A Birthday Wish

My birthday is next week and I want this...

So I can make things like this...

It's called a silhouette... and I want one  : )

The end.

Mmm-hmmm

I have discovered a delicious new snack.

 

Some girls at work have been bringing them in for breakfast and talking about how yummy they are.

 

So I bought a few.  And I'm so glad I did.

 

It's a new fruit-on-the-bottom greek yogurt called Chobani.

  

  

Yummy.  And good for you too.

The benefits:

• Oh so delicious.
• All natural. No preservatives. No artificial flavors.
• Free of synthetic growth hormones: No rBST-treated milk.
• Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics.
• Made with real fruit.
• Twice the protein of regular yogurts.
• A good source of bone-building calcium.
• Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified.
• Safe for people with corn, nut and soy allergies.

Pineapple is my favorite so far.

Try it.

An Addiction

I love houses.

I dream about houses.

I could spend hours thumbing/surfing through pictures of houses... the interior, the exterior, and the floor plans.

So, I stumbled across this architect's site a few years ago and I can never get enough.

House plans are sorted by styles... craftsman, cottage, farmhouse, lake house, ranches, traditional...

A few of my favorites so far...

The Silvergate

The Summerhill

The Serendipity

The Kendleton

I could go on and on... looking and dreaming.

Dreaming is fun... take some time to dream today :)

Up And Away

This made me happy.

Seriously.

How cool is that!?

A show on National Geographic called "How Hard Can It Be" did this experiment to see if they really could make a house fly using balloons. And it worked -- They brought the movie to life!!

I love "Up"!  I cry every time I watch it...

Ok, ok.  I weep. 

It breaks my heart, so I cry.  Then it makes me so happy I cry again!

Watch it.

Long Time No See

Yes.


My last post was in November.


Many things have happened since then.  Good things.


However, I do not feel like elaborating on those things right this moment.  I stayed home from work today. Sick.  I am currently lounging around, following link after link... discovering many beautiful things, and delicious-looking recipes.


So, I will share some of them with you  : )

chicken cacciatore - pioneer woman

boyfriend flare jeans - gap

diy lamp redo - 33 shades of green

whole wheat buttermilk pancakes - our best bites

robins egg blue french oven - le creuset

dream window seat - design studio b

goldendoodle puppies - i want one

mushroom and spinach quesadillas (these have goat cheese in them!!!) - pioneer woman

fresh picked flowers - whatever

Enjoy beautiful things... no matter how big or small.


Have a wonderful day.

Let Me Count the Ways

I love Christmas.


I cannot explain to you how much I love Christmas.  It is beyond words.


So, let me demonstrate for you how much I love Christmas...


Phil & I had a Christmas wedding.

I start listening to Christmas music on November 1st... 

Go here to listen to Christmas music 24/7:  http://www.live365.com/index.live

I cannot listen to this song without getting goosebumps... no matter which version/artist.  But Nat King Cole makes any Christmas song 5 times better.

Candlelight Christmas Eve service makes me cry every time.

We still go to my parents for Christmas and I'm up at 5 every Christmas morning, begging everyone else to get up.

{Yes, that is me, my sister, and my grandma in our Christmas pjs.  I am not ashamed.  Hopefully Gma and Lauren aren't either.  If they are, too bad... it's already posted. haha}

Phil proposed on Christmas.  {Phil + pretty ring + Christmas = very happy Rachel}

 

There are so many things I love about Christmas.  They're innumerable.

There's a feeling about Christmas that is unexplainable.  And I'm starting to get that feeling once again : )

It's just around the corner.

Time

So, the move is complete.  Well... kind of.  All of our stuff is in our new apartment and we're sleeping there.  But, that's about as far as we've gotten.  Everything else is complete chaos.  Boxes and rubbermaid totes everywhere.


I'm not too worried about it though.  Taking it a couple boxes at a time and enjoying my long weekend off.


We don't have TV or internet at our new place.  Actually, Phil and I have lived the majority of our married life without both of these things.  Whenever I tell people that they always do a double take... "Wait.  You don't have TV?"


Correct.  We have a TV... for movies and Phil's games, but no, it's not hooked up to get any channels.


And it is wonderful.


It amazes me how much time becomes available without these distractions.


We're not anti-TV in any way.  I have times where I crave a few hours of food network, or a couple episodes of law & order svu... and I hop over to my parents for a "fix."


But, for the most part, I really enjoy the absence of technology.  It leaves time for things that otherwise would never happen.  Like reading a good book in the bathtub.  Taking the dog for an extra long walk.  Cooking dinner together.  Taking a drive... just to take a drive.  The possibilities are endless  : )


If you've never done it, I'm challenging you.  Take a day, a weekend, a week, a month... whatever you feel comfortable with.  And commit to shutting the TV off, unplugging the computer, silencing the cell phones.


And enjoy the silence.


Have a beautiful day.