RIP MacBook

It was a sad day... after running low on battery, I was getting up from the counter to plug Ms. Macbook in when I tripped and fell on the floor - throwing Mac a few feet to her death.

There were tears immediately.

Mac was a good companion at times.  We've been through a lot the last 5 years.  (Including a water spill across her keyboard right after I got her... but she survived)

Mac was a gift from my generous dad.  I remember the July day when Mac was wrapped in Christmas paper in the middle of the family room where the Christmas tree would be during the holidays.

My dad jazzed her up with all the very best... which meant more to me than the actual computer.  At least I have the fun memories of that night when I screamed loudly with surprise and saw the joy and excitement in my dad's eyes as he watched me unwrap.

So, I'll be patiently awaiting the mail man for the next few days.  My very sweet husband spent a little over an hour on the phone trying to see about getting it fixed - but after finding out the cost to fix it, ended up just buying me a new computer.  (I know, it's ridiculous how generous the people are in my life).

I'll be away from my blog for a few more days as I anxiously await the UPS guy and my sparkly new computer.  It's bittersweet.

Macbook, you've been good to me.  And thank you for being strong enough to protect your brain so I can keep all my pictures & documents.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

TL's 30

Happy Birthday (on Sunday) to my sweet guy.  

Can't believe he's 30.  I just love him.

We had a wonderful day celebrating.

 He came home from work to a decorated house (well, kitchen anyway) and then we took of to San Francisco for the Niner game.  After about an hour more of traffic than we expected & some parking woes, we finally made it in to the game just before the end of the first quarter.  It was perfect timing because the rain stopped on our walk into the stadium.

After the Niner game (they won - battle of the bay, Niners VS Raiders) we quickly hurried back to the bar across from the apartment to watch the Giants game.  Although the Giants lost, it was wonderful to be surrounded by so much spirit.  Even the fire trucks in the city have big Giants flags hanging on them.  I love it.

The Giants just won the 3nd game in their 7 game series!! (They lead 2-1 in the series)

I love San Francisco... can't wait to go back again this weekend!

Enjoy your Tuesday :)

Isn't the city beautiful on a rainy morning!?

One wish: A Postcard

As I was going through my emails at work, I came across one that caught my eye.  A viewer of the news station I work for sent over information about something she came across on facebook.  There is conversation and hope happening all over the country for a little girl who lives in London, Ohio.  Her name is Reagyn Semler. At the age of 5, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Now in 5th grade, she and her family are moving to Virginia for a short time while she undergoes surgery by some of the best doctors in the country.  Her tumor has been growing and she needs to get it removed - clearly, not an easy task. 

Her dream is a collection of postcards from all over the world.  A pretty simple wish.  It's so easy to do.  So, I'm picking up a few postcards (I have a few from places I have visited) and sending them over to her.

Where do you live?  Take a few minutes and send one over - wish her love & luck as she makes this challenging journey.  It's a simple way to spread some cheer.

Here's the address to send them over to:

Reagyn Semler

c/o London Elementary School

380 Elm Street

London, OH 43140

Want more information about Reagyn, here's the website: http://reagynsworld.weebly.com/index.html

Social media & networking is absolutely amazing.  I've never met or known of Reagyn, but this is great...  I hope she has a closet full of postcards soon!

picture found here

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Let me know if you send over a postcard :)

Visiting family

TL and I are visiting his mom at her house on the Central Coast.  It is so beautiful over here, and the weather is feeling very fall-like!  It's so great to catch up with her and spend some time over here... not to mention, very relaxing.  It's a short trip, but completely worth it.

C & K's wedding was beautiful this weekend, I'll post some pictures from that soon.  The theme was darling (something from a magazine).  Can't wait to show some pics.

picture from here

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. :)

Thankful Thursday

I love reminding myself of everything I have to be thankful for, it's good for all of us :)

I am thankful for the good night's sleep I've been getting for the last 3 days.  8 hours a few nights in a row was just what I needed.

I am thankful for my sisters. Both of them are unique and loving - I've looked up to them my whole life.

I am thankful for unsweetened tea.  I drink about 10 cups of it a day :)

I'm thankful for our house... it really has started feeling like my home, and I love it!

