weekend recap

This is the first time I've turned on my laptop in three days. And I don't mind. Sometimes I just need a break from the fast-paced technology world and remember what it's like to enjoy life without constant tweets, emails and facebook updates. Sometimes I just need a little more simplicity.

Thank you all for your sweet anniversary wishes. Friday night we enjoyed a super late but delicious dinner, reminisced on the last five years (like dorks) and finished the night with some chocolate covered strawberries & bananas! Yum.

Saturday was terribly gloomy, so we settled on chinese take-out, beer and cuddling on the couch watching movies in our sweats. It was just what we needed! Sunday, we drove to Nassau, New York for my dad's side of the family's annual picnic. It's always a good time and promises endless amounts of Italian food, the most competitive bocce tournament you've ever seen (our team came in second for the second year in a row!!!) and probably some rain.
Because it always rains.

My only wish for this weekend was to get a photo of him and I because after looking through old photos of us, I noticed that we hadn't taken a single picture in 2012. Well, we had taken like two actually, but gosh were they terrible, blurry messes. I told him that we had to get a least one good snapshot of us at the picnic.. and we did ^^ see?!


Boy, I sure do like that kid.

Five

Five years ago, I went on a date with a boy. The first time I'd ever been to the drive-in theater.

I knew that there was something special, different and totally perfect about this boy,

and I only hoped that he would stick around long enough to see that we could be something great.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel lucky to have his love.

Congratulations on tolerating me for five whole years.

So here's to a thousand more..

As he said this morning.. "we're a whole hand old!"

this + that

< Our Rose of Sharon blooming after a very brief shower >

Life has surely been treating me well lately. Although I would really appreciate some rain for our poor plants and grass, the last couple of days have delivered some truly great things.

Like eggs! This morning I collected our third chicken egg. We haven't tried them yet because we thought it would be best to finish the store bought ones that we already had. So this morning I had the last two store bought eggs that I'll ever eat (hopefully). I think the boy and I might have to have eggs for dinner just because I don't think I can wait any longer. I hope they are going to be as tasty as everyone says they are.

And job opportunities. Dana got offered a wonderful job as a mechanical technician at a shop in Northampton. He is really looking forward to taking this next step in his career and getting the opportunity to work beside some of the most knowledgeable people in the field. I'm so happy for him. He is one of them most driven and hardworking people I know.

I think that is it for now. On a side note, Monday night I danced for about seven hours and I still can't move normally. The only part of my body that doesn't hurt is my forehead. Hopefully a couple of hours in the studio tonight will stretch me out and get me back to (my) normal.

Have a lovely day friends.
Oh! And how about a little Handmade by Nicole giveaway for 150 followers?!

It's possible..

dear monday

dear monday//thanks for being somewhat kind to me thus far. After this weekend, it was nice of you to let me sleep just a little bit longer than usual.

dear kitty cat//thank you for being cute and cuddly in the early morning hours. The head butting my hand till I pet you routine never gets old. And also - thanks for helping me with work.

p.s. if you're going to catch a mouse and bring it upstairs at 4am, could you at least kill it?

 

 

dear boyfriend//I love when you tell me how pretty I look when I'm dancing on stage. I love the kisses on my forehead early in the morning and the way you fluff my pillow when I'm too tired to function. 

dear fellow bloggers//thanks for doing things like this.

dear lavender soap//I need you in my life.. forever and always.

dear students//you make me so proud and I can't even explain. This weekend was magical. You are passionate, beautiful and individually special to me. Watching you dance gives me the proud mama feeling every time. I love you.

Awkward and Awesome

{Easter 2009}

Awkward

Every time I try to use an italicized apostrophe in blogger it looks like this ' when I'm creating the post and like this ' when I publish it. Thoughts?!

About every other day we get a piece of mail for the people that lived here before us. They moved out about a year and a half ago. Get it together US Postal Service.

The amount of times I've blown my nose in the past two days. Ouch.

Getting in the car to go to work and realizing that my gas light is on. Crossing my fingers that I can make it to the gas station, cause I'm pretty sure the reserve holds less than the amount that it will take for me to get to the closest one.

Parts of the Madonna performance. Like when she was trying to dance.

When the cat kneads my butt while I'm sleeping. Uhh.. a little higher please.

