Photo of my Puppy #1,473

I hope you don't mind the fact that my blog/Twitter feed has become 90% photos of Blake, but seriously, how could I resist? Someone was very happy when I got home from grabbing a glass of wine with one of the girls. And this is what happens when I try to take a photo of both of us together....

No Pictures, Just Kisses!! 

Today was a really good day....one of those days where you can't even think of a reason why because it was all good. Hope you have something leaving you smiling, too.

St. Patty's Day & Manual Labor

I have to admit something. I just recently started embracing all the fun St. Patrick's Day has to offer. I can't remember ever going out to celebrate while I was in college and even right after I graduated. The "new" me I embraced a few years ago (which was why I started this blog) goes all out for it and I'm so glad. I have such fun stories from the past few years and this year did not disappoint. The best part? I went out with a really fun group which included my sisters, one of their boyfriends and my guy friend (My Sister's Ex and no, we are not dating).

We went to Pat O'Brian's, a bar at Universal's Citywalk and had an absolute blast! I have so much fun with my sisters and I'm so very thankful for being so close with them. I'm glad we can do things like this together. Such a fun group of people and a really fun night.

sistas <3

What else did I do this weekend? Something so very exciting that I can hardly contain it! I got hardwood floors in my living room/foyer! I have literally been wanting to do this since the day I bought the place (May 20, 2010)! I spent Friday night ripping up the carpet and prepping the floors with my dad and sister. Honestly, manual labor is not my thing, but I think did alright considering I was suffering from a major hangover after going to the bar with the boys the night before. We planned on finishing the next day and on his way, my dad called me telling me we didn't need to do very much because his flooring guy would be coming on Sunday to finish. Thank goodness! My poor dad tore his rotator cuff playing golf a few weeks ago and is in no shape to be doing this kind of stuff, especially when I'm not the most helpful assistant. By Sunday night, my downstairs had been completely transformed! I still have a few finishing touches to make before I put the room back together, but here is a picture of the floors! My excitement level about my happy little home is through the roof right now :)

Happy floors, happy home

In other news, who is excited about The Hunger Games movie coming out on Friday?!? I absolutely cannot wait to see it on Saturday with my sister and my mom. Do you have plans to see it this weekend? Also, this made me giggle...

Today I am Thankful For...

"Every day may not be good, 

but there is something good in every day." 

I don't know who said this, but it is the reason I started a new daily ritual this week. On my flight home from Buffalo a few weeks ago, I started reading The 18 Secrets to Happiness by Karl Moore. Rule #2 was to "Be Grateful" and talks about finding time each day to be thankful for the blessings in your life. You all know I have a huge appreciation for the little things in life, but even I am guilty of letting a tough day get to me.

I decided to start keeping a notebook by my bed so that each night before bed, I can jot down a short list of the things I am grateful for each day. Sometimes the list is long, other times it might be one or two things that stood out to me that day. It might be a list of big things like my family, job or health, while other days it might be how much I laughed out loud or the fact that I saw a rainbow on my way home from work. The important thing is that no matter what kind of day I have..good, bad, frustrating, stressful...these positive thoughts will be the last thing I focus on before I go to bed, ending my day on a positive note no matter what.

Some of you (especially those who know me well) might be rolling your eyes at me because I am so cheesy, but you should really try this. If you find yourself at the end of a rough day, this might help you let it go and end it on an optimistic note, rather than rehashing everything that went wrong. I'm only a week in, but I really enjoy this new addition to my day!

What do you do to keep things in perspective? Do you have any daily rituals like this?

What I Loved About the Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I sure did! Let me tell you why...

• On Saturday night, I went to Cowboys for some beer and line dancing with my sisters. We started the night with 4 Rivers Smokehouse, a BBQ place right near my house that everyone is always raving about. It was amazing and we had a blast flirting with the employees and causing a scene. I hadn't been to Cowboys in a few months and my sister Kelsey had never been. It's always fun...but we really had a great time and even met a few guys which kept us really entertained. 

Happy girls :)

• Kelsey stayed the rest of the weekend. She lived with  me when I bought my house but she moved to Ocala a little over a year ago. We used to go on all these fun adventures together so spending Sunday together was super fun. We spent the hungover and rainy day going to brunch, doing some shopping for my house and having a movie night. The day involved a ton of giggling and scoring some awesome stuff for my house. I miss that girl.

• What did I buy for the house? This is super exciting...I have been shopping for wood floors to replace my living room carpet. It's a pretty small room and the carpet isn't in the best shape. I've been trying to find a good deal and didn't want to spend a lot, but hadn't had much luck in my search. Since I had a partner in crime, I got up the nerve to venture out to Lumber Liquidators, a flooring warehouse with really good prices. Judging by the fact that it is kind of in the ghetto, I was glad to have a sidekick...haha. Anyway, I found an awesome deal on the perfect wood floors. I'm installing them on Saturday and I absolutely cannot wait! It's nice to be making a change in my house that I've been wanting to do since I bought the place. Yay! 

• It was also one of those weekends where I went out looking for nothing in particular, and scored some awesome deals on things for my house. I wasn't even looking for this, but found a Houdini Wine Opener at Ross for only $15 and I just had to buy it! 

I'll drink to this!

This is totally unrelated, but I had to share a picture of Blake with you all. He got neutered last Thursday and has to wear this cone until his follow up this Thursday. He looks pathetic, but way too cute!

My poor little buddy

Hope you all have a happy week!

A Weekend in Buffalo

Hi everyone! What’s new???

I spent last weekend in Buffalo visiting my older sister and her cute kids. It was super cold, but it was an absolutely wonderful weekend. I had been itching to get away and try to get up there at least once a year to visit. When I go up there, I love that I get a few uninterrupted days with my sister, niece and nephew. I don’t care what we are doing or if we don’t go anywhere, but just spending time with them is awesome. It’s relaxing and it brings me so much happiness to spend time with those kids.

This visit was perfect because I got to spend a lot of time hanging around, reading, playing with the kids and relaxing, but I also had a night out on the town with my sister and her friend. My sister and I were inseparable when we were younger, so getting to go out drinking and dancing with her is something I absolutely loved! By the way, bars are open until 4 a.m. in Buffalo. It is both super awesome and very dangerous….haha.  We had a blast dancing, having girl talk and drinking. I loved every minute.

If I could have anything right now, it would be to have these people in my life on a regular basis. Once a year visits are not enough. I absolutely adore my niece and nephew and visiting my sister makes me realize how much I miss having her here. Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures (and a video of my nephew being super cute) from my trip. Enjoy!

Alyssa's first time at Build-A-Bear Workshop. She loved it!

My nephew, Aidan :)

Teaching her diva ways nice and early with a Starbucks kids hot chocolate :)

Ladies night!

So happy to be with these two!

I hope you all had a great week!