Happy Easter

Enjoy the day with family & friends!

Gearing Up

The Twin comes home tomorrow for 10 days!  More on her soon.  She will be staying with me and we have lots planned - Girls Night In party, Easter, B-day festivities, shopping, family photo session and more.  I still have lots to do before the party on Saturday.  I won't make the list until tomorrow because lets face it nothing is going to happen until then anyway.

I need to clean up the guest room because it currently looks like this - Yikes!  This is why I need to purge from the closet.  I don't dry any of my clothes in the dryer (well undies, tees, sweats and socks) so after it comes off the rack it seems to live on the bed for a while.  I.will.break.this.habit.

I got off easy for Easter dinner this year and will be making pasta salad.  I enjoy making desserts but so does everyone else.  Last year I made these cute nests and a basket cake.  Both found on {Pinterest}.
             

Of course choosing what to wear for a holiday is never easy.  Pictures will be taken and you just want to look good.  Here are my current options, I think I want new shoes but I know you know you need to try one with shoes.  These pics aren't great.  Sorry iphone at night and bad lighting.  Either will need some fun jewelry and better hair (at least for the start of the day)

Lot's of pics and recaps to come!

Thought for the day

image via {Pinterest}

Weekend Fun

So Friday night I go to do a load of wash and my washer does not cooperate! Ugh...not what I wanted. Luckily I did find the books the old owners left for me.  But the trouble shooting didn't work. So I called the repair man and he will be here later this week to hopefully fix it.

Saturday I did some shopping.  I stopped in Anthro and picked up a book to flip through.  They always have the best books amount other things.  And of all the pages I could have flipped to, the quote below is what was staring back at me.   Sometimes life has a way of putting things right out there for you.  I should say that I don't think J was a bad man, he just may not be the one for me.

We went out for my cousin's boyfriend's birthday.  The night started out in the day.  We left for dinner at 4:30!  It was chilly out but that didn't stop me from breaking out some neon pink.

We had dinner at one of my favorite bars - Chickie's & Pete's.  They have the best crab fried - not to be confused with crabby fries or old bay fries, those just don't compare.  And melted american cheese...YUM

Our beers were still dressed for St. Pat's but that was ok.  It was cold and that's all that matters.  After dinner we went to a comedy show.  Josh Wolf from Chelsea Lately was the main act and he was hilarious.  I would definitely see him again.

Sunday my nephew came over to play at my house while my sister ran some errands.  We had a very colorful pretend picnic.  See my pink bucket in the background there?  One of my best ideas ever!

This barn is one of his favorites.  It plays music and makes animals noises and he sat there for the longest time.  He also likes that he can sit there and see out the window.  He can't see out the ones at home.  

Its still cold here - that damn groundhog was wrong!  But that didn't stop a grill full of skewers on Sunday.  My aunt and uncle had my sister, nephew and I for dinner in addition to her 4 boys.  We had fun playing with the boy and the dog.  

And then I woke up to snow this morning.  Will it ever be warm?

Here's hoping we get some sun this week!

Madness

March Madness that is...

I completed my bracket this morning.  I don't follow college basketball any other time then the month of March.  For the last 8 years a friend of mine and I always complete brackets and of course include a friendly wager.  I have no method, no rhyme or reason to who I choose.  To me this is a game of who can guess better 63 times!  Fingers crossed the bragging rights will belong to me this year.

PS - I woke up to flurries this morning.  Second day of spring and it is snowing!

Spring!

original source can be found on {Pinterest}

The best thing about spring is summer is right around the corner!  I can't wait for flip flips, leaves on the trees, blooming flowers, warm days and cool nights...I think I was meant to be born in a place that is warm all year long.  I'd really only miss the cold at the holidays.

I need to do some serious spring cleaning around here.  Maybe I will do that one day while the sis is in town.  I know I need to clean out my closet.  If I don't remember the last time I wore it - it's gone!  I will think about this project for the next two weeks...HA!

