Red Letter Haze

I can’t believe how fast this weekend flew by. Seriously. Is there a way to slow time down just a fraction? Because I’m still not ready to get on a plane and head back to Chicago.

Wednesday was a blur-I spent most of the day packing, but I managed to squeeze in Mass so I could get ashes. (Did I mention I decided to give up sweets for Lent? More on that later) Our flight actually left Chicago on time (shocking, I know) and after a rather uneventful flight we landed safe & sound in Pittsburgh. And we were stunned by the amount of snow. Stunned.

Thursday afternoon we met with our florist and finalized wedding flowers. My florist is awesome-she’s a family friend, so she would honestly tell me if any of my ideas sucked/wouldn’t work/whatever but she was really excited about my ideas. Of course we threw in some gossip in there too. Chris was bored out of his mind. Poor guy. Later we went to our food tasting. We semi-finalized the menu (Filet Mignon or Chicken Piccata) and came up with the Big Day timeline.

Friday was House Hunting round #2. Let me start off by saying Friday did not start well. We arrived at the first place and were walking up to the property to meet with our realtor and I FELL ON A PATCH OF ICE. RIGHT ON MY ASS. I guess falling isn’t enough of an embarrassment because I spilled my starbucks all over myself, AND ripped my new North Face  jacket. Luckily no one saw me fall, but I had reminders of my klutziness all day long in the form of down feathers escaping from the hole in my coat and my ass hurting so bad I could barely sit down. We managed to check out a few more properties after that, none we were totally jazzed about.

We threw in a quick cake consultation and tasting at Creations by Carlini before taking a break.

The fact that I got to enjoy Mad Mex with some of my favourite ladies made my night a million times better.

We talked about pretty much everything-Lent, jobs, buying houses, and BOYS. I’m sad I’m leaving a lot of my friends back in Chicago but having these ladies here in Pittsburgh make me feel a lot better about it.

Saturday morning I got to have cake for breakfast! I set up a cake tasting at Bethel Bakery for 10am. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was probably pumped about being allowed to have cake that early. And the cake was delicious. We decided to go with them for our wedding and we’re thrilled about it. We made a quick trip to Shadyside so Chris could meet some of his new coworkers and I popped into J Crew and bought a sweater & necklace (I couldn’t help myself!!). My family came over Saturday night so we could finally share the big moving news with them. I also found out my future husband and father to my future child(ren) has no idea how to pick up a baby. While it was slightly terrifying, it was mostly hilarious to see a toddler ask Chris to pick him up and Chris going “What do I do?”

Yesterday was pretty chill. Finally a day where we didn’t really have anything to do! Chris flew back to Chicago last night so sleeping alone was lonely. My brother & I went to see Shutter Island together and his friend gave us the Senior Citizen discount-sweet! I thought the movie was great even though the actual plot was kind of predictable. I would be the worst movie reviewer because I thought the movie was awesome but I don’t really know why. It may or may not have something to do with my childhood crush on Leo (I’m talking pre-titanic/Romeo & Juliet days).

Tonight I fly back to Chicago but not before I do some more house hunting. With my Dad. God help me.

So how was your weekend??

Okay guys, are you ready to be let in on what’s been going on?

Good. Because truthfully I can’t keep it a secret much longer:

Chris’ transfer came through. We’re moving to Pittsburgh!! In 3 weeks!!

Obviously part of me is ecstatic and excited and all of those happy emotions. I’m going home. I get to be around my family (and not just once every 4 months). I will be able to drive over to my mom’s house and call her out on being “too busy to talk to me” (I know she’s not). I won’t have to struggle to plan a wedding from 450 miles away. I will buy my first house and it will have a yard. (I don’t care how small it is, just the fact that it’s there) I’ll have a car again. And before you know it, Chris and I will start having babies galore.

(Kidding. Maybe one, and after the wedding)

But with all the happiness comes the sadness & stress. I am truly sad beyond words about leaving the friends I have here in Chicago. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have made it here. While I won’t miss the CTA and the charming characters that ride it, I will miss my relatively quick commute. I will miss the beach and the lake. It didn’t hit me until I found out we were actually moving, but Chicago grew on me more than I realized.

