Top 2 Tuesday... Strange Addictions

So I am just as guilty as y'all are of watching the show strange addictions. [based off of some twitter conversations I had/read]

Although mine aren't quiet as strange as eating comet, toilet paper, sleeping with a hair dryer... ect.. you get the picture.. i do have a few that might be a little strange to people!

I thought this was a perfect opportunity to air out all of my dirty laundry and share with y'all some of my strange addictions....

1. I have to get to 7,000 steps a day on my pedometer.

We have a program through the company I work for has a program through Virgin Health Miles, and its a wellness program. The goal is to reach 7,000+ steps a day. The days I don't make it to the gym, or that I'm not due for a 2+ mile run I find myself running in place in my basement trying to get to 7,000 by the end of the day... or i find myself stepping in place as i brush my teeth at night if I'm only a few hundred steps away.

My friend and I joke around as if the world is going to end if we don't make it to our goal each day!

[clearly i need to make it to the gym... i'm only at 1,833 so far today!.. give me a little bit of a break - its snowing out and I don't want to go over to the hospital unless i absolutely HAVE to!]

2. I can't go to sleep at night without reading all of my facebook updates... and more recently tweets. I feel like I need to be caught up with the world before I fall asleep.

Now head on over to Taylor's blog and link up with your strange addictions!

Top 2 Tuesday - Halloween Crafts/Decor/Party Ideas AND a New Blog Design

Top 2 Tuesday

Halloween or Fall crafts/decor/party ideas

I have done a few DIY projects this year for Halloween
[for some reason I was totally into doing a few DIY projects this year]

1. Polka Dot Pumpkins
I used a carvable pumpkin so I only had to do this project once -rather than once a year
To carve the pumpkins - just use an apple corer [careful because if you push to hard you will have a MUCH larger hole than just the corer - let me tell you I can speak from experience!]
i put marks on the pumpkin to where i needed to punch holes
and i cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and inserted a battery operated tea light

2. Young Trick-Or-Treaters Treat
i used a drill and made holes and then inserted into all of suckers
i once again used a carvable pumpkin so I can re-use this next year

OTHER DIYS
a boa wreath - an inspiration from a target wreath
EEK picture frames
candy corn cupcakes

now head on over to Taylor's blog to check out other bloggers Halloween Crafts/Decor/Party Ideas

ALSO
i'm sure that you have noticed - i got a blog make-over
Lauren at Blue Lux re-did my blog and she did an AMAZING job
She was amazing to work with, fast, approachable, quick to get back to you, open to any suggestions that you might have, affordable AND she is beyond talented!
I would HIGHLY recommend working with Lauren - she is wonderful :)
Thank you again Lauren!!!

Also, another reminder - tomorrow is your last day to sign up for the $35 CSN Giveaway

Top 2 Tuesday - Places in your home

This weeks Top 2 Tuesday is:

2 favorite places in your home

We have lived in our condo for over 3 years now and we are just now getting around to decorating every room.. yes its taken that long - the basement just wasn't an area that i found a necessity to be decorated

Over Labor Day weekend Justin and I went and picked out this couch for the basement. We have the worlds tightest corner to get down in the basement - so it was necessary to find something that broke down into sections... and we both fell in love with this couch
its huge, and we can shove the ottoman in the corner and it becomes a queen sized bed
the past few weekends we have brought the tv from the bedroom and placed it on the book shelf and so we can watch 2 football games at one time... who needs picture and picture when you can have side by side tvs?
clearly we need a lot of decorating work to be done in this room!

tv console - mounted or tv stand?
pillows [i'm hoping black and white...which could totally change!]
wall decor [hopefully buckeyes/browns/49ers/blue jackets]
perhaps a corner bar?
so many decisions!!!!
trust me - ya'll will know when I make a decision on what to do - or with any updates!

my other favorite room in my house that is almost fully decorated is my spare bedroom
i love how simple it has been decorated - and because everything is decorated in black and white, and the only thing in the room that is green is the walls - if i ever want to change the color of the room i just need a new paint color!
i stole some of these pictures from a past post

since the past post, my sister suggested that I put scrapbook paper in the frames for an inexpensive fix - thanks alli!
the bedding is from HomeGoods and the pillows are from Target [the polka dotted one] and the front one is from Kohl's
the two end tables and shelf are from Ikea
speaking of the shelf - it is certainly a work in progress! I try to pick up black and white items when I see them and I am out... much easier said than done! i thought it would be an easy project that would quickly be complete after a trip or 2 to HobLob [boy was I wrong!]

and the tv....