I will add it to my to-do list (which has only grown in the last few weeks)

1. mini bedroom redo
2. new dishwasher
3. master bath floor/sink/shelves - ok this is as close to a full reno as I get
4. repaint kitchen
5. semi-finish basement
6. move office to basement
7. spring cleaning - focus on closet

No time like the present to start to tackle these!

Weekend Fun ~ St. Patty's ♣ edition

Thanks to those of you that read my meltdown on Friday, and those that listened to me on the phone.  I appreciate the great people in my life.  I really do.

Saturday I  let myself enjoy a lazy morning.  I went shopping with my Aunt in the afternoon (more on what I got later this week).  Saturday night I went to a new place with my cousin.  I should start to number them because I have so many and I am not sure sharing everyone's names is appropriate.  His b-day is on St. Pat's so he, of course, celebrated all weekend!  We ended up at a German bar in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, Frankfort Hall. The environment was fantastic.  Long cafeteria style tables, very industrial.

The outside was just as good as the inside even in the 30 degree weather.  I did not have on the right footwear so I was only out there for an about an hour.  But we played Jenga under the patio heaters as long as we could.  I met a lot of new people and just forgot about everything.    

Sunday I woke up around 8 and proceeded to stay in bed for the next 4 hours watching Law & Order.  Good ole Jack McCoy.  Sounds Irish right?  Ok, works for me.  By 1:00 I was getting texts from some other cousins - also males, as to my ETA to the pre game party before the bar.  I was not aware I needed to be anywhere by a certain time.  But I made it to his house by 2 and we were at the bar 15 minutes later.  I thought the beer would be green, but it was the same old so it was a good thing I brought a decoration for my cup!  Everyone was jealous, aren't you?

Here’s to a long life and a merry one,

 a quick death and an easy one, 

a pretty girl and an honest one, 

a cold pint — and another one

Slainte!

The band Blackthorn was the main event in the tent outside.  They were awesome - the mud, not so much.  But we danced and had a blast.

Yes, I wore shamrocks on my head almost all day.  But we make them look good right?  I think our photographer was a little tipsy.

My Irish Arm party.  Just a hint of green :)

I hope everyone enjoyed some kind of shenanagien yesterday or this weekend.   

Not So Happy Ending

So my post about {logic} and the one about {over thinking}are both related to J.  They were short and probably didn't make much sense.  But it's how I have been feeling...yes we broke up about 3 months ago but I don't think I was ready to close the book just yet.  I am, among other things, a romantic.  I believe that everyone lives happily ever after.  I thought J was my happy ending.  I did, we had our differences, but nothing that couldn't be fixed if we both made the effort.  I can be quite stubborn and I am well aware of that.  I know I was stubborn when it came to a few things in our relationship, but at the time I was ok with it.  I held my ground for the sake of holding my ground.  I didn't think we reached that do or die point.  He did, he said we weren't compatible.

We still talked texted in the following months.  Still exchanged our christmas presents.  Things were ok, most of the time. Being the girl and over thinker that I am, I read what I wanted to as the subtext in our texts.  I was always honest with him.  We saw each other now and then.  I wanted to be breezy, not the crazy girl that wouldn't let go. We dated for 2 years, we were best friends, and he basically lived with me every 2 weeks.  We were in love and it's not easy for me to say it let alone turn those feelings off. I believed in us and us in love.  

Tonight he told me he met someone else.  I don't know any more then that.  I don't know if they are dating or if its just someone he is talking to.  I don't need to know.  But it upset me.  More then I was prepared for, I felt blind sided.  I didn't think other people were an option at this point.  I wanted him to want to fight for me, for us.  I wanted to be worth fighting for.  I wanted to be on the same page.  I haven't know what he was thinking for a while because we would dance around it.  But there was enough to make me think there was still something there.    