Videos from four years ago.. enough said.

Awesome

Today is Dad's Birthday! (See below) Happy Birthday Daddy!

My best friend's pulled pork. Delicious.

Live with Kelly's Bachelor Theatre. Why watch The Bachelor when I can watch this?!

The blanket that I just finished crocheting. See?!

The coversation between boyfriend and I after I had told him how much money

I was getting back on my taxes:

Me: "I don't remember the last time I had that much money."

Him: "Good, because we need coffee."

Me: "Ha Ha. I'll get some tomorrow. Can we make it to tomorrow?"

 How much money I'm getting back on my taxes.

How many times I typed "taxis" instead of "taxes" while writing this post.

Check it out!

My lovely boyfriend posted on his blog. Right here! You should go read it. And follow him. Cause he's super worried that he will never surpass the number 5 next to "Members".

+

On a bit of a side note: would it be smart of me [or completely insane] to start asking for sponsors?! Or is that only for people who have a seriously c r a z y amount of followers and visits to their blog daily?

nye

Watched our dance team girls perform.

Performed two pieces with my modern dance company.

Made homemade pizza with the family.

Drank from mini champagne bottles.

Laughed so hard that tears came down my face.

Played basketball for the first time since gym class.

Used gold solo cups.

Watched the guys play darts.

Counted down with friends & got a kiss at midnight.

 

Hope your New Years celebrations were fantastic. We had a great time dancing, making pizza, drinking champagne and playing games with friends.

Now for some beef stew, book reading & relaxing on the couch and our kitty.

Welcome 2012!

Vacation Brain

I'm having a hard time recovering from the food, chocolate and gift coma. Christmas was more wonderful than I could have imagined. Boyfriend and I received so many thoughtful and unexpected gifts. I couldn't be more thankful for all that our families do for us. I wish I could share photos from our Holiday weekend but I'm afraid none of them are really blog worthy.

Whomp. Whomp.

I was able to scrounge this one up. A little bit out of focus - but we look better that way anyway.

It's been great having some time off to spend with friends and family.. however, not having my regular schedule has thrown my brain and body for a bit of a loop. It reminds me of when I would be on break from school. You wake up in the morning and have no idea what day it is and then eat fudge for lunch, or maybe even for breakfast.. if you're awake by then. I'm thankful for this free time to catch up with life but will be happy when my days are back to normal.

Some of my students and I are performing on New Years Eve which I am very thrilled about. Saturday is turning out to be pretty low-key and full of dance! Just the way I like it.

Weekend love

Quality time with the Sisters (above) -- laughing and stuffing our faces with baked potatoes and homemade chili.

Birthday celebrations -- my Uncle turned the big 5 0 !

Smore-making -- in a mini muffin pan.. best things ever! I think I ate them all. And then I blamed the empty container on boyfriend.

Hair cuts -- this was a first for him and I. Not the actually hair cutting of course, but going together. It's pretty convenient.

Movie night -- "Dinner for Schmucks", one of those movies you love and hate at the same time. Everything goes wrong and you wish the people in the movie could hear you screaming at them.

Errands -- surprisingly fun and entertaining when you're not in a hurry.

Staying up late -- playing Scateorgies. I lost.

Hunting for our Halloween costumes -- only $23 for both of our costumes & all the accessories!

Cozy boots -- decided it was time to get out the sweaters and boots and put away the sandals.

Organizing/cleaning the basement -- our party is only six days away, and we're surprisingly almost ready. That NEVER happens.

Eating & drinking -- Pumpkin coffee, ice cream cake, apple cider & Mom's chili

I wish the weekend stayed forever..

Fits us perfectly

 

happy Wednesday friends!

Our Weekend

-- I made this for our coffee table! Super easy & adds a little more feminine flavor to our living room.

Even boyfriend said he liked it.

-- Sunbathing. Of course. And cat naps on the couch.

Just ignore the bottle in the back. Ha.

-- Baby Shower! My friend, and owner of the dance studio, is having a baby in two months!

Yippee! Can't wait to meet the little guy. He's going to have so many babysitters.

[Dance teacher photo]

We also...

-- took some naps.

-- went grocery shopping (whomp whomp) after completely emptying the fridge and pantry. I swear, we are the best at making meals out of nothing.

-- stayed up super late and had to get up ridiculously early.