So the basement is my new favorite hang out area in the house - and i just like how the spare bedroom is decorated!

What are your favorite areas in your house?

Head on over to Taylor's blog, I would love to see your house!

Top 2 Tuesday - Dream Kitchens

When I moved into my condo 3 1/2 years ago, I didn't really think that i needed that big of a kitchen. I didn't really know how to cook, nor did i enjoy cooking [probably because i could barely boil water]. Somehow I made it through college not being 93874987 lbs and surviving mainly on Wendy's value meals. So when I was looking for a condo - my biggest priority was a decent location not necessarily an ideal kitchen.. and boy do i regret that more than anything! I currently have a galley kitchen.. basically - the worlds smallest kitchen!

so when taylor's top 2 tuesday's theme this week is dream kitchen's i was all about lusting over large spacious kitchens with lots of room for entertaining, plenty of counter tops, an open floor plan, lots of cupboards, and more than one way in and out of the kitchen which leads me to this beauty - LOVE IT!

however, while searching the world wide web for nearly an hour tonight [i know - my brain needed some downtime] i really couldn't find any other "dream kitchens" that i loved outside of my every day blogs that I follow - so i thought i would link up to their kitchens

Here are a few of my favorite fellow bloggers kitchens:
House of Rose
i love the high arches, the back splash, the wine cooler - i love it all! i absolutely love every little inch of this kitchen!
Honey We're Home
I just recently discovered Megan's blog - and I love her style. I can't wait for her blog to be featured on 6th street design school
All things G&D
I love how organized duffy is! her kitchen is not the biggest, but she made the most out of the space she has - which i love!

and i will leave you with a picture of the worlds smallest kitchen - so you know why i sit here and drool over other peoples large kitchens!

[srrsly - there is not enough room for J and i both to be in the kitchen at the same time! i will be re-thinking the small kitchen idea for our next house!!!]

Now head on over to Taylor's blog and link up your dream kitchens

Top 2 Tuesday - Songs

I feel like its been a while since I participated in Taylor's Top 2 Tuesdays.. and since I LOVE me some music, i thought that this would be a great week to get back on the t2t trend:

Top 2 Favorite Songs

1. The Boys of Fall
by Kenny Chesney

via


2. Stay
by Sugarland

via

Close Runner-Ups

• Red Neck Yacht Club - Craig Morgan
  
• She's Everything - Brad Paisley
• Don't Stop Believing - Journey
• All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey [this is kind of a joke between Aly and myself but I really do LOVE this song!]

Can you tell I like country music???

What are your favorite songs? Head on over to Taylor's blog and link up!

Top 2 Tuesday - Things I want to accomplish and a DIY

This weeks T2T is:
things that I want to accomplish

1. to run an the entire time for my next half marathon [Oct. 17th]
I think i was just slightly impressed that I finished my last 1/2... this time I want to run the entire time and better my time!
2. Purchase a nice camera and take photography lessons
[this is a must have to me prior to having babies.... no worries Mom - this is not any time soon!]

via

head on over to taylor's blog and link up

ALSO:

today i spent all day with this little diva in training
molly

how cute is my Goddaughter?
I normally do not get much into the halloween flare around my house [i'm mainly a xmas decorator] however, i got the urge to burn my leaves candle from BBW and it has instantly put me in the mood to decorate for the fall

i had been wanting to do something new for my 1/2 bath and this is what i came up with

both the orange & white and black dots are scrapbook paper
and the letters are glittered chip board

i cut the circles out with a fiskars 2" round punch
and adhered them all with spray glue

Happy Monday! It was so nice to be able to have the day off from work [my first one since April 1st].... I got a lot accomplished today... now onto a 4 day work week!

Top 2 Tuesday - Favorite Things about the Fall

I'm liking this being at home on a Monday writing about my Top 2 Tuesday topics..

I am loving the idea of 4 day work weeks [and I have 3 in a row starting this week!]

This weeks topic for T2T is:

Things I like Most about Fall

1. I love the changing of the temperatures... the leaves changing colors, the crisp cool air, sleeping with the windows open.... ahhh - i can't wait [we had a little tease last week and this weekend and it has been beyond lovely].

image

2. Football [i'm sure this shocks you!]
We all know that I love my buckeyes

but I can't leave out my Cleveland Clowns Browns

image

and because they have been so bad for the past few years I figure I might as well try out Fantasy Football as well so that I have something to look forward to on Sundays

And my runner ups have to be pumpkin spice candles, carving pumpkins [and eating the pumpkin seeds] and apple picking [i'm keeping justin to his promise that he will go with me this year - i've only been asking for 4 years now.. ha!], and the Ryder Cup in October.

but I will be honest with you... my favorite part about the fall is that it leads up to Christmas, and that is honestly my favorite time of the year!

