PSA: a quiet dog tag

For all you dog owners out there.. just want to tell you about the best dog tag. ever.  

We recently renewed Newton's rabies vaccine and got his new tag.  Lucky us.. Fulton county decided to issue tags using the most annoying metal ever.  So loud. and jingling.  Very annoying.

Newton is always running around and scratching his ears and making all kinds of noise with his tags.  This was not a good situation when we would come home with a sleeping baby, only to be woken by Newton's tags.

So.. we searched the internet.  And guess what we found?  An awesome solution.

Enter: Collar Tag by Boomerang Tags

The tag can be personalized with several lines and is ordered by collar width for a perfect fit.  They are $10 - $12 and have free shipping!

We ordered one with Newton's animal licensing info on it (not sure if that's technically allowed or not.. but we did it anyways)... and will probably order one with his basic info (name, our phone #)

Just thought I would share in case any of my friends are looking for a solution to a jingling dog tag.  

Toms

Do you own a pair of Toms? If not, you are totally missing out.

I got my sister some for Christmas 2 years ago and therefore got added to the Toms email list.  Every couple of weeks I would receive an email showing off all the new styles, so I finally decided it was time to get some and asked for some for Christmas (2010).  and I absolutely LOVE them.

I just wish they were a little bit cheaper.. because I am also in love with these:

Aren't those awesome??? I want them.  I need them.

And these:

I need some good grey shoes. :)

And these:

So so cute! Perfect summer shoes.

This time...

This time next week... I'll be aboard a cruise ship with my sister, Rachel.

Heading to the Bahamas

That's all.

Spring!

Spring is officially here! Just check out these beautiful flowers. :)

Jeans...

Am I the only one that thinks this is amazing?

pajama jeans?? What?  I mean.. that's like 2 of my favorite things all wrapped up in one. 

I know one other person that thinks it's amazing... Aaron.  I guess that means we are just completely lazy people that like to look stylish while we're at it. :)

Your thoughts?

Too bad they are $39.95... I don't like spending that much on for real jeans... 

Project 365 - January

I decided to embark on the Project 365 journey during 2011.  Project 365 is where you take a picture each day and share it.  I've been periodically sharing mine on facebook, but figured I would share it with my blog world too! :)

I've had a lot of fun capturing the day in a photo. Some days I have to really stretch it to come up with something and some days I have too may pictures to chose from.

Here's a collage of January 2011 photos.

Snow!

Due to our recent traveling, Aaron and I missed Atlanta's first snow for the winter.. but we are home now and enjoying the beautiful dusting that's still falling. :)

Still hoping for a snow day tomorrow...

A Shutterfly Christmas

I love Shutterfly! I share a lot of my personal photos on a Shutterfly share site and so does Two Girls and a Camera. I've also used Shutterfly to create fun photo books and photo gifts (mainly calendars). However, my one of my favorite things to create on Shutterfly is my Christmas card! I've used Shutterfly for the past 2 years and I have been very impressed with the style options, quality, and speed. The past 2 years I've used matte card stock cards, and I love them. I'm planning to stick with them again this year.
Here are our past 2 cards.

Somehow, over the past 2 years I've convinced my friends to take our Christmas card photos.. and this year we were able to meet up with the Tarpleys for a photo shoot. I took their photos, and Lauren took ours. Worked out real well! We found a random park not too far from our apartment that was just what we needed. :)

Can't wait to share this year's card with you...

Happy Holidays everyone!

Check out Shutterfly's products here:

Christmas photo card: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
Cute calendars! : http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars
and they even have cute invitations!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

RIP

It's hard to say goodbye to such a loyal, trust worthy, trendy, and beautiful friend... but sadly it's time.

Some time between the Liberty Bell and the Cleopatra exhibit on my Philly trip.. my lovely sunglasses broke in two. It was a pretty devastating experience. They were beautiful and had such a short life. I remember when I purchased them... May 4, 2010. I remember this because the first time I wore them in public was with friends for Cinco De Mayo on the patio at Uncle Julios... I was a bit hesitant to see if I could pull off the trendy "semi-big" sunglasses. After some encouragement from my friends, I whipped them out and I've been wearing them ever since... well until 2 weekends ago. Ever since I've made it home, the 2 broken pieces have laid sadly at the bottom of my suitcase.. (mainly because I'm a bit too lazy to unpack).

Oh how I loved those sunglasses.... They really got me through the summer! They've been to 5 different countries (cruise...), 9 states, Disney World, various beaches, family reunions, multiple weddings, etc... It was a good summer...



One of the last pictures:

Of course, I couldn't just wander around a bright and shiny city without sunglasses for the rest of my trip, so I stopped in to CVS.. and well here's the new pair:


They'll do... ;)

Amazing pancakes

Ok, so this guy makes some pretty amazing pancakes. Check them out!

Jim's Pancakes

Hoover on over...

Well, sadly, my little red Eureka, one of my most prized wedding gifts, has gone on to vacuum land. It's a bit depressing.. I mean she was less than 3 years old.

Aaron never fully appreciated her... I was able to enjoy her in all her glory for a month or so before we got married.. but then he came along and she gave us trouble. Luckily, the first time she was till covered under warranty.. 2nd time, not so much. 3rd time.. well Aaron sent her packing.
Some of you may know, but I'm pretty particular about vacuuming if I know people are coming over, however I also usually don't vacuum unless people are coming over. Well of course that put me in a tight spot when my little red Eureka decided to crap out the day before we had guests coming to town.
Aaron and I headed right up the street to Target and purchased this little beauty.

She's pretty awesome. I love her for multiple reasons. 1. she's green. 2. she's light 3. she hasn't given me problems thus far...
But the reason I love her the most...