-- carpooled to work on Saturday. Boyfriend just got a job as a mechanic at a shop literally, a stone's throw away from the dance studio. It was probably the only time we'll be able to do that, since he'll be working during the day and I teach at night.

-- laughed our butts off while watching Comedy Central and "The Ugly Truth".

So long weekend!

Weekly Gratitude

 -- I am so thankful to the three talented, young ladies who came to my dance intensive. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves & maybe even learned something after the twenty five hours you spent with me.

 

-- To the man in the house. He always knows what to say. Always knows how to have a good time. And constantly reminds me that as long as we have each other, we'll survive anything.

-- Most importantly.. I'd be eternally grateful, if Irene leaves us the BLEEP! alone. Anything more than a watering for my tomato plants, will be a serious inconvenience for the entire East Coast. But so far, outlook not so good. She's headed straight for us!

Happy Hurricane Weekend Friends! Stay safe!

Your weekend

I hope your weekend is so much fun, that by Sunday afternoon, you're passed out in your sweet yellow dress.

via

This weekend doesn't hold much in the field of excitement over here, since we most definitely got an overdose of glitter, music, screaming, lights, and animal print last night.

 

Boyfriend and I went to a concert (LMFAO & Ke$ha) at Mohegan Sun, and I must say, if I had extra money just floating around, I'd be there every weekend. Well, maybe every other weekend. I'd alternate between a secluded, tropical island... and Mohegan Sun.

 

It's huge. Like really, really big. I was so distracted by the lights, dinging bells from the slot machines.. and all the Ke$ha* wannabes. It's amazing boyfriend didn't loose me in there. I think I just held his hand and let him lead me along while I let my eyes wonder all over the place. 

 

*Let me just say, that we did not buy these tickets because of Ke$ha. Dispite the few songs that I actually own of hers (only because of my beginner hip hop class), I don't really care for her.

 

We are pretty big LMFAO fans (read this post first, then this one to learn more) and their portion of the concert did not disappoint. So much energy and just... craziness. Gotta see it to believe it kind of thing.

 

So after a crazy concert experience.. which I would only recommend to those who really want to see a spectacle like no other (Ke$ha and her fans are a breed of their own), I must say that there isn't a better picture to illustrate the rest of my weekend, than the one above.

xoxo

We make a good team; Him & I

On our Sunday night, we watched the (never-ending) Yankee/Red Sox game &..

 Our very own sweet, baby, vinyl tree.

Isn't he precious?!

I drew him.. and boyfriend cut him down. No not literally. With his nifty vinyl cutter.

Together we planted him on our wall.

He's super fabulous.

I can't wait for our friends and family to meet him.

Our living room is almost, halfway started, finished being decorated.

Ha.

Happy Monday lovelies!

Weekly Gratitude

{click above to join!}

Thank you summer breezes for bringing fresh air into my house.

Thank you, thank you, thank you friends & family for coming to my Pampered Chef party yesterday! So many laughs - and so many great (free) products! And a big thanks to my cousin/P.C. consultant for putting on such a great show! 

(If you live in the Western MA area and want to have a Pampered Chef party.. I'll put you in touch with her! There are so many great benefits to being a host! Like getting $200 worth of free products!!)

Thank you sister for having a Birthday to celebrate. I just love getting together with my family and goofing around!

Thank you Amber for being our cute little munchkin.

And for beating up the DVD player with your ferocious paws.

And for giving the squirrels that hang upside down from our bird feeder, the look of death.

Thank you best friends. For being best friends.

Thank you mom.. for being awesome. Always!

Thank you PYO Fruit Farm up the street, for growing the most delicious peaches ever.. 

Even if they are kind of ridiculously expensive.

Thank you weeeeeekends for allowing boyfriend and I to spend some sort of meaningful time together.

pinterest

Happy Weekend everyone!

Be sure to link up with Love, Life, Lace for your Weekly Gratitude Posts!

Five. Things. FRIDAY!

 1. Tomorrow, I'll be setting up a Handmade by Nicole table at a local market out here in Western Mass {website here}! I'm super excited and hope that there is a good turn out, and also that it doesn't rain.. I love summertime markets and browsing all the wonderful things that people bring to them. There's something about being outside and supporting other small businesses that make me really happy.