What are your favorite things about the fall?

Now head on over to Taylor's blog and link up.... Happy Labor Day!

Top 2 Favorite US Cities

First off, thank ya'll so much for all of the birthday wishes for Justin.
I'm pretty sure he had a great day! We were able to celebrate all weekend
so we have been on a birthday cake binge... and now were taking tonight to relax


This weeks T2T is :
Favorite US Cities

1. Vail, Colorado
i am a snow bunny
and out of the different places we have been
vail was my favorite
the snow was amazing when we were there
[almost too good - we got stuck out there for an extra 3 days]
and the little town was just too cute
and the people are BEYOND nice
i would move there in a heart beat!
srrsly - whats not to love about the city

2. Key West, Florida
if you go to key west and have a bad time
you seriously have an issue!
i think its impossible to not have a good time
it is a constant party where ever you are on the island
and its tropical and beautiful!

Have you ever been to these two places?
What are your favorite cities to visit?


Now head on over to Taylor's blog and link up

Top 2 Tuesday - Characters You Would Like To Play

Today's top 2 theme is:

Top 2 Characters You Would Want To Play on a TV Show or Movie


1. I would LOVE to be Julie from Bethenny's getting married!

Julie is turning into a miniature B and I'm loving it!
being around Bethenny would be so much fun in my opinion
even if you do have to assist her in using the restroom before her wedding
a close runner up to this would have to be shawn rabideau - bethenny's wedding and shower planner
what a fabulous job!

2. Melanie Smooter from Sweet Home Alabama

I'm pretty sure when this movie came out in 2002 every single one of my sorority sisters [including myself] ran to the salon to get our hair styled just like this....

somehow reese pulls it off much better than any of us!
the haircut is definitely not the only reason to LOVE her in the movie what about the....
proposal
the wardrobe
the small town girl, who realizes the city isn't for her


now head on over to taylor's T2T and link up
who would you want to play on a tv show or movie?

Top 2 Tuesday - Random Tips!

Top 2 Tips

(money saving tips, beauty tips, DIY tips, cooking tips, cleaning tips, blogging tips, shopping tips etc)

i'm not going to lie - i struggled a little bit with this weeks T2T... its so broad and I could take this in a million different directions.. i am definitely a person who needs structure!

so without further adieu:

1. Make Lists
as we all know - i'm a list maker
but when its not a to-do list
its a shopping list and i do this purely to save money

Grocery Shopping
i make my list based off of what we NEED - essentials [something that we may have run out of from the week before - i.e. dishwasher detergent, lotion, foil], then i make our menu for the week based off of what is on sale, what i have a coupon for and what i already have at home [i stock pile chicken and freeze it - srrsly i could feed a small army right now with the amount of chicken i have]
i typically spend between $35-$45 a week at the grocery store 3 times a month and then 1 time is when i typically stock up on meat [ground turkey when on sale, turkey sausage and brats, and chicken] and that normally ends up costing me about $100
but this way i only buy what is necessary to make the meals for the week along with the necessary items for the house

Target/any other shopping
I have to go into target or any other store [Marshall's/Homegoods/TJ Maxx/Hobby Lobby] with a list - otherwise I could/would/have gone hog wild and not bought anything I NEEDED just merely what I wanted.

Not too long ago my family all went to church together and the sermon was all about contentment - they handed out a plastic card [like your Giant Eagle card] to put on your keys that had this phrase on it - and I love it and often refer to it when I'm out shopping

"Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity."
Enough by Adam Hamilton

2. Set a Goal and Stick with It

This past spring I trained for a 1/2 marathon - and not being a runner - i had some doubts about actually running the race, however i knew that i had paid $65 for the race - and I knew that i needed to do it to get my moneys worth.
sometimes just spending the money is that much more of a motivator for me. you don't want to bow out of something after you have an investment in something

Honorable Mention

I read this one in Real Simple -


you should never fight with your boyfriend/husband unless you are nakey
the person who wrote into RS said that any argument between her and her husband do not last very long...

I do not practice this myself but its too funny not to include on this kind of a post
[don't worry mom, grandma and great grandma who all read my blog!]



Now head on over to Taylor's blog and look at other bloggers helpful hints!