Tights season is here!

So, not only is it now practical to wear a scarf all day comfortably (it gets a little toasty in the nicer weather), but it is also time to break out the tights my friends!

The weather has been so crazy and weird here in central PA.  We have a day or 2 where it drops down into the 40s, then it bounces back up to almost 60.  This is one of my outfits from one of those chillier days, which are now here to stay.

Not only was I loving my suedey skirt and new boots, along with the Zebra scarf of course, but my TIGHTS were AWESOME!

You can see my little Izzy's legs there in the background.  She was excited that I was home from work, so I had to snap my pics and promptly change to avoid snags in these awesome tights.

I am super jazzed about the fact that I can now find sweater tights everywhere, and plan to sport my fair share of them this winter :)

I will always bleed blue and white.

 

It has been a while since I've posted, and the events of the past week absolutely warrant my getting back to it.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and most surrounding this scandal are pretty strong, mine included.

I would like to take a minute to address what I feel, as a Penn Stater, through thick and thin.

My beloved university should not be blamed overall as an institution, for the decisions made by a few select individuals, no matter how powerful those individuals.

I am not and will never be embarrassed to wear blue and white or call myself a Penn Stater.  I am ashamed that my university is now and will forever be associated with such a scandal involving those in authority positions, however, I read it best today from Emily Grier, USA Today collegiate correspondent: 

"It’s easy to stand by Penn State through winning touchdowns and championships, but this moment is a true test of what it means to bleed blue and white. It’s the difference between just mouthing the words to our Alma Mater at football games, and actually upholding these ideals in our everyday lives...

We are at a crossroads now in our time as students. We can lose faith in our beloved Penn State, succumb to a place of hatred over the action of a single individual. Or, we can choose to rise above it. We can show our true loyalty to our school. We can show what it really means when we say WE ARE…PENN STATE.

WE ARE…the home of the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. WE ARE…responsible for raising $78 million for the Four Diamonds Fund. WE ARE…the largest alumni base in the world. WE ARE… a top research institution. WE ARE…so much more than this."

We are a school that has always been proud of our football program, and I am still proud to be associated with those boys who dress in their blue and white uniforms on fall Saturdays, with no names on their backs, and run into Beaver Stadium with their heads held high.

I hope they are able to do so this Saturday, and I hope beyond hope, that this terrible scandal does not tarnish the reputation of all that we hold dear about our Penn State.

We are not just a football team.  We are not just a town that exists because of the school.  We are a town, that stands 110,000 strong on October Saturdays, gives hope to children and families facing difficult times along with financial aid during THON each year.  We are the largest alumni base in existence.  We have world-renowned research programs, talented professors, and a beautiful campus.

To those of you who wish to disassociate yourself with an entire university, because of a situation that involves a few select individuals, I ask.....did you ever truly bleed Blue and White? 

HERE I AM! With cake.

I have been MIA lately.  Sorry about that.  But, as the title implies, I. AM. BACK.
Things have been crazy hectic at my office lately, and it seemingly as crazy at home, although I'm not sure what I do in my evenings besides cook dinner, maybe do dishes, play with my sweet kitties and watch a little tv.

Anyways, I have some updates for you on the hallway painting.  But that will have to wait.
Right now....the blog world unveiling of my flag cake.

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Eric and I baked this cake before heading up to the cabin in Morris, PA for a fantastic Labor Day with friends and some of his family.

I saw a link to this idea on another blog (I believe it was Young House Love, which I love, but can't be exactly sure at this point), and felt the need to tackle it.  Since I'm not quite Betty Crocker, I enlisted Eric's help (and for that, he wins the Best Husband of the Year award).

We mixed, we stirred, we colored/dyed, we baked, we trimmed, we stacked, we iced, and finally.....the next evening at the cabin, we cut!!  And got to see how our masterpiece turned out.

I must say, I was very pleased!  I will make this again.  It was so deliciously moist, with icing between each layer.
Here's what I needed:
2 boxes of cake mix, mixed in seperate bowls
1 entire batch dyed red
the other batch split in half, so half a batch of white and half a batch of blue

THEN, bake
1 round 8'' red cake, thick enough to cut in half
1 round 8'' white cake, thin layer
1 round 4'' red cake, thin layer
1 round 4" white cake, thin layer
1 round 8' blue cake, thick layer, with a hole in the middle

I baked the 4'' round white cake INSIDE the regular 8'' pan while the blue baked, so I didn't have to maneuver cutting a hole in the middle, worked perfectly!
Then trim, ice between layers, stack and decorate!
VOILA!