2. My best friend is probably ready to change her email address after all the wedding themed emails I've been sending her. I'm so honored and overly thrilled to be part of such a special time in her life. Although, any advice you all may have on being a Maid of Honor would be appreciated.. I am absolutely clueless.. I wonder if they have a "Maid of Honor for Dummies" book...?!?

3. I still haven't been to the beach yet.. sigh..

4. I suck at reading books.. Actually, I just have a difficult time relaxing long enough. I always think that there is a "better" way to use my time. I feel like yelling to my brain: "HELLO NICOLE! It's summer.. that's what you're supposed to be doing!" Maybe today {since it's Friday and all..} I'll excuse myself from all the work, and finish my book.

5. Boyfriend got a hair cut yesterday. Actually.. he got a bunch of hairs cut.. booboomchhhh. I hardly recognized him when I walked into the house. I love his short hair.

***

Happy Friday Everyone!

Link up your five things Friday here with Simple Thoughts from a Simple Girl!

Wednesday Wishes {edition ?}

1} For my sickness to magically disappear. Boyfriend and I have been battling this thing for about a week and a half. And it's really starting to annoy me. Normal people would probably have gone to the doctor by now.. but yeah.. I'm definitely not normal.

2} "Love Me Do" by The Beatles to be on repeat. *Sigh* Yup. Speakers running through my house, like the ones in department stores, playing pretty much  a n y t h i n g  by The Beatles would be heavenly. But this song makes me especially happy.

3} Good luck wishes sent my way. This weekend will be the very first craft fair appearance for Handmade by Nicole. This week has been/still is, all about prepping for Saturday. My brain is confused with excitement, nervousness, joy, and anticipation. I have no idea what to expect as a vendor at a craft fair, but I really hope that it is filled with all sorts of happiness and satisfaction!

4} Summer recipes. I absolutely love cooking summer food - especially if it goes on the grill! Burgers, fruit salad, smores, fresh veggies, fruity cocktails and all the good stuff. But lately, I've been craving something different. Have a yummy recipe? Do share.. either in a comment.. or email (nicoleinthemaking@gmail.com) Okay?! Thanks! I'm sure boyfriend will thank you too!

 via

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Link up your Wednesday Wishes ova here. 

Okay. Good.

Oh how time flies

via pinterest

Welp. The long weekend is just about to commence folks. 

Sad. But true.

Today we enjoyed marching in a little parade, I watched boyfriend help a buddy with his truck, we had a picnic with the family and I taught dance. It was a pretty fabulous day. It was hot hot hot, but still very enjoyable and very muchly appreciated. And tomorrow I go back to work, and boyfriend goes back to school.

After today, I am really looking forward to more celebrations and the summer goodies (as I like to call them, like the beach, campfires, picnics, road trips.) God bless boyfriend for agreeing to go to school all summer long - with the exception of one week off, he'll be there Monday thru Friday till sometime in October. There's no way I'd give my summer up for homework and lectures.. but to each his own, and I guess when it's something you love, you'll do pretty much whatever it takes. Kudos boyfriend. Plus, he'll only have been in school for one year total. So I still have him beat with four. So HA!

I hope you had a lovely long weekend. Please take time to remember what Memorial Day is all about and appreciate the lives that were given up in order for us to live ours.

Much love.

Home is wherever I'm with you

This weekend was absolutely fabulous. No stress (surprisingly), lots of food, friends & family that I haven't seen in forever & just some good fun.

Welcome To Our Home
I've chosen some before & after shots for you, along with some from our housewarming party. There is still quite a bit of decorating to be done.. so keep that in mind!

Living Room:

 

[Still have more to do with this room - vinyl wall decor to come!]

Kitchen/Dining Room:

My Craft Room:

[Most of the kid's rooms were painted every color of the rainbow]

Bathroom:

 

 **Housewarming Party: May 7th, 2011**

(two months after moving in)

For now,  you'll just have to picture that there are green shutters and grass growing and mulch..

 The back deck all set up for the party!

 Where we will probably spend most of the summer - I love camp fires!

 My favorite spring plant!

Best part of the night - campfire =]

 Sisters!

 Our neighbors!

 Momma!

 Lots of friends!

Home Sweet Home!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend - we sure did =]

... now I must get back to cleaning up...