As of now, I know I just don't want to find love, but maybe finding out who I really am is the start.  I put people first, I always have.  I would defer decisions to J all the time to make sure he was happy, because if he was happy, then I was happy.  But sometimes that meant not getting what I want.  So it's time to put me first.  And I am not going to worry about anything other then me for a while.  

all images from my (Words to Remember} board

I thought about stopping this whole blog thing because I don't know that anyone other then my sister reads it.  But I may just make it less about the "pretty" and more about the real life stuff that no one usually shares.  I will show my messy house or tell you about the weekend I didn't leave my house because I just didn't want to.  I am just about 32 and for the most part I am in a good place.  I have a good job, a house and great friends and family.  My happy ending will come...someday...I just may need to write my own

So if anyone else is reading...does that sound good?  Are you up for that?

Hi, my name is Debbie

And I am an over thinker... Almost always do I over think a situation. Work, relationships, decisions...I over think it all. How about you? Do you over think?

Logic?

Why is that that sometimes a person loses all logical thinking?  Like eating 2 more slices of pizza after you felt full? Or drinking that "one more" drink that puts you completely past drunk and into sloppy mess?  Or continuing to want someone when your brain tells you one thing and your heart just disagrees?  Is it emotions, mind over matter, or just disregard for what makes sense?  I just don't know.

I think about this quite often...if you have any ideas, please let me know!

In the mean time...

{via}

Emily!

So a photo popped up on my instagram feed today from Emily Maynard introducing her new {blog}  I was always a fan of Emily while she was on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.  I am curious to see get to know her via this new endeavor.  Good Luck Emily!

Snow shoes?

After a 5 1/2 hour drive yesterday with the sun out, this is what I woke up to this morning.  Needless to the say, the meeting I drove for was cancelled so back in the Jeep I was headed home.  That is, after the 30 min it took me to clean the snow off.  The roof was the worst and hard to reach - but if you don't clean it, it is dangerous.  I did not do a great pack job for my overnight and spent that half an hour standing in the snow in ballet flats...not the best.  It wasn't until I was almost done that I figured out I could just move the jeep to a place in the lot that had already been plowed.

Can we fast forward right past spring and into summer?  Pretty please....

Weekend fun

This weekend was such a hodge podge of a weekend.  Friday night I stayed in - thank you Law & Order, you were successful in sucking me in again.  Seriously, 5 hours passed just like that...ugh.  I did, however try a Lambic.  My twin left it in my fridge last time she was in town.  The bottle was empty at the end of the night, so it is safe to say I enjoyed it.

Saturday I started to clean up the house.  I took the week to just relax, but having been on the road the majority of the last month and a half, this place is a mess.  It's a good thing I don't get many surprise visitors.  I did some shopping in the afternoon with my cousin.  She was looking for a rug.  After a failed trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, we hit Target!  I picked up these canisters I have been eyeing for a while.  The large one is now home to my K-cups, the middle guy holds tea bags and the smallest is full of different water flavor packs.  Much better then what it used to look like.  After shopping we went to dinner and had less then stellar service.  Good thing the company was great!

More cleaning on Sunday.  I am also starting to get rid of some clothes - hopefully more on that later.  In the evening I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show.  This year's theme was Brilliant (Britain).  The following pictures do not even give a glimmer of justice to the amazing displays that were there.

I have a new found love of succulents.  I hope to put something together with some soon!

This was by far my favorite display.  The table was pure elegance.

Bloom to Blossom....

These little Queen's were all over as a scavenger hunt for kids.  Each Queen had 2 letters with her, after finding them all, you then had to unscramble the letters to form a phrase.

The Flower Show makes you want to plant something.  It's the keeping alive after that I have problems with most of the time.  Though I have done well with tomato and basil plants the last few years.

How green is your thumb?  What will you be planting this spring?

Advice from a stranger

When I went to the salon to get my hair done not long ago, I met an older woman.  We started talking because I was admiring her bracelet.  She said "I got it from QVC, my son doesn't like me spending money"  Through our conversation I learned up her husband of more then 45 years passes away less than a month ago.  Her children don't want her wasting her money on frivolous things.  She looked at me and said "Honey, always love yourself first and treat yourself to the things that make you happy"  I never did get her name but what she said has stuck with me.  I finally looked up and found the bracelet online.  I am contemplating getting it just to remind me of the sweet lady and her words.

{Judith Ripka}