Camera malfunction

No pics of the freshly painted hallway, because I'm having a camera malfunction.  My camera quit working a few months back, and the manufacturer said I could pay to ship it and then pay the fee of $75 just for them to look at it and diagnose a problem.
Since it is a simple, everyday point and click camera, I decided that wasn't worth it.
So I went back to my old camera, and the trusty AA batteries it takes.  Those AA batteries died after snapping the before pics of the hallway, and in the middle of a kitty photo shoot, yes we got a new kitty.  I will put up a few pics in another post later today.
Then when I'm not being so lazy, I will pop some new batteries in that puppy and snap away so you can see the grey!

Fun = painting?

So we still haven't painted the hallway.  But the paint is purchased!  So we're getting closer.
I thought maybe we could get crackin on it tonight? 
So I email Eric this morning and say "we should paint tonight" to which he responds, "I thought we would do something fun", and I said "Painting IS fun".  Now these are not my true feelings.  Painting is NOT fun.  I do not enjoy it, nor am I very good at it, HOWEVER, the finished product always makes me happy.  And since we are out of streaming episodes of Sons of Anarchy (our latest obsession), we don't have anything to keep us on the couch for hours on end.

So will we paint tonight?  Or will we get home and change our minds?

Let the painting.....

BEGIN CONTINUE!
This weekend we will be painting the hallway.  (I think).  Stay tuned for the dingy pale yellow hall to be transformed to a sleek light grey.  Before and after pics will be coming.

House projects

Okay so here is the list of house projects that hangs on our refrigerator (as of 2 weeks ago) and progress/revisions.

- Paint the trim in the bathroom white
- Paint the hallway grey  (color selected and agreed upon)
- Complete picture wall for hallway (idea is fully formulated and ready to be executed)
- Paint light fixtures in kitchen and hallway (I think we've decided against this, it might end up looking worse, and they really don't look bad, I'm just not nuts about brass)
- Remove panels from above kitchen cabinets
- Remove scalloped header from above sink and intall high shelf for plants

See in this picture, how there is SO MUCH WOOD.  I'd like to remove the panels above the cabinets so we have some shelving/storage/display area.  I think some of my larger serving pieces would look pretty up there and free up some space.
Only problem is, there is crown molding above the panels.  So getting that all down may be a little tricky, and who knows how these things are attached.  (The previous owner liked to use a variety of things to secure wood such as nails, screws, thumbtacks, glue, etc.  all at the same time!)

And I really need a shelf higher than my head on that window to put plants on in the winter, so they can get some necessary sunlight.  That scalloped piece would be cool, if we can remove it without destroying it and just turn it flat.  Maybe we could even paint the wall above the cabinets a funky color to add some fun "pop" to our kitchen?!?!?!  New idea to add to the list!

Bathroom progress

When we bought our house, some of the wallpaper was a bit much for me, aka it HAD TO GO.
So here's our bathroom when we moved in, back in November.  Floral wallpaper in all its glory.

And then after some blue paint, and with brown accents.
(A disappointment for me because it ended up WAY too dark.)

And NOW, after some new window treatments, rugs, and a fresh coat (or 4) of white paint on the wood trim.
SUCH an improvement!

I now love my bathroom!  YAY!

Do you even believe that is the same blue on the walls?  What a difference the accents (and a little sunlight) actually make.


Isn't the white trim SO much better in our bathroom than the brown?  (I forgot to snap close-up before and afters, so the before is already taped, oops).

Art/Craft Fairs

I believe that one of life's greatest joys is wandering around searching for handmade treasures at art and craft fairs.  Jams, scarves, jewelry, paintings, and of course funnel cake, ice cream, and lemonade.

This past weekend was the Central PA Festival of the Arts.  We spent a lovely, but very hot, Saturday afternoon walking around State College at Arts Fest, and a great and even hotter Sunday walking around at the People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg.

Yes, I did have my so-sugary-that-it-tastes-like-chewing-on-sand lemonade, and it was wonderful!  

I also made a few amazing purchases, which I'll share over the next few days as I find the perfect spots for them in my house and the perfect outfits to pair them with.

 

  This one needs no special outfit, or introduction, 

as it is just simply put,

an amazing hat.

The pin on the side is removable, so I can switch it out

at any point with whatever I want.  

So versatile.

I decided to strike a few poses for you, 

so you could enjoy every angle of the hat.

Sort of reminds me of something Blossom would have worn.

Do you remember that show?  One of my old faves.

Finally, Izzy's first blog appearance.  She is our perfect little kitty.  Usually not a great picture taker, but I snatched her up and snapped this one before she knew what hit her.  That would explain the dazed look on her face. Although sometimes mischievous, we love her to pieces.
Isn't she cute?!?!

Friday Friday, so good to me

Who doesn't love a Friday?!?!  Actually, now that I think about it, people who work weekends probably don't love Fridays.  But maybe they also don't hate Mondays?
Anyways.  I LOVE me a Friday!  The entire feeling at my office is so much more relaxed.  Don't get me wrong, we still do plenty of work, but everyone seems to walk around like they aren't in such a huge rush, and everyone seems to laugh just a little more.  It is a nice refreshing change from the constant state of rush and panic that comes from always working on a deadline.

My plans for the weekend include checking out the Central PA Festival of the Arts (aka Arts Fest), paint the trim in my bathroom white, and possibly, if we are feeling ambitious, paint the hallway grey.

Arts Fest and the People's Choice Festival are such a good time, even if you don't buy anything.  Local entertainment, beautiful and very interesting displays from semi-local artisans, and delicious fair food as I like to call it.  Fresh lemonade with so much sugar it feels like you just ate a mouthful of sand (sounds gross when I put it that way, but it is one of my favorite things), funnel cake, ice cream, YUM!  I usually end up coming home with at least one piece of jewelry.  I'll post a pic of the great find I come home with this year.
Also lookout next week for before and after pictures of the bathroom, being transformed from a 50-year-old, wood trim that looks out of place in a bathroom, into a serene blue bathroom with crisp white trim.

ENJOY YOUR FRIDAY!  I know I will.

Flowers for no reason

It wasn't my birthday, or our anniversary, or any other special day, just a regular old Monday.
I came home from work to find these sitting on the dining room table with a sweet card from my hubby, just to remind me how much he loves me :)
I know, I know, I am truly spoiled and the luckiest girl in the world!

The pic isn't very good, since I quickly snapped it on my phone.  But you get the point.

Flowers for no reason = one of life's greatest joys

I live for weekends!

My weekend was filled with lots of driving, visiting, and baby-related activities.  I basically did a tour of southwestern PA.  Honestly, I don't really like driving.  Eric pretty much drives everywhere we go.  I will admit though, that it was sunny, I had some old cds to jam to, and I was excited for all my visits, so I didn't really mind.  Sunday around 4, when I was about 25 miles from home, is when it hit me, that feeling of "I can't WAIT to get out of this car".

Started off with a baby shower for my best friend from college.  She is high risk, so the fact that she is feeling good and the baby is developing right on schedule is such a relief, so everything surrounding the shower was just full of joy.  I am so thrilled for them to be having their first child.

Next I visited one of my best friends from high school.  We had a low-key dinner on the back deck, of pasta and homemade meatballs (she and her husband are both italian, so it was amazing), followed by a rousing game of mini-golf, frozen custard (yum) and a movie while curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.  Such a great hostess she was, with a little basket in my room with any essentials I might need during my one-night stay.  I like to think I'm a good hostess when I put out a matching towel and washcloth for my guests.  Guess I have some work to do in that department!

After that I stopped off at my brother's to visit my new baby nephew.  At about 10 days old, he was pretty much just sleeping and eating, but he is so so precious.  He loves to touch his face, and I somehow managed to snag a shot of him making a classic Home Alone face.

My sister-in-law is feeling pretty good, and they are adjusting to life with a newborn.  They seem to be fairly well-rested, although they may beg to differ with that observation.


I would say there is nothing better than a weekend of sunshine, good friends, and new life, but Eric and I were not together.  So the only thing that COULD have made it better, was his company.
Now its back to the grind, but also making a list of house projects and deciding which to work on this weekend.  I think it will be.....painting the trim in the bathroom!