I am thankful for the time I've gotten in the last few weeks to decorate and learn to cook a little bit.

I am thankful for my sweet friends and the good people in my life, including my brother in law, Joe.  He's such a good guy.

I am thankful for TL - it's been a busy few weeks for us and we are so excited to visit with my MIL for a couple days next week and relax! :)

What are you thankful for??

I hope you are having a wonderful week. 

It's almost Friday, yeah!  (I'm thankful for that, too!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I made some delicious looking chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.

(I had no real reason, I just wanted to give it a shot!)

My cousin, Greyson, gave me this cupcake recipe book, and I love it.  I figured it was time to put it to use, so I found a recipe and tried it.

Everything is made from scratch (even the frosting!!) and if you know me, you know this is a rare thing for me.

They turned out pretty good - they were rich and chocolately, but super good with a glass of milk.

The recipe book and a lot of the ingredients.

Making the batter!

The frosting was so good - it had heavy whipping cream (yum)

Before the frosting - fresh out of the oven.

All finished!!

It was quite the accomplishment for me ;)

(If only I could do the same thing with healthy foods)

Next, I think I am going to try and make some festive Halloween cupcakes.

Hope you're having an amazing day!

My little Martha moment

I am not the most skilled decorator - not even close.  After moving into our new home, I really wanted to start getting better.  (Thank goodness for the ideas I get from HGTV!)  Our walls and furniture are still somewhat empty, I've learned this whole decorating thing can be a long process!

Almost a year ago, I eyed these vases at Pottery Barn.  I loved the way they were shaped and the unique lids.  I looked around at Ross & Marshall's to see if I could find similar vases - but nothing came close.

So, after months of going back and forth, I bit the bullet and bought them from PB.

Here is what I love:  I used them for fall decor by filling them with colorful leaves, moss, and fake baby pumpkins.  And when Christmas/winter rolls around, i'll take out the fall goodies, and put reds, greens, and garland.  We can find decor for every season to put in them!

Pottery Barn is extremely expensive for fillers so I went to Michael's instead.  They had so many great vase fillers and all of their fall stuff was on sale.  Score!  TL and I had fun looking around.

This is my little Martha Stewart moment... I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Dragon Tatoos & Playing With Fire

While I was sick, I finished up both books: The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo & The Girl Who Played With Fire!  I am looking forward to reading the third book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest.

Both books were really good, the second one (Played With Fire) is more engaging and addictive.  A lot of people told me they were a little challenging to get into at the beginning, and I would totally agree.  Especially in the first one, there is a lot of history & character introductions, making it tough to follow -- but once you pass the first few chapters... it really gets fun to read.

The books take place in Sweden and the characters all have Swedish names (the last name of the main character is Blomkvist) but I got used to it as I kept reading!

The books do get a little graphic at times and can be somewhat scary, but if you can watch scary movies with out being offended, you should be okay with these!

I really enjoyed reading something a little different than what I am used to.  Stieg Larsson is truly a captivating author with brilliant ideas to base a novel off of.  I think the first two are definitely worth a read if you are looking for something.  I can't wait to read the third one, but am waiting for it to come out in paperback.

Have you read the books? What did you think?

Right now, I am reading Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (It's the sequel to The Glass Castle, which was really good).

Happy Sunday!!

The weather in Northern California is finally cooling down and fall is making its approach! Yay :)

Hello, October!

Fall & the holidays are officially here (well almost!)  I love this time of year! I've already started putting a few things up in our house to celebrate the season. I'm feeling better and getting really excited for the coming months and everything they hold.

This month TL turns 30.  I'm trying to figure out some unique gift ideas :)  (Ideas??)
My girlfriend, Michelle, turns 24 -- and our girlfriends are all heading to SF to celebrate!
TL and my friends, Casey & Kristin, are getting married on 10/10/10.
Then, halloween (BOO!)
Lot's to look forward too!

Enjoy your Friday & the start to your weekend.

Happy October!

This is the majority of my fall decorating skills... still working on it! ;)  It's expensive and hard to find the time to shop.  If you post fall decorating ideas, send them my way!  (This is our dining room table)