The retractable cord! Fabulous! Best idea ever!

Secret to Running?

So today I ran 2 miles. I guess that means I'm not a marathon runner.. or anything close to it.. but if I have to exercise, running is usually my choice.
Here are some of the investments I've made for my running habit or lack thereof:
1. Treadmill - ok, some of you people may think I'm crazy.. but after hearing the rumors about HAW busy season weight gain (5-10lbs)... I decided it was worth checking into. We were lucky enough to find a decent, used one on Craigslist for only $70. Totally worth it. It hangs out in our sunroom. Our sunroom has lots of windows, which is nice when it gets cool outside to open while running. The treadmill makes running more convenient for me, I can run while the oven is preheating or water is boiling, etc.. Or I can run late at night, when it's dark and a bit uncomfortable for me to go outside by myself. During busy season, this was vital as I usually left for work in the dark and arrived home in the dark.
2. Fancy shoes from Fleet Feet. I love that store and I love my shoes. Adidas Supernova.
3. iPhone. Ok, so maybe I didn't get the iphone for running... BUT the Slacker Radio on it has been crucial to my "success".

Ok.. so wanna know my secret for making it through 2 miles today?
1. Slacker Radio - see above
2. I just kept telling myself... "that pain in your chest, it's been there the whole time.. just keep going." "those leg cramps aren't too bad... just temporary" "wow, you give up easy"
Basically.. "you're a wuss... push through"

Happy run to all my runners out there!

PS. I obviously shouldn't be giving running advice, since I was struggling for 2 miles.. but another way I made it through the run was writing this post in my head :)

Snapshot of today 2010.09.10

Donut
Chickfila
Pineapple whip cream cake
Panera mac n cheese
popcorn

tummy ache.

Ode to Cream puffs

Ode to the Original Cream Puff....

They are absolutely delicious... and the only place I know where to find them is the Wisconsin State Fair and truth be told.. the main reason I wanted to go to the fair while we were visiting. This puff is made from fresh cream from the Wisconsin dairy cows and it absolutely amazing.
You haven't been to the WI fair until you've had a cream puff.
Fortunately/Unfortunately the cream is to be kept at cool temperatures which keeps us from taking home 4 dozen.

Mvelopes

Recently I learned of Mvelopes from a family member. If you're much into budgeting or from Nashville.. I'm sure you've heard of Dave Ramsey and the envelope system. I think the envelope system is a wonderful idea.. I even tried it for awhile when I lived there (one of my friends worked for DR and hooked me up with a fancy wallet with envelopes inside..) however, it just didn't work for me. Inevitably, I didn't make it to the bank to withdraw cash, I hate paying cash as gas stations, Aaron hates carrying cash (if you saw his paper thin wallet, you would understand), etc, etc... So I put that idea on the back burner and just used Microsoft Money to watch out finances.. and that's stressful. I hated when it seemed I "overspent" in one area just because it wasn't initially budgeted for.. and that's why I love the envelope system. It gives you the freedom to transfer from one envelope to another if necessary. Sometimes we when are traveling a lot and not eating at home, it's nice to transfer money from groceries to dining out. Also sometimes with using Microsoft Money, I would notice some extra money and use it for extra payments on student loans and so forth.. and those showed up as overspending. I hated that. Anyways.. I had been on a budget hiatus for awhile.. but I'm back and loving it.
Mvelopes is an online envelope system. It links to all of my checking accounts, credit card, and even student loan accounts. I set up tons of envelopes (currently at 41) for all the different expenses we incur each month. Then whenever we get paid, I disburse those funds to the various envelopes. When transactions clear the bank they show up on mvelopes and I assign them (using drag n drop, which I love) to the various envelopes, decreasing their balance. It's so simple. I also love that's it's easy to transfer from one envelope to another if need be. Another great thing about using the envelope system is planning ahead. The template had a few envelopes that I wouldn't have originally set up, but I kept them because they are great ideas. I have a car registration envelope that I fund with a few dollars each paycheck, that way when January rolls around I don't have to come up with an extra $120 for my registration. I also have a Christmas envelope where I have been stashing funds to buy presents in a couple of months. I've only been using Mvelopes for 2 months, but so far I'm loving it. I check it at least once a day to assign transactions and I'm always looking to save money in certain envelopes. If I have leftover funds in envelopes, I like to transfer and use them to pay off my student loans faster. Also, when it comes to credit cards (which I know DR totally disapproves of.. but whatever).. it has a nice feature. I can use my credit card and those transactions show up like normal transactions, which I assign to the respective envelopes. The funds that were assigned to the envelope decrease and transfer to a special "money for CC" envelope, so the funds are still set aside to pay for all the items on the credit card. This is nice for those who get points for purchasing certain things on their credit cards.. now you can still get the points but have the money in your checking account virtually set aside so it's not spent.
I've already convinced my sister to sign up.. and I think you should too if you are looking for a way to manage your finances.
Click here if you are interested: Mvelopes
That link should be a referral link, which would save you 20% if you decide to sign up. It's well worth it!

Ejection Seat

Aaron and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Wisconsin to visit some of my family. I will be blogging more about our trip soon... in the meantime, I found it very necessary to post about the one and only ride that we experienced at the Wisconsin State Fair, and by we.. I mean Aaron and my Uncle Gary rode it.. while the rest of us stayed down below and laughed our heads off. The laughing is mainly due to the fact that Uncle Gary must not have been aware that he was being broadcast on the speakers for all to hear. LOL.

Picture via the Ejection Seat Facebook Fan Page - I wanted you to have a full view

And now for the very best part of all: