Summertime and the livin is easy....

Wow, my blog has fallen off the planet, I have been so busy... time is flying.  The month of June was filled with many fun activities begginning with the Bike Race which is every year on the first weekend in June. This year Joe and I threw a huge party for all of our friends. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time - I cant believe that this was our 5th year at the Bike Race -- crazy!! The following weekend, Joe and I went down to the shore to visit his family and celebrate his mom's birthday. We also went and checked out the new casino in Atlantic city, the Revel, that everyone has been talking about. We had a good time checking it out but I am not sure that it was any better then any of the other 20 casinos in AC.

The highlight of my weekend at the shore was bringing the ingredients for a truffle pizza and making it for Joe's family in their brick pizza oven. Do you think I have a career in the pizza business? The above pizza has truffle oil, shitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, roasted red peppers, fontina cheeze, topped with thyme and parmesan cheese.. so good!

On June 26th -- Chez Terrace had its 3rd birthday under current ownership! I cant believe I have owned the house for three whole years! Since I bought the house with the 2009 tax credit-- staying 3 years also means I can keep the money that the government gave me should I decide to sell. This is a big milestone!

On the last weekend in June Joe and I went to Rochester for our annual 4th of July visit. It was great to see all my family and Rochester friends. We arrived on a Friday night flight and spent Saturday and Sunday on the boat relaxing in the sunshine with my family and my friend Meg. On Monday we went and saw Ted at the Vintage Drive-In Movies. It is so nice watching a movie under the stars! Its sad that the drive-in is almost an extinct animal.. its a really simple way to enjoy a great summer night! On Wednesday night we attended the annual 4th of July Pig Roast at my neighbors house, and had a great time swimming in their pool and eating yummy food!

Oh last thing, while we were in Rochester we celebrated a very special 20th Birthday! Happy 20th Birthday to Daisy Bird who spent the day drinking vodka and hanging out with her duck friends:

Pintrest Projects

Pintrest is the ultimate time suck I would say. Even more the Facebook becuase not only is the parusing of Pintrest time consuming, most of the projects on the site consume time as well. Here are two projects I recently completed:

1. Chalk Board Painted Herb Pots

2. Polka Dot Tiered Planter

Both of these projects were a lot of work, by the time all the purchasing and painting was completed. That aside, I think they came out really cute! I am in love with them. Now, here is to hoping that some drunk Manayunker doesnt smash my hard work in some drunken rage.

On that note, I have decided to stay off Pintrest for the forseeable future.

Life Without Limits

A few months ago I was surfing the web for volunteer opportunities when I came across United Cerebral Palsy's website. While they didn't have any volunteer opportunities available that would fit in to my schedule, however,  they were advertising a 5K set for April 26th which began and ended at the Philadelphia Art Museum. United Cerebral Palsy is an organization which I am incredibly passionate about.  UCP educates, advocates and provides support services to ensure a life without limits for people with a spectrum of disabilities, including, but not limited to CP. While my case is mild, some cases can be severe and incredibly debilitating. I thought a 5K would be a perfect way to improve my own health as well as give back to the organization. The race was for people of all abilities, including wheel chair participants. I figured this would be a perfect way to break my 5K virginity without feeling intimidated. I created a donations page, and began a sporadic gym regiment.

On the day of the race, I was nervous. I had never ran more then a mile at any one time on the treadmill and now 3.1 were ahead of me. Joe was confident that I could do it, and we set a goal to complete it under 55 minutes and only walk if absolutely necessary. 

Prerace

Mid Race - I look like I am going to die

As we ran,  I looked around at the people using walkers and wheelchairs and felt lucky just to have the ability to be running in a 5k. My life could have turned out much differently if I had been wheel chair bound. Even though my life has had its fair share of challenges, I've gone though nothing compared to some of the people that surrounded me that day. I continue to feel blessed by everything I have and have been able to accomplish, despite my disability. I may not have been the fastest that day, but I ran, and I finished in 47 minutes.....13 minutes ahead of my personal goal. Joe and I raised $455 for UCP through donations from our friends and family. Thank you to all of you for your support and to Joe for running along side me and being encouraging the whole way. I plan to complete this race again next year with a goal of under 30 minutes. 

All done!

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"

Art Museum

Center City at Night

Caution Wet Paint

I keep meaning to do this, but I have been busy, so tonight I am finally making it a point to share some of the home stuff I have been hard at work with lately. I know most of you probably remember that when I moved into Terrace Street, the entire house was painted yellow with the exception of the two upstairs bathrooms, which were painted sage green. I grew tired of everything yellow so I decided to have a painter come and paint a few weeks ago. I think everything came out wonderful, and it has made it feel new... its "our" home now.

To start we changed the den from a yellow to a gold color. It had to stay in the yellow family because it is right at the top of the stairs and is sort of an awkward room between the stairs and the upstairs hallway which are painted yellow still. It is also a fairly small room, so we wanted to keep it light. You cant tell in the picture, but it is a few shades darker then it once was. Moving along, we changed the master bath from sage green to a calming sea blue, it is the most restful color for a bathroom. Next, we had fun in Joes man cave. We painted 3 walls sand color and one wall bright red. We also got a really great area rug from overstock, and it looks like a brand new space! We both love that room best. Finally, in Joes bathroom we picked a deeper, manlier, blue. He picked this color, I like it, and it made him happy. So, win win.

On a side note, for the den I also puchased a ladder shelf from Amazon. It leans against the wall like a ladder. I have had some fun decorating it in the past few days with things from Ikea. I still have to find pictures for the picture frames but I think it came out really cute. See the video of before and after pictures below! Let me know what you think!!!! xoxo.

Digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

#GoodnightOTH

“It’s the oldest story in the world, one day you’re seventeen and planning for ‘some day’, and then quietly and without you ever really noticing, ‘some day’ is today… and then ‘some day’ is yesterday, and this is your life. We spend so much time wanting, pursuing, wishing, but ambition is good. Chasing things with integrity is good, dreaming. If you had a friend you knew you’d never see again, what would you say? If you could do one last thing for someone you love, what would it be? Say it, don’t wait. Nothing lasts forever. Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true, you never know where the next miracle’s gonna come from. The next memory, the next smile, the next wish come true. If you believe that it’s right around the corner, and you open your heart and your mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it, you just might get the thing you’re wishing for, the world is full of magic, you just have to believe in it. So make your wish. Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it, with all your heart”.- One Tree Hill.


For the last time, Wednesday night at 8 pm, I sat down to watch my favorite show, One Tree Hill. I know, most people think its corny but I started watching nine years ago, after my then favorite show, Dawsons Creek ended. In 167 episodes, and nine seasons, this show accompanied me from highschool graduate to college graduate, to LATE 20's.  The show mirrored my life, as the characters went from highschool, to college, to post-college so did I. And while I do believe a lot of the things that happened on the show were far fetched, corny and hopelessly romantic, some part of me always wanted to believe in the world the way that it was portrayed on that show. Of course in the shows final episode everyone's story ended on a happy, sappy, greeting card rhyme. There is only one Tree Hill, after all.

I remember at Delaware, Megan and I watching in suspense in the dorm room freshman year and hanging a larger then llife size poster of Chad Michael Murray hanging outside my door. So much has changed since that time its unbelievable. I went from a high school senior in Rochester, to a college graduate of University of  Delaware, to a working girl in Philadelphia.  I met a guy, held two different jobs, bought a house, and moved in with my boyfriend.  And as the credits rolled on last nights episode, I couldnt help be a little sad. It was a reminder that I am no longer a young adult planning for 'someday'..  in the blink of an eye someday is today..  and most of the things I once wished for have come true. Heres to the end of an era.
#goodnightOTH -- thanks for the memories. #bittersweet

I need a new favorite show.... Sophia Bush (Brook Davis) has a pilot coming out that looks pretty good, I thnk I'll check that out.

While Philly Slept

beep.... beep... beep... I wake up with a start, its still dark out. I roll over and look at the clock.. this seemed like a better idea when I went to bed last night. It is not really that early for most of the world, but I am not a morning person, so for me it feels miserable to be rolling out of bed this early. Its 6am. I sleepily put on my yoga pants, tank top, and sneakers, brush my teeth, grab my water & ipod.. and with that, I am out the door.

Its 6:15 and I go out to empty quiet streets, with the exception of one man walking his dog. This is something I rarely see in Philadelphia. The world seems calm, most houses are still dark with their occupants far away in dream land. I am waking up as I drive, taking notice of how beautifully empty and not conjested the streets are at this time of day. I never really have been out this early to take advantage of that. My usual routine involves fighting hordes of traffic on an eight mile commute that takes upwards of forty minutes most mornings. I pull into the gym and look inside at the people who are already mid-workout. THOSE must be the real morning people, I thought to myself. I wonder what time they go to bed at night? Probably  not 11:30 pm like me.

I get on the treadmill and begin to run. I have been trying my damnedest to like running, but I really really don't inherently like it. I think I was about 10 minutes in before I actually started to enjoy myself. I finish my run incredibly slow jog, feeling energized. I do some stretching and some weights and I am out the door in record time. Its 7:20 and I head back to my house to shower and get ready for work. I get out of the shower feeling great, go downstairs to pack breakfast, lunch, and a to-go mug of coffee. Its 8:00 am and I am out the door again. The streets are crowded this time. Philly has woken up.. and cars clog the narrow, hilly streets of the Yunk. I flip on Q102 and DJ Pauly D is being interviewed. Wow, I feel great today I thought to myself. I never feel that way, usually I am just waking up as the first car cuts me off in the traffic jam.  Today is going to be a great day.

There are so many pros to going to the gym in the AM before work:
1. Far less crowded, can do a better work out in half the time
2. Afternoons are free to do what you please. I hate feeling like I need to go somewhere else after work. When I am done with work, I just want to go home and eat dinner and relax.
3. I am more energised when I haven't worked all day.
4. I think its easier to get up at 6 and not rush then get up at 7:30 and run around like a crazy like I usually do.

Only one con:
I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON. Thus, I plan to try and fit this into my morning routine twice a week. I think this is doable, and not unreasonable.

Another addition to my morning routine I want to share comes courtesy of my sorority sister from college, Erica, of http://4thesakeofcake.com. She has been talking about "overnight oats" on a lot of her recent blogs in her quest to find a healthy, but filling breakfast.I had read a few posts of hers so I decided to give it a try and have loved it. Here is the recipe I use, but you can do a lot with this.

Overnight oats:

• 1/3 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/3 c. plain Chobani
• 1/8 c. milk
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 handful blueberries
• 4 thinly sliced strawberries
• a sprinkle of chocolate chips

Directions: combine first four ingredients & stir. Place in refrigerator over night. In the morning, stir again and add more milk if necessary. Top with next 3 ingredients and enjoy.

This is cold oatmeal and awesome for a breakfast on the go. The oats absorb the milk and yogurt overnight and create a filling cereal with a great consistency. Give it a try. The best part is, this recipe can be modified to include all different flavors and tastes!

Life in the Fast Lane

Life has been flying by again. I keep meaning to post, and another week passes. Like I said last time, Joe moved in and we have spent the last few months adjusting from seeing each other once every week and on the weekends to every night, every day.. all the time. It has been a hard adjustment and the things that have been hard about it are not what I expected would be. I think the hardest thing is division of labor. We are both busy, we both work, and neither of us really want to do chores when we get home.. but they need to get done, and we need to figure out who is best suited to do each thing and with Joe studying for the PE it has been stressful and a lot of the burden of the house has fallen on me.  Its a constant push pull. Also, there are little things I never noticed before about his personality that now annoy me now that we are together so often. Overall, I am happy, but it has definitely been an adjustment. Each week gets better and I think its going to work out fine.

Back in February we celebrated our 3rd Valentines day. Joe sent flowers to work and we went out for a nice dinner. He never disappoints me in regards to this holiday.. sooo.. on March 14th we celebrated the "man version" of Valentines day... if you don't know what that is.. look it up.. hahah.

Also in February we made a overnight trip to his shore house to meet some of his friends in Atlantic City. We had a nice time but ended up walking away losers from the casino and his friends friends were not all that pleasant to hang out with. The only silver lining of this day was that I feel that I looked pretty cute... hahah.



In the beginning of March, Joe and I attended Philly Craft Beer Fest for the second year in a row. We met up with my friend Allie from work and a few of her friends. She made shirts, pretzel necklaces,  and we wore funny glasses. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a great time trying all of the beer.

Last Thursday, my mom and I made an impromptu four day trip to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. I took off out of Philadelphia after work on Thursday and got to the Marriott Harbor Beach around 9 pm. It was only a 2 hour flight from Philadelphia. On Friday morning we woke up and had a buffet breakfast and sat by the pool all day. At night, we went to a restaurant called Grill 66 which was right on the harbor and had a marina. Let me tell you, the yachts in this marina were amazing! One was bigger then the next. The "small" boats were about 70 feet in length. The 87th largest yacht in the world was parked there and Steven Spielberg's yacht had just pulled out the night before. It is unimaginable to me how much money must have been sitting on this dock. I need to figure out what they do for a living.

On Saturday we woke up and sat by the pool again. The weather was perfect. At night we took a cab to the shopping district and bought some new bathing suits, a cover up and a floppy hat because I have  been wanting one for the shore this summer. After our shopping we went to dinner. We sat down at a moderately fancy restaurant next to a couple who at first I perceived as normal. The more my mom and I listened to them talk the more we couldn't help laughing out loud! The guy was the most pretentious guy I have ever met and my recount of this story does not even do him justice. He was saying how he is the only one who works hard at his company and how he makes all this money. He was cursing, and groping the girl sitting across from him, who was eating up every word. As we sat there we couldn't figure this couple out. Was this a first date, a wife, a mistress? The world will never know. As we sat there, there appetizers came, the waiter sets down caprese salad and calamari. The guy goes "wait we ordered the F***in caprese salad" (tomatoes and mozzarella are obviously sitting on the plate). The waiter goes " that is what you have in front of you". Then the guy proceeds to make comments about the tentacles on the calamari as if he had never seen calamari before. It was so awkward, we were about a foot away and laughing so hard we were crying. The icing on the cake.. was the guy said after the meal. "I just want to take you back to the hotel and bang you". Lets vote - husband, first date, affair?

On Sunday we spent the day sitting at the ocean. At night we went to the Hardrock Hotel on the Seminole Indian Reservation to gamble and have dinner. We had a great time however I ended up misplacing my license and didn't realize it until we started packing to get onto our 6 am flight back to Philadelphia. I had my dad fax me a copy of my birth certificate, but you cant imagine the hard time the TSA gave me about getting on the plane sans license. I almost had to become a Lauderdale resident, but was eventually allowed through security.

All and all I would highly recommend Ft. Lauderdale for a quick getaway.

So, that's whats happening in my neck of the woods.. at least that is the notable stuff. Back to real work now. Happy Friday! xoxo.