Today, I am

Hey all! Happy Monday.

here

Today, I'm:

Grateful for: my lovely bridesmaids. For visiting me in South Bend, for organizing my bachelorette party (with basically no help from me, I'm hopeless!), and committing to traveling all over the country to share in these special moments with me. Ladies, you rock!

Proud of: myself - for getting started on 2 big projects last night! Spray painted my trash-find bistro set for the patio and recovered 2 of 4 seats on our trash-find dining room chairs. Yay for diy and my compliant fiance! Now on to the taxes and my grad school application . . .

Struggling with: committing to the dresses for those lovely bridesmaids! This shouldn't be so hard!! Oh, and keeping up with my ever-lengthening to do list. Sigh. Thank God I found out about gmail tasks.

Excited about: yogurt making! No, that's not some weird euphemism. Everyone in my department is making their own yogurt at home - and it's surprisingly easy! Of course, the results are great too - cheap, creamy yogurt! I'll post all the details one of these days for anyone who'd like to play along.

Loving: Vietnamese food! Matt and I went for Pho Friday night and holy moly!! What have we been waiting for? He had a bowl of the house special Pho (all the tripe you want, no added charge!) and I had a Vietnamese crepe (think a mix of a dhosa, a french crepe and a coconut - yum!). It was such a sweet place - the owner sent us home with a box full of thai basil.  'benders, check out Bowl of Pho.

Cooking: speaking of food, it's been fun trying new recipes that fit with our healthy eating plan, like sweet potato hashbrowns, buffalo chicken salad, and Thai turkey meatballs.

Glad for: so, so glad for the sunshine. I forget how much I need it and then begrudgingly realize each spring that life is not the same without it.

Hope you all have a fabulous week!!
xo,
E.

I am...

Hey there. Felt the urge to blog today - is that a documented medical condition yet? Anyways, I've missed having the time (or making the time, more accurately) to write and connect with you fine people. So here is a new method I'm trying (inspired by Orchid Grey) to organize my thoughts on the week.

by Etsy artist mylittlepixels

This week I am:

Dreaming about...going someplace - preferably warm. I'm having a major travel bug attack and I just want to play hookey, pack a bag, and jet. Also, anyone have tips for finding what the cheapest flights are from your departure airport? I don't care where, I just want to GO!

Planning for ... duh, THE WEDDING! Found a wonderful florist, had engagement photos (round II) taken by our fabulous photographer, and just generally getting stuff done. Also excited to throw my best friend her wedding shower next month!

Excited about ... learning Photoshop! I needed to for work, but taking the classes and practicing on my own has been really rewarding and I feel that I'm gaining a really marketable skill. Props for professional development!

Stressed about ... Oh, just getting things done. Like save the dates, invitations, guest list, band/dj (the ongoing debate), bridesmaids dresses, catering contracts, decor, showers. And having to have opinions on EVERYTHING.

Grateful for ... Spending time with special people. Seeing my grandparents. Meeting florists with my mom. Brunch with my girl Dana. Sunday nights with my SB family. And every evening with my love. I'm a lucky girl.

Proud of ... Matt and me! We are doing so well on our healthy living goals. Combined, we've lost about 50 pounds. I can't wait to get our measurements taken again to see how many inches we've lost, too.

Personal goal ... Make a photobook. Read this post by Younghouselove and got instantly stressed that we a.) almost never take pictures and b.) almost never do things with the pictures we have. We are making so many memories this year that I want to preserve them.

Praying for ... People and animals out in the cold. This winter is just brutal and everyday I'm grateful for being inside and warm.

Ok, and now the fluffy stuff:

Reading ... The Twelve, by Justin Cronin. This deserves a whole post on its own, but read the first in the series, The Passage, rightnow.

Watching ... Um not much. No Modern Family or Nashville episodes last night, wtf? Top Chef is over (what a crappy finale, too). I don't know what to do with myself. At least the season finale of Mindy was awesome.

Listening to.... Other than "Thrift Shop," I'm enjoying my Pitch Perfect Pandora station. What? A Capella is hot right now.