I guess it was always a possibility in the back of my mind that someday I would return to Pittsburgh but I wouldn’t have guessed that it would take only two years to come full circle. Life’s funny that way.

Image c/o Toothpaste for Dinner

Yesterday, the ever-so-lovely Jamie tweeted me this image. The day before that @AmbienRehab started following me on twitter.

I don’t know where I’m going with this post, but I know I needed a good laugh today. The bakery I really was hoping to use for my wedding cake is closed the week of my wedding. After that disappointing news, I received a $300 bill in the mail from my dermatologist. I think it’s just a mixup with my old insurance because I have an explanation of benefits from Aetna saying they paid all but $50 of the claim, but still. Seeing a $300 bill that I wasn’t expecting felt like a punch to the gut. I hope I can get this all resolved on Monday, otherwise this girl is gonna get stabby.

I have yet to see the ambien walrus, but apparently I know of a My Little Pony chef that is going to make a special wedding cake for me. Yes, I apparently told Chris that I would prove to him such a thing existed and was sold at Target. I just hope he never decides to film my ambien escapades and put it on the internet.

But seriously, I would pay a crapload of money for such a thing if it truly existed.

ps. Don’t forget to check out Pham’s video so he can become a super awesome Fiesta agent!

Today is my blog’s second birthday! I can’t believe two years have already came and went.

I know I haven’t been posting much lately. I’m not going to apologize for that. There have been a lot of things on my plate right now, and blogging seems to have taken a backseat. That being said, some days I really do miss it. If it weren’t for starting this blog, I would be missing out on making some really amazing friends. I wouldn’t be a member of 20SB. And I certainly wouldn’t have found your blogs to read. I’ve had many life changes since starting this blog and I don’t think I would have kept my sanity (mostly) without it.

So thank you. To everyone who reads this blog, and to everyone who I’ve found because of blogging. Cheers to two years and hopefully many more!

I got your attention with that title, right?  (no there is not a fiesta in my pants, sorry)

So I was gchatting with my crazy awkward blog buddy John (who we all know and love as Phampants) the other day and he told me about this super awesome project he and his friend Karen had been working on. Basically he and Karen are on a mission to become Ford Fiesta Agents, which means Ford gives them a brand new Fiesta for the duration of the contest and sends them on fun missions. (It’s actually a really cool social media campaign-my friend & I planned on entering last year but…yeah, that kinda fell apart). The cool idea that John & Karen have is to get “missions” from other bloggers/youtubers.

In John’s application, he mentioned he was a member of 20SB and Ford apparently didn’t know what it was (I know, right? Aren’t we all famous bloggers by now? ..I kid). So in order for him (and Karen) to have a shot at getting to be agents, us 20SB’ers have to rally together to show them not only that John would be totally kickass at their social media campaign but to show them what 20SB is all about-community.

So how can you help out? All you have to do is watch the video below either here or on youtube. Easy, right? I don’t have any special giveaway for helping me (and John) out by doing this, but I will shower you with hugs for the rest of your life. And maybe cupcakes.

*Disclaimer-I am NOT getting anything from Ford or anyone else for posting this. I’m just trying to pay it forward by helping a friend

There are so many things that are up in the air in my life right now. I wish I could share them and maybe ask for opinions, but I’m too superstitious and I don’t want to jinx anything. I’m just going to keep my mouth shut for the moment.

So instead of me talking about how I can’t talk about stuff, tell me what’s new with you.I apologize as I’ve fallen a bit behind on my reader, and I’m pretty sure if there was already a worst commenter of 2010 award I would win it. Such is life sometimes, yeah?

Two years ago today I began dating my wonderful husband-t0-be.

A year and 9 months ago we fled the country together. (Okay, Niagara Falls)

A year and a half ago I move 450 miles from Pittsburgh to Chicago to be with him.

A year and 3(ish) months ago we helped his parents pack up their house and move to Florida.

A year ago he asked me to marry him.

And a week later we went to Florida for vacation

Just a few months ago we had our 15 minutes of fame when the Redeye featured us in an article.

For the third year in a row, I rang in the new year with him. (I still count the first year even if it was over the phone. We counted down in BOTH timezones-it totally counts)

Last week at work he sent me 2 dozen roses and a half a dozen of calla lilies.

And in the past 24 hours he’s treated me to Avatar 3D in IMAX, dinner at the Melting Pot, a night at the Trump Tower, and an afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium.

Tell me I am not the luckiest woman alive.

It’s been a whirlwind 2 years, but it’s been so worth every second.

**I totally snagged this from Jenn, I hope she doesn’t mind!**

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Started planning my wedding. Other than that, 2009 has been a relatively unexciting year. I didn’t move, or change jobs, or go on any awesome vacations. Sadface.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I made a laundry list of resolutions last year, and probably ended up keeping less than a quarter of them. This year I decided to go with the flow. If I don’t make a list, then I can’t be disappointed in myself for not accomplishing them. I have enough on my plate in 2010 with buying a house, finding a new job, and getting married. I really just want the upcoming year to be as happy and stress free as possible.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A lot of acquaintances have, it’s crazy. It seems like everyone spent the better part of 2009 reproducing!! But recently my friend Blagica gave birth to her first child, Liljana, a few weeks earlier than expected.
4. Did anyone close to you die? *knock on wood* my family has been very blessed and lucky this year.
5. What countries did you visit? Sadly, none. I’m hoping to change that in 2010. *cough chris take me to europe for our honeymoon cough*
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A little extra money would be nice. Some vacation time for traveling as well.
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why? The Nintendo Enthusiast dinner at BlogHer. Such an amazing night.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Paying off most of my debt. Such a relief.
9. What was your biggest failure? Definitely failing to even come close to my weight loss goal.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully I’ve been really healthy.
11. What was the best thing you bought? A TV for our bedroom. Now we don’t have to fight over the TV in the living room!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? All of my amazing friends. And of course, my fiancé.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ugh, my grandfather. Old age sucks.
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying off my credit card, books.
15. What did you really, really, really get excited about? BlogHer, planning my wedding, seeing my family at Thanksgiving.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Any Lady Gaga song.
17. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? I’d say about the same.
Thinner? Definitely not.
Richer? A little bit.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I spent more time at the gym, saved more money, spent more time with my family.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stress out over things I can’t control.
20. How did you spend Christmas? With my fiancé. Even though he’s so sweet, it still couldn’t make me forget about the fact that I missed being with my family.
21. How will you be spending new years? In my PJs. Like most nights. What of it?
22. Did you fall in love in 2009? No because I was already in love. But not falling out of it is a total win.
23. How many one-night stands? None. Random question?
24. What was your favorite TV program? Bones, Psych and Monk.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? There’s people that I’m no longer friends with, but I wouldn’t say I hate them.
26. What was the best book you read? Oh god, I don’t think I can pick just one, I read so many fantastic books this year. The Thirteenth Tale was a really good one. I’m currently reading The Pillars of the Earth which would definitely get my vote for the best book, but I doubt I’ll finish 500 pages in the next couple of hours.
27. What was your biggest musical discovery? Cobra Starship. I can thank Thomas for introducing me.
28. What did you want and you got? My wedding dress!
29. What did you want and not get? Moving back to Pittsburgh (next year!)
30. What was your favorite film of this year? It’s a tie between The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn? I turned 24 and I spent it traveling to and from The Printed Blog tweet up. God I despise the Blue Line.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being engaged to a wonderful person.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Mostly comfortable, but when I did dress up my style has gotten much more feminine.
34. What kept you sane? My mom, friends, the fiancé, and of course blogging.
35. Which celebrity did you fancy the most? ugh, who cares. Yes some of them are cute, but I’m not 12.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? The bailouts, healthcare reform.
37. Who did you miss? My family.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Gosh, so many amazing people. This year I made some of the most amazing friends. It was a good year for friendship.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Have a little faith.
40. Quote or Song Lyric that sums up your year: I’m lame; I can’t think of a good one