey, Blake, Ryan P., and Constantine. I feel that many of these guys are too good for her and she has a lot of growing up to do before she can truly be happy and make someone else happy. Hopefully next week's episode is the last we see of Bentley and she can begin to move forward.

• I love exploring Target on my lunch break. I usually leave empty handed (which is a good thing!), but on my recent trip there I found a cute dress on that I couldn't pass up. I don't normally do orange, but I liked the pattern on the fabric and felt it lessened the orange color enough for me to like. The best part is that it was on the clearance rack for $12 (still full price on the website)!

• I reached 500 miles on my bike in 6 weeks (and 2 days)! I never thought I'd be able to make that kind of progress in such a short amount of time.

• I also now have 800 followers! I try to visit everyone that follows me, but sometimes there isn't a blog link attached to the profile. If you are a new follower, I'd love to hear from you in the comments and if you want to share a link to your blog, I'll be sure to come by, visit, and follow you as well!

• Do any of you watch The Killing? I think it's an excellent show and have high hopes for Season 2. I was disappointed that we didn't find out who killed Rosie, but the writers promise that we'll find out in Season 2.

• C & I went to see Super 8 last weekend. I thought it was pretty good, and I was mostly impressed by the kids, especially Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning.

I'm ready for a vacation! Luckily the weekend is right around the corner. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far!

Randoms & my ABC's

happy st. patrick's day!

The Jumping on the Fit Train feature has been delayed until further notice. I am still watching TBL and I am still working toward my fitness goals, but my routine is pretty consistent and I know that can be boring to read over & over again. If any of you would like to talk/gossip about TBL, exercise, staying motivated, etc., please feel free to send me an e-mail. The show continues until the middle of May, and I will probably do the feature every now and then, especially if I find myself slacking or losing motivation. So it's probably not gone for good, just for now.

My best friend had her baby last night! She was in labor ALL day, and finally had a c-section late last night. Her son, Hunter Luke, was born 9 lbs 15 oz and 22 inches long. And he is seriously adorable. I wish I could have been there for the big event but luckily, our other best friend was there, constantly texting me and letting me know what was going on. My mom is going by the hospital today so I can't wait to hear her report on how mother and son are doing.

Hi to all of my new followers! I've seen a few new faces around recently, and it makes my heart happy. Blogging is so fun for me and I love all of the new bloggy friends I get to make! Please leave a comment so I can come check out your blogs; not all of you have a link attached to your profile so it can be hard for me to find you. Since I've got some new people here, now is as good a time as any to do the ABC's of me!

Age: 26 - soon to be 27 (in 39 short days).

Bed size: California King.

Chore you hate: Washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen.

Dogs: None right now, but I'd love to have one when I have a backyard.

Essential start to your day: Checking my e-mail.

Favorite color: I wear a lot of of neutrals - black, white, tan.

Gold or silver: Silver.

Height: Only 5' 3".

Instruments that you can play: I used to play the violin, but that was many moons ago.

Job title: D*esktop Publishing Specialist.

Kids: None, but I've got the fever...however, I'm nowhere near ready for that responsibility, and I'd like to have a couple years of marriage under my belt as well.

Live: Sunny California.

Mom’s name: Barbara.

Nicknames: Ang, Booger (don't ask - this was given to me by my brothers), Ah Gee Ya (baby in Korean - my Dad calls me this).

Overnight hospital stays: None.

Pet peeve: I have so many, but they all stem from my lack of patience. I guess talking on your cell while driving (totally illegal here), switching lanes without using a blinker, and store salespeople that won't leave you alone and make you feel uncomfortable when you don't buy anything.

Quote from a movie: "Ted Nugent called...he wants his shirt back." Ocean's Eleven.

Righty or lefty: Righty.

Sibling: Three older brothers (read more about them here).

Time you wake up: On a weekday - 8:30; on a weekend - usually around 9:30 or 10.

Underwear: Is this asking if I wear underwear? Because I do.

Vegetables you dislike: Bell peppers!

What makes you run late: I think being late is in my blood. It's a running joke with all of my friends, I'm always the last to arrive. And you couldn't pay me to get to work on time (which is ironic because they are paying me, and I'm still not on time).

X-rays: I had one when I sprained my finger while playing badminton in middle school and another when I was in a car accident my senior year of college.

Yummy food you make: C and I have become experts at making homemade pizzas. But as long as a recipe is good, my food turns out good. It's when I'm cooking on a whim that my food turns out less than spectacular.

Zoo favorite animal: I love the pandas!

Let me know if you do this so I can check out your answers!